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I know I say this every year, but wow it went by fast, and it somehow gets faster every year. I loved finally going to Glacier Bay, and having it be even more amazing than I imagined it would be. Kayaking and geocaching, winning $500, meeting someone related to Cherry, and meeting Aimee in Anchorage were some other awesome things that happened. I can't wait to see what awesome things 2018 has in store!

Here are all the books I read this year, with the star rating too (one of my favorite parts of the end of the year haha):

January
The Ice Master by Jennifer Niven (Jan 1-7) (4/5)
Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic by Jennifer Niven (Jan 8-12) (4/5)
Tragedy and Triumph: The Journals of Captain R.F. Scott's Last Polar Expedition by Robert Falcon Scott (Jan 13-24) (5/5)
Captain Francis Crozier: Last Man Standing? by Michael Smith (Jan 25-30) (4/5)

( the rest )

In total, I read 66 books, beating my record of 65 from 2015!! Awesome! I read over 20,682 pages. :D Just for fun, here are previous years' stats lol

2012: 27
2013: 31
2014: 44
2015: 65
2016: 52
2017: 66

Awesome :D

( December 31: Happy New Year )

1. What happened to you in 2017 that made you the happiest? Going to Glacier Bay, finding a 1951 copy of The Worst Journey in the World, etc
2. What are your plans for New Year's Eve/New Year's Day? I'll be at my parents' house..there are going to be fireworks, but it might be too cold to stand around and watch them lol (it was -19 this morning!)
3. What was the best discovery you made in 2017? The yummy newish Indian restaurant, etc
4. What are your thoughts on the idea of "new year/new you?" Suree, starting fresh is nice lol
5. What are you most looking forward to in 2018? I hope some fun trips, and whatever other fun things the year brings lol

( 2017 book survey )

A Cat Called Alfie by Rachel Wells (Nov. 1-5)
Alfie and George by Rachel Wells (Nov 5-9)
To the South Polar Regions: Expedition of 1898-1900 by Louis Charles Bernacchi (Nov. 9-13)
In the Antarctic: Stories of Scott's Last Expedition by Frank Debenham (Nov. 14-16)
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Nov. 16-22)
Antarctica: Journey to the Pole by Peter Lerangis (Nov. 25-26)
Alaska Days with John Muir by Samual Hall Young (Nov. 26-27)
Emperors of the Ice by Richard Farr (Nov. 28-30)

Awesome reading month, 8 books!! (Makes up for last month lol.) I also saw the movie of A Man Called Ove, which I liked a lot better than the book. ( spoilers! ) I am now on my 60th book of the year, woohoo :D

( December 1: 'Tis the Season )

The Revenant by Michael Punke (Sept. 29-Oct. 5)
The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett (Oct. 5-12)
The Voyage of the Discovery by Robert F. Scott (Oct. 13-31. This one took me forever to read!!)

Well that's the worst reading month in awhile :P (Scott's book was over 700 pages, but I still feel like I could have done better lol)

( November 1: Piping Hot )

Today's trivia: The population of Ireland is still 2 million less than it was before the potato famine, 160 years ago

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley (Aug. 31-Sept. 1)
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley (Sept. 4-5. Probably my least favorite one, even if it did mention Scott of the Antarctic :P)
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley (Sept. 6-11. This one mentioned Shackleton! I think the author likes polar explorers too :P)
The Longest Winter: Scott's Other Heroes by Meredith Hooper (Sept. 12-21)
Waiting to Fly: My Escapades with the Penguins of Antarctica by Ron Naveen (Sept. 22-28. I love how he kept praising Cherry :D)

Annnd 2017 is almost over..wow O_o

( October 1: Hello Fall )

Mom and I are going to Anchorage tomorrow for Labor Day weekend (yay!), so I'm going to do the books I read for August today:

High Country by Nevada Barr (July 29-Aug. 1)
John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire: How a Visionary and the Glaciers of Alaska Changed America (Aug. 2-7. I loved reading this after going to Glacier Bay!)
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (Aug. 7-10)
A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (Aug. 11-15)
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (Aug. 15-17)
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater (Aug. 18. One of the DUMBEST books I've ever read..no zoo would just casually send a penguin to someone's house in the mail!)
South with Scott by Admiral Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans (Aug. 21-27. And I thought "Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard" was a mouthful O_o)
Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (Aug. 28-30)

Woohoo, 8 books, my second highest month! As you can see, I'm devouring Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries lol..every one of them has mentioned Antarctica and/or has described something as glacial. I love how spunky Flavia is too..impossible not to love :P

I wish people wouldn't talk so badly about Robert Falcon Scott..he did make mistakes, but after reading multiple sources, I can say for a fact Scott's men looked up to him, and Scott cared for them as well. I'm always amazed at how well everyone got along with each other. I've read other books about better prepared expeditions, but they just fell apart because the men hated each other. And how can I not love Cherry after reading something like this??: "A fifth pony was sacrificed to the hungry dogs--'Michael,' of whom Cherry-Garrard had only good words to say--but then the altruistic Cherry only spoke good words." *swoons* I love reading about Cherry from the other expedition members lol

It'll be nice to get out of town for a few days (when I asked Denise if I could go, she was like "yes, you work too much!" haha!) We're staying at a hotel at the float pond (we got the last room! Oops lol)..it seemed nice anyway. I'll hopefully get to meet

hopefulspirit too!

Today's trivia: Great Britain briefly had a Cones Hotline in the early 1990s. It was a special number citizens could call if they saw traffic cones on the road for no reason. It was disbanded after three years because almost no one ever called it

Alfie the Doorstep Cat by Rachel Wells (July 2-4)
Murder Off the Beaten Path by M.L. Rowland (July 5-9)
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White (July 9-12. You know you've read The Worst Journey in the World too many times when you see it quoted in this book and immediately see that it's misquoted LOL)
Elisha Kent Kane and the Seafaring Frontier (July 12-16)
Arctic Explorations by Elisha Kent Kane (July 16-23)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (July 23-29)

I read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie because his books seem to be popular with customers at work, and when I read the back it said it was told in the voice of an eleven year old aspiring chemist who happens to solve murders too..that intrigued me a lot, so I had to read it. It was definitely a great book (I can't wait to read the rest of the series!), but I didn't expect references to things I'm interested in..like I about fell over on this one: "Even in summer the trek across the room to the distant washstand near the window was an experience that might have daunted Scott of the Antarctic." OMG how can I not love it when it mentions Robert F. Scott?? Also this one: "...Napoleon had once called the English 'a nation of shopkeepers.'" Cherry got that from Napoleon??! Wow. It also mentioned "a glacier of newspapers" on a table..yeahh, I loved this book :P

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when we were by the cruise ship at Margerie Glacier, we picked up their cell service! Everyone was amused by their phones going off in the middle of nowhere haha. I got a couple texts from them, which I'm keeping because it's amusing lol

How is it August already?? *hides from winter*

( August 1: Weeds )

Today's trivia: When Helium is cooled to almost absolute zero (-460°F or -273°C), the lowest temperature possible, it becomes a liquid with surprising properties: it flows against gravity and will start running up and over the lip of a glass container

The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage by Anthony Brandt (May 30-June 11)
Lieutenant Castner's Alaskan Exploration, 1898 by Lieut. Joseph C. Castner (June 11-13)
Winter Study by Nevada Barr (June 14-20)
The Shameless Diary of an Explorer: A Story of Failure on Mt. McKinley by Robert Dunn (June 21-26)
The Cat Who Tailed a Thief by Lilian Jackson Braun (June 27-30)

Robert Dunn's diary was shameless all right..he was very anti-Semitic and blamed everything bad that happened on the Jewish guy that was on the expedition..he kept saying stuff like "I hope the stupid kid drowns" and "I have the racial, not the religious, repugnance to Jews. I had never relished their race-selfishness..." Wow. D: They were also very cruel to their horses. ( warning: animal abuse under here! ) I can't believe I actually kept reading this book, but I have a weird thing where if I'm far enough into a book, I'll force myself to finish it (maybe it'll get better??), even if I'm hating it. That guy was awful, cruel, and super negative. This is only the second book I've rated one star on (the other was A Cat Named Darwin..that guy was cruel to his animals too). Someone on Goodreads said this book was "a lighter, less noble counterpart to The Worst Journey In The World." Lighter??! There was NOTHING light about this book. Don't even compare this awful book to the masterpiece that is The Worst Journey in the World. Ugh, one of the worst books I've ever read D:

Today there was a geocaching meet and greet at the Visitor Center to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday (you get a digital souvenir for going to an event for Canada's birthday). Always nice seeing old and new faces. :) After that mom and I went caching on Ester Dome with Jeanie (the lady mom used to work with, who we saw at the festival). I always love the beautiful views up there (too bad there's trash everywhere..ugh). I think we found around five and then went back home. Nice :)

( here are a couple pics )

( July 1: Cloudy )

Birdie Bowers: Captain Scott's Marvel by Anne Strathie (April 30-May 7)
Edward Wilson of the Antarctic by George Seaver (May 7-14)
My Life of Adventure by Norman D. Vaughan (May 14-17)
With Byrd at Bottom of World by Norman D. Vaughan (May 18-21)
Avalanche by Patrick F. McManus (May 22-25)
The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie (May 27-29)

Six books, woohoo! It surprised me to learn that tough Birdie Bowers was afraid of spiders! Here's a passage I found amusing (and that I could relate to lol):

"I woke at 1 a.m. and opened my eyes wide - you can guess what it was, but you can't guess what I felt like. Not 3 inches from my nose and making straight for my cheek was the incarnation of my conception of the blackest and most horrible fiend the powers of darkness can produce. I did not utter a sound but if ever a man got out of a bunk with alacrity I was out of mine. Fast as the huge tarantula was he had only covered about 6 inches before we faced each other for a war to the death. ... I grabbed a shoe, but I hadn't the pluck to dab him with that...I wasn't going to risk a miss though, and running out got hold of a hard broom. When I came back he was gone. I have searched in vain, but there are so many cracks and crannies especially under the washstand...that bunk - or any other in that cabin - will never see my sleeping form again. It seems a long yarn about nothing, but I would rather dive on to the back of a 16-ft. shark than face that awful thing. I could see its hairs in the dark"

Yeah, I wouldn't sleep there either. Yikes! D: Poor Birdie lol

( June 1: The Blue Hour )

Today's trivia: Every British queen named Jane has either been murdered, imprisoned, gone mad, died young, or been dethroned

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: "The Edge"-Tyr

The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge (April 5-3)
Ordeal by Ice: The Search for the Northwest Passage by Farley Mowat (April 5-15)
To Catch a Cat: How Three Stray Kittens Rescued Me by Heather Green (April 16-19)
1912: The Year the World Discovered Antarctica by Chris Turney (April 19-24)
From the Deep of the Sea by Charles Edward Smith Harris (April 25-29)

Denise said that yesterday before she left work she heard pounding on the garage door and then Keith yelling "LET ME THE F-- IN!!" (They LET HIM OUT OF JAIL?!? WTF.) She called the police, but he had left by the time they had gotten there. We didn't see him today..we were all nervous he'd stop by again though. We got a lot of clean up and stuff done, so yay. Our bookstore will be better than ever!

The ice at Nenana officially went out at noon today! My closet guess was 10:07 AM..darn :P

( May 1: Line 'Em Up )

Today's trivia: Some species of pearlfish live inside the anus of a sea cucumber

Peary: The Explorer and the Man by John Edward Weems (March 1-8)
The Terror by Dan Simmons (March 9-23)
Ice Diaries: An Antarctic Memoir by Jean McNeil (March 26-31)

This list looks lame, but The Terror was over 700 pages of epicness lol. I read it's going to be a TV show on AMC too! Definitely going to watch that lol (Ciaran Hinds as Franklin? How perfect is that??)

( April 1: Humorous )

The Inheritance by Charles Finch (Jan 31-Feb 4)
Ghosts of Cape Sabine: The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition by Leonard F. Guttridge (Feb 5-12)
Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition by Owen Beattie (Feb 13-17)
Surviving Logan by Erik Bjarnason (Feb 19-22)
The Great White South: Traveling with Robert F. Scott's Doomed South Pole Expedition by Herbert G. Ponting (Feb 22-28)

Sweet, I've read 10 books this year already :D

( march 1st's pic and march's topics! )

Today's trivia: Beer steins have covers because a 15th-century German law required them as a way to prevent diseases that might have come from swallowing the hordes of flies that had invaded Europe

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: "Hero's Return"-HammerFall

The Ice Master by Jennifer Niven (Jan 1-7)
Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic by Jennifer Niven (Jan 8-12)
Tragedy and Triumph: The Journals of Captain R.F. Scott's Last Polar Expedition by Robert Falcon Scott (Jan 13-24)
Captain Francis Crozier: Last Man Standing? by Michael Smith (Jan 25-30)

Feb. 1st's prompt is "open" (didn't we do that last month?? Haha)

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I'm going to write down the prompts here, because I like crossing them out as I go along lol

~~Feb. 1: Open~~
Feb. 2: Observance
Feb. 3: Sled
Feb. 4: Selective Focus
Feb. 5: A Message
Feb. 6: Twisted
Feb. 7: Scenery
Feb. 8: Pink
Feb. 9: Twins
Feb. 10: What I'm Reading
Feb. 11: Share the Love
Feb. 12: Found
Feb. 13: Tiny
Feb. 14: A Valentine
Feb. 15: Heart
Feb. 16: Low Light
Feb. 17: Where I Stand
Feb. 18: Celebrate
Feb. 19: With Help
Feb. 20: A Portrait
Feb. 21: Replicate
Feb. 22: Withered
Feb. 23: Outside
Feb. 24: Commemorate
Feb. 25: Inactivity
Feb: 26: With Words
Feb. 27: Commute
Feb. 28: Furry Faces

( 16. your favorite pair of shoes )

Today's trivia: The French sabotaged the Eiffel Tower's elevators before they ceded it to the Nazis and Hitler during WWII, forcing Hitler to climb the stairs instead. The elevators remained "broken" for the rest of the war

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: "Guardians of Destiny"-Rhapsody