Overbooked - pun intended

I have read 5 books this month, making a total of 8 books read this year.

In doing research, I found Lord of the Flies is NOT based on Treasure Island. Good thing, Lord of the Flies is on my May Never Read shelf. Speaking of Treasure Island, I am still plodding along. I am 56% of the way finished. Now, instead of filling the category of being written before I was born, I'm hoping to fill the Classic spot with it on T4MRC-5.

And speaking of T4MRC-5, I've read 3 books that do not fit in any category for that challenge. I only have 70 points.

In the Let's Talk About It program I have yet to finish a book. The discussions are only a week apart & it is definitely not a subject I would have picked. Next up is Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. It is the only book I have not looked at yet. I guess I'd better do that.

Instead of reading anything I SHOULD be reading, I found A Christmas Blessing by Donna Van Liere. It is a sequel to Christmas Shoes, a book I really liked. It is told with the help of letters from Nathan's deceased mother & his letters to her. Nathan has grown into a fine young man & is studying to be a doctor. I loved the letters from mom to son & from son to mom. I could never be as eloquent as Maggie (Nathan's mom) was or to think of others when I was so sick. I remember when I was having chemo, all I could think about was how sick I was & if I died my family would be left with a legacy of clutter. Me, me, me, not how devastated my family would be without me & how could I help them in the years to come.

I am also still reading Anna Quindlin's essays from Newsweek & The New York Times, Loud & Clear.

What I am reading

My son Nick is awesome. I had downloaded Kindle For PC from Amazon last year sometime. I bought a few books & got a few more free. When the computer I had downloaded it on crashed or was updated, I lost the Kindle4PC. I had actually forgotten about it until just this last week when Nick downloaded it for me again.

Louisa May Alcott was one of my favorite authors when I was a young teenager. My mother had a set of 8 books all bound the same. I always thought those were the only 8 books Alcott had written. I read Old-Fashioned Girl every year for years. So, I have quite a few of Alcott's books on Kindle4PC. My old favorites, haven't tried any new ones. When Nick downloaded it this time, there were 3 new books on my home page. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Aesop's Fables & Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. Is Austen really spelled with an "e"?

So, I am reading Treasure Island. Can you believe I've never read it before? After I read it, I may have to read Lord of the Flies, but maybe not. Lord of the Flies is supposed to be based on Treasure Island. Don-Mike had to have permission to read Lord of the Flies when he was in senior English. He brought the permission slip home & I asked him if he wanted to read it. When he said yes, I signed it.

When I told Mother I was reading Treasure Island, she said, "Haven't you read that before?" I was rather embarrassed to tell her no. I've never been one to read the classics. I don't even have a category to put Treasure Island in for this year's reading. I added Classics to May Never Read. That certainly gives me a few more choices in that challenge. I started reading it because one of the categories in The Four Month Reading Challenge - Part 5 (T4MRC-5) is to read a book written before you were born. Well, 1881 is certainly before I was born. In fact, it's before either of my grandfather's were born!!

I am still plugging along in the Old Testament. I saved Isaiah until last & I'm only reading 3-4 chapters a night. I am studying it with the LDS Church's Institute of Religion text book. So, that is actually 2 books at once. My completion date keeps getting pushed back. I am hoping to be finished by Feb. 28.

I'm also reading Dewey's Nine Lives, a collection of short stories about people Dewey, the small town library cat, impacted. I chose this book because I love cats & I really enjoyed the first book about Dewey. I was thrilled when I discovered I need a collection of short stories for T4MRC-5.

Let's Talk About It, the reading program at the Larsen-Sant Library, finally started this past Wednesday, Feb. 9. We discussed The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich. So, I've been reading that. This Wednesday, Feb. 16, we will be discussing Desert Solitaire, so I've got to at least look at it before I go.

The Whitney 2nd Ward book club was reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton for this Wednesday, but I found out this afternoon that no one had finished it, so they canceled this month's meeting. Yes!! I returned The Forgotten Garden to the library & shelved it to read later, so another lady in the ward could read it.

That's all I'm currently reading. I shelved the other books I've been trying to read. I really overbooked myself - pun intended.

Historical fiction review

I finished Touching Stars last night, Jan. 31. I had a hard time rating this book. It was predictable, but what kept me reading was the historical sub-plot. I had always believed what the history books said, that John Wilkes Booth was killed shortly after he assassinated President Lincoln. Yet in this book, the story is given that John Wilkes Booth recovered on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley. An archeological camp for teenagers is being held on the inn's property, where Booth supposedly recovered.

I loved the fact I could pick up...moreI had a hard time rating this book. It was predictable, but what kept me reading was the historical sub-plot. I had always believed what the history books said, that John Wilkes Booth was killed shortly after he assassinated President Lincoln. Yet in this book, the story is given that John Wilkes Booth recovered on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley. An archeological camp for teenagers is being held on the inn's property, where Booth supposedly recovered.

Touching Stars is book #4 in the Emilie Richards' Shenandoah Album series. I loved the fact I could pick up this book, out of order, & have an update on Helen Henry & Cissy from Wedding Ring, book #1. Wedding Ring closed with Cissy, 8 months pregnant, marrying Zeke. So, it was fun to catch up with Cissy.

4 stars, a low 4 stars.
© 2007

alt + 0169 = ©

First book in Historical Fiction mini challenge.