I opened a book...

"I opened a book and in I strode.

Now nobody can find me.

I've left my chair, my house, my road,

My town and my world behind me.

I'm wearing the cloak, I've slipped on the ring,

I've swallowed the magic potion.

I've fought with a dragon, dined with a king

And dived in a bottomless ocean.

I opened a book and made some friends.

I shared their tears and laughter

And followed their road with its bumps and bends

To the happily ever after.

I finished my book and out I came.

The cloak can no longer hide me.

My chair and my house are just the same,

But I have a book inside me."

 - Julia Donaldson

A good start to my reading list...

When I worked, I did my browsing for books at a local used book store. I loved owning my books, especially owning complete series of books from my favorite authors. But once I retired, I gradually got used to browsing for my reading material at our big county library system.

I especially enjoy the Choice Reads shelves just inside the front door of each branch. There you'll find books chosen by the staff, or brand new best sellers, or books that were highly regarded by critics. I always stop to browse when I come in to return books, and I always find something interesting to read.

I've been stocking up on books, hoping for cold winter weather to give me an excuse to stay indoors and read by the fire. Here are a few on my reading stool:

Bill Bryson | A Walk in the Woods (rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail)

Stephanie Barron | Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas (something like #12 in the series; I should really start at the beginning... but then again, I've got this one in hand)

Robert Wilson | You Will Never Find Me (a new author for me, with loads of promise)

Olen Steinhauer | All the Old Knives

Laura Lippman | Hush Hush (an old favorite author; I love her books)

Grey, with a chance of reading...

Another simple day, enjoying being at home after an autumn on the road. I'm still editing photos from that trip; there are so many more photographs I want to share. Today is grey and gloomy, not raining, but no break in the clouds in sight. A good day to finish Jeffrey Deaver's Roadside Crosses. And take notes from the stack of cabin and cottage books I'm reading, hoping to find the perfect inspiration for making our 1960s cabin more rustic (just as soon as we finish that bathroom).

What else was notable about today? New driving glasses, day 84 of a geocaching streak, and my favorite cabbage and Andouille sausage stir-fry for dinner.

I should be thinking about Christmas. But that stack of books is calling my name.

Good reads...

I crawled out of bed early this morning, made a cup of tea, and settled down to finish Molly Wizenberg's latest, called Delancey. I loved this book and didn't want it to end. She looks at the world with a writer's eye, and tells her life in a story most fiction writers would envy.

We met friends for dinner at the Issaquah Brewhouse, narrowly missed being conscripted as unwilling baby sitters for a big group who didn't want to keep an eye on their own kids. The staff nipped that in the bud by pulling a divider across, and sending the kids back to their parents' space. We had a good laugh over it, and settled down to enjoy ourselves.

The Old Library at Trinity College

This is the most beautiful library I've ever been in.

This is called the Long Room. It's two stories tall, and each alcove is lined with leather-bound books, and each has its own rolling ladder for reaching books on the upper shelves. The windows were open for light, protected with frosted film, and have folding shutters on either side so they can be closed off from the inside.

The end of each set of shelves holds the bust of notable people, such as Aristotle and John Milton and Isaac Newton. Many of the alcoves are hung with banners celebrating an author, or a genre such as Irish fairy tales.

I loved the spiral staircase.

I wanted to be in this room all by myself, to smell the leather and sit in the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I shared the room with about a hundred people, so I couldn't take the pictures I really wanted to take. Like a view looking down from the balcony at each end (we weren't allowed upstairs).

I did meet Michael, a long-time docent at the library. He was chatting with my husband, and I walked up and told him I couldn't think of any better job than his:  working in this amazing library.

You can see the library when you buy a ticket for the Book of Kells, but it was the library I especially wanted to see (I am an architect's daughter after all...  and a life-long book junkie). Don't get me wrong, the Book of Kells is beautiful. They put two pages on display at a time, but the museum exhibit displays reproductions of many of the pages, along with the history of the book. No photos are allowed, so I can only point you to the exhibit website if you'd like to take a look, and learn more about both the book and the Old Library.

On the reading stool in April

Research into various photography topics stacked the stool this month (and will spill over into May). The lunar eclipse fueled some of it; reading about photographing the night sky. Contemplating switching from PhotoShop Elements to Lightroom is also something I'm looking into. But mostly, the past couple of months I've been reading everything I can about landscape photography, which is my absolute favorite.

Non-Fiction

Sean Arbabi's The BetterPhoto Guide to Exposure
Harold Davis' Creative Night Photography
Lee Frost's Landscape Photography
Alan Hess' Night & Low Light Photo Workshop 
Rob Sheppard's Magic of Digital Landscape Photography
Peter Watson's Reading the Landscape
Art Wolfe's New Art of Photographing Nature
Jennifer Wu's Photography: Night Sky

Fiction

Anne Cleeves' Raven Black and White Nights

On the library stool in March

Not much reading got done this month, which wasn't a bad thing. For the first time ever, I didn't take a book on vacation, and I didn't miss it at all. When we got home, my free time was spent writing, journaling, and editing photos. That wasn't a bad thing, either.

I did finish one novel from the library, Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells (and reserved her second book), and a Lee Child that my sister found for me: A Wanted Man.

Mostly I browsed through a stack of photography technique books; they'll be in my April book list.

I did a second read through Gordon & Cathie Sullivan's Photographing Washington; thinking about a Washington road trip this year

Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty, a veggie cookbook recommended by my friend, Cathy. Yum.

The Big Island Revealed, research for vacation (Great book, btw)

On the library stool in February...

When I got my library card, that's when my life began.

- Rita Mae Brown

Barry Maitland is a new author to me, discovered when I found one of his books on our library's Choice Reads shelves. I loved it, so ordered up the first books in the series. May as well read them in order, even if I did jump the gun a bit with The Raven's Eye. Others read are The Marx Sisters, The Malcontenta, and Chalon Heads.

While I was at it, I also ordered two books from another favorite author, Chris Grabenstein.  This month it was Fun House, and The Mojito Coast.

And one more impulse grab from Choice Reads, Sarah Addison Allen's Lost Lake. Worried that this would turn out to be a fluffy romance novel (which I don't read), I actually loved it.

With some projects on the table and not much time to read, I did manage to take another read of Peter Watson's, Reading the landscape. I love the thoughts and suggestions for photographing landscapes (my first love).

Two cookbooks came home from the library this month. I chose Plenty More for the February IG cookbook group, and plan to try more recipes from it. I also got Baking with Julia Child. I wanted to bake bread, was ready to bake bread, but decided not just yet...  I did enjoy reading through the book, though.

On the library stool in January...

This year, I may just list the really great stuff I find at the library, the new writers, especially the ones who win "best new author" awards every year. While exploring the new, I've also been trying to catch up on my favorite authors... since retiring I've not been all that good at keeping up. Sigh... never enough time.

Sara J. Henry is a new author to me, and she is amazing. Learning to Swim is the first in a series, followed by A Cold and Lonely Place. I'm anxiously awaiting the third in the series.

I also finished Tom Clancy's Command Authority (I, for one, am hoping for a new Jack Ryan movie franchise, with Chris Pine). I also finished Patricia Cornwell's Dust (oh, boy... not worth the time), Matt Coyle's Yesterday's Echo, and Rachel Abbott's The Back Road. And I started Barry Maitland's The Raven's Eye (awesome so far).

On the non-fiction side, I devoured Julie Adair King's book on my camera, Nikon D5200 for Dummies... I loved it so much, I bought a copy. There are so many tips and tricks in this book, it's been a great learning tool. I also loved The Art of Simple Food, but returned the second book in the series. It will be a better read this summer, when all the produce stands are full of fresh fruits and veggies.

I'm still waiting for Plenty and Plenty More, books that my friend, Cathy, introduced me to. I'm looking forward to trying some of her favorite recipes.

Books for December

When the new Diana Gabaldon showed up, I dropped everything to read it. At 800+ pages and a long list of people who wanted it, I wouldn't be able to renew it.

Then back to Laura Lippmann:  After I'm Gone, Girl in the Green Raincoat, The Most Dangerous Thing, I'd Know You Anywhere

And a quick and fun book by Rosie Genova, Murder and Marinara

The beginning of the month, I picked up a few Photoshop Elements guides to go through. The end of the month, still haven't gotten through them. But there's always January.

814 pages later...

Holding this book nearly broke my wrist... but it was worth it in the end. Worth putting aside my quilt for five days, turning my back on laundry and the basement floors that need mopping. Worth ignoring the patio furniture that needs to be stored in the barn for the winter, and the pots that should go to the shed. Even worth putting off finishing up a few Christmas gifts.

The snow helped, as did the frigid temperatures that came along with it. Working outside was not remotely what I wanted to do. And the basement is cold, too.

So it wasn't at all hard to choose to read instead, snuggled down in my favorite chair by the wood stove, with my cat within reach.

That's what the short winter days are made for.

Books for October and November

Road trip over (where I didn't open my book once), family sent on their way home to Australia, the weather turned cold and icy, and nothing whatsoever on the calendar, November was a great month to catch up on my reading.

Elizabeth Joy Arnold | Book of Secrets
Jeffrey Deaver | The Skin Collector
Kathy Reichs | Bones of the Lost

Michael T. Harvey is a new author to me, but apparently not to everyone else... all the books were at the library  | The Chicago Way, We All Fall Down, The Third Rail, The Fifth Floor

I'd just started in on Book of Secrets when the new Diana Gabaldon arrived... oh, boy...

And just a few quilting books to browse:

Lisa Boyer | That Dorky Homemade Look
Carolyn Forster | Jelly Roll Scraps
Verna Mosquera | A Sewn Vintage Lifestyle
Sue Pfau | Quilts from Sweet Jane
Weeks Ringle | Transparency Quilts
Amy Smart | Fabulously Fast Quilts

Fall in the city...

It was clear and cold this morning... just a wee reminder that winter is right around the corner. We may not have snow like some western states, but I'm starting to feel the change. The trees feel it too... I picked apples on a warm and sunny afternoon just a few days ago, and today the leaves are turning yellow and starting to fall.

I finished reading The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James, another of her charming "what if" novels about one of my favorite authors. There are so many wonderful books about her and the books she wrote, but my favorite is still The Jane Austen Book Club. And the movie, of course! And did you know there's a national Jane Austen Society?

James and I took a ride to town this morning; it's time for her checkup, and she needed her shots so she can play with her new kittie cousins.

Tonight we dressed up and headed out to meet friends in the city, first for an educational single-malt tasting event by Glenlivet, followed by dinner. After a long week (for all of us), it felt good to relax and laugh with such good friends.

Books for a road trip

We had not planned to take a road trip this fall, not with an out-of-town wedding and our annual fall family fishing trip to our lake cabin. But we were both antsy to get out on the road and explore, and do some fly fishing along the way. So we took a look, and thought we could squeeze in a trip between the cabin weekend and the date in October when Natalie & Anton came back from Alaska.

So I finished the fiction, and reserved an armful of travel books from the library.

The fiction

Syrie James | The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen, Nocturne
Ellen Crosby | The Sauvignon Secret

Road trip research

Stewart Green | Scenic Routes and Byways Colorado
Chuck Robbins | On The Fly Guide To The Northern Rockies
Julie Fanselow | Idaho, Off the Beaten Path
John Gottberg | Idaho
Ken Retallic | Flyfisher's Guide to Idaho
Drea Knufken | Backroads and Byways of Colorado
Jancis Robinson | American Wine

Summer reading, part 2

My book stack from July spilled over into August, plus a few more. I got hooked on fiction again on our week-long camping trip to the ocean, so no non-fiction this month.

B.A. Shapiro | The Art Forger
Ridley Pearson | The Red Room
Ellen Crosby | The Riesling Retribution, The Chardonnay Charade, The Bordeaux Betrayal
David Morrell | Murder as a Fine Art
Matthew Dunn | Slingshot

Summer reading

Every year as a child, I took part in the library's summer reading program. Mom would take me and my sisters to the neighborhood library to sign up, and since reading was one of our favorite things to do, we often earned the top prize: reading 100 books before school started up in the fall.

When I was a child with no responsibilities, it was easy. Today, not so much. Even though I no longer work, my days are still filled with other activities:  keeping up with the garden, fly fishing, housekeeping, and our cabin. And there are wineries to visit, and road trips to plan, and time to devote to family and friends.

My reading time most of the year is dedicated to non-fiction. Photography, quilting, watercolor painting, and cooking have been common themes this year, and I've managed to squeeze in a few novels along the way. So it's nice to look at my current stack of books and see mostly fiction for a change. I snagged most of these from the Choice Reads shelves in my local library. Some are new authors to me; others are new books from comfortable, familiar authors.

I've finished three so far:

Neither Wolf Nor Dog is on loan from my brother-in-law, Bob. It's the perfect read after I've climbed into bed each night, something to ease the transition from a busy day.

Rage Against the Dying is the first novel by a new writer, and it went to the ocean with me last week. It's very good, and I loved her characters. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

The Road to Burgundy is autobiographical, about a San Francisco man who falls in love with the wines of Burgundy, decides to leave an unfulfilling career and learns how to make wine instead. I know what you're thinking... "yeah, another one of those tales." But this one may surprise you. It's not the best writing I've every read, but it's entertaining. And if you've ever tried to decipher the labels on French wines, the book will help you do just that. I read it in a few hours last week, sitting on the edge of the ocean.

Books for spring

I'm loving my new Trader Joe's cookbook, so I went looking for more and found Deanna Gunn's The Cooking with Trader Joe's Cookbook. And that led me to Sara Foster's Casual Cooking. My kind of cuisine. Easy, tasty, wonderful food.

I scored some felt remnants at a yard sale recently, and went looking for ideas of how to use it. And I was amazed at the range of books the KCLS has on using felt in projects (as well as how to turn wool into felt). So many cute ideas, from toys to pincushions. Kata Golda's Hand-Stitched Felt, Super-Cute Felt, and Fa-la-la-la-la Felt.

With the world springing into life all around me, my photography turns in that direction. I'm loving Clive Nichols' The Art of Flower & Garden Photography and Edward Parker's Photographing Trees. Gorgeous photographs, great ideas for improving mine.

Between pulling weeds and running around with my camera, I've found time for a few pieces of fiction. German writer Nele Neuhous' Snow White Must Die was pretty wonderful, and I look forward to her next book. Even better was Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. Next up are two by a favorite author, C.J. Box:  Breaking Point, and Stone Cold.

And finally, Simon Armitage's Walking Home: A Poet's Journey. I can hardly wait to read this book. It's a poet's tale of walking the backbone of England, 256 miles in 19 days.

January & February 2014 reads

My attention was divided this month:  books on quilting and sewing, and books on watercolor painting. I was happily reading away, when two days from the end of the month, four fiction novels from favorite authors arrived. I foresee some late evenings into February, reading them before I have to surrender them to the next person on the list.

So since my reading spanned two months, so will this list.

WATERCOLOR
I have books on watercolor painting all over the house, in the upstairs bathroom, on my nightstand, and leaning up against the stereo cabinet in the living room. These books are so beautiful and fun to read, and full of techniques to learn and practice. The goal of all this reading is to choose the couple that fit my style, and buy them. That may be harder than I think.

This is my short list:

David Bellamy | 
   Watercolour Landscape Course
   Skies, Light and Atmosphere in Watercolour
   Complete Guide to Watercolour Painting

I've read these books cover to cover several times, and love his style, his approach, his eye for a scene.

Richard Taylor | Watercolour Landscapes. Not an impressive book at first glance. It's not a big colorful hardcover book like most. It's the size of a large trade paperback. But open it up, and wow. Chock full of techniques and tips and ways to mix color and scenes to practice. Definitely a book to have; I could probably practice from just this book for months.

Terry Morrison | Complete Guide to Watercolour Landscapes. I mainly got this book for all the detailed lessons on creating different types of trees.

Al Stine | Watercolor Painting Smart. Full of drawing practice, how to look at a scene and decide what to paint and what to leave out.

Carl Purcell | Painting with Your Artist's Brain. A very cool book, learning to paint what you see, not what you think you see. Lots of interesting studies in seeing light and dark, shapes instead of specific objects, and using different techniques to interpret.

Sterling Edwards | Creating Luminous Watercolor Landscapes. Love his style, his approach to teaching others how to paint. There are lots of exercises for learning to paint everything from rocks to trees to old weathered buildings.


QUILTING
I'm searching for books on ways to use orphan quilt blocks. These are the blocks that didn't make it into a quilt, or ones I made to test out a pattern. I could just turn them into potholders or coasters, but is there a better use? I also have a lot of antique quilt blocks, purchased years ago on eBay when you could snatch them up for pennies. Those days are long gone. I've found a few ideas, but nothing great yet.

I'm also looking for books that show how to use fabric pre-cuts. Pioneered (I think) by Moda, pre-cuts are collections of fabrics that are cut into various sizes. Jelly rolls are 2.5-in. strips, one from each fabric in a collection. Layer cakes are sets of 10-in. squares, and charm packs are sets of 5-in. squares. They're beautiful, and a simple way to own a bit of each fabric in a collection.

This is my short list:
Kathy Brown | Strip-smart Quilts. This one I'll buy; it has beautiful quilt designs that use jelly roll bundles of fabrics.

Moda Bake Shop | Fresh Fabric Treats, and Sweet Celebrations. Two books from Moda, both have projects I'd love to make.

Camille Roskelley | Simply Retro. Her second book on using precut fabrics, and most of the projects strike my fancy. I may need to own this book!

Other sewing/quilting books
Connie Duran | Quilted Projects for a Country Christmas. Just thinking ahead...
Martha Stewart | Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts
Barri Sue Gaudet | Quilt a Gift. I've ordered this book. What can I say... everything in it is wonderful.

FICTION AND BIOGRAPHY
Ann and Nancy Wilson | Kicking and Dreaming

John Sandford | Storm Front

Joseph Finder | Paranoia. Book was great; reviews of the movie made from the book weren't so great. Maybe they should have stuck with the story line, and not gone off on a tangent? Just saying.

Preston & Child | White Fire

Michael Connelly | Gods of Guilt. The latest in the Lincoln Lawyer series; wonderful.


...

December reads

Photography

Derrick Story | Digital Photography Companion.  I've checked this book out before; will it give me new insight?

Michael Freeman | Perfect Exposure. I love this book, and may have to buy my own copy.

Michael Freeman | Complete Guide to Digital Photography. A complete guide to be sure, but as much about using a point-and-shoot camera as it is for the dSLR user.

Michael Freeman | The Photographer's Eye Field Guide. Looks like a good (and handy) guide. Plan on tucking reading glasses into your camera bag along with the book, though... even if you have a 20-year-old's eyes.

Ben Long | Complete Digital Photography. 

Tom Ang | Digital Photography Through the Year. This is a very cool book, which has detailed information for getting the best photographs during different seasons, when the light changes, the colors change, and you have to deal with exposure issues caused by snow. A very comprehensive and useful book.

Tom Ang | Digital Photography Masterclass. I'm on my second renewal of this book.

Elsie Larson | A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book. Fun to read, but not very applicable to my photography. I did like the instructions for making personal refrigerator magnets; I just might make some for Christmas gifts next year.

I haven't even started these: Brenda Tharp | Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, and
Bruce Bambaum | The Art of Photography

The novels

Julia Spencer-Fleming | Through the Evil Days
Dan Brown | Inferno
Janet Evanovich | Wicked Business
Dan Brown | The Lost Symbol

Anxiously awaiting

Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child | White Fire

Michael Connelly | The Gods of Guilt

John Sandford | Storm Front

Nelson DeMille | The Quest

Janet Evanovich | Takedown Twenty

November Reads

David DuChemin | Photographically Speaking: A Deeper Look At Creating Stronger Images. I loved this book for so many reasons. It's way beyond a technical book about exposure or aperture or shutter speed. It's much more about seeing through the lens, and it was a great read.

Bryan Peterson | I always enjoy reading (and re-reading) his books. This month I checked out two from the library: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera (a new title for me), and Understanding Shutter Speed: Creative Action and Low-Light Photography Beyond 1/125 Second.

Bread

Jeff Hertzberg | Artisan pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes A Day. I have his artisan bread book, and love it. We're not eating pizza these days, but flatbread? Absolutely!

Peter Reinhart | Artisan Breads Every Day.  Love the stepped approach to making sourdough starter, and keeping it healthy. Plus recipes for my favorite breads, including swirled rye. 

Writing

Natalie Goldberg | Writing Down the Bones. I read this book ages ago, when I'd been journaling for several years. When I set off to college for the second time and had finished my journalism and technical writing curriculum and had time for a few fun classes, I took a creative writing course. This book was one that my professor recommended. Twenty plus years later, it was fun to read it once again.

The novels

Lee Child | Never Go Back (Jack Reacher). The latest in the series, and one of my favorites. I just learned that every title has been optioned for a motion picture.

Sewing inspiration

Cynthia Treen | Last-Minute Fabric Gifts. I love reading through the newest books about sewing for the home and sewing accessories of all kinds; great inspiration for Christmas gifts.

Sarah Phillips | Quilt Block Leftovers. There are some really fun ideas in this book. It's easy to make up a few blocks just for small projects, if you don't have leftovers from quilting. Potholders, decorating an apron, pillows. And what about this clever idea: take a canvas shopping bag (like the ones Safeway used to sell), and use fabric to cover up the advertising.