Mailbox Monday: A Hunger for High Country

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, and I am very excited to read it:



A Hunger for High Country: One Woman’s Journey to the Wild in Yellowstone Country by Susan Marsh, published by the Oregon State University Press.

Marsh was one of the first women hired by the US Forest Service in the 1970s, working first in Montana and then for many years in Wyoming. A Hunger for High Country is her personal memoir and a history of the agency and region. I love these kinds of memoirs about real women building the kinds of adventurous careers I've never considered. They make me think more creatively and expansively about my own career.

Books Read in 2014

This is the list of the 104 books I read in 2014, in the order that I read them. I started the Dumas Law Group in 2014, my own law firm, so I didn't review many books. It was all I could do to read them!

I rate books 1 to 5, but only give five stars to a very few all-time favorites. Four stars go to books I think are really good and would recommend to anyone. I rate a book a 3 if I liked it personally, but wouldn't think of recommending it. Most books get 3.5, which means that I liked it and would recommend it to people who like that genre or type of book. See this post for details.

One of Ours by Willa Cather (3.5/4; Pulitzer)

The Bridal Wreath: Kristin Lavransdatter, Vol.1, by Sigrid Unset (4/4; Nobel)

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn (3/4)

The Society Ball Murders by Jack Albin Anderson (3/4)

Candida by George Bernard Shaw (3/4; Nobel)

William Tell Told Again by P. G. Wodehouse (3/4)

The Gold Bat by P. G. Wodehouse (3/4)

Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg (4/5)

Coastliners by Joanne Harris (3/5)

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin (3.5/5)

Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (3/5; reviewed here)

The Wife: Kristin Lavransdatter, Vol. II, by Sigrid Unset (4/4; Nobel)

A Wanted Man by Lee Child (3.5/4)

A Shooting Star by Wallace Stegner (3.5/5)

C. S. Lewis - A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Alister McGrath (4/5)

The Cross: Kristin Lavransdatter, Vol. III, by Sigrid Unset (4/4; Nobel)

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie (3.5/5)

Deception by Philip Roth (3.5/5)

The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry (3.5/5)

What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw (aka 4:50 from Paddington) by Agatha Christie (3.5/5)

Death in the Air (aka Death in the Clouds) by Agatha Christie (3.5/5)

Remembering Laughter by Wallace Stegner (3.5/5)

Economic Facts and Fallacies, 2nd edition by Thomas Sowell (4/5)

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan (3.5/5)

The Life of the Party by Irvin S. Cobb (3/5)

Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding (3.5/5)

1939: The Last Season by Anne De Courcy (3.5/5)

The Alice Behind Wonderland by Simon Winchester (3.5/5)

The Rich Are Different by Susan Howatch (3.5/5)

The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter (4/5)

Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (3/5)

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away by Bill Bryson (3/5)

A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell (4/5; reviewed here)

Snobs by Julian Fellows (4/5; reviewed here)

The Head of Kay’s by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)

A Few Green Leaves by Barbara Pym (3.5/5)

Night In Shanghai by Nicole Mones (4/5)

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore (3/5)

The Glassblowers by Daphne du Maurier (3/5)

In the Last Analysis by Amanda Cross (3.5/5)

The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (3.5/5)

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (3.5/5; Nobel, All-TIME Top 100)

Sinful Folk by Ned Hayes (4/5)

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (5/5; reviewed here)

Still Life by Louise Penny (3.5/5)

You Take It From Here by Pamela Ribon (2.5/5)

The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman (3/5)

20,000 Days and Counting: The Crash Course for Mastering Your Life Right Now by Robert D. Smith (2.5/5)

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (3.5/5)

Sister Age by M.F.K. Fisher (3.5/5)

Stoner by John Williams (3.5/5)

Nickel Mountain by John Gardner (3.5/5; BOMC Well-Stocked Bookcase)

The Principles of Uncertainty by Maria Kalman (3.5/5)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (4/5)

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (3/5)

Bonjour, Happiness! by Jamie Cat Callan (3.5/5)

Bridget Jones's Guide to Life by Helen Fielding (3/5)

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (4/5)

The Gem Collector by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)

Memento Mori by Muriel Spark (3.5/5)

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen (3/5)

The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope (4/5)

Risk by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (3.5/5)

French Women for All Seasons by Mirabelle Guiliano (3/5)

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera (3/5)

A Northern Christmas by Rockwell Kent (3/5)

Dodsworth by Sinclair Lewis (4.5/5)

Private Life by Jane Smiley (3/5)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (5/5)

Daughters-in-Law by Joanna Trollope (3.5/5)

The Truth About Lorin Jones by Alison Lurie (4/5)

California’s Over by Louis B. Jones (3.5/5)

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George (3.5/5)

She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (3.5/5)

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (3.5/5)

Prague by Arthur Phillips (4/5)

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs (3/5)

C'est La Vie: An American Woman Begins a New Life in Paris and--Voila!--Becomes Almost French by Suzy Gershman (2.5/5)

The Pearl Diver by Sujata Massey (3/5)

Bad Boy Brawly Brown by Walter Mosley (3/5)

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor (4/5)

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (3.5/5; College Board Top 101, Erica Jong Top 100, BMOC Well-Stocked Bookcase)

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith (3/5)

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes (3.5/5)

Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse (4/5)

Me before You by Jojo Moyes (1/5)

Style by Kate Spade (3.5/5)

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (4/5)

Delicious by Mark Haskell Smith (3.5/5)

Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir by Christopher Buckley (3.5/5)

A Man of Parts by David Lodge (3.5/5)

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh (3.5/5)

An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (3.5/5; Costa BOTY)

If a Pirate I Must Be…: The True Story of "Black Bart," King of the Caribbean Pirates by Richard Sanders (3/5)

The Victim by Saul Bellow (3.5/5)

On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks by Simon Garfield (3.5/5)

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (4/5)

Smokescreen by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

Prospero's Cell: A Guide to the Landscape and Manners of The Island of Corfu by Lawrence Durrell (3.5/5)

The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan (3.5/5)

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula le Guin (3.5/5)

Captain Nicholas by Hugh Walpole (3.5/5)

The Spa Decameron by Fay Weldon (4/5)

Book Beginning: Their Name is Today

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

The cry of a newborn baby catches at the heart.

-- Their Name is Today: Reclaiming Childhood in a Hostile World by Johann Christoph Arnold, foreword by Mark K. Schriver.

I'm interested in learning more about this book's promised "creative ways to give children the time and space they need to grow" and how the author proposes to defend "the joy and wonder of childhood."

Book Beginning: Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS IN 2105 FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

They say it takes a while to recover your land legs after years spent at sea.

-- Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander. This debut "Bakeshop Mystery" introduces Juliet Capshaw, a newly-graduated pastry chef turned amateur sleuth when one of the customers of Torte, her Ashland, Oregon bakery turns up dead. Since the victim is a board member of the world-famous Shakespeare Festival, the beating heart of the town, anyone could be a suspect.

Happy New Year!