Sunday Salon: January 1, 2017

My life in books: 

This past two weeks I've managed to read a decent number of books given that it was the holidays. And I did a 2016 in review post of the 76 books I read this past year. Tomorrow I'm going to post What I Want to Read in 2017.

• The Plot to Kill Hitler by Patricia McCormick--YA non-fiction 
• The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans--A sweet holiday book I received from a friend
• The Art of Flying by Antonio Altarriba--A graphic novel about the Spanish Civil War (a Christmas gift from my brother)

• Bone Gap by Laura Ruby--Winner of the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award
• Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly--I am really looking forward to the movie!
• Most Dangerous by Steve Sheinkin--Winner of the YALSA best non-fiction. It's about Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

• The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg--Winner of the Stonewall Book Award (YA LGBTQ)

My life outside books:

I can't believe the holidays are over already! I am really enjoying having my daughter home from boarding school and am excited that she is here until January 9! Her big task (and therefore my big task) is to get her driver's permit. The online course is done and Tuesday she takes the written test. That means Wednesday the driving lessons begin! Does anyone have advice for me? I will be so nervous as the passenger!

I am super excited about my new creative adventure: Bullet Journaling and lettering/calligraphy (I mentioned this in a previous Sunday Salon post). I've now been bullet journaling for a month and am loving it! I've found about 5 women colleagues who are also doing it so it's like we have a little club at work where we can share ideas and inspirations. On Friday I learned about a woman in Ottawa, Canada who is running a "Show Your Skills Drill" Challenge via Facebook and Instagram, teaching people to the basics of lettering/calligraphy so I am joining that. In fact, I've created a separate Instagram account to show my practicing and work (@bujohelen). I went out yesterday and bought some new supplies and that got me really excited to start (I feel the same way about buying school supplies each August).