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Showing posts with label Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenge. Show all posts

Monday, December 31, 2018

List of 52 Books I'd like to Read in 2019

I'm going to try something I've never tried before. I am going to set my reading goal for 2019 at 52 books. (You can track with me on Goodreads HERE.) Usually I like to go with the flow of things and pick books randomly as the year trots along and who knows but that I'll do that yet. However, I'd like to conduct a little experiment and see how much I could read from a planned list of books. Let us see.

Out of 52 books I'd like to leave room for 12 random reads because something tells me this experiment doesn't stand a chance unless there's room for some amount of flexibility!

That leaves 40 books to select and put on a Prepared Reading List for 2019.  In no particular order, these are the titles I'd really like to get to in 2019. Many are from my own bookshelves and there are some I'm probably going to be forced to collect. (Wink)

Starting with the most important read of the year and moving on from there -

1. I'll be using the One Year Chronological Study Bible this year again. I've used it for the past 5(ish?) years and I find it the easiest, most consistent way to make sure I read through the Bible every year. It's laid out by date which is ever so helpful as I'm not trying to keep track of a separate piece of paper and keep track of readings. Why that's a challenge for me, I don't know, but I do know that this particular One Year Bible has been tremendously handy and feel I ought to stick with it!

Account for Flexible Reads -

2 - 13. Open slots for flexibility.

BOOKS FOR ME

Fiction - 

14. The Clockmakers Daughter, by Kate Morton. This title was just released this fall. LOVE Kate Morton. My son gave me this book for Christmas and I can't wait to dive in.

15. The Story Peddler, by Lindsay Franklin. Another gift from another son for Christmas. (It was a very good, bookish sort of Christmas!)

16. Carrie's War, by Nina Bawden. I picked this one up in Scotland because, I mean, how could I not?

17. Daddy Long Legs, by Jean Webster. I picked up the Puffins Classic version because a.) it's pretty and b.) I haven't read this book yet.

18. A Rogue's Life, by Wilkie Collins

19. Golden Lads, by Daphnie Du Maurier

20. Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner

21. Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, by Brian Jacques

22. Along the Shore, by L.M. Montgomery

23. The Gown, by Jennifer Robson (I have a review copy for this one!)


Non-Fiction - 

24. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, by Nabeel Quireshi

25. Victoria and Abdul, by Shrabani Basu (I'm terribly iffy on this one and if there was a book I might change my mind about, this would be the one. I picked it up at the library book sale after hearing about the movie. Reading the back of the book makes me rethink things. We'll see.)

26. The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence, by Gavin de Becker (Came highly recommended by a friend of mine.)

27. It's Not Supposed to Be This Way, by Lysa Terkuerst


Books I'd like to Re-Read - 

28. Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss

29. Hinds' Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard

30 - 41. The Mitford Series, by Jan Karon

To Read With the Kids

42. The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart (a re-read, but the younger kids don't remember it)

43. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

44 - 49. The First Five Great Mouse Detective Books, by Eve Titus

50. The Magic Faraway Tree, by Enid Blyton

51. Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard Atwater

52. Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Cleary

That's a wrap.

Even just writing down those titles made me realize how little reading time I've carved out for myself of late and how small a stack 52 books really is when all is said and done. Clearly I shall die with a TBR list that's 14,000 miles long. I'm sure you can appreciate the feeling, yes? Writing this down motivates me to read, read, read and see if I can best myself. But. If all I read are 52 books it will be good and I need to be satisfied with that! Here's to books, the places they take us, and how much that they teach us!

Happy 2019 everyone!

Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand

VICTORY IS MINE!!!

I don't want to write a big long blog post about this but I did want to say that three many long years ago Shonya challenged me to read Atlas Shrugged. I meant to do the deed in one year but it has taken three.

But I did it.


I have been asked if I would recommend it to others.

My response goes something like this....

  • It is a classic.
  • It is a work of art.
  • It requires you to think. A lot. Hard. 
  • It is detailed and memorable.
  • It requires something of you.
  • It makes demands.
  • I wouldn't say that it's a Must Read. But I'd give you a round of applause of you went after it.


It's definitely high school reading material (on up) due to some of the content. I wouldn't suggest it to my kids until they were in high school.

I feel I have now earned the right to watch the movie TRILOGY. (There is no way to wrap this book up on a screen an a measly hour and a half!)

Now I'm spinning circles feeling free as a bird wondering what on earth I should read next . . . !

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Little House on the Prairie :: Read Aloud Thursday/ LIW Reading Challenge

It is time for another Read Aloud Thursday over at Hope is the Word!

*****

Also, I'm trailing behind in wrapping up our participation in Barbara's Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge which she hosted in February. We started reading Little House on the Prairie in February. We just didn't manage to complete it before the month was over! We finally finished it this past Tuesday morning.

Last year, also as part of Barbara's challenge, we read Little House in the Big Woods (linked to our experience) and really enjoyed it. I've been waiting all year to read Little House on the Prairie aloud with my oldest bookworm. I'd say we had even more fun this year than last year.

To recap: in this particular story, the Ingalls family leaves their house in the big woods and travel west where they settle down on the prairie, which is in Indian territory. There Pa builds them a beautiful log house and they explore deserted Indian camps, fight a prairie fire and help some cowboys move their livestock through the area. I thought it was great fun to read this story as we so happen to live in a log house ourselves. Hearing about how Pa built the Ingalls home made me appreciate cranes, that's all I can say! (I'm right sure that Jonathan appreciates them even more than I do. But at least my ankles are safe!)

Little House on the Prairie is notable for it's negative slant against the Indians. Man, Ma really didn't like Indians! I had forgotten how vicious she was in her opinions. Since I had forgotten, I was a little unprepared to talk through the subject with my oldest (age 6). However, it's kind of easy to explain about differences between people's skin colors and heritage because my second born is Asian. I explained that Ma was frightened by a people that she couldn't understand in speech or actions. The Indians were different from the white people and both peoples wanted to live in the same place. I explained - in a way that I think the six year old mind could comprehend - that both sides treated the other side poorly. And we talked about the need to work hard to communicate accurately and well with others, as well as the need to not be afraid of someone just because they look different. ("Are you scared of your brother?" "Did he understand our language when he came over?" "Do you think he was scared of us then? Is he now?" Etc.)

One thing I very much appreciated was Pa's attitude throughout the book. No matter how negative Ma was, Pa always jumped in with a positive. He "kept calm and carried on" and he worked hard to keep peace. If we can believe everything that Laura wrote about her father, he was a really cool and interesting fellow! Hard working, honest, strong and fun. What's not to like about him? (If you think of something I may be shocked.)

A little Q & A between us:

Me: What was the hardest thing that Pa built?
Bookworm1: The log house!

Me: Who is your favorite character and why?
Bookworm1: Laura, because she was so funny.

Me: What was the scariest thing that happened to the Ingalls family in this book?
Bookworm1: The night the Indians wanted to make war. ("Indian War Cry")

Another thing we did, following the reading of various chapters, was to look up Youtube videos of some of the songs which Pa played with his fiddle. This video of Old Tom Jones is particularly fun to watch:

I didn't even have to ask Bookworm1 if he enjoyed this read. I know he did because he would ask me to read multiple chapters at a time. "Read the next one!!!" was an oft repeated request. We managed to stretch it out but we really did enjoy every single minute of it. Lastly, I'll leave you with a picture of our house taken a few weeks ago - when the skies were blue and we were outside enjoying the beauty of the world. Very thankful for our glass windows when it's rainy and overcast though!
Thanks, Barbara, for hosting this challenge again so that we could dive back into the Little House books. Such fun!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Fall Into Reading 2012 :: Conclusion


Why is it time? How is this over all ready?

As I've said before (many times) I love Katrina's Fall Into Reading Challenge because it focuses me at the tail end of my reading year.

So, to get to the point, how'd I do? I did interestingly. My list and the results:


1. Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe (linked to my review)

I re-read this one and really appreciated it. In fact, it made my list of Top Ten Favorite Reads in 2012.

2. Jewel of Persia, by Roseanna M. White

I didn't get to this one, as I explained HERE.

3. A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Completed. (It's an easy read!) This one is the book of the month for the Reading to Know Book Club and we'll be discussing it next week. You still have plenty of time to read it if you like! It's a quick one.



4. The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published, by David Skinner

Just didn't happen.

5. Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, by Sean Howe (Linked to my review.)

I rather wish that one didn't happen.

6. And Now We Shall Do Manly Things, by Craig J. Heimbuch (Linked to my partial review.)

As I explained, I wanted to like this one. But I couldn't. Regrettably.

7. Double Blind (Linked to my review)

My first Brandilyn Collins book. I won't say it will be my last but I probably won't be reading another of her books anytime soon.

8. The Midwife of Hope River (Linked to my review over at 5 Minutes for Books.)

I liked it on the whole.



9. The Second World War, Volume 2: Their Finest Hour, by Winston Churchill

Why do I even keep mentioning this one? I'm just torturing myself. I want to read it. I just have to make the time and I haven't done that yet.

10 and 11. Horton's Miraculous Mechanisms and Horton's Incredible Illusions (Linked to my reviews.)

Liked them both! Highly recommended middle grade reader.

12. One More Sunrise, by Michael Landon Jr. and Tracie Peterson

I've carried this book with me all over my house. Some days it sits on my desk, some days it's next to the bed. Other times I find it on the kitchen table. Yet it remains unread.

13. Choosing Gratitude, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

A hoped for re-read that hasn't happened. Actually, what happened was that I picked it up and re-read the first chapter and realized it was going to require some hefty attention. I wasn't able to give it adequate attention and haven't picked it back up.

14. Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth, by Douglas Wilson and Douglas Jones.

I keep mentioning that I really want to read this. So, I finally decided that enough was enough and I was just going to read it already! I sat down and struggled through the first chapter. I once mentioned this as one of my Top Ten Spiritual Growth Books. And I realized when I started reading it again that I had already internalized it as much as I needed to. It was once hugely inspirational to me and it did, in fact, change my worldview. However, this worldview has become so much a part of who I am that I wasn't moved nearly as much in the second reading as my first. The first read was revolutionizing and the second just sounded like something I already knew.

This being a very odd realization to me, I decided not to re-read the book. I think I will do best re-reading it alongside my kids when they become old enough to find the information useful and applicable. But for the moment, I'm good with it. There are other areas of life which I need to focus on and I didn't want to spend the time rehashing information I've already come to terms with.

Of course I read plenty of books which were NOT on my Fall Into Reading list, but this post merely concludes the challenge. I read 50% of the books on the list. I don't rightly know whether or not I should feel bad about that. One thing I do know is that I'm not going to let guilt weigh me down. ;)

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Becoming a Superb Writer

The path towards becoming a superb writer is a worthy pursuit. The Superb Writers' Blogathon, hosted by Grammarly grammar checker lets bloggers share their favorite tips for effective composition.

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I was asked if I wanted to participate in a Blogathon hosted by Grammarly. For full-disclosure purposes, you should know that in exchange for participation I was awarded an Amazon gift card.

One of the questions posed to participants in this Blogathon is to answer the question, "What makes a superb writer?" There is a reasonable expectation that I will be able to answer this question.

First, I have to confess that I am slightly amused with myself to be participating in this Blogathon, as I do not consider myself a superb writer. In fact, I tend to think of myself as a very poor writer who happens to have very strong opinions. My opinions and beliefs might make me interesting to read or listen to, but my writing skills frequently opens the floor for me to be embarrassed by things as little as a misplaced comma to an issue as large as a miscommunication. Words, and how we choose to use them, do have an effect on the reader or listener. I believe this to be true and so I do like to know when I'm making mistakes in the way I write.

I think it very important that anyone who decides to publish any of their own words online (be it on a blog, Twitter or Facebook) should take great care in crafting what they say to represent their best thoughts in the most accurate manner possible. As I've said, and will re-affirm, words do have a great effect. Written words carry great power as they can influence and effect change on even the most unsuspecting person. When writing things online for the world to see, I think one should pay great attention to detail. (If you know me at all, you know that I'm not big on details. I'm more of what you might call a big idea type of gal.) This is exactly why I'm rather intrigued with the idea of Grammarly. For those of us who might not be as detailed oriented, this is a handy little tool which can help to write more effectively and beautifully. Grammarly offers you the ability to check your text for errors before you hit that "publish" button. Not only will you be notified of errors which you can have the opportunity to correct, but there is the added benefit and side-effect of being left alone by The Grammar Police. (The Grammar Police are those friendly people who seldom comment on your blog except when they want to correct your grammar, all while completely ignoring the idea which you were striving to communicate.)

Anything which helps me learn to be a better writer is appreciated by myself as I'm harsher with myself than anyone else. (If we're all being honest here, I'm sure a few of you would appreciate my improving in this area as well!)

When asked to provide a tip or two of what makes a superb writer, I only came up with one piece of advice.

1. Care. Care about what it is you are saying and the manner in which you say it. Think about how other people will read your words and be effected by them.

Yes, I know that blogs are supposed to be people's online diaries. We "aren't supposed to judge" people based on the way they "express themselves." But people do judge and should judge a person based on how they express themselves. I will be judged for that last statement, no matter how accepting the reader is. Why? Because I had an opinion and I expressed it. I act on it and I believe in my opinion. I wrote it down, making it instantly available for critique and dissection. You will walk away with an opinion and view of me based on that published sentence. So it stands to reason that I should care about that sentence and think about how I am crafting it. I want it to communicate everything that I think. I hope that it will. Realistically though, we fail in our words and so I will fail to communicate thoroughly and accurately. I only have the written word to communicate with. So I should treat my ability to write and publish what I write online with the utmost respect and consideration for the finer details.

I may misplaces my commas. I may struggle with semicolons. Occasionally I play around with parenthesis. But in all of that, I do care and am working to become a more superb writer. With a little patience and time to devote to improving, I too might one day be classified as a superb writer. Or, perhaps, just a little less un-superb.

******
Now let's try a little experiment. I took the text that I wrote above and stuck it into Grammarly. I scored a 52 out of a 100 and was told that my writing was weak and could stand some revision.

Original result:

1 spelling error
24 issues with grammar
6 issues with punctuation
20 issues with style and word choice
= 52 Critical Writing issues spotted.

I then went back and revised everything I had originally written and stuck my revised text into the Grammarly system.

Revised result:
= 47 Critical Writing issues spotted.

Somewhat pathetically I scored a 53. Only slight improvement. It doesn't like the way I express myself and it thinks I'm misspelling Grammarly which is entirely not my fault. Heh.

This little experiment definitely gives me more to work on and think about! In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at improving my writing.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Spring Reading Thing '12



It is with some amount of fear and trepidation that I am participating in Katrina's Spring Reading Thing which she hosts over at Callapider Days. With all of the upheaval in our lives these days (following The Great Smoke Out) I'm not sure if I can truly accomplish any reading goals. This next week in particular promises to be full of house activity as we're *hoping* that we will able to move back in within the next two weeks. There are still lots of unknowns but there is plenty of work to be done to prepare the house.

On the other hand, a goal is probably just what I need to help me to prioritize my reads. So, without further ado (but with much thought and care) I think I will make the following my reading goals for the Spring:

Review Copies I Need to Get To:

1. Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West. I'm very much looking forward to diving into this one! I'm particularly interested in it, given the fact that our second born son was adopted from South Korea.

2. Family Vocation: God's Calling in Marriage, Parenting, and Childhood, by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.

3. Secret Life of a Fool: One Man's Raw Journey from Shame to Grace

4. A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel, by John Irving. This is a modern novel (due out in April) but I thought I'd take a gamble on it.

Most excited for:



(Jonathan beat me to the book. I'm waiting for him to finish it.)

Reading to Know 2012 Bookclub Reads:

1. In April we're focusing on P.G. Wodehouse. I'd like to read at least two Wodehouse books.

2. In May we're reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Please feel free to join in for both (or any) months that you wish! I'm really hoping that people unfamiliar with P.G. Wodehouse, in particular, will give the guy a try in April! To find out what books are coming down the pike the remainder of this year, click on the button below.

Reading to Know - Book Club


Personal Reads:

1. Emma, by Jane Austen (A hoped-for re-read.)

2. Pippi Longstocking (Thanks to Annette who kindly sent me a copy!)

3. Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth, by Douglas Jones and Douglas Wilson. (Another re-read which I felt I really ought to get to after declaring it to be one of my top ten spiritual growth books. Also, it is one of the first books I received back from the cleaning company that actually came back smelling decent!)

4. The Second World War, Volume 2: Their Finest Hour, by Winston Churchill. (After completing The Gathering Storm last fall, I'm interested to move into the second book in Churchill's World War II series.)

Most excited for:



If I can make it through that stack, I'll be quite pleased!

Thanks, Katrina, for offering us the opportunity to prioritize our reading list. This certainly brings clarity to my reading processes and I'm grateful for the Spring Reading Thing reading celebration!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I really wasn't anticipating reading any of the Little House books again for a few more years. Certainly not outloud to my son. However, when Barbara announced that she would be hosting a Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge, I thought that the least we could do was give Little House in the Big Woods a try with Bookworm1 and see how it went. And it went! It went well! I never realized how perfectly suited (at least the first book is) to ages 5 and up. As Wilder tells the story of her growing up years in the Big Woods with Pa, Ma, Mary and Baby Carrie she explains in ways that young children can understand. You truly learn how they went about making cheese, threshing wheat and making hats. She brings sometimes complicated chores down to a level where children can visualize them. I loved that! I'm so very glad that we took the time to read this together.



I have to confess that I've only read through this series once before in my lifetime. I distinctly remember my mother suggesting to me that I should read them when I was younger but I don't remember ever following through and doing so. (I was all about Nancy Drew at the time, as I recall.) My mom read this book when she was in grade school and, in fact, chose my name in reading this book. Yup! I'm named for Baby Carrie in the Little House books! (So you'd think I'd feel a tighter connect to it somehow. I don't, but it's an interesting fact all the same.)

I won't rehash the storyline as you are likely familiar with it. Instead I'll just share Bookworm1's reaction to the various stories Laura shares in this book.

In Chapter One there is my skinning and smoking of animals to prepare meat for the winter months. Making the pig bladder balloon received the biggest reaction from my son. I had prefaced the book by saying that this was a true story of a real family and the things that they did "a long time ago." We finished up reading about the pig bladder balloon and his only question was:

"Why is this story so yucky!?"


Moving on to Chapter Two "we" discovered that Laura and Mary were involved in helping with various household tasks, including the making of their own bed.

"Why do they make their bed EVERY DAY?!"


From there on out the general reaction to the book was, "WHY? WHY? WHY?" Why work so hard for cheese? Why spend days twisting straw to make hats? Why, most especially, do they have to sit quiet and still all through Sunday?! (This, as you might imagine, was mind blowing to the boy.) It opened up an interesting conversation between us though. I explained that they believed you should rest on the Sabbath and to them that meant playing quietly and being still all day long.

"Mommy, do we believe that?!"
"Well, what do you think?"
"No, not really."
"Well, we believe that God made a day for us to rest in, just as He rested on the seventh day of Creation. But we don't believe that we are supposed to sit quiet and still and do nothing on that day. It's the day that the Lord has made and we're to REJOICE in it!" (My explanation was longer but you get the gist. If you don't, I have a post in which I intend to lay out our views of Sabbath Rest in a bit.)


I went on to explain that Christians believe different things about how they are to behave on Sundays but I was able to explain what we believed which is always good to know when you live in our household. (Ha!)

I did get a little bored during the chapter about the Harvest and I skipped past Laura's descriptions of the women's dresses at the dance. However, on the whole this was a very fun story to read aloud and I'm grateful to Barbara for hosting this challenge to give us a good reason to launch into this fabulous story.

I'm linking this post up to Barbara's Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge and also to Amy's Read Aloud Thursday post over at Hope is the Word.


Read-Aloud Thursday at Hope Is the Word

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Reading to Know Bookclub :: January 2012

Reading to Know - Book Club


Yup! You got it! It's time to get this show on the road as well. (The 2012 Reading to Know Online Bookclub will run simultaneously with other challenges, such as the Lucy Maud Montgomery Challenge which got underway yesterday.)

This month, for our bookclub, we're reading Beyond Opinion, by Ravi Zacharias.



Sky will be leading the discussion for this book, as it is her pick. Here's a quick blurb from her on this particular read:

*****


I chose Beyond Opinion, by Ravi Zacharias because I've been meaning to read it and I know that once I start, it will require dog-earing, highlighting and underlining. I will be going back over passages and re-reading many paragraphs and being held accountable by the book club, which will help me persevere!

Zacharias didn't actually write the whole book; the chapters are by different people. I flipped to the back of the book and read "About the Contributors" to help me understand each person better as I read.

I have read several RZ books. Jesus Among Other Gods is my favorite so far.

I am eager to get started and will be posting on a regular basis on my book blog: Peace, Love and Books.

An excerpt from RZ:

"My prayer is that you will be blessed and equipped as you study these pages. This may not be a "read-through" book that can be absorbed in a single sitting. But I suggest to you that is is a "must-read" book for our times."


Welcome New Year! Let's read!

*****


You have until Friday, January 27th to read this book. At that time I will post the concluding post for the month of January. On the 27th you will be invited to link up your post/share your thoughts on this title. I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about this one at the end of the month!

Just a reminder, feel free to pick and choose which months you would like to participate with this bookclub. You are not obligated to read along with the group every single month. Not every title will appeal to every person all year long. Just do the best you can and read as many as you like. We look forward to discussing each individual monthly title with you on the last Friday of every month. Hope you'll "play along" with us every now and again through 2012!

February's title: Running Away to Home, by Jennifer Wilson
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