November 2014 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

Hop on over to Booksessed to participate.

November's TBR Pile (6/10):

1. Nonfiction: Living History by Hilary Rodham Clinton
2. Book club selection: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (iPad)
3. Carry-over: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
4. Series pick: Evernight by Kristen Callihan √
5. Random pick: Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer √
6. Series Ender: Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer √
7. Mystery Pick: Authority by Jeff Vandermeer √
8. Fantasy Pick: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
9. Added: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher √
10. Added: Divergent by Veronica Roth √

Picture Book Roundup (I'm not planning on reviewing the picture books we read, but I do plan on recording them monthly for my reading challenge) -- Lots of repeats this month.

1. Waz Dot? by Michael Slack
2. The Belly Book by Fran Manushkin
3. A Gift for Mama by Linda Ravin Lodding
4. Dora the Explorer's A Fairytale Adventure
5. My Teacher is a Monster by Peter Brown

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 2000 pages
Pages Remaining: 812,331 pages

Current Read - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Books Won (0)

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Challenges Completed -- Top 100 YA

Comments - Not the best showing this month. Considering we moved and left for Indiana, 5 books is decent. Hoping to end the year on a high note.

December's TBR Pile:

1. J's pick: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Book club selection: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
3. Contemporary YA: Looking for Alaska by John Green
4. Series pick: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
5. Random pick: Paper Towns by John Green
6. Mystery Pick: Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen 2012

Genre: YA Dystopia

Pages: 410

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge; NPR Teen; US of YA - Illinois; Ebook; New Author; 52 Books - W48; Book to Movie; Well Rounded - Dystopia

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

This has been on my list for ages...  I stayed away mostly because I really enjoyed The Hunger Games. I thought this would be too close for me to truly enjoy.  Thankfully they are different enough that I really enjoyed this book. Tris is a good character, not great, but good. You can definitely tell that she is 16 years old, but that's the point right?  We are supposed to follow her journey of growing up, making mistakes, finding her identity. I liked Four as a character and especially loved Christina and Will. My main issue was with the romance sections.  They just felt incredibly forced and fake. For that I knock off one star.  I would have preferred just the fight against the society. Overall, I am excited to read Insurgent, but first let's watch the movie version.

Movie:

Surprisingly good. I was expecting large deviations from the book. I was expecting annoying characters and no chemistry between the leads.  Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the actors and actresses. The screenplay kept fairly true to the book. There were only a few changes and I understood the need for changes for most of them. The best part were the world building visuals.  I loved the scenes of old Chicago especially the lake shots. I'm hopefully anticipating the second movie...

Divergent:

• #0.1 The Transfer
• #0.2 The Initiate
• #0.3 The Son
• #0.4 The Traitor
• #1 Divergent
• #1.5 Free Four
• #2 Insurgent
• #3 Allegiant

FF #44: Updated Victorian

I started with this beautifully detailed blouse and just had to create an outfit around it. To me it screams something from the Victorian era. The shoes and bag add to the vintage feel. But the pants are all modern elegance.  And those earrings are just the right touch.

Étoile Isabel Marant silk blouse

theoutnet.com

STELLA McCARTNEY pants

stellamccartney.com

Mojo Moxy mary jane

nordstromrack.com

Dolce Gabbana leather bag

ssense.com

Thanks from Me to You

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

1. American Airlines and pilots -- For getting Arthur and I safely to Indiana.  Especially the pilots on the Fort Wayne flight for successfully navigating high wind gusts to land.
2. Family -- For gathering together for the holidays and giving Arthur and I a place to stay for this extended visit.
3. Online Shopping -- For helping me avoid the crazy that is Black Friday. Already have most of my presents bought.
4. The weather -- For maintaining a decent temperature to enjoy the downtown lightings on Wednesday.
5. Ninja Movers -- For successfully getting all our crap (turns out we have a lot of it) to East Bay with nothing lost or broken.

Quote Wednesday -- Forster

I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little further down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves. -- E.M. Forster

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Publisher: Penguin 2011

Genre: YA Contemporary

Pages: 316

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall into Reading; NPR Teen; Top 100 YA; Ebook; New Author

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face.

Not super excited about this one. I can see it was good book.  It has interesting characters.  It has an intriguing storyline.  It hits at some hard topics. But I feel like I'm just a little too old to truly love this one. As an added note I was very confused about the switching from Hannah talking and Clay thinking.  Maybe it was just my ebook version, but there was no distinction between the two.  After awhile I was over the structure.

Top Ten Tuesday - Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Winter TBR:

2014 Books to Finish

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth
3. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
5. Looking for Alaska by John Green

2015 First Up Books

1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
3. The Diviners by Libba Bray
4. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Fall TBR Recap (2/10): Wow! I think this is my worst showing yet. I can't believe that I only read two out of my ten.  I really need to work these other eight into my reading soon.

1. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (reread) √
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (reread so I can finally watch the show)
4. Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan √
5. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
7. Siddartha by Herman Hesse
8. Divergent by Veronica Roth
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
10. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Music Monday - Lindsey Stirling "Roundtable Rival"

Loving her music right now.  Must go download the entire album... 

Sunday Sunset #31

Listening To: Lots of Lindsey Stirling.  Love that violin!

Book finished: Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance, Evernight

Reading: Divergent by Veronica Roth

On the Nightstand: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Making Lists: Projects to work on/complete while in Indiana; random new house stuff; Christmas gifts

Around the house: Moving house of course!  Not much time to settle into the new house, but I'm thinking of projects for when we get back.  I want to make Arthur, the twins, and me reading nooks.  I'm also contemplating how to organize my craft area.  That will have to wait until January.

From the kitchen: Nothing... We attempted to eat most of the leftover food before moving. We were only in the new house two nights before Arthur and I are leaving again, so no cooking.

Crafting: I finished and sent out our Christmas cards last week.  Wanted to check it off before the move.  So glad that's taken care of.  I also packed a travel craft kit for my December Daily album. Ready to hit the ground running this week!

Watching: We finished the Dune miniseries.  So good! And very different from Lynch's version. The next night we finally watched Edge of Tomorrow.  I really enjoyed that film and loved the alien design.  We caught up on some shows: Agents of Shield (really loving season 2), The League, Key and Peele.  The entertainment center went down last weekend, so this past week has been a no TV zone.  I caught up on some reading and of course had a ton of packing to do.

Wondering: Will Arthur actually sleep on the plane?  God I hope so!

From Nature: It's been cool and rainy this past week in the Bay Area.  Loving the "fall" weather. Now I'm bracing myself for bone-chilling temps in Indiana...

Project: Moving to Castro Valley and traveling to Indiana.  So crazy!

Picture: I think Arthur's officially a toddler now!  Such an independent little boy.

FF #43: Thanksgiving Dinner

This would be the perfect thanksgiving dinner ensemble if I was actually going to a semi-fancy dinner.  My family usually just has nice jeans and a sweater.  The detailing on this dress is just perfect. For indoors, I paired it with this green sweater and for outdoors, the gorgeous brown jacket. The rest of the accessories play off the colors nicely to create a great complete fall outfit.

Monsoon dress

monsoon.co.uk

Étoile Isabel Marant surplice sweater

$350 - farfetch.com

Fat Face moto jacket

$400 - fatface.com

Cable knit tight

hannaandersson.com

Madden Girl heel booties

6pm.com

Tom Ford brown shoulder bag

bergdorfgoodman.com

Aurélie Bidermann yellow gold earrings

barneys.com

Video Party

Love the new Newcastle ad campaign. 

Love the Mental Floss lists.  And this one is all about Harry Potter!

Interesting little video about lefties... I'm one of them!

Who's excited for the Christmas special? Nick Frost as Santa? I can't wait!

Quote Wednesday -- Einstein

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. -- Albert Einstein

Music Monday - iPod Shuffle

Another three songs from my giant iPod shuffle...

Arctic Monkeys "Brainstorm"

Sarah Brightman "Scarborough Fair"

Florence + the Machine "Only If for a Night"

Evernight by Kristen Callihan

Title: Evernight (Darkest London #5)

Author: Kristen Callihan

Publisher: Hachette Book Group 2014

Genre: Paranormal

Pages: 385

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall into Reading; Mount TBR; Seriously Series; 52 Books - W47; Monthly Motif - December That's a Wrap

Once the night comes . . . Will Thorne is living a nightmare, his sanity slowly being drained away by a force he can't control. His talents have made him the perfect assassin for hire. But as he loses his grip on reality, there is no calming him-until he finds his next target: the mysterious Holly Evernight.

Love must cast aside the shadows Holly cannot fathom who would put a contract on her life, yet the moment she touches Will, the connection between them is elemental, undeniable-and she's the only one who can tame his bouts of madness. But other assassins are coming for Holly. Will must transform from killer to protector and find the man who wants Holly dead . . . or his only chance for redemption will be lost.

After two good, but not great volumes, Callihan redeems herself with this awesome engaging book from the Darkest London series.  Immediately I fell in love with Will and Holly. Of course, I knew that they would end up together at the end, but I loved their journey.  I loved watching the characters grow and open up. I loved their little fights and arguments. I loved the background story and additions to the world of the series. Finally we get to hear more and the fae!  We even get a few appearances from previous characters.  Thank you Jack Talent! I was engrossed in this novel from page one and couldn't put it down until the end.  Can't wait until book six is released next year.  I'm betting it will be about Sin and the mysterious lady at the party...

Darkest London

• #0.5 Ember
• #1 Firelight
• #2 Moonglow
• #3 Winterblaze
• #3.5 Entwined
• #4 Shadowdance
• #5 Evernight
• #6 Spellbound
• #7 Forevermore

Arthur: 13 Months

Caution: Photo Dump Ahead I officially have a toddler on my hands.  He is walking.  He is throwing tantrums.  He is learning so much every day.

Likes: Playgrounds  (especially slides), milk, all his friends, walking, stroller rides

Dislikes: Milk (explanation below), not touching all the things, loud crowded places

Sleeping: Overall, we're doing good.  He usually goes down around 7:15pm and stays down until 6-6:30am. Rarely do we have a middle of the night wake up and even less do we have to get up if he does. If he wakes up, he usually just puts himself back to sleep.  Naps are a whole different matter. Some days he goes down without fuss around 12:30 and sleep for 2-3 hours.  Other days he cries and fusses for ~20 minutes before falling asleep. And yet other days he refuses a nap.  On those days, he becomes a whirlwind of destruction (even more than usual) that doesn't stop until bedtime. Wish he was more consistent.

Eating: As for solid foods, he eats a ton of variety, but not always a ton of amount.  Clearly he is past his 12 month growth spurt as the portions have gone down. He loves trying new foods even if he doesn't love all of them.  Not so picky yet...  As for beverages, we've started weaning off of formula and replacing with milk.  What a disaster!  For about a week, he refused to drink milk.  Then magically one day he started sucking it down.  And then for three days he screamed, had a hard tummy, and dirtyed many many diapers. We stopped drinking milk and everything cleared up. After talking with the nurse, we switched him to almond milk but have keep feeding him yogurt and cheese.  It seems to work well.  And we're down to two bottles a day (morning and evening).  I'm hoping to cut the morning one within the week but probably won't stop the evening one until Christmas or so.  We need to rework his bedtime routine to get rid of it, but being in Indiana will hamper that.

Playing: Lots and lots and lots of playing!  Now that he's walking, playgrounds with friends are lots of fun.  He climbs and slides runs around with everyone. At preschool (very informal weekly event with a group of friends), he always has to explore the new toys. Not too many playing/sharing tantrums.

Medical Milestones: We've got a walker on our hands!  He's been taking a step or three for months, but no consistent walking until right around Halloween.  He just started choosing walking over crawling.  And now he's getting his balance and picking up the pace. Pretty soon he will be running!

Schedule:This is becoming less and less of a thing. We keep bedtime the same, but every day is a new adventure.

Out and About: Lots and lots of great activities this past month!

• Three different farm visits: Deer Hollow (our usual), Ardenwood, and Emma Prusch. All were fun, but I think I prefer Ardenwood Farm.  Extra awesome: it will be the closest to the new house.
• Halloween activities: We went trick or treating at Santana Row and the SJ Children's Museum. Lots of fun for little ones.
• Fall Social: Our fall social was a trick or treating costume theme. Arthur and I both dressed up for the event. We had a great time trick or treating, socializing, playing, and making crafts.
• SJ Children's Discovery Museum: I hadn't taken him until October because I just didn't want to spend the money on admittance to something he doesn't care about. Now he loves this place.  They have a special room (the Wonder Cabinet) designed for the under 6 crowd. Arthur loves playing with the ball wall and the sounds room.  I had a few passes from Pam to save on the entrance fee.  Now that those are gone, I'm thinking of buying a membership when we get back from Indiana.  The parent's group schedules a visit once a month, so it would be worth the money...
• Usual playground playdates: We have a usual weekly schedule, but then visit others sometimes. Love the amount parks in the Bay Area. Lots of fun!
• Preschool: The members of the babysitting co-op have started a small weekly preschool.  We rotate who hosts and prepares the activities.  While we are pretty loose, we do have a basic schedule of welcome song, theme songs (themes change monthly), art and craft, snack time, and storytime. Usually there's lots and lots of free play in between activities. It's been going great!  We are going to miss it while in Indiana.

FF #42: Falling Leaves

Even though the temperatures are still warm here in Northern California, I'm definitely in the fall mood.  I want to sip my cider and take pictures of pretty leaves.  This outfit is my compromise. It has fall colors and fun leaf accessories, but is able to be worn even when it's not super cool. I especially loved those shoes. I need them!

Evan Picone belted sweater

ballyhoovintage.com

Rag & bone boyfriend denim jeans

$315 - net-a-porter.com

Brogue oxford

$26 - usc.co.uk

Mustard yellow purse

$135 - wolfandbadger.com

MARC BY MARC JACOBS safety pin jewelry

revolveclothing.com

Humble Chic metal earrings

humblechic.com

Vintage looking ring

etsy.com

Odds and Ends

My randomness from this week:

• Moving is so tiring... I'm already over this and we haven't even moved yet
• Moving has helped me decrease my craft supplies
• I love grapes
• How did I get so far behind on reading my Entertainment Weekly?  Good graciousness, I have at least 8 unread issues laying around
• Going to the Children's Museum on Veteran's Day was a bad idea
• Super excited to start planning our mom's retreat. However I really should finish my current projects first.
• Got my 2015 planner; ready to use it to take notes for PL

Quote Wednesday -- Van Gogh

It is with the reading of books the same as with looking at pictures; one must, without doubt, without hesitations, with assurance, admire what is beautiful. -- Vincent Van Gogh

Music Monday - Fall Out Boy "Centuries"

Currently seriously obsessed with this song... 

Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer

Title: Acceptance (Southern Reach #3)

Author: Jeff Vandermeer

Publisher: FSG 2014

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 340

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge; Read Your Freebies; Seriously Series; 52 Books - W46

It is winter in Area X, the mysterious wilderness that has defied explanation for thirty years, rebuffing expedition after expedition, refusing to reveal its secrets. As Area X expands, the agency tasked with investigating and overseeing it--the Southern Reach--has collapsed on itself in confusion. Now one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a remote island that may hold the answers they've been seeking. If they fail, the outer world is in peril.

Meanwhile, Acceptance tunnels ever deeper into the circumstances surrounding the creation of Area X--what initiated this unnatural upheaval? Among the many who have tried, who has gotten close to understanding Area X--and who may have been corrupted by it?

A fitting and satisfactory end to a very strange science fiction trilogy.  I'm still working through all the information presented in this last volume.  We get answers, but those answers aren't always so clear.  I like the ambiguity in the hows and whys of Area X.  I liked getting into the brain of Ghost Bird and the Director a bit more.  But my favorite part was learning more about Saul.  I found the sections about the lighthouse keeper to be my favorites.  Very well written character and great back story.  I wanted to know more and more about him.  Sadly I knew it was all going to end.  I'll just have to fill in the gaps with my own imagination. Overall, a great unconventional trilogy.

Southern Reach:

• 1. Annihilation
• 2. Authority
• 3. Acceptance