2016 summary & 2016 reads

The best of times, the worst of times?  That seems to be a reasonable summary of 2016.

On the "best" side I would say the holiday we had in the South Island is up there.  Visiting Dunedin, the Caitlins then on around the bottom of he South Island was fantastic.  Then we drove up to Queenstown and had a few days there as well.





Both children have had a reasonable year at school.
Mr13 starts high school next year.  Mr13's dyspraxia has been managable and he's made progress.  High school will be a new challenge but I think the school we've chosen is the right one for now.
Miss9 joined soccer this year and got the prize for the Most Improved Player at the end of the season. She does enjoy getting out there and kicking the ball around.

In May I got to go to Aurora Leadership Institute in Sydney.  This is a 5 day leadership course/retreat for librarians held in the beautiful surounds of Q Station, North Head, Sydney.  It was a valuable experience for me, and is something I will carry with me.



My work year has been challenging but positive.  I feel like I'm mostly succeeding as a manager.  There is always room for improvement though.

On the "worst" side the biggest challenge for this year has been DH's mental health which took a turn for the worse in July and resulted in him resigning from his job. The environment there was not helping his anxiety and while they tried to accommodate him, it was clear that it wouldn't be sustainable as part of the issue was workplace culture.  Some treatment and counselling has helped, and now he's in the job hunting mode which isn't easy.  Living in Auckland on one income is survivable but no fun.  I am so fortunate to have a job which has enabled us to survive while he takes time to recover.

On the reading front, it has been a great year!  Most of my reading has been recorded on GoodReads with a few exceptions.
Total: 89
Fiction: 57
Non-fiction: 32

Books that stayed in my mind:
Seven Eves by Neal Stephenson
The Poseidon's children series by Alaistair Reynolds
Both are sci-fi which is interesting.

I don't have any particular reading goals for 2017 because I read what I feel like.  My "to-be-read" list is huge! Survival has been very much on my mind so have been reading some of Bear Grylls work. In his view some marks of the survivor are positivity, resourcefulness and never giving up. Things I need to bear in mind for 2017.

2015 Reading summary

2015 reaches it's end and here I am ... *dusts off the blog* ... to jot down my reading for this year. 

It's been a good year for reading for me.  I am confident that this is due to my commute into town being so long that I spent much of the time on the ferry reading a book.  Also, the ability to read during lunchtime helps.  Now that I'm working closer to home and no longer using public transport as much, that will change though.

Number of books read: 90
I'm impressed!  This is the most I've read since I joined GoodReads.  I abandoned one book, Gone Girl.  I really couldn't find any reason to continue with it.

Number of non-fiction books: 28

Number of fiction books: 62

Number of poetry books: 1

As always, there were a few books not counted in the GoodReads statistics.  I re-read at least 2 Connie Willis books that I can remember. 

Stand out books this year

Do no harm by Henry Marsh

This is Marsh's memoir about his life as a brain surgeon.  I also watched the documentary associated with the book.  This one stood out for me because of the candid nature of his tale, the challenges that a person in his position faces and the weight of responsibility that patients place upon him, his skills and judgement.  It also made me think more deeply about the nature of humanity.

The Martian by Andy Weir

I enjoyed this book as true escapism, funny narrative and gripping story.  Nothing deeper than that!

The secret chord by Geraldine Brooks & Game of queens by India Edgehill

These two books stand out for similar reasons.  They are retold tales of Biblical characters that in scripture are role models for many in the Judeo-Christian tradition.  Brooks chose to write about David's life - I found it an engaging story which did actually flesh out what makes for pretty dry reading in the Bible.  Edgehill's story of Esther certainly enlivened the Biblical telling - the latter is of course told from a patriarchal view, whereas the fiction is mostly from a women's point of view.  Both stories are great reads.

The life and times of Auckland by Gordan McLauchlan

While this isn't the most exciting of reads, I found the history of my home town very relevant to the challenges it faces even today.  If you are an Aucklander, I'd recommend you read this one.  As it happened, I was reading this in September when the 175th anniversary of Hobson's purchase of the land from Te Kawau (Orakei tribal chieftain) occurred. It was particularly poignant to attend the small ceremony that took place in Emily Place to commemorate this.  I later read Tessa Duder's biography of Sarah Mathew, who was present at the event.

Most disturbing books

The blue between sky and water by Susan Abulhawa
The perspectives in this story are rarely seen portrayed in the media.

Pandemic by James Barrington
The premise this book is based on is pretty much enough to keep you awake at night.

Books that made me laugh (and also cry)

A spot of bother by Mark Haddon
The Rosie project by Graham Simsion (and the sequel, The Rosie effect)

Heading into 2016, my "To-read" list has not got any shorter!

Photo dump & new blouse

Pictorial representation of the books I read in 2013

Bow tie Blouse I made using Gertie's ( http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/) book for better sewing.  It is a test blouse - I have some other fabric I want to use to make another version but I am fairly pleased with the pattern.  It needs a few tweaks to improve the fit, but this one is chiffon so I don't mind the drape. My other fabric is cotton so I will adjust the darts a bit and take some width out of the shoulders if I can.

I paid for 5 buttons and when I got home I discovered there were only 3 in the bag so I used some teapot buttons instead. I didn't attempt the bound buttonholes... It isn't a technique I want to learn just yet. ;-)

Reading for 2013

According to Goodreads I have read 60 books this year - the same as last year.  I think it is fairly accurate as I have been trying to keep the records up to date.

26 non-fiction
34 fiction

Of note, I started reading the Game of Thrones series and have just the most recent one to go before I'll join the waiting crowd for George R.R. Martin to write the remaining story!  I have also discovered the Phyrne Fisher murder mysteries which I have been enjoying too.

I'm in the midst of finishing up The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.  It's been hard going, not because it is a bad book but the writing style takes time to appreciate.

The titles that stand out for me this year have been:

The Last Runaway | Remarkable Creatures - both by Tracy Chevalier
The Dragon Keeper by Mindy Mejia

I have done a lot of reading on my iPad this year, some on my Kobo and some in print. I can't say I have a particular preference, but the convenience of ebooks has been a big plus for me.

I continue to read blogs and professional related stuff, but that is mostly done online via my iPad or computer.

How about you? Have you read any good stuff this year?

My reading rules

As much as a cringe to admit it, I am a librarian who likes to read.  There.   I'm a living cliche.  Oh the embarrassment!

Side note: this is not an admission that will get you very far in an interview for a librarian job.  Just so you know. Customer services skills are much more relevant.

Anyway!

Reading rules, do you have them? This is a kind of meme coming from Bookriot, via Bookshelves of Doom and Flexnib.

The writer at Bookriot says,

"...I thought about it as just a list of my (many!) seemingly arbitrary rules for reading. Once I got started, though, I discovered that those rules actually tell you so much about me that they double as personality traits..."

So, in the interests of delving into my personality, here are my reading rules.  What are yours?

1.  One book at a time.  I do occasionally break this rule, especially if I pick up one I must read AT ONCE and I'm in the middle of another.  Or, I'll sometimes read a fiction and a non-fiction at the same time.

2.  Must read before turning off the light. It's a conditioned reflex for me.  Reading is relaxation and so reading before going to sleep is signalling to my brain to turn off. 

3.  I rarely re-read things.  Only a few books will be revisited. 

4.  A good book is one where I emerge from it with a book hangover.

5.  Don't mark the pages.  I'm not sure where this one comes from since I have no issue with writing all over printed out journal articles and other documents.  But, books?  No.  On the other hand I do highlight non-fiction if I'm reading it as an ebook.

6.  I rarely use bookmarks, preferring to turn the book face down at the page I'm reading.  Bookmarks are used for ebooks though.

7. I usually prefer the book to the movie.  I can appreciate a movie as a separate interpretation but most of the time the book resonates more.

8.  I will read the "in" book if it appeals.  But some genre's don't appeal.  Fifty shades?  Nope. Life of Pi? Okay.

9.  There are some books I won't read because I find their content too much to deal with.  For example, dystopian books rarely appear on my reading lists.  Harrowing books about children don't work for me right now. E.g. Sarah's Key is not something I can face reading right now.  Unless there is some kind of Happy End, I can't deal with that sort of story.

10.  I like Happy End.  Please give it to me.