Top Ten Books You Recently Added to Your TBR List

Today's Top Ten Tuesday theme from Broke and Bookish is books I've recently added to my TBR list. I've recently added a ton of books for various reasons so I'm just going to list the ones I'm most excited about. :)

1. Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson- I've loved all of N.D. Wilson's books so far so when I heard about this one I was instantly intrigued, especially when I read one person's review of it likening it to Beowulf! 
2. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee- I think we're all excited about this one! :)
3. A bunch of a Elizabeth Gaskell novels- I've enjoyed her two novels I've read so far (Wives and Daughters and North and South) so I'm interested to read more. There's one called Lois the Witch!!! Naturally I'm intrigued. ;)
4. Upstairs, Downstairs by John Hawkesworth- I've heard about this from various sources but mostly in relation to a miniseries of it that the BBC did. 
5. A bunch of Anthony Trollope novels- He has a lot of novels! And with the funniest names too! For example: The Macdermots of Ballycloran and Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite. 
6. All the rest of Shakespeare's plays- I had a majority of Shakespeare's list on my TBR list already but a while back I went and added all of them down to the most random ones no one's ever heard of. 
7. Various Tolkien works- Such as Tales from the Perilous Realms, The Unfinished Tales and Bilbo's Last Song. 
8. Amanda Grange's Austen heroes diaries (i.e. Mr. Darcy's Diary, Mr. Knightley's Diary, ect)
9. The last three books in the Giver quartet- Gathering Blue, Messenger, Son
10. El Dorado: Further Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel and others by Emmuska Orczy- I loved re-reading The Scarlet Pimpernel so much and I really need to get around to reading the others in the series! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

It's Monday! Senioritis is setting in!

So when I graduated from high school I never had senioritis. As I've always said, I never really felt like I was graduating from high school when I did as I had already been attending the community college for two years at that point and already felt graduated.

HOWEVER!!!!
Now, I have senioritis in full swing! I'm having a very hard time focusing on my studying and instead I'm focusing it on... you know, reading and watching TV shows. :( Just a few more weeks and I'll be graduating! I need to focus on school for just that much longer! How hard can it be? ;)

I have had some pretty consistent reading recently, which is great for reading but not so great for school. My friend and I went to an antique store the other day and I picked up three bags full of books, which you can read about in my Stacking the Shelves post linked below. :)

Finished this week 

• Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (re-read)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (re-read)

Currently Reading

• The Valley of Vision
• King Lear by William Shakespeare
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Coming Soon in April!!!

• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (re-read)
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• Armadale by Wilkie Collins
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton (re-read)

Reviews posted this week

• The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde
• The Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery

Also check out these posts

• Stacking the Shelves
• Me and My Music

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Me and My Music

I love music! I would say I have a good variety of music I listen to but then again there is still some music I definitely don't listen to by choice. Because I know you really care what music I listen to ;) today I'm going to share about my music.
I'm just going to run down each playlist of mine because that's how I like to separate out my music on iTunes.

Allison Kraus

This is music from a CD that my best friend gave me. I don't listen to it a ton but every once and awhile the mood will take me. One of the songs on the playlist is separate from the disc and I listen to it a lot more often but that's mostly due to fact that it is in my Indulgences playlist also, which I'll get to later. :)

Bach

I grew up on Bach and while he is not my favorite of the classical composers (okay I know technically he is a baroque composer not classical but sometimes I just group them all together so there!). The harpsichord really grates on me for some reason and a lot of his music is harpsichord music. However, I do like playing his music on the piano because it's on the piano.... not a harpsichord. ;)

Beethoven

I love Beethoven's ninth symphony a lot! It's not something I listen to all of the time... normally just when the mood takes me but it is one of my favorite classical pieces (again, I know it's romantic time period not classical but get over it! ;)). I also have some of his piano concertos. 

Bolero

I have one piece by Bolero- Ravel. 

Call Me Madam

This is one of my many musical soundtracks that I have. I was addicted to this one for awhile. As my friends and family know, I normally will be stuck on one song or one CD for a long time, not getting tired of it until long after everyone else is. Call Me Madam was one of those for quite awhile. It has a lot of fun music.

Celtic Woman

I'm a big fan of the Irish women's musical group Celtic Woman. I even got to go to one of their concerts once. I have multiple CDs of theirs. 

Christmas

This is a bunch of instrumental christmas music I got for free for a reason I don't remember. 

Christian

This is my playlist of various Christian music. I have everything from hymns to Hillsong. My favorites on there are When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (to the tune of The Water is Wide), Bless the Lord O My Soul, and Blessed Be Your Name. However, my favorite hymn of all time is Be Thou My Vision... I'd just rather sing it than listen to it. 

Classic Rock

This has a bunch of random classic rock songs. Beach Boys, Frank Valli and the Four Seasons, Billy Haley, a couple Elvis Presley songs and more. This is what I listen to when I want to swing dance. :)

Copland

I don't listen to him a lot but when I do it's Hoe Down... it's a lot of fun! 

Disney

This playlist has a crazy assortment of Disney music! Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid (the story is kind of dumb but the music is incredible!), Frozen, Tangled, Enchanted, one song from Hercules (I hate the movie though) and one song from Mulan. It's always fun to listen to a little Disney music. :)

Doctor Who

This is my odd collection of various Doctor Who music including the show's theme song, the companions' themes, the doctors' themes, and a couple parody songs. 

Dvorak

I'm not quite as big of a fan as my younger brother but I do enjoy Dvorka's 9th symphony. My brother is seriously obsessed with it!

Fiddler on the Roof

The story makes me sad but I love the music! 

Gaelic Music

This is a collection of music by Gaelic Storm and The High Kings, two gaelic bands that I love! I have a ton of favorites in this playlist and I listen to it a lot! Gaelic music is just so fun! 

Gilbert and Sullivan

One day a few months ago I went on a kick and listened to nothing but Gilbert and Sullivan all day! So then I had to upload more of their music onto my computer to add to my collection. They're all in separate playlists by the title of the operetta. This playlist just is a "best of" collection. If you aren't familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan you should be! They were a duo who wrote operetta's together. Sullivan wrote the music and Gilbert wrote the lyrics/play. They're hilarious plays and so much fun and the music is just the same! 

Grieg

I love Grieg's piano concerto and the piece "Morning". 

Haydn

He has some great symphony's that I should probably listen to more than I do. 

Home for Christmas

This is Celtic Woman's Christmas CD. I just didn't want to put it in the same playlist as their other music as it's Christmas music. 

Indulgences

This is the playlist I'm probably most embarrassed to admit what songs are in it. This song has the widest assortment of songs. I called it Indulgences as it has music that I feel are indulgences.... duh! However, it's morphed into favorites/music I don't know what playlist to put it in. It started out with three songs and has now grown to 25 songs but it's fluctuated a lot. For example, I used to have my Piano Guys music in there but I moved it out when I got so much of it I thought it deserved it's own playlist. So what am I embarrassed about in this playlist? My pop music. It's dumb music I know but it's so catchy that I get sucked in! I don't listen to the bad pop music never fear, it's just dumb. I do have some classic country music in there as well such as Devil Went Down to Georgia. I have a lot of parody songs in here too. I also have one Julian Smith song and one Rhett and Link song. The majority of the songs in this playlist are in my top twenty-five most listened to songs. I just listen to this playlist a lot. I'm trying to get away from that now. 

Mendelssohn

I have his Midsummer Night's Dream music as well as his Songs without Words and The Hebrides. I love them all! 

Messiah

Meaning Handel's Messiah. I don't think I need to tell you that this music is amazing! 

Mozart

Probably my favorite classical composer! I have a lot of his music. 

Music Man

I love the music from this musical but the storyline is kind of dumb! I was definitely on a kick with this one for awhile. 

My Fair Lady

The music in this movie is amazing!!!!! And it's a hilarious movie. :)

Opera

This playlist has a wide assortment of opera music. This is definitely a playlist that I have to be in the mood to listen to. I'm very selective about the opera music I listen to as well because some of it is just boring.... I'm sorry opera lovers. 

Orla Fallon

Orla is a former member of Celtic Woman and this playlist contains one of her Christmas CDs. 

Pachebel's Canon

This is a CD that has a million different variations of Pachebel's Canon. 

Paganini

I listen to his music every once and awhile. I have his violin concertos.

Patsy Cline

I have a deep love for Patsy Cline's music. It's kind of an indulgent music. It makes me feel sentimental and romantic. :) My Dad is actually a big fan of Patsy Cline as well which I found funny. 

Pavarotti Christmas

You know Pavarotti? Famous Tenor? Yeah, well this is a collection of him singing Christmas music. 

Piano Guys

Here's my collection of music by the group Piano Guys that I mentioned earlier. They're music is a lot of fun and is great for listening to when I'm studying because it is pretty much all instrumental. 

Pirates of Penzance

One of the aforementioned Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas and probably my third favorite. :)

Praise and Glory

A CD full of instrumental hymns that are beautifully arranged!

Rhapsodies Enesco/Liszt

This playlist contains a collection of rhapsodies by Unesco and Liszt... if you couldn't gather that from the title. ;) Rhapsodies are tons of fun to listen to. :)

Rubenstein/Rachmaninov

I'm not sure why both composers are in the same playlist but I'm going to assume that it was because they were on the same CD. They have great piano concertos.

Saint-Saens

Some beautiful piano concertos.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

My favorite musical! It's just so hilarious, fun and quirky and the music is great! 

Singin' in the Rain

Probably my second favorite musical. The music is classic and the movie is hilarious! 

Smetna

So I'm looking at the music in this playlist and wondering why it's entitled Smetna. There is only one Smetna piece in it and the other three songs are by different composers. I'm just going to assume that they were all on the same CD again. 

Sound of Music

Another musical! :)

Soundtracks

One of my favorite playlists and a great one for when I am studying as all the music on here is instrumental except one song. Now you may be asking the same question my brother did, "Why is this one called Soundtracks when you already have separate playlists with soundtracks from musicals?" Good question. This playlist has soundtracks to films that aren't musicals. It contains lots of LOTR and The Hobbit music as well as music from period drams such as Little Dorrit, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Lorna Doone and then additionally has some music from John Williams such as the music from Jurassic Park, Indian Jones and Star Wars. 

Tchaikovsky

Probably my favorite composer from the Romantic time period. I love his 1812 overture, Capriccio Italiano and Marche Slave. I also have his music for Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. Additionally I have his piano concerto and violin concerto, which are also great!

The Gondoliers

Probably I shouldn't have "The" in front of that title, which is why it got alphabetically placed down at the bottom of the list as I didn't for any of the others. However, there we are. The Gondoliers has my favorite music from Gilbert and Sullivan. It's so beautiful, fun and catchy. 

Vivaldi

I love his four seasons. I have a variety of his music. :)

So that's all the music I have! :) I wish I had Gilber and Sullivan's "The Mikado" on my computer but though my family has the CD I have't gotten ahold of it yet to put it on my computer. I also need to get "The Phantom of the Opera" on my computer.

Please don't ask what songs are in my top 25 most played because I'm too embarrassed to admit to them.... especially the top one. However, I would find it humorous if you guys commented and tried to guess them! If you guess enough right I might even admit to them! I'll be impressed if you can guess, which pop songs I listen to.

I hope you found this post interesting! Do you listen to any of the same music I do? Do you have some music recommendations for me?

With all these reasons to comment, you really don't have an excuse not to... just saying. ;)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Stacking the Shelves #4

Thursday my friend and I visited an antique store (she's an antique store junkie) and I brought in three bags of books from it! Buying books from antiques stores is so much fun because you get such beautiful old copies and you can find the classics there! There were so many I didn't bother making a list. However, I took pictures of my now stuffed full shelves for you all. A few highlights of my new books are listed here though. :)

I can't find a place for all of my silly ceramics
so right now they're just crowded on to the bottom
shelf with my nonfiction, cds, dvds, cookbooks and
scrapbooks. I think my diploma may get crowded out
as well along with my candles, tea pot and tea cup. :(

• Four nice hardback copies of Agatha Christie novels
• Little Men by Louisa May Alcott- I've had Little Women for a couple years but have been looking around for it's sequel for awhile and I'm excited I found it!
• Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester- This is on my classics club list and I'm excited to get it! I loved the TV series based off of the novels. 
• The Adventures of Unc' Bill Possum by Thornton Burgess- This isn't my favorite of Burgess's novels but I was just so excited to find one there that I couldn't resist getting it. It's a beautiful old copy of it too! Burgess's books were some of my favorites growing up. 
• The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope- I was surprised to find this. They are an old series that my Grandma grew up reading and so did I. :)
• The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon (aka the first Hardy Boys book)- Yeah they're kind of juvenile but I have fond memories of them!
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder- Somehow I did not have a copy of this yet! Remedied now!
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White- In perfect preparation for my planned re-read of this children's classic this year. 
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- I now have four, five and six of the Harry Potter series that I've picked up form various sources. Someday I'll have the complete series. ;)

There were tons of books there that were abridged copies of childhood favorites. I do NOT buy abridged books so this kept frustrating me as I would find a book I wanted than see that it was abridged. Why on earth would you abridge Anne of Green Gables????

All in all it was a great trip and I brought in a beautiful haul of books! However, let's not mention how much money I spent okay? ;)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Update on the 2015 Audiobook Challenge!

I've been booking it (pun totally intended) for the audiobook challenge so far.... at least as far as my standards go. ;) Already I've listened to six audiobooks and I'm currently listening to a seventh! Last year I only listened to six all year long so this year is definitely a step up! As I signed up for the Stenographer level, which is 10-15 audiobooks, I'm already halfway through! It's been a lot of fun listening to audiobooks and I'v especially enjoyed Barbara Caruso's narration of the Anne of Green Gables books.
The audiobooks I've listened to so far are listed below.

• Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (re-reads)- Joint review for the whole series HERE. 
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare- Review HERE. 
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (re-read)- Review HERE. 
• The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde- Review HERE. 

And I'm currently listening to King Lear by William Shakespeare

I'm looking forward to listening to more audiobooks as the year goes on! :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Book Reviews- The Anne of Green Gables Series

I didn't fancy writing a review for each of the Anne of Green Gables books so instead I grouped my reviews for all of the books in this one post. They were all re-reads.

Anne of Green Gables

I listened to a beautiful audiobook version of this narrated by Barbara Caruso. This has been a much re-read book in my past and once again I was blown away by it. The characters are perfect and the story is heart wrenchingly beautiful. Anne, Matthew and Marilla make the story for me and the spicy secondary characters like Mrs. Allen, Miss Stacy, Dianah and of course Mrs. Lynd just make it even better. Listening to this story made me long for my fanciful childhood even more but watching even Anne grow up reminded me that it must happen to us all. Seeing that Anne still kept much of her same imaginative spirit also reminded me that even as grown ups we can still act and think a bit childishly at times. :)

Anne of Avonlea

Once again a lovely audiobook narrated by Barbara Caruso. This second installment in the series brings the introduction of Davy and Dora, twins who Marilla takes charge of. They're a great addition to the story in my opinion and like Anne help Marilla. It's fun to see Anne start teaching a school of her own and develop relationships with her students and begin to make new friends. Mr. Harrison is hilarious and his parrot... love it! :) Some of Anne's odder theology comes out in this but it's still a great book. :)

Anne of the Island

Can I just say Barbara Caruso is an awesome narrator? If possible, she makes the books even better!  Anne of the Island just really frustrates me at times. The whole time I'm just thinking that Anne needs to say yes to Gilbert and it drives me crazy! I just don't think she realizes that she loves him but she has a ton of time to think it out and still she doesn't! Come on Anne! Then, I was so upset with her romance with Roy Gardner. I don't think she led him on exactly, because she honestly thought she liked him and was going to marry him but still she kind of blew it! She was having warning signs for a couple months or so before he proposed to her that maybe she wasn't in love with him and she kept ignoring them! She should have been figuring it out sooner and backing off so Roy didn't have to go through that heartache. However, at the end I was just so happy that Anne and Gilbert got together I kind of forgave her.
I feel like this book was a lot about Anne being brought down if you know what I mean. She had high opinions of her writing and the flowery speeches but then her story got rejected. She had a tall dark and handsome ideal and then she realizes that he really isn't the man she wants to marry. I think she matures a lot in this book through her many mistakes.
Besides that though I loved the whole atmosphere of Patty's Place and Anne's roommates and Aunt Jamesina. I didn't remember this book very well so when Phillipa Gordon popped up I didn't remember who she was or what happened with her and initially I didn't care for her much but by the end we had gotten to know her better and had seen her mature and get married to Jonas and I really loved her. I can see myself a bit in Phillipa.

Anne of Windy Poplars

This book is slightly different from the others in that is told mostly in the form of letters from Anne to Gilbert. It's kind of a space filler in the series. Don't get me wrong, I do like it, but it's just kind of there instead of I feel being especially unique like many of the other books.
One of my disappointments about this book is that it scarcely has Gilbert in it. However, there are once again a variety of new characters that Anne meets that spice up the story beautifully. Overall, it was still a beautiful and fun book full of antics that only Anne could have.

Anne's House of Dreams

They're finally married! I think with Anne we feel her sorrow and joy as she leaves Green Gables for good and moves with her new husband Gilbert to Four Winds Point. Once again new and interesting characters are introduced and Anne attempts to solve the worlds problems. ;) The saddest part of the story is Anne losing her first child Joyce. It's incredibly heartbreaking but I think Montgomery did the right thing in writing it like that... I say that from an author's point of view. Overall, I guess I would have to agree with people that the books kind of start losing their uniqueness and creativity at this point but they're still lots of fun to read. :)

Anne of Ingleside

Now Anne has five children and in the book she gives birth to a sixth and last. In this book we get more of her children's antics but however old Anne is she never stops her own antics. :) Even though as always with the Anne books I loved it, it is probably my least favorite of the Anne books.

Rainbow Valley

This one really just focuses on Anne's children but it's lots of fun. The Meredith children get into trouble that we thought only Anne could achieve. ;) This book is pretty sweet. :)

Rilla of Ingleside

Just a little ways into this book I began to realize that I really related to Rilla. She's a young girl, struggling with being young and learning to growing up and then being sort of forced to grow up in the midst of war and raising a war baby (I'm kind of jealous of that.. the baby not the war). I actually staid up late one night to finish the book... I had half of it left and didn't plan on finishing it that night but I obviously got carried away. Because it was so late and I was tired (that's my excuse here!) I almost cried three times during the book! I don't cry over books so this astonished me! It was a pretty heartbreaking book though. It is one of my very favorites of the series and a beautiful ending to it.

Random thoughts on characters

So as I was finishing up the series I was thinking a lot about Susan, their maid/nanny/cook. Sometimes, I feel that her character is a little forced and that she is supposed to make us laugh but sometimes instead I just feel like her comments are predictable. She's always saying the same kinds of things. Eventually she got on my nerves a little. I actually thought it interesting to compare her to Rebecca Dew from Anne of Windy Poplars as she is somewhat similar to her. However, I always liked Rebecca and she never got on my nerves. I guess I found her more original. Thoughts anyone on these two characters? 

Concluding thoughts

It has been an incredible amount of fun re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I don't know how many times I've re-read the books but I think this time was unique as I was reading them as an adult (at least I like to think of myself as an adult) and experiencing them in different formats (audiobooks and real books). I have so much nostalgia built up around those books and the films that I don't think anyone could ever convince me to even think about disliking them. Montgomery created such a variety of fun, quirky, interesting and real characters that I think we can all find someone to relate to when we read them. If you haven't read them, I don't know how you're still living but with your final breaths of life read these books and then re-read them! ;) You won't regret it! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Book (Play) Review- The Importance of Being Ernest

For the Play On challenge, TBR pile challenge, Audiobook challenge and Classics Club I read Oscar Wilde's classic play The Importance of Being Ernest.
I knew the story somewhat from watching the 1952 film version years ago with my mom but I didn't remember a lot of it.  I'm intrigued to watch the 2002 Colin Firth version... though I hear it isn't strictly accurate to the book.

Goodreads Synopsis- Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gewndolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend the "rivals" to fight for Ernest's undivided attention and the "Ernests" to claim their beloveds pandemonium breaks loose. Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day!

This play had me laughing a LOT! :) I know this is totally sacrilegious but the line "It's a divorce made in heaven" made me laugh so hard! My copious laughter was mostly due to the fact that I'm always saying "It's a match made in heaven."
Yeah, I have a low threshold of humor. ;)

Anyways.... moving on!

This is one of the funniest plays I've read (I guess the correct term is "listened to"). It's a delightful mixture of W.S. Gilbert and William Shakespeare. Oscar Wilde is so witty and the premise of the play is genius and hilarious rolled into one!
There's not much more to say on the matter but to recommend it to you for many hearty laughs! :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Top Ten Books from my Childhood I want to Revisit

As my readers know, I'm hosting a re-reading challenge this year to encourage myself in my re-reading endeavors. I have a list of almost 300 books that I want to re-read in the next several years. So for today's Top Ten Tuesday I'm just narrowing it down to ten that I'm planning on getting to this year. :)

1. Little Women and others in series by Louise May Alcott- A classic series. :)
2. The Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery- I'm in the middle of re-reading them right now actually. They are just as good the first time as the... wait a moment... I'm not quite sure how many times I have read this series. A lot.... let's just say a LOT! ;)
3. Swallows and Amazons and others in series by Arthur Ransom- These books always made me want to go sailing as a kid. :)
4. The Book of Three and others in series by Lloyd Alexander- One of my favorite fantasy series growing up. I re-read these books many times when I was young. 
5. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy- I adored the 1984 film version growing up and then read the book some years back and loved it too despite it being different. I'm excited to revisit it. 
6. The Chosen by Chaim Potok- A very interesting book. I remembering learning a lot more about Jewish culture from it. 
7. Carry on Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham- This is a great book and if you haven't read it you should! It won a newberry award back in the day, which should be clue enough to you that it's worth it. 
8. The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty- Henty's books were some of my favorites as a kid. It was from his historic novels that I developed a deep love of history and though I do not acclaim any deep knowledge of it, to this day I still love history. :)
9. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White- I've wanted to re-read this every since working at the pig farm last summer... and then, you know, naming my piglet Wilbur. ;)
10. Emma by Jane Austen- Of all of Jane Austen's books this is my least favorite.... not to say I don't like it though! I'm attempting to re-read it to help me develop a deeper appreciation for it. 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

It's Monday! Where did Spring Break Go?

And just like that Spring Break has passed and it's back to school today! :( I had a marvelous time though and was able to spend a lot of time with my little sister and the rest of my family while also doing some (probably not enough) school work. I was also able to finish up season three and start season four of Leverage, which is my new obsession. With my little sister I watched Ever After, which I only had ever watched once before years ago. I thought it was better this second time than the first time but it's still only a so-so movie but quite sweet. :) The family all watched The Scarlet Pimpernel together, which is a family favorite. It has sparked a longing to re-read the book as soon as possible, which is perfect as I was already planning on re-reading it this year. We also got to watch Star Wars: A New Hope! :) Additionally, after long last, I got around to watching The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. It was way worse than I thought it would be. :( Worse than The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.... which is saying something. My brother and I groaned though the whole movie.... it's what we get for being book purists... but even without the book, it's not a great movie. :(

Finished this Week (with all the reading I got done this week I'm on track according to Goodreads!!!) 

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (re-read)- Read my glowing review HERE
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (re-read)- Read my raging rant HERE
• Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery (re-read)
• The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde (audiobook)

Currently Reading

• The Valley of Vision
• Rilla of Ingleside  by L.M. Montgomery (re-read)

Coming Soon

• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy (re-read)

Also be sure to check out The Bookshelf Tag! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Bookshelf Tag!

I am on a tag roll recently! I love doing them! This one was created by Raindrops and Roses. :)

Describe your bookshelf (or wherever it is you keep your books-it doesn't actually have to be a shelf!) and where you got it from.

I got my bookshelf a few years back... probably from Wal Mart but I don't remember. My bookshelf is at my parents so I also keep a stack of books at my house so I have a ready supply on hand. 

My current bookshelf layout. I say current
because I'm about ready to run out of space.
And yes, I have a ridiculous number of ceramics
on my shelf. They're ones I made back when I was
 in 4-H and I don't know what to to with them! 

Do you have any special or different way of organizing your books?

I sort them by alphabetic order by author's last name. That's how my dad always sorted them so I just thought that would be the easiest way. Additionally I sort the books by the author in alphabetic order by title.

What's the thickest (most amount of pages) book on your shelf?

After some diligent searching through the page numbers of thick books on my shelf I discovered it's my new copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare- 1263 pages! 

What's the thinnest (least amount of pages) book on your shelf?

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence- 61 pages. I actually have two copies of this book as two people gave it to me for a graduation present and one actually has more pages than the other- different versions. I thought it was going to be my copy of Dr. Seuss's ABC but it's 63 pages. :)

Is there a book you received as a birthday gift?

I received The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers for my birthday this year. :)

What's the smallest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

Once again it's The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.

What's the biggest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

And also once again The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. 

Is there a book from a friend on your shelf?

My best friend eBeth actually started me out on my book collection. A good chunk of the books I own are ones she gave me. She would always give me her duplicates. I know she supplied my whole Chronicles of Narnia collection and she also gave me my copy of Persuasion. I'm not sure what else... a lot! :) I have an awesome friend. 

Most expensive book?

Probably The Complete Works of William Shakespeare but I didn't actually have to pay for it because I had a gift card! :)

The last book you read on your shelf?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (it was a re-read)

Of all the books on your shelf, which was the first you read?

Probably Dr. Seuss's ABC, which makes me laugh. :) 

Do you have more than one copy of a book?

I have two copies of The Horse and His Boy, The Two Towers, Tom Sawyer, and Killer Angels. The last two I didn't mean to get two copies of but I forgot I already had copies of them. That's okay though... they're great books so two copies is better than one. ;)

Do you have the complete series of any book series?

I have the complete series of the Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings (I guess that's a trilogy not a series but whatever!). I really want the complete series of Anne of Green Gables! 

What's the newest addition to your shelf?

I just got a big haul from the used bookstore last week. :) It includes all of Amanda Grange's Austen heroes diaries, my second copy of Killer Angels, The Last Full Measure, Life Expectancy, Elephants Can Remember, The Harlequin Tea Set, Hercule Poroit's Christmas and Animal Farm. 

What book has been on your shelf FOREVER?

Probably the Chronicles of Narnia. 

What's the most recently published book on your shelf?

Henry Tilney's Diary by Amanda Grange- 2011

The oldest book on your shelf (as in, the actual copy is old)?

 I'm not going to look through all my books but I looked at the oldest looking ones and I think it's my copy of Jane Austen's Persuasion- 1960.

A book you won?

None. 

A book you'd hate to let out of your sight (aka a book you never let someone borrow)?

I'm pretty generous with lending out books. I'm not sure there's one I'd not lend out. However, my Complete Works of Shakespeare is pretty nice I'd had to lose it. 

Most beat up book?

My copy of The Voyage of the Dawn Treasure is in two pieces and one of my copies of The Two Towers is pretty beat up too. 

Most pristine book?

The Complet Works of Shakespeare. 

A book from your childhood?

Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. 

A book that's not actually your book?

At first I thought that they were all mine but then I remembered that my copy of Much Ado about Nothing, isn't exactly mine. We read it for 4-H reading group some years back and my mom bought multiple copies so we'd have enough to go around and I kind of just held on to it. 

A book with a special/different cover (e.g. leather bound, soft fuzzy cover etc.)?

My copy of The Valley of Vision has a leather cover. It feels really luxurious! :) 

A book that is your favorite color?

My copy of Beowulf has a beautiful teal color... which is my favorite color... I love all shades of blue. :) 

Book that's been on your shelf the longest that you STILL haven't read?

Probably The Czar by Deborah Alcock. I really need to get around to reading it. I've had it for a couple years now. 

Any signed books?

Not on my shelf but on my parents shelves we have several signed copies of Brian Jacques novels from when we went to a signing/talk from him. I even have a picture with him. :) 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin