2011 Book Roundup

Okay, so this year wasn't so much quantity as it was quality. Moving countries and starting a full-time job really puts a damper on reading time. The good news is I did get a Kindle for Christmas, so I'll be downloading books to read on my commute. I think first up is going to be Room by Emma Donoghue. I've also joined a book club and hopefully we'll read some interesting books this year!

Last year I did a best and worst list of the year, but it's difficult this year. I truly enjoyed all of the books I read this year. I was probably most pleasantly surprised by The Remains of the Day. I guess I had preconceived notions that it might be boring and it really wasn't. The one book I probably wouldn't recommend is Dublin Noir. I couldn't get past the story where the girl says she's sitting in a coffee shop trying to read a Dublin city map, but finding it impossible because the street names are all in Irish. Clearly the author had never been to Dublin and walked down O'Connell Street to Westmoreland Street to College Green and on to Nassau Street. Annoying.

What was  your surprise read for 2011? What would you recommend?

Happy reading in 2012!
 

2011 Reading List

• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• Before I Go to Sleep: A Novel by S.J. Watson
• Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris
• Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
• Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Dublin Noir: The Celtic Tiger vs. The Ugly American Edited by Ken Bruen
• Deliverance by James Hickey
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Jewel by Bret Lott
• Small Island by Andrea Levy

It's been a busy week!

It's another one of those weeks when lots is going on, but nothing seems worth writing about....you know, lunch with friends, kicking this chest cold, donating things to the charity shop, getting Wes' US visa, grocery shopping, vacuuming our previously soaking wet carpet....you know....WAIT! WHAT!? {insert sound of record scratching to a halt}

I KNOW!!! VACUUMING!!!

I kid, I kid....that's right...we're moving to the US and the government will now officially accept my husband! I would do a cartwheel, but there's not enough room in my apartment. All in all it took us just over five months to complete the process. Not bad at all, really. In fact, we could have done it quicker, but we drew out some of the bits of the process because we had an idea of our time frame for moving. Five months of paperwork, medical appointments, and payments all culminated in a 5 minute interview. When we walked up to the window, the guy greeted us by saying, 'Someone did their research. All of your documents are in order and everything is correct.' WELL, my chest puffed up and my husband said he thought I was going to start doing a jig around the office! Ha! I felt like the teacher just gave me an A++!*

So, expect this blog to take a turn to the stresses of an international move. I'm afraid that finding a decent and affordable shipping company is going to be harder than getting the visa!

I didn't want to take a picture of Wes' passport, so instead you get a picture of the mysterious brown envelope that everyone talks about on expat boards.

And no, we don't know when we're going. I keep telling people either when one of us gets a job or six months from now since that's the amount of time he has to activate the visa. Finger's crossed the job comes first!!! Thankfully, he can now tick the box on job applications that he's legal to work in the US!!!

*This is the clear behavior of someone who has been unemployed for two years. Wes wondered if the guy would write me a letter of recommendation.