2015 in Books

2015 steadily snowballed into one of the best years of my life, only to fall off a cliff and splatterly combust as it neared the end. How grateful I am that my overall life has been relatively tragedy- and concern-free. Here's to 2016 getting back on the chill and cheerful track :)

This year's reading served as a rejuvenation from academic rigor, using the 391 days since I defended my thesis and graduated with my masters to again become comfortable (and guilt-free) picking up a YA novel or other book devoted to entertainment, with a smattering of classics and new treasures. I, along with others (Biz!), continue to be inspired by my friend Madison's biblophilic passion--thus my second yearly book review:


The Scorpio Races--Maggie Stiefvater
   Exciting mixture of the horse world (my girlhood was filled with daydreams brought on by too much of The Black Stallion and Maurgerite Henry) and mythological creatures. A fun read, but the female protagonist left much to be desired. I preferred the story and character of the male protagonist. 

The Evolution Of Thomas Hall--Keith Merrill
  Refreshing to read a Mormon author's novel that wasn't about a single's ward, the Mormon church, or a spy-and-lover turned LDS (or other such plots). Predictable, but nice.

Princess Academy--Shannon Hale

*Dealing With Dragons--Patricia C. Wrede
   A childhood favorite. Listened to the audiobook and had my 3-year-old daughter ask to hear more of the "dragon story."

Searching For Dragons--Patricia C. Wrede

The Picture of Dorian Gray--Oscar Wilde
  Reread. Now wanting to read more Wilde

Goose Girl--Shannon Hale

Enna Burning--Shannon Hale

Walden--Henry David Thoreau
   Ugh. Been meaning to read this most of my life. It took me most of the year to stagger through this. Thoreau's attitude was a little bit too demeaning of everyone not trying his enlightened experiment (in his defense, this was my first full ebook I started on my phone). I couldn't find the magic. My later experience with Annie Dillard gave me all the ecstasy and wonder I expected of Walden--and more. 

All The Light We Cannot See--Anthony Doerr
  So much wonderful. But has no need of yet another recommendation from me--just listen to all the other people who are telling you to read it and then we can chat about why it is a keeper.

Wildwood Dancing--Juliet Marillier
  I love fairy tale retellings. This one drew me in, and left me with a "real-life" fairy tale ending, with real endings and last-times and goodbyes that make my heart ache but make the story believable (like the moment Aslan tells the children they can no longer return to Narnia--they've outgrown the journey). 

Ella Enchanted--Gail Carson Levine
  Classic, and reread too many times to count. I would argue that this is Levine's only truly satisfying book. I keep trying her other novels and she seems to lose dimension in the endings.

North and South--Elizabeth Gaskell
  A beautiful character, and a great author. 

The Black Cauldron--Lloyd Alexander
  Been reading this series aloud with Dustin. One of the life-shaping stories of my growing-up experience

The Castle of Llyr--Lloyd Alexander

To Kill a Mockingbird--Harper Lee
  A completely different book than when my 14-year-old self read it. One to which adulting and mothering have brought a new perspective. 

Anne of Green Gables--L. M. Montgomery
  Basically the history of Dustin and my story. Montogmery does trespass into the shallow, the circumlocutory, and other banal traps of such a book at times, but some passages twang and reverberate as they explain thoughts and feelings one has had but never had the imagery to express..

King of the Wind--Marguerite Henry

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close--Jonathan Safran Foer
  I took too many breaks while reading this book. A lot of amazing things about this book. Too many questions about the end for me to feel completed by reading it.

Fairest--Gail Carson Levine

The Wee Free Men--Terry Pratchett
  My sister's love Pratchett and everything Discworld. I really enjoyed Tiffany Aching and look forward to reading Prachett's final publication (happenes to be the fifth in Tiffany's series). 

A Hatful of Sky--Terry Pratchett

Anne of Avonlea--L. M. Montgomery

Wintersmith--Terry Pratchett

Ever--Gail Carson Levine

Eragon--Christopher Paolini
  Started this series a long time ago and am listening to it on audiobook to finish it. I haven't indulged in a fantasy hero cycle book since my husband convinced me to read his childhood favorite together--The Sword of Shanara. A lot of predictability, but that's the hero myth for you, and I enjoy a good re-immersion every so often.

Anne's House of Dreams--L. M. Montgomery

*I Shall Wear Midnight--Terry Pratchett
  This series just gets better as you go through it. Pratchett seeks to break down or at least explain stereotypes and story tropes we often just take for granted.

*Pilgrim at Tinker Creek--Annie Dillard
   Stellar. Her writing entrances your attention and unfolds worlds and thought processes in both a gradual and brutal way. A good book to coincide with wonderings about the nature of God. Brilliant.

Anne of Windy Poplars--L.M. Montgomery

Home--Marilynne Robinson
  Yes to all things Marilynne Robinson

Eldest--Christopher Paolini

*Lila--Marilynne Robinson
  The best book I read all year. Reading Robinson's Gilead last year changed my life, in a very un-melodramatic way (if that phrase can ever be un-melodramatic). I enjoyed Home as well, but more for what it added to Gilead and Lila than for its own sake. Robinson presents two almost incomprehensibly contrasting characters (Rev. John Ames and Lila) who somehow come together in a beautiful revelatory experience for readers. Finding our way to God, and realizing how individual and incomparable our life paths are. 

  2015 gave me a chance to relax. A lot of light, feel-good reads. 

  My 2016 reading will largely be a study on the human experience--we, as eternal beings on earth, experiencing what we know to be a test or vital event, but unprepared to walk away at the examination's end and realize our frame of reference is off--how truly limited our point of view is here (but I'm hoping it will be less limiting after this year). C.S. Lewis, Marilynne Robinson, George MacDonald--they all have so much to offer here. I've begun 2016 with Lewis' Till We Have Faces, and it did not disappoint.

A new hobby-job

I've never been a writer. Not really.

I mean, I've written a lot. That's unavoidable with a bachelor's degree in History and a master's degree in English. Lots of words from my brain have made it into black-and-white and been read by others. And I guess I have this blog, and a journal, and lots of emails, so yes, I do write. But I'm not a writer.

Now writing is my job.

It's not as dramatic as I've made it sound (like most things in my life). I've taken on a 4-8 hour a week commitment to concoct creative, short passages about any topic under the Humanities sun, accompanied by half a dozen intellectually challenging questions with explanations--I write the verbal reasoning (now known as the Critical Analysis and Reasoning) section of an MCAT practice test.

I really like having a creative outlet that pushes me. And it keeps me searching for new information--I've learned about national holidays, animation computer programs, MoMA art exhibits (like the Rain Room by rAndom [sic] International), and Toni Morrison, to name a few. And I figure the job fits me well, seeing as how standardized tests are something I am reasonably good at.

But creativity--it is stretching my figurative muscles right now. Do any of you know of cool and happening things regarding (but not limited to) Architecture, Art, Dance, Ethics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Religion, Theater, or Studies of Diverse Cultures? Or better yet, places to read where I will run across such things? My Facebook feed isn't quite at this level yet :)

It feels good to use my hard-earned academic degrees to accomplish something--and I still get to be at home with my two darling girls. Life does't get much better than that.

So, higher-brow sources to learn about cool new things? Any leads? I'm seeking Muses to guide me as I fit into this new cap in my collection: Lauran, the writer.

Books Read in 2014

  The past few months I've enjoyed reading friends' and internet acquaintances' "Year in Books" posts, and I want to start posting one each year to encourage me to up the ante--both in quantity and quality--of the books in my life. The following titles are the baker's dozen of books that I can remember reading this past year. Now that I am graduated and (supposedly) have more time on my hands, I'd like to really dig my teeth into some hefty, emotional, delightful, and/or enlightening texts.

  That means, to all reading this post, I need some help, so please send me some suggestions. I love fluff (if you could see my 2015 book list, mostly rebound from grad school, it already includes stories like The Princess Academy, Dealing With Dragons, The Scorpio Races) to fill the in-between moments, but I am craving some good non-fiction books that will actually expand my mind. I'm also looking to dedicate some effort in electronic books (mostly accomplished while holding sleeping children with phone in hand), free ebook suggestions are welcome as well. I feel exceptionally inadequate when to comes to finding contemporary publications, though, so leaving recently published suggestions and favorites would be exceptionally wonderful.

  Reading has such a power--it opens intellectual avenues my mind does't naturally tend towards as I trudge my rote paths. I've been doing a lot lately to try and develop myself as a person--I'd really like help to make reading a large part of that.

2014 books

Little Dorrit--Charles Dickens
   Suuuuuuperrrrrr loooooooong. Whew. My only real exposure to Dickens has been The Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, and some mini-series of works like Bleak House. Really fun to dive into one of his longer texts, and the characters were sweet even if the story and characterization were a little blase.

Thirty-Nine Steps--John Buchan
    Forerunner to James Bond and other such stories. Not what I was expecting, and definitely a fun surprise.

Wonderful Stories for Children--Hans Christian Anderson
    A collection of some of his lesser known tales, many of which deserve to be lesser known

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--J.K. Rowling
    Gotta love these books. This read-through was out loud with the husband. Might be an old-fashioned hobby, but reading books aloud to each other has been a favorite pastime since our marriage began.

The Book of Mormon--Scripture
    I think I've successfully gotten through this book at least once a year since I became a teenager, but I'd have to do research to confirm that statement during the early years.

Dubliners--James Joyce
    Compilation of short stories all about individuals living in Dublin. I read it for one of my grad classes and really enjoyed discussing the ideas and papers which emerged from this text.

Murphy--Samuel Beckett
     Definitely stranger than Dubliners, but sparked some interesting conversations. Really difficult to connect with the characters, but admirable for other qualities.

"Waiting for Godot"--Samuel Beckett
     I liked it much better this, my second time, through. I sure wish I could see this play's production with Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart as the main characters!

Lilith--George MacDonald
     I CERTAINLY need to recommend this one, as I wrote my master's thesis on it, but the recommendation must come with a caveat: it isn't easy or necessarily accessible when it comes to understanding and enjoying. Of the three professors who sat on my thesis committee, none of them could make it through the book. It is more like reading a dream than anything else. That being said, I learned a lot about myself and the process of gaining knowledge, truth, and identity while studying this work of MacDonald, the author who instigated C.S. Lewis' path towards Christianity.

"The Tempest"--William Shakespeare
    I can't believe I hadn't read this play until I was 27. It's a classic, and definitely not one that should be left to the Wishbone TV series' version.

Gilead--Marilynne Robinson
     Rarely has a book touched me as this book did. Rarely do we see an intelligent and convincing author seriously confront and explore religion without cynicism or condemnation. Rarely does a book instigate conversation between the mind, soul, and imagination--especially one set in a small nineteenth century American town. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

The Book of Three--Lloyd Alexander
      A childhood favorite (the whole series is smashing) and another from my husband's and my read-aloud repertoire.

The Help--Kathryn Stockett
      This has been a long-time occupant of my reading list and definitely worth the wait--what an enjoyable way to spend a couple afternoons over the Christmas break.


  Okay, help me branch out. What else is out there?

Starting Anew

I have wisely made the decision to stay silent through the month of January to break my horrible habitual addiction of New Years Resolution blogging (aka a smattering of posts in the first forty-five days of the year and internet silence for the remaining 320 days). But now, the year's second month has come and I am ready to really dedicate time this year to brief but consistent blogging.

This blog began as a place to document travel--going from Italy to the UK to the US and invariably closer-to-my-Utah-home locations. Now, with kids, my travels are more of a figurative journey--there is still the occasional vacation documentary post, but mostly this blog captures snapshots of my (and my family's) steps through the beautiful mess of living.

But, before jumping headlong into a new and unusually regular blogging routine, I would like to share my traditional post of accomplishments of the past year and goals in store for 2015. It's nice to look back on what I have done for motivation to achieve what I can do.

2014:
Welcomed second child (another girl) into the world
Bought our home
FINALLY graduated with a master's degree

2015:
Study the scriptures daily as an individual, couple, and family.
Use my master's degree.
Hike a mountain peak.
Restart foreign language study.
Have a clean house at least twice a month.
Create a frame-able painting.
Help our garden plot actually produce.
Read.
Leave the state 5 times.
Run another marathon.


Mostly, this year I hope to explore ways to develop personally and influence the world around me that don't necessarily result in being a good mom or getting a paycheck. More musings on this later, but it seems the big question for women is stay-at-home, work-at-home, or work-out-of-home? Always between mommyhood and occupation. I want to find ways to find and express myself that don't necessarily answer to one or the other. We'll see how that goes.

New Year, Old Resolutions

I really like blogging. You'd never know it to glance through a timeline of this blog's posts--so sporadic. Usually grouped in twos or threes, but spread months apart.

Mostly I attribute this to school. Doing a masters degree as a mom means that every moment that is nap-time or otherwise free (like when Dustin gets home and can watch Rosie) is used to work on homework, lesson plans, and thesis. BUT I am in my last semester and I am determined to get into the habit of posting once a month until I graduate and am FREEEEEEEE.......

Oh, wait. That's when our family's kid count doubles. Baby girl #2 will make her debut sometime in the middle of May (the week of Rosie's 2nd birthday, actually), but if I start now and condition myself to get on here at least once a month, then hopefully that will keep happening when craziness hits this summer.

I have a dozen drafts from last year half-finished that I'd love to post--but I personally lose interest quickly in the blogs that continually start "ok, so I know I am WAY behind, but SO much has happened I've just got to share the past six months with you..." So I will cave only so far as to end this post with a photo blast, but I feel justified because it is so nice to post pictures of Rosie now that she has hair :) I will limit myself to that and keep moving forward, looking forward to a new year with old resolutions (which I WILL accomplish this year!), including:

Blog at least once a month.
Take Rosie to the library once a month.
Study the scriptures daily as an individual, couple, and family.
Use my sewing machine.
Hike a mountain peak.
Clean the house at least twice a month.
Plant and keep a garden alive.
Restart foreign language study.
Leave the state 5 times.

 New resolutions for the new year include:
Graduate with a masters degree.
Have another baby.
Buy a house/place to live.

  And just for the record, even though I DO have a dozen old resolutions, I did get a few things accomplished during 2013:
   Became a writing instructor at BYU
   Ran a marathon
   Kept my first child alive for a whole year--and relatively unscathed
   Visited my childhood home, school, and neighborhood.

   Took Rosie to Disneyworld

   Rode in a hot air balloon

   

   

  

Yup, a great year, and we're ready for another!

Fun with family

  This is just catch-up from the first 3 or 4 months of the year. Why? Because 2013 has been awesome to us in so many ways.  And these are just a few of the fun highlights.  Gotta keep the memories alive.

   Dustin's family enjoys an annual tradition of pulling out the snow bibs and heading to the slopes each winter.  It was during one of these outings eight years ago or so that Dustin (with help from his Dad and against my natural tendencies) taught me to ski. Except one awesome trip with my roommate Bonnie and our friend Mason where I snowballed down the hill and almost died against a brick wall (great story, since I have obviously survived) every trip up the mountains trailing skiing gear has been with my in-laws. And though you'll never see me on a black diamond run, I do get an adrenaline thrill every time!

(older brother Jared and younger sister Kristiann)

    Fun snaps taken after Dustin took Rosie on a run in our new jogging stroller we got for Christmas (winter running with a kid is DEFINITELY not the funnest way to spend your time, but the snow suit is just so much fun to use). Very glad for the stroller now that Dustin and I are planning on running my first (his what, 3rd?) marathon this fall...now if I would only get out and use it...

   Sigh...the night I learned why I should never gamble. Dustin's work through a party, part of which was an intro to Vegas games with each guest provided with a $500 chip. I was a daring and luck-enthused natural and quickly doubled my earnings...and kept on getting more! Took a break for a delicious dinner, went back to the tables, and promptly won all of my winnings--Dustin luckily ruled out continuing once I reached my original $500 chip. So I broke even on the night, but am grateful that I do not live any closer to Vegas and that Dustin is so wise and level-headed (except during one-on-one games with each other).

   Rosie's first time swimming!  Where: motel pool in Moab with the cousins. She thought it was the best thing ever, and my shaking, just-finished-a-half-marathon muscles were glad to be in the pool as well :) 

   Whew!  That gets us through March. April was mostly me stressing out and losing sleep doing research for final papers and grading my students' projects (yay! first semester teaching college English ACCOMPLISHED!). Enough with the check-off-catch-up posts--on to bigger and better things! (and a few more of Rosie...if nobody minds?)

Up to This Point...

It's a bit sad how quickly time flies--my New Year's resolution to blog weekly never even had a chance...nor did the reformed goal to blog once a month...oops.

So, well, in to February, I come back again, hoping to capture in a brief, picture-filled post, everything that has happened in the past nearly 3 months. In a few words:

Rosie.
Grad school.
Work promotion.
Christmas, holidays, and family.

That about sums it up.  I'll add a few quick notes between this long line of pictures and end with a promise to be back on soon--and with some pictures from 2013! (we've switched recently to taking video rather than pictures since Rosie has been so mobile and entertaining, but I don't know how to upload them...)

My apologies, none of these Rosie pictures take place past her 6 or almost 7 month mark--she is almost 9 months now and crawling EVERYWHERE and standing up and shuffling around objects. She actually has hair now and refuses to stay still for diaper changes or bath-time--she loves to be MOVING! She likes the car unless it stops too long at a traffic light and then she starts complaining.  She is not afraid of other kids anymore and loves playing with her cousins Elizabeth, Matthew, and William as well as her neighborhood friend Cedar.  Rosie never went through a shy stage--it might be because she stayed with so many different people while I raced up to campus to go to class or teach.

For Thanksgiving we left the chilly Utah weather and headed to sunny and dry Arizona to see Rosie's other cousins (Alyssa, Rebecca, Samara, Westin, and Celeste) and enjoy hiking with Grandma and Grandpa.  The food was stupendous.

Rosie's 1st Christmas brought some wonderful memories as well.  Dustin and I dressed up--plaid shirts, ear-muffs, gloves, etc.--in order to "cut-down" and set up our oh-so-authentic 3 foot fake tree.  Fun times.  Rosie got lots of fun gifts but had more fun waving paper and bows around then she did getting presents--she'll get it better next year, I'm sure :) We loved seeing the beautiful lights at Temple Square over the break as well.

She is the chubbiest, cutest baby ever and she and I have so much fun at home avoiding the stairs and exploring each nook and cranny.  I love this girl so much!

Dustin has gone from a one-man-band at work to hiring, training, and managing his own team, so he has been extremely busy.  I SURVIVED my first semester of grad school (whew!) and have been even more busy this semester since I began to teach a freshman writing course as well.  My students rock, though, and so far everything has worked out.  We are super busy but loving every moment we have together.  2013, here we come!!!