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Reading Room:  Favorite Books  |
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taylor
honeybee
40 Posts
40 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 02 2004 : 10:38:22 AM
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I was just thinking about books and how there are some books that you treasure forever, passages or stanzas that haunt you and play over in your head at the strangest moments. Here are some of my favorites:
My #1 favorite novel, The Big Sky - A.B. Guthrie, a striking account of the west in its short-lived frontier days.
Adrienne Rich Collected Poems- specifically, her poem Diving into the Wreck
Anything Robert Frost
When I was younger I had a habit of finding an author I liked and devouring all of their books: Barbara Kingsolver, Tony Morrison (The Bluest Eye), Isabelle Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, T. Coragessan Boyle (Water Music), Jane Austen, to name a few.
Delving back even further I remember the first books that really grabbed me: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Pearl, The Hobbit, and To Kill a Mocking Bird. The titles alone feel so familiar to me and evoke visions from my childhood.
Lately, as I mentioned earlier, I have had trouble reading - I fall asleep. I miss those days of sneaking in a paragraph of a book from under my desk during math class (never was a big fan) or staying up til 4 am because I couldn't go to bed until I finished the book- Some nights my mother coming in and telling me to turn out the light, only to have to come back an hour later. It is really interesting to think about how each book you read changes your perspective on life; in fact, reading seems to add a whole other dimension.
Anyone else have some favorite books from the past they'd like to share?
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Farm Chick Teri
Farm Chick
6 Posts
Teri
Washington
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - Apr 02 2004 : 12:58:22 PM
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Taylor, we are kindred spirits! My first love was reading. I remember as a little girl laying in my favorite reading spot (between the wall and the sofa), shutting out the sounds of the house and entering whatever world I was reading about. Just like you, if I find a book I like, I'll read everything that author has written. It's a rare night that I don't read before going to bed. I guess it's my glass of warm milk.
Years ago I was at the library and I noticed that there was an elderly man next to me looking through a small pocket size notebook. He told me that for years he has recorded the books he reads, the date and he even had a little rating system. He told me that someday I too would need a little reminder book. We had a nice conversation and he gave me a couple good recommendations. The last time I was in Borders book store I noticed that they now carry their version of this little reminder book. Recently, I started reading a book only to find out around chapter two that I've already read it. I guess my "someday" has arrived!
http://www.thefarmchicks.com |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Apr 02 2004 : 3:26:07 PM
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I too love books! I have so many, I would have enought o read for the rest of my life,neverhaving to buy another book. My favorite classics are Wuthering Heights and anything my Edith Wharton. My mother was an english teacher for 38 years, I guess that's where I get it. My stepmother teases me, saying she used to tell me to run outside around the house to "blow the stink off". I literally went outside one day, ran around the house, came back in and sat my fanny down to continue to read.
I loved Nancy Drew as a kid and collect editions from the 30's, 40's and 50's.
farmer@heart |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 17 2004 : 10:59:23 PM
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I love "The Dollmaker" , and "Where the Heart Is" was a good one. I love all the Barbara Kingsolver books too! And "Where the Red Fern Grows" will always be a favorite. I read it for the first time when I was in 4th grade. My sons, who are all big on reading too, love that one too. My daughters are more the "Little House on the Prairie" type..which is sure good too. I love books about strong women. I read alot of "how-to" books too. I never met a bookstore or library I didn't like!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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Paula J.
True Blue Farmgirl
68 Posts
Paula
OK
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2004 : 3:00:19 PM
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I do this all the time, and it really irritates me to find I bought a book I already own! But bookstores are dangerous territory for me; so many books, so little time ...
I love the idea of a little notebook. I do something similar with my Palm Pilot, only I record what I *want* to buy/read.
pj
>>Years ago I was at the library and I noticed that there was an elderly man next to me looking through a small pocket size notebook. He told me that for years he has recorded the books he reads, the date and he even had a little rating system. He told me that someday I too would need a little reminder book. We had a nice conversation and he gave me a couple good recommendations. The last time I was in Borders book store I noticed that they now carry their version of this little reminder book. Recently, I started reading a book only to find out around chapter two that I've already read it. I guess my "someday" has arrived!<<
http://www.thefarmchicks.com
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Paula J.
Collinsville, OK
dragonflybodywork@earthlink.net |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2004 : 06:37:31 AM
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Taylor, I love your post about reading from your younger days and how your favorite books left an imprint on you. I often wish I had kept a reading log through the years, if not only to see the number of books that have passed before my eyes! At 54, it would be a lot!
The summers when I was a girl were filled with many hours of lying on the backyard swing and reading - Nancy Drew books, "The Borrowers", and Pearl S. Buck novels were just a few that remain in my memory. And I love Robert Frost to this day. Are you familiar with the Frost poem "The Silken Tent"? My all time favorite poem, followed by another Frost poem called "Take Something Like A star".
In those long ago summers, I walked to town to the library every two weeks and scoured the shelves for more reading. As I read, I would look up through the leaves of this gigantic maple tree in our back yard that shaded the swing. The sunlight would filter through the foliage and it felt like I was in a beautiful place, so I named my reading spot "Lacetree Manor". How corny is that? :)
I am gong to try and find "The Big Sky" you suggested...I love big skies. A favorite author of mine is Lee Smith. She often writes of the Appalachians but has a new one out called "The Last Girls", about a trip down the Mississippi River.
May we all find lots of time to read!
Jeannie |
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Cntrymom
Farmgirl in Training
14 Posts
Barb
Romeoville
Illinois
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2004 : 11:55:45 AM
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| My favorite book is The Horse Whisperer - - - It's my dream life. Montana ranch, horses, (should I mention Robert Redford?) I just loved that book. Reading for me is so relaxing. I can forget about life for a while and get lost in a book. I too keep a list of books I've read, and another list of books I want to buy/or check out from the library. Keeping a list of books read also helps me remember certain authors, or titles of books. |
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Paula J.
True Blue Farmgirl
68 Posts
Paula
OK
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2004 : 07:22:23 AM
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Now I'll need to go to the library to get this one. Oddly enough, I've read a book by a woman in Great Britain who got her start by watching him work horses. Her name is Jan Fennell and her book is "The Dog Listener." Very interesting for those of you who live with canines.
I absolutely get lost in books; probably why I wrote so much before the kids were born. A couple of books I've read recently made my wish for more time to write and publish fiction. Maybe I'll pull out those old manuscripts this summer -- after I finish unpacking and getting the photo albums updated!
pj
[quote]Originally posted by Cntrymom
My favorite book is The Horse Whisperer - - - It's my dream life.
Paula J.
Collinsville, OK
dragonflybodywork@earthlink.net |
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HiDez Gal
True Blue Farmgirl
122 Posts
Roberta
Joshua Tree,
CA
USA
122 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2004 : 11:00:09 AM
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I loved many of the books that the rest of you mentioned. Some others: The Secret Garden (i realize that my front yard consciously or unconsciously is the secret garden - well that, and a cross between my Grandmother's garden in Cape May, NJ which was much like the secret garden but she had a passion for Magnolia trees). Also Heidi, after reading that book in the 3rd grade i insisted on drinking milk out of a little bowl just like Heidi but i just couldn't talk my mom into the goats for milk. The Black Stallion books, Wind in the Willows, The Little Princess. In the summer i read constantly to the point that my parents would become really annoyed when i was supposed to be washing dishes and they found me with a book propped up behind the faucet of the sink. I was washing the same plate over and over as i read!
From my favorite coffee cup:
"A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do." Minnie Cody, 1901 |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2004 : 1:20:58 PM
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I am finding that we all have so many of the same thoughts that I have to read all the existing posts to make sure I am not repeating something that another person has already said!
I loved the books you mentioned, too, and my mom also used to get irritated at me for not washing the dishes or ironing the pillowcases, or dusting, but reading instead! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2004 : 9:09:49 PM
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I used to hide in my grandpa's haystack to read.....where no one could find me!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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taylor
honeybee
40 Posts
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2004 : 4:27:57 PM
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Jeanie,
Yes, the borrowers was a great book! And Robert Frost was my first real introduction to poetry after Shel Silverstein. I still have a beautiful old copy of his collected works... unfortunately, I decided that since I was going to be a poet I had better start studying up, so I wrote all in it, in pen no less. It is a little embarrassing to look back and read some of my impressions of his poems when I was a teenager. Some of my favorites: Wind and Window Flower... "LOVERS, forget your love,And list to the love of these,She a window flower,And he a winter breeze.", Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening... "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep."
-Taylor |
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taylor
honeybee
40 Posts
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2004 : 5:33:08 PM
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Jeanie,
Yes, the borrowers was a great book! And Robert Frost was my first real introduction to poetry after Shel Silverstein. I still have a beautiful old copy of his collected works... unfortunately, I decided that since I was going to be a poet I had better start studying up, so I wrote all in it, in pen no less. It is a little embarrassing to look back and read some of my impressions of his poems when I was a teenager. Some of my favorites: Wind and Window Flower... "LOVERS, forget your love,And list to the love of these,She a window flower,And he a winter breeze.", Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening... "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep."
-Taylor |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2004 : 6:02:53 PM
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Taylor,
So glad younger women are still reading The Borrowers (I know from photos in the magazine that you are a young woman). I personally read it one summer, but my fourth grade teacher also read to us each afternoon. She read all of The Little House on the Prairie and The Borrowers through that year. Even at a young age, I just loved the way the Borrowers decorated their little home! It was so cozy. A postage stamp was a piece of art on the wall. A match box filled with a cotton balls and a scrap of fabric was a bed. A wooden threadspool became a table. It was so great! Everything they had, they borrowed from the big people of the big house. What a wonderful literary concept for children.
And Taylor, Robert Frost cannot be beat for poetry. Later, you will not be embarrassed by your own poetic and literary efforts written in your book; you will be glad you still have that part of your youth. Keep that book.
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2004 : 11:29:15 PM
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I remember after reading "The Borrowers" that I decided to make a little cozy home like theirs inside a box (I was about 9) and had so much fun for days making little beds and tables and tiny art and books. My mom, seeing this, thought I was pining away for a doll house..and that is what I got for Christmas that year..all plastic and metal and not wanted at all (of course I pretended to be thrilled, but I hated that thing) She totally didn't get it!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2004 : 05:28:46 AM
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Aunt Jenny,
We could have played Borrowers together! We would have both understood! Although, it may have been a pretend game for only one.....do you remember how some games took you into a world that was hard to share with a playmate?
My parents would try to give the perfect gift, also, and it would sometimes miss the mark. They would give substitutes that were less costly or something, but they were trying so hard, like yours did. And I have done the same with my girl! She wanted a Cabbage Patch the year they were being fought over on the shelves. So I had a friend of mine make her a Cabbage Patch look-alike. She still talks about how secretly disappointed she was when she opened the box.
Once again, I digress from the topic subject. But I wanted to reply to your post because it really hit home to me!
jpbluesky |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2004 : 05:49:15 AM
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Taylor, I looked up "Wind and Window Flower" in my Robert Frost and thank you for introducing it to me. Never read it before! What a beautiful poem, and one could teach an entire class around the meanings within. Have you read "Fragmentary Blue'?
Thanks again!
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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n/a
deleted
57 Posts
Judith
Rockford
IA
57 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2004 : 8:04:17 PM
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| When I was little my whole world was books. I could take my wagon and walk to the library (across town), and fill it up. Read about a book a day. I read every book of fairy tales in the library. Guess I was/am another serial reader. Did anyone else read The Five Little Peppers books? |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2004 : 04:46:43 AM
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| I remember reading "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew". I thought it would be so great to be from a big family(I just have one sister). I remember they were so poor, that when the mom sewed, she'd tear out the stitches carefully so that she could reuse the thread...I still think of that every time I rip out a seam and am thankful I'm not that poor!! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2004 : 11:17:32 AM
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I loved those books too!
Does anyone remember the Betsy and Billy series of books. I remember reading them in 3rd grade. I wish I could find them now for my kids. I checked them all out from the school library at the time and remember that they were set "a long time ago" back then..probably the 1940's. Betsy had a little sister named Star. (born on Christmas). There were quite a few of them...cute series!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2004 : 2:16:07 PM
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No Betsy and Billy back East - we had Dick, Jane & Sally. I spent most of my time, outside of playing in the woods, in the library or in front of a book. Right now I'm reading 2 books, and just got a new one to take on vacation-"A Widow for One Year" by John Irving; it has just come out (in part) as a movie called "A Door in the Floor" and the local paper gave it 4 stars, so I'll try to see it after I finish the book. Happy reading to all the bookophiles among us!
Cecelia
ce's farm |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2004 : 2:54:18 PM
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I just bought one to read too...it is "Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch"..by Haywood Smith. Have any of you read it? Sounds like it will be funny..Adriana Trigiani, who is a writer I like, recomended it. If it is anything like her stuff I will love it!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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n/a
deleted
57 Posts
Judith
Rockford
IA
57 Posts |
Posted - Aug 08 2004 : 07:51:21 AM
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| "The Dollmaker" keeps tugging at my memorybank as a book I loved. I will have to pull it out again to re-read, or see why I remember it. I don't remember the sad/poor parts of the 5 little peppers. I just remember, too, that their family seemed so loving of each other. sigh. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 08 2004 : 6:58:17 PM
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I LOVE the Dollmaker...one of my all time favorite books! I have read it over and over. One of those ones you can't put down. Sure makes you appreciate your own life..seeing how hard her's was!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2004 : 1:11:40 PM
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| I love books about strong women and the land they cherish. Willa Cather is one of my favorites and the book Oh Pioneers! is a treasure, also My Antonia. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2004 : 8:50:02 PM
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Oh that is a good one too. Has anyone read "Jewell" ?...Gosh I think its by Billie Letts.. a good one. Thinking of one book reminds me of another..does everyone do that?
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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Reading Room: Favorite Books |
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Favorite Books
