• Heritage,  Literary Pursuits

    7th Grade Reading List from 1935

    As I’ve been gathering and archiving family documents I came across this list of books my great-aunt Bonnie read when she was in 7th grade in 1935-1936. Aunt Bonnie was Grandmother’s younger sister. This would have been the school year following Grandmother’s high school graduation. I recognize a number of the titles as books I’ve read–some of them when I…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Fantasy Adventure Book Series

    I love it when friends ask me for book recommendations for their kids! My latest request comes from a local friend whose children are ages 8, 10, and 12. When I asked her what their interests were she said, “They’ve all recently read the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series. They’re into reading a lot of the same stuff right…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Books I Read in 2019

    I have been tracking my reading for the past 4 years with Goodreads. For the previous 3 years my average was about 10 books a month with around 120 books total for the year. I didn't set a specific goal to read more this past year, but it turns out I read over 200 books in 2019.

  • Literary Pursuits

    My Christmas Reading List

    It’s uncharacteristic of me, but I’ve actually started my “Christmas reading season” a little earlier than usual this year... For your Yuletide reading pleasure here are some titles I’ve recently read or intend to read before Christmas this year.

  • Literary Pursuits

    10 Cozy Reads for November

    Curling up under a fluffy blanket with a hot beverage and a good book is one of my favorite ways to combat the doldrums that tend to set in during this darkest time of the year. Remembering to be thankful and counting my blessings are also definite mood lifters. Maybe that’s why Thanksgiving comes along in November just before the…

  • Literary Pursuits

    A Book List for Little Princesses

    A friend recently asked me for book recommendations for her little girl who is into anything to do with princesses. I love compiling book lists, particularly by request, and this topic was a fun challenge for me. My friend’s little girl is 5, so my recommendations are for girls between the ages of 4 and 12.

  • Literary Pursuits

    Grace Livingston Hill

    One author that holds nostalgic memories for me is Grace Livingston Hill. She lived from 1865-1947 so, no, I was not reading her novels when they were first released. They were actually already very vintage by the time I was reading them in the 1980s. Grace Livingston Hill wrote over 100 novels and our public library had many of them…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Kindle Unlimited Reading List

    Do you know about the Kindle Unlimited program where you can "borrow" an unlimited number of books from Amazon to read on your Kindle? ...I wasn't sure how many titles I was actually interested in reading would be available that way. So I started an ongoing list of books on my "to be read" list that are available on Kindle…

  • Literary Pursuits

    10 Favorite Book Series for Girls

    I learned to read independently when I was 7 years old and I’ve pretty much had my nose in a book ever since. This week when a friend asked for some series book recommendations for girls ages 8 and 10, my mind went back to my family’s weekly library visits in the 1970s. I can’t remember if our public library…