Monthly Book Review: December 2020 + Year in Review

What a forking year, right?! I'm curious how we'll look back in history on 2020. So. Much. Change. I started the year strong attending a playoff game for my husband's beloved Green Bay Packers (a gift from my daughter). I went shopping for wedding dresses for my daughter and it was so emotional to see her face when she found the perfect one (now hanging in my guestroom closet ready for Nov 2021 wedding). February brought fun get-togethers for the Super Bowl, Oscars, church, bowling league and a night of swing dancing. The Hubs and I did a fancy cooking class on Valentine's Day and that location has since closed permanently. We had plans for a trip to Germany and Austria with kids at the end of March which was thwarted only 10 days before it was to begin due to closed borders - here and Europe. We hope to take the same trip in 2021 if we're able to be vaccinated by mid-summer. I started working from home full-time and that was a transition. April brought the promise of Spring and a fur baby - we adopted a 9 yo corgi/terrier named Mya and she was my constant companion and center of our attention. April and May were spent in quarantine to our home, yard and outdoor dinners with a few friends and family. Things started to open a bit in June and I began exercising regularly - a habit that shut down after the gyms closed again early November. In July and August we spent time outdoors with family and friends and took a long a couple of day trips and a long weekend in Bayfield, WI. September brought our first Airstream camping experience (love!) and we continued to soak up time outdoors. My mom came for a visit - we hadn't seen her since September 2019. We took all the precautions and traveled to CA in October for Hubs' oldest son's wedding. We keep daydreaming of packing up the dog and traveling the country in our Airstream. November and December brought cold and increased virus positivity rates so another round of shutdowns - literally and in spirit. There were some "lasts". We lost Mya on Christmas Eve after a short illness due to kidney disease. This loss has been deep - that stubborn fluffy butt imprinted on my heart and reminded me that I am a nurturer. Our January WI trip included a visit with my BFF and that was the last time I saw her mom who was like a second mother to me. She had always been so loving, bright and full of hope, yet her light was fading and in early April she went home to God where I know she is still sprinkling her magic. I had a strong relationship with my ex-MIL and enjoyed having her along on the first dress shopping trip with my daughter. We took her to dinner afterward and that may have been the last time I saw her, at least full interaction. While she is still very much alive, dementia has taken a firm hold and she has been sequestered in her nursing home since March. In February I visited with 87 yo Dane KL in February and I hope that wasn't the last time. I love hearing her experiences from childhood with her brother in the resistance, finding the love of her life, moving to the U.S. and traveling the world. 

Lots of change. I am ready for the change to 2021. I know a flip of the calendar won't make the virus disappear or eliminate challenges that are a normal part of life, but it represents renewal and as an eternal optimist I am ready.

December Book Review

September by Rosamunde Pilcher made it on my list because I so enjoyed Winter Solstice by the same author. While not as good as WS, I enjoyed the character development and Scottish setting. It's 1988 and a party is being planned for September. Old friends and family will be together Some will attend because it is expected, others will go to make peace with their pasts. 

I started Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, but it's long - and a bit dry - so am taking my time.

2020 Book Review

I read 21 books plus a few podcasts and Audible exclusives - far below my expectations but this is a year if there ever was one to say 'it is what it is'. According to Audible, I listened to 35 titles - some started and not finished - with 212 hours on fiction and 41 hours nonfiction. Without further adieu, my top 5 favorite books for 2020: 

1. The Things We Cannot Say
2. The Gift of Forgiveness
3. Between the World and Me 
4. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
5. What Alice Forgot

Audible had a sale with lots of reads in my wish list for only $6 or $7 so I stocked up.

 

TBR List

• The Farm by Joanne Ramos
• Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• The Tatooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams 
• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Monthly Book Review: November 2020

Ah, December. This is the time of year I go crazy with decking of halls, baking of cookies, wrapping of presents and caroling. And a never-ending pandemic with surging cases is not going to steal my joy. Not today Satan, not today!!!!

Two reads last month so already feeling pretty accomplished. 

Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Menuhin is a country murder story set in the 1920s. A delightful cast of characters with an ambience reminiscent of Downton Abbey. Heathcliff Lennox (awesome name!) has a mystery on his hands when a dead man shows up on his doorstep days before Christmas. And that is only the first. I don't recall how I found this one -  I recommend for a lighthearted holiday read. It's the first in a series, but I think this was a one and done for me.

Blindness by Jose Saramago was recommended by my SIL's book club. They use the title when a book garners a ranking higher than 10/10 so I was very intrigued. An entire population goes blind save for one person. Nothing like a pandemic to bring out the best and worst in people Sound familiar?! A group of people are forced together by circumstance. Initially the group is quarantined in a former mental institution, later they attempt to find their homes and find a dystopian society. When you can no longer use your eyes to "see" the world, what do you believe, who or what do you rely on? Will the best of humanity and faith survive? The writing is superb and the occasional voice over perspective intriguing. Definitely an interesting read given the current state of COVID with stay-at-home orders, quarantines, masks, polarized opinions, etc. Blindness was made into a movie with Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal - I'm definitely going to check it out even if the ratings are so-so.

 TBR List

• September by Rosamunde Pilcher
• The Farm by Joanne Ramos