Best Books I Read in 2018

An Evening at Home by Edward John Poynter

It is time for my annual best of reading for the year. I'm participating in Semicolon's End of the Year Book List Round Up (a link party).

I use GoodReads to keep track of my reading. I read a total of 35 book this past year which is a drop from 39 last year. I heard about many of the books that I read from Eric Metaxas' radio show. He often interviews authors about their latest books. I recommend Eric's show which is funny and informative. It is available as a podcast as well.

Here are my favourite reads of 2018:

1. Love Thy Body by Nancy Pearcey.

Nancy expertly handles the tough issues of abortion, homosexuality, and transgenderism from a biblical perspective. Everything she writes is spot on. I think everyone should read this book. Everyone.

2. On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior.

Full disclosure: I did not finish this book. It is in sections and goes through books pertaining to various virtues. This book works best if you have already read the books she discusses. I hope to go back to this book once I've read more on her list.

She organizes the books around various virtues such as Patience, Love, Justice, Chastity, Humility, and Diligence.

3. The Road to Dawn. Josiah Henson and the Story that Sparked the Civil War.

I learned so much about the man who inspired the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. I learned so much about the South and slavery, of course. The majority of this book is set in Ontario, Canada, so it was fun to learn more about what happened to people who took the Underground Railroad north.

4. Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas

5. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.

I watched the movie first, which was fabulous. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. I want to read more Daphne du Maurier.

6. Still Life by Louise Penny.

I discovered Louise Penny this past year. I've read five of her books this past year via audiobooks in my car. They are murder mysteries. One book was frustrating in that you reached the last page of the book and you still didn't know who the murderer was!

Her main character is Armand Gamache who bears some resemblance to Hercule Poirot. There is a terrific website for these books which includes recipes and historical and cultural information. One of my friends from church has read many of these books so it is fun to discuss them with her. The author is Canadian and the books are set in Quebec so I love all the Canadian references.

7. Pilgrim's Progress (part one only)

We read this in adult Sunday school. The version by Karen Ford is the best, in my opinion. I tried to read PP before but I didn't really appreciate it. Reading with a group was so much more rich! This book is mentioned in On Reading Well.

8. Charlotte Bronte. A Fiery Heart.

I enjoyed this biography of the author of Jane Eyre. It had a great deal of detail but not so much that I became bored.

9. Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde.

This is actually a play so it is very short. There is a great message in this story. I don't want to give it away with any more detail.

Honourable Mentions:

1. The Road to Jonestown. Jim Jones and the People's Temple by Jeff Guinn.
2. Run, Hide, Repeat. A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood by Pauline Dakin.
3. Hard Times by Charles Dickens. I would have rated this higher but I couldn't remember much about the plot a few months later!

As you can see, my reading tastes are rather diverse! I like mysteries, biographies (especially of unusual people), classic fiction, and Christian non-fiction.

Some books I plan to read in 2019:

- Amazing Grace (William Wilberforce) by Eric Metaxas
- You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit by James K.A. Smith
- more Louise Penny mysteries.

I found a book club in November (The Rosie Project was the book we talked about) so I'm excited to once again be a part of a group discussing books.


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Christmas 2018 Wrap Up

Our Christmas card photo

At the beginning of December, my friend Linda and I decorated the stage of the gym (where our church meets) with 3 faux trees and white lights. It took us 3 hours! One of the trees (found at a thrift store) was pre-lit with coloured lights and many were zip-tied onto the tree. Removing those lights took forever! Here is the finished look:

There are 3 trees but the small one is hard to see in this photo. This is the first time ever that our church has had any Christmas decorations other than the poinsettias that I bring. Here is Linda working on it:

On December 23rd, we went to Evergreen Church to see their light display.

C loves this place since they hand out free hot chocolate as well as 2 different types of cookies.

On December 24th we went to our church's Christmas Eve service after we had a simple dinner of appetizers from Trader Joe's. Our church had its largest ever turn out. They ran out of bulletins. Here we are with our candles.

We always get someone to take our photo at church on Christmas Eve. This year there wasn't a great place to take it and the lighting is a bit off.

We played a game as a family after church.
On Christmas morning we had 2 breakfast casseroles - one savory and one sweet (French Toast casserole). We opened presents in the am. Here are A's presents.

C's presents.

The mug is more than a mug. It is a special one from Starbucks that entitles you to a free drip coffee or tea for every day in January. C has done this for the last 2 years.

My presents.

The things in the box are bath bombs. J got a new grill, a My Pillow, a tool carrying bag, chocolates, and a new fleece sweatshirt.

The boys received a mini air hockey game.

We watched the queen's message on TV.

We ate our feast at about 4 pm. Grand Dad called during the meal.

Place setting:

I was frustrated that the turkey breast was a bit dry even after I brined the turkey the day before. This is the centrepiece that I made myself.

We always do Christmas crackers that come with paper crowns inside.

We watched C's new DVD of Mission Impossible - Fallout. We called Grandma and Grandpa.

Here is a photo of the tree.

I loved how narrow this tree is. So much easier to decorate. We set up the electric train to run around the tree. The tree is super dry so I plan on taking it down tomorrow which is much earlier than I prefer.



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Downtown Christmas Tradition

Almost every year we have gone to downtown Seattle in December as a family to see the fun things there. This past Thursday, our first stop was the Sheraton hotel for the gingerbread houses. This year they moved them into a conference room and the line was super long. We are a determined bunch so we waited an hour!

There is a theme every year and it was The Grinch this year.

My chiropractor's brother-in-law made one of the creations.

J got down on the floor to take this photo:

We always have lunch at Specialties. I wish they had a location closer to us. They have delicious sandwiches. Next, we went to see the model trains in the Macy's window.

As we walked a few blocks to Macy's, there were Starbucks employees handing out gift cards to people on the sidewalk. We managed to get 4. :)

I love to go see the teddy bear suite at the Fairmount Four Seasons hotel but that is a tough sell for teenage boys.




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Party at Chihuly Garden in Seattle

J's Christmas party (on December 4th) was held at the Chihuly Garden and Glass (a museum). It was such a beautiful setting. I took lots of photos. The glass art is created by Dave Chihuly.

The museum is located in the shadow of the Space Needle in Seattle. The garden section is outside and since the party was at night (and it was very cold that night) we didn't see that part.

I loved the Persian ceiling.

Sea Life room

Float boats

The party itself was held inside the Glass House.

We were treated to delicious food (prime rib was J's favourite), jazz, and caricature artists.

J and I by a chandelier.

Photos were challenging in this room since it was so dark.






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My Christmas Mantle

I kept it simple this year. I've had the Christ the Lord sign for several years. I bought it at a vintage fair (Ruffles and Rust,  I think). It is handmade.

I put a fresh cedar garland (from Costco) down over top a white faux fur ribbon. The garland was much bigger to begin with but I cut it to fit.

The nativity is Willow Tree. I treated myself to the star background a few weeks ago.

The candle holders came from Decor Steals several years ago.


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