Behind on Book Blogging but not on Reading Books!

Behind on Book Blogging

So, I'm behind on book blogging but not behind on reading, which is vastly more important, right?  Over the next week or two, I will try to get caught up with posting the reviews here in the blog.
This is my first attempt to get caught up, which might actually be possible now that Spring semester is ending. I have updated the list of books read so far (see bottom of this post).

The Knitting Book
The next book I finished was
11. The Knitting Book [2011] by Frederica Patmore and Vikki Haffenden [hardcover].
Over which I spent quite some time.  The photographs are fantastic even though must of the knitting and terminology are still over my head as a newbie knitter.

For a newbie knitter, this book is equal parts delightful and intimidating. The photography is lovely. The explanations seem to be written in Klingon at times, which is, no doubt, a sign of my own lack of knowledge. It provides inspiration and much needed reference material. This is the second knitting reference book I have tried and much the better of the two.

My Life in Middlemarch
The next day I finished listening to this audiobook:
16. My Life in Middlemarch [2014] by Rebecca Mead [Audible].
This was a particularly fun read after finishing Middlemarch a few days before.

A fun and informative memoir that is more about George Eliot and Middlemarch than about the author. It's full of interesting and compelling facts and details about George Elliot and her life, her work, her relationships and so forth. Fascinating and nicely written with occasional forays into odd tangential topics. It's a particularly interesting read just after finishing Middlemarch. 

I listened to this on Audible. The narration was pretty good but infrequently annoying.

The Wreath
The next book I finished was written by a Nobel laureate.
14. The Wreath [1920] by Sigrid Undset, translated by Tiina Nunnally [Kindle].
This was one of my attempts to read authors from other countries (Norway, in this case) and to read award winning authors (Nobel prize for literature!), and to read about historical periods that are mostly unknown to me.  The result, in this case, was mixed.

I am torn. The writing is fantastic, of course. However, the protagonist, Kristin, annoyed me pretty consistently in the second half. The setting and broader characters are awesome, though. I will probably read the rest of the trilogy, despite my occasional annoyance with Kristin.

I don't know if I will read the next two installments in the trilogy eventually, although I do have them on the Kindle already.

However, I do know that other translations of this book exist and you should look for this particular translation as this is the most readable (I started with an older, more awkward translation).

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
The next book is totally different, a non-fiction book about being tidy.
15. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up [2010] by Marie Kondo [iBooks].
I can always use some coaching in being more tidy, as all my family will attest!

The author has some interesting ideas about our relationship to our belongings and vice versa. So, the book has bit of new age feel to it but still, it is useful and a different way to think about living and being tidy. Furthermore, she also addresses how doing a major tidying effort can change our lives. I shall try it and see. Her writing is crisp and sometimes quite humorous. It was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

I read this book in iBooks and was slightly disappointed she did not include pictures, especially of her folding methods.

These several months later I still find myself thinking in ways Marie suggests about tidying up and about what I do with my belongings. So, yes, it was useful for me.

The Mysterious Howling
The next book I read is a children's book.
17. The Mysterious Howling [2009] by Maryrose Wood [Audible]

This is an entertaining children's tale, set in Victorian England (I think?), with the smart, hard-working, and very young governess taking on the job of educating three children who have been reared by wolves, supposedly, and who are now in the dubious care of a lord and lady extremely ill-fit to them. Miss Lumley is dedicated to her task and the children, and they are all surrounded by comical and caricatured people of both the upper classes and also the service classes.  It's not fine literature, but it is entertaining, if exceedingly strange.

I listened to the audio version on Audible and the narrator's various ways of speaking the parts make it a rather hilarious listen. Those with children in the target range can better decide if its content is age appropriate.

Books Completed in 2015
I have read (or listened to) 51 books so far in 2015! Here is a list of completed books (most) with links to their info page on Goodreads and to the reviews I have written on Goodreads and Amazon (or Audible).  More links added as the reviews go live (some have been posted but are not yet live on Amazon or Audible).

51. The Hangman's Daughter [2008] by Oliver Pötzsch [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
50. Out from the Underworld [2015] by Heather Siegel [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
49. Inkheart [2011] by Cornelia Funke [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
48. Legion [2012] by Brandon Sanderson [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible.
47. The Reader [1995] by Bernhard Schlink [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
46. Station Eleven [2014] by Emily St. John Mandel [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
45. My Brilliant Friend [2012] by Elena Ferrant [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
44. Cold Comfort Farm [1932] by Stella Gibbons [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
43. Rabbit Proof Fence [1996] by Doris Pilkington [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
42. The Daughter of Time [1951] by Josephine Tey [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
41. Outlander [1991] by Diana Gabaldon [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
40. Illegal Action [2007] by Stella Rimington [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
39. Secret Asset [2006) by Stella Rimington [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
38. Magic's Pawn [1989] by Mercedes Lackey [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
37. Witch Hunt [2012] by Annie Bellet [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
36. Three Wishes [2003] by Liane Moriarty [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
35. The Evolution of an Empire A Brief Historical Sketch of Germany [1892] by Mary Platt Parmele [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
34. Dear Committee Members [2014] by Julie Schumacher [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
33. Dept. of Speculation [2014] by Jenny Offill [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
32. The Specter of Salem: Remembering the Witch Trials in Nineteenth-Century America [2008] by Gretchen A. Adams [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
31. Command Authority [2013] by Tom Clancy [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
30. Emerald Green [2010] by Kerstin Gier [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
29. Sapphire Blue [2009] by Kerstin Gier [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
28. Ruby Red [2009] by Kerstin Gier [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
27. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants [2001] by Ann Brashares [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
26. Dying for a Cupcake [2015] by Denise Swanson [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
25. The Bees [2014] Laline Paull [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
24. Bossypants [2011] by Tina Fey [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
23. Night Rounds [1999] by Helene Tursten [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
22. 13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy [2006] by L. A. Starks [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
21. Detective Inspector Huss [1998] by Helene Tursten [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
20. Crocodile on the Sandbank [1975] by Elizabeth Peters [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
19. Redemption in Indigo [2010] by Karen Lord [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
18. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August [2014] by Claire North [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
17. The Mysterious Howling [2009] by Maryrose Wood [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
16. My Life in Middlemarch [2014] by Rebecca Mead [Audible]. Review: Goodreads; Audible
15. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up [2010] by Marie Kondo [iBooks].
14. The Wreath [1920] by Sigrid Undset, translated by Tiina Nunnally [Kindle].
13. The Riddle-Master of Hed [1976] by Patricia A. McKillip [Audible Audiobook] [review: Goodreads; Audible]
12. If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O [1990] by Sharyn McCrumb [Audible Audio] [review: Goodreads; Audible]
11. The Knitting Book [2011] by Frederica Patmore and Vikki Haffenden [hardcover].
10. Americanah [2013] by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche [audible.com audiobook] [review: Goodreads; Audible]
9. The Handmaid's Tale [1985] by Margaret Atwood [Kindle]. [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
8. The Lady Astronaut of Mars [2012] by Mary Robinette Kowal [Kindle]. [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
7. At Risk [2004] by Stella Rimington [audible.com audiobook] [review: Goodreads; Audible].
6. The Dispossessed [1974] by Ursula Le Guin [Kindle]. 5/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
5. The Story of My Life [1902] by Helen Keller [Kindle] 4/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon].
<4 data-blogger-escaped-.="" data-blogger-escaped-i="" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Middlemarch [1872] by George Eliot (aka Mary Anne or Marian Evans) [Kindle]. [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
3. Interpreter of Maladies [1999], short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri [audiobook]. [review: Goodreads]
2. Knitting for Beginners [2014] by Susan Wilters [Kindle]. 2/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon].
1. Among Others [2011] by Jo Walton [Kindle]. 5/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon].