Posted by: @valiantarcher

@SnowAngel, The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder books don't look familiar at all to me, sorry. How are you and your siblings enjoying The Orphan Train Adventures? I'm pretty sure that's a series we read growing up, though we picked up the third or fourth one in the series before the others and it took years before we found the others.

I hadn't seen the Orphan Train Adventures for years, really glad the local library has six of seven books in the series. I think the siblings have finished reading all six, I've read three so far. I didn't remember the details of the story, so it's been fun to quickly read them again.

Oh, I need to read Dorothy Sayers. Did I mention I got a really nice hardcover of Murder Must Advertise from the used bookstore this summer? I was going to read it awhile back, but my sister had borrowed it. She finally returned it to my bookcase, but in the meantime I added other books to my reading queue. Oh well, it will be there for next year's reading.

Right now I am reading 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep, War As I Knew It by George S. Patton Jr., and Social Justice Pharisees by AD Robles. 12 Days at Bleakly Manor is a Christmas book and thus it followed the Orphan Train Adventures as my next fiction read. I mentioned to one of my sister that I wanted to know more about Patton and so she picked up War As I Knew It when she was at library last week. And lastly Social Justice Pharisees was loaned to me by Scarlet, I've read about a quarter of it.

SnowAngel

Posted by: @valiantarcher

how was Moira's Pen? I haven't seen much chatter about it and the little I have seen seemed mixed.

I enjoyed it, but I can definitely understand why some wouldn't. It's more a series of vignettes and behind-the-scenes insights rather than an epilogue or conclusion. I liked the short stories, and the stuff about historical artifacts and so on. Also, there is a recipe for almond cake. None of the stories really wrap up any questions and some of them gave me more questions, but, as per usual, Megan Whalen Turner is continuing her policy of "not telling".

The Lost Metal was a bit disappointing, but that's mostly because I thought the previous book, The Bands of Mourning, was much better. It does a decent job of wrapping up the Wax and Wayne era of Mistborn, and sets the stage for the upcoming space era. I do recommend reading Mistborn: Secret History before reading The Lost Metal if you haven't yet. Unlike Megan Whalen Turner, Brandon Sanderson does seem to love a good lore drop.

Lately I've been catching up on the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. A security robot hacks its programming so it can download shows to watch and books to read so it has something to do when it's not guarding clients.

Also read Illuminations by T. Kingfisher. It's about a family who has the ability to imbue their drawings with magical power to do various things. Most of them do commissions for ordinary, everyday stuff like a painting to keep mice out of the larder. It's delightful fun, and also pretty short.

Does anyone create reading lists for the new year? If so, how are those shaping up? And for those who pay attention to the stats, how did 2022 turn out for you reading-wise?

@SnowAngel, I still haven't read it, but Murder Must Advertise seems to be a commonly recognised favourite - I hope you like it!

@Dot, thanks for the thoughts on Moira's Pen! I think some of the mixed-chatter had to do with the "more questions" bit; I've respected Turner "not-telling", but given that the series is supposed to be finished, I guess I'm not sure why she's giving more questions than answers in the book. :/
I also read The Lost Metal and agree it was kind of disappointing, especially compared to The Bands of Mourning. I, uh, did not see your message about reading Mistborn: The Secret History in time to get a copy first - but I hadn't been too interested in reading it anyhow, which is why I hadn't read it already.

Spoiler

Even though I know Sanderson is weaving the Cosmere all together, I'm not a big fan of connecting separate books/series together just to have everything in the same universe and so the introduction especially of the Ghostbloods and the other elements frustrated me a bit. I'm guessing Secret History explains ghost!Kelsier - when he showed up, I had a vague recollection of someone mentioning Kelsier not being as dead as he was supposed to be. I was leery of the six-year time jump at first, and I'm still not sure that I loved it, but I reconciled a bit when I realised he wasn't going to use it to make things more tragic when Wax died. I was a bit disappointed that Wayne died, but I was halfway expecting it after he got all his affairs in order. On the flip side, I was very excited when Marasi turned down the Ghostbloods and I enjoyed Steris, as usual.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

Does anyone create reading lists for the new year? If so, how are those shaping up? And for those who pay attention to the stats, how did 2022 turn out for you reading-wise?

@SnowAngel, I still haven't read it, but Murder Must Advertise seems to be a commonly recognised favourite - I hope you like it!

• I read 114 books (quite a few were children's fiction like the Little House series) and listened to 13 audiobooks.
• I only read 6 nonfiction, I really wanted to read at least 12.
• I wanted to reread the Anne series, the Little House series, 100 Hundred Cupboards series, and several Stephen Bly books which I did. But I also wanted to reread the Cheney Duvall M.D. series and the Stuart Brannon series, and read Expository Apologetics by Voddie Baucham and Lex, Rex: The Law and the King by Samuel Rutherford and I did not read them...so will be rolling those over onto my 2023 reading list.
• And I did ended up reading 24,106 pages.

I finished both Social Justice Pharisees by AD Robles and The Other Worldview by Peter Jones last week (highly recommend both books), so I almost didn't read 24,000 pages or complete 6 nonfiction. Overall I guess I did all right. 

My reading goals for 2023 are 110 books (at least 12 nonfiction books) and 12 audiobooks. I am going to try to not count pages, but focus more on nonfiction and reading off my shelves. These are all on my shelves - the Stuart Brannon series, Expository Apologetics by Voddie Baucham, and Lex, Rex: The Law and the King by Samuel Rutherford - and part of my goal to read in 2023 with 2 and 3 doing double duty since they are also nonfiction. I also want to try to find more older narrative nonfiction (published before 1950), this goal has to do with what I am currently reading and some things I have seen online recently. 

I am planning to read Murder Must Advertise this year. I currently have three books actively in progress: The Wound of Words by Deborah Makarios, Immanuel by Michael Card, and War As I Knew It by General George S. Patton, Jr., quite the stack. I have bookmarks in a few more books, but I haven't picked them up lately and I am planning to finish these three first. 

SnowAngel

I am reading Reason and Imagination, which is essays and reviews by C. S. Lewis. We are fortunate to have Lewis scholarly works, which are now available for public reading. Although I have not read many of the books that Lewis review (they may not all be easily available here in America). I still enjoy knowing what his views about literature and theology were. There are also some other collections such as Christian Reflections and Compelling Reason, which have been made available in recent years, thanks to Mr. Walter Hooper, who helped to preserve so much of Lewis’ writing.  I would recommend all of the collections for those who want know Lewis better than just his reading fiction and fantasy.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

How was the Dance of Thieves duology, @Mel?

It was pretty good; very solid storytelling once you're oriented in the world... The author seems to not be a fan of lore drops and expects the reader to keep up.

Murderbot is a fun read; glad you've been enjoying it @dot! One of these days I'll get around to starting Wax and Wayne... 

@jasmine_tarkheena The Peasant Prince sounds quite interesting, thanks for the recommendation.

I finished up 2022 with a binge of King Arthur stories, heavily focused on Grail retellings featuring Galahad. The one I liked the best was Neil Gaiman's Chivalry--I read the graphic novel version which has lovely watercolors!

@SnowAngel, sounds like you've got a lot of good reading on your 2023 booklist! Are you thinking memoirs/biographies for the earlier narrative non-fiction, and are you interested in anything in particular?

How good is the author at getting you oriented in the story world, @Mel?

I'm currently reading a collection of short stories about overcoming hardships by L.M. Montgomery; the stories have been a bit hit-or-miss, but some of the hits have been pretty fun.

Posted by: @mel

@jasmine_tarkheena The Peasant Prince sounds quite interesting, thanks for the recommendation.

Thank you, @mel! I've also read Abigail Adams: Girl of Colonial Days, which is part of the Childhood of Famous American Series. These would be great for homeschoolers who want to learn about the childhood about famous Americans, like Dr. Seuss, Amelia Earhart, Milton Hershey, ect.

Jumping in to say I am reading a very hard (emotionally) and fascinating biography, simply called The Volunteer, about a Polish resistance fighter, Witold Pilecki, who volunteered for a terrible task: being intentionally arrested to enter Auschwitz in order to document the horrors there. Written by Jack Fairweather, I can hardly put this gripping bio down. And yet, at times I must to close it, the content can be so horrific, unimaginable, incomprehensible. An excellent, 'though very difficult, read.

I have read some Christian apologetic (defense of the faith) books of excellence over 2022: Alisa Childers' Another Gospel?; Natasha Crain's Faithfully Different; J. Warner Wallace's Person of Interest (fascinating, from a really unique perspective!), and currently, God's Crime Scene. I will be finishing this latter after I conclude The Volunteer, as well as beginning Childers' newest release, Live Your Truth ... and Other Lies. I call these 'thinking books', so I have to make sure I am not too drowsy when I read them. My brain often feels like it has been through the mill when I finish any given section ... but in a very good and beneficial way!

In my To-Read pile are also Blessed by Nancy Guthrie (another favourite author) and two lighter reads that I have not picked up in too long, both by E. Nesbit, The Story of the Treasure Seekers and The Railway Children.

Another book that is crucial for anyone caring for a loved one near the end of life is by Dr. Kathryn Butler, Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End-of-Life Medical Care. Dr. Butler deals with a very difficult, practical subject in a wise, compassionate, truth-filled manner. I digested this Biblically-based book last year ... very helpful.

In looking over one of our bookshelves, I see so many I want to re-read, but one that stood out, in particular, is Just Mercy by attorney, Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson defends disadvantaged clients. What a read!

Time limits me mentioning other books I have devoured in the past year (The Lord of the Rings being one), but, man, there is some excellent stuff out there—both older and current!  

Posted by: @snowangel

... by Voddie Baucham

Voddie Baucham is such a solid speaker/author!

Posted by: @valiantarcher

@SnowAngel, sounds like you've got a lot of good reading on your 2023 booklist! Are you thinking memoirs/biographies for the earlier narrative non-fiction, and are you interested in anything in particular?

I'm currently reading a collection of short stories about overcoming hardships by L.M. Montgomery; the stories have been a bit hit-or-miss, but some of the hits have been pretty fun.

I probably have too many books on my list already, you saw my pics on Tumblr and that's without the other books I have been meaning to reread of my own shelves. I don't have any in particular, I need to spend some time browsing the shelves at the library. Unfortunately the library's online catalog stinks when comes to the older books. And I didn't find any at the library book sale last week.  

Ooh, what's the name of the collection? I have a little sis who loves L.M. Montgomery, she's been reading one of the Avonlea books. And she just splurged and bought Jane of Lantern Hill with the really pretty yellow cover.

Posted by: @jo

Posted by: @snowangel

... by Voddie Baucham

Voddie Baucham is such a solid speaker/author!

Yes, he is. I am really looking forward to reading Expository Apologetics once I finally get it back from my mom. Seems like everyone in the family is currently borrowing a theology book from someone else. I have two of my dad's on my desk, mom has one of mine, littlest brother has one of biggest sister's books, etc.  

I am a third of the way through War As I Knew It, it's really interesting. I didn't read much of it over the weekend, I read the Kit Kittredge books instead.    Little sis had gotten them from the library, so I thought I would dash through them. Maybe should have just left them in my childhood, I was not impressed with Kit's character on rereading. She was more whiny and spoiled than I remembered. I did still enjoyed Happy Birthday, Kit! quite a bit, love Aunt Millie.  

SnowAngel 

I have been gobbling down books at quite a rate so far this year. I'm up to eleven read or completed so far this year. 

...Am I to take it that the prohibition about no politics or sexuality doesn't extend to mentioning books with controversial content, as long as they are not discussed in detail? I am trying to determine if I need to edit the titles on my reading list, or put some form of warning label on them.

Thanks for checking, @Silverlily, 'tis much appreciated. We do ask that members refrain from mentioning books that deal with the forum's banned subjects. But thankfully, there are many, many others to discuss.  

And, btw, a big welcome to NarniaWeb!  

Alrighty then, thanks for the clarification. 

I have finished 11 books so far this month. Out of these, the ones I am most confident are within the guidelines are:

Wild Honey From the Moon by Kenneth Kraegel (children's illustrated, a mother shrew on a quest to heal her son)

The Branch that I Am by Mary Grace van der Kroef (poetry, mostly devotional, self-published by an old online acquaintance)

Entwined by Heather Dixon Wallwork (novel based on the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale - good core and an intimidating villain once it got rolling properly)

Kiviuq and the Mermaids by Noel McDermott and Toma Feizo Gas (children's illustrated, Inuit legend)

Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo (a take on the lad's origin story, not bad so far.)

Herb The Vegetarian Dragon by Jules Bass and Debbie Harter (children's illustrated, very whimsical)

The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece by Martin Bailey

I also had a romance/mystery graphic novel, a YA fantasy with interesting worldbuilding, and a series compendium of often humorous space opera, which shall need to remain unnamed.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

How good is the author at getting you oriented in the story world, @Mel?

It took me a few chapters (and I tend to roll with things assuming all will be made clear with time) so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.  

@jo Your reading list sounds fascinating. I may have to find _Between Life and Death_, as well as one Valia mentioned to me... _Being Mortal_ by Atul Guwande... and mull over the subject for awhile.

@snowangel that sounds like a lovely copy of _Jane of Lantern Hill_-that's one of my favorites!

Speaking of favorites, @silverlily, _Entwined_ is another. I think part of my fascination with that fairy tale in particular is the underground setting of the lake and the gold, silver, and crystal trees. And I am intrigued by the children's illustrated books you've mentioned so far... More for my never ending list of books that sound interesting...

I started the year off with a reread of Louis L'amour's _The Key-Lock Man_. The plot could have been tighter, but it also includes a sub-plot of 'chasing a golden stallion' so I enjoyed it immensely overall.  

@mel I bet you were where I first ran into mention of Entwined... I remembered seeing it recommended when I bumped into it on the library app, but couldn't remember by who.

And I've been running into a number of neat picture books in the past couple of years. If you'd like I could pull up titles and summaries for a few of the ones that made an impression?