Orphan Train - Christina Baker Kline

Orphan Train

Title: Orphan Train

Author: Christina Baker Kline

Publication Date: 4/2/13

Pages: 278

Genre: Historical / Fiction

How I Found It: TLC Book Tours and Harper Collins generously sent me a copy.

Date Completed: 12/28/16

Summary: Molly is a seventeen-year-old under the charge of Maine's foster care system. In a bid to complete community service hours and avoid juvenile detention time, she volunteers to clean out the attic of a wealthy older woman. Along the way, she learns about the experience of Niamh ("Neev") Power, an Irish immigrant who finds herself orphaned and sent across the country in hopes of being placed with a new family.

What I Thought: I enjoyed this book. I burned through it in a couple of days over the Christmas holidays. While I don't always love historical fiction pieces, I found this one interesting and engaging. The modern storyline added in really kept me interested. I think if it had just been the story of Niamh/Vivian, I would have struggled more to stay engaged. However, the addition of Molly into the story and the foreknowledge of who Niamh became really helped me stay interested in the historical chapters.

The 39 Clues: One False Note - Gordon Korman

One False Note

Title: The 39 Clues: One False Note

Author: Gordon Korman

Publication Date: 2008

Pages: 174

Genre: Children's Literature / Fiction

How I Found It: We're listening through this series

Date Completed: 12/24/16

Summary: The Cahill kids, Amy and Dan, continue their international hunt for family clues which hold the key to global power.

What I Thought: Kevin and I listened to the first book of this series when we traveled north for Thanksgiving. It was silly and fast-paced and entertaining enough to keep us engaged. It felt natural, then, to continue the series on our epic Christmas journey (24 hours+ hours in the car over a week). We actually made it through this one, Book Two, and Book Three. I'll be talking about Book Three next week, but let's focus here for today.

While Book One had the Cahills and company running around America and Europe looking for a clue from Benjamin Franklin, this book led them to Vienna and Venice in search of a clue related to Mozart. The musician in me really liked the use of music throughout this book and it was fun to have a little dose of music history infused as well. The parts in Venice also made me really excited for the trip to Italy we are planning.

The Secret Chord - Geraldine Brooks

The Secret Chord

Title: The Secret Chord

Author: Geraldine Brooks

Publication Date: 10/6/15

Pages: 302

Genre: Historical / Fiction

How I Found It: I really enjoy Brooks' writing.

Date Completed: 12/21//16

Summary: A fictional look at the life of Israel's King David, told from the perspective of the prophet Nathan.

What I Thought: I have been a fan of Brooks' writing ever since I read Year of Wonders for a grad school class. She as a way with words and characters and I enjoy her tone. I am slowly working my way through her body of work. 

The Secret Chord seemed a natural next step for me. It reflects on the life of King David, an important figure in both the Jewish and Christian faiths. As with The Red Tent, I went into this book expecting exactly what it is: a fictional representation of events I believe really happened. We don't know all the details. This is speculation, as is any historical fiction. If you can accept that premise, I think this book is a fascinating, thought-provoking read.

The story is told from the perspective of the prophet Nathan, or Natan, as he is called here (Brooks reverted most names away from traditional English transliterations). At first, I was startled that Brooks chose him as narrator, but ultimately I liked his voice. She added significantly to his story to make him present for more of David's, but having a his relatively neutral outside perspective gave balance to the story.

5 Year Blog-iversary

Today is my blog-iversary!

It's hard for me to believe, but today I have been blogging for five years. 

Five years ago, I was reentering the world of reading for pleasure. While I read voraciously as a child, my pace slowed considerably during high school and college, as it does for most students due to the work load and the amount of textbook reading required. After graduation, though, I found myself once again returning to literature as a form of relaxation and self-education. And I wanted a way to talk about it with others.

Enter: From My Bookshelf.

Oh yeah. That's what it was called back then. Naming things has never been my particular strength and I wanted to spend more time focusing on content rather than coming up with the perfect name. I went with the first thing I thought of. After all, I hardly had grand expectations. I just wanted a place to process what I was reading and hopefully get to chat about it a bit, too. I wanted to read 52 books over the course of 2012. I wanted space for analysis and discussion. I wanted to push myself. 

2017 Blog Goals

For the past several years, I have laid out some goals specific to the blog and my reading. Doing this has really helped keep me focused and I am so proud of the direction of things over these past couple years. The blog feels more intentional, less sporadic and random. So, in keeping with the spirit, I want to set some goals for the upcoming year. After the international dumpster fire that was 2016, I think we're all ready for a fresh start and some positive things to work toward. I know I am.

Before I do that, though, I want to take a minute and reflect on the goals I set forth for 2016 and see how those played out. 

Let's Talk About... Everyday Heroes

Let's Talk About... is a chance for us to talk about anything and everything. It's a way for me to get some of what I am thinking and feeling out onto the page and to engage in real, honest discussion about it with you. I hope these posts can be fun, interesting, educational, and, more than anything, a chance to learn from each other. 

As I mentioned when I introduced these posts last year, they are going to crop up randomly. Whenever I get to thinking about something and want a way to talk about it on a bigger scale, here I'll be. I did not anticipate having another one so quickly into the New Year, yet here we are. I suppose it makes sense. The transition from December to January is often a time that gets people thinking and contemplating - myself included.

Let me preface this a bit. On New Years' Day, we had the evening to ourselves for the first time since before the holidays. We (I) had hoped to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but that didn't work out, so we landed on Sully. We're big Tom Hanks fans and hadn't seen this latest work of his yet. If you aren't familiar with it, it's the movie about Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who successfully landed a passenger jet in the Hudson River. As we watched, I could not help but think we had unwittingly landed on the perfect movie to start 2017. Because, really, the movie is all about everyday heroes.

2016 Chapter

Happy New Year!

And good riddance, 2016!

A new year comes with new challenges and new gifts. I hope this one is off to a great start for you already. Maybe you've even had time to pick up a new book?

This week on the blog is all about reflection: reflecting on the year(s) behind us and reflecting on what the new year may bring.

This year, in particular, I am so thankful for my fellow book bloggers. I have been more engaged with the online community and it has truly been a refuge for me this year. So, to all you online friends - thank you for who you are and for putting yourself and your thoughts out there in the world. I treasure my small place in this world. Thank you for welcoming me into it.

Today, as I do every year, I am looking back at the previous year and the bookish things accomplished therein. It's been an exciting year on the blog, if not in the world. Here are a few highlights:

• I read 136 books! A new record!
• Readership took a major spike this year. (46,000 compared to ~26,000 the last two years). This has been a pleasant surprise as I have done very little to actively seek readership. I'm thankful for every reader!
• As of now, I have completed 80% of the 100 Best Novels challenge. I worked so hard on the challenge this year, reading over 30 books for it. 2017 is going to be the year I finish!
• I continued to grow the Read.Write.Repeat. Facebook presence and gotten much more active in the book blogging community on Twitter. Like or follow if you haven't already! 
• I continued the monthly "chapter" posts and some off and on Movie Mondays as well as starting a brand new feature, Let's Talk About... This is the first non-book-centric post I have ever done here and it had a great reception. I'm looking forward to doing more of these in the coming year.
• I started offering personalized book recommendations. Take a quick survey, and I'll send you a unique list of books I think you'll enjoy. I've been doing this for friends and family for years, so it made logical sense to start doing it for others as well. I wasn't sure how this would go, but, thus far, I think it's been a big success. I've done about 20 individual lists and have gotten a great response. I firmly believe that getting people reading is all about finding the right books for them. Anything I can do to facilitate that process is a joy and pleasure for me.