My favorite books *** 2012 Edition

A few days ago I confessed my love for books and reading. Today I thought I'd share some of the best books I read this year.   First of all, let me start by saying that, when I'm reading a good book, I carry it with me everywhere and I sneak in pages whenever I can. I'll cook dinner with a book in my hands. I'll read in the car while waiting to drive thru at Starbucks. And, I'll stay up way later than I should just to finish a chapter. I had a Nook and got an iPad for Christmas (yippee!) but I do still read actual books. Sometimes I'm cheap and don't want to pay for a book, so I'll take it out of the town library. (We're super lucky to have an awesome library in my town.) I like Gia to see me reading, too. Actions speak louder than words, right?   I read a variety of genres. I love chick lit, literary fiction, suspense, memoirs... I'm not huge into supernatural and fantasy, but I like fluffy supernatural stuff like Twilight. As you know I did the impossible and read 52 books this year! (I"m still so excited about this milestone!!) So, here are the highlights of my book reading year.  

1. Best Chick Lit Where We Belong by Emily Giffin
Emily Giffin has been one of my favorite authors since 2006 when I discovered Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I met her not long after Something Blue was released and now we're friends on FB :) Her books are what I call chick lit with a brain. They're fun to read but they also have well-drawn characters in difficult, real-life situations. This was one of her best.

2. Best Memoir The End of Normal by Stephanie Madoff Mack

I knew only the basics of Bernie Madoff's story and I didn't know what to expect from this book when I picked it up at the library. I was pleasantly surprised.  It is beautifully written -- Madoff-Mack really digs deep and tells a poignant tale. She is honest and forthright with the vast majority of the details surrounding Bernie Madoff's downfall and her husband Mark's eventual suicide. Regardless of their wealth, or Stephanie's own well-to-do upbringing, these people suffered at the hands of one of the nation's most notorious criminals and he ended up destroying their lives. It's heartbreaking at times and but definitely worth the read.

3. Best Literary Fiction  The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard
I'd never read anything by Joyce Maynard before this book. The story is captivating from the beginning and I really found myself caring about the characters and thinking about them when I wasn't reading the book. This is a beautifully written story about love, family and redemption.

4. Best Young Adult  Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard
This is absolutely young adult fiction at its best. The story follows friends dealing with the aftermath of a tragedy at their boarding school. Hubbard nails the boarding school setting and the feelings you feel when you're an insecure high-schooler dealing with grown up issues. 

5. Best Trilogy Peaches Trilogy by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Also meant for young adults, the Peaches books are heartwarming tales of three young girls struggling to grow up. I read the first book in this trilogy (Peaches) because it was a Free Friday Nook selection and I was hooked.  I couldn't wait to find out what happened to the three girls, and I happily paid for the other 2 books in the series. 

6. Other Notables  The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Wiener, Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

7. Duds (aka don't waste your time)  London is the Best City in America by Laura Dave, Skinnydipping by Bethenny Frankel, Citizen Girl by Emma McLaughlin

  And my favorite book(s) of the year Very Valentine and Brava Valentine  by Adriana Trigiani. The 3rd installment, Ciao Valentine, is coming in 2013 and I can't wait! Trigiani's characters are so well-drawn they seem like friends, and the settings come alive thanks to her perfect descriptions.    So tell me, what did you read in 2012 that you LOVED? I'm looking for some good ones to read in 2013!

Christmas Recap

Christmas 2012 was so very special for our family! Gia is at a really fun age this year and the magic of Christmas was alive and well in our house. Although she was a little scared of Santa, she was certainly excited to hear that when she was asleep Santa would come and leave her presents.    On Christmas Eve we went to my in-laws for a traditional Italian fish dinner. Gia had so much fun playing with her cousins and opening a ton of presents!

Cheese faces

She said "wooooow!" with each present. Here's the wow face!

  We came home and put on our pjs. (Dee-jamas as Gia says.) Then we put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.  

  As soon as Gia went to bed it started to snow. It was a beautiful night and Jon and I sat by the fire and opened our gifts. I got an iPad from Jon and a photoline from Gia so that I can display her artwork in an attractive way. I gave Jon 3 pairs of his favorite sweatpants and a Brita water pitcher. (He's hard to buy for, ok?) Gia got him new slippers. (His old ones went in the garbage during our potty training days. Enough said.)   On Christmas morning, Gia woke up at 7, which is late for her (thank you sweet baby for letting us sleep a little bit). She was very excited to go downstairs to see if Santa came.

She was shocked when she saw all this:  

She was SO excited about the kitchen.

She played with the kitchen for a while before she opened the rest of her presents.  

  Before Christmas, I asked Gia several times what she wanted Santa to bring her. Every single time she'd tell me she wanted a donkey. Yes, a donkey. Some days it was a real donkey and other days it was a purple donkey. I searched high and low for a purple donkey and found a gorgeous one on Etsy for $65. The order time was 5 weeks, so that was out. Instead I got her a small stuffed donkey and a book called The Wonkey Donkey.    When she opened the donkey on Christmas morning she thought it was a baby horsey. I just about died laughing. After all that talk about a donkey she didn't even realize she got one. Once she realized what he was, she was thrilled and hugged him immediately.   

After a Christmas nap with Elfie...

...my family came over. We ate, and opened more presents & Gia wore her Christmas dress.

It was just a perfect two days. I can't wait to do it all again next year! Merry Christmas from my family to you and yours!

What I'm Reading

Saying I love to read would be the understatement of the year. I'm an avid reader and have been since I was a little girl. I'm an only child and while I had no problem playing school and Barbie and coloring by myself, I always preferred reading.

  I became an English teacher, in large part, because I wanted to inspire others to love reading as much as I do. Kinda corny, I know.  But really, with the right book, everyone would love to read.    When I was in high school I was reading so much that I'd often read the same books twice and not realize it until the very end. So I started making a list of all the books I read. It was nice to have a record and it was also a really cool way to keep track of exactly how much I was reading. One year I read 51 books (my all time high) and I was so disappointed that I didn't hit my goal of 52 books--that would have been one book a week.  I vowed to reach that goal at some point in my life.   I didn't really think 2012 was going to be the year I broke my record. I started off strong--I read The Hunger Games Trilogy in less than a week in January. But then I stalled. I read a great book called Child 44. Turns out it was part of a triology and I had a hard time getting through the other 2 books. (It took me nearly a month--and they weren't that long.) They were all excellent books, but none of them were light and airy and quick reads. Never one to give up, or move on without finishing a book, I slogged on and came out the other side.   Sometime this summer I realized that if I continued at the rate I was going at, I'd be able to hit the goal of 52 books. I even made myself a little weekly chart, to remind myself when to start a new book, all in hopes of reaching my goal. And...I did it! Last night I officially finished my 52nd book for 2012!   To some that may sound like a ton of books and to others maybe that's not a lot. For me, it's a lot. I have a life outside of reading: I'm a mom and a wife, I teach college English (which requires plenty of it's own reading) and I do love me some tv and internet time. I'm also a really slow reader (surprising for an English teacher, right?) All of these things definitely take away from my reading time. But, in the end, I accomplished my goal and I'm really proud of myself.