Books I Read in 2014

My reading goal for 2014 was to read 35 books.  Unfortunately, I only read 27.

Here's the list:

January

1. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
2. The Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

February
1. The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

March

1. The Messenger by Lois Lowry
2. The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
3. The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault

April

1. Doodle Revolution by Sunni Brown
2. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

May
1. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

June
1. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

July

1. La ciudad de las bestias by Isabel Allende
2. El reino del dragón de oro by Isabel Allende

August

1. El bosque de los pigmeos by Isabel Allende
2. Murder Your Darlings by JJ Murphy
3. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
4. Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie

When?

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
2. Endless Night by Agatha Christie
3. The Line by JD Horn
4. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
5. The Big Four by Agatha Christie
6. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
7. Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz
8. THe Academy by Bentley Little
9. Revelations by Melissa de la Cruz
10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I read some really great books this year and look forward to a whole new year of great reads.  Did you have a reading goal for 2014?  Did you meet it?

Journal Page: And Then...

During the month of September, my husband and I watched all the remaining seasons of Californication.  If you have never seen the Showtime series, it revolves around the insane life of a successful writer named Hank Moody.  He is constantly sabotaging himself and the people around him.  I spent the whole series loving him and hating him simultaneously.  While I would love to have Hank Moody's success and be published, I would never want his life.  He did, however, inspire me to create this journal page with an interesting Hank Moody quote.

Journal Page: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

I love Barbara Kingsolver.  I have read many of her books, and they all amaze me.  Her use of language and the way she treats nature and her female characters is beautiful. I always feel like I can see what she is writing about; the images she creates are brilliant.

I aspire to be even one tenth the writer that Barbara Kingsolver is :)

Writercize: Human Lives Matter

The Prompt:
Write a column (opinion piece) that gets to the heart of how recent news stories about the justice system's response (or: the politicians' response, the police response, the media response, the public response) to Eric Garner, Michael Brown in Ferguson and Trayvon Martin have impacted your world view.
My Response:
On the night of the Grand Jury decision in the police-shooting of Michael Brown, I, like many others around the country, watched the live coverage of Ferguson, Missouri.  I was disappointed to see news reporters circling like vultures, police dressed in full riot gear ready for a fight that had not yet begun.  I hoped beyond hope that the people of Ferguson would not live up to their expectations. I hoped beyond hope that the whole country would end up watching live coverage of a peaceful demonstration.  I hoped beyond hope that the pleas of both President Obama and the Brown family would be honored.

Was I sad when the night did not go as I had hoped?  Of course.  Every fire that was lit, every store that was looted, every person hit with tear gas made me more and more sad.  But it also made me realize that I can never fully understand the anger/fear/distrust/sadness/ disappointment that the protesters in Ferguson felt.  

I am a white American.  I am an Irish-American.  Although I am an immigrant, I have never been singled out.  I am sheltered in my whiteness. I do not fear driving at night, walking down a street, wearing a hoodie, reaching for my cell-phone. I do not fear.

When the Grand Jury in the murder of Eric Garner decided not to indict the responsible officer, even with video evidence, an illegal chokehold, the cries "I can't breathe," I was devastated.  Here was more evidence that black lives do not matter in the eyes of our justice system.  How could that be true?  How could someone's life not matter?  How could we all continue on with our lives as if nothing had happened?

This morning, on NPR, I heard about President Obama and Attorney General Holder and their new guidelines for law enforcement.  I wanted to scream!  Really?  It is 2014, and our government is telling law enforcement that they can't pull someone over just because of their race or religious affiliation?  Really?  Is it naive of me that I thought these types of guidelines were already in place?  Even more disappointing, the guidelines do not apply in airports or at the border!

I feel so helpless.  When did we, as a society, forget that all human lives matter?  That you can't judge someone's beliefs or background just by looking at them?  How can I possibly make a difference?  How can I possibly change this situation?  What can I possibly do to help?

Thank you, Alana of Writercize, for the prompt and motivation.  I needed to put this in words.

Word Crimes by Weird Al

WOTW: Sophistry

Sophistry:  noun, the use of fallacious arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving

Found in The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault:
"What kind of fucked-up priorities do people have that you'd tell a little old man just trying to honor his dead wife that he can't put what he wants on her tombstone?  Over some little bit of sophistry, no less?" 

WOTW: Carceral

Carceral:  adjective, of or pertaining to prison

Found in The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault:
"Why does the word 'carceral' not appear in the standard Samuelson dictionary?"