In the Bookcase

3/21/2011

Lists about Books

Today starts a new meme over at the Young Ladies Christian Fellowship. Check out their blog to see lots of book-related posts this month. I participated a couple of weeks ago in their Snapshots of Favorite Books.

This week they have a new link-up for Lists about Books. I'm joining up and my post is below...

March of Books 2011 at ylcf.org

For my entry, I have 3 different types of things I'd like to share.

#1. Online Book Lists
These lists are great, especially if you're looking for books that belong in a particular grade-level, or for family reading.

1000 Good Books List (This huge, grade-by-grade book list was compiled by a group of homeschooling mothers.)

More than Books (On this page you’ll find wonderful Christian book lists for all ages: the little ones, 8 years & older, 12 years & older, and high school.)

Glencoe Literature Study Guides (Great study guides that go with several popular books.)

Sonlight Recommended Books (Select a grade/age level, and then read through the "Individual Items" for book titles.)


#2. Book Blogs
Some of my favorite blogs pertain to the subject of books--not surprisingly. Below are a few of them. I'm sure these girls would love it if you stopped by their blogs!

Just a Trifle

Castles, Quills, and Cameras

Blogful of Books

Christ is Write

Before My Penn Has Gleaned

My Camera and I

Literary Pursuits

Novel Pretender

Ashen Skye Life

Rose's Daring Adventure

The Book Blog

The Ladies Library

Whisperings of the Pen

The Parchment Girl


#3. Download Free E-books
Searching for e-books is a great method to access old classics. I've found that if you can't find the e-book you're looking for on a website, it's good to check around on other sites.

Open Library

Read Print

Planet eBook

Globusz

The Online Books Page

Classic Authors

The Literature Network

Wikisource

Free Kindle E-books

Smashwords

Children's Literature Project

Many Books

Project Gutenberg

Literature Post

eBooks Read



Do you have any favorite book lists, blogs, or other places to get free e-books? Please feel free to share your thoughts!




3/14/2011

Book Review: Heart of Fire

Heart of Fire


Heart of Fire


written by Victoria Holmes

352 pages
published in 2006






Maddie is a 15-year-old girl who has lived in her grandparents' country estate in England, ever since her parents died. Her older sister, Louisa, also lives with them--but Theo, their brother is fighting in the Great War (WWII).

The main plot of the book begins when Theo suddenly returns from the war--which is a wonderful surprise for the family. It has been so many years, and Theo has changed so much in that time. He awkwardly tries fitting in with their life at Sefton Park. However, most of the time, Theo is out in the stable with the horses, instead of being with the family. Because he distances himself like that, Maddie attempts to become close with him in his own world. She takes the leap to finally show an interest in horses, so that she can get to know her brother.

She slowly becomes more and more attached to her brother until she uncovers something he has been hiding from the family. It is intriguing and astonishing--it even caught me by surprise! However, by the time Maddie finds out Theo's secret, if she tells everyone it will wreck all the horse riding plans that she and her brother previously had. How much farther will she go without telling? What kind of trouble is it going to cost her?

"Heart of Fire" is a excellent story, and revolves a lot around horses. So, if you're a horse fanatic and love historical fiction, I'm sure this is the book for you.



~*~click here to read more of my book reviews.

~*~this post is linked to: Book Love

~*~at the end of March, will also be linked to: YLCF



3/09/2011

Books to Treasure

"March of Books" is something the Young Ladies Christian Fellowship's blog is doing for their 2nd time around. I was able to participate in the fun last March too, so I was excited when I found out they are doing it again. Check out their blog to see lots of book-related posts on their blog this month. One of the things that you can do right now is to take part in Snapshots of Favorite Books. You can take a look at everyone's photos on the YLCF site. I'm joining up and my post is below...

March of Books 2011 at ylcf.org

Sharing about books is my passion. I do it all the time on my blog. However, it was hard for me to decide which book to share about today. Picking one is impossible! Finally, it came to me---I'll share about those special books I have that I will keep forever. They are stories that I know I will read again and again throughout my life. I'm quite sure you know the kind that I'm talking about.


{Currently, this is my treasured stack of books.}


You can't go wrong with having "Little Women" as a part of your special books. Especially if it is a complete & unabridged, hardback copy with charming pictures of the lovely March girls.


"Les Miserables" is in there too--yes, that includes all 1463 pages of my copy.


...and it includes of the fine print that comes with such a book as "Les Miserables". Just seeing the photo of the inside pages makes me want to start reading the awesome book.


"Greyfriars Bobby" ~ possibly my VERY favorite book ever.

"Anne of Green Gables" ~ I enjoyed all 8 of my Anne books. They are truly one of a kind.

"Elsie Dinsmore" ~ I'm happy to say I do own all 28 of the original classics, although I'm not quite finished reading them all. As soon as I do finish the series, I know I will start it all over again.


So there they are. I think I'll stick with these books for a while, and maybe add some more books to my "keep forever" list.


What are the books that you will always treasure?




3/01/2011

Sharing Our Bookshelves {March 2011}

Being pleasantly surprised with the outcome of last month's "Sharing Our Bookshelves" I am now happy to announce today as the first day of March--more importantly, the first day of a new "Sharing Our Bookshelves" linky.

You can start right away by linking up any of your recent blog posts that are about books... whether about your current writing projects, what you're reading, etc. As the blog list grows, we will all enjoy taking a look at your blogs.
At the bottom of this post is where you can all congregate and join in by linking up.




.:. Sharing what's been in my own bookshelf this past month .:.

I accomplished reading 3 books in February. One of them was The Coral Island written by R.M. Ballantyne. What an adventure that was!

That book may have been written 153 years ago... but the author's sweet descriptions, the heart-pounding suspense of island cannibals, and the rich talk of God had me intrigued so greatly throughout this book.
Looking forward to the next time I read another Ballantyne book.



I'm sure that we all will enjoy coming over to the list of blogs and being able to "browse" through everyone else's "bookshelves"...

A link back to my blog (from your post) is always appreciated. Blog buttons are also available for the taking.



Click here to get the code for one of the buttons.



...{Final instructions are below}...
I am looking forward to seeing what you link up!