Spring Reading Challenge

I have just a moment to write the books I read in Spring (excuse any typos!).

I made most of my Spring Reading Challenge, just a few didn't get read. I added a lot, especially library books!

Those with an * are from the Spring Reading Challenge... While I liked most of them very much, those highlighted are books I HIGHLY recommend! Of course, all the Victoria books are wonderful so I won't bother highlighting them.

I'll list my Summer Challenge when I get a chance. :)

March, 2007
12 Steps to Becoming a More Organized Woman, by Lane Jordan
The Romance of Country Inns by Gail Greco*
The Simple Home by Sharon Hanby-Robie*
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield*
(one of the best books I've ever read although not for someone wanting a lighthearted story)
Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson*
The Heart of France - Victoria
Romantic Country Style - Victoria
Intimate Home - Victoria
The Traditions of Christmas - Victoria
At Home With Roses - Victoria
Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden by Emily Whaley (a lovely book!)
With Love, The L'abri Family Letters 1948-1960 by Edith Schaeffer*
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald*

April, 2007
Queen of the Castle by Lynn Bowen Walker (full of great ideas and recipes for homemakers)
Mary Jane's Ideabook.Cookbook.Lifebook by Mary Jane Butters (gorgeous and practical)
Making Choices by Alexandra Stoddard
Time For Tea; Tea and Conversations with Thirteen English Women by Michele Rivers
Let's Have Tea Together by Susan Wheeler
Dragonwell Dead by Laura Childs (another in the Tea Shop cozy mystery series)
At Home with Carolyne Roehm by Carolyne Roehm

May, 2007
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym*
Choosing Happiness by Alexandra Stoddard
For the Love of Learning by Jenny Sockey
Victorian Chic by Anita Louise Crane
An Affair With a House by Bunny Williams
The Edwardian Lady; The Story of Edith Holden by Ina Taylor*
Madame Curie by Eve Curie*
The King's English; Adventures of an Independent Bookseller by Betsy Burton**
The Pleasures of Tea - Victoria

**I think The King's English would be much more appreciated by someone who reads a lot more fiction than I do. It is the story of The King's English bookstore and quite interesting. I just didn't get much out of it because I haven't read a fraction of the books she discussed...still an interesting book!

Thoughts on my current reading

I was much more realistic about my reading plan this time. I have a mixture of deeper nonfiction as well as lighter novels. I just finished The Thirteenth Tale (as I reviewed earlier this week) and I'm starting on a cozy mystery to lighten up my brain, Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson. I had never heard of the genre of "cozy mystery" before I read the Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs (which I absolutely adore).

If you have never read any of them, drop everything and immediately go to Amazon (or your local bookseller) and purchase one...pay full price if you have to...most of them are in paperback. She writes a series about a scrapbooking shop, too. However most people I know who have read both believe the Tea Shop Mysteries are far better. She is a gifted writer and the people and places in her Tea Shop are delightful.

So, how can I have Witness by Chambers on my list and a Diane Mott Davidson mystery? If you look where I've listed them on my sidebar, you'll also see some gardening and decorating books, too. Because that is what life is about. It's a balance between learning and doing, culture and working in the dirt, doing dishes and writing books (or blogs in this case).

God is in every detail, whether I am having a solitary tea while reading or preparing homemade soup for my family as I did today (for the weather has turned cold once again). My reading should reflect this.

The mistake I made for the Winter Challenge was putting too many heavier books, those taking more time to read and ponder, and not enough of the lighter that I need once in awhile. I'm afraid I completely forgot about writing a post about what books I finished and which went by the wayside. A few will be coming back in a future Challenge, those I started and didn't have time to finish.

For instance, Nancy Pearcey's book called A Total Truth was truly wonderful but I couldn't finish it before it had to be returned to the library. It is going to have to become a permanent member of my home library! I had to set aside three of the historical fiction novels, only because I ran out of time. They will also return on a future Challenge.

I'm doing much better this time around. Many thanks to Seasonal Soundings for hosting the Challenge!

Spring Reading Challenge

Below is a list of the books I plan to read this Spring for the Spring Reading Challenge.

I have listed everything except the titles of gardening books I plan to read. My yard is calling for me to plant more flowers and my deck looks absolutely forlorn so I will be doing more research on gardening this year than ever before. Trust me...I'll eventually tell you the titles! :)

As usual, I'll be reading various magazines...

Always Tea Time every two months...

Sometimes Southern Lady, Paula Deen, Romantic Living, Midwest Living and when I am blessed enough to find an old copy...Victoria!

I just subscribed to Books & Culture; A Christian Review, too.

Nonfiction: Biography/Autobiography
Witness by Whittaker Chambers
Madam Curie by Evie Curie
The Victorian Lady; The Story of Edith Holden by Ina Taylor

Nonfiction: History
The Bounty; The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander

Nonfiction: Food, Decorating and Gardening
The Romance of Country Inns by Gail Greco
The Simple Home by Sharon Hanby-Robie
Various Gardening Books

Fiction
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
The Father Brown Omnibus by G. K. Chesterton
Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson

Rereads
Edith Schaeffer books:
Love, Edith; L'Abri Letters 1948-1960
Dear Family; L'Abri Letters 1961-1986
A Way of Seeing

Devotional Reading
My Utmost For His Highest
The Table of Inwardness by Calvin Miller