MaryJanesFarm Farmgirl Connection
Join in ... sign up
 
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Members | Search | FAQ
Username:
Password:
Save Password        REGISTER
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 General Chat Forum
 Reading Room
 What's on your summer reading list?
 New Topic  Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Author Reading Room: Previous Topic What's on your summer reading list? Next Topic  

MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl

2206 Posts



USA
2206 Posts

Posted - Jun 03 2005 :  3:11:28 PM  Show Profile
Here are some titles I have on my must read list this summer...What's on your list?
Four Seasons in Five Senses: Things Worth Savoring by David Mas Masumoto
Where Rivers Change Direction: A Memoir by Mark Spragg
This Common Ground: Seasons on an Organic Farm by Scott Chasky
Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love and Olive Oil in the South Of France by Carol Drinkwater and Kyril Bonfiglioli

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century.

KarenP
True Blue Farmgirl

666 Posts

Karen
Chippewa Falls Wisconsin
USA
666 Posts

Posted - Jun 03 2005 :  4:07:20 PM  Show Profile
My summer reading pile of books consists of
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Old New England Splint Baskets and how to make them by John McGuire
Dr. Chi's Method of Fingernail and Tongue Analysis by Tsu-Tsair Chi
How To Get What You Want and Want What You Have by John Gray
Make it last by Yankee Magazine
The Bates method for better eyesight without glasses by William H. Bates
Build Your Own In-Law Suite by Carol J. Klima
and a couple of books on aromatherpy.



"Purest Spring Water in the World"
Go to Top of Page

cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl

497 Posts

cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts

Posted - Jun 04 2005 :  10:35:53 AM  Show Profile
Meadowlark, I'm reading the book you mentioned by Mark Spragg. I just "discovered" him as a writer. Be sure to read "A Unfinished Life' by the same author; it is being made into a movie starring Robert Redford (heart be still!!) and of all people, Jennifer Lopez. You won't see this combination as viable until you read the book and get a sense of the characters. Great story, very wonderful prose.

Cecelia

ce's farm

"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo
Go to Top of Page

JanaM
Farmgirl in Training

21 Posts

Jana
Miller Bay/Indianola WA
USA
21 Posts

Posted - Jun 08 2005 :  3:16:43 PM  Show Profile
I have a 2 hour commute to work via car, ferry, and shuttle each day (I know, I know!) so I get a lot of reading done. I'm currently reading A Turn in the South by V. Naipaul which is already very interesting. I just read a great book that I didn't want to end, called "The Country of the Pointed Firs" by Sarah Orne Jewett. Nothing earth shattering happens in this book - it's more of a nice, late 19th century charater study about a woman summering over in Maine, the woman that she boards with (an herb collector), and the others they come into contact with over the summer. It's a great read. Jean Hersey's books, while out of print, are relatively easy to find as used books on Amazon.com - she writes a lot about gardening, a sense of place, and other such things. A Touch of the Earth is a great one.

"She had never known before how much the country meant to her. The chirping of the insects down in the long grass had been like the sweetest music. She had felt as if her heart were hiding down there, somewhere, with the quail and the plover and all the little wild things that crooned or buzzed in the sun. Under the long shaggy ridges, she felt the future stirring." - Willa Cather
Go to Top of Page

MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl

2206 Posts



USA
2206 Posts

Posted - Jun 08 2005 :  4:04:20 PM  Show Profile
Jana, Those do sound like good summer reads! The kind I'd like to take to the lake on weekends and sit with under a big shady cottonwood tree on a sling chair and soak up! I see by your tag you are a Cather fan. So am I! I reread all the time. Was your line from O'Pioneers? That is probably my favorite work of hers. I named my youngest daughter Alexandra after the strong and courages heroine of the story. Such powerful words in describing love of the land!
Cecelia, I will have to read Unfinished life...Which should I read first? Hey, if it has Redford in it, I will pay the 10.00 bucks to see the movie!!

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html
Go to Top of Page

JanaM
Farmgirl in Training

21 Posts

Jana
Miller Bay/Indianola WA
USA
21 Posts

Posted - Jun 08 2005 :  4:23:48 PM  Show Profile
Hi, Meadowlark!

Yes, the tagline I was using is from O'Pioneers! When I first read it, it expressed exactly how I feel about where I grew up (the Palouse) and how I miss it nearly every day - I live across the state now. It's funny how you miss things like the sounds of grasshoppers and crickets at night, and the wind making waves in the wheat fields when you move away from it!

I also love the fact that you named your youngest daughter Alexandra! What a smart choice. I'm just about to read My Antonia again - we were asked to read it in high school many years ago, but now I think I'll be able to appreciate it!
Go to Top of Page

jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl

6066 Posts

Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts

Posted - Jun 08 2005 :  7:51:10 PM  Show Profile
Wow- hearing the wind making waves in the wheat fields? How beautiful the Palouse must be. Where did that word come from?

I have read Where Rivers Change Direction. Great read.

Did you see that Oprah has chosen Faulkner as her summer selection?

jpbluesky
Go to Top of Page

Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl

11381 Posts

Jenny
middle of Utah
USA
11381 Posts

Posted - Jun 08 2005 :  8:57:10 PM  Show Profile
Just finished "A Good Yarn" by Debbie Macomber...loved it!!
I have my list of books to read this summer and hope to get going on that list after this crazy week I have.. My list:
Mermaid Chair by sue monk, Mermaids singing and In the country of the young by Lisa Carey, Persian pickle club by Sandra Dalls and Crow lake by Mary Lawson...
I got the ideas for my list from all of you can can't wait to read them all!!!


Jenny in Utah

Bloom where you are planted!
Go to Top of Page

Clare
True Blue Farmgirl

2173 Posts


NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts

Posted - Jun 08 2005 :  10:37:20 PM  Show Profile
Finished the Mermaid Chair this weekend. Great read. Jpbluesky was right, the more mature reader will appreciate this one. I think I'll go back and re-read the last chapter, need to reabsorb that... let it really sink in.

****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****

"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb
Go to Top of Page

Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl

1199 Posts

Eileen

USA
1199 Posts

Posted - Jun 09 2005 :  10:11:29 AM  Show Profile
I just started to read "All Flesh is Grass" I checked it out from Mary Janes Library. So far it is a great read.
Cannot wait for my turn with the mermaids chair.
Eileen

songbird; singing joy to the earth
Go to Top of Page

jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl

6066 Posts

Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts

Posted - Jun 09 2005 :  10:21:54 AM  Show Profile
Eileen - where is the library at MJF's? How do you return the books? I know I am so nosy, but I love hearing about your trip there, and what it is like.
jpbluesky

Heartland girl
Go to Top of Page

MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl

2206 Posts



USA
2206 Posts

Posted - Jun 09 2005 :  11:23:59 AM  Show Profile
Oh All Flesh is Grass is another book I want to read this summer! I also want to hear about MJF library! I can imagine it in a clean well lit old barn with wide planked wood ancient floors and several old comfey reading chairs and a big old library table. And a ladder that runs on a rail parallel to the bookcases to climb to get to the higher books.

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html
Go to Top of Page

Cindy Young
Farmgirl in Training

33 Posts

Cindy
Allendale MI
USA
33 Posts

Posted - Jun 09 2005 :  1:11:59 PM  Show Profile
I'm currently reading "Enslaved by Ducks" by Bob Tarte. It is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Also, the fact that he lives 30 minutes from me in Lowell, Michigan is kind of cool!!!

Blessings and good reading,
Cindy

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2Timothy 4:7
Go to Top of Page

MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl

2206 Posts



USA
2206 Posts

Posted - Jun 09 2005 :  2:03:56 PM  Show Profile
All these books sound great you gals are reading! Hey if a farmgirl recommends it it is on my list! Off the subject a bit, but sort of on the subject of libraries...I remember as a kid growong up I would go spend time with my best friend and cuz in a lttle tiny town in western Kansas. It had a grocery store, post office, laundry mat, and THE most awesome drug store run by this rough but sweet as pie old lady. It had the towns library attached to it. It was a small room with old pink painted bookcases full of about 500 titles, mostly paperbacks. My cuz and I would go there and hang out, check out books ( we read all the Nancy Drews she had) and fill out a card and leave it in a check out box. Do any of you have fond memories of special libraries? Those were sweet days in summertime.

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html
Go to Top of Page

Clare
True Blue Farmgirl

2173 Posts


NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts

Posted - Jun 09 2005 :  2:17:40 PM  Show Profile
That reminds me of the library in my grade school in the late 50-60's. Very small cubbyhole of a place, filled with books to the 6 ft mark of an 8 ft ceiling. One big window. And the check out desk. It was fun to work in the library and stamp the date due stamps on all the check out cards! What warm memories. Thanks for bringing those back, ML!

****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****

"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb

Edited by - Clare on Jun 09 2005 2:18:07 PM
Go to Top of Page

Clare
True Blue Farmgirl

2173 Posts


NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts

Posted - Jun 11 2005 :  7:51:02 PM  Show Profile
Cecelia!!! Thanks so much for the recommendation of An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg. It arrived from the library last night... and I just finished it. What an engaging story... couldn't put it down for long, thought about it when not reading it, and didn't want it to end!!! And envisioning Robert Redford as Einer and JLo as Jean was really character perfect! I wonder who'll they'll get to play Mitch and Griff? Can't wait for the movie version... hope it's true to the story. (So many are not.) Thanks again!

****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****

"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb
Go to Top of Page

cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl

497 Posts

cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts

Posted - Jun 15 2005 :  8:15:44 PM  Show Profile
There was an article in a men's magazine about Robert Redford recently - I think it was Men's Journal (maybe?). That's what caught my eye - I was sitting at the library near the magazine rack, and Robert Redford was staring at me from the magazine cover (must have be me, there was no one else sitting there!); anyway, I picked up the magazine, read the article on R.R. and the book and movie were mentioned. I don't remember that any other actors were mentioned, so I guess we'll have to wait until Sept. when the movie is due out.

Cecelia

ce's farm

"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo
Go to Top of Page

PJJ
True Blue Farmgirl

95 Posts

Paula
Bristow OK
USA
95 Posts

Posted - Jun 15 2005 :  8:34:12 PM  Show Profile  Send PJJ an AOL message
Summer reading list = winter reading list + more!

- MJF book, naturally;
- Bones Would Rain From the Sky by Suzanne Clothier;
- the Shabby Chic/Rachel Ashwell books, so I can figure out my own decorating style, not one "developed" by the soon-to-be-ex-husband;
- some fun series mysteries -- one is set in a tea shop in Charleston; it's really good. Another is set in the dog show world. There are a couple of others, but I can't remember them.
- 40 Days to Personal Revolution by Baron Baptiste;
- Boom Town, about small town revitalization;
and about 30 others, if I can ever find and unpack them!

Paula J.

Paula J., with Ty, Cara, Brody, Blue, and Fidget
Go to Top of Page
  Reading Room: Previous Topic What's on your summer reading list? Next Topic  
 New Topic  Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Snitz Forums 2000 Go To Top Of Page