tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41278432009-06-01T15:31:29.674-06:00The Little BookroomKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-45223769254777701492009-05-15T16:41:00.003-06:002009-05-15T16:54:36.529-06:00We are not unique.I have just discovered that my family's cult movie is also someone else's cult movie. This is very hard to believe.I've been reading a memoir (you will laugh when you learn that it's called Truck: A Love Story) by Michael Perry, about his life in a small Wisconsin town, the rebuilding of a '51 International pickup, planting a vegetable garden, going on book tours, and his Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-41622033434901905262009-04-28T15:36:00.003-06:002009-04-28T15:40:47.942-06:00Sam's Wish ListPoinsettia and the Fire Fighters, Felicia BondI Spy seriesThe Lord Is My Shepherd, illustrated by Tasha TudorMy Very First Mother Goose, Iona Opie and Rosemary WellsThe Sleeping Beauty, Trina Schart Hymanany books about diggersKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-49413021973961591592008-12-02T16:15:00.002-07:002008-12-02T16:30:21.027-07:00Somebody asked me recently if I still had time to read while raising a toddler and running a farm. My answer was, Yes, and I also find time for breathing. I've been reading a lot of farming/real food/back-to-the-land books lately; it's inspiring to get other perspectives on the lifestyle I've chosen, and fun to compare our progress with that of other folks. Right now I'm enjoying Rural Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-29414025480391564882008-09-28T16:43:00.003-06:002008-09-28T17:03:45.200-06:00So my mom comes into the house yesterday morning and hands me a padded envelope. "You got giant microbes in the mail!" she says brightly. I look at the envelope. Sure enough, the return address says "Giant Microbes". Huh. I tear it open and peek inside to see an unidentifiable yellowish lump. I don't really want to touch it, but I pull it out gingerly. Well, would you look at that. It's... a Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-85486644366654670922008-08-21T21:02:00.003-06:002008-08-21T21:22:02.249-06:00More on the subject of self-sacrifice--a Methodist song quoted in Robertson Davies's Murther and Walking Spirits:There's an excellent rule I have learned in life's school,And I'm ready to set it before you. When you're heavy at heartAnd your world falls apart, Do not pity yourself, I implore you.No, up with your chin, Meet bad luck with a grin,And try this infallible trick: It never will Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-26255282106813618462008-07-30T15:34:00.002-06:002008-07-30T16:10:10.841-06:00There's something about summer that tempts me even more than usual to lounge about all day and immerse myself in reading--something in which I cannot indulge anymore. I've been trying to avoid potato-chip books, like mysteries and fantasy, because once I start I don't want to do anything else, and get very cross when reality (the boy, the farm, etc) intrudes. During our vacation in Minnesota, I Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-58007691180278422612008-05-17T12:04:00.006-06:002008-05-17T12:46:39.471-06:00What is it about memes that's so irresistible? And I'm always a sucker for book lists--so fun to check off all the ones I've read... This one's from Voracious Reader.Consider yourself tagged if you are reading this. When you post your list on your blog, please track back to mine (or leave a comment) so that I can read your lists too.The rules:Bold what you have read, italicize books you’ve Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-1017341890404676992008-04-18T13:01:00.002-06:002008-05-03T17:19:51.812-06:00Realizing the other day that it's none too soon to start thinking about and planning for homeschooling, I decided to read a book that's been on my list for a while now--The Well-Trained Mind, by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. It's a guide to classical education at home, and is laid out chronologically, with detailed chapters for each subject. One could follow their program to the letter, as Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-7924891990333561082008-03-30T16:22:00.001-06:002008-03-30T16:23:07.508-06:00If Sam turns out like this boy, I will be so happy.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-89048405474782731522008-03-18T12:08:00.002-06:002008-03-18T12:13:01.248-06:00Irresistible indeed, Steve. And so satisfying when the nearest book is an impressive one (AND one that I was reading, not Odious, as is more usually the case by the computer)!Lord. The King and Queen and all are coming down.Hamlet. In happy time.Lord. The Queen desires you to use some gentle entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play.--The Kittredge Shakespeares Hamlet, edited and with Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-8475178164997327122008-02-16T16:58:00.002-07:002008-02-16T17:21:45.630-07:00We just spent a lovely sunny week in California visiting relatives, and my dear sister took us to a charming little oldtown shopping area where we went crazy in a couple of antique stores. I found all these delicious old books--so much fun! I was hoping the titles would show up better in the picture, but I guess I'll have to list them. There are only a couple of replacements (Rose In Bloom and Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-79426812327804134592008-01-26T16:42:00.000-07:002008-01-26T17:18:21.449-07:00My latest phase of potato-chip reads is over, and I'm back to Victorian novels as inspired by the wonderful book Inside the Victorian Home, by Judith Flanders. Miss Marjoribanks, Margaret Oliphant: Lucilla Marjoribanks is my hero! She's the Dolly Levi of Victorian novels--I loved her sensible, level-headed approach to life and to arranging everyone in it. So far I haven't had any luck finding Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-64411948053226540672008-01-20T13:34:00.000-07:002008-01-20T15:06:40.098-07:00Lots of good books the past couple of weeks--I've been reading more than getting things done...Dragonhaven, Robin McKinley: I probably should've read some Jane Austen after this, to protect my own writing style; as with Sunshine, McKinley gives her narrator (in this case, a teenage boy) a very specific voice. It works, but is a little wearing after a while--too many likes and totallys and you Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-42254689417019094212008-01-14T16:01:00.004-07:002008-05-26T17:57:26.583-06:00The List of Lost BooksThese are some of the books we lost in the flood. I know there are more, and we'll probably add titles as we remember them; we'll also remove titles as we reacquire them. Again, it's not a wish list--more of a eulogy, really--but anyone who wants to give us a gift in the future can refer to it. Aren't you glad we've simplified your gift giving?Abelard & Heloise: Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-6702602679322403272008-01-12T12:49:00.000-07:002008-01-14T15:58:52.729-07:00As the rains came down and the rivers of Northwestern Oregon climbed their banks last month, our little farm became an island. All around us homes and businesses were flooded; people lost pets, possessions, vehicles; families were separated without phone communication for days; towns shut down and were stranded. Up on our hill we stayed safe and dry, and, thank God, together; we watched the Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-50243470723540511682007-10-14T17:28:00.000-06:002007-10-14T17:35:56.218-06:00And now I feel terrible.Curse my impecunious state! If only I'd bought more books from A Common Reader! After writing that last post, I tried to access the website and found to my horror that the company went bankrupt a year and a half ago. What a loss to the reading world, and how sad to see yet another small business go under. I wish I were not forced to buy books inexpensively, when I do buy Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-71167654410720857892007-10-14T17:16:00.000-06:002007-10-14T17:27:45.465-06:00Vexatious reality! How rarely you fulfill anticipation!When A Common Reader recommends a book, I am all attention. After all, it was in those diminutive newsprint pages that I was first introduced to Edith Pargeter, Alice Thomas Ellis, and Patrick O'Brian, to name a noteworthy few. And to label a book a TGR--well! I don't even have to write that title on my list--it burns there in letters of Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-25072228250538550052007-06-13T18:52:00.000-06:002007-06-13T18:54:56.927-06:00I may at some point post about books again; in the meantime, you can read about our farming adventures here. Enjoy!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-69858608396745695562007-04-17T19:01:00.000-06:002007-04-17T19:32:46.763-06:00I should be crocheting right now, in an attempt to finish an afghan for a friend's baby shower on Friday, but the child is sleeping and I'm feeling vaguely inspired. My reading addictions lately have been even more eclectic than usual--I'm hooked on Trollope, Barbara Kingsolver, Colin Dexter, and Joel Salatin. I don't know why I never got into Trollope before; I read one of his novels as a Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-1171484902681573962007-02-14T13:24:00.000-07:002007-02-14T13:28:22.696-07:00The Cutest Baby in the WorldSam was born January 30 after putting his poor mama through a three-day marathon; fortunately he's incredibly sweet and smiley and we love him beyond belief. Life is good!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-1168632041700304492007-01-12T12:45:00.000-07:002007-01-12T13:00:41.716-07:00I started a year-in-review post on our computer at home, but since I'm now at the library I'll skip ahead and post my haphazard list of Books to Read in 2007. I'm rarely, of course, at a loss for something to read, but I found it was helpful last year to have a goal to work towards--it kept me from reading nothing but junk and introduced me to some wonderful works I might not otherwise have read.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-1167161698925759232006-12-26T12:27:00.000-07:002006-12-26T12:34:58.943-07:00Merry Christmas everyone! An email from Sherry at Semicolon reminded me that I'd dropped out of the blogging world without any explanation, so I thought I'd post quickly to let anyone who still visits know what's happening. Odious and I usually decide to make a whole bunch of life changes all at once, and this year has been no different. We finally moved out to the country a few weeks ago, just Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-1158609662373342232006-09-18T13:40:00.000-06:002006-09-18T14:01:02.466-06:00I'm coming off a long phase of reading junk. Fortunately the realization that I was getting tired of it came along with the realization that filling my brain with nothing but pot-boilers (books and TV) was taking a toll and making me feel very depressed. I need more to chew on than Ruth Rendell, Alias, and Law & Order! So I took myself in opposite directions by beginning George Eliot's Daniel Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-1156548156993865192006-08-25T16:52:00.000-06:002006-08-25T17:22:37.090-06:00Since I first heard about Christopher Paolini's novel Eragon, I figured I should probably read it out of homeschooler solidarity if nothing else. I picked it up a few times at bookstores, but wasn't interested enough to buy a copy, and its surprising popularity made it difficult to find at the library. Finally a couple weeks ago I saw a copy in one of the library displays and decided to check it Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127843.post-1154975795127509172006-08-07T12:15:00.000-06:002006-08-07T12:48:31.656-06:00Though I originally started this blog to recommend books, I've found it's so much more fun to not recommend them. If I like a book, I feel that's all I have to say--read it, you'll like it too. But if I don't like a book, well then I have to tell you exactly why!And Odious thinks I should share my outrage (since I shared it with him) concerning a fantasy novel whose reviewer had the gall to deem Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08735700811620271979noreply@blogger.com2