The Best Books I Read in 2013

I love a good excuse to have a book wrap-up! Let's bid adieu to 2013 bookish style!

Thank goodness for Goodreads because I used it all last year and everything I read is in one place. So many books I would have forgotten to talk about! You can follow me on Goodreads too if you so desire, because book stalking is a thing!

Lets get to it!

Best of the Best

 

I like to think I have some fairly high standards when it comes to books that I would wholeheartedly recommend. They can't just be beautifully written but dead boring. They have to have a decent plot and if not likeable characters, at the very least interesting characters. Books that I really love usually have amazing writing. The kind of prose that breaks your heart with its deft turn of phrase and beautiful capturing of the English language. Books I love also usually speak to something deeper than the surface of the story it tells, usually in a surprising way. These are some books that I not only enjoyed but would recommend to anyone who appreciates good literature and a good story.

The Shoemaker's Wife - A tale of a lifetime of love between two immigrants to America. I enjoyed this book the more I read and think its a rare story that both tugs at the heartstrings but remains realistic.

The Language of Flowers - A beautiful telling of a mother's devotion and how motherhood effects us in surprising ways. Another beautiful story,

The Secret Keeper - I thought Kate Morton was chick-lit so I started reading her books in the last throes of pregnancy where all I could do was wallow on the couch. I was so pleasantly surprised by the well crafted writing and characters. This novel was my favourite.

A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion - Ron Hansen's latest work about a doomed love affair that turned violent in the 1920's. Hansen is simply an amazing writer. His writing remains firmly Catholic even when the content is far from overt Catholic themes. This novel deals with themes of sin, grace, and repentance and is worth the read.

Memento Mori - I love Muriel Spark. I find her quirky and interesting while at the same time being able to hit upon such deep truths. In a way she's a British Flannery O'Connor in that she approaches Catholic ideas through strange and unusual stories and characters. Momento Mori is another strange tale of strange people dealing with their own mortality. A story that stays with you.

Bel Canto - Ann Patchett successfully creates a parallel universe which completely envelopes the reader. She brings to life another world where relationships, language barriers, and love all intersect in what seem to be impossible ways.

Jayber Crow - I finally dove into Wendell Barry and his famous tale of a man's telling of life, community and the wisdom he finds living a simple life. I think this is a book that will come back to me in many ways. It is a beautifully written ode to what's really important. Very Chestertonian.

Non-Fiction Notes

I am all over the place when it comes to non-fiction. I love strange topics and discovering things I would never have known through non-fiction books. It's really because I'm a giant nerd. Do any of these strike your fancy?

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - I found this book interesting because I enjoy learning about personality, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel as if this book preached a little too heavily on how amazing introverts are. I'm a ridiculously balanced person when it comes to introversion/extraversion so I didn't exactly relate to how great it is to be an introvert and what a cross it is to be an introvert in a world where people communicate with each other all the time. I feel the repurrcusions of this book have made everyone believe they're that very special introvert who needs to be catered to and appreciate for all their "special" abilities. Haha, now I just sound bitter. It really is quite the interesting book.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - This book blew my mind. I'm not too into scientific discoveries and would never have known what has gone on in the field of genetic research in the past century if I hadn't read this book. I found it completely engrossing. It put a personal face on medical technology and its myriad of implications, as well as proving the Church's important teaching on scientific studies completely right on.

The Complete Thinker: The Marvelous Mind of G.K. Chesterton - A wonderful introduction to the most important foundations of Chesterton's thinking and how it explains our world. Well written and easy to read.

My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir - Before I read this book I had this vague impression that it was going to be an overly sentimental and pious spiritual memoir that I would find boring and annoying. Thank goodness I was wrong in every way! A touching, relatable, and wonderfully told memoir of a modern woman encountering holy women in the Church.

Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life - I didn't find this book completely revolutionary like many purport, but still really enjoyed it. I agree wholeheartedly with her thesis that home is the most important place in our lives and deserves time and attention to make us happier. Worth the read for sure.

A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death That Changed the British Monarchy - I'm a huge British monarchy nerd and love a good royal biography like nobody's business! This book was a very interesting look at the relationship between Victoria and Albert and how his death helped create the Victoria of history.

Dad Is Fat - Absolutely hilarious and a treat to read! I was in tears in so many different parts and could have sworn he was writing about my life. Anyone with kids will relate, but anyone with more than 3 will be in stitches!

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child - A little long winded in sections, but overall a complete manifesto on how I want to raise my kids. It really opens your mind to how our world has changed the way children learn and how it has impacted our children's moral development and childhood.

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise - Ruth Reichl is an amazing food writer and this book was a pure pleasure to read. I loved being invited into her interesting tales of being a food critic.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - An incredibly well-written tale of the strange way the Oxford English Dictionary came into existence. What's that? A book written about people writing a book sounds boring? Well, this will completely change your opinion of that genre!

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex - Because a tale of cannibalism is a great way to get perspective on a crappy day spent with toddlers! But really, an amazing story and a well-done history. I regaled stories from this book to my husband who thought I was making it all up.

Pope Awesome and Other Stories - I can't recommend this book enough. If you're looking for a book to encourage your own heart in faith and family, or to open the eyes of a friend I'd suggest this book every time. A well written tale of a modern woman finding faith and family in a world that tries its best to stifle both.

Books I Hated and Books I Thought Were Just Alright

Sometimes its just so much fun to complain about bad books amiright? Here's some that were atrocious that I somehow finished out of my compulsive must-finish-every-book-I-read disorder.

Gone Girl - I honestly don't understand how this book is such a raging bestseller, but I'm going to blame the general uneducated state of society today. This book was sloppily written, had the most unlikeable characters, and had a twist ending that anyone could see coming from about 12 miles away. I honestly shouldn't have finished it, and I'm still bitter I won't get those hours of my life back. Horrible!

Still Alice - This is a book that I didn't hate per say, but didn't live up to my expectations. A story detailing the heartbreak of alzheimer's disease, this book seemed to be building to being a great book but never quite made it there. I found the prose clunky and a little cold as well.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and The Paris Wife - I went on a bit of a kick where I could only read novels based on the lives of wives of famous writers from the 1920's. They were both decent, although I didn't love the books. The Paris Wife was the better written book which details the life of Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley, while Z tells the tragic life of Zelda Fitzgerald.

Austenland - I'm not a fan of fan fiction generally, and this proves me right yet again. I honestly thought this book was terrible. The movie might be entertaining as it tells of a young woman trying to understand love by going to a spa-come-Jane Austen re-enacting-theater of sorts.

The Night Circus - I'm still fairly angry that this book wasn't better edited. With some crafty editing, say chopping the book by a good 100 pages, this would have been a good fantasy. As it exists today its a best-selling disappointment. I plodded through the book hoping for an interesting resolution only to be tortured by chapter after chapter of crazy descriptions.

Someday, Someday, Maybe - This was a book I thought I was going to hate but was pleasantly surprised with. It's not high literature but for a chick-lit book written by an actress its surprisingly entertaining. A good easy and fun read!

Ok. I need to stop talking about books don't I? I think 2013 turned out to be a good year for reading, and I'm fairly happy I read so much even when I had a baby in that time period! I'm looking forward to hearing about your favourite books of 2013!

And if you're in the mood for more of my book opinions here's my Best Books of 2012 post.

Linking up with Haley's great book link-up!

And joining Modern Mrs Darcy with most Best Book links!

---

follow along:

facebook ~ instagram ~ pinterest

Goodbye 2013 - a year in 13 photos

Happy New Year dear readers!

I hope you're all sipping away the first day of the new year, we're huddled together for warmth as its frigid outside once again. And since my brain still says "Vacation!" I'm digging deep and linking up with the wonderful Dwija with her photo wonders once again!

I love looking back over the year through my photos. I know it sounds beyond cliche, but it really is what helps me remember certain things about the kids, what we did, memories of all shapes and sizes as time flies by. Here's a snapshot of snapshots!

January

Cold, so cold. But we made it out for sledding even though being bundled and unable to move, Max still had fun. Or maybe still stayed alive. 

February

Max started walking in February. Finally! I was only 8 months pregnant. I'm glad he held strong and insisted upon being carried by his waddling mother. He had to milk his last days of being a baby. And with a face like this I guess I can forgive him...

March

Our Nora was born March 25! That must be the big news for our March this year. We were so happy to welcome a little sister for Gemma who just couldn't wait for another little girl in the family. I was so very happy to not be pregnant anymore and to have a beautiful, healthy, miraculous baby. If I've learnt anything from having 5 babies its that the miracle of them gets more amazing each time!

April

Easter was in April this year right? We had a chaotic one with a new baby, but we did manage some egg colouring! Which is a pretty important part if you ask the kids!

And a bonus picture from April:

Just cause they're so cute.

May

My first apple tree picture with five bambinos! A source of unending torture for each boy, and clearly poor Nora whom I tried to blind. But still, I can't stop my photo traditions!

June

Nora was baptized! After a bit of drama with the church, which I am firmly burying in my psyche we successfully fulfilled our parental obligations and now have 5 little members of the Church. She was an adorable little saint.

July

Oh beautiful summer days where the kids can play on the deck in their pajamas! I miss this perfect days! I love watching the kids enjoy summer. Out in bare feet, blowing bubbles, splashing in the sprinkler or puddles, picking flowers. I need to stop torturing myself now...

August

Its hard to remember when its so hot outside we run through the sprinkler every afternoon, but it really happened! I have pictures to prove it! We had a laid back summer with the inflatable pool every afternoon. I'd sit and watch while nursing a baby and kids ran every where in various stages of undress. Perfection.

September

This is how Max created a double stroller out of a single stroller. He thought his innovation was fairly revolutionary and rode like this everywhere for at least a month.

Babies on top of babies.

October

She may be tiny but she has a flair for the dramatic. This may be one of those pictures I dig up after she wins a couple oscars. Probably for crying just like this.

November

We had a joint birthday party for the Irish twins a couple weeks after Luke's birthday and a couple weeks before Dom's. They're the same age for about 4 weeks a year and I somehow mustered this amazing Lego cake creation for them. I'm now going to hide all these pictures so there can be no jealousy or heightened expectations for birthdays of the future!

December

Our year winds up back in the cold of winter, but full of the joy only found in life with 5 crazy kids! I'm glad I survived another year! Things keep getting better even when I'm positive I'm bursting with happiness.

Happy New Year!

---

follow along:

facebook ~ instagram ~ pinterest

Seven Quick Takes vol. 72

Joining my sick compatriot Jen for these festive takes...

{one}

I've got few Christmas photos this year, and I forgot my camera at my mom's...you're welcome...

Merry Christmas to you all!

 I hope everyone is enjoying these holy days of celebration and feasting! It's 12 days of Christmas everyone...so pace yourselves....

I would have wished you all a Joyeux Noel sooner but...

{two}

I got sick for Christmas! Just what everyone wants in time for the busiest days of the year, right? And I'm not talking your regular run-of-the-mill head cold. Oh no. I'm talking kicks you in the ass and leaves you a moaning carcass flu. I was so ache-y and sore I couldn't move for almost three days! It was absolutely ridiculous. And of course, hit me on Monday and has just backed off today. 

{three}

So it twas the night before Christmas and all through our house not a creature was stirring...because I had to ship all the kids to my mom's while Paul and I had a measly three hour nap in which we were practically dead to the world. We managed to make it to my mom's to watch the kids while they were fortunate enough to go to Christmas Eve Mass with Gemma. We stayed awake long enough to open Christmas jammies, throw the kids in their beds for a dreamless sleep, lay out some stockings, gather some gifts under the tree and were back in bed for the night by 9 pm. It was a happening time! 

{four}

Thank goodness we hadn't planned on going far but just to my parents for Christmas Day. My parents and siblings entertained all the kids, who were in general all feeling alright, while their poor parents lay on couches in various rooms of the house. I'm so happy the kids don't depend upon their parents for happiness because they all had a fabulous day and declared this the "Best Christmas Ever!" 

I only ate a tiny bit of turkey dinner, and only a handful of butter tarts as opposed to my usual Christmas quota.

{five}

Amazingly, though it still felt like Christmas. It still was full of happy, excited, wonderful children thrilled at every little treat they found in their stockings and each of their gifts. Everything seems so special and magical, they demand everything to be just like last year and bring so much joy to everyone around them. Even their sad, sick parents. 

It's really sad missing Christmas Eve Mass though, I may have cried sad, sickly tears over  not being able to go. I would have had to be physically restrained from going if I could have gotten up under my own power! I'm hoping we'll all be well enough to go to Mass tomorrow evening, and I fully intend to make everyone get dressed up fully in their unworn Christmas finery!

{six}

Unfortunately Nora was the worst off in the under 25 crowd with this flu. She was the first to catch it, spent three very sleepless nights sniffling, coughing, and just being generally miserable, I thought she had bounced back and kicked her fever by Tuesday, but on Christmas day she became quiet, her fever came back with a vengeance, and she just was lying around. That's the worst isn't it? When your baby is just lying there, not grumpy, not crying, just lying. So I was completely terrified and took her into the emergency room yesterday morning and she's got a wicked case of tonsillitis! My poor baby! Thankfully she's really improved since the drugs kicked in yesterday and I'm so happy to not have a  feverish baby. Her first Christmas wasn't the best introduction to what Christmas is all about, but she doesn't eat much solids yet anyway...so next year will be amazing for her I'm sure! 

{seven}

I know you're just blown away by these exciting glamorous tales, but wait-there's more! Tomorrow is my sweet Max's 2nd Birthday! I can't believe he's two already. These past years have definitely flown by in comparison to even Gemma's first two years. I love baby's turning two. It just opens up a little more independence, things begin to get a little easier in more ways, hopefully he'll start talking! We'll be throwing a very simple soiree for him tomorrow with more presents, candy, and less sickness! Max knows it's his birthday because the boys like to remind him of it every 10 minutes, his reaction says something like, if they're so excited about something it's got to be good! 

Hope you're all having a healthier holiday! Thanks for reading these stellar takes!

---

follow along:

facebook ~ instagram ~ pinterest

Seven Quick Takes - An Overload of Christmas Photos edition!

Joining the lovely Jen (Pre-order her book right now!), for seven of the randomest, 'tis the season!

{one}

At least someone has their act together and is dressed for the day!

Does it never cease to amaze you too that you can be up early, have everyone else up early, breakfasted, somewhat cleaned, and think to yourself, "Wow, I'm going to get so much done today-look at me go!", only to realize its now 11 am, dishes are still piled everywhere, the house has only gotten messier, and you've spent all of your time breaking up toddler aggressions, changing bomb diapers, and trying to get the baby to nap??

ANYWAYS - nuts to all that mess and getting crap done, I might as well blog!

{two}

It's Friday everyday when you're 9 months old and sleep/wakeup whenever you want!

If there wasn't Seven Quick Take posts popping up everywhere I could have sworn it was Thursday, so that's a pleasant surprise. This week has been a flurry of Christmas around here, the kids are brimming with excitement. I feel the noise levels are rising in ratio with the excitement too. If I make it to Christmas I'll be thrilled. 

I feel ready for Christmas.  Oh, not in the I've-got-all-my-presents-wrapped/bought, house-is-clean, cookies-are-baked kinda way, but in an excited anticipatory way. I'm going to chalk this feeling up as an Advent success. I feel as if somehow I'm not even thinking about stressing out about stuff. I have no idea if gifts will be successful, or wrapped for that matter, or if every child will be perfectly happy, or if I got everything I wanted done or not, or if every obligatory Christmas activity has happened or not. I'm just leaving room for wonder and feel ready to celebrate and feast. 

{three}

We ventured out last weekend for our yearly Christmas tree hunt. Living out in the wilderness has the one advantage that finding a Christmas tree takes about five minutes. Perfect length for toddlers and small children!

I won't tell you that we just picked a tree from the side of the road that runs through my dad's property. It's a beauty this year though, nice a full, because it grew in a nice open ditch.

{four}

Then the decorating commenced! The kids have somehow developed the idea that they decorate the tree every year. I don't know where they got this idea though, because I'm pretty sure I actively discourage it every year. And it usually ends in a flurry of tears and sap-covered fingers. But we did let them decorate if only for the nice photo ops, there were four very decorated branches. 

{five}

I have a big tub of unbreakable ornaments that I store at the top of the Christmas box so I just hand it to the kids and tell them to go nuts. So far this theory has worked well and they cover the bottom half of the tree with the cheap ornaments which saves some time for me. Then they go to bed and I carefully unpack the breakables and momentos and hang them, then my OCD kicks in and I completely redistribute the ornaments the kids had previously hung. And which they'll rehang as soon as the wake up the next morning. And every morning after that.

I realized again I need to stop buying ornaments. But I cannot stop. I love all the ornaments!

I need a better picture of the finished tree but heres one shot for ya - 

{six}

Also, I started feeding the baby child her first solids the last couple weeks. I'm on the baby led feeding train and let me tell you, if you learn one thing in having five babies in six years is that feeding babies younger than 8 months is just. not. worth. it. Seriously, just wait until they actually care. Don't bother feeding them the baby crap at six months. It really doesn't matter, they make a giant mess, its a huge waste of your time and energy.

I only break down and feed baby food when the baby figures out that they could have a little variety in their diet and begin to demand it with tantrums and grumpiness. Nora's almost 9 months old, and she's starting to eat chunks of banana, pear, and apple in the mesh-teether thing which makes feeding the baby completely hands-free, which is my goal. But sometimes I still have to break down and spoon feed her. 

I think I have issues with how much I detest this aspect of babyhood. I need to get over it. 

{seven}

Here's a confession for you-I don't have anything for my parents yet. They're so hard to shop for and I'm coming up completely blank. It's my biggest gift fail. I'm praying for a miracle that somehow lands me at least an idea of what I should give them by Christmas Eve...cmon miracle idea! 

Another New Year's resolution for 2014, which has been a resolution since 2012, learn how to use my ding-dong camera. I want to so badly! 

I'm dying for Christmas chocolates that I'm saving for Christmas day...I know they're in the house though...

Ok, I'm leaving now, someone stop the rambling!

---

follow along:

facebook ~ instagram ~ pinterest