Books about Books

As the semester draws to a close, I begin to fantasize about reading purely for pleasure — no student papers, no textbooks, no emails — and looking longingly at the stack of books on my nightstand.  I’ll tell myself that I have to get through this last stack of papers before I’ll let myself dive into the Real Simple that came in the mail and  book on my nightstand (The House at the End of Hope Street).

Now that summer reading time is finally here, but in the meantime I thought I would share with you some of my favorite books, which, not surprisingly, happen to be about books:

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Hannah Heath, a rare book conservator, is invited to study and report on an ancient Haggadah recently rediscovered.  The book moves forward, following Hannah and her research, and backwards, tracing the book’s fascinating history.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Such a fun read!  Clay Jannon, an out-of-work web designer, ends up working in a quirky old school bookstore with curious customers. Quirky and nerdy fun.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Memoir of a literature teacher who hosts a reading group in her living room.  As they read books banned in Tehran, they find a sense freedom and glimpses of themselves.  Beautiful and heart wrenching at times.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

I avoided this book for a while because the title sounds so sad, but I found it to be really hopeful.  It’s a memoir of the author and his mother’s book club as she faces her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and hear last months.  As the two read and discuss books together, they encounter conversations that they might never have had.   Mary Anne has lived a good full life, and she is aware of that, which takes a lot of the edge off the sadness of the book.

The Fabulous Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore  by William Joyce

A children’s book that inspired the Academy Award winning short film.  Mr. Lessmore finds companionship and his own story through books.  Absolutely lovely.

Are there any books about books that you love?  What’s on your summer reading list?

I absolutely love when I get to read about what others are reading, so, throughout the summer, I’m planning on sharing some more of my favorite books as well as what I’m reading in the moment.

 

Molly’s 7th Birthday

Molly opted for a party at Gymnastic Sports Center with her friends.  They had a great time running, jumping, flipping, and climbing before eating her Brave/Merida cake.  One her special day, I went to eat lunch with her at school, opened presents from lots of family after school, had some playtime at Nana and Pop-Pop’s house after instructing Mom and Dad to leave, and ate macaroni and cheese for dinner at Jason’s Deli.  I think it was a great day for my sweet girl.

Hard to believe she’s seven!

  

Update on my 37 things

I’m in the last quarter of 37, so here’s an update of my list so far.  I don’t think I’ll end up finishing/achieving them all, but it’s been a fun challenge.

1.  Cook 52 new recipes from pinterest or my new cookbooks —  31 so far.  Going to need to up my game this summer. 

2. Institute some kind of sabbath in our family — we’ve fallen off the wagon this spring, but definitely a practice that needs to be reinstated.  

3.  Go to Germany — Amazing trip!

4.  Start a new holiday (Thanksgiving or Christmas) tradition — I’m going to count the Thanksgiving wreath on this one

5.  Read 24 books for pleasure — 19.  Now that it’s summer, I can read all day long.  

6.  Run a 9k So fun!  I got to run it with my friend Susie on a perfect Chicago fall day.

7.  Catch up on scrapbooking and start a new system in 2013

8.  Read aloud to the girls nightly — reading Secret Garden right now. 

9.  Attend yoga regularly (once a week?) — Bill even went with me last week!

10.  Blog at least twice a week — well, mostly! 

11.  Plant something that I can eat  — Blackberry bushes, rosemary.

12.  Begin composting

13.  Explore the Kerrville area — Spent an afternoon with Jozie on our way home from San Antonio.

14.  Bike in the Tetons — leaving next week!!

15.  Commit to more regular date nights with B — umm, better.  Not great. 

16.  Write a journal article and submit it for publication

17.  Host a conference at ACU — 

18.  Be intentional about being unplugged when the girls are home — getting a little better at it…

19.  Experiment with natural laundry soap

20.  Attempt some kind of spending fast for a month — February

21.  Finish the Slow your Home boot camp 

22.  Pay off our Visa card

23.  Cull books from the girls’ bookshelves (I ended up culling some shelves in my office, too.  We donated one bag of books to Molly’s first grade classroom, and sold the rest at Half Price Books for $20!)

24.  Master the bouldering wall at ACU

25.  Take the girls to swim at ACU on the weekends — trying to go most Sunday afternoons

26.  Organize and cull my recipes

27.  Apply for a Cullen Grant

28.  Reconnect with at least one old friend

29.  Work on writing with Jane Anne and helping her feel more confident about it  — this has been a huge focus in JA’s language arts class at school this year and she’s loving it!  Gotta love when other people do this for you!

30.  Plan monthly excursions with the girls — in September we went to the Abilene Zoo, and in November, San Antonio; February, Albuquerque

31.  Begin planning for another study abroad semester — Fall 2014!!!

32.  Develop a Rhetoric of Food course — teaching it this fall

33.  Light candles at dinner more often, especially as the days get shorter — enjoying this on a regular basis

34.  Take more family walks — at least once a week

35.  Find some good crock pot meals for Mondays when the girls are at dance — Bill is teaching on Monday nights this semester, so Monday crockpot meals have been a lifesaver!  I’m not a fan of us not all getting to eat together, but at least we’re eating healthy food.

36.  Continue our family’s focus on geography that we started this summer

37.  Go on a “longish” hike in Yellowstone with the girls — maybe Mount Washburn

There went May!

Phew!  I survived the end of my school year (and the bits and pieces of things that have to be taken care of after it’s over) and there are three more days until I will have survived the end of the girls’ school year.  I am so ready for them to be home!

We have a fun summer planned — some travel to Yellowstone and Chicago, activities like camp and swimming lessons, and just our daily summer routine of learning, chores, and activities.

It’s been a busy month, and I plan on catching some missed posts —  Molly’s birthday, dance stuff, end of school fun, a quick trip to Oklahoma, etc — talking about our summer plans, and even recommending some books I enjoy reading.

 

 

 

What’s on Your…

Earlier this week Katie posted this fun list and glimpse into her life.  I thought I’d play along, too.

Here’s what’s on my…

VANITY | A new bottle of Jo Malone cologne I bought in Europe, a small box for my jewelry that my mom bought for me in the Cotswolds, random cosmetics, some oil cleanser I haven’t yet been brave enough to try, allergy medicine.

PERENNIAL TO DO LIST | Grading. 

REFRIGERATOR SHELVES | Milk, greek yogurt, chai concentrate, eggs (not much — it’s week 15 of the semester!)

ITINERARY | A trip to see several loved ones in Oklahoma at the end of this month, Yellowstone and Tetons in June, Chicago (by train!) in July.

FANTASY ITINERARY | A rail journey through western Canada, a month in a little cabin in the Alps, the Grand Canyon

PLAYLIST | Mumford and Sons, Adele, The Civil Wars

NIGHTSTAND | A lovely box that hides random papers, May’s Real Simple, The Swerve, a lamp, lotion, a picture of the girls, a framed print that says “Live, Laugh, Leap, Love, Learn, Listen”

WORKOUT PLAN | A goal of run/walking MWF mornings and yoga at lunch on T/Th.  Some weeks are better than others.

IPHONE | Lots of pictures of my family, Angry Birds Star Wars.  

TOP 5 LIST | Time with Bill and the girls, hiking, good books, libraries and bookstores, mountains

BUCKET LIST | So many of my dreams have already come true that I’m not a huge bucket list person, but if I were to list one thing today it would be completing the other 3 Fat Tire Bike Tours (London, Paris, Barcelona)

MIND | Making it to the end of the semester, a hurtful comment from a student, a clean eating challenge

BLOGROLL | Simple mom, Simple kids, Dinner a Love Story, Slow Your Home, A Cup of Jo, Cakes, Tea and Dreams

WALLS OF YOUR FAVORITE ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE | A bus roll with many of the places we visited while in Europe in 2011, 7 framed black and white photos from that trip, a Winnie the Pooh quote

LAST CREDIT CARD STATEMENT | A Kimbell Art Museum family membership, groceries, gas, random Targetness

SCREENSAVER | Don’t have one – though my computer background is of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford

TV EVERY NIGHT | I don’t watch TV (but I kill time in lots of other ways :))

What’s on your…?