2025 in Books: Fiction

Most of my favourite fiction books of the year fall into two categories: historical fiction and Elm Creek Quilters.

Elm Creek Quilters is a series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The books generally center around a group who run a quilter's retreat somewhere in Pennsylvania, as well as some of the people who attend the retreat. Other of the books look back at the history of the area and the ancestors of the current owner of the mansion that houses the retreat. I enjoy the stories and find them good "bus books" (interesting enough for me to forget that I'm on the bus a lot; simple enough that I can focus on them and ignore the noise around me). This year I read 13 of them and that caught me up with the current books. I'm waiting for the next one to come out next year!

My favourite historical fiction (not counting the historical Elm Creek books):

• The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin (WWII, Poland)
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (1922-1954, Russia)
• The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin (WWII, London)
• The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly (WWII, Martha's Vineyard)
• A Town Called Alice (WWII and slightly beyond; Sumatra and Australia)
• Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (1900s-1950s, mostly Arizona and Texas; the author calls this a "true-life novel" as it is about her grandmother; I think it fits in the same category as the Little House books)
• The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry (primarily 1952 with some flashbacks to 1920s; South Carolina and London/Lake District during the 1952 Great Smog of London)

Other books:

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
• The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Lucy Gilmore
• The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
• The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osmon

2025 in Books: Nonfiction

I have read 46 nonfiction and 41 fiction books this year. I also read 15 youth fiction, ranging from early chapter books to later teen books, at least in part to determine if I could recommend them to others. I also read 74 picture books to the homeschool room kids (and a few more to other kids that didn't get recorded). It was a good year for reading. I think that next year I will try for more nonfiction. The challenge there is that they are deeper books and take more time to read and process, while fiction are easier and usually faster to read.

My favourite nonfiction books read in 2025 are:

Biography/Memoir/Autobiography:

• The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson 
• Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose (if you only read one memoir on this list, read this one)
• The Watchmaker's Daughter by Larry Loftis (about Corrie Ten Boom)
• 84 Charing Cross Road and The Dutchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff 
• Gifted Hands by Ben Carson 
• Slow Noodles by Chantha Nguan
• Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar with Derick Dillard and Craig Vorlase
• Mom and Me and Mom by Maya Angelou
• How to Feed a Dictator by Witold Szablowski, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (the lives of several dictators as seen primarily through their cooks)
• Reading the OED by Ammon Shea (seriously: he ready the entire many-volume set of the Oxford English Dictionary)
• From Jerusalem to Irain Jaya by Ruth A. Tucker (this is a history of missions with many short biographies)

Theology:

• Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges (I've read it before, but Jerry Bridges is always worth a re-read)
• Isaiah's Great Light by Kyle Swanson
• None Else by Joel Beeke and Brian Cosby (about God's character and attributes; I should pull it out as I start working on Sunday School lessons about God the Father)
• The Good Portion: Scripture by Keri Folmar
• Dear Titus edited by Nate Pickowicz (Pastor James wrote one of the chapters)
• Unmet Expectations by Lisa Hughes
• An Ark for All God's Noahs by Thomas Brooks (full title: "An Ark for All God's Noahs: In a Gloomy, Stormy Day, or, The Best Wine Reserved Till Last: or, The Transcendent Excellency of a Believer's Portion Above All Earthly Portions Whatsoever")
• Personal Declension by Octavius Winslow
• The Blessing of Humility by Jerry Bridges (I hadn't read this one before and I'm glad I did)

Spies (Technically this could be a subset of Biography/Memoir/Autobiography, but I like them as their own category.):

• Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham (WWII librarian and scholar spies)
• A Man Called Intrepid by William Stevenson (WWII spies)
• Spy Dust by Antonio and Jonna Mendez (Cold War spies)
• The Princess Spy by Larry Loftis (WWII and a bit into the Cold War)

Other:

• Do More Better by Tim Challies (I probably could have put it under theology, but it's also productivity for the glory of God and the good of others, and I found it helpful for organizing my responsibilities)
• Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
• Victorian Writers Then and Now by Thomas Finch

Christmas Concert

Sunday was the children's Christmas concert at the church. I've been running them for many years; this should have been number 15, but we lost two to Covid, so it's only number 13. Every year I think that it was better than the year before, and this year is no exception.

One change was the sheer number of children! The younger choir had 20 children, ages 4-6, and the older one had 18 children, ages 7-9. And they sang their little hearts out! It was beautiful.

I think it helped that the director of the older choir took time to not only teach the words and music, but what the songs meant. They weren't just parroting words; they knew what the were singing.

A major change this year was the angel choir. Up to now, we've just had them showing up and saying the lines, but this year one of the ladies at the church taught them to sing the "Glory to God" part, and it was beautiful.

She also taught them Simeon's song, taken from Luke 2:29-32. We had one of the men play Simeon and the singing was beautiful.

And...I allowed an actual, live baby for Jesus! We kept a doll for "Mary and Joseph go to the manger" since it's a longer time on stage and the manger isn't really safe for a real baby. For Simeon's song, though, we used a baby -- he's around 2 months old -- so Mary wouldn't be handing a doll to the man playing Simeon. We all watched very carefully as Mary walked across the stage and handed the baby to Simeon, then watched carefully as she walked back with him after, and then let out a sigh of relief!

While there was probably very little chance my sweet Mary would drop the baby, he did look very big in her arms. Also, during the dress rehearsal, when she was supposed to put baby Jesus in the manger, she dropped him in (thankfully it was just a doll), leaving us all a bit concerned about how she would behave with a live baby!

The special music was really good. We had a choir with a string ensemble; a violinist; a soloist with piano and violins; a group of siblings on stringed instruments; and various piano players (at various levels). 

Then we ended with Go Tell It on the Mountain. The kids belted it out, especially the chorus.

After we were done our part, Pastor Adam did a gospel message. What I heard was good, but I was also helping keep the little guys somewhat settled. One at a time is easy; 20 at once is a handful!

It was really, really good, and I already have some ideas for next year!

Christmas Makes Me Cry

This Christmas, I am missing:

• a most beloved pastor and our little inside joke about the Christmas Concert
• friends with whom I once spent Christmas until things changed and we drifted apart
• the child who insisted on singing "beneath they deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by" instead of despite my attempts to correct "beneath" to "above"
• my grandparents (three of them; I never met the other one); one grandmother came every Christmas; the other grandparents lived further away so we saw them less often
• a small, enthusiastic shepherd who made a little bow to the congregation on his way out one concert

There is some achiness at Christmas, and more surrounding the concert because I have so many memories of past concerts and people who are no longer around (some just left the church; others are in heaven now).

But I am also thankful for:

• the family I spend Christmas with and who are really family to me now
• this year's Christmas concert with close to 90 enthusiastic children and our annual chance to remind (or teach) people about the birth of Christ and the gospel
• the child who is trying so hard to behave because he wants to be a shepherd
• the little guy who decided that he would be a Scripture reader this year and is faithfully practicing reading his part
• having a church family who love and support me

From Matthew West, a song that helps express my feelings:

From the Kids

In Sunday School we were talking about the Christmas story, and I was getting the kids to tell me the whole thing in order. We got up to Joseph planning to leave Mary.

Me: And why was Joseph upset?

Student: Because he thought she had married someone else.

Other students agreed that this was the problem and I didn't correct them. I am actually quite happy that this as much as they know just yet. Not all 10 and 11 year olds are so innocent.

Another bit of conversation that made me happy came from a 13 (or maybe 14) year old. I spend Christmas with friends every year; I generally sleep over for at least 2 nights. The young man's mom and I were talking about how we can't wait and it's very soon.

His addition to the conversation: Yes! And Anatole!

The "Anatole" in question is the hero of a series of picture books written by Eve Titus in the 1950s-70s. They follow the adventures of a brave mouse and his family who live in a small village just outside Paris. I brought a couple of the over one visit a few years ago to read to the children and they hope for them every time I visit. In fact, last visit, when I started to read to his younger brother, the young man above ran into the room concerned that we were reading "Anatole" without him! (We weren't, but he stayed for story time anyway.)

I thought the boys would outgrow the Anatole books by now, but evidently not. I should have a new one for them by Christmas as a surprise; it's on the way from a used book shop in the states. I'm still missing a few (Anatole and the Robot; Anatole and the Poodle; and Anatole in Italy). They are difficult to find and generally quite expensive when I do find them; I was pleased to find Anatole and the Pied Piper for under $15.00.

I am very pleased that the boys still enjoy story time (the big kids often make their way to the room as well), and that they haven't outgrown picture books with good stories. In fact, this family is a book family and mom and dad reading to the kids (and to each other) has always been a part of their life. It's fun for all of us when I get to read to them as well!

November

November is somehow gone and it's December. There is snow on the ground and ice on the sidewalks and it's definitely winter. I'm just not sure what happened to November!

I had a lot of facilitator meetings in November, and a few that had to be rebooked until the end of the month (and one until December 1). The weather stayed pretty good all month, so that was nice. There were some colder days towards the end of the month, but not much snow until this week.

We started Christmas concert practices this month. This year I included a sign up deadline in the notice, so most people were signed up by the Monday before the first practice. Of course, I let in everyone else who wanted to sign up late, but that wasn't many people, and most of them were still before the practice. We have close to 90 children involved this year!

I had to talk to a couple of parents about their children misbehaving during practice. Granted, sitting still is tough for small boys (the entire role of the shepherd is summed up in "sit still and don't talk"), but there was some excessive movement and talking. The moms were really good about it, so we'll see how things go in the next practice.

Women's ministry finished up and we're on winter break. I have a few weeks off from reading and trivia games. I'm okay today (the first week off), but by January I'll be ready to be back with my lambs.

Helping with the little guys during support group continued to be enjoyable. I also helped with childcare for the AGM. This was more of a mix of children, ranging from around 3-12. There were only 9 children (although I had a baby to hold for part of the evening), and they mostly did their own thing. I had a tentative plan, but dumped it for letting them play and make up their own games.

November really wasn't that exciting. Nothing happened out of the normal, day-to-day stuff. It wasn't a bad month; it was just a month.