Since last month’s Nightstand:
- I finished Great Expectations (!!!) but never got around to sharing any concluding thoughts. I so enjoy Dickens’ characterization and his insight into Pip’s psychological motivation. What I did manage to do was share lots of quotes: advice for life from Dickens, “Plain contented Joe,” dismal rot, and educated Joe. This book also got me thinking about hosting a Dickens challenge next year, since I obviously need extrinsic motivation to read him. (I read this one for my IRL bookclub.) Would anybody be interested in such a challenge? 🙂
- I read Sarah McKenzie’s Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace and shared a quote here. I wouldn’t call this book a must-read or a real groundbreaking piece of work, but it was a nice, quick, encouraging read.
- I was captivated by I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. My thoughts are here.
- Jennifer L. Holm’s The Fourteenth Goldfish took me by surprise.
- I was blown away by new author Esther Ehrlich’s sad, sad juvenile novel Nest.
I’m currently reading:
What’s up next:
Both of these are bookclub picks. If I read anything else, it will be gravy in this busy life o’ mine. 🙂
Be sure to come back on this coming Read Aloud Thursday to check in with your read-alouds for the month of August or what you’re hoping to read aloud in September! I’ll be sharing what we’ve been reading together then.
Excited about Nest and just put it on hold at the library (for me as well as my 13-yr-old). I read GE a few years back when my oldest daughter read it for school. Boy, authors back then just WROTE … and wrote and wrote and wrote … I liked it okay, but just okay. I kept hoping to be blown away as I am by many classics, but wasn’t. I like your idea of collections of quotes from it, though.
I would be interested in a Dickens challenge. I enjoy his books but still haven’t read all of them.
I Capture the Castle sounds really interesting.
Good for you for finishing Great Expectations! I’d count that as a great victory. I have Running Scared on my TBR list (I probably picked it up when it was free too–it’s hard to keep up with those!). Great list, Amy.
I really need to add Dickens to my to read list. He is a favorite of my daughter.
I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed Jane Eyre. Reading a biography of the Bronte’ sisters makes me want to re-read it.
I attempted to read Flora and Ulysses but just could not finish it. I returned it to the library instead of passing it along to my children. I am interested to see your thoughts.
I bought Bleak House but have not made time to read it. I also want to give Tale of Two Cities another chance in paper form.
I’m interested in what you think of Flora and Ulysses. I started it…but didn’t get into it. Tell me it’s good!
M-girl loved Flora and Ulysses. She thought it was really funny.