Lots of Great Book Lists...

I've spent the last few days visiting the blogs of others who are participating in Fall Into Reading 2011.  FIR is hosted by Katrina over at Callapidder Days.  I've visited 25 so far, and added many books to my To Be Read list.  If you have some time you should go check out the challenge and those participating.

The Help is on a LOT of people's list, and I've only heard good things.  It's on my list too, and I'm anxious to get to it.  I need to finish  my library books first though.

Sometimes I feel like I'm reading in slow motion...

It's Time To Do Some Inventory

Since I somehow missed "spring cleaning" all together this year.  I've decided to do a major fall cleaning, and in walking around the house to see what I wanted to tackle first I have noticed something about the rooms in my house.  There are books everywhere.  There are books stacked in my room.  There are books, neatly put away in her bookshelf in Sophia's room.  There are stacks of recently purchased books in the kitchen .  There are books on the shelves in the living room and in the foyer, books on my book shelf (which is quickly filling up, I'm all ready doubled up on some shelves). There is a huge box of very old books in my foyer closet that was given to me that I have yet to go through and find a home for.  I'm thinking these will get a new shelf all their own, and then there are books in storage that I've been meaning to get at for years. 

I do have quite a few books, but I rarely buy "new" books.  I shop at thrift stores, goodwill, yard sales, flea markets, antiques shops, used book stores, library book sales and ebay.  I rarely pay more than a dollar for any book.  I occasionally shop on amazon.com if I need or want a book that I can't find around here.  The only books I regularly buy new are my daughter's books as they are sometimes hard to find used.

So as part of my fall cleaning I am going to do an inventory of all the books in the house, and yes of course make a list.  I would eventually like to catalogue edition and date of publication, but that will have to wait for another time.  For now, I'm going to list title and author, and since I'm doing all this work anyway I thought I might as well blog about it.

I'm starting with the top shelf today which is mostly classics.  I have by no means read all of these books, but I hope to one day.  I may find out that several of them are over my head, but I'll give it a try anyway.  I'll put an asterisk in front of the titles I've read.

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (I've read a lot of Shakespeare but not all)
*Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
*One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
*All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
*As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Sound in the Fury by William Faulkner
Light in August by William Faulkner
*The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
*The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
*Immortal Poems: Edited by Oscar Williams
*King Soloman's Mines by Rider Haggard
*Allan Quatermain by Rider Haggard
*Heidi by Johanna Spyri
*The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Ambassadors by Henry James
*The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
*Billy Bud by Herman Melville
*One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
*Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
*Grand Ole Opry Picture History Book (This one's a bit out of place here, but it's on the top shelf)
*The Impressionists: Steven Adams (art book with lovely pictures!)
*Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
*The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Evangeline and other poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Adam Bede by George Eliot
The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough
Paradise Lost & Paradise Revisited by John Milton
2001 a space odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Candide, Zadig, and Selected Stories by Voltaire
The Divine Comedy Vol. 1 Inferno by Dante
A Collection of Critical Essays by D.H. Lawrence
*The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
*Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
The Tolkien Reader by J.R.R. Tolkien
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
The Politics of Experience by R.D. Lang
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
St. Maur and the Man Who Died by D.H. Lawrence
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
The American by Henry James
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Hamlet by Shakespeare
As You Like It by Shakespeare
The Odyssey by Homer


So there's the top shelf (55 books).  More classics to come later!  I love having books around the house.  They just make me happy.

Here are a few quotes about books that I think go along with today's blog post...

Mark Twain
Source:  www.goodreads.com

"In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them."
— Mark Twain
(Source:  www.goodreads.com)

"Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read."
— Mark Twain
(Source:  www.goodreads.com)

Thomas Jefferson
Source:  www.goodreads.com

"I cannot live without books."
— Thomas Jefferson
(Source:  www.goodreads.com)

I Don't Care How Old It Is! I Want To Blog About It.

I know that a lot of the books I will talk about on my blog are old news to some, but they will be new to many (including myself sometimes).  Also, I am new to blogging and there are books I've read and loved in the past that I want to blog about.  Occasionally, I look over my book lists, notes, and summaries, and when a book from the past jumps out at me I want to blog about it.

Sara Nelson's book, So Many Books, So Little Time is one of those books.  A few years ago when I worked at the library, a lot of my time was spent straightening and putting away books.  I loved it!  I mean I was basically spending hours a day looking at books, and when I came across this book I checked it out.

 I love lists.  I love to make lists and read lists.  That may be weird, but it's true.  I have lists about everything...books, chores, household projects, movies, vacations I want to take, and I NEVER go to the grocery store without my list.

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson is basically a reading list in book form, and maybe that's why I liked it.

Source:  www.goodreads.com

From my journal 4/2/09...
"In this book, Sara Nelson decides to spend a year reading at least one book a week and writing about what she read.  She soon discovers that even though she has a rather extensive list and all kinds of books at her fingertips, it's not always easy to find a book.  She learns that you don't always choose a book.  Sometimes the very best books choose you.  She found that not only her moods, but also her everyday life and environment lead her to the books she reads."

Sara Nelson
Source:  www.cencom.org

Sara Nelson is an editor, book reviewer, consultant, columnist, and author.  She was editor in chief at Publisher's Weekly from 2005 to 2009.  She is currently the book editor for Oprah's "O Magazine", and I came across this summer reading list she created on Oprah's website, "If You Liked That Book, You'll Love...: What should you read next? O's book editor Sara Nelson has 12 recommendations based on your literary tastes."  You can check it out by clicking HERE

I Love to Make a List

My first few posts revolved around my book list.  I thought in this post I'd show you how I've kept up with things over the years...a lot of lists!

The little red notebook predates the "Books I've Read List".  I was on the internet one night and came across a list of books that everyone should read.  I had this notebook, so I wrote it down in here.  It started with 50, and now there are more than 500 books in there just waiting to be read.

To Be Read Journal
Source:  My Photo



Green pages are classics
Source:  My Photo

Yellow pages are just books I came across that I wanted to read
Source:  My Photo

My actual "Books I've Read" list
Source:  My Photo

These next two journals are the journals I use to write down summaries about each book I read.

Leather journal that I use for book summaries.
Source:  My Photo

Inside Leather Journal
Source:  My Photo

Polka-Dot Journal used for book summaries.
Source:  My Photo

This will be my next journal for my "Books I've Read"list.
Ronnie and Sophia got it for me for Christmas.
Source:  My Photo

Why In The World Did You Read That ?!?!

Book list 191-200

191.The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan  (3/8/2011)
192.For One More Day by Mitch Albom  (3/8/2011)
193.Abigail Adams: First Lady and Patriot by Pat McCarthy
194.The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
195.Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan  (3/23/2011)
196.The Paris Wife by Paula McLain  (4/17/2011)
197.Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen  (4/29/2011)
198.Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom  (5/3/2011)
199.The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
200.The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
201.The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
202.The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
203.The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Well this is the end of my list as it stands today.  I'm reading #204, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, right now, and hope to add it to the list by tomorrow.  After that I'll be reading Cold Mountain.  I'm trying to finish that one by Tuesday so I can take it and #'s 203,204 back to the library.  Unfortunately I'm notorious for overdue fines which is ridiculous since you can call the library and renew your books by phone.

My reading seems to slow down in the summer.  I know that seems like it's backwards, but that's how it is for me.  My daughter's home, it's pretty outside, and there's lots of fun stuff for us to do.  That leaves mostly night time reading for me.  Now my husband is in the middle of his vacation.  We're at the end of his first week, but we've got 8 more days to go before he has to go back to work.  When I've got him home all day, I'm afraid my reading ends up being mostly bed time reading, but books can wait because my time with him is precious.  He works between 70 to 90 hours a week, and when we've got him home with us, we take full advantage of it.

I thought in this post I would take each book from this portion of the list and tell how I came to read it.

#'s 191, 195, and 199-202:  The Percy Jackson Series and The Lost Hero all by Rick Riordan
These books are the favorites of my daughter, and I read them at her suggestion.  There's lots of action, mysteries, and brave friends trying to save the world.  I'm so glad I read these books because I really enjoyed them.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Heroes of Olympus Series, The Son of Neptune.  It's due out in the Fall.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
Source:  http://www.rearrange-inc.com/

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Source:  http://www.rickriordan.blogspot.com/

The next book in the Heroes of Olympus Series
We can't wait of this one!
Source:  http://www.rickriordan.com/

#'s 192 and 198:  For One More Day and Tuesdays With Morrie both by Mitch Albom
Both of these books were suggested to me by my sister, Beth.  She owns both of these and let me borrow them.  I enjoyed both of these books and I'm very glad to have read them.

From http://www.mitchalbom.com/...
"Mitch Albom mesmerized readers around the world with his number one New York Times bestsellers, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie. Now he returns with a beautiful, haunting novel about the family we love and the chances we miss.   For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?   As a child, Charley “Chick” Benetto was told by his father, “You can be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy, but you can’t be both.” So he chooses his father, only to see the man disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence.   Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding. And he decides to take his own life.   He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother -- who died eight years earlier -- is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened.   Albom has said his relationship with his own mother was largely behind the story of the book, and that several incidents in “For One More Day” are actual events from his childhood."

#193 is Abigail Adams: First Lady and Patriot by Pat McCarthy

Source:  http://www.amazon.com/

According to the National First Ladies' Library, http://www.firstladies.org/, Abigail Adams was born on November 1, 1744.  She married, John Adams, who would become our second president, when she was nineteen years old.  She was 5'1" with brown hair and brown eyes.  She was First Lady of the United States of America from March 4, 1797 through March 4, 1801.

#194 and 196:  The Inheritance and The Paris Wife are both books I just stumbled onto while browsing through the library shelves.  I liked them both, but The Paris Wife has become one of my favorites and led to lots of Ernest Hemingway research.

Source:  http://www.librarything.com/

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

#197 is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  I bought this one from Wal-Mart because I saw the preview for the movie and thought it looked really good.  I ended up not seeing the movie, so I guess I'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD.  I did read the book though, and I liked it.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

# 203 is The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and I came across it when I was reading a blog that I follow called Susie's Blog.  This is a book that I would never have read on my own.  I really like her blog, and she seemed to realy love this book.  I had to check it out, and I wasn't disappointed.  It's a dark, staightforward look at what people can be capable of and how one decision can affect the rest of your life.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

If  you've read something on my list, comment and let me know what you think.  If there's a book that you love, please tell me about it.

The Book Bug and More Throwed Rolls

Book list 181-190

181.Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott
182.An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott  (2/7/2011)
183.Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott  (2/14/2011)
184.Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan  (2/15/2011)
185.Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan  (2/16/2011)
186.Caleb's Story by Patricia MacLachlan  (2/16/2011)
187.More Perfect Than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan  (2/17/2011)
188.Grandfather's Dance by Patricia MacLachlan
189.Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott  (2/21/2011)
190.The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott

On Thursday we made another trip to Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri.

Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri
Source:  My Photo

Me and Sophia in Lambert's
Source:  My Photo

1/2 Slab Ribs with Baby Carrots and Turnip Green...Yum!
Source:  My Photo

While researching things to do in and around Sikeston, my husband came across a new and used bookstore called The Book Bug.  My sister and her son went with us, so we were both really excited to check this store out.  We weren't disappointed.  There were floor to ceiling shelves every where you turned.  I couldn't even begin to guess how many books this store contained.  I didn't know where to begin, but of course we headed straight to the classics.  Ronnie had volunteered to entertain the kids outside so we could concentrate on shopping.  He's so great!

The Book Bug in Sikeston, Missouri
Source:  My Photo

Beth and Me
Source:  My Photo

The Book Bug
Source:  My Photo

We both had really great luck.  Beth, my sister, is really in to F.Scott Fitzgerald right now and found several  of his books along with some other classics.  She ended up getting eleven books for $15.

I was really happy with the books I found as well.  I found three books from my To Be Read list and one little book set in West Virginia that I thought looked interesting.  Here are the four books that I purchased.

This one's on my reading list
Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

This one's on my reading list.
Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

This one's on my reading list.
Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

I've never heard of this one, but I liked the title and the cover.
Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

I paid $18 for the four of them, and I was pretty happy with that considering what I would  have paid for them new.  They are all in really great condition.

Family, Food, and Books...Does it get any better than that?

Louisa May Alcott: Writer, Feminist, Abolitionist

Book list 171-180
171.Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
172.Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik  (6/9/2010)
173.Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
174.Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
175.The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Neffenegger  (11/1/2010)
176.Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
177.Sounder by William H. Armstrong
178.Little Women by Louisa May Alcott  (1/16/2011)
179.Little Men by Louisa May Alcott  (1/21/2011)
180.Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott  (1/26/2011)

I had seen the movie, "Little Women", years ago and loved it.  I have owned a hardback copy of the book for even longer.  I'd say I've had it for fifteen years, yet I had never read it until this year.  I don't know why really.  My reading list is forever long and always growing, and I guess there was just always something else to read.  Why after fifteen years did I decide to read it this year?  The answer is very simple--my sister read it.  I am very lucky to have a sister who loves books as much as I do.  I can't tell you how many books I've read at her suggestion, and Little Women happens to be one of them.  I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, not only because I love the book, but because it opened the door to a new author that I truly enjoy.

Numbers 178, 179, and 180 on this portion of the list are all Louisa May Alcott books.  This series of books about the March family is one of my favorites of all time.  It's right up there with The Little House and Anne of Green Gables series.



Louisa May Alcott
Source:  www.wikipedia.org



Source:  www.vonniesbooks.blogspot.com

Source:  www.coverbrowser.com

Source:  www.openlibrary.com

Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania.   She was the second of four girls and a tomboy.  Her sisters were Anna, Elizabeth, and May.  Her mother's name was Abigail, and she was educated mostly by her father, Bronson Alcott, who was a noted transcendentalist.  Some of her father's friends were fellow transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Margaret Fuller.  Bronson Alcott along with a friend, founded a commune named Fruitlands.  It was a 90 acre farm with a run down house and barn.  No animal power was used in the growing of their food, they ate no animal substance, drank only water, took cold baths, and used no artificial light.  It lasted seven months.  Louisa May Alcott's book, Wild Oats, is about her time at Fruitlands.

According to Dictionary.com, transcendentalism is...
"A movement in nineteenth-century American literature and thought. It called on people to view the objects in the world as small versions of the whole universe and to trust their individual intuitions. The two most noted American transcendentalists were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau."
(Source: {http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/transcendentalist})

Bronson Alcott
Source:  www.wikipedia.org

You can learn more about Louisa May Alcott and her father in the book Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and her Father.  I haven't read this one, but it's on my list.  You can also learn more about Bronson Alcott and www.alcott.net.

Source:  http://www.amazon.com/

Louisa May Alcott was a feminist as well as an abolitionist.  She died on March 6, 1888, and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Louisa May Alcott Grave Site
Source:  www.travelpod.com

Beth from Little Women...
"Love is the only thing we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy."

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Book list 161-170

161.A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle  (9/10/2009)
162.All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren  (10/2/2009)
163.Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado  (10/23/2009)
164.Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
165.The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks  (2/2/2010)
166.Fearless by Max Lucado
167.The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F.Scott Fitzgerald  (3/17/2010)
168.The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski  (3/23/2010)
169.Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
170.Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado

 In Number 163, Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado, Lucado uses the story of David and Goliath, as well as David's later life to show us how we can slay the giants in our own lives whatever they may be.

From Facing Your Giants...
"First thought of the morning, last worry of the night--your Goliath dominates your day and infiltrates your joy."



Source:  http://www.google.com/

 I Samuel 17:48  KJV
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
___________________________________________________________________________________

In Number 166, also by Max Lucado, he talks about how fear sucks the beauty out of life and robs us of our happiness.  He reminds us--if we just keep our eyes on Jesus, and trust Him, we have nothing to fear.

Source:  http://www.google.com/

Matthew 10:31 KJV
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
___________________________________________________________________________________

Number 170 is Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado.

Source:  http://www.google.com/

From Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado...
"Six hours on one Friday.  Six hours that jut up on the plain of human history like Mount Everest in a desert.  Six hours that have been deciphered, dissected, and debated for two thousand years. 
What do these six hours signify?  They claim to be the door in time through which eternity entered man's darkest caverns.  They mark the moments that the Navigator descended into the deepest waters to leave anchor points for his followers. 
What does that Friday mean?
For the life blackened with failure, that Friday means forgiveness.
For the heart scarred with futility, that Friday means purpose.
And for the soul looking into this side of the tunnel of death, that Friday means deliverance.
Six hours.  One Friday.
What do you do with those six hours on that Friday?"
___________________________________________________________________________________

Max Lucado
Source:  www.maxlucado.com

You can find out more about Max Lucado by visiting his website:  www.maxlucado.com
___________________________________________________________________________________

I want to end this post by sharing one my favorite Bible verses...

John 16:33  KJV
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation:  but be of good cheer;  I have overcome the world.

Emily Bronte as Ellis Bell

If this is your first time viewing my blog, THANKS for checking it out!  I hope you will click the FOLLOW button and subscribe to this blog.  It's totally free!  This is the newest post, and as you scroll down it goes from newest to oldest.  When you come to the bottom look for "Older Posts", and it will load another page.  You can also look through my blog archive at the side of the page to see past posts.

I started the Book list below ten years ago this September.  My very first blog explains about the list and why I started it.  I've listed ten books on each post starting with #1...this post will deal with 151-160.  As of today my list has 202, so I've got a few days to go before I list them all.  If you've been here leave a comment to let me know what you think, and if you like what you see tell others about it.

Book list 151-160

151.Unafraid by Francine Rivers
152.Journey to the Well by Diana Wallis Taylor
153.The Priest by Francine Rivers
154.The Warrior by Francine Rivers  (05/19/2009)
155.Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
156.New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
157.Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
158.Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer  (07/11/2009)
159.Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte  (07/30/2009)
160.The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

Number 159, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one of my all time favorite books...Top Five of all time for sure.  It was published in 1847 to mixed reviews under the pen name Ellis Bell.  It is her only novel, but she was a poet as well.   Bronte used her own home, Yorkshire moors, as the setting for the book.




Top Withens is believed to be the inspiration for the setting of Wuthering Heights.
Source:  http://www.geograph.org.uk/




Source:  http://www.geograph.org.uk/


Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights...
"Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you—haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe—I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad!  Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh God!  It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!"



Source:  http://www.vol1brooklyn.com/



Emily Bronte
Portrait done by her brother, Branwell Bronte
Source:  http://www.wikipedia.org/


Emily Bronte was born on June 30, 1818.  She died on December 19, 1848, and is buried with her mother, father, brother-Branwell, famous sister-Charlotte Bronte, as well as her other two sisters-Maria and Elizabeth at the Church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Hawthorn, West Yorkshire, England.

Birthplace of Emily Bronte
74 Market Street in Thornton
Source:  http://www.geograph.org.uk/

St. Michael and All Angels Church
Source:  http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Bronte burial vault
Source:  http://www.geograph.org.uk/

It's Quiet, It's Green, and It's Beautiful!

Book list 141-150

141.The Letter by Richard Paul Evans
142.The Garden of Ruth by Eva Etzioni-Halevy
143.A Hundred Years of Happiness by Nicole Seitz
144.Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
145.The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
146.So Many Books, So Little Time by Sarah Nelson
147.Unveiled by Francine Rivers
148.Unashamed by Francine Rivers
149.Unshaken by Francine Rivers
150.Unspoken by Francine Rivers

Number 144 is Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani.  I had never heard of Big Stone Gap, Virginia before I met my husband.  That's where his Mother's family is from, and over the years we've gone lots of times.  I absolutely love it, and I told my husband that if we ever get rich enough to have a second home, I'd love for it to be there.  It is quiet, it's so green, and it is beautiful!

Source:  http://blogs.kds.org/booktalk/2010/06/big-stone-gap.html

My mother-in-law's mother lived in a trailor on the side of a mountain, and I can remember the first time Ronnie ever took me up that winding dirt/gravel road to her house.  She was a tiny woman, but tough as nails, straight forward (if you didn't want the truth you better not ask),funny, and so loving.  She absolutely loved the television show Law & Order.  She has passed on now, but I will always think fondly of her.  She was so fun to be around.

Source:  My Photo

My mother-in-law's father lived in a little house at the bottom of the mountain.  He had his own jewelry shop.  He was a very sweet man who loved the Lord and sang.  He made the wrap for my engagement ring.  He has passed as well, but I will always remember his smile.

Source:  My Photo



Papaw Jim's jewelry shop is on the left
Source:  My Photo




Near Big Stone Gap
Source:  My Photo



Near Big Stone Gap
Source:  My Photo

Adriana Trigiani used her hometown for the setting of her first book, Big Stone Gap.  Along with Big Stone Gap, she wrote a continuation of the story in the novels, Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and Home to Big Stone Gap. 

Adriana Trigiani
Source:  http://www.adrianatrigiani.com/

There's lots to do and see in Big Stone Gap!

**Southwest Virginia Museum
     http://www.swvamuseum.org/

Southwest Virginia Museum
Source:  http://www.swvamuseum.org/

**Harry Meador Coal Museum
    http://www.bigstonegap.org/attract/coal.html

Harry Meado Coal Museum
Source:  http://www.bigstonegap.org/

**The June Tolliver House
     http://www.junetolliverhouse.com/

Source:  http://www.bigstonegap.org/

**John Fox Jr. Museum--www.johnfoxjrmuseum.org
**Trail of the Lonesome Pine--www.trailofthelonesomepine.com

John Fox Jr.
Source:  http://www.johnfoxjrmuseum.org/

According to http://www.johnfoxjrmuseum.org/:

"John Fox Jr. was a best-selling author of the early 1900's in this country.  Born in Paris, Kentucky in 1862, he received his formal schooling at his father's school, Stony Point Adademy and then entered Harvard University at the age of 16 as a sophomore.  He loved the arts, played the mandolin, was a member of the acting club, and a member of the tumbling team (which resulted in a lung injury from a fall on a trampoline that gave him problems the rest of his life).  He began his writing career as a reporter for the New York Sun.

His two most famous books were Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, which was declared a classic, and Trail of the Lonesome Pine, one of the best selling novels of all time.  Before the convenience of paperback books, Trail of the Lonesome Pine had only been outsold by the Bible and Gone With the Wind."

Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Source:  http://www.trailofthelonesomepine/.