How smart was it to start a new blog in the summertime when the kids are out of school and craziness ensues?! Not the smartest thing I have ever done, but not the dumbest either;)
I have decided that I have to take a break from reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. I am so enthralled with this book that I want to give it my full attention and those of you who have children know that that is not possible when chaos is the word that describes my day! So it is on hold and there it will stay until 2 of the 4 children go back to school! In the meantime I have been reading other incredible works of joy!
1. A Far, Far Better Place by Anita Stansfield
Anita Stansfield has long been a favorite author. Her books are easy reads that take me out of my world and into another. She incorporates life struggles and faith. In this series Chas is the owner of a quaint little B & B that is obsessed with Charles Dickens. Which means my curiosity is now sparked. I will be diving into Dickens soon! The setting makes me want to go on vacation to a nice COLD spot since it is about a thousand degrees here in AZ right now. I love how the characters have their struggles and work through them in a healthy way. That's all I am going to say about that since I don't want to give anything away:)
2. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Can I just say I am now a fan of Mr. Sparks! This is a very high school meets the real world book. I like how the main character, Ronnie, comes out of her selfish ways to become a beautiful person. She finds an identity beyond the one that her parents want her to have. Not that her talent with the piano is negative in any way, but it is something she discovered as a child. I feel like it is important especially for girls to find out who they are before they delve into being a wife and mother. I am so glad this had the happy ending I was looking for. It was fun to escape to the beach with this book! Can't wait to see the movie;)
3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
I read this book right after I finished "The Last Song" so I was still in Nicholas Sparks mode. I don't want to give anything away for those of you who haven't read it yet so this is an official **SPOILER ALLERT**.
I don't quite know how I feel about how this book ended. You could tell throughout the book that something was going to happen with Tim and Savannah. On the one hand Tim is such a great guy and you love to see him get the girl because he certainly deserves happiness. On the other hand John and Savannah have that undeniable connection that says they should be together. Why do both men have to be so good and honorable? This would be so much easier if one of them was horrible or even a little bit bad in some way, but they both have their qualities that draw you to them! Darn you Mr. Sparks!
4. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
I am about half way through this sequel to "The Hunger Games". I am hooked! I will post more when I am finished with it!
What is next!! I always love to have a book waiting for me. Here is what I am considering. Got any opinions or prefrences please share!!
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Fablehaven book 5: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
I do have some books coming in the mail soon so that may sway my interests in a different direction all together!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Uncle Tom's Cabin
I am currently reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I am completely enthralled in this book. As I began it I thought "Oh, this is going to be a tough one to get through". It took me a while to get used to the different dialects and vocabulary but once I did I became hooked! I am only 113 pages into it but here are the quotes that I like best so far.
"If it were your Harry, mother, or your Willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader, to-morrow morning, -if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had only from twelve o'clock till morning to make good your escape, -how fast could you walk? How many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom, -the little sleepy head on your shoulder, -the small, soft arm trustingly holding on to your neck?" (p.43)
"And oh! mother that reads this, has there never been in your house a drawer, or a closet, the opening of which has been to you like the opening again of a little grave? Ah! happy mother that you are, if it has not been so.
"Mrs. Bird slowly opened the drawer. There were little coats of many a form and pattern, piles of aprons, and rows of small stockings: and even a pair of little shoes, worn and rubbed at the toes, were peeping from the folds of a paper. there was a toy horse and wagon, a top, a ball, -memorials gathered with many a tear and a heart-break! She sat down by the drawer, and, leaning her head on her hands over it, wept till the tears fell through her fingers into the drawer: then suddenly raising her head, she began with nervous haste, selecting the plainest and most substantial articles, and gathering them into a bundle.
"Mama," said one of the boys, gently touching her arm, "are you going to give away those things?"
"My dear boys," she said, softly and earnestly, "if our dear, loving little Henry looks down from heaven, he would be glad to have us do this. I could not find it in my heart to give them away to any common person- to anybody that was happy; but I give them to a mother more heart-broken and sorrowful than I am; and I hope God will send his blessings with them!"
"There are in this world blessed souls, whose sorrows all spring up into joys for others; whose earthly hopes, laid in the grave with many tears, are the seed from which spring healing flowers and balm for the desolate and the distressed. Among such was the delicate woman who sits there by the lamp, dropping slow tears, while she prepares the memorials of her own lost one for the outcast wanderer." (P. 75)
"Patience! patience! ye whose hearts swell indignant at wrongs like these. Not one throb of anguish, not one tear of the oppressed, is forgotten by the Man of Sorrows, the Lord of Glory. In his patient, generous bosom he bears the anguish of the world. Bear thou, like him, in patience, and labor in love; for sure as he is God, "the year of his redeemed shall come." (P. 111)
I know, sorry for such a long post! Like I said I am hooked. I wish I had all of the time in the world to read this book, but alas, I have 4 children. Morning comes way to early and sleep is fleeting! If this is a book you have read I would love to hear from you good or bad;)
"If it were your Harry, mother, or your Willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader, to-morrow morning, -if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had only from twelve o'clock till morning to make good your escape, -how fast could you walk? How many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom, -the little sleepy head on your shoulder, -the small, soft arm trustingly holding on to your neck?" (p.43)
"And oh! mother that reads this, has there never been in your house a drawer, or a closet, the opening of which has been to you like the opening again of a little grave? Ah! happy mother that you are, if it has not been so.
"Mrs. Bird slowly opened the drawer. There were little coats of many a form and pattern, piles of aprons, and rows of small stockings: and even a pair of little shoes, worn and rubbed at the toes, were peeping from the folds of a paper. there was a toy horse and wagon, a top, a ball, -memorials gathered with many a tear and a heart-break! She sat down by the drawer, and, leaning her head on her hands over it, wept till the tears fell through her fingers into the drawer: then suddenly raising her head, she began with nervous haste, selecting the plainest and most substantial articles, and gathering them into a bundle.
"Mama," said one of the boys, gently touching her arm, "are you going to give away those things?"
"My dear boys," she said, softly and earnestly, "if our dear, loving little Henry looks down from heaven, he would be glad to have us do this. I could not find it in my heart to give them away to any common person- to anybody that was happy; but I give them to a mother more heart-broken and sorrowful than I am; and I hope God will send his blessings with them!"
"There are in this world blessed souls, whose sorrows all spring up into joys for others; whose earthly hopes, laid in the grave with many tears, are the seed from which spring healing flowers and balm for the desolate and the distressed. Among such was the delicate woman who sits there by the lamp, dropping slow tears, while she prepares the memorials of her own lost one for the outcast wanderer." (P. 75)
"Patience! patience! ye whose hearts swell indignant at wrongs like these. Not one throb of anguish, not one tear of the oppressed, is forgotten by the Man of Sorrows, the Lord of Glory. In his patient, generous bosom he bears the anguish of the world. Bear thou, like him, in patience, and labor in love; for sure as he is God, "the year of his redeemed shall come." (P. 111)
I know, sorry for such a long post! Like I said I am hooked. I wish I had all of the time in the world to read this book, but alas, I have 4 children. Morning comes way to early and sleep is fleeting! If this is a book you have read I would love to hear from you good or bad;)
Friday, June 4, 2010
I LOVE to read!
I have found that the more I read the more I want to read! There are limitless stories out there and I only wish I had all the time in the world to sit and read them all. I love the feel of a good book in my hands. Snuggling up in my blanket in the winter, or laying in a hammock in the summer. I feel there is a story for every season of the year and every season of life. So the purpose of this blog is to have a place to review the books I am reading. Don't be surprised to see quotes thrown in through out my journey into a book!
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