Books of 2012- Part 2

Hello again! I'm back with another list of books for you! If you missed Part 1, check it out. It's all the books I read for fun last year. Again, I'm linking to the where you can purchase the Kindle version on Amazon, and again, I encourage you to check out your public library to see if you can read it for free!

I loved being a part of a book club and I'm hoping I can find one to join here in the area! For the one in Nashville, we read one book each month, switching out between fiction and non-fiction. We also gathered to watch movie versions or supplemental movies when applicable.

Books I read in Book Club:

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick- This book was my favorite type of non-fiction- one that reads as fiction. Barbara Demick is a journalist and she tells the stories of six different North Koreans. This book was absolutely fascinating. I blogged about this a while back after I first read it. I highly recommend it!

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand- Ugh. This one's a beast. We allowed ourselves two months to read this because of the length. Honestly, I'm glad I read it, but only so I can say I read it. It is such an influential book and because it is referenced so frequently, I'm glad to know what people are talking about. But I really didn't enjoy it at all. At all.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand- Wow. This book was gripping, heart-wrenching, surprising, powerful, inspiring. Maybe my favorite book of the year. It is another non-fiction that reads like fiction. I flew through it and although it was hard to read, it was definitely worth it. If you read it, just remember that survival is in the title. I heard this will also be made into a movie, and I'll be the first in line to see it!

Rules of Civility by Amor Towels- This novel is set in New York City in the 1930's. A fun read, especially if you've ever visited the Big Apple! I really enjoyed it, and had the pleasure of hearing the author speak at a book signing in Nashville as an extra treat!

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown- I didn't love this book, but I think it's a good read for anyone who has experienced shame, guilt, or low self-confidence. It was a bit self-help, but I did find it interesting how the author incorporated her research. Did you know there's a science to shame?

11-22-63 by Stephen King- My first Stephen King novel! I was not sure what to expect or if I would really like this, but I really enjoyed it! Basically, it's the story of a young man who travels back in time to prevent the assassination of JFK. I'm not a fan of science fiction, but this was realistic (enough) that I was captivated and interested.

Have you read any of these? I'd love to hear your thoughts and if there are any you'd be interested in checking out! Stay tuned for the final list- books I read for work. It's a short list, but they were really good!

Books of 2012- Part 1

Last year, I set a goal for myself. I wanted to commit to reading one book every month in 2012. Little did I know I'd join a book club halfway through the year! I was really proud of myself for completing my goal and I thought I'd share my book list in case any of you are looking for some good reads! Because I exceeded my goal, I'm splitting up my list into three posts so they won't be super long.

If you are a reader, I'd suggest checking out Goodreads. It helps you organize your reading in lists- want to read, reading, have read, write reviews, and connect with your friends to see what they're reading.

I was inspired to do this post from my friend, Pam, who reviews her list of books every year.  I will link each book to where you can find it on Amazon, but I will say that most of these books I read from the library and I highly recommend it! Whether I picked it up at my local branch or checked it out to my kindle, I saved a lot of money! I can't wait to check out the public library in our new hometown!

So, without further adieu, here are the books I read in 2012:

Books I Read on My Own:
The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks- This was the first book I read on the iPad I got for Christmas last year. And that's pretty much the only thing I remember about it. I've read every single one of his books, and they are all kind of the same, but if you're needing a good "beach read," this should satisfy that craving.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini- I had wanted to read this book for a while, but I really had no clue what it was about. It was really, really sad. But also a powerful story of redemption. I also enjoyed reading about another culture so different from my own. The jury's still out on whether or not I want to see the movie version of this.

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore-  This was a really quick, non-fiction read about two young boys, both named Wes Moore, who grew up in the same neighborhood and the drastically different paths their lives took. It was interesting and inspiring, and (in my opinion) affirmed the importance of education and parental involvement.

The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson- This was another one I'd wanted to read for a while. I tend to think I don't really enjoy historical fiction, but I really enjoyed this story that takes place in Chicago in the late 1800s. It was a page-turner! I heard it's being made into a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio!

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris- This was probably one of my least favorite books. I really enjoyed the first part of the memoir, when David was talking about his childhood. I stopped laughing as much and lost interest as the book went on. Some will find it hilarious- it just depends on your sense of humor!

Bossypants by Tina Fey- Hilarious. Need I say more? I read this in three days. Loved it.

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond- If you read The Pioneer Woman blog, you will definitely enjoy this telling of her love story. While she's mostly known for her cooking and photography, she's actually a great writer (and hilarious!) and this story of how she met and fell in love with Marlboro Man is a fun and easy read.

Have you read any of these? Check back tomorrow for part 2, all the books I read in book club!

I'm Back.....for now!

I have been itching to finally start posting again in the past couple of weeks, but Marcus has been away on mission trips with the youth group, so I just now have the computer back!

Because of your sweet comments on my last post, I was reminded of why I started this blog in the first place. The whole point of Wish You Were Here is for our friends and family to stay in the loop on what's going on at the Womack house. So, this post is just a big ole recap of what's been happening for the past couple of months. I don't really remember as far back as April (except for Easter and finally getting to watch TV again!) so I'll just start with May and catch up to today. Get ready for lots of iPhone pictures ahead!

In May:

• I started working on a Christmas quilt! This is the one I kept promising to show you my progress. Here is the only picture I have. And I haven't worked on it again since then! :) But I'm excited to see it start coming together.

• I visited the Main Downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library! This was on my bucket list, so I was really excited to finally go and mark something off my list!
• I joined a book club! For May, we read Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. It was absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend it! This month and next, we're reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. It is one ginormous book!

• We spent Memorial Day weekend floating on the river in Knoxville! One of my best friends Laura, and her hubby Rob recently moved there, so we spent the weekend on the houseboat they were renting until they could move in to their house. Lots of fun!

• We came home to an escaped dog who had found some Tylenol (no bueno) and made our first visit to the emergency vet clinic. I don't wish this on anyone. Ever.

• We celebrated TWO wonderful years of wedding bliss. Marcus took me to a fancy restaurant and I made him watch our wedding video. :) For the second anniversary gift of cotton, I gave Marcus a monogrammed handkerchief and a Longhorn cap, and he gave me a beautiful canvas photograph that I want to hang above our piano (when we live in a house big enough to have the piano!).

Who forgot to ask someone to take our picture at the restaurant? Yep, us.

I can't believe how quickly the past two years have flown by. Marriage has been such a wonderful adventure and we love our life here in Nashville.

Stay tuned for some of our June adventures (I promise I won't wait a month to post about it).