December Reflections - 2016

Day 5 - Best book of 2016

I haven't read as many this year as I wanted to because I got stuck on a few, the longest being A Thousand Days by Arthur Schlesinger about JFK.  That took me several months to read and it was good, but I don't consider it the best book I read this year.

Since I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan:

I have to say my favorite book this year was Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz.  

Definitely had a twist at the end and I am looking forward to reading another one by him. 

Each year for the past couple of years I have been attempting a reading challenge.  I use the suggestions given by Pop Sugar (which I keep calling Pop Secret for some reason...popcorn anyone?)

Here is the link to their list for 2017:

I am looking forward to giving it another go this year.  How about you?  Working on any reading challenges?    Favorite book this year?  I'd love suggestions.  

Observing October

October 22 -

My sister would have been 74 today.  She and I were the most alike of the four of us girls.  I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with her.  She was 12 years older than I so until I was an adult we didn't hang out much, although I did babysit her two kids a lot.

Jo Anne

Me

She's been gone fourteen years now, but I still miss her a lot.


In other news, I finally finished the book "A Thousand Days," about John F. Kennedy's days in office.  It was very interesting, especially in this heated election year.



My next book is going to be:

I'm counting this for my "The first book you see in a bookstore" category because I got an email from Barnes and Noble and this was the book that was pictured.  They were having a special so I got this and two others.  I have heard of this book before from several other people and am looking forward to reading it.  I am thinking it won't take quite as long as the last one, since it only has 179 pages, as opposed to over 1000.

Since this is only book nine in my challenge, I'm probably not going to beat my last year's number of 17, but I'm still reading, which is the point.  How about you?  How far ahead of me are you?  Go ahead tell me, I can take it.

Suddenly September - 2016

September 12 -

I missed the last two days because I was busy trying to sell some of my cards and other crafts at an outdoor vendor show.  Saturday's prompt from the Blog-Tember challenge was to document my day by taking a picture every hour.  Well, not much was happening, unfortunately, but here are a couple of pictures I took from that day.

My display

Me enjoying the sunny day.

Not a huge financial success but I count each event I go to as a learning experience.  This time I learned how to display my things when I am outside in some wind.  Since most of my things are paper oriented, wind can be kind of tricky.  I did also get some coloring done, which is relaxing.

Sunday's prompt was to talk about Instagrammers I follow.  Since I am kinda new to that, I don't have much to share.

Today's prompt is to talk about three books, one I just read, one I'm reading now and one I want to read.

The book I just read was a book called Zen Pencils, Volume 2, Dream the Impossible Dream.  I read it because I needed to fill the graphic novel category in my 2016 reading challenge.  It was not bad.  I'm not really a graphic novel reader though.

The book I am reading now (it seems like forever) is called A Thousand Days by Arthur Schlesinger.  It is an interesting book, especially in this election year, but since I am reading it only at night before bed, I am generally getting only three or four pages read each night.  Since there are over 1000 pages in the book, it may take me a long time at that rate.  I am over half way through now though.

I was eight when President Kennedy was assassinated and while I don't remember much about his presidency, I do remember those last days.  My older sister was getting married and so while there was a lot of hustle and bustle, it was very somber and we watched the funeral on TV.  

As far as a book I want to read, there are a lot of those!  One I have on my shelf at the moment is called This I Know, by Susannah Conway.  I have participated in several of her photo challenges, most recently the August Break.  This is the story of how she managed to get through the grief of losing her husband suddenly.  

I'm hoping that while it may be sad, it should be an easier read than the political stuff I am going through now.  Would like to get it finished before her next photo challenge in December.   

So, those are my three books.  What about you?  Take a minute to stop by the other Blog-tember participants.  Maybe you'll pick up some recommendations for something new to read.  I'm hoping to!