My 2007 Book List and Stats

Here is my complete list of 2007 books read. I also include some stats that I managed to glean from this list. I read 103 books and finished the last one this morning. This is not as many books as I read in 2006, but this year has been busy and also includes my venture into the blogging world. I've enjoyed my time spent with this blog and also reading blogs of a lot of you. Hope you have a very happy new year and I'll see you in 2008!

103 Books Read

64 Mysteries

39 Non-Mysteries

4 Non-Fiction

24 Young Adult Books

6 Graphic Novels

8 Audiobooks

22 Re-Reads

82 by women

15 by men

Catalyst – Laurie Halse Anderson
Cross – James Patterson
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling (audio)
Murder and Salutations – Elizabeth Bright
Behind Closed Doors – Natalie R. Collins
Bake Sale Murder – Leslie Meier
True Evil - Greg Iles
Shiver – Lisa Jackson
The Delilah Complex – M J. Rose
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban – J. K. Rowling (audio)
Wives and Sisters – Natalie R. Collins
Scrap Everything – Leslie Gould
Blue Smoke – Nora Roberts
Midnight Bayou – Nora Roberts
Turning Angel – Greg Iles
Death on the Family Tree – Patricia Sprinkle
Glossed and Found – India Ink
Murder Most Frothy – Cleo Coyle
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire – J. K. Rowling (audio)
Getting Old is Murder – Rita Lakin
Getting Old is the Best Revenge – Rita Lakin
A Killer Stitch – Maggie Sefton
Getting Old is Criminal – Rita Lakin
Died in the Wool – Rett MacPherson
Silenced by Syrah – Michele Scott
Dead and Berried – Karen MacInerney
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation – Lauren Willig
Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling – Neta Jackson
What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7 – Ben Schoen & Emerson Spartz
The Christopher Killer – Alane Ferguson
Runaways – Vol 1 – Pride & Joy (graphic novel)
Runaways – Vol 2 – Teenage Wasteland (graphic novel)
Runaways – Vol 3 – The Good Die Young (graphic novel)
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix – J. K. Rowling (audio)
The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan
I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You – Ally Carter
Sea of Monsters – Rick Riordan
Runaways – Vol 4 – True Believers (graphic novel)
Runaways – Vol 5 – Escape to New York (graphic novel)
The Titan’s Curse – Rick Riordan
Wolf Brother – Michelle Paver
The Warrior Heir – Cinda Williams Chima
The Wizard Heir – Cinda Williams Chima
White Lies – Jayne Ann Krentz
Silent in the Grave – Deanna Raybourn
Runaways – Vol 6 – Parental Guidance (graphic novel)
The Mephisto Club – Tess Gerritsen
Count to Ten – Karen Rose
The Body in the Ivy – Katherine Hall Page
Back on Blossom Street – Debbie Macomber
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince – J. K. Rowling (audio)
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – Laurie R. King
One Two What Did Daddy Do? – Susan Rogers Cooper
Murder Among Neighbors – Jonnie Jacobs
Heaven & Earth – Nora Roberts
The Merchant’s House – Kate Ellis
Face the Fire – Nora Roberts
Edge of Evil – J. A. Jance
Tallgrass – Sandra Dallas
Dead Sea Cipher – Elizabeth Peters (audio)
State of Fear – Michael Crichton
Set Sail For Murder – Carolyn Hart
Traveling Mercies – Anne LaMott
The 6th Target – James Patterson
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows – J. K. Rowling
Death in the Clouds – Agatha Christie (audio)
Burden of Memory – Vicki Delany
Decaffeinated Corpse – Cleo Coyle
The Ghost & Mrs. McClure – Alice Kimberly
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows – J. K. Rowling (audio)
Deadmistress – Carole Shmurak
Aunt Dimity Goes West – Nancy Atherton
A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
Scare the Light Away – Vicki Delany
Crow Lake – Mary Lawson
Shadow Man – Cody McFadyen
Austenland – Shannon Hale
Eclipse – Stephanie Meyer
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict – Laurie Viera Rigler
In Cold Pursuit – Sarah Andrews
Hard Row – Margaret Maron
Mockingbird – Charles J. Shields
A Wrongful Death – Kate Wilhelm
The Bloody Tower – Carola Dunn
Bones to Ashes – Kathy Reichs
The Drop Edge of Yonder – Donis Casey
Still Life – Louise Penny
A Fatal Grace – Louise Penny
The Wednesday Letters – Jason F. Wright
The Cruellest Month – Louise Penny
Sun Storm – Asa Larsson
Windmills of the Gods – Sidney Sheldon
Founding Mothers – Cokie Roberts
Ammie, Come Home – Barbara Michaels
Easy to Kill – Agatha Christie
Search the Shadows – Barbara Michaels
A Murder is Announced – Agatha Christie
The Jackals Head – Elizabeth Peters
Naked in Death – J. D. Robb
Guilty Pleasures – Laurell K. Hamilton
Slay Ride – Chris Grabenstein
On Strike For Christmas – Sheila Roberts
Maisie Dobbs – Jacqueline Winspear

Top Ten of 2007

This is a list of my top ten of 2007. I've read 101 books this year and may or may not finish the one I am currently reading. If so, I think it would be an 11th entry to my "Top Ten" list. Here are my favorite books from my reading this year, in no particular order:


1. Still Life by Louise Penny – mystery set in Canada where a gentle old lady is murdered in a small village – the village is as much a character as the fascinating people in it – Chief Inspector Armand Gamache investigates

2. Hard Row by Margaret Maron – mystery set in North Carolina where Judge Deborah Knott and her husband, Deputy Dwight Bryant, deal with murder and exploitation of immigrant labor

3. Getting Old is Murder by Rita Lakin – mystery set in Florida in which Gladdy, age 75, and her friends solve the murder of one of their neighbors in their retirement community – very funny

4. The Body in the Ivy by Katherine Hall Page – mystery set on an island off New England where Faith Fairchild, who was to cater the event, is trapped with a group of women having a college reunion and a murderer – this is an homage to Agatha Christie and her book, Ten Little Indians

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini – fiction set in Afghanistan – the story of two women, trapped in marriage to the same man amid earth shattering events

6. Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas – fiction set in Colorado – coming-of-age story of a young girl in WWII whose town is impacted by the Japanese-American internment camp that is placed in their area

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – last book in the Young Adult series comes to satisfying conclusion

8. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - 1st in the Percy Jackson Young Adult series in which Percy finds that he is the son of Poseidon the Sea God and that Olympus is alive and well in the 21st century

9. The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima – 1st in Young Adult series in which 16-year-old Jack forgets to take his heart medicine one morning and discovers that he is heir in a long line of warriors, enchanters and magicians and his medicine has been suppressing his magical talent

10. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer – 3rd in Young Adult series where Bella, a Pacific Northwest teenager, must choose between her best friend, Jake, who is also a werewolf, and Edward, her true love and a vampire

My Fun Shopping Trip to Borders

I had a lot of fun shopping at Borders today. I have been very good at not buying many books and was very happy to receive a nice gift card and some money (which, of course, was set aside for books) for Christmas. I took myself over to the very crowded Borders store near me and spent 2 blissfully happy hours selecting the following list of books. You may wonder why I was so blissful about my little gift card. Well, even though I have tried to tell my extended family and family-in-law that I would be most wonderfully happy with a book gift card each year, they all feel that I have enough books and, after all, I work in a library. My hopes are dashed each year. However, this year, my most special and adored husband bought me my heart's desire. A Borders giftcard. He knew that this had been a very stressful year with many hard decisions in our family and lots of illness. He also knew that I would enjoy this little shopping spree above all else. See, I picked a good one over 30 years ago, right? This is what I got:

1. Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Ever since Harper Connelly was struck by lightning, she's been able to locate dead bodies and determine how the victims died. Now she makes her living using that gift 1st in mystery series.

2. Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon

1st in mystery series, Guido Brunetti, Vice-Commissario of the Venice Police.

3. Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres

A frank and compelling portrait of growing up as a white girl with two adopted black brothers in 1970s rural Indiana, and of her later stay with one of them at a Christian reform school in the Dominican Republic.

4. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

2nd in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series. I'm loving the 1st one and am anxious to go on to the 2nd.

5. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

I've been meaning to read this WWII fiction entry for a while.

6. Atonement by Ian McEwan

I know everyone in the world has read this but me. However, I now have it and will get to it soon.

7. What is the What by Dave Eggers

After listening to one of the Sudanese "lost boys" speak at my church, this book just jumped into my hands.

8. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

More fiction set in WWII era and present day.

9. Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

Another mystery that sounds intriguing. Also interested in the Alzheimer's story (am drawn to these stories because of our dealing with this with my father).

10. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

I know several who really enjoyed this. Sequel is coming out soon and I'd like to read this before reading The Winter Rose.

11. Shadow Music by Julie Garwood

I used to love her historical romances. It's been a long time since she has written one. Hope I like it.

12. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

3rd in this young adult series. I have the first two but have not read them yet. This one was on sale so I went ahead and picked it up.

So, if you've read any of these and have an opinion, let me know. I'm trying to think which one to pick up first.

Merry Christmas to all!

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. I have had such a wonderful time sharing the last few months with everyone by writing this blog. May your holiday time be blessed with joy and peace and fun! And may you get lots of books or at least gift cards for books!! God bless you, every one!

December 22 - My Grown-up Christmas List

Another favorite Christmas CD of mine is Amy Grant's Home for Christmas. It contains a special song that I love so much. I think the world could stand to ponder on the sentiments expressed in this song for a long time.

My Grown-Up Christmas List

Do you remember me

I sat upon your knee

I wrote to you with childhood fantasies

Well I'm all grown-up now

And still need help somehow

I'm not a child

But my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish

My grown-up Christmas list

Not for myself

But for a world in need

No more lives torn apart

That wars would never start

And time would heal all hearts

Everyone would have a friend

And right would always win

And love would never end

This is my grown-up Christmas list

As children we believed

The grandest sight to see

Was something lovely

Wrapped beneath our tree

Well heaven surely knows

That packages and bows

Can never heal a hurting human soul

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

What is this illusion called

The innocence of youth

Maybe only in our blind belief

Can we ever find the truth

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

December 19 - Forgotten Cookies

These cookies are also a family favorite at this holiday season. I got the recipe years ago from a co-worker and have probably made them just about every year. They kind of look like divinity and many people have thought that is what they are. However, they are more of a meringue type cookies and the fun part is that you leave them in the oven overnight. My daughter always thought that was the fun part.

Forgotten Cookies

2 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat over to 350. Beat egg whites until thick and foamy. Add sugar and salt - beat until stiff (should form peaks). Fold in chips and nuts. Drop by tsp. onto foil-lined cookie sheets. Turn oven off - leave cookies overnight. Next morning carefully peel cookies off sheets and store in covered container.

December 15 - White Christmas

I have loved this movie since I was a little girl. I can't count how many times I have seen it. I try to watch at least every year or so, just for nostalgia sake. I can remember doing the "Sisters" song with my little sister when we were kids. I was always mesmerized by the dancing, enthralled by the singing and tearful at the scene where the retired general must appear in uniform on Christmas Eve because all his suits have been "sent to the cleaners". He walks in on all the men from his former unit, standing at attention and ready for inspection. So touching. This is a true Christmas classic with such great songs. Love Bing Crosby, love Danny Kaye, love Rosemary Clooney and love Vera-Ellen.

December 12 - A Christmas to Remember

I have two Amy Grant Christmas Cd's. I love them both and have played them many times. One of my favorite songs is "A Christmas to Remember" from the album of the same name. Songwriters are Amy Grant, Chris Eaton and Beverly Darnell. The lyrics are below:

Twinkling lights

A chill in the air

And carols everywhere

Close your eyes, it's almost here

Candies and cards

And favorite movie scenes

The smell of evergreen

As special as its always been

And I have a dream or two

Maybe they will come true

Setting our hopes on a big snow tonight

We'll wake up to a world of white

It's gonna be a Christmas to remember

Light up the fire, play some Nat King Cole

Always sentimental and don't you know that

It's gonna be a Christmas to remember

I know it's true

Time doesn't stand still

Many things can change

But we know some things never will

The memories we share

The songs we always sing

The mystery of life

The hopefulness this season always brings

And I have a dream of two

Maybe they will come true

Setting our hopes on a big snow tonight
We'll wake up to a world of white
It's gonna be a Christmas to remember
Light up the fire, play some Nat King Cole
Always sentimental and don't you know that
It's gonna be a Christmas to remember

December 9 - Love Actually

Love Actually has become one of my favorite Christmas movies. It was released in 2003 and tells the story of many interrelated characters in the weeks preceding Christmas. All the stories are about love in its many forms, some end happily and some are bittersweet. It stars many very gifted actors such as Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Bill Nighy and bit parts by Rowan Atkinson, Billy Bob Thornton and others. The soundtrack is great and one that I listen to over and over. The only quibble I have with the movie is that it earned a rating of R due to sexuality and language. I guess a better way of seeing this movie for the whole family is the network version. The theme of the movie is that if you look, "love, actually, is all around you".

December 7 - A Christmas Meme

I was tagged for this meme by Margaret at Booksplease and so I will respond:

What is your most enduring Christmas memory?

I have loved seeing Christmas through the eyes of my daughter, especially when she was a child. Such excitement and joy. Otherwise, it was probably the year that my parents gave me an accordion. I opened it and had no idea what I was looking at and said, "What is it?"! It was rather a disappointment because the case it came in had fascinated me for days. I was 7. There was also the year (I was 12) when I opened all my Christmas gifts when my mother was out of the house and then rewrapped them. A horrible year! Never been tempted to do that again. I don't even shake them!

Do you have a favourite piece of Christmas music?

I love lots of Christmas music. However, "Mary, did you know?" is my current favorite. Also "Carol of the Bells".

Do you stick to the old family traditions?

My family did not have a lot of traditions. However, my husband's family has many. So, yes, we repeat those over and over. I have certain recipes that I only make at Christmas. I usually share certain Christmas favorites with friends and neighbors. My husband always makes the dressing for the turkey. Also, we open gifts in a very strict fashion: one at a time and from youngest to oldest in a round so all can see the gifts. It was my husband's family's way and, at first, I thought it tiresome and that it took forever. However, I have come to love it. We get to initiate my son-in-law into our special way of gift-opening this year. *GRIN* I can't wait!!

What makes your mouth water at Christmas time?

All the lovely Christmas sweets! Oh, and cranberry sauce.

How soon do you put the Christmas tree up and when do you take it down?

Usually in the first part of December and usually on New Year's Day or close to that.

If you haven't completed this meme, consider yourself tagged!

December 4 - Gingerbread Cookies

One of my favorite things to make for the holidays is gingerbread cookies. That is a carryover from my childhood and while the recipe I have is not exactly the one my mother used, it is close. I love these cookies and so does our entire family. I have given away scads of them and preparing the dough and then cutting out the cookies was a favorite tradition for my daughter and I.

Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup molasses

1 egg

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

5 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp powdered cloves

2 tsp. ginger

Red hot candies (optional)

Cream shortening and sugar. Add molasses, egg and vinegar, mixing well. Sift dry ingredients together and blend into mixture. Chill dough for several hours. On lightly floured surface, roll the dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with cookies cutters. Place the cookies onto greased baking sheets. Use candies to decorate if desired. Bake at 375 degrees (or less) for 5-6 minutes.

I usually double or even triple this recipe. It makes a lot of cookies. I have quite a collection of cookie cutters and enjoy using them. I sometimes use the red hots to decorate but most of the time I leave them plain. I do not overbake as our family likes the cookies slightly undercooked so they are soft and not crunchy. Bake to suit your taste.

December 2 - A Christmas Carol

I promised to share some Christmas favorites this month and today I share one of my favorite stories, in two adaptations. I have always loved Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". I'm not sure when I first heard this story but I think it must have been in movie format, perhaps the 1951 adaptation. Anyway, I love the ghosts, Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's nephew, Tiny Tim and last but not least, Scrooge himself. Talk about a redemptive story! I shivered and shook as Scrooge was haunted by Marley and those ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas present and the horrifying ghost of Christmas yet to come. (I'm a sucker for a ghost story.) I have watched the George C. Scott version many times. When my daughter was about 10, another adaptation appeared, The Muppet Christmas Carol, with Michael Caine as Scrooge, Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Bob's wife, Emily, and Gonzo as old Charles Dickens himself. I think this is probably my favorite version. We spent many a happy hour watching, laughing and singing along with the Muppets and Tiny Tim. I think I still have a VHS version of this tucked away somewhere. I'll have to get it out and enjoy it again.


"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!"


"It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can."


"A merry Christmas, Bob!" said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! I'll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit."


"God bless us every one!" said Tiny Tim, the last of all.

December 1 - Happy Holidays!

Since I am re-reading old favorites and not posting book reviews at this time, I decided that I will share some of my holiday favorites with all of you during this month. These could be a book, a movie, some music, a recipe or even a special memory. I'll try to post something every day or so and will get back to books and quotes after the new year.

I love holiday music and, like my friend Nan, usually have some Christmas music playing at this time of the year. It helps keep me calm at this time and I love to sing along. I've had this song running through my head all day and so I will begin with the song, "Mary, Did You Know?", written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene, sung by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd. It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it and imagine that mother's feelings for her newborn son.

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Did you know

That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know

That your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you’ve delivered

Will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Did you know

That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know

That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

And when you kiss your little boy

You’ve kissed the face of God.

Oh Mary, did you know?

Oh Mary, did you know?

The blind will see

The deaf will hear

And the dead will live again

The lame will leap

The dumb will speak

The praises of the lamb

Oh Mary, did you know

That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Did you know

That your baby boy will one day rules the nations?

Did you know

That your baby boy is Heaven’s perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you’re holding

Is the great I AM

Mary, Mary did you know?