Books Read in 2013

For those who read my other blogs, you know that I'm a reader. After years of trying, I finally met my reading goal of reading (for enjoyment) 50 novels. In fact-- I ended up reading 62! Here's my final list. The books that are starred are my favorites from this year. At the end, I've recapped my final thoughts.

Adult books read in 2013:

1. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
2. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4. The Invisible Thread by Yoshiko Uchida
5. Voices from the Fields by S. Beth Atkin
6. Children of the Midnight Sun: Young Native Voices of Alaska by T. Brown
7. Maritcha: a 19th Century American Girl
8. After the Rain by Karen White
9. Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson*
10. Murder on St. Mark Place by Victoria Thompson
11. Murder on Gramercy Park by Victoria Thompson
12. Murder on Washington Square by Victoria Thompson
13. Murder on Mulberry Bend by Victoria Thompson
14. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
15. The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb*
16. Murder on Marble Row by Victoria Thompson
17. Murder on Lenox Hill by Victoria Thompson
18. Murder in Little Italy by Victoria Thompson
19. Murder in Chinatown by Victoria Thompson
20. The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb*
21. Murder on Bank Street by Victoria Thompson
22. Murder on Waverly Place by Victoria Thompson
23. Murder on Lexington Avenue by Victoria Thompson
24. Murder on Sister's Row by Victoria Thompson
25. Murder on Fifth Avenue by Victoria Thompson
26. Murder in Chelsea by Victoria Thompson
27. Not the Killing Type by Lorna Barrett
28. A Rather Lovely Inheritance by C. A. Belmond
29. A Rather Curious Engagement by C. A. Belmond
30. A Rather Charming Invitation by C. A. Belmond
31. A Rather Remarkable Homecoming by C. A. Belmond
32. The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
33. The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere
34. When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke*
35. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
36. When Comes the Spring by Janette Oke
37. The Time Between by Karen White
38. When Breaks the Dawn by Janette Oke

MG/YA/Teen novels read in 2013:

1. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
2. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park*
3. The Abduction by John Grisham
4. Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl's Story by Pegi Deitz Shea
5. Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott O'Dell
6. The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by W.W. Shang
7. Brooklyn Bridge by K. Hesse
8. Freak the Mighty by W. R. Philbrick
9. Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes
10. Best Friends Forever: A WWII Scrapbook by B. Patt
11. Yellow Star by J.R. Roy
12. The Accused by John Grisham
13. The Activist by John Grisham
14. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
15. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
16. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
17. Baby-Sitter's Haunted Mansion by Ann M. Martin
18. A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos
19. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
20. Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea*
21. The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School by Candace Fleming
22. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
23. Mallory and the Ghost Cat (BSC Mystery #3) by Ann M. Martin
24. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Overall thoughts: I hated Gone Girl*. When I find a new author I love, I will read every book she's written! (I highly recommend Wendy Webb!) I will not hide it-- I get attached to characters and I love series. Mysteries are my favorites. The books by Janette Oke came as a surprise. I picked up the first (When Calls the Heart) because I saw that it's going to be a TV movie on Hallmark and, well, I was bored. Oke is considered Christian Fiction-- a genre I do not typically read. But Oke isn't very preachy. And well, I love (love love love) stories set in the early 1900s. So, I read them. And I loved them. If you like YA fiction, read A Long Walk to Water. Do it. Amazing. It's a true story and you will weep. I did not want to jump on the Fault-train, buuut I couldn't stay away and now I know why!


*Hate is not a strong enough word for how much I disliked this book.  It's rare for me to say I don't like a book, but not this one.

My goal this year? To read as much as I want, to try to read some nonfiction, and to get my non-reading husband to read something-- anything-- for fun. 

Olympic NP

On our final full day in Washington, we decided to visit Olympic. Only it was cold. And raining. I should have known our beautiful weather would come back to get us! We tried to see the mountains, but true to typical PNW weather, it was foggy. So, we headed out to the coast to get our first glimpse of the West Coast.

The drive was long and wet, but I was so excited to see the Pacific Ocean! I think this was (one of) Miles' highlights. He got to look at rocks and driftwood and prance around like a child. Word of advice, if you do decide to visit the west coast via Olympic and you want to visit Forks, WA from Twilight, make sure you are either a) prepared for teeny tiny mom and pop eateries or b) pack a lunch. While we did find a good burger drive in type place, next time (and yes, there will be a next time) we'll pack something.

Rainier NP (A must see)

I'd say one highlight of the trip for me was Rainier NP. I got to wear my LL Bean boots and run through the snow! We really didn't know what to expect when got up to visit the park. We had to rent chains for our tires because of icy roads... only it was in the 50s at the top and everything was melting! Seriously. Snowfall for this time of year has been well below average and the weather has been warm. 

One perk of visiting off season is the low number of tourists. The roads were pretty clear. There was a good number of snowshoers, but we didn't have to fight any ski traffic because the national park wasn't actually allowing skiing to take place.

There is one picture below that has us in jackets. I feel like I should say that those jackets lasted about 45 seconds after the picture was taken. We decided to go hiking around in the snow and it was entirely too warm for all of those layers. It was perfect vacation weather!

One more thing: those trees!! They smelled delicious and were so darn cute. I'd move there simply wake up to those evergreens everyday.

Adventures in Space!

The one thing we didn't want to do on our trip to Seattle was over-schedule ourselves with a million things to do. As a teacher and a graduate student, we're both tired. Seattle was not just a trip, but vacation. We went to NYC back in February and when we got on the plane home, we were exhausted by all we had done. We didn't want that for this vacation, so instead of planning things to do each day, we basically did what felt good.

That meant we spending Christmas day in bed. Literally, I spent almost all of Christmas day in my jammies watching the water and Christmas movies. With most of Seattle closed, we couldn't do a lot. We could have gone sightseeing, but we thought laying around would be better-- and it was.

The one thing we did have planned that day was dinner at the Space Needle and I'm so glad we did. Miles made our reservations for 4pm which meant we would be able to see Seattle in daylight, sunset, and at nighttime. Needless to say, the views were amazing and dinner, a three-course meal, was worth every penny we spent (which was a lot).

Starbucks & Pike's Market

  

Question: If there is a Starbucks on every corner and a college student visits Seattle with the goal of drinking as much Starbucks as possible, how many cups of coffee will this college student drink?

Answer: Enough that the night owl, who likes to sleep in, was happily up at 5am every morning.

Our only disappointment with the original Starbucks is that there wasn't a place to sit and drink. We would have liked to enjoy our early morning coffee, but I guess walking and sipping isn't that bad either.

Let's also talk about Pike's Market. It's possible that this place has more happy smells than anywhere else I've ever been. Our hotel was just a block away from the market, so Miles and I spent some time exploring and smelling. My only regret is I couldn't eat everything! Everything was so fresh and smelled so good.

Pacific Northwest

Christmas this year was a little different. For as long as I can remember, Christmas has been twinkling lights, Santa cookies, stuffed stockings, breakfast burritos, and crab legs. But after years of traveling to enjoy the holidays, Miles and I decided to take a break from traditions and the hustle and bustle for a week away alone clear across the other side of the country.

We chose Seattle because we wanted to fly someplace where we could take advantage of Miles' Southwest Points and Elite status. We have been talking about visiting for a few years and this trip felt like the time to go even though we were warned that Seattle at this time of year is dreary and cold.

To say that we fell in love with Seattle is an understatement. The city immediately felt like home and I was shocked by just how nice everyone was! I'm not sure what I was thinking-- I've never really heard of west coast snobs-- but I kept remarking over and over just how friendly everyone was. It must be all of the coffee they drink! More importantly though, we fit in. Miles and I love big cities, but we also love the outdoors. The Pacific Northwest is the perfect blend of the two. Here is a sneak peek from our trip!

When I found out I had a bonus waiting for me at HR: