Best Books I Read in 2019

I read 37 books this past year. In 2018 I read 35 books. I'm happy with the total. If I try to read too many books, I end up reading faster and not remembering what I read. I did notice that there is a lack of meaty books. I suppose I'll aim for more of that genre in 2020. I'd also like to read more classics this coming year. I keep track of my reading at Goodreads.com.

Here are the best books that I read this past year. Unfortunately, it is a small list!

1. How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny and others in the series.

I enjoy a good mystery. Last year I started reading the Inspector Gamache books. They are set in the province of Quebec in Canada, usually in the village of Three Pines (fictional.) The world of Three Pines is pretty enticing. This books are more about human nature than about the actual mystery. I like to listen to Louise Penny books as read by Ralph Cosham.


2. Picadilly Jim and Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets by P.G. Wodehouse.

These books can lift anyone's spirits. Well, maybe anglophiles like me, anyway. Funny situations. Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets is a collection of short stories. In Picadilly Jim, a rich playboy hides his identity behind an alias but ends up impersonating himself.


3. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

I enjoy a thriller once in a while and this one was good. I read it while travelling to Victoria to visit my parents. I finished it on the way back and was then stuck without anything much to do on the Clipper ferry ride!

The simple summary? A recluse spends her time watching movies and watching the neighbours. A new family moves in across from her. She sees something she thinks is a murder. What did she actually see? What is real and what is imagined?

4. The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist.

This book is about an historical event that happened in Washington state in the now defunct town of Wellington in 1910.

"The never-before-told story of one of the worst rail disasters in U.S. history in which two trains full of people, trapped high in the Cascade Mountains, are hit by a devastating avalanche." 

The book club that I'm in right now read this a few years ago (before I joined the club). It was educational and kept my attention throughout. I listened to this book. I did take the physical book out of the library so that I could see the maps and photos. That is one problem with audio books.


Honourable Mentions:

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

There were some good ideas but I found this book a bit repetitive. It is a long book. It seems like something a teenager should read more than a middle aged woman like me.

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini.

A friend recommended this for listening on our summer road trip. Only my hubby and I really listened to this. We never finished it. I should go back to it. It reminded me of The Scarlet Pimpernel since it is set during the French Revolution. A compelling and funny story which was written in 1921.



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Christmas 2019 Wrap Up

Our Christmas card photo

On December 23rd we went to downtown Seattle as a family. We stood in line for about an hour (maybe more?) to see the gingerbread creations at the Sheraton Hotel. The theme was elves. I was thankful for the boys' good attitudes even though the wait was pretty bad.

Elves and the Shoemaker

Elf the Movie

Tree. 

All of those lights above are inside of candies!

North Pole

Next stop was the Fairmount Hotel with a beautiful tree in the lobby.

Then we went upstairs to the Teddy Bear Suite. This is for me, of course.

They have a life size gingerbread house near the entrance.

We had lunch at Specialtys, another tradition for us. Next we went to Pacific Place mall but were disappointed to find it under renovation. We walked through Nordstrom and saw these lovely trees.

Our last stop was the model train display in the window of Macy's. Macy's is closing its downtown location in 2020 so I wanted to make sure we saw the trains.

I love having family traditions. C really wanted to bring a friend along but no one was available. I got in over 6,000 steps that day!

In the evening, I searched around to several stores for a turkey. It was a challenge finding one the right size. Next year I'll have to look earlier. Jonathan finished his Christmas shopping on Dec 24th. He found that the crowds were light and it was quite peaceful.

We went out for dinner (before church) on Dec 24th to Stanfords. J and I felt like the youngest adults there! We knew that a package was being delivered while we were there so J left briefly to check on it. Porch pirates are a risk this time of year.

Our church met in the gym this year since we outgrew the smaller chapel last year. The service was very well attended. We sang about 6 carols with scripture interspersed. There is a short message and then we sing Silent Night by candlelight. We had our photo taken by the trees that Linda and I decorated.

In the evening, I phoned Mom and Dad. We played Taboo as a family. The game went very well.
On Christmas morning we had bacon and egg strata that I made the day before.

My hubby bought himself a car in early November so he didn't get any big presents under the tree.

C received an electronic drum set which allows him to practice his drumming without a lot of noise.

A received a graphics card for his computer that will help him with video editing. He also got a new computer monitor which is also better for editing. He asked for airpods (which are super popular) and got them. We just hope he doesn't lose them! I did the "box inside a box inside a box" thing for wrapping them.

my gifts

I received a scarf from one of the families of a boy on the robotics team that J coaches. A very thoughtful gift! My larger presents were the Wise Men to add to my Willow Tree nativity set, a perfume sampler, and an attachment for my phone so that I can take macro photos (super close up) and also wide angle shots. Svetlana (J's colleague) takes really cool close up nature photos so I'd like to give that a try. I also got honey from the honeycomb - a unique gift that J and the boys found.

I'm so thankful for my hubby's help in preparing Christmas dinner. I don't know how some people do all the cooking alone. Here is my place setting.

I bought the tablecentre from Costco.

Our table full of food.

The turkey:

Here is a photo of our tree. It isn't real this year. I think it is funny that sometime I think "oh, do I need to water the tree?" Old habits die hard.

remember you can click on it for a larger photo

Our chimney needs cleaning out so we can't have a real fire in our fireplace. There is a wait for a chimney sweep until February! We had to find the firelog channel on TV. We listened to the Queen's message, as per our tradition. Here are the boys wearing their Christmas crowns (after opening Christmas crackers).

Some other Christmas activities that I/we did this year:

- Ladies Cookie Exchange with ladies from my church. I didn't get any cookies made in time to participate. I did enjoy sampling a few cookies and seeing what people brought.

- I did some crafting. I decoupaged some wooden blocks using some Christmas scrapbook paper. Here they are displayed on my little shelf by our front door. The nativity at the top I bought from Dayspring.com

- We went to see the lights at Evergreen church. The weather was super nice that night. They go "all out" there. Free hot cocoa, free cookies, a model train set up, faux snow falling at various times, a light tunnel, and a huge light display which is synchronized to music.

It is sad when the Christmas music is no longer on the radio. I did some shopping today (Boxing Day) and found some good bargains on things I look forward to using next year.


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