My Christmas Top 10

This year, for reasons unfathomable to me, I found that the holidays snuck up on me this year. (Then again, I think I've been a bit off since April...) I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with something witty, or interesting, or sentimental, or just plain fun, and I'm coming up short. It's not that I don't have any memories to share, it's just that I lack faith in my ability to adequately share them. (At least to my satisfaction.)

So, to add one more list to what has become a year of lists, I'm sharing my top ten things I love about Christmastime. Since -- even though they were sneaky this year -- I do love the holiday season. It really is, as that song says, the most wonderful time of the year!

10. Shopping. Okay, so I'm crazy, but I love Christmas shopping. In December. Sure, the crowds are nuts, and the stores are crowded, but it's so much fun choosing gifts and being part of all the excitement.

9. The advent calendar. Not just this book blogger one (which I do look forward to), but our own family one. When I was little, my mom had a calendar and every day there was a note with what we were going to do that day. Sometimes is was simple like "get out the pine cone wreath", others more adventuresome, like "Tonight we will go to the Nutcracker." I've kept this tradition with my girls. It's a lot of fun for them, and (honestly) it keeps me organized!

8. The Nutcracker. It's the first ballet I remember seeing. It's the ballet that I share with my girls every holiday season: when they turn four, they get to go and see all the wonders that the Nutcracker has for them. We're blessed to have a halfway decent one in town (I've been to some pretty lame ones), but the best, if you're ever in Salt Lake City at Christmas time, is Ballet West's. I know I'm biased, because it's the one I remember best from my childhood, but, really, it's perfect.

7. Christmas lights. I love driving around, as the world slowly turns to the darkest time (at least here in the U.S.) and seeing all the light displays in the neighborhoods. Bonus points if they're glowing in the snow. There really is nothing prettier than Christmas lights on the snow.

6. The music. I whine and moan and complain about Christmas songs being played before Thanksgiving, but honestly, I love the stuff. Whether it's carols, or classic songs, or the poppy songs, I love it. And I love singing along. Which brings me to...

5. Caroling. Love it. Yeah, it's cold. But, really, the most fun I've had at Christmas time is going around with a group singing carols at random (or not so random) houses.

4. The goodies. I've mentioned I love to cook, haven't I? Well, Christmas brings out the best in my cooking. I'm pretty sure that when my friends see me coming with my plates of cookies, they groan and moan... but you want to know a secret? I give away the food because I want to make it for myself, and I don't want to eat it all. And what's on the plates? Sugar cookies (lovingly cut and decorated by the girls), fudge, Christmas Bark, mint bars, Divinity, toffee, Lizner cookies, lemon bars, and whatever else I can think of. (What do you want a recipe of?)

3. The decorations. I go all out at Christmas time: the house gets a makeover. On November 30th we get out the boxes (all dozen or so of them) and unpack all the Christmas decorations (except the tree). Perhaps the best part is being surprised at what is in the boxes ("Oh, I bought that last year?!") and telling the stories about the items and how they ended up in the boxes. We film the tradition for the grandparents, so they can share in with the chaos and the silliness of it all. Then, on December 6th, we put up our 9 foot, artificial (M has allergies) tree. Again, there's silliness and chaos, but the end result -- of it all -- is wonderful. One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is sit in the living room with the lights off, except for the tree, and the candles lit. It's peaceful.

2. Christmas Eve. When I was in high school, I had several friends who were Catholic, and they went to Midnight Mass. This idea intrigued me -- my church doesn't have any Christmas Eve services at all -- and so when I got married, I told Hubby that was what I wanted to do on Christmas. We don't always go to a mass (though we have been to a couple over the years), but we do drag the girls to a service. We have a small, simple, candlelit dinner beforehand, and we always watch It's A Wonderful Life after. It really is a perfect way -- for us -- to celebrate the holiday.

1. My girls faces on Christmas morning. There really is nothing more special than seeing the wonder and excitement in a child's eyes on Christmas morning. It really is the best part. :-D

What's your favorite part of the season?

I'm not the only stop on the calendar today. Be sure to check out the others:
Chris @ Stuff As Dreams Are...
Stephanie @ Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Lilly @ Reading Extravaganza

Captain Nobody

by Dean Pitchford
ages: 9-13
First sentence: "Uh-oh."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

The first reaction I had to this book was, "Oh my gosh! FINALLY, a normal kid with a normal family." Seriously, folks, too many of the books I've read are about damaged kids with damaged families, and while it's all interesting and poignant and challenging and all that, sometimes I just wish for a normal kid with a normal(ish) family, having normal(ish) problems.

And, with this book, I got that. With a dose of humor and superheros on the side.

See, Newt Newman (yes, his parents named him Newton, poor kid) is the ten-year-old brother of Chris Newman, high school football star. Newt manages the house -- making breakfast for his busy, and slightly absent-minded parents -- gets good grades, and has a couple of great friends in JJ (she's a girl) and Cecil even though he's a tad bit shy, but is basically ignored by everybody. ("I didn't know Chris Newman had a brother!" is a common reaction of most people.) Until, that is, a combination of events occur: Halloween, and the Big Game where Chris gets knocked out and put into a coma. And out of these disasters (well, Halloween's only a disaster because Newt couldn't find a decent costume) was born Captain Nobody. Newt -- in his costume, made from Chris's old clothes -- suddenly finds that he's a different person when wearing Captain Nobody. Stronger, more outgoing, more able to handle... well, everything that's thrown his way.

And things do get thrown his way. It's nothing out of the comic books, but Newt does happen to be in the right place at the right time to be the cause of some pretty remarkable happenings. It's not outrageous: nothing Newt does is out of the ordinary. He's just, well, himself. And by being himself -- enhanced by the Captain Nobody costume and a frame of mind -- he manages to do some small, yet pretty heroic things.

And, I have to admit, it kind of made me want to be a superhero, too.

Two Books about Loss and Healing

All the Broken Pieces
by Ann Berg
ages: 10+
First sentence:
"My name is Matt Pin
and her name, I remember,
is Phang My."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

This one is set right after the Vietnam War, and deals with the tensions -- both in Vietnam and in America -- brought on because of that war. Matt Pin is a 12 year old Vietnamese boy who was airlifted out of Vietnam two years ago -- his mother sent him away -- and adopted by a nice American family. He's dealing with a lot of things: guilt (for leaving his mother and younger brother in Vietnam among other things), loneliness, hatred, uncertainty. The novel follows his growth -- though baseball, through meetings with Vietnam vets, through piano lessons -- to acceptance of his past and of his present.

Told through spare but lovely verse, this novel is haunting at times, yet ultimately hopeful.

Umbrella Summer
by Lisa Graff
ages: 9+
First sentence: "If you started to squeeze your brakes right in the middle of heading down Maple Hill, just as you were passing old Mr. Normore's mailbox, you could coast into the bike rack in front of Lippy's Market without making a single tire squeak."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Annie believes you can never be too careful. She's determined that while there are lots and lots of dangerous things you can do -- like fly or drive -- it's not those things that you need to worry about. No, it's the little things that can kill you -- like the undetected heart defect that killed her not-quite-12 year old brother, Jared. So, Annie has determined that if she stays perfectly, totally, completely safe then nothing bad will ever happen to her.

It's only through a fight with her friend, and the interference of a new neighbor, who is suffering from her own loss, that Annie begins to come out of her shell -- out from underneath the umbrella of her sadness -- and learns how to live again.

It's a cute book -- I know that sounds weird in conjunction with the subject matter, but cute is really the first word that comes to mind -- that manages to never feel either overwhelmingly sad or callous in its treatment of the death of a loved one.

(Just for the record: because these are Cybils nominees, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Library Loot #47

Back to normal. Mostly. It is December, after all!

For A/K:
I got more than two books, but most of them are re-check-outs, so I decided to only list the "new" ones.

Barnyard Slam, by Dian Curtis Regan/Illus. by Paul Meisel
Dragon Tooth, by Cathryn Falwell

For C:
The Worst Noel , by Ilene Cooper
Out of Order, by Betty Hicks

For M:
Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits, by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson
Violet Wings, by Victoria Hanley

For me:
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies, by Mick Cochrane
The roundup is either at Reading Adventures or A Striped Armchair. Obligatory FTC note: the links are provided through my Amazon Associates account. If you click through and actually purchase one of these books, I'll get a teeny, tiny payment. But, since no one ever does, and it's SO much easier using the associates account to put up these links, I'm going to keep doing it.

*Ones that M eventually read.
**Picture books we really liked.

One More 2010 Challenge

This one needed its own post!! I've decided to also join the Twenty Ten Challenge, hosted by Bart's Bookshelf. Eep. Shouldn't be too hard... right?

The rules:

• Read 2 books from each category, making a requirement of 20 books total.
• The categories are intended to be loose guidelines only, if you decide it fits, then it fits. (Apart from those marked **)
• Categories marked with ** have tighter rules, and these must be followed.
• Each book can only qualify for one category.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Books read from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2010 are eligible.

Some of these I was able to fill out now, some of them will have to wait and see.

Young Adult
Any book classified as young adult or featuring a teenage protagonist counts for this category.
1. Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson
2. Marcelo in the Real World, Francisco X. Stork

T.B.R. **
Intended to help reduce the old T.B.R. pile. Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/11/09.
1. I am Mogan Le Fay: A Tale from Camelot, Nancy Springer
2. The English American, Alison Larkin

Shiny & New
Bought a book NEW during 2010 from a bookstore, online, or a supermarket? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count for this one, but, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts or won in a giveaway also count!
1.
2.

Bad Blogger’s ***
Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book ago). *** Bad Bloggers: Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on.
1.
2.

Charity
Support your local charity shops with this category, by picking up books from one of their shops. Again, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts also count, as long as they were bought from a charity shop.
I think this means I'll have to actually go to the Friends of the Local Library sale...
1.
2.

New in 2010
This category is for those books newly published in 2010 (whether it be the first time it is has been released, or you had to wait for it to be published in your country, it counts for this one!)
1.
2.

Older Than You
Read two books that were published before you were born, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior.
1. Howard's End, E. M. Forester
2.

Win! Win!
Have a couple of books you need to read for another challenge? Then this is the category to use, as long that is, you don’t break the rules of the other challenge by doing so!
1. Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
2. Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving

Who Are You Again?
This one isn’t just for authors you’ve never read before, this is for those authors you have never even heard of before!
1.
2.

Up to You!
The requirements for this category are up to you! Want to challenge yourself to read some graphic novels? A genre outside your comfort zone? Something completely wild and wacky? Then this is the category to you. The only requirement is that you state it in your sign-up post.

I've been trying to challenge myself to read more by people of color for a couple of years now, and every year, I get to the end and find I didn't do as well as I wanted. So, here's another attempt to do so.

1. Mare's War, Tanita S. Davis
2. Born Confused, Tanuja Desai Hidier,