Top 5 Poetry Books of 2017

2017 was the year of the poem for me. I read well over 2,000 poems and eighteen collections of poetry covering canonical poets like Emily Dickinson, Pablo Neruda, William Stafford, Billy Collins, Sharon Olds, and Philip Levine. I've chosen my top five reads to share with you.

William Stafford is my spirit animal. His poetry speaks to me almost like scripture. If you want to add poetry to your reading list, start with Stafford. Ask Me is the best of Stafford's work, selected by his son; he did an amazing job.

...Unless you start with Billy Collins. I'm slowly working my way through Collins' older books, and I've enjoyed Ballistics more than some others. But really, Collins cannot write a bad poem. The man is amazing.

Good Poems is a re-read for me, and I loved it as much as the first time. Garrison Keillor, regardless of what's come to light about him recently, is an amazing poetry editor.

Two of my favorite things, poetry and memoir, combine in this wonderful book. It's not exactly a happy read, but it's so well done. And it's true: Poetry will save your life.

Very much like Stafford, Max Garland's poetry excels in immortalizing the moment in a way that perfectly balances sentimentality, humility, and humor. His newest, The Word We Used for It, is wonderful. 

2017 Reading Goal Recap

I have so many end-of-year/beginning-of-year posts planned. I sincerely hope I get to them all. I figured one of the more important of these is my end-of-year wrap-up where I look at my goals and how well I met them. So, here goes.


In 2017, I read 150 books: 54 of them were fiction (including kids' fiction), 78 were nonfiction, and 18 of them were poetry. There were Pulitzer Prize winners as well as a poetry anthology written by cats. I read a lot of historical fiction, poetry, and currently published books.
1. Re-read Sense and Sensibility.
Completed: July 16
This was an easy goal. Unfortunately, what I thought might be my favorite Austen book isn't. Hmmm.

2. Read We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, vol. 2.

Completed: April 8
This was a blessing, as spiritual reading always is. I bought vol. 1 for my husband for Christmas, so he can enjoy the books as well.

3. Read 50 books carried over from 2016.

Completed: August 18
I completed this goal quite early, and then continued on to read 73 books off of my 2016 TBR. I really did a number on it, and it felt so good to finally get to some of those books.

4. Read 25 books published in 2017.

Completed: September 10
I ended up reading 48 books published in 2017, across all genres. I liked this goal so much, I made a similar goal for 2018.

5. Read 10 (pre-selected) high-profile books.

Completed: September 14
I completed all ten:

All the Light We Cannot See

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Wonder

In the Garden of Beasts
Wolf Hollow
Eleanor & Park
The Presidents Club
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Homegoing

6. Read 10 chunksters.

Completed: July 9
I finished 16 books over 400 pages, a few of these being on audio.

7. Read 10 contemporary novels.

Completed: March 22
Extended: Read 25 contemporary novels.
Completed: August 23
I read 35 contemporary novels this year, far surpassing my goal of 10, and even my extended goal of 25. I feel like I really started to love fiction this year. It would appear this goal is no longer needed.

8. Read 10 books about presidents, first ladies, first families, the White House, or American history.

Completed: August 15
I actually completed 23 of these this year. This is where about a third of my nonfiction reading came from.

9. Read 10 children’s books.

Completed: August 26
I read 13 children's books this year, mostly to catch up on some recent classics, but also to try some new things. I loved some of the books I read for this challenge, but overall, I'm finding I need a certain kind of children's book to keep my attention. It has to be really well done, and I'm having trouble finding those.

10. Read 1,000 poems. (2,692)

Completed: April 25
Baby, did I ever blow this one out of the water! I read, get this, 2,692 poems last year! This included all the poems I read in books and anthologies as well as daily poems from two email services. I'm working on another post to discuss what this did for me, but it's slow in forming.

11. Read 100 books.

Completed: September 17
I finished 150 books this year, the most I ever have.

12. Read 50 picture books.  

Completed: September 25
I think I read a lot less picture books this year, and most of them are very forgettable. I finished 83, and I'll share my favorites in another post.

13. Do something for national poetry month or regarding poetry in general.

I failed. I put this on the list to push myself, knowing I likely wouldn't complete the goal. I really, really wanted to do something cool, but I couldn't think of anything, and when it came right down to it, I just wanted to read poetry instead of promote it. Maybe another year.

14. Complete 5 mini-challenges. (26)

Completed: March 25
This was kind of a dumb challenge that got away from me. Too many books fit into too many categories, and I think I just fit books I wanted to read into the various challenges instead of trying something I never would have. But, frankly, there's not a lot I won't try. I finished 26 mini-challenges, and then just stopped keeping track. "A reading curveball" was my favorite challenge. I might need to do that again soon.

15. Read 20 modern classics or high-profile books. July 1, 2017 – Dec. 31, 2018

Since I finished so many of my goals early, I added this goal in order to give the second part of the year some structure. I read 16 books for this goal already, so when I extend it into next year, I might raise the overall number to 30.

This is what I have read so far:

Anna and the King of Siam

West with the Night

How to Read Literature Like a Professor

The Spirit of St. Louis

The Poisonwood Bible

Man’s Search for Meaning

Homegoing

Bess W. Truman

The Oregon Trail

Frankenstein

I Capture the Castle

All Creatures Great and Small

The Essential Emily Dickinson

Ready Player One

Circling the Sun

My Antonia

All in all, this was a fantastic reading year for me. I feel like I read a lot of quality literature, explored books and genres I might not have, formed a better understanding of what I love and need in a book, deepened my love of poetry, and had a lot of fun. I never felt like I was reading for the goal, which would have driven me nuts.

How did your 2017 reading go? Please leave a link to your yearly wrap-up or top ten post in the comments below. 

 

Favorite Things of 2017

Every year I post a list of my favorite things of the year, big things and little things that made me exceptionally happy. This year's list is a little longer than usual, which I guess means I have a lot to be thankful for.

In no particular order....


1. dance workout

This year my husband decided to change his workout routine from a circuit of the three workout machines in our basement (plus weightlifting) to a dance workout. And in a move to surprise us all, I decided to do it too. And I love it! Now, if you'd have asked me what thing I would be least likely to do in front of others, I would have told you "dance," and I still might, but doing it alone, in a separate part of the basement as my husband, it's fine. We aren't dancing routines or anything, and neither of us are trained or know the first thing about dancing. We just improvise to music for 20 minutes (and I hold light hand weights, too). Our favorite dance music? Anything by Michael Jackson, "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars, and "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. 

2. taking our grandson to Chicago.

Chicago is our city. We love going there. I can't recall how many times we've been, perhaps six?, but this was the first time my grandson Bo was there while he was big enough to enjoy it (he was there when he was about seven months old). At 11, we figured was the perfect size for a trip like this. Old enough to really get something out of the different attractions, but still young enough to think a trip with Grandma and Grandpa was kind of cool. We went in early May, and hit all the museums (not a big hit with Bo), Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Trump Tower for lunch (very good), and Bo even took a dip in Lake Michigan. Twice. Willis Tower was Bo's favorite, and we braved walking out on the glass ledges (103 flights up). I'm horrifically afraid of heights, but for some reason, this did not bother me at all. It was a great trip, and we made some wonderful memories to cherish.

3. hiring a lawn guy

We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into buying a house on a half-acre corner lot with 18 mature trees including several towering maples. We detest yard work and snow-shoveling. But this summer when we decided to remove the front yard's crabgrass infestation BY HAND, and then I FAINTED on the garage floor, I/we said that's it, we're hiring someone. Already the company we hired saved us from raking and bagging 40 bags of fall leaves, so money well spent.

4. putting on my pajamas early almost every night

It's the little things. After I get home from work, empty my work bag, do dishes, deal with the mail, make the bed, work out, I'm ready for a little comfort, and nothing speaks comfort to me better than putting on my pajamas early, like, even before eating supper. Pajamas are my love language.

5. Brad and Tasha’s wedding

My brother Brad got divorced shortly after I got married 15 years ago. He's dated several women in that time, but recently, he found The One. And he married her this summer. Tasha is a wonderful girl who brings levity and fun to our family. Also, she brings nieces, and another nephew. They have five teenagers between them. (Brad and Tasha in the middle; their three boys, Nate, Collin, and Aaron, in front; and their girls, Madison and Kyla, on the ends.)

6. nitrite-free and nitrate-free hotdogs

I have a lowbrow culinary confession: I love hotdogs. And not the all-beef organic fancy-pants kind. I like the cheap ones that are the texture of bologna by the company who's first name is O-S-C-A-R. And now that beloved company has come out with nitrite-free and nitrate-free hotdogs and bologna, and I'm in heaven. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about what I eat, but I still want to eat less chemicals and preservatives, and I'm so happy with my -free dogs. In addition to pajamas, salty pseudo-meat is my love language.

7. Content Promotion committee

This year at work, a lightning bolt idea hit me: the library needs a committee that brings our library to the campus community, that shows off what we have and who we are. And out of this, the Content Promotion Committee was formed. We have a great group of enthusiastic, creative, readerly folks who say yes to trying new things. It's been a joy working on this committee. And doing theme book displays.

8. charity

I've been wanting to give more to charitable causes, and we've stepped up our charitable giving this year, but I also really like to see the effects of my giving, to give to folks I know or can interact with. This year I pushed myself WAY out of my comfort zone and asked a woman in line at Goodwill who was watching the register tally and telling the cashier to put some things back if I could buy those things for her kids. All three of us, the woman, the cashier, and I, were near tears and shaky as we interacted. I also bought books for a little girl from a vlog I watch. You utter the words "it's hard to keep her in books" and I'm there buying a whole boxful. I hesitated giving these examples, because I don't want praise, I just know we all want to do more but have trouble finding the need and filling it. Maybe my examples will help others be someone's angel.

9. our 15th anniversary

Fifteen sweet years of getting to know someone deeper and deeper, of laughing and sighing and explaining and trying with someone. I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

10. Hallmark Movies and Mysteries

You guys, I've become one of those women. One of those women who is so tired of the sex and violence and immoral situations in TV and movies, that I've turned to the Hallmark channel(s) for my viewing pleasure. I discovered the Garage Sale Mysteries series starring Lori Loughlin, and the Christmas movies which are all exactly alike, but that's kind of why I love them.

11. No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series

I have devoured the first four books in the series, and I look forward to the next 14 books. I've listened to these on audio, and the narrator is very, very good. If I ever read one, I'm sure I'll hear her voice reading it to me.

12. The Writer’s Almanac poem-a-day

As you know, I've been reading a lot of poetry this year, and not all of it has been from books. Early this year I signed up for The Writer's Almanac poem-a-day, selected by Garrison Keillor, who is a brilliant poetry editor. I have loved almost every single selection. Unfortunately, this joy came to an abrupt end a couple of weeks ago when Keillor's past caught up with him. With all the junk coming to my in box, I truly miss this email. 

Top 5 Middle-grade & YA Books of 2017

I read quite a bit of children's literature this year. I'm not sure I'll read nearly as much of it next year. I wanted to catch up on reading some of the kids books everyone but me has read, and also to continue in some of my favorite series. Below are my top five choices for the year.

This is the fourth in the Clementine series. I have heartily enjoyed every book in the series. They're funny, charming, and put a good emphasis on being responsible and kind.

Frankly, I was blown away by Eleanor & Park. Far from its intended audience, and unlikely to actually put it into a teen's hands, I found this book so well written it almost hurt. It's a book that gets a little intense, and there's some language, but it really did blow me away.

After reading the first book in the Penderwicks series (called The Penderwicks), I wasn't sure that I'd continue with the series. I enjoyed it, but it felt too simple to me, too perfect and without enough depth. But at one point this fall I needed a new audiobook quick, so I picked up the second in the series, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, and I liked it more than the first. Now I can't wait to go on to book three.

Waylon! Even More Awesome is the second in the Waylon series, which is a spin-off of the Clementine books (see above). I loved the first book, and I liked this one even more. It's more serious than the Clementine books, but it is another example of Sara Pennypacker at her best. She is so gifted at showing the small moments that are so big in children's lives.

Has anyone on the planet read Wonder and not liked it? Certainly not me. It's a must read for little and big alike.

What I'm reading this week (12/18/17)

Well, this will be the last "What I'm reading this week" post of 2017. I'll be on vacation from work until after the new year, and I plan to read, wrap presents, watch Christmas movies, make hot cocoa, and spend time with my family. I'll update you on what I read over break, share my 2018 reading goals, and publish a flurry of Best of 2017 posts when I return to my normal schedule. (I just can't post "best of" lists until I'm done reading for the year. I can never predict what will be great!)

I hope you all have the happiest of Christmases and enjoy the new year.

What I finished last week:

I'm a sucker for a cooking memoir, and I seem to read a lot of books about France, so I snapped up In a French Kitchen when it came out in paperback (the cover alone would have sold me--it might be my favorite cover of the year). But I'm also known to hoard cooking memoirs and not get to them. This one languished on my reading list for ages before I picked it up in my attempt to tame my TBR list before the new year. Maybe you are familiar with Susan Hermann Loomis and her previous work (On Rue Tatin is quite well known, though I haven't read it). Once I realized Loomis wasn't going to tell us what she was doing in France (I am sure she's an American, though she seems to have been in France for many years), why she went there, why she stayed, etc., and just settled in for a tour of French home-cooking--as well as French home kitchens, refrigerators, and pantries, I enjoyed the book. It's not my favorite memoir/cookbook, but it's smart and thoughtful. There were even a couple recipes that appealed to me. Doesn't "steak with melted onions" sound divine? Melted. I beg of you. If you like food and cooking, I think you'll like this one. Be cautioned, though, there isn't much "memoir" here. Perhaps you need to read her earlier books for that. My rating: 3 stars.

I've been in kind of a reading rut lately. I can't tell you how many books I've picked up and put down in the last few weeks. I've been trying to read some of the books that have been waiting awhile, but in all the memoirs, I've kind of forgotten about fiction. Fiction is what's breaking my reading block. I decided to try the first in the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary. I knew next to nothing going in other than it's a mystery series. I loved this book! It was a bit of a thriller (though not the Stephen King kind) as well as being a mystery. There was danger, intrigue, romance, and SPIES. Espionage, my friends! Maggie Hope, an American in London at the start of World War II, takes a job as one of Mr. Churchill's secretaries, a job that she thinks is beneath her abilities being educated in higher mathematics. She soon proves her mettle when she uncovers assassination plots involving the IRA. There is a bit of unnecessary swearing here, and I felt that the book could have ended earlier than it did, but still, I can't wait for the next book in the series. And I'm so glad to have found another series. My rating: 4.5 stars.

What I'm reading now:

Years ago I loved a book by Alice McDermott called Charming Billy, winner of the National Book Award in 1998. I'm realizing while reading The Ninth Hour that I might just need to read everything Alice McDermott writes. I'm loving this book, too.

I continue with these this week:

I really don't want Dear Fahrenheit 451 to end. It's wonderful (despite all the swearing).

And I'm enjoying If Bees Are Few. So many wonderful bee poems.

My Kindle-read-turned-audio book:

While I'm enjoying My Antonia, I'm having trouble getting myself to sit down with it. I finally decided to finish it on audio.

What I'll be reading the rest of the year:

I am so excited for every single one of these. They're all new releases that I've been saving up for an end of year reading blowout.

See you in the new year! Happy reading.

What I'm reading this week (12/11/17)

I have one more workweek before I'm on vacation for the rest of the year. I'm working double-time to get everything done before I head home. Add to that all the Christmas prep, I'm feeling that old holiday stress. But the thought of two weeks off to read and spend time with family makes up for it.

Most of my end-of-year posts will go up in late December or in January. Something just had to give.

Last week I finished:

I'd had my eye on A Thousand Hills to Heaven since it came out in 2013. And having such a hard time lately settling on a book, I chose this off the TBR shelf. Unfortunately, this is another of those books that misrepresents itself with its subtitle. "Love, Hope, and a Restaurant in Rwanda" to me indicated it would be the story of a couple who open a restaurant in Rwanda. This is really more the story of relief aid workers Josh Ruxin and his wife Alissa who have spent time exacting change in the world's most destitute places. Ruxin is tasked with opening health care centers in Rwanda's worst area, and toward the end of the book, his wife opens a restaurant called Heaven there (while having and raising three children). But the book is really about the need for aid and relief work in Africa. It's not really about a restaurant. Do not get me wrong, the work these two and their team have done is wonderful, needed, and sacrificial; they do it with an open heart with an eye toward self-sufficiency and dignity rather than dependence on an unsustainable model. It's just that I was there for the restaurant, not the UN-y chat about the need for more money and workers and better practices. And if I were to read a book about foreign relief workers, I'd choose one that was Christian-based. Starving bodies is not necessarily the root of the devastation, in my opinion. Other than feeling blindsided, I enjoyed the book. It wasn't really very preachy. It was a positive portrayal, a very hopeful book. I did wonder though, if Rwanda's current state was being whitewashed. Surely it's not so perfect as it would seem by Ruxin's descriptions. What did strike me though, and will stay with me long after finishing the book, is how the Rwandans healed as a nation after the 1994 genocide. It's nearly impossible for Americans to understand the set of events that led one group (Hutus) to turn on the other (Tutsis) which no one could tell apart (Hutus were given addresses of Tutsis to kill based on government records) and kill one million of their own. I think the American mind, which cannot fathom such a thing, just wants to "let Africa take care of Africa" when they think about this. If Ruxin's description is correct, the country did an unbelievable job healing the pain of the genocide and forgiving the atrocities done to them by their neighbors. It's really quite remarkable. If you're interested in present-day Africa and relief work going on there, I recommend this book. My rating: 3 stars.

And quite by chance, another book about Africa. The Kalahari Typing School for Men is the fourth in Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. In this book, Mma Makutsi decides to open a typing school for men to earn extra money, and she ends up falling in love with one of her students. Mma Ramotswe is working on a case that would allow a man to right past wrongs. And Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni learns to be a more involved foster father when his foster son starts acting up. It's as good as the others, and I can't wait to listen to the rest. Luckily, I won't run out of them any time soon! My rating: 4 stars.

 

 

Last week I began:

Next up for my "main" book is In a French Kitchen, which I would read for the cover alone.

I also began Dear Fahrenheit 451, which, in spite of the swearing throughout, is a wonderful read. It's a set of letters the librarian/author, Annie Spence, writes to books she loves, loathes, or is weeding from the library. A great one for book nerds.

This week I continue with:

My Antonia is one of those books that I never want to pick up, but when I do, I love reading. It's a somber book, much like the prairie in the homesteading days, I imagine, but I like its easy writing.

I'm making slow progress with If Bees Are Few, but not because I don't like it. So far, I don't think I've run across a poem I know.

 

My next audiobook:

Dana Perino recommended the Maggie Hope mystery series, one that I'd been interested in but never started. I'll listen to the first book, Mr. Churchill's Secretary, and see what I think.

December 2017 reading list

And welcome to December. My goodness, the last reading list of 2017. This still feels fluid to me. I might be adding and deleting and moving things around throughout the month, especially since I'll be on vacation the last half of the month. For now, I've settled on the following 15 titles, at least half of which were published this year. The rest of the list cleans up a bit of my TBR.

Nonfiction & Memoirs

 

Fiction

 

Poetry

Cookbook

 

Audiobooks