The roads are stilly icy and there‘s a three day weekend to finish my household chores and school work, so there will be plenty of reading time today. I finally finished my #CovertoCover book last night, and I‘m going to switch between audiobooks while working on the puzzle or doing housework. I also need read this #LitsyBookClub choice that I may have waited until the last minute to start.

I‘m spending a bit of time catching up on most of the last chapter, “Flight to the Ford,” of Book One tonight. This time I find myself thinking about just how much has happened since they left the Shire and wondering why the Black Riders did leave the travelers alone for as long as they did after Weathertop.

I also want to take a moment to check in with all our fellow readers. How is everyone‘s progress?

#FellowshipofTolkien #LotRChapterADay

My library loan expires this weekend and there are others waiting, so I finished listening ahead of schedule. I can completely see why so many readers connect to the experiences of this story. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, and I loved how well I felt that I got to know the characters.

Thanks @CoffeeNBooks for finally motivating me to read this book and I look forward to the rest of the discussion!

#ATreeGrowsInBrooklynBuddyRead #audiobook

I really enjoyed this short scene about the autograph books and the rhymes fellow students wrote to Francie. They‘re creative and amusing. Just a few weeks ago, my dad was showing me these same kind of autograph books from my grandparents‘ school days in the 1930s.

#ATreeGrowsInBrooklynBuddyRead

I first learned about these incubators for premature babies when reading The Electric Woman and found it interesting to see them mentioned here. Again Sissy is pretty creative in her methods.

#ATreeGrowsInBrooklynBuddyRead

I realized that I don‘t have any nonfiction in my list of books for this month, so I‘m squeezing this one in. I will probably switch back and forth between it and another audio, so I won‘t be getting through it too quickly. After listening to just under an hour, I like the audio as it emphasizes the oral history perspective, but I‘m also glad I was able to find an ebook copy as well.

#nonfiction #audiobook #ReadingEurope2020

I made homemade pan pizza and read “At the Sign of the Prancing Pony” this evening. I‘ve always really liked Strider, and it is especially interesting to read this again after the early drafts with Strider first introduced as a Hobbit.

#FellowshipofTolkien #LotRChapterADay #ReadandEat

I didn‘t enjoy this #audiobook. A down on his luck writer sees things go from bad to worse as he runs out of money, slowly sells off his possessions, and becomes increasingly mentally unstable as hunger rules his thoughts. Yet, throughout the story, people do try to help him and he makes incredibly bad decisions. I wanted to feel sympathy, but I just didn‘t. I don‘t quite know what to make of the ending either.

#ReadingEurope2020 #Norway

#BookReport #DaiseysReadingWeek
🎧 Independent People - #ReadingEurope2020 #Iceland
📖 The English Patient

#CurrentlyReading
🎧 #ATreeGrowsInBrooklynBuddyRead
🎧 Hunger
📖 The Magician of Lublin (My at school book, so could be a slow read.)
📖 #CovertoCover postal book club book
📖 #FellowshipofTolkien Readalong

#WeeklyForecast
📚 Continue current reads
📖 Start The Girls at 17 Swann Street - #LitsyBookClub
🎧 Start 1 of these for #Reading1001

Supper tonight included soup, salad, and finishing this book. It describes the experiences and memories of four people in an Italian villa just after the retreat of the Germans at the end of WWII. I was saddened yet fascinated by the war time experiences of each character and especially intrigued by the descriptions of dismantling bombs. The writing style took a while for me to adjust to, but I appreciated the vivid detail and literary allusions.

I‘m enjoying some cozy reading time with the pets and a hot cup of tea on this wintry evening. Tom Bombadil is an enigmatic character that seems to often elicit conflicting opinions from readers. Even after several rereads and other texts, I‘m still intrigued and curious about this character every time I meet him.

#FellowshipofTolkien #LotRChapterADay

I really enjoyed the parts of this book about farm life and raising sheep in Iceland in the early 1900s. I wished sometimes that things I considered fairly major events had been described in a bit more detail, and I did not enjoy the more political aspects. Yet overall, this was a wonderful choice for experiencing #Iceland for #ReadingEurope2020.

#ReadtheWorld #ReadingtheWorld #translated #1001books #audiobook #Hoopla

I couldn‘t resist a photo of the page with the quote on my bookmark. The hobbits quickly become aware of the danger around them. Although I clearly remember the fear and suspense of the black riders, I had forgotten the details of this meeting with the elves. This chapter is such a mix and filled with anticipation. I also continue to appreciate the poetry more with every reread.

#FellowshipofTolkien #LotRChapterADay

“The Shadow is the Past” is full of so much important background information. I also love Sam‘s excitement over his “punishment.”

#FellowshipofTolkien #LotRChapterADay

I‘ve been listening to this #audiobook off and on the last few days as I do other things. With all the talk of sheep and life in the wide open spaces of #Iceland it‘s a good listen for a walk. Listening to stories of hard times with starvation looming is not so enjoyable while baking. I also caught up on flagging all the #1001books I‘ve read as I listened as well, and I‘ve decided this is the best way to feel you‘re making progress on the list.

#BookReport
📚 Finished 3 books to end 2019

#CurrentlyReading
🎧 #ATreeGrowsInBrooklynBuddyRead (through chapter 14)
🎧 Independent People #ReadingEurope2020
📖 The English Patient #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown
📖 The Fellowship of the Ring #FellowshipofTolkien

#WeeklyForecast
I hope to stay on track with group reads, finish current independent reads, and move on to an upcoming as I finish one of similar format.

#FellowshipofTolkien friends, it has been a very Tolkien day! Not only did I start my day by reading Tolkien, but I ended it by attending a gathering of the Tolkien Society of Kansas City for the annual Toast to the Professor. I hope to attend more events in the future, but the distance makes it unlikely I will participate as much as I might like.

Good morning and Happy Birthday to the Professor! I‘m so looking forward to enjoying another reread of one of my favorite books with a wonderful group of Litsy readers! I just enjoyed reading the prologue all about hobbits with breakfast.

#FellowshipofTolkien #LotRChapterADay
#BreakfastWithTolkien

Here‘s the daily schedule for the Fellowship of the Ring portion of our chapter a day readalong of The Lord of the Rings.

Anyone is welcome to join! We don‘t have specific discussions, just post as you wish with the hashtag #FellowshipofTolkien.

#Readalongs2020 #readalong
#JRRTolkien #YearsofTolkien

#FellowshipofTolkien is planning to start a chapter a day readalong of The Lord of the Rings with The Fellowship of the Ring tomorrow, January 3! All readers are welcome to join us. Daily schedule will hopefully be posted tonight.

#Readalongs2020

This year, I‘m looking at my reading goals as more participatory. I will continue to set a 100 book goal on Goodreads, but the others are mostly about reading with others instead of a specific list.

I will also continue to track reading of library and owned books, but I‘m not setting any kind of goal.

#1001books #Reading1001
#ReadingEurope2020
#LitsyBookClub
#MGBuddyRead
#CovertoCover

#ReadingResolutions #ReadingGoals #2020Goals

The last book I finished in 2019 was Squint. The book I started and am continuing into the new year is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. However, the first book I started after midnight on January 1 is The English Patient.

Thanks for the fun prompt, @BookNAround! #lastfirst

Finally, as part of my year end wrap up, here are the 30 books I read from the #1001books list in 2019. It‘s not quite as many as I was hoping for, but I did manage to read my #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown book every month, a few of the books of the month for that group, a few with Litsy readalongs, and a few random choices.

#1001Discoveries #Genji #Hugonuts #ReadColdBlood
#2019Stats #ReadingStats

Here are some more reading stats from my spreadsheet for 2019. Audiobooks counted for just under half of my books this year, and I used the library for almost 60% of my reading. The bar graph shows my book sources with purple for library, light blue for owned or free, and dark blue for borrowed from friends.

#ReadingStats #2019Stats

What a wonderful New Year surprise! Thanks so much @sblbooks! I‘m hoping to read this one for #ReadingEurope2020 this year.

#KindLitsy

#MyYearInBooks from Goodreads plus a few other details. The two books that have stuck with me throughout this year were The Tale of #Genji and The History of the Hobbit, both read with fantastic Litsy readalong groups.

#HobbitHistory #FellowshipofTolkien
#ReadingStats #2019Stats

This was an impressive reading month! I read several great #middlegrade books in the last few months, but I think The Length of a String is my favorite.

I won‘t be finishing any more books tonight, but I‘m probably going to start a new book and wait to post year end stats tomorrow. Happy Reading! 📚

#monthlystats #readingstats

Today I spent some time looking through my grandma‘s bookshelves, and I found a few of these small editions. This is the one that came home with me. The book doesn‘t have a publication date, but it was gifted to my great grandma for Christmas 1918. It appears it might be only volume one of a two volume set. Even so, I‘m happy to have a book from her collection.

My last completed book of the year! This middle grade novel includes comics, dealing with enemies that used to be friends, medical issues as a kid, losing family members, absent parents, and new friendships. I enjoyed it, but it just felt like too much forcing of the authors‘ lessons on me as a reader.

#middlegrade #TRS2019 #MsDsLibrary

This is a great story of family and friendship, with a fantastic dynamic between Marcus, his brother Charlie, and their mother. The description of the travel and culture in Puerto Rico was wonderful.

Just a note, there‘s a fair amount of Spanish and a little bit of German on a few pages.

#middlegrade #TRS2019 #MsDsLibrary

This book has a fun premise, shape shifting dragons called wyverns from another world were exiled to Earth long ago and now live among humans hoarding gold. Sky‘s family is in turmoil after her mother disappeared during a heist gone wrong, and she is determined to learn the truth and redeem her family name. Yet, the world building lacked depth and I wanted more complexity in the plot and character relationships.

#YA #TRS2019

The last week has been pretty busy, but this morning is quiet and I‘m fitting in a chapter or two of this were-dragon story before church.

#BookReport
🎧 4 audiobooks
🎄 3 holiday reads
📓 2 middle grade
✍️ 1 nonfiction

#CurrentlyReading
📖 Fire & Heist
🎧 #ATreeGrowsInBrooklynBuddyRead - starting Sunday morning

#WeeklyForecast
📚 Along with Fire & Heist, I have 2 more middle grade reads I hope to get to before we start back to school.
📖 #FellowshipofTolkien starts The Fellowship of the Ring #readalong January 3!
🎧 Independent People for #ReadingEurope2020

I finished this listening to this book, including a scene with monster unicorns chasing the characters along a forest path, during my afternoon walk. The story is a modern Hansel & Gretel retelling with aspects of Arabian Nights as Alex tells creepy stories to keep himself safe. There are magical plants, an amazing library, great characters, a wonderful friendship, and a positive message of being true to yourself.

#MiddleGrade #audiobook #TRS2019

I finished my Advent devotional early this morning, and then listened to the rest of Christmas Days while completing the last of the gifts and baking for today. This was a wonderful collection of stories and recipes that I will absolutely revisit in years to come.

#Christmas #audiobook

I‘m home from a wonderful Christmas Eve service at church and have a quiet night to myself. So, I‘m enjoying a few more of Tolkien‘s Letters from Father Christmas along with a mug of tea and a slice of fruitcake. I know fruitcake is not often a favorite, but I love this recipe of my Grandma‘s and now make it each year for our family to continue her tradition. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who celebrate!

#FellowshipofTolkien #Christmas

This #NovelInVerse is set in 1972 as schools in Houston are integrating, but that is mainly background to the personal trauma of a family dealing with the death of one of their own. It touches on many tough topics, but in the end, I felt it tried to do too much. I had to reread carefully to figure out certain details with some historical background, and I‘m not sure most #middlegrade readers would catch and understand all of them.

#TRS2019

I‘m rereading a few of Tolkien‘s letters from Father Christmas this evening with a very appropriate Christmas bookmark. I love the North Polar Bear as well as all of the creativity in these letters.

#FellowshipofTolkien #Christmas

I felt that I needed a little something different in between holiday listens, so I chose this book that‘s been on my TBR a while. I still think The Etymologicon is my personal favorite of Forsyth‘s books, but this one was also fascinating. It delves into description and examples from various sources of many elements of rhetoric, some of which were familiar to me and many I had never heard named.

#nonfiction #audiobook #Hoopla

#BookReport
I finished more than I expected this past week. I especially enjoyed listening to some Christmas books and finishing a reread of The Hobbit with #FellowshipofTolkien.

#CurrentlyReading
🎧 Elements of Eloquence so I fit in a bit of nonfiction this month
🎧 Christmas Days which I chose based on lots of Litsy Love
📖 Rereading Letters from Father Christmas

#WeeklyForecast
Enjoying current holiday reads & more #middlegrade books

This is the second book in a row I‘ve read about children leaving (or attempting to leave) Europe in the wake of WWII. This historical fiction is based on the stories of survivors of a ship carrying English children that was sunk by a German U-Boat. It is written in verse and clearly conveys the experiences of one of those boys while on a lifeboat in the Atlantic. At the end there‘s also a section of photos.

#MiddleGrade #NovelInVerse #TRS2019

As an adult, I love finding literary references like this one to The Sword in the Stone (or The Once and Future King King), but it also always makes me wonder how many I have missed and am still missing when I read.

I finished the last chapter of The Hobbit today, and again I loved this story. It‘s interesting to consider it with more depth after reading The History of the Hobbit and so much of Tolkien‘s writing the last few years. I appreciated the footnotes, but since much of that information was familiar from other reading, my favorite aspect of this edition is the variety of illustrations.

#ThereAndBackAgain #FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien #reread

This is not at all my normal reading fare, and a few times, especially towards the end, I stopped for a while just to take a break and read/think about something cheerier. Yet, I really enjoyed the style and I was continually surprised by turns that the story took.

#audiobook #1001books #Reading1001

“It was her real life, Imani,” she said apologetically. “It‘s not some book we read in school with, like, symbols and themes. She didn‘t have to end with any closure.”

This book weaves together the story of Imani, an African American girl adopted by a Jewish family, with her great grandmother Anna‘s story of leaving Luxembourg to live with a couple in New York City in 1941. I enjoyed the way the diary made the past real to Imani and also helped her better understand her own adoption. It is a wonderful combination of historical fiction and the reality of family as more than genetics.

#TRS2019 #MiddleGrade

❄️ I have done different challenges over the last several years. I started with A to Z and the Read Harder challenges.

❄️ I generally set a Goodreads goal of 100 books. Since I started reading from the #1001books list and participating in Litsy book clubs, I have mostly stopped challenges with lists of prompts. I am planning to participate in #ReadingEurope2020 as I think I can make that one overlap with other reading.

#Two4Tuesday

This was an enjoyable Christmas collection of 7 classic stories and 8 poems by Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, L.M. Montgomery, Hans Christian Andersen, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Christina Rossetti, and more. I only wish the poems had been interspersed between the stories instead of all in one section at the end.

#Christmas #audiobook #shortstories #poetry

I settled in for a little bit of cozy reading this evening with Gandalf. This story alternates between the perspective of an adopted Jewish girl in the present and her great grandmother‘s diary from 1941.

Monday morning breakfast and a book! The more of Tolkien‘s work I‘ve read, the more I am fascinated by the dwarves. I think that Tolkien changed his own perception of the dwarves of Middle-Earth as he worked on The Hobbit. In previous reads, I was mostly frustrated with Thorin at this point in the story, but in rereading, I better appreciate the history and depth of his character.

#ThereAndBackAgain #FellowshipofTolkien #BreakfastwithTolkien