My favorite books of 2015

I read a lot. As of this writing, I've finished 108 books this year, and I've probably got a couple more in me before the curtains close on 2015. In the grand tradition of book bloggers, I took to my list of books I read to bring you my five favorite books of the year. Plus, four books I read this year that I loved and wanted to be my favorites of the year, but they were published in previous years. Mostly, I just couldn't decide on five and made up a reason to have nine favorite books of the year. It's my list. No judgement.

Without further ado, here is Samantha’s top five books of 2015:

 

5. Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal, April 2015

4. Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger, November 2015

3. The Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire, October 2015

2. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, March 2015

1. Uprooted by Naomi Novik, May 2015

 

Samantha’s top four books/series that were published prior to 2015:

 

4. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, August 2014

3. Hild: A Novel by Nicola Griffith, November 2013

2. Still Alice by Lisa Genova, October 2010

1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, initially published June 1997

 

There was one other book that I really liked, but it was technically a novella, so it doesn't really fit in either list. It was exciting, inventive, and hilarious and I’d be remiss not to mention it. So, I'm awarding Matt Wallace’s Envy of Angels, October 2015 this year’s Miss Congeniality prize.

 

Happy reading! And here’s to another year of great books!

 

 

What I learned from my beautiful horse...

I got my first horse in the sixth grade. Her name was Crystal (which I quickly and, rather pompously, shortened to Crysty), and she was the most beautiful horse my 12 year-old brain had ever seen (mostly because she was mine). Crysty was half-trained and a bit on the skittish side, but I trained and rode and worked with her every day for years. I taught her to barrel race, and we got third place (and won 17 dollars) in the first and only rodeo we ever entered.

I'm 30 now, 31 tomorrow actually, and about a year and a half ago my beloved first horse came up lame. She was somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty years old (I never knew exactly how old she was when I got her, just that she was young.), and had never had any major health issues in her life. The veterinarian came out and diagnosed her with arthritis in her front legs. Nothing could be done except joint supplements and anti-inflammatories and lots of love. I never rode her again.

She hobbled on after her diagnoses. You could tell she hurt, but she could do all the basic things a horse should do and she was always happy to see me. Crysty was the most talkative horse I've ever met. She always greeted me with a nickel and would come to the fence to see if I'd brought her a treat. She would accept pets if I hadn't remembered to bring a treat with me.

Early this autumn, Crysty couldn't always walk. Sometimes, I'd go out to her pen and she’d nicker, but couldn't get up. I'd dutifully get her medication and do my best to keep her comfortable, but I was at a loss of what to do beyond that. I work in the veterinary field, but on the small animal side. I'm comfortable with options for elderly dogs and cats, and have processed probably close to or over a thousand bodies in my career. I had no idea what to do with a 800 pound horse.

This is the main reason I'm writing this for my blog; I couldn't find any information on what to do online. People really don't talk about these kinds of things. It's hard. I don't want people to be afraid of talking about what will happen after animals die, I encounter so many people in my work who have never considered it. It's never occurred to them that their beloved pets will one day need them to make the ultimate decision. Ask your veterinarians. They want to help. I forgot about that when I was worrying about my beautiful horse.

By the beginning of November, I knew there was no way Crysty could make it through the winter. She basically would get up for only an hour a day. My amazing horse was old, and she couldn't be a horse any longer. It wasn't fair to her to keep her alive just for me. She had given me everything in her twenty odd years, and now it was my turn to give everything back.

I asked my veterinarian and in my area basically the only thing to do with a horse after they’ve given the euthanasia injection is to bury them. On 19 November this year, I held my beautiful, best horse while my veterinarian administered the injection. She still lives on my parents property, and will forever.

I will miss her. I do miss her. I still expect her to greet me when I walk out the door. Hopefully, she’s winning all the barrel races in the sky. She was fast. She was amazing.

 

The Thing About Audiobooks

It is no secret that I absolutely Love audiobooks. I almost love them more than I love books. I've loved being read to since I was old enough to be read to. My grandpa would read to me for hours when I was a little kid (My favorite read was Digger Dan and the Steam Shovel Man.) and after he got sick and could no longer read to me, I read to him.

In elementary school, my favorite part of the day was any time my teacher would read to us out loud. My third grade teacher read us chapter books all year long. She would read a chapter a day. I loved Charlotte's Web, but I will never forget the day that Where the Red Fern Grows reduced my fearless teacher to tears. I think that was the first time I really realized that books could play with your emotions and leave you at the mercy of the author.

When I first discovered audiobooks, I realized that I could fill up the nooks and crannies in my day with stories. Driving, doing chores, running... All wonderful places to add stories. I loved it. It's funny. At first, I would only listen to stories narrated by the author. I thought that only the author would know how to read their own books, and to an extent, I still find this to be true (especially with memoirs), but I've also found that there are some narrators that have the ability to add depth and texture to the story. Sometimes, I just enjoy the sound of their voices (Neil Gaiman, Mary Robinette Kowal).

While listening to The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer as I drove home yesterday, I realized that another thing I love about audiobooks is their intimacy. It is like having an intimate conversation or relationship even with all sorts of different people from all walks of life. I love this aspect of audiobooks. It takes those memories of family and teachers reading aloud to me and moves it to the next level. It's amazing.