My List

I meant to write this yesterday. Then again I planned on doing a lot of stuff yesterday that didn't get done! Just like the stuff I wanted to do today probably won't get done. xD

I was both surprised and unsurprised by the fact that most people hadn't read or even heard of most of the books on that list. I know I don't plan on going out and buying them! I have only read one book on it. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. It's actually a whole series- and a good one! My aunt gave me the box set years ago. They are all really short, very easily read, but still entertaining books. I think they have a good point to them, but I'm scratching my head as to why they are on an adult book list.

Anyway, here's my book list.

Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley - a lot of you said this one as well, for good reason- it's great!

1984 by George Orwell- I first read this book in 9th grade, and oh my gods do I love it! I've read it over and over since then. I had to read and keep a journal of it last summer as a part of my AP English class.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley- this is the other book I had to read and keep a journal of last summer for my AP English class. It was my first time reading it, but it has also become a favorite. It is a lot like 1984.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis- we were first introduced to these books in elementary school through the most popular of the books The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I think they are all worth reading, though. In order is best since you learn so much more about the characters that way! Even though we read it in 3rd grade I think they are totally appropriate for adults. Children are entertained by the story, adults can be entertained by that and understand the underlying allusions.

The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards- Okay, it's another one I read in elementary school. My 5th grade teacher read it to the whole class, complete with voices for each character! We then proceeded to draw out the amazing world and characters we were hearing described. It was a lot of fun. Any adult should be able to appreciate the wonders of Wangdoodleland, though, and maybe connect with their inner child a bit while they're at it!

Authors:
Diane Mott Davidson- She writes a murder mystery series where the main character is a caterer. So not only does this series satisfy my love for murder mysteries, I get recipes out of it! Some of my favorite treats have come from her. I first picked up one of her books at the Salvation Army. I'm glad I did!

Kim Harrison- I love this author! Her Hollows series was introduced to me by my Aunt Jen. It's wicked awesome. Three words- witches, vampires, and werewolves. And it all takes place in Cincinnati. Kim Harrison also just wrote her first book for teens. Once Dead, Twice Shy. I'm glad she decided to continue writing these stories about Madison, because I'm hooked!


I'm going to stop here before I name every book in my book case. That's enough!

Okay time to edit- I knew I would end up adding more! I really have a soft spot for the classics. These are my two favorites that are must reads for me. (Some day at least!) =0)

I have been wanting to read The Complete Works of Shakespeare for a couple years now. I haven't even come close! I've only read a few of his better known plays. My copy of his works just sits there on my shelf taunting me saying "You'll never read me!" It may be slow going, but I know I want to read them all some day.

The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is right up there with Shakespeare in awesomeness. It's also the same deal with the taunting book just sitting on my shelf. Wanting to read this was sparked in part by my English teacher giving me the Geoffry Chaucer award and practically making me cry as he stood on the stage and talked about my love for English and my future plans for owning a restaurant. I went out and bought the book because I remember reading excerpts of it in the British Literature class and liking it.

I guess what partly draws me to these two is the flow of their words. They really did basically just write long poems.

50 Books

I love reading the news on the MSN homepage. There are always interesting articles about random things. Like this one I read a week or so ago called 50 Books for Our Times. In case you don't feel like checking it out (or can't), here's the intro.

What to Read Now. And Why.
We know it's insane. We know people will ask why on earth we think that an 1875 British satirical novel is the book you need to read right now—or, for that matter, why it even made the cut. The fact is, no one needs another best-of list telling you how great The Great Gatsby is. What we do need, in a world with precious little time to read (and think), is to know which books—new or old, fiction or nonfiction—open a window on the times we live in, whether they deal directly with the issues of today or simply help us see ourselves in new and surprising ways. Which is why we'd like you to sit down with Anthony Trollope, and these 49 other remarkably trenchant voices.

I honestly have to wonder how they picked these books! I've only ever heard of a handful of them. And I've only read one of them. If you do decide to check out the list please tell me how many you've heard of and read. I'd like to know.

Despite being the books I 'should' be reading, most of them don't sound interesting to me and I don't plan on spending my time reading them when I have so many other books I'd rather read. I think I should make my own list of books. Actually, I think everyone should make their own list of books!

So- what books do you want to read, have read and think are wicked awesome, or even just think you should probably read at some point.

I've Been Busy

Since my last post I've just been wicked busy. I made peanut butter cheesecake brownie babies, I made no bake cookies, and I made strawberry jam. All three are great!

The brownie babies you definitely need to use paper liners for like the recipe says. I didn't have any so I just sprayed the pan, but the bottoms stuck because the peanut butter and cream cheese 'filling' is so heavy. Instead of cool whip I used some heavy cream to make my own whipped cream.

Yesterday I wanted cookies, but we're actually experiencing warm weather so there was no way I was turning the oven on. Solution- no bakes! I added coconut and cut up almonds to them. And I think next time I'll cut back on the sugar because they are just way too sweet.

The jam turned out great. I used the recipe off the pectin box. My sister has already had a peanut butter and jam sandwich with it. She said it tastes just like it smells -awesome! I tried some on a sandwich but I've never been a huge fan of jam and jelly. When I want a sandwich I don't want a sweet one. My dad thinks I'm nuts because I spent hours making it and I bought all the stuff to make it, but I probably won't eat it. I wanted to make it because I wanted to make it. I'm giving half of it away. The batch made nine jars! I couldn't have been happier than when I found out that it had sealed correctly. I was so worried that I had done something wrong at first.

Last night my sister and I house sat for our Aunt Taunya. Basically we were just there to make sure the house didn't spontaneously combust or anything. They've lost two houses to fires. They have password protected wifi, so even though I brought my laptop with the intent of blogging, I couldn't. Have you ever been in a house where everything is so open that every noise sounds louder than it really is? Their house is like that so I didn't sleep well last night. I think I'm taking a nap this afternoon.

I'm going to go and enjoy this warm weather while we've got it!