Spring Into Reading 2009 – With Additions
Mar 20th, 2009 by Shalee
Yay! Yay! Yay! It’s the first day of Spring! I’m so completely excited about this special day, the day when, if nothing else, I can leave winter behind in my mind. I’d love to leave it behind altogether, but sometimes the temperature doesn’t agree with my idea of weather bliss.
Give me a good solid 85 and I’m good to go.
Spring is also the time to celebrate my love of reading! Thanks to Katrina at Callipidder Days, we can all join in the read-a-thon during the Spring Into Reading 2009. It doesn’t matter if you commit to one or 28 books; the point is just to get reading!
Since my reading has been hit or miss of late, I’m going to stick to some of the books that I KNOW I can get at any time from the library: the classics. I’m sorry to say that at most any time, I can retrieve great literature from the shelves. I can’t say the same about new movies or mediocre, easy to read books.
Sigh. That’s just me being a book snob. Sorry.
I’ve made it a point to pick out classics that I’ve not read, all but one. (The one I have read, I’m reading again because it’s been years and the title has been teasing me and calling my name for a while.) I’m ashamed to admit that there are more on the “not-read” list than on the “been there, read that” list. I aim to remedy that situation this time, at least by a few books.
- The Bible (Luke, John and Acts) – Hey it’s the ultimate non-fiction classic!
- Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen (Read it, loved it, need to read it again!)
- Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
- Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper
- Silas Marner – George Eliot
- My Antonia – Willa Cather
- Agnes Gray – Anne Bronte
- The Secret Adversary – Agatha Christie
- The Touchstone – Edith Wharton
- The Moonstone – by Wilkie Collins
- Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
The following are your suggestions:
Thanks for the suggested reading! I can’t wait to get started on them! The list is still short, but at least it looks somewhat closer to normal. Keep the suggestions coming please.
Oh, and so others won’t think that I’m ignoring their fabulous reading ideas, I have read Rebecca, Ethan Frome, Little Woman, Picture of Dorian Gray, The Great Gatsby, Les Miserable, The Count of Monte Cristo, A Tale of Two Cities, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and all Jane Austen. By the way, if you haven’t read them, I highly recommend that you do, especially Les Mis and A Tale of Two Cities in the unabridged forms. They are exquisite stories which will make you cry, feel great about humanity and cause you to think about the story lines for weeks to come.
Now, if any of you follow me regularly, you will realize that this list is extremely short. If you don’t follow me, then… well the list is short. I guess whether you read me or not doesn’t come into play at all. J But I still need your help to get my reputation back on track.
Here’s where you come in:
Tell me a classic that you think I should read during this reading challenge. If I haven’t read it, I’ll add it to the list and thereby expand my mind.
Come on and help a girl out here… I’m counting on you to keep me out of trouble and into books. Besides, the kids are coming back home tomorrow and I need to give them the impression that I’ve not spent the time that they were away watching Season 3 of The Office….
PS: Just to set a record straight, I wasn’t looking for accolades yesterday about taking the girl in for the next week. I was trying to let y’all in on what’s going on in our world today. I agree with what several of you said; this may be one shot for her to see Christ with skin on. I hope God will use it to His full effect – for both the girl and the mother.
Shalee:
I have read so few of the classics that I would need to ask you. I see Willa Cather…a distant relative of my family. I am praying that your house guest benefits from her stay with you and that God blesses your generous heart.
Have A Fantastic Friday
from A Raggedy Roberta Anne
My first comment…I mostly just lurk .
I don’t really know what you’ve already read, but here are a couple that I think are pretty good: Rebecca, Around the World in 80 Days (just read this for book club and definitely enjoyed it), Mansfield Park (also read this for book club…my first Jane Austen). I love seeing what you’re reading and have enjoyed some of your previous suggestions. Thanks!
hhmmm…what classic to read? crickey… i have Little Women by Lousia May Alcott calling out to me as of late. It’s been fo’eve since i read it. May I suggest to not bother with James Joyce, Ulysses. (apologies to those who’ve read it and enjoyed it). I started it 3 different times – i’m still considering clawing my eyes out.
I’ve been slowly working my way through classics the last few years, but the only one of those I’ve read is the first one. Others I’d suggest:
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (the abridged version. I’m currently reading the unabridged…and I can see why it is abridged…)
The Count of Monte Cristo (my favorite of Dumas)
A Tale of Two Cities or David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (never was much interested in this one until a former pastor described Uncle Tom as “the kind of Christian you’ve aways wanted to be.”)
To Kill a Mockingbird
You’ve probably read these, but any of the rest of Austen, Lousia May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, L. M. Montgomery.
A Favorite children’s one: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.
At 5minutesforbooks.com we have a Classics Bookclub that meets the first Tuesday of every month. It’s fun to post about the classics (and otherwise I would NEVER read them).
So–Jules Verne Around the World in 80 Days is for April
The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald, for May
Rebecca by DuMaurier
Oops–for June (is Rebecca). July is any work by Alcott, so I’m hoping to do a read-aloud with my daughter.
Also, the “Classics Bookclub” in the above comment is linked if you want to check out our “discussions” of past books.
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Another Great list that I haven’t read!
Happy Reading!
This is a great idea! One older book I read recently and adored was I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.
Oh, I am horrible about reading the classics. I try to do it occasionally, but I admit they are never the first ones I reach for. So I’m sure that you’ve already read the ones I could recommend, but I’ll do it anyway: Rebecca, Around the World in Eighty Days, As I Lay Dying (Faulkner), The Picture of Dorian Gray. Whatever you decide on, enjoy!
A short one I read last year that I thought was great: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. That lady could really tell a story and paint a picture with her words. Good luck and happy classics reading
The only ones I can think of are the Little House on the Prairie series and Little Women. I’m embarrassed to say the classics are not usually on my list because I don’t think of them.
We’ve recently enjoyed _Quo Vadis?_ by Henryk Sienkiewicz, and _The Moonstone_ by Wilkie Collins.
The two older girls and I belong to a mother/daughter literature group and we read 12 classics each year. It has been a great tool for keeping us accountable and on our toes!
Hey Shalee- My picks for you:
Middlemarch- by George Eliot
Henderson the Rain King- by Saul Bellow
Midnight’s Children- Salman Rushdie
Emily
Ok, don’t say I never do anything for ya. Here ya go a list of the top 48 classics to read:
http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2007/10/12/48-classic-books-to-boost-your-learning-experience/
I’m sure you can find one or two in there that strikes your fancy. :v)
[...] Shalee’s Diner placed an observative post today on Spring Into Reading 2009 – With AdditionsHere’s a quick excerptYay! Yay! Yay! It’s the first day of Spring! I’m so completely excited about this special day, the day when, if nothing else, I can leave winter behind in my mind. I’d love to leave it behind altogether, but sometimes the temperature doesn’t agree with my idea of weather bliss. Give me a good solid 85 and I’m good to go. Spring is also the time to celebrate my love of reading! Thanks to Katrina at Callipidder Days , we can all join in the read-a-thon during [...]
Have you read Jane Eyre? It’s one of my all-time favs and I re-read it every few years. Also, I notice a dearth of Russian writers on your list. Have you read Anna Karenina or Crime and Punishment? I LOVE C&P; it’s sooo good. It’s years since I read it.
Russian lit is heavy for spring weather though. Maybe you should read through Shakespeare’s comedies? I did that a few years ago and really enjoyed it.
Also I LOVE Silas Marner and think you will too. And have you read Tale of Two Cities by Dickens? Also a fav of mine. I like Oliver Twist too. Very Victorian (sentimental, etc), but good.
You know what? It’s spring. I think you should read The Wind in the Willows, The House at Pooh Corner, Emily of New Moon and The Princess and the Goblins. You need something light. Save the others for cold rain.
Last year I read The Handmaid’s Tale and Brave New World and was surprised at how much I liked them both.
I love your list! I have always aspired to read more classics….maybe that’s what I will read this summer! There are so many I have NOT read!
does Sir Arthur Conan Doyle count as classics?
The one classic I really want to read cover to cover is Dracula, but I have never managed to start it… happy reading!
Looks like a great list of classics you have there
Have fun reading.
Call me weird but I really enjoyed Moby Dick years ago . . . I think the trick is to push past the tedious descriptions. I loved Silas Marner. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Agatha Christie on a classics list but yes, I guess she is now! I think Ben Hur and The Robe are two of my favorite classics.
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[...] you know, I’m cruising my way through some classics this time. I figure that it makes sense to read through some literature that paved the way for a myriad of [...]