A few of my favorite books - non-fiction

I like books, as you know.  I especially like books related to things I love to do.  Here are some of my favorites, listed by category (Can I also say that I like organized lists??).

Gardening:  I have lots of gardening books.  I mostly like them for the pictures but these are some that I have read and perused time and time again.
Perennials for Minnesota and Wisconsin by Don Engebretson and Don Williams - for those of us who garden in the upper Midwest, we are well aware of the challenges related to our climate.  It is cold in the winter, but blistering hot and humid in the summer.  After paging through many other gardening books, falling in love with particular plants only to find out they only grow in zone 9-10, I discovered this book.  I carry it with me to the garden center, I take it with me to the plant swaps (both to show other people what my plants will look like when they bloom and to look up their plants to make sure they are not horrid undesirable invasive species), I carry it in my gardening bag in case I need to check on a particular plants light or soil needs.  It is well-worn and indispensable.  And it has lots of pretty pictures.  Oh, and I like that the plants are listed by common name but the Latin names are included.  No more confusion about which plant is called "butterfly bush" (there are several - it is best to know the Latin names).
Month-by-Month Gardening in Minnesota by Melinda Myers is another indispensable guide for the northern gardener.  It is divided into sections (annuals, perennials, lawn, veggies and herbs, roses, trees, etc.) and then each section by month.  So if it is September, and I want to know what I should be doing with the cannas, I look in Bulbs, then September, and it tells me what to do with them once I pull them out.  So handy to have everything in one place.  I can never remember which shrubs to prune when or what is the best time to divide which plants. 
Encyclopedia of Flowers by Mary Moody is one that I enjoy even though it is one of them that I find flowers I love only to find out they only grow in Zone 9.  My favorite part of this book is that it is arranged by color, so if I want some red flowers for a hot bed in the front, I can find something I like (and check the zone to make sure it will grow here!).  I also like that this book has full color photos for all the flowers.
I also love Garden Gate magazine - helpful ideas from planning gardens, plant ideas, maintaining gardens and identification of pests and weeds.  And it has beautiful pictures!

Cooking:  I like cookbooks.  I especially like cookbooks with pictures.  I have lots and lots of cookbooks.  These are but a couple.
Betty Crocker's Cookbook - the classic"big red" has been my go-to cookbook since I learned to cook.  Betty has helped me master cream and cheese sauces, soups of various kinds (Corn Chowder is long-time favorite), waffles, biscuits, pizza crust and so many other basic things.  She's not crazy or trendy (not too many tofu recipes in old "big red" which, by the way, is fine with me!), she's just homey and simple.  This book is my definition of comfort food.  And when I got turnips in my CSA and thought, "what the heck do I do with turnips?" I turned to her first.
Taste of Home's Quick Cooking (2002)  I like this one a lot because it was free.  Ha!  Actually, a lot of recipes we use regularly are from this book.  They are quick, easy recipes; the index is awesome (what a geeky thing to say - but so true!) including an alphabetical index for when I know the name of the recipe AND a general index arranged by type of food (e.g., appetizers which are then divided into cold appys, dips and spreads, etc.,) and main ingredients (e.g., carrots, potatoes, ham, etc.,).  I have already posted some recipes from here.
Weight Watchers Pure Comfort: 150 All-time Feel-good favorites - a "diet" comfort foods book - what is not to love?  Pasta dishes, casseroles, sweets and breads, all with easy-to-follow instructions, Points values (old style), and other nutrition info.  These are the tasty dishes that make it easy to watch your diet and get the comfort foods you crave.
Betty Crocker magazines - you know - the little $4 ones that tempt you in the check-out lane at the grocery store.  I only have a couple, but they are well-loved.  Pictures with every recipe, an ever-changing theme (I have Simple Home-cooking which includes casseroles, stews, soups and the like, and a dessert one).  And only $4?  Come on!
Pampered Chef Season's Best - Okay, these are even cheaper than the little BC ones, only $1 but you may need a PC consultant and will probably buy more than just the cookbook.  Pampered Chef has a new one of these little babies every 6 mos.  I have about 10 of them (I used to sell them, remember??) and there are definitely some recurring recipes so they are not 100% new every time, and they do, of course, promote PC equipment.  But I like them and for a dollar you can't go wrong.
I also like Bon Appetit magazine, as I have stated before. 

Knitting: Knitting books are awesome.  They always have pictures (I am, apparently, all about the pictures) and they give me great ideas and excuses to buy yarn.  I love yarn - I like to handle it, I like to knit it, I occasionally like to crochet it, and I apparently collect it.  All my yarn has a purpose and some of the purposes can be found in these books.  Now if I could get around to using that yarn...
Stitch 'N Bitch Nation by Debbie Stoller - I bought this one instead of the original Stitch 'N Bitch because I liked more of the patterns.  But now that I look at it, I have only made one thing out of this book and that pattern I adapted for my own use (I made what I call "cell phone cozies" and what they call "Mobile Monsters" but instead of the pig or the rabbit they had patterns for, I made my own orange cats - one for my sister and one for me).  But there are really fun patterns in here that I fully intend to make someday - Bzzz Hat for Queen Bees (a hat that looks like a beehive), Later 'Gator Mitts (mittens that look like alligators), Bunny Hat (for babies - guess what it looks like), Fuzzy Dice (for my hubby's truck - LOL!), and a really cool felted, monogrammed bag that looks like a retro bowling ball bag (Letter Have It).  I guess I like apparel and accessories that look like other objects or creatures.  I also like this book (and the original) for the "knitty gritty" how-to section.  I refer to it when I can't remember all the methods of cast on or seaming.
Knitting for Baby - by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas.  This book has the most adorable babies! And some super cute patterns too.  In addition to the little Harvard Square Cardigan that makes baby look like a little professor, the most beautiful Nordic Snowflake Pullover, and classic Aran Pullover in an un-classic color of green, there are plenty of easy and accessible patterns for blankets, hats, booties and toys.  There is a family of teddy bears that I feel I need to knit at least 7 of them some day (different sizes and colors, of course).

Books about books: This is a somewhat odd category and I don't have a lot of books that fit the category but here are a couple.
Book Lust by Nancy Pearl - written by a librarian and organized by category, this book is a resource of what to read next.  It has an index listing authors and books mentioned in the book, so I have often looked up books or writers I have enjoyed to see what else Ms. Pearl recommends.  For example, I love To Kill a Mockingbird, so when I looked it up, I found a bunch of recommendations under topics "Girls Growing Up", top 10 books written in the 1960s, "Southern Fiction" and "What a Trial that was!"  I have started checking off the books I have read in the index, with my apparent goal to read all the hundreds of books mentioned before I die.
Read To Me: Raising kids who love to read by Bernice Cullinan - I know I do not have children, but I bought this when I was a potentially aspiring children's librarian and have used it when deciding what books to get for children of friends.  It is a good resource for books that may help your child learn to love read, and also for read-aloud books for preschoolers to preteens (I admit I copied some of that from the back of the book).  It has tips on how to get started reading to children, how to make reading a part of your busy life, and lists of books for different age groups.
Along a similar vein but with much more extensive lists is Valerie and Walter's Best Books for Children: A lively, opinionated guide by Valerie Lewis and Walter Mayes.  There are more than 2000 books listed here for children from birth to age 14, with notes on themes (so if you have someone very interested in pirates, for example), reading, listening and interest levels (as you may have discovered, what makes a book good to read is not necessarily the same as what makes a book good to listen to) and also more tips on how pass along the gift of reading to your kids.

Empty books: These are books that started out empty but that I love to buy and sometimes fill.  I have, among others, a book journal (thoughts of books I have read), a food journal (ideas on recipes I have tried and lists of types of recipes (for example, chicken recipes, appetizer recipes, dessert recipes) with location of recipe for easy reference), a gardening journal (what plants are where, how they have done, if I would plant them again, what I would do differently), a knitting journal (lists of projects I could work on if time and interest available, list of needle sizes and types, pattern ideas and sketches.  I could also keep a list of finished projects here but for some reason I have not yet done that.), a wine journal (this one has not yet been started but will someday contain thoughts on wines we have tried - what E thinks, what I think - where we tried them, if we bought them (or would consider buying them or buy them again)), a writing journal (could call this one a "personal" journal but sometimes I just use it for free writing, brainstorming, or other writing exercises).  I think I have an empty book addiction.

So, those are a few of my favorites and this list was in no way exhaustive.

Maybe you have someone on your gift-giving list who might find one of these interesting, or maybe you yourself might like one or two.  If you have opinions on any of these or others you recommend that I might like (or other ideas for my blank book obsession), please let me know.

Happy reading!
Hallie

Obviously I am busy...

I must be busy with many things if I am not blogging much, right?  Just what am I doing? 

Work is getting busier again.  I am also vice president of the local chapter of the underwriters' association this year which means my main job is lining up the venues for our meetings and coordinating all that goes with that (menu choices, getting accurate counts on number of attendees from the treasurer, etc.).  There was a lot of time spent researching, calling, comparing and touring multiple potential facilities for our day-long seminar coming up in May.  I got free coffee and some cookies while doing the tours (on a "vacation" day from work) but otherwise, there is no compensation for this work.  It is not easy to plan events for 150 people!

Our main bathroom shower/tub area is finally complete!  It has been awhile but the tile is in (and looks gorgeous, I think), and the fixtures are installed so we are once again showering upstairs.  I won't even say how long this has been in the works.  If you have been here, you know.  Now we are coordinating with electrician, tiler and plumber to get the rest of the room to look as nice as the shower.  Of course this involves multiple trips to various stores to pick out the lights, vanity, faucets, tile, etc., that we need and also will require a bit of work on our part.  So it is fun and time-consuming.

Here are the other less boring-sounding things I have been doing.

Reading: I am reading a bit.  As of the end of October, I have read 36 books this year.  Or I should clarify, I have finished 36 books this year.  Some books were started last year and took a long time to finish because I would only read them in the car to E.  Here are some I have read but not blogged about with short commentary on each.
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson - My choice for book club.  I liked this book a lot.  It is definitely a different writing style than I typically read (hard to describe.  The author is Norwegian, so I don't know if that explains it or not.) and the story/plot was subtle but I am glad I read it and that I chose it for book club so there were additional thoughts added to the ones I had on my own.  The story is told from the point of view of one man, Trond, in two time periods: in the present as a 60-some-year-old-man, and as a 15-year-old after WWII during a particularly life-defining time of his life.
This Must be the Place by Kate Racculia- I don't remember how this one got on my list of books to read but it was a pretty easy read with interesting characters and a plot that kept me guessing a bit. I sometimes like it when I don't figure out what is going to happen and how it is going to go.  The main character is a quirky teenage girl whose mother owns a boardinghouse.  A man they do not know checks in and inadvertently turns their lives upside down and challenges things they thought they knew about themselves.
Candide by Voltaire - I have had this book since college and just read it for the first time, in English, not in French (I think the French version is also around here somewhere.)  I have seen the musical at least twice but the satire in the book is much stronger.  And, yes, the songs did occasionally run through my head while I was reading.
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous - a classic.  Somehow I did not read this in high school like most people seem to have.  I would have been even more freaked out about drugs if I had read this then - it was bad enough I saw the after-school special where the girl jumps out the window after taking PCP.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - This is the one I was reading to E.  So glad I didn't work for Jobs, though I truly enjoy my iPod and admire his genius. 
Marley & Me by John Grogan - Sorry, dog lovers.  This dog mainly annoyed me and I did not get upset or sad when he died.  This was another one we read for Friday night book club.  I think we are done with the series of animal books now. 
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer - This is one that had been recommended to me by multiple people over the past couple years.  So glad I finally read it!  I liked the epistolary form of the book.  The characters, time and setting were all interesting.  An interesting time in history told from a unique perspective.  I chose this one for Friday night book club after I had read half of it.  Hope the other members read it!
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan - Current book for Sunday night book club.  Another interesting historical perspective, the same time frame as Guernsey but instead of post-Nazi-occupation of an island in the English Channel, this one takes place in the US.  The story is seamless told from multiple characters perspectives and one of the main storylines follows a young African-American who has fought in WWII on the European front and is now returning to his sharecropper family's home in Mississippi.
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut - I remember reading this one multiple times in high school and college but had not read it in a long time.  I don't remember what I liked so much about it back then, but I think I liked it differently on this reading.  And I had Sparks Notes to help understand it more now, too.  And looking back at this list, satire and WWII appear to be the recurrent themes. 



started at the center and knit in the round

Knitting: Now that the weather has turned cooler and my hands are less dirty from gardening, I have done a bit of knitting.  At E's request I made a baby afghan for the newborn daughter of one of his friends.  It was a simple pattern and turned out even cuter than I expected.  I first read about this one in Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together by Larissa Golden Brown.  This was a book we read when I was in the Knit Lit book club/knitting group a few years back.  When I pulled the book out to get the pattern for the blanket, the discussion questions I had created were still in there including one to provoke discussion about a time when knitting has reformed one's character, either by keeping her out of trouble or by helping her relax or heal. Anyway, my pinwheel blanket was knit with a soft chunk yarn on size 11 circular needles.  I knit while listening at my Mini-Medical School class and while watching TV.  I think the baby was waiting for me to be done knitting because she was a bit late, arriving the day after I finished binding off. Welcome to the world, baby girl!  

Weeding: Not much happening in the garden this time of year but I did finish fall clean up, harvested about 3 dozen potatoes and about 10 pounds of carrots, and helped E with the leaves. 

That is a little bit of what I have been doing lately.  Here's hoping I put blogging as a higher priority in the new year, if not before.

Until we read again,
Hallie