Our House in the Middle of Our Street

  Glen Valley dyke trail, early July, 6AM Watership Down (graphic novel) adapted by Richard Adams - I have never read this classic novel, but the graphic novel has stunning illustrations and I knew I'd read it this way if I had it from the library. I'm glad I read it as a graphic novel - I don't know that the premise of the story would entice me (well, it hadn't thus far anyway) to read it in its original format, but having the illustrations certainly helped me understand the storyline.  Swim Team (graphic novel) by Johnnie Christmas - Just a little piece of middle-grade, graphic novel candy for summer. The equivalent, I suppose, of most people's "beach reads"! The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury - I followed along (late, however) with Joy Clarkson's online book club on her substack. I had bought this book at least a decade ago at a thrift store, then gave it away to someone (who?!) and then finally got it from the library and I finished i...

  Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in late May Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard - This book was both poetic and raw, and had a few disgusting parts, along with a few achingly beautiful parts. I will never forget that a type of waterbug can literally suck out the guts of a frog and leave the skin like an orange rind. (If I had to know it, you do, too.) The depth of discovery Dillard found around Tinker Creek, not only of the active natural world, but what that means to us as humans, was surely why this book won a Pulitzer in 1975. Highly recommend, but it's not a page-turner, it's a slow savour.  Worm  (graphic novel) by Edel Rodriguez - This graphic memoir was SO good! It is the story of Edel (mostly his childhood) in Cuba and his life from 'before' and then the communist takeover, through his family's escape by boat in the Mariel Boatlift of 1980 . Rodriguez went on to become a very famous artist, and has had numerous artwork on...

  Whistler in early March on a bluebird day Sigh. It's September 5th when I'm writing this. I hate that I'm so late with these because I can't remember much from 5 months ago. I remember liking or not liking a book, and I might have a memory or two - an image or a sentence I liked, but I didn't keep great records of some of these. So, peanuts. It's what I can offer! Above Ground by Clint Smith - This book of poetry was (very likely found) via Padrig O'Touma's Poetry Unbound podcast, where I find most of my poetry books to read. I remember liking this book, but I can't remember anything else about it. Sorry! Parasitic Oscillations by Madhur Anand - I also remember liking this one. There was nature, grieving the poet's parents, and tension. Darn it I wish I could give you more, but I guess you'll just have to read it and get back to me.  Somehow by Anne Lamott - I will read anything this lady writes. This one was okay. It wasn't her best...

  a December sunrise in Fort Langley  A final nod to the books I read in 2023! Just squeezing by on Jan 1, 2024.  For how busy the last six weeks before Christmas break were, I sure was able to read a lot! A few of these were poetry or comics, which do go faster than a memoir or novel, but the four read-alouds done for homeschool with the kids were NOT easy reads (well, aside from Little Women ), and one was incredibly long and bleak...! What Kind of Woman? by Kate Baer - This poetry collection was probably my favorite of the year. It had poems that made me go "YESSSS" by the end of it; mostly they were about motherhood and how society views women, hilarious and honest and just the right amount of description/editing.  All My Knotted - Up Life by Beth Moore - One of the best memoirs I read this year, I've been an avid fan-girl of Moore's for over a decade. I love her bible studies, her humor, and her integrity, and in this story of her life she reveals some things t...

  a gorgeous early sunrise in Fort Langley As noted earlier, this list is compact and July - Dec titles' posts are being completed (finally. Hallelujah!) over my Christmas break. Onto the Fall! The kids and I have read some excellent classics this year so far, with more on the Winter/Spring horizon.  Revenge of the Librarians: Cartoons by Tom Gauld - This was a silly little comic book that was almost like the Far Side but with Librarian/book people humor. Read it in one sitting, laughed a lot. LOTS of book references; for the literati that's enticing.  Hidden Systems by Dan Nott - Ok. Another comic book (non-fiction) that was SO fascinating I actually made Ani read it for part of her Science work. This book describes in words AND helpful drawn pictures how the internet, electricity, and water systems are all around us and yet I knew next to NONE of this information. When any of these systems don't work, our lives basically come to a standstill, so I'd guess that most pe...

                                                summer's evening scene on the Glen Valley dyke trail  I've prepped this months ago, but I'm writing this post (and sharing it on it's proper share date, ahem ) on December 29, 2023. I just can't seem to get these posts up on time, at any time, during my very active life. I have a good life, but those who warned me the teen years are just a different kind of busy (mostly driving) were telling the truth. These two weeks of school break I decidedly am doing only about 3 things, and outside of that, have 16 days of REST. Reading, catching up on my computer tabs (I think the highest point was over 60 (!!), cue embarrassmen t), and getting these forsaken book posts out.  I like to record my reading, and I like sharing it with others, I just have to have time, and BRAIN...

  View somewhere on Whistler or Blackcomb Mountain Canadian Geographic Dec/Jan issue - I really enjoyed the most recent issue, and loved the cover articles - on owls and also the grasslands of Canada, and the health of that ecosystem over the last 200 years.  New Kid by Jerry Craft - This was a fun and easy comic I finished in about two days. It's about a ...yes...new kid to a new school and the friend group he makes. The pictures are done well, and the story has a really nice flow. I don't even know if I've ever read comic books before this year, but it's quickly becoming a fun 'beach read' for me when I need a break. YA Comic Book I can finish in 2 hours? Why not!? Especially when this one won the 2020 Newberry Medal.  The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - This book was created in little niche that I love, also-books in verse (poetry). This book won the 2018 National Book Award in Young People's Literature, and it's well deserved. The poetry is engaging...

  a private property landscape after beaver-proofing saplings with A Rocha Canadian Geographic Sept/Oct issue - Although this issue was interesting, the only thing I really remember from it was the article on how the soundscapes of nature are changing due to constant industrialization and development. You can read that article online HERE .  This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel - This was the book I chose to lead with my book club, because I knew it would be a great conversation starter. This book is about a boy who transitions into becoming a girl at a very young age, and about the family as a whole with how to deal with that situation, along with the aftermath of friends 'finding out' after years of knowing the child as a girl. I will say, I found some of this book was trite and unappealing, but the general theme of the story was a fast way to have a controversial conversation-something I love! A Man with a Rake by Ted Kooser - Although I love Ted Kooser, this is the...

  view from along the Pitt River dyke I'm on Christmas Vacation (ahem) and am finally getting to the last 3 sections of book reviews. Sadly, because  this was so long ago, I don't remember much about these particular books or magazines except the Rembrandt one, but here goes!  Canadian Geographic: July/August issue - The magazine I read cover to cover every other month, this issue did not disappoint. It included information on the Atlantic cod referendum, along with an article about a female scientist who studied a large (now fast disappearing) glacier over 100 years ago. The photos were staggering to see the difference in just one century.  The Carrying by Ada Limon - Although I don't remember specifics about this book of poetry (or the next), I'm pretty sure I found both of them via Padraig O'Tuama from Poetry Unbound podcast . I remember really enjoying this book of poetry, and that it was reflective both of America has been in the last few years, but also sear...

  Only half of these were completed, while the bottom two played the game Library Chicken November and especially December were probably two of my best reading months since the entire pandemic started! Why is this of note? Because I thought the lock down would mean so much more time and reading, it actually dramatically cut my attention span and I couldn't finish paragraphs, let alone books, without falling asleep or becoming distracted! I have lots of little books (under 300 pages) on this list that were certainly easier to get through than say, a 500 page tome, but every little bit helps, and I'm taking the win. I can't particularly remember which books were completed in November and which in December, so I'm plugging them in together, in no particular order.  All books with the (*) beside the author name can be found at the little bookshop I work at, Classical Education Books. It's a great way to support a local (BC) "mom and pop" shop that I love! 30...

One of my favorite spots to stop and take a picture in Ft. Langley: Brae Island on the right hand side I had every intention of getting all my titles together before the end of October and...here we are on November 10th. Ideally I'd love to catalog and share my two vacations from this prior year; our family one in Sooke, BC, and my girls' trip to Albuquerque I did in September. Here's hoping!  One thing I've noticed is that around the middle of summer, my book reading became 'easy' again. I had such high hopes when the lock down first started, but my attention span quickly grew frizzly within a month. My sleeping took a turn for the worst and anytime I sat down to read I just couldn't get anywhere with it. Apparently, it was a common thing with lots of book readers. The low-grade stress eked into my favorite hobby, and I wasn't pleased. Thankfully, my book reading seems to have really had a kick start these last few months, and I've been happy with ...

  Never the greatest light in the basement suite, but a good stack of books! March was an good reading month for me. I finished a lot of books, and I started a lot of books I'm still currently enjoying. Just this week I started a 400 page book that I have to lead a book club with on Friday evening, and I couldn't believe that just doing nothing in my free time except reading , I'll easily finish it. I've missed that-the full attention, relaxed-into-a-story feeling that I haven't felt during the last year. I was so optimistic! ( groan ) From the stack above, I'm still currently reading quite a few of them, so only two will be on March's completed list, but that's okay. I'm almost finished with one, and halfway through 3 others! Dusk, Night, Dawn by Anne Lamott - This is the newest Lamott book and every single word she publishes I read. I read her books for her candor, her wit, her judgy-ness (it's a thing), and her self-depreciating humor, but mo...

  Mt. Seymour looking fresh I don't have a book photo for you, as most of the books I finished were actually shown in January's post, but suffice it to say, it was a beautiful late Winter morning on the mountain a few weeks ago with this view. We'll be into ornamental cherry blossoms and daffodils soon enough, but I do love Winter and have enjoyed such an unusually sunny and enjoyable one on the ski hill! This month's reads are similar to last month's, in that there weren't very many as far as quantity, but the quality was excellent.  Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson - This was a book of YA poetry that I came across on a website (yikes, though I can't remember which one) and I instantly put it on hold at the library. History/memoir pairing with YA and poetry? Yes, please. It was right up my alley. I learned so much about George Washington Carver's life from this book, though I was aware in a general sense of what his most well-known achievement...

Showing a page from "The Little Book of Lykke" by Meik Wiking I feel behind in my reading. The libraries have recently reopened two weeks ago and I now have a stack of three books I can't wait to read, and yet, I'm struggling to read them. My brain won't sit still long enough to relax into a book. It has nervous energy and I'm finding sometimes reading feels like a chore. There is so much going on in the world and reading is my happy and relaxed place; somehow the firm boundaries of my mind have been disrupted and distressed to the point of just shoving away the comfort foods of words and paper and turning off the light instead.  This looks like a big list, but it is two months worth, and most of it was either already half-completed, or read aloud to my kids. I recently led our kids' co-op in an Upper Level Book Club (gr 5+) with two of these books, also helping my reading on track. I know I'm not behind in anything (in what?), but at this point in  y...