Personal Reading
A Jane Austen Education
by William Deresiewicz
The author interweaves his personal story of growing up and looking for purpose, community, and true love with his growing understanding of and appreciation for Jane Austen's six novels.
Lady Susan
by Jane Austen
Copied from another reviewer on LibraryThing.com: "Published in 1871, several decades after her death, this novella is an early work from Jane Austen. It is written in epistolary form, with letters between the major characters providing insight into their personalities. It contains an epilogue written in narrative form that provides closure on what happened to these people. Lady Susan is intended to be an unlikeable character, and she comes across as scheming and manipulative. I found it interesting to read an early work to see how Austen’s writing progressed."
Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship
by Emily Brand
Written from the perspective of a pre-Elizabeth Bennett Mr. Darcy, this book instructs gentlemen, and, to a lesser extent, ladies on appropriate courtship behavior, with special contributions from Miss Bingley and Mr. Wickham. It makes you want to throttle him (Darcy) at times. It was mildly amusing in some parts, and not so much in others. It was a quick read, but probably not worth a second read. Unless you're a die-hard Pride and Prejudice fan, skip it.
The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England
by Kristine Hughes
An interesting description of various aspects of life in England from 1811-1901, including cooking, shopping, dressing, etiquette, entertainment, and mourning.
The Code of the Woosters
by P. G. Wodehouse
A full-cast audiobook. Very well done. Bertie Wooster is a rich, young gentleman with more money than sense. Fortunately, he has his valet, Jeeves, to get him out of sticky situations, which his friends and relatives are adept at getting him into. I listened to this in conjunction with the podcast discussion on The Literary Life.
by P. G. Wodehouse
Somewhat of a continuation of The Code of the Woosters, same characters, similar scrapes. Audio book very well done.
Jeeves: Joy in the Morning
by P. G. Wodehouse
Bertie Wooster finds himself again in similar sticky situations as in The Code of the Woosters, but this time with different characters. Audiobook was well done, though there was one actor who grumbled and yelled and was very difficult to understand.
The Shunning
The Confession
The Reckoning
by Beverly Lewis
A trilogy of books about Katie Lapp, who after being raised old-order Amish, finds out just before her wedding that she was adopted at birth from a teenage "English" girl. Because she refuses to give up her music and guitar (which is considered sinful by her Amish community), she is shunned and decides to leave to search for her birth mother. I appreciated how the author respects the Amish people but points out the unbiblical errors in their beliefs. It was a gripping tale, but some of the sudden and unexplained plot twists left me scratching my head, thinking, "Where did that come from?"
My Father's World
by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella
Corrie Belle Hollister and her 4 brothers and sisters are left as orphans on their trek from New York to California to try to find their mother's brother, Uncle Nick. Their father disappeared years before, and the mother died on the trip. After some time, they end up finding both their uncle and their father. An interesting read, though I was disappointed that though one character seems to have a true biblical faith in Jesus, the gospel was not presented very clearly. Corrie still is left to think that God is her Father, even though she has not placed her faith in Jesus.
Sketches by Boz
by Charles Dickens
I finally made it through this collection of stories. Most are independent of each other, so you don't lose a plot thread by taking your time (which I most certainly did). Every time I read Dickens, I laugh out loud as his wit. Such as his description of an amateur orchestra that won't stay together but treats the musical piece as a race to see which instrument can finish first. Or the description of the water of a certain town. "...but in the hot summer weather it will dry up, and turn green: and, although green is a very good colour in its way, especially in grass, still certainly is not becoming to water..."
Geography Read-aloud
Books set in Ohio:
Freedom River
by Doreen Rappaport
A free black man crosses the Ohio river at night to bring to freedom a black couple and their baby.
Johnny Appleseed
by Reeve Lindbergh
A poem celebrating the life of John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed.
Books set in Indiana:
A Place Called Freedom
by Scott Russell Sanders
A freed black family settles in Indiana, then makes multiple trips back to slave states to rescue their kin. Many other freed blacks and escaped slaves settle nearby. When it comes time to name their town, they decide on "Freedom."
Books set in Illinois:
Abe Lincoln's Hat
by Martha Brenner
An easy reader book about how Abe Lincoln stored his important papers in his hat.
Sky High: George Ferris's Big Wheel
by Monica Kulling
An easy reader book about the creation of the Ferris Wheel for Chicago's World's Fair.
Cheyenne Medicine Hat
by Brian Heinz
A fictional story about a wild mare and her foal who escape capture by cowboys. "Medicine Hat" is the name given by the Sioux to horses of her coloring -- mostly white, with special dark markings on the head and eyes that look like a hat.
The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
A young girl spends a year with her mother on a sparsely populated island. No humans, only a band a wild horses. She falls in love with the horses and tries to help them stay alive during an especially harsh winter.
The Essential Fergus
by Jean Abernathy
A collection of cartoons about a horse named Fergus and his pals at the barn. Very relatable to a certain horse I know personally. Especially the one who likes to unlock gates and latches. The first half of the book is the author's story of how she become involved with horses, how she learned to draw, and how she ended up creating Fergus.
Fergus, A Horse to be reckoned with
by Jean Abernathy
A picture book, in verse, about Fergus being "broken" to human contact and to saddle.
Fergus and the Greener Grass
by Jean Abernathy
Another picture book, in verse, about Fergus finding out the truth about the grass on the other side of the fence.
Fergus and the Night Before Christmas
by Jean Abernathy
A picture book, in verse, about Fergus and his pals pulling Santa's sleigh.
It's Been 20 Years Fergus (and you're still spooking at that thing?)
by Jean Abernathy
Another collection of comics about Fergus the horse, including the author's reminisces of her 20 years of drawing him.
Mister Wolf and Me
by Mary Francis Shura
I read this book in elementary school. I remember it being my sister's book. I've thought about it from time to time, but though I remembered the story, I couldn't remember the title. While browsing at a resale shop, I saw it and grabbed it. The boy's distinctive German Shepherd is accused of attacking and killing a local sheep farmer's sheep. The boy knows his dog is innocent, but the accuser is equally certain that he's guilty because it's not likely there could be two dogs that looked like that. (Spoiler: unless one was a brother gone wild...)
