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Saturday, December 8, 2012

My Book List

I love books: I love to read, I love their smell, the way they sit so nicely in your hand. I'm not usually picky about what I read. Granted, I have my favorite authors and subjects, but I'll give almost everything a chance.

Lately I've been in a reading rut. I'm reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for a second time, and am loving it more this time than when I read it last year. Part of that is because I'm addicted to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern day adaptation of the book done in a video blog style. It's fantastic, and even though they've changed things a bit, it's helping me understand what's happening in the book better. If you're interested in becoming addicted like me watching them, start with the first vlog here. Other than P&P, I'm kind of stuck as what to read next. I've read all the books I own and most that are at our library that my author's have written or are in the genres I like, and don't know where to go from here.

Along the same lines, I'm thinking about what I want to do in 2013...almost like I'm making a bucket list for next year. Then it hit me:

Why don't I figure out a list of books to read for next year?

And so my Book List was born!

My goal is to read 100 books next year that I've never read before. I'll read other books as well, because there are some I just have to read over and over again. I'm not going to write out a full 100 book list, because I want to leave room for my favorite author's putting out new books, new finds at the library, or my mom sending me books (cause she's awesome like that). The list I'm working on now is just to help me get started, and actually find time to read some that I've been meaning to read but have never gotten a chance to.

Here's what I have so far:

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - I promised Pete that this would be the first book I read next year. He and his brother nag (in a loving way!) me all the time that I haven't read the series...I'm finally giving in! 
2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - Okay, so I was going to count this as three books, but then got lectured by my dear husband that it is actually one book in six parts. I learn something new every day :) 
3. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
4.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I won't forget my towel. Why, you ask? 42 :)
5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
6. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - It's the next one in my Sherlock Holmes collection to read, and I think this will be the first thing to read after Tolkien!
7. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - I read Dracula, so on to the next monster! And apparently there's a rumor that I'm actually related to Shelley...
8. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne - Only because it's a prequel to #9 on my list....
9. The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne - "A must read!" says my hubby
10. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
11. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
13. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - I first heard about Dorian in a movie, and am fascinated by his story!
14. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells - Same thing with Dorian Gray, I find the idea fascinating!
15. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - Nate has a copy of this. Maybe we can read it together :)
16. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
17. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
18. Emma by Jane Austen
19. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
20. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine - Paigey will be getting this for her birthday, and she likes it when we can discuss the books she's reading/has read
21. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Another one Paige will get for her birthday. How have I not read this one???


Do you have any recommendations for what I should read? It doesn't have to be the classics!

4 comments:

  1. I just finished The girl with the dragon tattoo series (there are three of them) and I loved them! They are page turners, and I loved them even though they don't fall into my "normal" category. Also with Ender's Game... there are like 8 or 9 books that follow if you want to include those. Pretty easy read and fascinating look at society.

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  2. I read "Jane Eyre" in high school--good book. :)

    I think Jeremy owns the Ender's Game series or most of them anyway.

    "Lord of the Flies"? Seriously??? UGH. Hated that book in high school, and it obviously affected me so many years later...

    Let's see...you will have "The Kentucky Brothers" trilogy by Wanda Brunstetter to read. :D And "Plain Wisdom", I think it's called. And I'm sure a Debbie Macomber book or two. Or three. Or maybe even more. LOL

    "The Picture (or is it Portrait?) of Dorian Gray" is a fairly good book, if I remember correctly. I read that a long time ago, too.

    You know what's a good book, so much so that I did 2 reports on it in AP English? "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky.

    One I always wanted to read was "War and Peace" by Tolstoy. I only ever owned the abridged version and didn't want the shortened one. (And my dad mocked me for even wanting to read it because of it being Russian...)

    What's this rumor about being related to Mary Shelley? Where'd you hear that? Curious...

    Thank you for the "or my mom sending me books (cause she's awesome like that)"! Aw, shucks... *blush* ;)

    I might have to check to see what books we have left in the attic--got rid of so many over the years--to see if there might be something good in there for you. Will let you know!

    Enjoy! <3

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  3. Arg! I left you a huge list, but it got lost. Sorry.

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  4. My favorite authors are:
    Lawana Blackwell (The Gresham Chronicles series: The Widow of Larkspur Inn; The Courtship of the Vicar's Daughter; The Dowry of Miss Lydia Clark; & The Jewel of Gresham Green)
    (Tales of London series: The Maiden of Mayfair; Catherine's Heart; & Leading Lady)
    (Victorian Serenade series: Like a River Glorious; Measures of Grace; Jewels for a Crown; & Song of a Soul);
    Tracie Peterson (Alaskan Quest series: Summer of the Midnight Sun; Under the Northern Lights; & Whispers of Winter)
    (Yukon Quest series: Treasures of the North; Ashes and Ice; & Rivers of Gold) (Desert Roses series: Shadows of the Canyon; Across the Years; & Beneath a Harvest Sky)
    (Ladies of Liberty series: A Lady of High Regard; A Lady of Hidden Talent; & A Lady of Secret Devotion)
    and her collections of short stories, including Castles, New Mexico Sunrise, and New Mexico Sunset;
    and Lori Wick (A Place Called Home series: A Place Called Home; A Song for Silas; The Long Road Home; & A Gathering of Memories)
    (Kensington Chronicles series: The Hawk and the Jewel; Wings of the Morning; Who Brings Forth the Wind; & The Knight and the Dove)
    (The Californians series: Whatever Tomorrow Brings; As Time Goes By; Sean Donovan; & Donovan's Daughter)
    (Rocky Mountain Memories series: Where the Wild Rose Blooms; Whispers of Moonlight; To Know Her by Name; & Promise Me Tomorrow)
    (The Yellow Rose Trilogy: Every Little Thing about You; A Texas Sky; & City Girl)
    (The English Garden series: The Proposal; The Rescue; The Visitor; & The Pursuit)
    (Tucker Mills Trilogy: Moonlight on the Millpond; Just Above a Whisper; & Leave a Candle Burning)
    (Big Sky Dreams series: Cassidy; Sabrina; & Jessie)
    and her stand-alone titles of Bamboo & Lace, Every Storm, Pretense, The Princess, Sophie's Heart, and White Chocolate Moments.

    I also enjoy reading books by Tamera Alexander, Deanne Gist, Cathy Marie Hake, Judith Miller, Janette Oke (so many titles!), Stephanie Grace Whitson, and Karen Witemeyer.

    Also, the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is an interesting read. I know they can't know everything that's going to happen, but it helped me better understand some of the things that will happen during the time of Revelation.

    Let me know if you need any more ideas ... ;)

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