I’ve neglected my yearly book pages this year, so I thought I do a summary of the best things I’ve read. Let me know if you agree/disagree with any of my choices.
Blogs
By Jan Edmiston, an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church, USA, who helps churches and pastors discern their gifts in the Chicago area.
Award-winning blog by Ree Drummond who lives on a cattle ranch in eastern Oklahoma, and writes about cooking, homeschooling, photography, and life on a ranch.
By Gretchen Staebler who has temporarily abandoned her life in North Carolina to live with and care for her 92-year-old mother as she struggles with Alzheimer’s and general decline.
By Esther Emery who, along with her husband, gave up her city life and moved to the mountains in Idaho, to live in a yurt, and raise her three children “off the grid”.
By Jessica Hagy who brings eternal truths to me daily by way of minimalist diagrams that fit on an index card.
Where observations and imagination meet nature in poetry. Good for my soul.
By Dusty Thompson, “displaced Southern gentleman and aspiring author, has recently invited his Daddy, an authentic Southern Good Ol’ Boy, to live with him in California.”
By Jean Rolt, an 80-something vicar in a remote parish in the southwest of England. She and her husband are aging, but approach what is left of their lives with humor and faith.
By Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, an avid knitter and writer about knitting.
Books
You can read some very good synopses in the links I’ve provided. This is about 1/5th of the books I read this year (as the list of blogs is about 1/5th of the blogs I read regularly). Other books were either extremely light-weight, or ultimately forgettable.
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore
A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home by Sue Halpern
A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by Sophie Hudson
Pastrix by Nadia Boles-Weber Worth reading whether you are religious or not.
Spider Woman’s Daughter by Anne Hillerman Yes, Virginia, it is a Hillerman, and about the Navajos. Written by Tony’s daughter, it is true to his voice.
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (Re-read for a book club.) I think I’ve said before that I would read the toilet paper roll if Barbara Kingsolver wrote it.
An Aging Liberal Hippy from the Left Coast 
Did you see my list? Not too many of the same books but there are so many to read.
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I know there are so many books that it’s hard to pick just a few. I share “Pastrix” and “Flight Behavior” with Rachel Held Evans, so I guess that puts me in fairly good company.
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Me too — read the toilet paper roll if Kingsolver wrote it! Do you read Ann Pachett? She’s a Tennessee gal who is an amazing writer. Some of my favs are Bel Canto; Run; The Patron Saint of Liars; and others. Hope you had a wonderful Yuletide and that 2014 will be your best year EVER. Love, Anne
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