The last time I was at the library with my daughter we were browsing through the books when I came across Keeper of the Doves. I fell in love with the cover immediately, so I checked it out. It's a sweet little story about a young girl named Amen, living in the late 1800's, trying to find her place in a family of five girls, and the secrets families sometimes keep.
This little book is just 128 pages, so it was a fast easy read. I enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it to elementary aged girls.
I love Thomas Jefferson's historic home, Monticello, and I often go check out their website and online catalog (I have a wish list a mile long). When I visited Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia with my family a couple years ago the library was one of my favorite rooms. Check out an article about Jefferson's library on Monticello's website HERE.
Among the many ingenious devices found in Jefferson's Cabinet, this one perhaps most clearly suggests Jefferson's passion for knowledge. One can imagine him turning the stand, completely engrossed, consulting five books at once to find the answer to a burning question. Our bookstand is a line-by-line reproduction of the original, which was made in the joinery at Monticello, probably from Jefferson's own design. It's great for cross-checking information from several sources or just keeping reference books and current reading handy. Made of solid mahogany with a soft, hand-polished finish, the rotating stand holds five books at adjustable angles on rests that fold down to form a 12" cube. (Source: www.monticellocatalog.org)
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I've had some very busy days lately with more to come over the next couple weeks. My progress on The Southern Belles of Honeysuckle Way is slower than I'd like, but I am reading every day. That's really all I can ask of myself. Hoping to finish it tomorrow...
My sister and I went out to do some shopping and get lunch today, so of course I have some new books at my house...two of them I bought at Goodwill for $1.06. You can't beat that! I also checked out five from the library.
Most of these are southern fiction, and I know I won't get them all in before the Southern Belle Reading Challenge ends, but I'm loving the southern fiction right now so I'll just keep reading. I'm looking forward to some Halloween-ish reading for the month of October...nothing too scary though!
Reading Hissy Fit which is heavy on interior design, has made me really think about the first room I want to tackle in my own remodel. We have a down stairs room that was my daughter's play room that is now empty except for the piano and my book shelf. This room is going to be my library.
And in my library I would love to have two of these Campeachy Chairs I found at Monticello.org's Online Catalog. I think this chair is absolutely beautiful and looks so comfy. I think the wide arm rests would be perfect for reading.
It took Thomas Jefferson many letters and more than ten years to get a Campeachy chair sent from New Orleans. (The first one was lost in a shipwreck.) Once he finally received his chair in 1819, he had several copies made. This reproduction is based on a copy crafted by plantation joiner John Hemings, which is now on display in Monticello's parlor. Made of mahogany, it has the same X-shaped base, curvy arms and distinctive top rail. What makes the Campeachy chair so wonderfully comfortable is the sling seat of reinforced leather. The mahogany for the original chairs made in New Orleans came from the Mexican province of Campeche, hence the curious name. 39"h x 27"w x 24"d. Made to order in the U.S.A. from imported wood. (Source: Monticello.org)
My sister and I took the kiddos to the library after school yesterday. My daughter had books to return and was desperate for more, so we went to the library where she loaded up her red library book bag with new books while I looked for more "Southern Belle Challenge" books.
I still have Fried Green Tomatoes (I will finish it tonight!) and Hissy Fit, so I only checked out two.
Book Page also has an online edition that you can visit by clicking HERE. I think the most interesting book I found inside is The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. I'm very interested in this one.
Goodreads Summary
What if—whoosh, right now, with no explanation—a number of us simply vanished? Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down?
That’s what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out. Because nothing has been the same since it happened—not marriages, not friendships, not even the relationships between parents and children.
Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized community. Kevin’s own family has fallen apart in the wake of the disaster: his wife, Laurie, has left to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence; his son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne. Only Kevin’s teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she’s definitely not the sweet “A” student she used to be. Kevin wants to help her, but he’s distracted by his growing relationship with Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family on October 14th and is still reeling from the tragedy, even as she struggles to move beyond it and make a new start.
With heart, intelligence and a rare ability to illuminate the struggles inherent in ordinary lives, Tom Perrotta has written a startling, thought-provoking novel about love, connection and loss.
After I picked my daughter up today, we went to the library. She's been wanting to check out some Goosebumps books, and I wanted to get some books myself. She ended up getting ten "Goosebumps" books.
A couple days ago I told you about a reading challenge I'm participating in during the month of September. It's called the "Southern Belle" challenge, and the idea is to read books set in the South. It is hosted by Brenda Gail at Curling Up With a Good Book.
I got four books from the library today to get me started...
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Today was the Summer Reading Program Reward Fair at the library, and Sophia was so excited. She has worked so hard reading this summer to earn her "bucks" to spend at the fair. She ended up reading 51 books during the four week summer reading program, and she earned 24 "bucks". I'm so proud of her. They weren't just easy books either...I think she read 15 easy books and the rest were chapter books. She read a lot of Junie B. Jones and Arthur. We love Junie B. at our house!
Source: My Photo
Here's what she bought with her "bucks"...
Source: My Photo
Source: My Photo
Source: My Photo
Source: My Photo
Digital Clock and Bookmark
I thought this was neat!
Source: My Photo
Some more of her purchases
Source: My Photo
We had a fun filled day! After the Reward Day Fair we went bowling, ate lunch at Gatti Town, went to the mall, watched a movie, and spent some time in Barnes&Noble.
Here's the book I bought...
Source: My Photo
I needed this book for a particular reason which I will be blogging about in the near future, so stay tuned!
As you can see, books are a part of our lives every day. It's more than just reading. It's a lifestyle. It's a search for knowledge. It's entertainment. It's a way to better ourselves. It's a way to connect as a family, and it just plain makes us happy!
So what are you reading? Leave a comment and let me know....
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.
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
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.
#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.
# 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.
