Reading is a hobby!

Some of you have been admitting that you are slow at reading books and that you think it's a sad or bad thing. I disagree. I think of reading as a hobby and as you can see, a hobby is...

Hob-by

1. An activity or interest pursued
for pleasure or relaxation and not
as a main occupation.

It should never be a drudgery! I know that sometimes we have to read books that aren't quite to our taste like some books for school but most of the reading we do is for the pure pleasure of reading and getting transported to another time or place. The important thing is not how long or short of a time it took you to read but whether you enjoyed it or not. You should read what you want and enjoy it at whatever pace you read!

Some people read 30 books a year, some only read 3 or even 1. Me, I'm a voracious reader. If I'm not reading a book I feel....well, I'm always reading so I don't know how I feel when I'm not reading! But, I just love to read and I will stay up all hours and read, read, read to the detriment of my sleep and health! Now, my sister Marg doesn't read near as many books as I but that does not mean that she doesn't enjoy books or reading as much. She enjoys reading every bit as much as I do!

The lovely thing about books is that they will always be there for you to read. They wont expire, die or fade away over time. So, when you get to them, whether it's tomorrow or years from now, they will be there waiting for you to pick them up and get lost in their pages.

Reading is not a chore or a test with a time limit, it's a hobby! It's a joy!

Happy reading!
Love, Jane

'Tis the season...

...to read Little Women again! As most of you readers know, it's my tradition to read Little Women every year. I always read the first chapter "Playing Pilgrims" on Thanksgiving night.

So, any of you that what to join me, please do! And I would love to know how you are coming along, what your favorite parts are and everything else. Leave comments! ;) My sister Aimee is going to read it at the same time. Yay!

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving day!

Love,

Jane

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Every once in awhile I love to wander through the children's section in the library and randomly pick up some books I've never heard of that sound interesting and take them home and be surprised.
My most recent find was 'The Mysterious Benedict Society' by Trenton Lee Stewart.
It was a fun read, kept you curious until the end and you came to love all the quirky characters and I was quite sad to leave them by the end. But I wont give too much away as to keep it a mystery. ;)

Currently I'm reading through the Lemony Snicket books, Little Dorrit, Mansfield Park, and a lovely book of Keat's poetry.

What are you reading?

A Bad Beginning

Just to let you know, I just finished the first book in the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. It is called The Bad Beginning. The Bad Beginning is a great beginning! :) Cannot wait to read more. I love the movie with Jim Carey in it.

On to The Reptile Room!

I also started Bleak House! Yay! I love it already. This is actually my first Charles Dickens novel. I have read The Christmas Carol and it is lovely but Bleak House is the first long novel of his I have ever read. So excited! I love the way he writes. He describes things so well with so much detail without the story getting bogged down and lost. The story moves along quite nicely. In my opionion anyway. :) I must say though, that I have always loved long descriptive books.

I will let you know how I get on.
What you are you all reading at the moment?
Have a lovely day.
Jane

Past, Present and Future

Books I got to read this Summer:

Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Freddy and the Popinjay by Walter R. Brooks
The Sackett Brand by Louis L'Amour
The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
The Tutors First Love by George MacDonald


What I'm reading right now:

Wulf the Saxon by G.A. Henty
The Musician's Quest by George MacDonald

Next on the reading list:

Bleak House by Charles Dickens (Thank you Lizzie for the birthday gift!!!!)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (also from Lizzie.. :))
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (I want to read these again. I haven't read them since the movies came out. My sister is reading The Hobbit to me and my sister Aimee. So good!)

What's on your list of "To Read"'? Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Summer!
Love,
Jane
P.S. Don't you want a library like one of the ones above??

Oh you Words.

Fun. I guess we use the word "series" a lot. :) Click on picture to view larger. Wordle your blog!

~Jane

Summer Reading

Hello! It seems like it's been ages since I last blogged about what I'm reading...probably because everything I'm currently reading is in a series and I tend to feel like the book hasn't ended until the series has...but I thought I'd let you in on my thoughts so far. ;)

One series I'm currently thoroughly enjoying is the Carolina Cousins by Michael Phillips. This is the sequel series to the Shenandoah Sisters which is another amazing series! I'm now on the last book and I absolutely love them. I love Michael Phillips writing...whenever I read his books I feel like I am taking a journey with the characters and learning important life lessons right alongside them. I love his style and courageous depth. :)

Next I'm hoping to start some classics. I have yet to finish an entire Dickens novel, a goal I'd like to reach this summer, and I've been dying to delve into some Bronte. There's also a couple Jane Austen novels I have yet to read, (I know, shocking...right?) and some fantasy books I want to read.
Here's a list of my ideas: (which have the liberty to change at any given moment...haha)

~Villette by Charlotte Bronte

~Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

~Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

~Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

~Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

~Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

~Emma by Jane Austen

~Eragon by Christopher Paolini

~Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I'm sure there are tons more I can't think of right now that I've been wanting to read but those are a few. :) I'm also reading Ivanhoe which I'm really loving. It's taking me awhile to get through though. But I'll finish it soon.
Hope you all are having a great summer so far and enjoying some great summer reading! Tell us what your currently reading or want to read...we'd love to know!

~Elizabeth