Tim and Jen Live Here

Christmas may have been a while ago, but it’s definitely still winter here, so I thought I’d share a few pictures I took over Christmas. A few of them you can click to see larger.

Tonight I begin an eight week Citizens’ Academy with our local ambulance service, so I hope to have something interesting to report soon.

Snow falling into a small stream connecting two lakes. This was a gorgeous day for a walk in the woods near my house.

Also in those same woods:

Ornamental grasses in my back yard. Not much is of interest back there this time of year, but these will be beautiful right up until things start blooming in spring.

I took quite a few photos during family Christmas celebrations. Not too many turned out great, but I love these two:

My nephew, Owen, almost 7.

Tim’s cousin’s son, Brady, 20 months.

And finally, Tabby. “No, mom. I wasn’t eating your flower arrangement. Why do you ask?”

Just one goal this year. I’d like to read a few classics. My definition of classic is pretty loose – I’m just looking for books that have stood the test of time. I perused lists of classics compiled by others and chose 25 that I think sound interesting and that I haven’t yet read. They span quite a long time and include books for both children and adults.

If you’ve got favorite classics that aren’t on my list (or that are on my list and that I should read first) I’d love to hear them. There’s always next year.

I summarized the first half of 2009 here, but I thought a full year tabulation sounded like fun, so here goes:

• Books Read – 67
• Books Listened – 69
• Books Not Finished – 3

Highlights from the second half of 2009 that I haven’t already covered in the New Author Challenge posts include:

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella – I gave up on her Shopaholic books after the first few books because I just couldn’t handle Becky’s whiny irresponsibility, but I’ve liked Kinsella’s stand-alones quite a bit. This one was as fun as all the others, and I loved hearing about such a fun era.

The Last Detective by Robert Crais – I’ve enjoyed all the books in the Elvis Cole series as well as two stand-alone novels, but this one was the best so far. Forgotten Man is up soon in my to-listen queue, and I can’t wait to get back to my favorite smart-ass detective.

Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins – I think I still have one more of her books to enjoy so I hope the new one comes out soon, but really, it’s hard to beat a romantic comedy with dogs and families at the core.

Stand By Your Hitman by Leslie Langtry – I loved all four Bombay family books, but this may be one of the funniest books I have ever read.

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton – The best Kinsey Millhone book in quite a while. This one grabbed my heart strings and nearly made me cry!

2009 was also filled with lots of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Suzanne Brockmann, and Anne Stuart. Hard to complain about that mix.

I’m afraid I give up on discussing each new author I read this year. I made it through number 35, and the rest I’ll cover briefly here before moving on to 2010’s challenges. On the plus side, I did meet my goal of reading fifty new-to-me authors last year.

Summary of authors numbered 36 through 50:

• Johanna Lindsey – I read Hearts Aflame. I’d never before read a book set in the time of Vikings, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
• Karen E. Olson – The Missing Ink – A Tattoo Shop Mystery was a fun mystery set in Las Vegas. There were a couple details about it that pulled me out of the story, but I still enjoyed it and I’ll look for Pretty in Ink when it’s released in March.
• Linda Howard – I read Mr. Perfect and found out after the fact that opinions are pretty divided on this book. I was in the camp that didn’t love it – I thought the main characters’ response to the main mystery was just unbelievable and couldn’t get into their world. But, I liked the writing enough to definitely try more of her books.
• Louisa Edwards – I loved Can’t Stand The Heat and am anxiously awaiting the sequel. Food and romance naturally go together in my mind, and this book delivered on both fronts.
• Vicki Pettersson – Scent of Shadows is the first book in the Sign of the Zodiac series. I’ve got the next two in my TBR pile. They’re dark urban fantasy, and this book totally sucked me in.
• Loretta Chase – Lord of Scoundrels has made so many “best of” lists that I finally had to read it, and I’m glad I did. I loved this book and will find everything else by Loretta Chase ASAP.
• Diana Gabaldon – I finally read Outlander and loved it. But these books are LONG. It’s probably going to take me a while to get through the series, but I’ll be reading book two soon.
• Barry Eisler – I read and loved Fault Line – a stand-alone novel and have just started reading Rain Fall, the first in his John Rain series. Great books!
• Marilyn Brant – Another author that I discovered because of the wonderful Pamela Cayne. Marilyn’s According to Jane is a wonderfully fun read, especially for anyone who loves Jane Austen’s books.
• Victoria Dahl – I can’t believe I didn’t read Talk Me Down sooner. It sat on my bookshelf for most of 2009, but I finally read it in November. This is one awesome book! I followed it up with her e-novella The Wicked West written by the main character of Talk Me Down. Now I’m reading and loving Start Me Up so I can hurry on to the copy of Lead Me On that I won recently. Then it’s on to Ms. Dahl’s historicals!
• Chuck Palahniuk – I read and didn’t care for Haunted, but a friend encouraged me to try something else by him, and I’m glad I did. Lullaby was creepy and weird, but also really, really good. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of Palahniuk’s backlist.
• Harry Dolan – He’s an Ann Arbor author who wrote a mystery set in Ann Arbor. Bad Things Happen is definitely a fun book, made extra fun because it stars my home town. It’s also set in the world of literary publishing, which isn’t something you get to read about often in fiction.
• Laurie Halse Anderson – I think I read Speak because Collen Lindsay mentioned her books on twitter. However I came to read it, I’m glad I did. It was an excellent YA book.
• Audrey Niffeneger – I finally read The Time Traveler’s Wife because I didn’t want to see the movie without having first read the book. This is an amazing book, and I’m really looking forward to the movie even though I’ve heard it doesn’t come close to doing the book justice.
• Roxanne St. Claire – I’ve also finally gotten around to reading the first book in the Bullet Catchers series, Kill Me Twice. I loved this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

My final list of authors read during my 2009 New Author Challenge:

1. Susan Isaacs
2. Barbara Kingsolver
3. Jonathan Kellerman
4. Tony Hillerman
5. Jayne Ann Krentz
6. Marie Phillips
7. Katherine Neville
8. Jill Shalvis
9. Gail Parent
10. Jess Riley
11. Terry Pratchett
12. Stephanie Rowe
13. Megan Hart
14. Gayle Forman
15. Michael Black
16. Ariana Franklin
17. Scott Smith
18. Lilli Feisty
19. Suzanne Enoch
20. David Baldacci
21. S.E. Hinton
22. Garth Stein
23. Thomas Perry
24. Erin McCarthy
25. Anne George
26. Heidi Betts
27. Lee Child
28. Deidre Knight
29. Barbara O’Neal
30. Jeffrey Siger
31. Lois Lowry
32. Libba Bray
33. Andrew Grant
34. China Mieville
35. David Guterson
36. Johanna Lindsey
37. Karen E. Olson
38. Linda Howard
39. Louisa Edwards
40. Vicki Pettersson
41. Loretta Chase
42. Diana Gabaldon
43. Barry Eisler
44. Marilyn Brant
45. Victoria Dahl
46. Chuck Palahniuk
47. Harry Dolan
48. Laurie Halse Anderson
49. Audrey Niffeneger
50. Roxanne St. Claire

I didn’t do such a hot job keeping up with my thoughts on each of these new authors as I read them this year, so I think it’s time to sum up. In this post I’ll cover authors numbered 32 through 35.