Good Spirits Book Club Reads

Good Spirits Book Group
Est. Jan.
2008

Three Cups of Tea - Mortenson
Thunderbolt Kid - Bryson
A Thousand Splendid Suns –Hossini
Mountain Beyond Mountain – Farmer
A Thread of Grace – Russell
Olive Kitteredge – Stout
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society – Barrows
The Last Lecture – Pausch


2009

The Art of Racing in the Rain – Stein
Sightings – Keen
The Help – Stockett
Little Bee – Cleave
The Book Thief – Zusak
The Year of Magical Thinking – Didion
Slaughterhouse 5 – Vonnegut
My Abandonment – Rock
Skipping Christmas – Grisham

2010

The Widow of the South – Hicks
The Little Stranger – Waters
Shanghai Girls – See
Winter Garden – Hannah
The Glass Castle - Walls

Reading from my own shelves-Part Two

1. Austenland by Shannon Hale
2. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
3. Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska
4. Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
5. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
6. The Snipesville Chronicles; Don't Know Where, Don't Know When by Annette Laing
7. A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
8. Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
9. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
10. We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg
11. Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang
12. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
14. The Toughest Indian in the World by Sherman Alexie
15. The Reluctant Tuscan; How I Discovered my Inner Italian by Phil Doran
16. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
17. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
18. The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins
19. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
20. Inheritance by Natalie Danford
21. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing; Traitor to the Nation by M.T. Anderson
22. Every Sunday by Peter Pezzelli
23. I don't want to be crazy by Samantha Schutz
24. Lamb by Christopher Moore

Last year I took on 50 books and did not finish my whole list so this year I've kept some of the unfinished and added a few.   I've picked 24 specifically so I can read two each month,which seems like an easy way to stay on track.  Thanks to Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea for rehosting this helpful challenge.

Alice Bachman's Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (local farmer eggs)
1/2 cup buttermilk (don't panic-tip at the end)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter, melted then add 3 T. cocoa (I use Trader Joe's) and add 1 cup HOT water


Mix sugar and flour and beat in eggs.  Next add hot water/cocoa/butter mixture.  Add buttermilk, soda and vanilla.  Beat well by hand.  Pour into 9 X 13 cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Frosting:
Melt 1 stick butter (yes, I know) with 3 T. cocoa powder.  Add box of powdered sugar, 6 T. buttermilk and 1 tsp. vanilla and mix it all together.  Make sure butter is all melted in and pour over cake after cake has cooled a bit. 
***I love this cake because it requires no strange ingredients except the buttermilk but my grandmother, Lavera taught me a trick years ago how to "create" my own buttermilk!  What a great trick...put a little vinegar in the measuring cup and add milk. Let it set for a few minutes and voila, it will become buttermilk!!  Easy.  So make it and frost it and let your family eat it all up.

2010-2011 Library Reading Challenge

Books I've checked out and actually read from my local library:

1. My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald
2. Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
3. Leo and the Lesser Lion by Sandra Forrester
4. The $66 Summer by John Armistead
5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
6. Wild Girl by Patricia Reilly Giff
7. Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan
8. Anything but typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
9. gossip of the starlings by Nina de Gramont
10. An Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech
11. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
12. Riot by Walter Dean Myers
13. The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank
14. Three Wishes by Carey Goldberg
15. Fablehaven; Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull
16. Devil on my Heels by Joyce McDonald
17.  From Alice to Zen and Everybody in Between by Elizabeth Atkinson
18. Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen
19. Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
20. Rainbow Jordan by Alice Childress
21. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
22. Hippie Chick by Joseph Monninger
23. earthgirl by Jennifer Cowan
24. Ellie McDoodle; Have Pen, Will Travel
25. Star in the Forest by Laura Resau
26. Finally by Wendy Mass
27. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
28. Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy
29. Forge by Laurie Halse Andersen
30. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
31. Clementine; Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker
32. Road to Tater Hill by Edith M. Hemingway
33. The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
__________________________________________
34. We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes by Patrick Jennings
35. The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
36. Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
37.  Clara's Kitchen by Clara Cannucciari
38. Come to the Table; The Slow Food Way of Living ed. by Kartrina Heron
39. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
40. The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
41. Fever; 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
42. Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum
43. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
44. If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney
45. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Read in 2010

January:
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsen (adult)****
2. Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman (middle grade fiction)*****
3. Running out of time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (elementary fiction)***
4. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (YA)***
5. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson (Adult/Memoir)***
6. Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur (middle grade)****
7. My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald (middle grade)***
8. 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass (elementary fiction)****

February:
9. Leo and the Lesser Lion by Sandra Forrester (elementary-middle grade)****
10. Ruined by Paula Morris (YA Fiction)***
11. The $66 Summer by John Armistead(middle-YA)*****
12. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Adult Fiction)*****
13. Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan (YA Fiction)****
14. Wild Girl by Patricia Reilly Giff (middle-YA fiction)****

March:
15. Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin (elementary fiction)****
16. gossip of the starlings by Nina de Gramont (YA)***
17. An Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech (elementary fiction)****
18. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (YA Fiction)*****
19. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (YA Fiction)*****
20. Operation Yes by Sarah Lewis Holmes (elementary fiction)****
21. Riot by Walter Dean Myers**

April
22. She's So Dead to Us by Kieren Scott(ARC) (YA)***
23. Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder (elementary fiction)*****
24. The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank (middle grade)***
25. Little Bee by Chris Cleave (Literary Fiction)*****
26. Look Again by Lisa Scottoline (adult fiction)****
27. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Literary Fiction)*****

May
28. Yes, Your Teenager is Crazy (nonfiction)****
29. Three Wishes by Carey Goldberg***
30. Fablehaven by  Brandon Mull (Ya Fiction)****
31. The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice (elementary fiction)****
32. Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony (middle grade fiction)*****

June
33. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden(adult)***
34. Fablehaven; Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull (middle)****
35. Maggie's Door by Patricia Reilly Giff(elementary fiction) ****
36. Serena by Ron Rash (literary fiction)*****
37. Oh. My. Gods by Tera Lynn Childs (middle grade)***

July
38. Devil on My Heels by Joyce McDonald (YA)****
39. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (YA)****
40. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (adult)****
41. Never Change by Elizabeth Berg (adult)***
42. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by e.l. konigsburg (middle)***
43. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank (adult)****
44. Home to Italy by Peter Pezzelli(adult)***
45. The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman (elementary-middle)****
46. The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro (adult-short stories)*****
47. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow (adult fiction)*****
48. Still Alice by Lisa Genova (adult fiction)*****
49. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee  Bender (literary fiction)*****
50.  From Alice to Zen and Everyone in Between by Elizabeth Atkinson (middle grade)**

August
51. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson (adult fiction)*****
52. Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen (adult fiction)***

great writing tips

Top Ten Questions Dutton Editors Ask Themselves When Looking At A Manuscript 1. Who is the readership for this book? 2. Does this story surprise me and take me to places I didn’t expect? 3. Is this a main character I care about? 4. Am I personally moved by this story or sitituation? 5. I this a theme/emotion/concern that a lot of kids will be able to relate to? 6. Has this been done a million times before? 7. Will I want to read this manuscript ten (or more) times? 8. Is the voice/character authentic and real? 9. For picture books: Would this story be visually interesteding for 32 pages? Could I esaily envision the illustrations for this? 10. For novels: Does the action of the story move at a good pace and hold our interest? Does tension build as the story moves forward? (I found this on the Writing and Illustrating blog, posted by Kathy Teamen.)

Read in 2008

1. The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood (adult)
2. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (YA)
3. The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (elementary-YA)
4. Peace Like a River by Leif Engler (adult)
5. Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog (adult)
6. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larsen (middle)
7. Singing Hands by Delia Ray (elementary)
8. These is my words by Nancy E. Turner (adult)
9. The Magician by Michael Scott (middle)
10. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (elementary-middle)
11. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta (adult)
12. Flower Children by Maxinne Swann (adult)
13. The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis (elementary-middle)
14. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (elementary-middle)
15. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (adult)
16. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (YA-Adult)
17. Ida B. and her plans to maximize fun, Avoid Disaster, and (possibly) save the World by Katherine Hannigan (elementary)
18. Little Children by Tom Perrotta (adult)
19. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (YA-adult)
20. In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth (middle)
21. Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggens (adult)
22. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen (adult)
23. Eat, Pray, Love; One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India...Elizabeth Gilbert (adult)
24. The Observations by Jane Harris (adult)
25. Schooled by Gordon Korman (elementary-middle)
26. What I Call Life by Jill Wolfson (elementary)
27. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond (adult)
28. Chocolat by Joanne Harris (adult)
29. Geronimo by Joseph Bruchac (YA)
30. Sacajawea by Joseph Bruchac (YA)
31. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (adult)
32. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; A Year in the Life by Barbara Kingsolver (adult)