Reviewing My Reading Year

I had no idea when I began blogging the influence it would have on my reading. Book bloggers extended the boundaries of my reading world in a way I didn't know possible and challenges taught me to manage my reading time in order to get the most out of it. It has just been a phenomenal reading year...one unmatched by any in the past and the one that will be difficult to beat in the future.

Although a couple of George Orwell's essays tried to knock it out of place, my favorite essay of the year (and so far of all time) was a rereading of Anna Quindlen's Good Dog. Stay. Picking one favorite short story for the year was impossible and so Edith Wharton's Roman Fever, Elizabeth Enright's I Pine for Thee, and Bernard Malamud's The First Seven Years share the number one spot for my affection.

Out of 119 books read this year, four I regret reading. All the rest I liked or loved or learned I will not be able to live without rereading over and over again (which must go beyond love but not sure what the word would be for that). Honorable mentions include The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Juniper Tree and Other Tales by the brother Grimm, The Magic Barrel by Bernard Malamud, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins, Over the Gate by Miss Read, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, and Ring for Jeeves by Wodehouse.

My top ten reads of 2009 are:
10. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
9. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
8. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Moscow by Paul Gallico
7. Miss Clare Remembers by Miss Read
6. Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
5. In-N-Out by Stacy Perman
4. Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill
3. Village School by Miss Read
2. Old Books, Rare Friends by Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern
1. The Christmas Mouse by Miss Read

Persephone Secret Santas Revealed

Here it is...the 15th. How quickly it came and thank goodness because I don't know about all the other secret santas out there but I have been so excited to share what I have received and to give a proper thank you...not only to my Secret Santa but to everyone who participated in spreading the Persephone cheer. You all have been wonderful and I no longer wish you a grey Christmas but a very merry one as well as many blessings in the new year.

Here are all the Secret Santas:

Ana @ things mean a lot
Astrid (Mrs. B) @ The Literary Stew
Claire @ kiss a cloud
Claire @ Paperback Reader
Danielle @ Leaning Toward the Sun
Frances @ Nonsuch Book
Jodie @ Book Gazing
Karen @ BookBath
Marie @ Boston Bibliophile
Meredith @ dolce bellezza
Miranda @ skirmishofwit
Nadia @ A Bookish Way of Life
Nat @ In Spring it is the Dawn
Sarah @ what we have here is a failure to communicate
Simon @ Stuck In A Book
Sophie @ An Embarrassment of Frivolities
Stacy @ Book Psmith
Thomas @ My Porch

Please leave a comment or email me the link to your post and I will put it up here as soon as possible. I hope you will all have a chance to explore these wonderful blogs beyond the Persephone post and get to know one another if you don't already.

I have to say it one more time...thank you!

(If you have not received your parcel yet, please do email me so we can try to iron out any issues that may have arisen with shipping.)

Something from a Distance - Persephone Secret Santa

Can you guess from the post title which Persephone I received? It is a play on the book as well as on the location of my Secret Santa. My new Persephone is Someone At a Distance from Dorothy Whipple and it made it's way all the way from Portugal...care of Ana, also known as Nymeth, of things mean a lot.

I can't say thank you enough to Nymeth for choosing this Persephone. I have been reading a lot about Whipple at some of my favorite blogs and each time a review popped up I kept wishing I had one of her books on my shelves. Now I do and I so look forward to reading Someone At a Distance right after the new year...maybe earlier.


More meaningful than the book was the extra goodies she included...a beautiful homemade bookmark (these mean so much to me), a little something for my not-so-little sweet tooth and a recipe for Formigos, a yummy Porteguese Christmas tradition. I made the formigos on Sunday and they turned out to be the perfect hearty and warming morsel for the dreary day we had weather-wise. The dish was a hit with the whole family, and with Nymeth's permission to reprint the recipe, I hope it may be with your's as well.

Ingredients (For about 6 servings):
300 gr of sugar
750 ml (around 3 cups) of milk
1 cinnamon stick
ground cinnamon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 spoonfuls of honey
1 spoonful of butter
3 egg yolks
a medium-sized loaf of bread

1. Boil the milk, the lemon zest, the honey and the cinnamon stick for about 10 minutes. 2. Break the bread into small pieces and add them to the mix, along with the butter and the sugar. 3. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring with a large wooden spoon. You have to make sure the bread is dissolving and the mixture is becoming uniform. 4. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. 5. Add the three egg yolks, stir, and return to low heat for another 2 or 3 minutes. 6. Pour into a dish or bowl and decorate with ground cinnamon.

Thank you, Ana, for the wonderful gifts and helping to make my Christmas that much more special. When I read this book and each time I use your bookmark, I will think of you fondly.

You've Got Mail Reading Challenge

It would have been more obvious for my first reading challenge to be Wodehouse but I am hosting a reading challenge to celebrate my favorite movie, You've Got Mail. There are two parts to the challenge: reading authors highlighted in the film and bi-weekly events such as memes, quizzes and giveaways. Please visit the dedicated blog for all the details and I hope you will join in the fun.

Curioser and Curioser

All my grand Christmas reading plans by the wayside, I am going from one Miss Read to the next. I can't help myself...she seems to be all that I am in the mood for. Yesterday I finished Storm in the Village and now my biggest dilemma on the reading horizon is whether to see what happens to Miss Clare in Miss Clare Remembers or should I stop delaying gratification and pick up No Holly for Miss Quinn. I have a feeling I will know exactly which one once I step up to the bookcase to shelf Storm in the Village.

I am coming up on the one year mark for Book Psmith and my thoughts have been turning to the second year. My reading and blogging will both be moving toward a leisurely pace as I look forward to taking my reading to another, deeper level. Last year with all the joining of challenges, I was reading and taking notes but not really allowing myself to experience the books to the degree that I wished...for I always had an eye toward time. I am so thankful for those challenges for they gave me some direction when I first started blogging but now I am ready to go in the direction that was my original intent which was more of a journalling approach toward my reading rather than proper book reviewing. A lot of thoughts and impressions will end up in my personal records and mostly what will make it to the blog are bits and pieces that made me think and want to seek out the opinions of others, books that I want to gush about or rail against, and other points of a more general bookish nature.

And in that vein comes the curiosity part that I alluded to in the title. Curioser number one: After finding a Folio Society edition of Wodehouse's short stories, I have been debating whether or not to join. The books are absolutely gorgeous (an example is this edition of Exellent Women I have been coveting) and a real joy to read and one of the joining offers I am having a difficult time ignoring (a breathtaking two sets of Beatrix Potter's complete
tales) but oh the cost...anywhere from $39 to $59 for the average book (I am completely flabbergasted by the editions that reach the astronomical price of hundreds of dollars) with a joining commitment to buy four. For the time being, I am saying no due largely to the used editions I have been finding for sale through the internet for a fraction of the price. But I am curious to know if anyone out there has had or currently does hold a membership and what your experience has been.

Curioser number two arises from an incident in Storm in the Village that got me thinking about setting out reads for overnight guests..."I had put out a vase of my choicest roses on the bedside table, and spent some time in deciding on a variety of books. After much thought I had selected Country Things by Alison Utley, The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield, Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne, an anthology of modern verse, and one of Basil Bradley's novels bearing a reclining Regency beauty on its dust jacket." I have never thought of setting out specific reads for guests. My shelves are open to their perusal and they are free to read anything that may take their fancy but as a general rule if the guest is a reader they have already seen to their own books whilst packing and if they are non-readers are more likely to watch television than pick up any volume I might suggest. Still I thought it a lovely gesture and winced when Miss Read's guest dismissed the books as 'juvenilia' and went on to outline her boring and self-pitying bedtime routine. So I am curious to know if bookloving hosts put thought and time into setting out a few beloved tomes for the enjoyment of their guests.

p.s. My youngest and I just spent the last fifteen minutes running from windows to doors to see the falling snow...which has decided it...No Holly for Miss Quinn is next!

A Christmas Game of Tag

I was tagged by skirmishofwit to list seven loves and with it being the first of December I thought I would make my list Christmas themed.


Ornaments - My mother began collecting ornaments for my sister and I when we were kids and by the time my husband and I were making our own home I had enough ornaments to decorate the tree twice over. She has continued the tradition to this day and extended the gift to her granddaughters. Adventures of a Book Lover (pictured) is one of my favorites but each and every one makes me smile and I love the moment we all step back from the tree and declare it wondrous.


Books - This year as I unpacked the Christmas books for my youngest I said no more...I was disappointed to find doubles and knew it was a sign that for this age range there are more than enough. If I were to check the upstairs bookcases I would find more than enough for the next age range as well and in any case should wait until that age where she asserts her own tastes in holiday reading as my oldest has done.


Movies - These are just some of the Christmas movies we watch each and every year...and some of them over and over during the month. At some point, I stop counting our views of Charlie Brown. Christmas Vacation and White Christmas are watched as well as put on for background noise. And then there are the new favorites that seem to come far and few in between...elf and The Family Stone.




Music - I was so relieved to find one of those 24/7 Christmas music stations. In California, it was always KOST that was put on all hours of the day in practically every room and I was worried that there wouldn't be an equivalent in Pennsylvania but I am starting to think they must be in each and every major radio market. How is it that I can listen to the same songs year after year and never tire of hearing them them yet again?

Countdown - Is it possible to have too many countdown/advent calendars? I mean you really only need one but where is the fun in that? The chocolate countdown calendars were my favorite growing up and we continue the tradition today with our kids. As I see more and more retailers carrying these I have a feeling I will be gifting them to grandchildren as well (or so I hope).


The Christmas Mouse - This is a new love and one that I have a feeling I will be indulging in every year.





And last but not least...food...all those favorite foods that make an appearance once a year: my mom's yummy cookies (I am putting in an early request for extra seven layer bars), cold cuts and fresh bread and pastries from Alpine Market, homemade cinnamon rolls, Christmas morning pancakes, gingerbread lattes, peppermint hot chocolates, and egg nog.

You're it! Consider yourself tagged if you want to play along.