Wednesday, January 15, 2014

January Twitterature

twitterature monthly reading linkup short reviews


Today I'm linking up with Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy to share "short, casual reviews" of the books I've read in the past 31 days.

Our January weather has been especially brutal.   We've experienced high temperatures in the teens with wind chills below zero.  My comfort zone has been inside on my couch with a book.  Of course, we've had some un-winterlike warm days, too, and my comfort stone is still inside with a book.

I love to talk books on
my Facebook page , too, so stop by if you have a chance. 

{As always, post about books contain my affiliate links.}




Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isleby Mary MacLeod

This memoir is the story of a nurse who moved her family to a remote Scottish island in order to experience a different pace of life.  Visting her patients through snow, fog, and bitter cold temperatures, she delivers everything from routine daily diabetic injections to prenatal care.
#memoir  #scottishnurse  



The Return of Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes begins work again after being presumed dead in this, the third book of short stories about the famous detective.  I read the book to tide me over until the BBC mini-series returns (on Sunday night!).
#mystery  #classic  #shortstories 





Okay for Nowby Gary D. Schmidt

I picked this up on a whim and I am so glad I did.  The dialog is natural, the narrative is superb. I laughed, then cried, then laughed some more. And added bonus: Audobon paintings and Jane Eyre are woven into the story line!
#comingofage   #1960s   #nationalbookawardfinalist   #favorite





Stones for Breadby Christa Parrish

I read the book and then began an obsession with sourdough bread.  Parrish is one of my favorite fiction authors and this book brings more of her trademark storytelling which rolls out slowly while developing strong characters.
#fiction  #bread  #strongcharacterdevelopment





Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook From Scratchby Jennifer Reese


I want to make my own yogurt (healthy!) and marshmallow cream (not so healthy!)
#nonfiction  #recipes  #fun




From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

I re-read this primarily because I remember reading it as a kid but couldn't remember anything about it.  It was okay this time around, though I was surprised by the small "revelation" at the end. 
#kidlit  #blastfromthepast





With the kids...

Missing Grace: A Kit Mysteryby Elizabeth McDavid Jones

Snuggling on the couch with my girls and their dolls was cozy. We learned about basset hounds, dog shows, and pedigree, too.
#americangirl   #mystery  #greatdepression





Meet Caroline: An American Girlby Kathleen Ernst

We choose a new American Girl series to read together each winter.  This year we picked Caroline. The girls are all starting to run together, though.  I'm still partial to Kirsten and Molly.
#moreamericangirl  #warof1812




Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping Frogsby Donald Sobol

To balance out all the girly reading, we share a chapter of Encyclopedia Brown a few evenings a week.  It's a challenge to see which of us can solve the mystery.
#mystery  #shortstories  #dinnertimereading





Our library basket is always loaded.  In January it includes seasonal picks like Kay Thompson's Eloise and the Snowman, plus Callie Cat, Ice Skater and Cold Snap, both by Eileen Spinelli.



 #coldweatherstories   #itswinter  #betterthanbuildingasnowman




14 comments:

  1. Jonathan loves Encyclopedia Brown! I love the idea of reading through a different American Girl series each winter. I bet my girls would love that next year.

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  2. Okay For Now looks wonderful and I'm not familiar with it. Thanks for sharing! I'm adding it to my reading list.

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  3. Love Ok For Now! I'm not familiar with Christa Parrish, but I want to look her up now. Thanks for the recommendation! Totally agree that book about cold weather > being out in the cold weather.

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  4. The Mixed Up Files is one of my favorite books from my childhood. It's been years since I read it but I'm looking forward to a re-read with my boys. Encyclopedia Brown is another one that I need to add to my read aloud list!

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  5. Ooh - I already have a bit of an obsession with sourdough, I will definitely have to check out that bread book. I've read that Buy the Butter book, and it mostly convinced me that it's okay for me to buy almost everything at this stage of my life (little kids, working full time). It's all about trade-offs and what your time is worth, right?

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  6. I just recently heard about make the bread, buy the butter and am so glad I stumbled upon it again here. Now it is on my list (p.s. I have a super easy, crockpot yogurt recipe on my blog :)

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  8. Did you like the Call the Nurse memoir? Looks like something my mom would really enjoy.

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  9. We've been watching (and loving) Sherlock so I think it's time for me to actually read some of the stories! And I loved The Wednesday Wars but haven't read anything else by Gary Schmidt. Thanks for the reminder!

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  10. Call the Nurse sounds good. It's going on the list. :)

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  11. Better than building a snow man. Ha!

    I added Call The Nurse to my list.

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  12. I love the cover of Stones for Bread, and I've never heard of the author. It looks like one I'd like.

    I know what you mean about picking up a book you read and remember loving as a kid and having it be just okay. That happened to me with the Boxcar Children recently!

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  13. I'm really excited to try some of these books! This is my first time doing the link up and several of the books that have been shared have really interested me... (although I totally blurbed mine wrong... I'll know better next time! )

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  14. I added Call the Nurse and Okay For Now to my list! Those look good. I've got the Sherlock Holmes book on my Kindle, hoping to read that one soon.

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