What I Read 2024

 A new year, a new list!

*1. A Newbery Christmas This is a collection of 14 Christmas stories by Newbery winning authors.  It was a great read aloud with the kids over the Christmas season.

*2. Wagons West by Evelyn Sibley Lampman  An easy to read, delightful tale about Tabitha Brown.  She was a grandmother who went west to Oregon on the wagon train and had a bunch of great adventures along the way and after as she helped establish a school that later turned into a college. Her family thinks she is old and needs help, but she proves that age is mostly in your mind.

*3. The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien  I had heard of this book, but have never read it.  What a delightful collection of the letters that he (er, Father Christmas) wrote to Tolkien's children over the course of many years.  Some delightful drawings always accompanied them and many of those are reproduced in the copy I read.  Loved the imagination and how the story grew over the years--Santa has a lot of challenges with his assistant, Polar Bear and boy, do the goblins cause issues!

*4. Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly  A very quick little read about finding Holy Moments in our lives and how that can change not only our day, but also others. It is very focused on finding the little spaces, making them, expanding them--how the whole world would be better if we all just focused on creating a few Holy Moments each day.

*5.The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd by ABC Whipple  A Landmark that was reprinted by Purple House Press.  I like this one, as I didn't know much about Captain Kidd.  It was a quick read, focusing on his time when he was forced to hunt pirates and then was arrested, tried and hung for being a pirate.  Basically, he was totally set up by the same crew that mutinied and the syndicate that forced him to go hunt pirates. Not quite the bad boy that he is often thought of as!

*6.The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle  This was on a lot of "best books" lists, which was interesting.  I liked it, but so much seemed so obvious that it wasn't a great favorite.  A girl and bloke are not the right fit, she's put everything on hold when mom got sick, wallowing in a yuck job, stuck with rich, but not right guy--mom recovers, but then dies unexpectedly.  A year later she and guy are going to sell their places and buy a home and she doesn't know what to do with an old set of encyclopedias that she can't let go, but can't find a place for. Enter the Museum of Ordinary People--she's always wanted to be a curator and takes all these discarded treasurers and makes them a museum.  Falls in love with the guy who inherited the building unexpectedly, they have everything blow up and get solved in about a 3 day period and it ends pretty happy.

*7. Murder at Morrington Hall by Clara McKenna A murder mystery set in England when a rich American comes to get his daughter a title in return for a huge amount of cash for the English.  Kentucky, thoroughbreds, lack of money and more are a part of it. Of course the couple falls in love and solves all the crimes.  

*8. Trail Blazer of the Seas by Jean Lee Latham A reprint of the biography of Matthew Fontaine Maury, who is considered the father of modern oceanography.  He is the one who figured out the fastest routes in the ocean, helped do soundings to lay the trans Atlantic cable, pushed for a  Naval Academy and established lanes to prevent ship collisions.  Quite a man, with a loving wife by his side. A good mid grade bio of him, especially for kids who are into oceans or science or people who overcome obstacles through hard work and perseverance.

*9. Ostriches by Herbert Zim  A very quick little read about Ostriches and other flightless birds. Elementary level with more evolution type talk than I expected.  Overall a good little living book about some of the unique birds in our world.

**10. Little Britches by Ralph Moody  I didn't listen when Mike read this one to the kids, but am I loving the series now. Mr. Moody's story of his childhood.  Book one is the time on their ranch in Colorado, making a go of it, him becoming quite a horseman and his father's death.  So many great lessons and just all around wholesome, character building type reading. Still can't believe he was 8-11 in this book--the things he did!

**11. Man of the Family by Ralph Moody  Another good one.  We see Ralph and family work so hard to keep themselves fed after they move to town.  A cooking route, collecting coal, picking up rail road ties, rabbits and so much more.  The ending is quite a cliff hanger as they have to leave town quickly in order to avoid Mama testifying against someone she thought was already dead, but was definitely insane when he committed the crime.

12. Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard An interesting look at her life, and how happy they really well, even as her brother was abusive and her father controlled everything.  It is shocking that Derick was able to marry into the family and not push back against the extreme control and demands on them for the shows.  They have started to walk their own path and did finally get a little money, but it is shocking how naive they both were in some ways and how accepted it was that they would do whatever they had to and never be paid.

**13. Mary Emma & Company by Ralph Moody  Another wonderful one!  This one has them in the city, living first with an aunt and uncle, but after that making their own way.  The ladies take in laundry, Ralph is a delivery boy for a store.  Lots of adventures and "make do" attitude.  Another winner.

**14. The Home Ranch by Ralph Moody  This is a return to his time in Colorado working with the horses, winning prize money in match races, and all kinds of other things they do to make ends meet.  Like Man of the Family--extended version.

*15. The Fields of Home by Ralph Moody (#5) This one didn't capture me the same way until towards the end.  Ralph goes to his grandfather's, who we learn is a VERY cantankerous man.  There is a live in housekeeper, who works like a farm hand and his uncle features pretty heavily in this one too.  The end is wonderful, grandfather grows in so many ways, and Ralph at 14 starts to fall in love with the neighbor girl.  The farm he is working is the one in Maine that is privately owned and you can still see the rock piles on the satellite views.  We didn't try to see this on our trip.

*16. The Woman in Me by Brittany Spears  I'm not sure if this book deserves a star or not.  It is her story--but it is definitely written in a choppy fashion, which makes me think she actually did write it.  She has been up and down an awful lot, but how her family treated her is crazy terrible!

17. Modern Freezer Meals by Ali Rosen  A super quick flip through. Nothing that looked usable or interesting for our family.  Some very unique spins on freezer cooking for sure!

18. Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen  A romance novel by cookbook author Ali Rosen. Fast read, lots of great food and beautiful Italian countryside, 9 year time gap that jumps back and forth, 4 girls who are the best loves and supports a friend could ever want, steamy boy, girl who is anxiety filled and hurt by her sister's destroyed young love marriage, very predictable, heavy on the lust, not worth another read. 

*19. Murder at Blackwater Bend by Clara McKenna  This is a Stella and Lyndy Mystery, this one when they are engaged and find yet another dead body. This set of mysteries involves fossil hunting, land rights, blackmail, and 2 deaths--one that causes Lyndy's mother to become quite determined to marry him off to the widow (who is in favor of that too) within a few hours of the first death--but "The American" has his heart and Stella's plucky nature helps solve the crimes yet again.

* (*)20. The Year of Small Things by Sarah Arthur and Erin Wasinger  Two women and their families join in a covenantial friendship to live Christ radically. They focus on one aspect of the new monasticism each month, but changed a bit to fit a suburban family. Lots of great stuff in the book and ironically, mostly based on the rules and histories of Catholic monasteries. Very little nod to that, much nod to downward mobility in order to help the poor.  Found lots of good quotes, lots of practical ways of loving my neighbor, lots of things that didn't sit easily with me (they would say that is the point.)  Definitely worth reading again.

*21. Murder at Keyhaven Castle by Clara McKenna The second in the series, shortly before the wedding.  Stella's father is one of the victims this time and we learn the secret about her mother's death (or not), meet other relatives, and see that Lyndy's family really has come to love Stella, even if it takes her death (or not) to make his mother show that she cares.

*22. Murder at the Majestic Hotel by Clara McKenna  Lyndy and Stella are on their honeymoon in York, but between their sight seeing you know they are going to find dead  bodies.  This one starts to involve them in some significant scrapes--including a close escape when someone tries to blow up the princesses at an event.  A beautiful Cathedral and more horses feature in this one.

*23. Murder on Mistletoe Lane  They are settled in as newlyweds and are celebrating their first Christmas with the family when things start getting odd and (of course) there are dead bodies, including the housekeeper.  This one involves the cars a bit, the ponies--including a point to point race that Stella takes part in and loses when she finds a particularly gruesome death of a very accomplished rider, a stalker for Stella (which involves another very close escape of her own death) and stress about producing an heir, wrapped up with an affair for Lyndy's mom (year's ago) and an engagement for his sister.  The last of the ones published so far, so grateful I can move on!

**24. Sweep The story of a girl and her monster by Jonathan Auxier A fast, middle grade novel that was a better book than I expected, even though it had been recommended.  Raised by Sweep, *** is a girl chimney sweep, and we learn some of the hardships of the work in London.  Terrible conditions aside, she is left with a small clump of soot, which becomes Charlie--her very own monster---as he saves her from a fire set by another sweep to get her unstuck.  There is loyalty, sacrifice, death, and more in this heroic story.

*25. The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton A fun elem/middle school novel with some good hand drawn artwork throughout.  A plucky young heroine, a lot of fun word play, crazy characters, an island, a 12 year old king, a sleeping giant and more. Some good moments, poetry, and lessons wrapped up in a quirky, funny, zany novel.

**26. Watch With Me by Wendell Berry  Six short stories and one longer one that are connected by the main characters, Tol and (eventually) his wife Minnie.  The short stories come first and are a delightful picture of two people unexpectedly finding each other and vignettes from their long and happy union.  Lots of sadness and struggles are presented, but in such a feeling way through the lens of their love and companionship.  The Watch With Me story is longer and, in many ways, harder because it focuses on Tol and other men in their day of following a neighbor who has mentally disconnected and is in danger of killing himself.  I think this is the first Wendell Berry book I've read, but it won't be the last.

**27. The World According to Narnia by Jonathan Rogers  By the author of the Wilderking books, a well written, researched look into Narnia and how the Christian meaning book by book.  He presents a lot of Lewis's own writings and digs into the books, making arguments for their larger Christian connections.  A good example for kids to see what an argument type paper is--could be done with just a chapter after reading the specific book it goes with.  Reading this brings out feelings of wanting to read the whole Narnia series! A very good thing.

*28. Heart of the Samurai by Margi Preus  An easy to read, based on the true story of Majiro, the first person of Japanese descent that came to the United States. While out fishing they are pushed out and picked up by a whaling vessel. He decides to go with the captain back to the United States during this time when Japan was totally closed to outside visitors and no one who left could return.  Short story: He does get to return and eventually helps translate when Perry comes to Japan, opening the country.  Good read, cover will appeal to kids, some good back matter.

*29. The Whalebone Theater by Joanna Quinn Such an interesting book--in some ways I loved it and in some ways it was slow moving and I kept waiting for it to get the point. Cristabel is a girl who ends up being raised by her step mother, as her mother died when she was born and her father remarried and then also died after her half sister was born. She is mostly ferral and when her cousin (Dad's brother married step mom) is born she and her sister formed a group that seems somewhat outside the adult world.  They claimed a beached whale, using the bones to make a theater with some of the artists that attended step mom's wild parties.  Eventually the kids grow up and we see them getting involved with WWII, including Crista and Digby being secret agents.  I cried at one part and enjoyed it overall, but still not all that I thought it would be, I guess.

*30.Shaking the Nickle Bush by Ralph Moody The next in the Little Britches series--finally!  Ralph is told he is diabetic and needs to get out west, get as much sunshine on his body as he can, and eat a very specific diet.  He heads out to do so, finds it almost impossible to get a job moving cattle, becomes an artist of the Southwest and ends up making a huge amount of money, and then losing it to his partner who is has already carried by purchasing an automobile, all the food, full cowboy kits (they don't ever use), and paying him on top of it.  Thankfully, he'd sent back over $500 to his family and was still alive 8 months later, after being told he had about 6 months to live.

 **31. The Dry Divide by Ralph Moody (#7) This one, with Nickle Bush and Horse of a Different Color were considered their own series (maybe even including #5).  These are focused on his different times in his young adult life, this one focused on him becoming a cattle seller/hauler and a wheat hauler. I found it fascinating to see how he could support his local community while also making a good living--he wasn't afraid to take on a challenge, get the bank to help him, and yet avoid partnerships that would potentially be terrible. He obviously loved people and didn't give up when broke, even as he'd work his guts out to take on a new challenge and make money.

**32. Horse of a Different Color by Ralph Moody.  The last one, when he continues shipping cattle, but then takes on a bid to provide meat to the railroad crew there to rebuild everything after a massive flood.  His ingenuity, the people who help him, the way he supports people, but also avoids mixing business and friendship---all pretty awesome.  Ends with him heading off to get married.  It is too bad he didn't keep writing, he's got the gift!

*33. Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery Continuing to read through some series and this is one I've never read. Emily is orphaned and her mother's family draws straws to take her in. As expected she charms them, even the ones who don't let her know they feel that way. She's almost fairy like, writes poetry, writes to her father in journal entries so we can see what she is thinking, and pulls a community around her through her childhood foibles.

**34. O Rugged Land of Gold by Martha Martin  THIS IS A TRUE STORY!  I seriously cannot believe that--I thought it was seriously well written fiction.  A woman ends up by herself after her husband and his prospecting partner are both gone and her son is back to school.  She is pregnant and stranded with no hope of escape until spring--in Alaska. She is severely injured in a landslide and her recover, survival, and delivery of her daughter--along with her two attempts to try to get off the point, are just amazing to read. An unexpected gem, especially for women, found on my shelves.

*35. Sun Slower, Sun Faster and Meriol Trevor  A reprint by Bethlehem Books of a historical fiction.  A pair of children (a lot of confusion for me about who they were in relation to the different people and tutors), who are able to jump back in time. It centers around an Angus Dei and is definitely a way to show them the faith of their family going back centuries in Britain/Briton.  So many interesting adventures in the past, starting closer and moving farther and farther back.  Lots of examples of persecution and ability to see how an abbey and the town of Bath changes over time. An interesting Catholic book, glad we read it during lent.

*36. Emily Climbs by LM Montgomery  Emily is getting older and gets to go to high school in this book. This means she spends time with Aunt Ruth and we see her work her relationship magic again.  More scrapes, more writing, more clarity on the three men who she is close to--Perry, Teddy, and Dean. Her cousin finally proposes and she turns him down, Perry does too and she laughs it off with him.  She wants Teddy and Dean obviously wants her, so we'll see how that wraps up in the last one.

*37.The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan  A memoir of the author's mother who raised 10 kids with her alcoholic husband.  While he was drinking away a whole lot of his wages she was a contest entering, jingle, limerick, tagline writing machine who won enough to put a down payment on a house, save it from a second mortgage, provide Christmas, and generally keep things going.  The bigger lesson was her strong will and joyfilled spirit that she passed on to her kids. Things were never easy in their family, but she kept them going and taught them a lot about never giving up and keeping your attitude right, working hard at what you love, and chasing your dreams.  It started a bit slow for me, but it was an interesting story!

*38. Emily's Quest by LM Montgomery  The last in the Emily series. We see her, Teddy, Ilse, and Perry living their young 20s lives.  Dean becomes a big part of Emily's life as she returns to New Moon and they make plans to marry, fixing up the Disappointed House to be their home.  Of course things get turned into a tizzy when she cannot marry him, even as she believes Teddy will never love her.  There are lots of love triangles. Teddy and Ilse getting together? Ilse loving Perry, but never telling him. Perry continuing to propose to Emily. Emily loving Teddy, but not telling him. And we find out later, Teddy loving Emily, but because of his mother not sending a letter, believing Emily will never love him. In the end it all works out, but it takes until the VERY end and there are multiple close calls. Emily also climbs her Alpine Hill as an author. I found each of these books to take a bit to get into, but I became more invested as the stories went on. Enjoyed them!

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