Recent Book Activity

My bookshelf photo lets you know what I am currently reading.

A wee bit about me... I am a mother, wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, friend, consulting paralegal and literacy volunteer. We live in a beautiful century home in a mid-sized town between Toronto and Niagara Falls. I have 2 sons who also enjoy reading a great deal, and for this I am grateful. We have 2 sweet cats, named Scout and Boo. Yes, from that book. :o)

I am an avid reader of any and almost everything! I like to read mainstream fiction and literature, historical fiction, biographies, memoirs, nonfiction about historical events, world events, travel and experiences, and humour. A glance at my TBR and my wishlist will show you what types of books interest me.

Spare time that is not spent reading is often spent in the garden, or walking/hiking locally, travelling when I can afford it, spending time with friends and family, cooking and baking. Occasionally, I clean my house. :o)

I like good wine, good chocolate, hot tea, hot baths, pencil skirts, cashmere cardigans, yellow flowers, chatty letters or notes, anything with caramel, pavlova, sushi, and good ol' shepherd's pie. I don't like mushy vegetables, rainy days, cold coffee, cold feet, track pants, Walmart and most of all, conflict. I am a conflict avoider. To a fault.

Dozens and dozens of bookcrossers have enriched my reading life by sending me a RABCK or a trade or a non-book gift or have taken the time to share their book through a bookring/bookray. THANK YOU all. I hope my small efforts to pay-it-forward make someone else out there smile.


Books read in 2012
1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larrsen
2. The Englishman's Boy by Guy VanderHaeghe
3. The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland
4. Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies & Aid by Samantha Nutt M.D.
5. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
6. Paris from the Ground Up by James H.S. MacGregor
7. The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris
8. Mary, Queen of France by Jean Plaidy
9. Candide and other Stories by Voltaire
10. The Flanneur: A Stroll through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White
11. Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb
12. The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis
13. Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard
14. The Descendents by Kaui Hart Hemmings
15. The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
16. The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
17. Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition by Owen Beattie

Books read in 2011
41. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larrsen
40. The Invisible Ones by Stef Penny
39. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
38.The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
37.The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury (audio-book)
36. Drama: An Actor's Education by John Lithgow
35. Room by Emma Donaghue
34. One Thousand Chestnut Treesby Mira Stout
33. The Human Factor by Graham Greene
32. Race Against Time by Stephen Lewis
31. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
30. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (reread)
29. Fire, Bed and Bone by Henrietta Branford
28. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
27. The Gallaird: The great love of Mary Queen of Scots by Margaret Irwin
26. The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Settenfeld
25. Good Grief by Lolly Winston
24. An Accidental Canadian by Margaret Wente
23. The Rain Ascends by Joy Kogawa
22. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larssen
21. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
20. The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette: A Novel by Carolly Erickson
19. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
18. What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love by Carole Radziwill
17. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
16. The Road Taken by Rona Jaffe
15. One True Thing by Anna Quindlan
14. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke
13. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Vergese (audio-book)
12. Still Waters by Jennifer Lauck
11. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
10. Dark Age Ahead by Jane Jacobs
9. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
8. The Autobiography of Henry VIII (A Novel): With Notes by his Fool Will Somers by Margaret George
7. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
6. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
5. The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
4. Creation by Katherine Govier
3. A Good House by Bonnie Burnard
2. Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy
1. Sole Survivor by Derek Hansen


Books read in 2010
41. South of Broad by Pat Conroy (audio-book)
40. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
39. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
38. The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
37. Awakening Brilliance by Pamela Sims
36. Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
35. Sisterchicks on the Loose by Robin Jones Gunn
34. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
33. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
32. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
31. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
30. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway
29. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
28. The Spinning Wheel by Rosa Maria Perez
27. Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
26. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
25. Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers
24. Q&A by Vikram Swarup
23.On Beauty by Zadie Smith
22. Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud by Jonathan Safran Foer
21. God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It" by Jim Wallis
20. The Birth House by Ami McKay
19. Mattimeo by Brian Jacques
18. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
17. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
16. Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens
15. Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro
14. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
13. Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith
12. Death in the Air by Daniel Peacock
11. Vernon God Little by DCB Pierre
10. Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief by Rick Riorden
9. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
8. The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
7.The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
6. Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
5. Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott
4. The Outcast of Redwall by Brian Jacques
3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (reread)
2. The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur
1. The Agony and the Ecstacy: A Novel of Michelangelo> by Irving Stone

Books read in 2009
34.The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by MG Vassanji
33. The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
32. Mossflower by Brian Jacques
31. The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherford
30. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
29. In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
28. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
27. Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
26. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
25. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
24. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
23. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
22. The Hatbox Letters by Beth Powning
21. The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes
20. Vanished by Mary McGarry Morris
19. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
18. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (bookray)
17.Coraline by Neil Gaiman
16.The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami
15. The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
14. In Her Shoes by Jennifer Wiener
13. Redwall by Brian Jacques
12. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
11. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
10. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir (bookring)
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (re-read)
8. Vinyl Cafe Diaries by Stuart McLean
7. Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richard
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (bookring)
5. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (bookring)
4. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (bookring)
3. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (bookring)
2. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
1. Shake Hands with the Devil by Romeo Dallaire (bookring)