My Own Little Corner

BTT: Preferences

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)

Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? Usually something frivolous, but I always have a serious book on the side.
Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? Hardcover
Fiction? Or Nonfiction? Fiction
Poetry? Or Prose? Prose
Biographies? Or Autobiographies? Autobiographies
History? Or Historical Fiction? Historical fiction
Series? Or Stand-alones? Series
Classics? Or best-sellers? Classics
Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? Straight-forward, basic prose.
Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? Plots, but I really enjoy books written in 1st person.
Long books? Or Short? Somewhere in the middle.
Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? I like classics that have illustrations in them, it helps me understand the characters and setting better.
Borrowed? Or Owned? Borrowed from the library.
New? Or Used? Usually used.

RTH: The Red Badge of Courage

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:07:00 +0000

I found The Red Badge of Courage very interesting. The language of Stephen Crane was very beautifully written. I gained a better understanding of what the Civil War may have been like. With the different directions Henry's character takes you are able to see two sides of his character, and two different kinds of soldiers.

I was surprised that he ran away on the first day, and that he didn't go back when he realized that they were still fighting. Leaving behind the wounded soldier seemed like an insensitive thing to do, but it appeared to me that there wasn't much to be done for the wounded soldiers. There were people bleeding and dying everywhere. Of course, Henry left because he was upset and embarrassed that he didn't have any injuries. The guilt he was feeling propelled some of his bad choices.

I think the important thing is that once the battle was over he was able to look back at that first day and learn from it. During the second day he became a much different person, someone he felt he could be proud of. He had to put his "sin at a distance", and he realized that he despised his early beliefs and was happy to see that change in himself.

Henry was able to overcome his personal struggle and he realized that "he would no more quail before his guides wherever they should point." He felt that he had become a man, and his soul was changed.

A lot of us make bad choices, or do things we regret, but the important thing is to learn from those mistakes. We can put our sins in the distance (repent), and become a better person through the experience. That is was this book was about for me.

Next month we will be discussing White Fang by Jack London. Feel free to join in at the Reading Through History Book Club.

BTT: Waiting to Read

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:26:00 +0000

Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to.

Oh man, can I just put up a picture of my whole bookcase?! lol. In the past year or so I have been buying almost every classic book I can find at the library or the thrift store, so I have a couple of shelves full of books that I need to read. It takes me a lot longer to read classics. I can read a contemporary book in a day or two, but classics take me a while. First of all, some of them are boring so I can only stand to read a chapter each day. Also, I read them slower and I often reread passages trying to understand the deeper meaning. So they take me a while. I usually only read one classic a month, if I'm lucky, but I promise I'm working on all those books that are waiting on the shelf.

There are also a couple of books that I am half-way through and I just need to finish them so I can move on. My husband and I started reading Bleak House many months ago. I would read to him while he painted. He hasn't been painting much lately, so we haven't been reading. We are only half-way through, but it's a huge book so half is quite a lot of pages. I want to finish it so I can say we read it, but it's also not that interesting at the moment so we aren't rushing to finish it. I also started Uncle Tom's Cabin for a book club a few months ago, and I still haven't finished it. I do think it is an interesting book, there are tons of insightful things in it and I have really enjoyed it so far, but it just seems like I always have something else to read. I really need to finish it though so that it will stop weighing on my mind. :)

Calvin and Hobbes

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:45:00 +0000

(Click on the comic to see it bigger!)

Gage's latest reading obsession is Calvin and Hobbes. I used to love this comic strip, and they had The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes on sale at the library a while back so I bought it. Gage saw the book and has been reading it almost every day for the past few weeks.

Most of the time he reads it on his own, but every now and then he'll ask me to read him a few pages. He really loves the story where they go camping, but it ends up raining all week (the one at top is the first comic in that camping series). Some of them still make me laugh out loud while I'm reading them to him.

I am amazed at how well Gage is reading. If any of you want teach your kids to read, I highly recommend the book Teach your child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I used this book because it was given to us, so I figured I would try it out and if we didn't like it we would switch to a different method. It has been great though! Each of the lessons is short and sweet, and can be done in about 10 to 15 minutes. The method is based on learning how to sound out words, rather than learning words by picture association. That way they will be able to read any word, without the need for pictures. The lessons build upon each other and have a sentence, paragraph or story at the end that your child can read all by themselves after they finish the lesson.

One of the things they talk about in TJEd is that it is perfectly acceptable if your child doesn't learn to read until they are older (like 10 or even 12), and there have been studies that show that kids who learn to read later on in life are more proficient readers. This has always made me cringe a little bit though, because I think reading is so important, but I can't read to Gage all day long. One of the big things with this method of education is helping your kids develop a love of learning, and that won't occur if you are forcing them to learn things, especially at too young of an age. So, needless to say I almost felt guilty wanting to teach Gage how to read, because I'm supposed to wait, right? However, I did it in a way that I felt I was inspiring his interest, and I felt like it was something he was ready for.

He has always loved reading and would have me read him several books every day. He started reading some stories to himself - the ones he had memorized. He has a remarkable memory, so I knew learning letter sounds would be easy for him. I mentioned to him way back in September that if he wanted to learn how to read I could help him. He said "okay", but he wasn't interested at the moment. About a month later he finally said "Mom, I want to learn how to read today." This was really funny, because he thought it was something he could learn in a single day. We did the first lesson, and then let it rest for a while. We would be done with the lessons by now if I made him do a lesson every day, but I decided not to push it. We do lessons when he wants to and he is more than halfway through the lessons. The problem now, is that he is reading so well that he isn't really interested in the lessons anymore. He would rather just read his other books all day long. I try to get at least one lesson a week in, because there are still things that he can learn. The most confusing thing is that a single letter can make so many different sounds, so sometimes that mixes him up.

I am constantly in awe at how well he reads, though, and I am so glad that he enjoys books so much. I can only read him so many books each day, so he is really happy to be able to read as many as he wants now. I feel good about teaching him to read, even if it is a bit young for TJEd standards. He is really happy to be reading, and has learned so many new things just by the books he picks out at the library and wants to read. That is really the beauty about homeschooling though, you can tailor the education to fit your child, and you can teach them things when they are interested and ready. :)

BTT: Niche

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:34:00 +0000

There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read. (Novels, for example.)

But then there are books that only YOU read. Instructional manuals for fly-fishing. How-to books for spinning yarn. How to cook the perfect souffle. Rebuilding car engines in three easy steps. Dog training for dummies. Rewiring your house without electrocuting yourself. Tips on how to build a NASCAR course in your backyard. Stuff like that.

What niche books do YOU read?

The obvious answer is books about homeschooling and education. This is something I was never really interested in, but after I read A Thomas Jefferson Education my whole life pretty much changed.

I would highly recommend reading this book, even if you aren't interested in homeschooling. It is a great teaching method and an eye-opening look at education, and can be applied by parents and teachers.

Another book about education that really opened my eyes to the reality of public schooling is Dumbing us Down by John Taylor Gatto. He is a public school teacher, and he has a very realistic look at education.

Another niche of books that I've been reading recently is books about organic and natural living.

Organic Living in 10 Simple Lessons was a good starting book for me to read, and helped me to get a picture of what Organic Living is really all about.

Home Enlightenment is a great book that has tons of recipes and solutions of how to take care of your home and yourself naturally and without toxins. I started making my own cleaners a few months ago, and all of my recipes came from this book. I haven't finished reading the whole thing yet, but it's great!

The Icing on the Cake by Elodia Strain

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:54:00 +0000

This is my first post for the Summer Reading Thing over at LDS Publisher. I don't usually review books, I just like to read the books and leave it at that. But I'll give it a go. :)

The Icing on the Cake by Elodia Strain is a fun, clean chick-lit. It is written by an LDS author, but the church is only mentioned a couple of times, and I really think that anyone would love and enjoy this book! It's so refreshing to be able to read a fun chick-lit without having to worry about bad language or provocative relationships.

Annabelle Pleasanton is such a funny and lovable character. I was seriously laughing within the first few pages of the book, and continued to laugh and cry right along with Annabelle as she dealt with her job, her best friend getting engaged, and a cute new love interest. I had a hard time putting this book down and enjoyed it to the last page. I even went to the store that same day and bought the sequel, because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. That's saying a lot because I hardly ever buy books, I usually just get them at the library. I have already read the sequel, I was really that excited about it, but I'll save that post for another day. :)

BTT: Sticky

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:46:00 +0000

"This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”

These are the first ones that came to mind. These books have all stuck with me for different reasons. Some I grew up reading, so they will always be a part of my life. Some have taught me important lessons, or helped me to make major changes in my life. Others just have stories or characters that I will never forget!

1. The Book of Mormon
2. Holy Bible (King James Version)
3. A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille
4. Dumbing us Down by John Taylor Gatto
5. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
9. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
10. Little Britches by Ralph Moody
11. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
12. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
13. The Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright
14. The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour
15. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

BTT: Unread

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:44:00 +0000

Is there a book that you wish you could “unread”? One that you disliked so thoroughly you wish you could just forget that you ever read it?

I can't really think of a book that would fit this category. If I start a book and don't like it, I just stop reading it. I enjoy some books more than others, but even the books that I don't enjoy as much have some good things in them or a lesson of some sort that I can learn. I enjoy learning about human nature and the reason why people do the things they do, and almost every book has some insight to a new kind of character.

Summer Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:06:00 +0000

LDS Publisher is having a fun summer reading challenge. The main gist of the challenge is to read and review fiction by LDS authors. Since most of the books I read are LDS fiction, this sounded like a lot of fun to me! I'm supposed to give a list of which books I plan to read, this is kind of hard because I usually just read whatever I can find at the library. :) These are the books I have recently put on hold though, so hopefully I will be able to read them this summer:

The Icing on the Cake by Elodia Strain - read my review
Previously Engaged by Elodia Strain
Makeover by Shannon Guymon
How to Stuff a Wild Zucchini by Heather Horrocks
Poisioned Pedigree by G.G. Vandagriff
Lemon Tart by Josi S. Kilpack
Her Good Name by Josi S. Kilpack
To Have or to Hold by Josi S. Kilpack
The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
Austenland by Shannon Hale

So those are the books that I am definitely planning to read, as long as my turn comes up on the hold list. :) If I read any other books that I find at the library, I'll add them to the list as well. Feel free to join in the challenge, you can get the details about it here. Happy Reading!

Pasta Making

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 23 May 2009 03:01:00 +0000

I have been horrible about blogging lately. When I started this blog I had so many ideas of things I would talk about on my blog, but that just hasn't happened. My schedule has been all out of whack lately and I haven't been getting nearly as much accomplished as I would like to. I'm past due on my six month inventory, which I know would really help me to get things back in focus.

One fun thing we did recently was break out the pasta machine! My husband got me this pasta machine a few years ago, and it seriously has just been sitting in the cupboard ever since. I've been trying to go more natural with most things lately, so I finally decided to try making pasta. It was way easier than I thought it would be and it turned out great!

Gage had a lot of fun helping me, too! He actually did most of the work for me, because he loved turning the handle. It was fun to make, and more exciting to eat knowing we made it from scratch. And I'm sure this counts as some kind of educational class for Gage. ;)

BTT: A Second First Time

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:52:00 +0000

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

I would love to be able to read Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke. I loved that book the first time around. I still love it, but it's just not as exciting when you already know what is going to happen. Another one is Twilight. I couldn't put that book down the first time I read it, and it was really fun to discover the characters and the relationships. When I read it the second time it just wasn't as exciting, and I noticed more of the cheesiness in the book. :)

BTT: Gluttony

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:47:00 +0000

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

I hardly ever buy books at full price. My problem is with thrift stores and library sales. I just can't pass up a great price on a book, especially one that is a classic. I have a lot of books I have bought from the library that I still haven't read. I am in such a habit of reading books from the library, that I rarely read a book from my own bookshelves. It's kind of pathetic really. When I see a book I want to read at the library, I think that I have to check it out right away, because it might not be available next time. So it's just a cycle of me constantly checking out books I think might be good, and hardly ever reading the great books I have at home!

BTT: Windfall

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:23:00 +0000

What would you spend an unexpected windfall on? Say … $50? How about $500?

Well, there are lots of things I would want to buy, but I will keep this book related. If I had $50 I would buy some of my favorite classics to add to my collection - maybe a nice set of Jane Austen's books, or the Anne of Green Gables set. I would also like to get the Little Britches series by Ralph Moody, so that I could read them to my boys. So I would probably pick one of those book sets.

If I have 500 bucks to spend I would probably get a digital reader. I didn't think they were for me, but the more I read about them, the more I want one. lol. Maybe it's just the consumer magic getting to me, but I think it would be really convenient and nice.

BTT: Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:16:00 +0000

Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…

1. Are you currently reading more than one book?
2. If so, how many books are you currently reading?
3. Is this normal for you?
4. Where do you keep your current reads?

I usually read several books at a time. First, I usually have something fun to read, a book that will entertain me. Second, I almost always have a classic that I am working my way through. Those don't always grab my attention though, so sometimes I have to set a schedule for myself and read for a certain amount of time each day. Third, I usually have some type of educational book that I am reading. Either a book about homeschooling, organic living, parenting, or something of that nature. Fourth, I read the scriptures or a church article everyday. I also will occasionally add a magazine into the mix, or a church book. So I guess I have a lot on my plate. ;) The stuff I am reading is all over the place - mostly the living room, bedroom, or kitchen.

BTT: Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:45:00 +0000

How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?

I love the library! I take my sons every week for story time, and the majority of the books I read come from the library. I usually only buy a book if I have already read it from the library and know that I want to own it. It doesn't matter to me if a library is old or new, as long as it has a good selection of books.

I am also grateful that our library here in Utah has a good story time for my kids. We lived in a small town in Missouri for a couple of years and their libraries weren't very successful at doing story time. I don't know if it was the size of the town, or just the people who lived there, but we went a few times and usually there was only one other kid. The library here in Utah has story time three days of the week, and they have divided it into two groups - toddlers and preschoolers. Their are always tons of people there and I think that is great! I am grateful that the community is supportive of the library and a lot of people seem to understand the importance of books and reading.

The library has always been an important part of my life, and I am making it a big part of my children's lives too!

Captain Organic Vegetable Man

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Lately I have been doing a lot of studying about organics and green living. I just got done reading a book about organic living, and I just have to say I have a much greater appreciation for the song "Captain Organic Vegetable Man" by Moosebutter. Moosebutter is an awesome a cappella group. I think their songs are hilarious. When my husband was in an a cappella group in college they did a couple of concerts with Moosebutter. I couldn't find the full length version of Captain Organic, but I added a playlist that has at least a preview of it and a few of their other songs. Enjoy! :)

Edited to add: I don't have the playlist up anymore, but you can hear "Captain Organic Vegetable Man" and all of Moosebutter's other songs by visiting their website here.

BTT: Worst 'Best' Book

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:27:00 +0000

What’s the worst ‘best’ book you’ve ever read — the one everyone says is so great, but you can’t figure out why?

This is a hard question for me, because I generally avoid books that I know I won't like. I will say that I started to read Moby Dick for my the online book group I'm in, and I just wasn't into it. The topic doesn't interest me at all, and neither does the style of writing. I have also tried to start some non-fiction C.S. Lewis a few times, and I haven't ever gotten very far into the books. The writing doesn't keep me interested very well, but I always hear all these great quotes from his non-fiction books. Someday I will finish a C.S. Lewis book! :)

So, I haven't actually read these things, but they are what comes to mind. :)

This Stuff is Amazing!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:58:00 +0000

About a year ago we decided to get new pots and pans. Our old, non-stick pans, were getting worn out. We decided to forgo non-stick this time because of the whole Teflon controversy, and we ended up buying this beautiful stainless steel cookware set from Rachael Ray:

I have loved the way the pans look, and they work great for cooking with liquid ingredients. However, they slowly build up with white spots that are hard to get out no matter how much scrubbing you do. I had heard of Bar Keepers Friend from several people but hadn't tried it, and then I finally found it at the store.

This stuff is amazing! It took off all the white spots and my pots and pans look brand new again! You don't even have to scrub the pan very hard. They should seriously just give you a canister of this stuff whenever you buy stainless steel cookware...it saves so much time!

Home School Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:59:00 +0000

So I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I got caught up on my BTT posts though, so it looks like I wasn't as much as a slacker. ;) I was sick for a while, at first I thought it was the flu, but then it turned out to be strep throat - which was crazy since my throat hardly hurt the first couple of days. Anyway, I was just grateful to feel better and I am amazed that no one else in my family got it! It was a few days before I got any medication and wasn't contagious anymore.

We've also been busy lately. My oldest, Gage, is going to turn 5 years old this week! That just seems crazy to me, the time sure has flown. We had family visit on the weekend and we had a party to celebrate. With this birthday comes the time for Gage to become an "official homeschooler". I guess I need to turn in an affidavit to the school, what exactly is it supposed to say? I don't really know...if anyone else does, please enlighten me! I looked up what I need to do for our local school district. I found the requirements interesting:

"Each minor who attends home school shall receive instruction:

In the subjects the State Board of Education required to be taught in public schools, the State Core Curriculum.
For the same length of time as required in public schools, which is 180 days or 990 hours (approximately 51/2 hours per day)."

I've heard that Utah is pretty lenient compared to other states, and I suppose it is. Those are really the only two requirements they had. I just find the length of time thing interesting. My son is going to be getting one on one instruction - or at the most it will be one on two instruction if my one year old is involved. He will obviously be able to learn things a lot quicker than the kids in our local kindergarten who, according to the brochure I got in the mail, will have a teacher/student ratio of 1/23. Which I guess is supposed to be considered a good class size, but you can't really beat 1/1, and having your individual educational needs met all of the time. :) I've heard a lot of people say that almost everything you do can count as "school" - cooking, cleaning, playing, reading etc. So I'm sure I can meet the time requirements, but I just think it's odd that they require that much time. Especially since a lot of kindergarten time is spent just managing the crowd.

Edited to add: I actually found out I don't have to submit an affidavit until next year - when he's six. I guess Kindergarten isn't actually required. :)

BTT: Movie Potential

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:37:00 +0000

What book do you think should be made into a movie? And do you have any suggestions for the producers?

I think that The Walking Drum and The Lonesome Gods, both by Louis L'Amour, would both make fantastic movies. It was so hard for me to imagine what the world was like in The Walking Drum, and I think it would be amazing to see it visually. They probably won't ever make a movie though, because L'Amour never got to write the sequel to the book. I wouldn't be upset if they changed the ending though, so that it would be more conclusive.

I also would like to see a good version of Jane Eyre. I read the book a while ago, and so far have watched three different movies - and I haven't been very fond of any of them. Some were very faithful to the book, but they also made me want to snore. The others made unnecessary changes to the story line, or were just way too long. I personally love the newer version that they did of Pride and Prejudice. I know they had to make changes so that it could be a regular length film, but I loved the feel of that movie - they really captured the essence of the book. I wish they would make a movie of Jane Eyre that is similar to that - with beautiful music, cinematography, and acting - and one that I wouldn't need to set aside 6 hours to watch.

BTT: Best Book You Haven't Read

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:32:00 +0000

What’s the best book that YOU haven’t read yet?

I would probably say Les Miserables. I've heard so many people say what an amazing book it is, but I have never read it. I know the story and have listened to the musical, but I have yet to pick up the book and read it.

BTT: Collectibles

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Hardcover? Or paperback?
Illustrations? Or just text?
First editions? Or you don’t care?
Signed by the author? Or not?

Most of these things don't really matter to me. If it is a favorite book I like to get it in a hardback, because of it's durability. I have never been to an author signing, but it would be fun to do sometime. I have one or two books that were signed, but it doesn't really make a difference to me. The only kind of books I really am "collecting" are classics. I try to find them in hardbacks, but it doesn't matter to me if they have illustrations, if they are a first edition, or if they are signed. As long as I can read the book, I'm happy. :)

100 Books Tag

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:52:00 +0000

The BBC says most people will have only read 6 of these 100 books.
Instructions: Look at the list and bold those you have read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - I own it, but haven't gotten to it yet...
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - My husband doesn't like the movies, so I haven't read these yet. I don't care enough about them to annoy my husband by reading them. :)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens - This is the current book I am reading with my husband. We are about half way through it, but it's a LONG book. It may take a while.
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame - We own it, and it's on my list to read to Gage, but we haven't gotten to it yet.
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I've read 28 out of 100. Not too shabby, considering most people have only read 6, but that's still basically like an F. lol. A lot of these books are on my "To be read" list, so hopefully I'll get to them at some point. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

“My ma told me that there isn’t anything in this life worth having that comes easy. She told me that every road I walk down’s gonna have a price. But what she didn’t tell me and what I learned since I’ve been here is that if you don’t choose the road you’re gonna walk, sooner or later someone else’ll do that choosing for you.”

– Victoria Forester The Girl Who Could Fly

BTT: Bookshelves

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:42:00 +0000

“How do you arrange your books on your shelves? Is it by author, by genre, or you just put it where it falls on?”

We have several bookcases, because we have lots of books! The bookcases are pretty much divided by genre or category. I try to organize them by the type of book they are, or the size, so that the shelves look "pretty". We have a bookcase with all of our church related books on it; a bookcase with our journals, yearbooks, and school scrapbooks; a bookcase with our theatre and music books; a bookcase with self-help and informational sort of books; and our last bookcase is the big one my husband built and it has all of our classics, children's, and homeschooling related books on it.

Our big bookcase is out in the living room, so that it can be in the center of our home. For this bookcase we followed an organization system recommended in one of the TJEd books called Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning. Basically, you organize the book shelves in order of the different phases. The core phase (age 0-8) books are on the bottom two shelves, the love of learning phase (ages 8-12) books are above the core phase books, and the scholar phase (ages 12-16) books are on the top shelf. The bookcase is supposed to be at least 5 feet tall, which ours us not. We don't feel comfortable with that tall of a bookcase, unless it can be secured to the wall. And since we are renting, that isn't an option right now. Anyway, the idea is supposed to be that the scholar phase books are organized neatly at the top where the kids can't reach them. It's important for them to look up at those books and wish they could reach them. It gives them something to work towards in their education. The core books are a little more haphazard on the bottom shelves, because you should let the kids do whatever they want with their books. If the bottom shelves are organized really neatly the kids will feel like they aren't allowed to touch the books. Sure you can straighten out the books every now and then but you shouldn't have a very specific order to things, or the kids might catch on that there is a system and feel like they are being forced to learn. ;) Our shelf is a variation that fits for our family right now. We mostly have core phase books because that is the phase our kids are in. I am slowly building up my love of learning book collection, and reading those books that I missed out on in my own youth. When we move into a house we plan to have several wall mounted book shelves that are organized in this manner. Here's to hoping - that we can ever afford a house! :)