The favorite books you got as gifts

This adorable tabletop book tree was featured on Pinterest.  The original post/ohoto is here

Yesterday I blogged about giving/getting books for Christmas.  I shared what some of my favorite gifted books were as a child, and asked my readers and Facebook friends to share some of their favorite book gifts.

Here are some replies:

Dorene Hostler A very dear friend bought me a beautiful, leather-bound bible many years ago. It's so marked up & worn now...but, it is my favorite book I've ever received as a gift.

Katrina Johns as a child: The Secret Garden (from my Grandma), as an adult: Jesus Calling (from some sweet ladies at my church)

Vicki Walton My Bible I received my Senior year, a book of The Holocaust and those rescued, "Rebecca" a mystery, and as a child, definitely "Charlotte's Web."

Vickie Fanning A Bible...The Giving Tree....Where the Red Fern Grows.... A collection of Robert Frost Poems....A collection of Poe

Teresa Lester Bernadette and the Lady. Angels Unaware. Joni. The courage of Carol. All given to me as a teen girl

Cindy Long When I was about 12, my mom bought me Harriet The Spy, and I remember reading it straight through and enjoying every page.

Karrilee Aggett said...
Oh how I love books... stacks and stacks of books! My favorite book as a child was A Wrinkle in Time... but I couldn't possibly pick a favorite as an adult - there are too many!

Anastasia Rose said...
Books are absolutely my favorite gifts! One of the more recent books I've received (maybe two or three years ago) was called Believing in Narnia, and it was a devotional type book dealing with the real-life themes in the Chronicles of Narnia. No matter how many times I read those books, they still end up showing me something new!

Jo said...
I can never choose favourites. I love far too many! One of the top ones would have to be the complete works of Jane Austen. In my family, books are given at Easter more than Christmas. A tradition that started when I was a child and has stuck. My daughter always receives a book at Christmas too.

Susan Baker said...
Growing up, there were always books for Christmas. Most of them are long forgotten. But I still have my battered and well-worn paperback versions of The Hobbit and (most of) The Chronicles of Narnia.

They were my first "grown up" books and started me on a life long love. I'm happily continuing the tradition with my own sons.

Bethany Boring said...
I have an answer to this!! My favorite book I received as a complete surprise this year. I was wanting a way to bring my young boys around the real meaning of Christmas, but in a way like they had never heard it before. A good friend sent me Ann V new book, "The Greatest Gift." It has been jusr that and more. I blogged about this today...too funny!

Rachel S. said...
Boxed set of Anne of Green Gables books - I still have them, and my girls are reading them now

Thanks everyone, for sharing your favorites with me! Now let's buy a book for someone for Christmas!

15 Books That Will Always Stick With Me

I noticed something that's been going around Facebook recently.  People are "tagged" to list the books that have stayed with them, or stuck with them.

No one has tagged me on this, but I recalled that a few years ago I actually blogged about my own list.  So, ta-da!  Here it is again.

(I almost didn't list the Bible, because it's really in a category all its own, but no list of "books that stayed with me" is complete without it.)

1. The Holy Bible

 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12

It's a living thing.  It's unlike any other book that has ever written or ever will be.  

And now to ordinary, man-made books:


2. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte--After loving this book almost all my life, I finally wrote a review of it here.   It's not "the mother of all gothic novels" for nothing. It has everything: romance, mystery, suspense, a dangerously attractive love interest and a heroine we admire and care about.

3. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte--Heathcliff is the ultimate bad boy that you can't help falling a little in love with (although, as I've matured, I see him much more as a villain than as a romantic figure.) Windswept moors, sobbing heroines--it's a mess, but you can't help being captivated.

4. Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot--The gut-wrenching true story of  missionaries killed while trying to give the gospel to a remote tribe.  Written by the remarkable widow of  one of the missionaries.

5. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis---technically more than one book. (My favorite is probably "The Silver Chair")--I was avidly reading these books as a child, many years before the movie hype came along, and probably before many of you were born! Still, I continue to re-read them about once a year.

6. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott--Introduced me to the joys of fiction when I was a very little girl. Now, as an adult, it seems a bit quaint-- but I still love it.

7. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen--I've always loved the way Darcy and Elizabeth are inexorably drawn to each other throughout the book, despite ostensibly not being able to stand each other. And Elizabeth is one of the coolest heroines ever...feisty, funny and beautiful.

8. The Red Knights of Hy Brasil, by Christine Savery--This was a childhood favorite when I was a missionary kid in Beirut, Lebanon. I had lost it, but a few years ago I found a copy online, and yes, I do read it again occasionally. I also give this book at least partial credit for my lifelong obsession with Ireland, and desire to go there. I blogged here about finding the book after many years.

9. Not My Will, by Francena H. Arnold--I blogged about this book not too long ago here. Written many years ago, it still stands the test of time.

10. Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers--Showed me how really excellent, top-notch and absorbing Christian fiction can be...and the message has been literally life-changing for some young women I know.

11. The Atonement Child, by Francine Rivers--What would you do if you were a Christian college student about to marry a star preacher-to-be---and you were raped by a stranger?  And you were pregnant?  Rivers handles this question with unflinching real-ness.

13.Wisdom Hunter, by Randall Arthur-- Probably the most brutally honest look at graceless Christianity to date. Combines a fascinating story with vital spiritual insights.

14. The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom--This true story of a Dutch woman imprisoned by the Nazis for helping Jews is an incredible portrait of faith and grace.

15. Auntie Robbo, by Anne Scott Moncrieff--Another childhood favorite that I've found and bought again online. I blogged about it here.

The list could go on...and on...and on!

The joy of browsing a used book store...

Have you ever spent time browsing through a used bookstore?  There's something truly wonderful about it, especially if you're a bookaholic like I am.

Last week, my daughter and I were able to spend a little time in Babbit's Bookstore in Normal, IL.  Not enough time, of course.  We had some time constraints, or we would have lingered.  But it was so enjoyable.

I knew I wanted to get a book about Ireland, and I found quite a few to choose from.  Although not garage-sale cheap, the prices were very reasonable.

I had to take a picture of these Beverly Gray books for my sister Beverly.  Her name isn't all that common, and I was pretty sure she didn't know there was a series of books based on a girl named Beverly.  I may see if I can find some of these at the library.

My daughter was enchanted with this book.  Books were once so lovely, weren't they?

Elizabeth was looking for Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, but she was unsuccessful in that quest.  She did, however, find a book that had been on her to-read list:  Peggy Noonan's biography of Ronald Reagan, When Character was King, at a very good price.

The book about Ireland that I ended up getting turned out to be fascinating.  Although this appears to be a much more recent edition, it was written in 1925! It was interesting to find Ireland captured at that moment in time.

There are tons of photographs, but of course all of them are in black and white.  Travel literature has come a long way since then!

Before we left, my daughter commented that visiting that bookstore made her realize that although she gets many books online, she'll never abandon reading the printed word.  Neither will I.

Below is another used bookstore where I spent some time a few years ago...the Book Pride store in Georgetown, Texas.  Compared to Babbit's, it was wonderfully spacious and included several reading nooks.  I loved it!

Are you like me...do you love used bookstores?  Do you have a favorite one...or even just a favorite bookstore?  I'd love to hear about it!

I'm linking up today with Thursday Favorite Things, hosted by Katherine's Corner!

Paradise for a Bookworm

I missed "Oh, How Pinteresting" this week. So this week, I'm just going to take part in Thursday Favorite Things by sharing some lovely images to do with one of my favorite subjects: books/reading.

If you're a book and reading lover too, please do let me know in my comments! I'd love to hear from you.

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"My Eldest Daughter, Suzanne with Milk and Book" by Carl Larsson, 1904

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I'm participating today in Thursday Favorite Things hosted by Katherine's Corner 

I need this book.

Have you ever tried to locate a book from your childhood or youth?  One that you had lost, or lost track of, or never even owned...but for whatever reason, you really wanted a copy again?

I have.  And I tracked down at least two, with very good results.

I've blogged before about finding  copies of two of my childhood favorites, Red Knights from Hy 
Brasil and Auntie Robbo.

That's one of the marvelous things about the Internet.  An obscure book that you thought was lost to you forever can be found on sites from abebooks to alibris to Amazon (Probably eBay? I haven't tried that yet.)

I also found a beloved book for my mom.

Carol Plays Summer Stock

Well, the other day something made me think about this book.   I think it was the unusual first names in the book--there was a character named Orchid and one named Remember.

I'm not even sure how this book came into my possession.  Honestly, I think it might have been a library book my older sister never returned. But I read it, and loved it, even at probably 10 or 12 years old.

And as I still do with books I really love, I read it repeatedly.

The book is available on Amazon.  And I was able to find some interesting information about its author, Helen Dore Boylston, on Wikipedia.

I found this description on Goodreads:

Her apprenticeship at Phyllis Marlowe's Repertory Theater behind her, green-eyed Carol Page now faces her first real job as second ingénue at the Richards Village Theater, Winasset, Maine. Along with her go her former classmate Julia Gregg and clever young Mike Horodinsky - Julia as apprentice, Mike as assistant stage manager.

In a rambling old house by the sea, Carol, Julia, and Mike live with the other members of the Richards Theater. Here their days are filled with learning parts, attending rehearsals, painting scenery, and absorbing as much as possible about the business of a summer theater; nights are filled with the excitement of performance. Here, too, Carol learns what it means to combat such forces as townsfolk who frown on the stage as evil, and Maine fog and rain which seem intent on keeping away an audience. She learns how to meet discouragement and how to cope with a girl named Orchid, a professional member of the cast whose training gives her an advantage over Carol and whose glamour is as effective as her technique.

Most of all, Carol and Mike discover the meaning of the theater - its demands, its disappointments, its rewards - and it is with a deeper realization of their love for it that they turn their eyes toward Broadway.

Have you tracked down favorite books?

I'd love to hear the story of how/where you found it! Or just tell me about what favorite book from your past you'd love to find and own.

 Read the story here of how finding this book led me to a true tale of murder in a tiny English village.

I'm linking up with Thursday Favorite Things at Katherine's Corner!

Oh, How Pinteresting: Beautiful Bookish Images

Anyone who knows me or has followed this blog for very long, knows that I'm a lifelong lover of books and reading.

I'm actually a day late in linking up with Oh, How Pinteresting, hosted by the Vintage Apple, but I'm going ahead and doing so, to show you some beautiful book- and reading-related images I've seen on Pinterest lately!

Source: piccsy.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: living-life-like-a-video.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: starklibrary.org via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: labelleboheme.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: theliterarygiftcompany.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: bookriot.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: flickriver.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: loc.gov via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: ellenmgregg.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: thomerama.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

What are your favorites here? Let me know in my comments!

Follow me on Pinterest!

I missed Oh, How Pinteresting yesterday, but I'm still linking up:

I have some bookfessions to make...

Source: bookfessions.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

So, I hear today is National Read a Book Day...and what better time to share some Bookfessions with you?

I recently discovered a Tumblr blog that's obviously written by someone who is a kindred spirit to me, when it comes to all things books and reading.

It's Bookfessions...and it mainly consists of numbered thoughts and sayings about the author's love of books and reading.

The author writes: "THESE ARE CONFESSIONS AND/OR THOUGHTS OF A BOOK LOVER, BIBLIOPHILE, BOOK ADDICT, READER, LOVER OF LITERATURE, NERD...CALL ME WHAT YOU WILL, BUT HERE THEY ARE."

Here are just a few Bookfessions.  Head over to her blog (this link will take you to a full archive), and if you're like me, prepare to relate to and identify with almost everything!

Source: bookfessions.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: bookfessions.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: bookfessions.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: bookfessions.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Miscellany Monday: Things I'm loving right now

Linking up with Miscellany Monday with some things I've been loving lately:

Victorian mysteries: I can't remember just how I stumbled onto Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries, but I keep going to the library to get more!  I started with reading a couple of her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt books.  Then I discovered her William Monk series, and there's been no turning back.  Excellent storytelling, Victorian ambience, and vividly drawn characters.  So far, I'm loving them!

Interestingly enough, the writer herself was convicted of murder in 1954.  Complicated story, but I'm sure it gives a mystery writer a certain edge!

Bel Vita Breakfast Biscuits:  I am so loving these tasty, filling cookies.  They make a great breakfast on the go, or having a couple of them with coffee or tea for a snack.  They're very satisfying and nutritious!  Trouble is, I can't find them everywhere.

Getting together with friends:  Whenever I go for a while without a get-together with friends and/or loved ones, I feel it.  I NEED these times.  On Saturday, my husband and I went with our friends Tom and Kari, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Verlyn and Beth, for a late lunch at the wonderful Maggiano's restaurant in Schaumburg.

The food was delicious and the fellowship was wonderful.  Resolved: to make a point to get together with friends more often!

Kari, me, and Beth

Ross Dress for Less:   I had shopped at Ross in Texas, and was happy to see that a store finally opened where I live.

I am so impressed with the selection and the prices!  Recently I bought an awesome Levi denim skirt, which I will wear the heck out of all year long, for $19.99 (the suggested retail price was over 40 dollars.)

And you know how I've been wanting to wear a hat?  (Well, you know now!)  I found the cutest hat, that I'm going to wear for Easter, for $8.99!  Ross is awesome!

So those are just a few of the things I'm enjoying right now.  You can participate in Miscellany Monday too!