The All-Purpose Mediterranean Topper

Sometimes, a little prepping now leads to infinite possibilities during the week. 

For example, my All-Purpose Mediterranean Topper. Let me show you what I can do with four basic ingredients (plus salt & pepper and a simple dressing) that I keep stored in the refrigerator ...

All-Purpose Mediterranean Topper

Ingredients:

diced tomatoes

diced sweet peppers

diced cucumbers

fresh parsley

Combine ingredients. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

Now here's the fun part. When I dice the ingredients into smaller pieces, I like to use the topper as garnish (with chicken or fish), a bruschetta topping, or even in a cold pasta salad. If I cut the ingredients into chunkier pieces, I will use the topper as a vegetable side dish or tossed in a mixed salad. It's also great for a light lunch with a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano and a bottle of sparkling water.

Oh, and you can mix the topper with tuna for the best tuna salad ever.

See? The possibilities are endless.

For a dressing I like to use freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper. But you can also use your favorite bottled Italian salad dressing. Just remember to go light on the dressing--think complement and not hostile takeover.

Together, these four basic ingredients taste light and fresh; sometimes, if I want a little kick, I will add a diced red onion.

Speak to Me Sunday: What to Expect from Your High School Senior when Choosing a College

This week Timothy, received two college letters inviting him to sign up for a college campus visit. Yes, he's only in the tenth grade, but ... sophomore today, senior tomorrow. We know this time flies by quickly. Admittedly, he was excited. Timothy read both letters and asked a million questions. Is it a good college? Where is it? Do they have an engineering program? Will I live in a dorm? A few years ago he watched his two older brothers go through the process (and was even dragged to several campus visits) so he's excited about it finally being his turn (whether or not I'm ready is an entirely different matter). Yes, it's an exciting time, but it's also time for the nitty gritty of finances, logistics, and yes, even practicality. One decision at a time ...

It's been a summer of college campus tours, all of which have been fun, informative, and have shown our son a future bright with opportunities. It was our way to showcase the great big world out there, and to have our son see himself as a vibrant part of it.

I realize this may sound idealistic, perhaps even naïve, but knowing what is out there is a great place to start. It’s great to have choices (they are gifts!) but we also know choices need to be whittled down because, ultimately, decisions need to be made.  

This, then, is the nitty gritty part of life in which we ponder, weigh, compare, analyze, formulate, calculate, and question. So, while we want our son to reach for the stars, we also want to teach him the practical aspects on how to navigate in order to get there. And there are so many things to take into consideration.

First and foremost, finances. Our son has a good life. He lives in a nice house, he goes to a great school, he has traveled to Europe, and he has a loving, supportive family. But part of being a good steward of God’s gifts is not taking anything for granted, and my husband and I are not going to just hand him four years wrapped up with a nice, neat bow; rather, he is very involved in the financial aspects of his college education and knows that he's expected to contribute. 

Location is another consideration. How far away is too far away, and how close is too close? We laugh about this sometime, and on bad days Joe and I think, Alaska is good. We also have to consider that fact that Georgia offers the Hope Scholarship (tuition is mostly covered if a certain grade point average is maintained), and while this is a huge incentive for choosing to stay in-state, it’s just that, an incentive, and not a done deal.

Then there is gut instinct, that visceral reaction which should never be ignored.  There have been campus visits in which, right away, we just didn’t feel it. It wasn’t something specific, just a feeling. On the flip side, we knew we were on to something when we heard our son say, “I can see myself going here.”

Oh, there is more to decide and consider. We could go on and on about student loans, meal plans, early admission … and on it goes.

On our dining room table is a huge black box with hanging files containing scholarship information, application deadlines, essay prompts, and test scores. The nitty gritty in all its glory. We look at the box, and yes, each of those files is calling for a decision to be made, but here’s the thing: we don’t need to make all the decisions at once.

Know what, then see where.

Decide where, and then work on the how.

And through it all we pray, which helps the nitty gritty not seem so … nitty gritty.

college: two sons down, one to go

Timothy, following his older brother

graduation day at Clemson University

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

Now that I've got you humming the song, let's talk parsley.

It's one of those herbs I like to have on hand, and fresh is best.

Now, I don't have a herb garden, so I can't just snip off what I need. And the only potted herb I sometimes keep is basil. But here's what I do to ensure I always have fresh parsley to add to recipes or to use as garnish ...

I buy several huge bunches of parsley, rinse, pluck off the leaves, and pulse them in the food processor until roughly chopped. Then I pack the chopped parsley in a container and keep it in the freezer where it stays fresh and maintains its vibrant green color.

Chopped, fresh parsley always on hand--simply remove the container from the freezer and, with a fork, scrape off the amount needed.

Take last night, for instance. I made cauliflower soup (a favorite in our family that, really, is more like a risotto) and before serving I added some fresh parsley.

An honest laborious Country-man, with good Bread, Salt, and a little Parsley, 

will make a contented Meal with a roasted Onion. 

~John Evelyn (1620-1706)

#BUSTED

Yesterday, in preparation to have our master bedroom and bath re-painted, I moved the contents of both rooms to our walk-in closet.

Later Joe came out of the closet holding a small wicker basket containing rolled spa towels.

"What's this?" he asked. "It was in the closet."

"It's the basket of towels we keep on the edge of the tub," I replied.

"On our tub? In our bathroom? I've never seen it before," he said.

Huh. That basket has been there since ... forever.

Today, I picked Timothy up from soccer practice. We talked, stopped to get a pizza (I have Bunco tonight so the guys are on their own), and had a good twenty minutes of bonding time in the car.

"Did you notice I got my hair colored today?" I asked when we were almost home.

"Yes!" he replied, a little too enthusiastically as he glanced in my direction.

#BUSTED

When I called him out on it he grinned.

Reminds me of the blue pillow incident, the one that threw all four of my guys into confusion ...

Speak to Me Sunday: Light Bulb Moments

In this complicated world we do what we can to create order. We organize, corral, and categorize in an effort to make sense of it all. And when things do get messy, what then?

We change a light bulb.

Last year Joe and I spent a Saturday morning volunteering with ReStart Augusta, a non-profit organization that provides bed frames, mattresses, and bedding to children, families, and veterans who don't have beds on which to sleep. Volunteer groups are divided into teams for assembling the frames, painting the frames, and then delivering the finished product. Joe and I were part of a team that delivered beds to the homes.

As the guys set up the bed frames at our first house visit, I glanced around. Every bedroom had piles of clothing in every corner because there was not a single bureau or dresser anywhere. In the family living area, the couch sagged and the window blinds were bent, or broken, or not there at all. And it was dark. The light bulb in the ceiling, which was the only light source, had gone out and something told me it had been like that for a while.

Later, as we drove away with the family waving goodbye from the doorway, I felt a little conflicted. Yes, we delivered beds, and it was a start, but all I could think was that I wanted to go back and change that light bulb.

In the weeks and months since that visit I have stood in the darkness of the broken light bulb and asked some hard questions. How does a single meal help world hunger? How do we put order and peace to poverty, ignorance, hate, disease? How do we stand in the face of overwhelming chaos and upheaval to scrape out a corner of peace? 

In the face of so much adversity it's easy to give up, to take a step back and think there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you can do that will change things. I also think it's all too easy to fall into the trap of setting up an all or nothing scenario. Of dismissing the little things. Of demanding that all social injustices--the world's socioeconomic problems, world peace, cancer--be fixed now, and then shake our fists at the heavens when it doesn't happen.

In other words, it's easy to think of the world on a grand scale and ignore the broken light bulb in front of you.

So where to start?

Right where you're standing, with one burning bush, one sick patient, and one child at a time; by offering a place to sleep, building a shelter, or advocating for a child.

Once, our son Nicholas, was waiting to get his phone fixed when an elderly black man entered the store asking for help. At first Nicholas assumed he was going to ask for money, but all the man needed was someone to jump his car battery. So Nicholas, having just received a brand new set of jumper cables this past Christmas, volunteered to help. Afterwards, the man grasped Nicholas' hand and said a prayer for him. When Nicholas told me the story, I could tell he was a little embarrassed because, in the grand scheme of things, he didn't feel like he had done anything special.

But sometimes the world falls away until there is just the person standing in front of you, and Nicholas had addressed the light bulb in that man's life.

God is so, so good. He knows our limitations, our fears, our hesitations. But he also sees our good intentions, and so he offers us pockets of grace to do his work.

In big, sweeping, grandiose ways.

But also in small ways.

After all, when you change a broken bulb a light shines in that little corner of the world.

On a Haiti mission

I couldn't change this infant's entire world, but in that moment, 

for that hour, I bathed and held her until the doctor could

see her. And I still pray for her to this day.

Oh, Shut Up

In the beginning, we were hopeful.

"Welcome to your new HP laptop. Now let's get you set up," said the pleasant voice from my newly opened laptop.

I have admittedly been clutching my old laptop longer than I probably should have. It's familiar, everything on it--files, photos, apps--are exactly where I want them, the keyboard is comfortable and I can type sentence after sentence without looking at the keys, and even when it started developing little quirks they were familiar quirks and I worked around them.

Switching devices is so exhausting and frustrating, and so I dreaded starting over again. But the friendly HP voice gave me hope. Maybe this won't be so bad after all! Maybe the transition will be smooth! And with Joe helping me it will be a breeze.

Then, at STEP TWO the friendly voice asks for our Microsoft password and just like that our smooth set up came to a screeching halt.

Who has a Microsoft password in our family? Timothy, that's who. Only because he needs it for his Xbox. Except we didn't remember this, so we ended up requesting a new password.

And then we couldn't figure out why my laptop's opening screen had TIMOTHY NOVAJOSKY written across the screen with a GIANT can of Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli displayed. When Timothy came home from school he was annoyed that his Xbox sign-in had been changed, and he didn't like our new password.

WELL.  I didn't like his name on my laptop screen, AND the Chef Boyardee can of Beef Ravioli, so we were even.

I eventually left Joe with the nice HP voice and went to fix myself a cappuccino. He was a good sport about getting everything installed, including setting up security and the printer. He only told the nice HP voice to shut up a couple of times. Well, three.

Okay four.

He left it up to me to change the TIMOTHY NOVAJOSKY/Chef Boyardee problem. Evidently I needed to get my own gmail account to set up my own Microsoft password, or something like that, and I told him I'd do it. But not at that moment because the whole thing was giving me a headache.

I'd do it soon, though.

The above all happened yesterday. This morning Joe, who knows that my "soon" can mean anything from today to next year, is setting up a new gmail account so I can get my own Microsoft password.(See what I did there? My "soon" actually means that if I wait long enough Joe will step in ;-)

And what am I doing?

I'm typing this very post on my OLD laptop because I want to add a photo to this post and there are no photos on my NEW laptop. Yet. And Joe absolutely, emphatically draws the line when it comes to photos.

I'm definitely on my own for that one.

Do you think that nice HP voice can help?

ONE, TWO, THREE

ONE 
Last night Joe and I attended a work party in Aiken. Having only the vaguest idea of what Joe's work entails, it was nice to meet some of his coworkers  and their wives. Now I can banish from my mind this James Bond image of secret people doing secret things. They all really do exist. And they're all perfectly nice and normal.

TWO
Doing a courtroom observation today for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) so I will get to practice my new vocabulary (adjudication, reunification) and acronyms (MSL-minimum sufficient level of care).

THREE
My new laptop came yesterday. So thin! So light! So pretty! And I'm sure it works, too. I'll confirm once Joe sets it up for me today.

photo: Alas, no photos of us dressed up for the Aiken party, or the courtroom, or my laptop (which is still needs to be set up). So I leave you with this random one ...

Student & Teacher

Today, a little inspiration to go find someone who knows something you don't, and learn from them. Someone who inspires, teaches, encourages. Someone who opens your mind and introduces you to new ideas, thoughts, and ways of looking at the world.

And be ready for someone to find you. Welcome that person.

In life we are both the teacher and the student. Let us learn from one another, and grow.

Ogni persona che incontri è migliore di te in qualcosa ...

in quella cosa impara.
~Ghandi

(Every person you meet is better than you in something ... 

in that one thing, learn.)

Just Because

Sometimes, the nicest things come out of the blue.

For no reason other than just because.

Such as this bracelet, which my sister gave last November.

It wasn't my birthday. It wasn't Christmas. And yet she handed me a gift box and told me to open it right away.

Inside ... a map bracelet with a Verona charm on one side, an Augusta charm on the other, and a charm with the airplane from by book cover connecting the two. 

Laptop Shopping ... oy vey

My Toshiba laptop is seven years old and is starting to do weird things. Like, shutting down when it wants to, or freezing up at random moments.

We've been on CRASH WATCH since November, and I've been backing up my files on a regular basis in case the inevitable happens.

The plan was to wait until my birthday in February and ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY a new laptop for me!

But then I started training to become a CASA (court appointed special advocate), and because the class has an online component we realized I couldn't wait.

So last weekend Joe and I went laptop shopping. We went here, there, and everywhere, but we couldn't find what we wanted. If a laptop had that, it didn't have this; if it had this, it didn't have that; if it had this and that, I hated the keyboard.

This was us when we returned home late that afternoon ...

In the end, we ordered a custom laptop from Hewlett Packard; Joe entered in all the specs we wanted and I handled the color (Fog Blue). The HP elves are building it as I type.

My new laptop will be here in two weeks and so far the Tobisha is holding steady, still doing weird thing but hanging in there.

Fingers crossed.

Speak to Me Sunday: Wonders Happen

Last night during Mass, I prayed for a man I didn't know. His name is Max and he lives in Berlin, Germany with his family. 

Earlier I had received an email from Max who came across a blog post I had written on the Sanctuary of La Verna, a Franciscan monastery nestled on the top of a mountain that we visited during a family trip to Italy. La Verna is where St. Francis of Assisi went when he needed spiritual nourishment and discernment. And it was on that mountain that he received the stigmata. 

Max wrote that at the age of 16 he had a near death experience and a vision came to him of a man in a brown robe. He recognized the man as St. Francis, and ever since he has been reading and studying about the saint. The reason for his email was to ask permission to use the picture I had taken of St. Francis' robe for a lecture he will give to some Christian communities in Berlin. 

"Wonders happen, we have to talk about it!" said Max in his email. 

I told him that he could use the photo, and any others on that post, with my blessing. I also sent him a PPT presentation on La Verna I had given to a Women's Bible Study since it contains additional photos of the monastery that I did not post on my blog. 

His response, a few hours later, was filled with such joy about the photos. 

"What a nice Saturday evening this had become!" he wrote. "What could I wish more for "my" story (or better, "his" story)! I promise: as soon as it [the lecture] is finished, in a few days, I will translate it into English and send it to you."

He also sent a photo of a slide from his lecture, and I look forward to seeing the finished product.

I have often said that one of the most beautiful things about this world is the interconnectedness of humanity, that we all have more in common than we think, or even realize. 

And that something as simple as a photo can make a connection between a wanna-be writer from Georgia and a stranger from Berlin. 

Wonders do indeed happen. 

This photo is my most pinned photo on Pinterest, 

and it generates traffic to my blog every single day. 

Life Lately: The Perfectly Mundane and Ordinary (in 7 quick takes)

1- Food on walls

Due to a roof leak, we are re-painting our master bedroom and bath. Now comes the Paint Selection Headache. Seriously. I do NOT like to pick out paint. Here are some of the names of paints we've used in the past: Irish Cream, Cappuccino, Cracked Pepper, and Cafe-au-lait.

So basically I just need to look for paint cans of food, and start from there.

2- Enough already

Remember Jonathan's accident that happened LAST JULY, the one where not only was Jonathan's car totaled but we lost the St. Christopher medal? The accident which provided a wonderful experience with the city's towing service? The very same accident in which the Atlanta city police department's computer system was hacked so all record of the accident was deleted?

Yeah, that one.

Today Jonathan is in Atlanta at a court hearing to settle the down thing.

Finally.

3- Back to School (again)

This was week one of training to become a CASA (court appointed special advocate) and just like that I'm back in school. Although the class meets only once a week, the rest is done online so every morning I fix my cappuccino and study. I love it. Give me notebook, highlighter, keyboard, and a writing assignment and I'm in my element. But I'm not going to lie. There was a learning curve with an online class, but on the upside I'm learning an entire new vocabulary like adjudication and permanency.

4- Spring Break Plans

Today we are planning and booking our plans for spring break. Some of our ideas include a trip to Sedona, a cruise, or a whirlwind tour of London. We'll see ...

5- Plot Twists

I'm listening to The Silent Patient on audible. It's the story of a woman who murders her husband and then refuses to speak. The chapters alternate between the therapist's point of view and hers (via her journal) with one plot twist after another. I have one chapter to go and I STILL have no idea what is going to happen.

6- He'll Know when He Knows

Joe and I have a date. He just doesn't know it yet.

7- Lunch Inspiration

With or without the aeperol spritz. We'll see ...

grazie Girl in Florence

Thoughts on a Far Away Birthday

Two years ago I stood in the driveway and watched as my oldest son's possessions were loaded into a large moving van.

"Now, don't cry when we start carrying his things out of here," said the man from Atlas Van Lines. "The first one out of the house is hard."

Nicholas had just graduated with an engineering degree from Clemson University and was headed to Little Rock, Arkansas for a new job. The last few weeks in which we celebrated his graduation, packed endless boxes (mainly with books--everything from Dostoyevsky to Naruto), flew out to Arkansas to search for an apartment, gathered supplies, and refinished donated furniture had brought us to this very moment.

A moment in which we watched our son go.

Despite the chaos that lead us to this point, nothing prepares you for this, and yet when the time came I felt peace settle in my heart because it was time.

It. Was. Time.

Today is Nicholas' birthday (he's 25!) and he is still in Little Rock. He has a wonderful job that enables him to do some traveling, he likes his coworkers, he has the nicest girlfriend and a great group of friends, his apartment is comfortable, and he's learned to cook. He texts us during the week and calls home faithfully every Sunday evening.

We couldn't be prouder of him.

I know some may see the finality of a child moving out as an ending, but I chose to see it as a transition. There was a shift in our family dynamics, and certainly a period of adjustment, but it was also a springboard to new beginnings, traditions, and adventures.

And while I'd love to have him here, in this very moment, to be able to give him a birthday hug, or fix his favorite meal, or take him to Barnes & Noble so we can stock up on books, I am happy knowing that he's happy and that his birthday weekend is filled with exciting activities.

All the same though, I think I'll take the advice of the man from Atlas Van Lines and have a box of tissues nearby.

What ...

What I'm reading

The Silent Patient (on audible), The Island of Dr. Moreau (book club), Greensleeves (for fun)

What I'm wearing

yoga clothes (day 2 of yoga burn) + canal walk

What I had for breakfast

coffee, because intermittent fasting (the best health decision I made in 2019)

What I'm doing today

living these words ...

Let's Make it a Good One

I woke up this morning with a million good intentions running through my mind. Then I took this photo. The Halloween mug, the Alpine trees, and the 2020 calendar provide a stark contrast to those well-meaning intentions and more accurately depicts my entry into the New Year ... a little of this, a little of that, one foot here, and one foot there.

But it's all good! A journey begins with a single step. No one said it had to be a leap. 

I do have some new things going on. This morning my sister and I are starting a 12-week yoga burn challenge, and I my mat and resistance bands are ready and waiting (I'll get to them as soon as I finish my cappuccino in the Halloween mug). 

This evening I begin training to become a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). And between the yoga and CASA training I have a lot of things to get done (I'm eyeing those Alpine trees). 

Finally, as we venture into the New Year, some with giant leaps and bounds while others (eh hem) a little more quietly, I leave you with this: Saturday night after Mass I stopped to speak to a woman who usually sits in front of us. When I wished her a Happy New Year she replied, "Happy New Year. Let's make it a good one."

Amen.  There's a LOT we can do to make it a good one. 

Happy New Year! Let's make it a good one!

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 12, Putting Away Christmas (with a little help from Dr. Suess)

We are packing away the ribbons and tags; storing packages, boxes, and bags.

In other words, we are putting away Christmas.

Jonathan and Timothy take down the ornaments from the tree and place them on the kitchen table so I can put them in the storage boxes. Back and forth they carry ornaments, from tree to table. We have a lot of ornaments on the tree.

Then, Timothy accidentally breaks one, glass shards scattering across the floor. But that's okay. EVERY year someone breaks an ornament, so it's almost a tradition.

Joe pulls off the lights, and coils them carefully because we replaced ALL the lights this year and so they should be good for another year or two. Maybe. If we're lucky.

As I watch all the vestiges of Christmas disappear, it dawns on me how we are basically undoing everything we did a month ago. The tree that went up, is now coming down. The nativity sets, garland, and stockings that were on display, are not hidden away.

All that fuss, and just like that it's over.

But then I reach for a Christmas signboard propped in a corner. Painted on its surface are the Three Wise Men with the words, "REJOICE in the gifts of the season."

Rejoice. In the gifts.

The gifts of the Magi, the angels' Alleluia, the shepherds' witness, and the Christ child in a manger. The gifts of faith, peace, goodwill, forgiveness, and salvation for all mankind until the end of time.

These Christmas gifts don't go away to reappear one time a year.

So yes, we clear away the trimmings of Christmas--the things that made the season sparkly, cozy, and exciting! We store away the ribbons and tags, packages, boxes, and bows.

But we're not putting away Christmas.

Not at all.

It's here just the same.

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 11, What to Give Adult Sons For Christmas

I can look at a string of Christmas pasts and see a definite pattern in gifts as our sons grew older:

toddler: matchbox cars, Thomas trains, Duplo

primary school: Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Lego

elementary school: Lego, board games, scooters

middle school: Lego, strategy board games, Wii games, sports equipment

high school: phone, high end sneakers, gift cards, video games

college: money, college game gear, electronics

But now that our two eldest are adults--one living on his own in Little Rock and one who has a job already lined up in Atlanta after he finishes grad school this spring--the gift ideas have changed. Of course, they still like Lego and electronics, strategy board games are always a hit, and they will take a gift card any day, but they also have needs--for their apartment (kitchen appliances, furniture) their car (air compressor for tires, a car emergency kit, jumper cables), or their new job (business suits, dress shoes). 

But while all those things are practical, I still like to think of one special gift to add. 

This year, it was a Fontanini nativity set (a stable and the Holy Family) for Nicholas. I also gave him, carefully packaged in a beautifully decorated box,  all his childhood tree ornaments from Nonna and Nonnno--brass ornaments engraved with his name and the year. One ornament for every year until he turned 18 years of age. (Next Christmas, when Jonathan has his own apartment, he will get the same.)

When Nicholas drove home Christmas day due to work, the first thing he did when he arrived back to his apartment in Little Rock was to set up his nativity and hang the ornaments on his tree. 

And hopefully these things will always be a little reminder of family and faith.

A little reminder of home.

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 10, Where in the World is Santa?

In case you're wondering what Santa is doing after a busy Christmas season, word has it he's relaxing somewhere in Italy ...

(photo from locorotondo on instagram)

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 9, The Book Swap

This year I knew exactly what to get Joe for his December birthday: a copy of Stan Byrdy's new book, Against All Odds: The Donnie Hixon Story, which tells the amazing story of Augustan Donnie Hixon who overcame personal adversity and ultimately served as Burt Reynold's stunt double in the movie, The Longest Yard. 

For those who don't know, Stan Byrdy is an Augusta writer, speaker, sports historian, and award winning journalist. He has written two other books: Alister MacKenzie's Masterpiece: The Augusta National Golf Club, and Augusta and Aiken in Golf's Golden Age. 

He also happens to be our neighbor and a member of our church. 

When I contacted Stan and asked if he would sign a book for Joe, he suggested we meet and do an author book swap. One of his books for one of mine. So a few days later, during a torrential thunderstorm, Stan came to our house. We talked about the writing process, shared publishing stories, discussed marketing ideas, and then we swapped books. 

Now, shortly before our book swap my friend Thalia, who was flying out of the Augusta Regional Airport, sent me a photo of my book An Ocean, an Airplane, and Two Countries Full of Kisses which she spotted in the Landings Gift Shop. She didn't know I was meeting with Stan, and yet her photo showed my book AND Stan's book, The Augusta National Golf Club, sharing a book stand at the airport gift shop. 

How's that for a little Christmas serendipity?

Stan's book, Against All Odds: The Donnie Hixon Story is available on Amazon and at the Sacred Hearts Cultural Center gift shop. 

As it happens, my book is available in both places, too, as well as Dr. David Tribby's volume of poetry, Gifts in Time. 

I guess the moral of the story is to support local authors (insert smiley face emoji).

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 8, Books of 2019 (including Top Three)

For Christmas, it seems EVERYONE gave me a book. And that's a perfect Christmas.

As I begin to delve into my stack of books, I want to take a moment to list my TOP THREE books of 2019. If you're interested in the entire list you can scroll below; the list isn't complete because I listened to some books on Audible, and there were many I forgot to write down. As you can see I also rated the books--know that I don't give out five stars lightly.

Anyway, here are my top choices from last year:

TOP THREE BOOKS OF 2019

Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens) *****
So beautifully written. Almost lyrical, poetic. Delia Owens came to Augusta to speak when I was out of the country, so a sweet friend attended and brought me back an autographed copy.

A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)*****
This made my top three for 2018, but I read it again in 2019 and it STILL made my top list. And if I can get my Book Club to select it, I'll read it AGAIN this year. You can't learn too much Russian history.

The Secret History (Donna Tartt)*****
I first read Tartt's The Goldfinch to see what the fuss was about. I really, really liked that book and decided to read this one, which I also really, really liked. Maybe even a little more.

Honorable Mention

Lost for Words (Stephanie Butland)*****
A bookshop, a girl with a secret past, poetry readings, a good guy, a bad guy ... this book made me cry. In good ways, and sad ways. Touching. Endearing. Moving.

Reading list for 2019

I Know this Much is True (Wally Lamb) *****
Gritty. Harsh. Beautiful. Reminded me of Pat Conroy's books.

Ghosted (Rosie Walsh)***
I had never heard of the term "ghosted" but now I know! While I enjoyed the book I gave it three stars because the main character didn't act logically. In our book club everyone wondered why the main character just didn't go to the guy's house and simply confront him.

The Bookshop (Penelope Fitzgerald) ****
The last line in the novel inspired our Book Club to come up with our own interpretation of the book's ending.

Where'd You Go Bernadette? (Maria Semple)****
Read the book, saw the move. The book was much better.

A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman)*****
Quirky. Endearing. A story of love.

A Place to Call Home (Deborah Smith)****
Historical fiction with a splash of romance. Takes place in the South, so lots of quirky humor.

Radium Girls (Kate Moore)****
Yikes. Don't get a toothache or you'll imagine all sorts of horrid things. Don't get x-rays, either.

Killers of the Flower Moon (David Grann)*****
My son gave me this book. True story of the Osage Indian murders and the birth of the FBI.

The Scribe of Siena (Melodie Winawer)***
Great premise, but felt the author missed the opportunity to make this a great book.

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me (Jennifer Teege)***
Saw her speak. Fascinating story, but found the book cold and impersonal.

Innocence (Dean Koontz)****
This is a book I will have to read again, slowly this time so I can ponder. I jotted down some quotes that I found profound.

The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)*****
The reviews for this book were all over the place, but I loved it so much I then read her other book, The Secret History, which made my top three for the year.

Game of Thrones, Books 1-3 (George R. R. Martin)****
Haven't seen the television series, but really liked the books. My son had to help me keep the characters' names straight. Still working on the fourth one ...

Bury Your Dead, The Brutal Telling, A Fatal Grace, Still Life (Louise Penny)****
I haven't read all the Chief Inspector Gamache series, but I'm working on it.

The Things We Cannot Say (Kelly Rimmer)**
Interestingly, many blogs rated this book as a favorite. I found it ponderous and predictable. I started skimming just to get to the end already.

Brunelleschi's Dome (Ross King)***
When you're taking a group to Florence, you read this book. Then you can teach everyone in the group about Brunelleschi.

Misery (Stephen King)***
We happened to watch the movie one afternoon, so I had to read the book. Annie is even more horrid in the book.

Bill Hodges Trilogy: Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch (Stephen King)***
I remember reading these books over a period of two weeks (after watching and reading Misery). I remember liking them. But when I sat down to compile this list I couldn't really remember what they were about.

A Room with a View (E.M. Forster)*****
When you're planning a trip to Italy, this is a must read. Love the book, love the movie.

Lord of the Flies (William Golding)***
In high school I read this book because I had to; when my son had to read it for his literature class, he asked if I could read it too so we could discuss it together. I get why it's a classic, and I understand why it's required reading, but it's still not a favorite. My son wasn't thrilled with it either.