Reading Goals Behind and Ahead

I like goals.  Even when I don't reach them.  Last January, I set a few reading goals for the year, and I finally have a few minutes to look over how that all worked out.

I wanted to read 55 books.  I read 68!  Huzzah!

I wanted to read at least 12 classics for my fourth Classics Club list.  I read 15!  Sweet!

I also wanted to read at least 12 books about people who are substantially different from myself.  And I read 16!  Yay!

I also chose 25 books I wanted to read in 2025, some of them rereads and some new reads.  I read 7 of them.  Epic fail.  Didn't even read 1/3 of them.  Sigh.  Oh well.

Now, time for my 2026 reading goals!

I want to read 13 books about or set during the American Revolution in 2026 to mark our nation's 250th birthday.  I'm listing them under #RevolutionaryWarReads on Instagram, if you are curious.  I hope to do a post just about that pretty soon.

Once again, I aim to read at least 12 classics and 12 diverse books.

And I'm setting my overall goal at 55 again because I know that will keep me reading but not daunt me.

Have you shared any reading plans or goals for 2026?  If so, drop me a link in the comments so I can see what you're planning!

"The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective" by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

I'm so glad that some reader friends of mine picked one of the short stories in this collection to include in the #DickensDecember buddy read event on Bookstagram last winter.  These stories are so delightful!  I can see why Brooke was a big hit back in the 1890s, even considered a female Sherlock Holmes.  She's bright, knowledgeable, clever, and not sniffing around for a husband.  That probably made her seem kind of unusual (and maybe unladylike) in her day, though now we're pretty used to confident female characters who aren't trying to catch the eye of every eligible man who crosses their path.  

There are seven short stories here, all of them enjoyable mysteries.  Loveday Brooke is a professional detective -- she earns her living working as an operative for a detective agency.  She's unmarried, in her thirties, proper and ladylike, and ready for whatever assignment comes her way.  She solves crimes using observation and deduction, like so many classic detectives.  Although these mysteries don't quite "play fair" (they don't give the readers every single clue), they're still very fun to read.  I only wish there were more!

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for some violence, including murders.

This has been my 40th book read and reviewed for my 4th Classics Club list.

Reading Goals Past and Future

I've got a bit of time this evening, so I'm ready at last to look over my reading goals from 2024, and set some for 2025.

I set myself the goal of reading 55 books in 2024, and I read 68, so hooray!  I didn't just meet, I exceeded that goal!

I wanted to read 48 books off my shelves for the 2024 Mount TBR Challenge.  I failed.  I did read 41 books that I owned this year, but only 28 of them counted for that challenge because their rules insist they have to be books you owned before the beginning of the year.  Oh well.

I joined the #DisneyOriginsBookClub2024 on Instagram again this year, but I quit after the first couple of months because I simply had less reading time this year!  A lot of that is due to my younger daughter's ballet lessons now overlapping with my older daughter's gymnastics lessons, so I spend a lot of time driving between those instead of sitting and reading while I wait/watch.

Also, I don't have a photo here to illustrate this, but I participated in the #JaneAustenDeepDive2024 reading group on Instagram this year.  I read all six of the annotated editions of Jane Austen's major works (edited by David M. Shapard -- one review still to come) and had a wonderful time learning about Austen's works and world.  But those annotated editions are not light reading!!!  They soaked up a lot of my reading time.

I wanted to read twelve books for my fourth Classics Club list.  I read ten, so didn't really hit that goal.

I wanted to read twelve books about people substantially different for myself.  The image here only shows eleven, but I realized after I took these photos that I left two books off, so I actually read thirteen for that list! 

Back in 2023, I decided to read all of the Sackett books by Louis L'Amour over the course of 2023 and 2024.  I read the Sackett short stories included in War Party and End of the Drive at the very end of December, thereby completing that goal!  You can read my reviews of all the full Sackett novels under the label My Years with the Sacketts.

I absolutely loved the Sackett books.  I've become a firm L'Amour fan over the past two years, and I am particularly fond of Tell Sackett, though I very much like quite a few of the other Sacketts too.

Now for my 2025 goals!

Once again, I want to read at least 55 books.  That's slightly more than one a week, and even when I have "low" reading years, I can still manage that, so I like that goal.  Achievable, but not inconsiderable.

I am NOT setting myself a goal of numbers of books to read from my TBR shelves for the first time in years.  I will read what I read.  My house will be full of books.  I like that life.  Time to stop obsessing over how many books I own and haven't read yet -- I think keeping a careful count of them for the past few years has actually made me buy MORE books, oddly enough.

Once again, I want to read twelve books for my fourth Classics Club list, and I aim to read twelve books about people who are substantially different from myself in some way.

And I have a new challenge for myself this year!  I'm joining Andy at @places_and_books in picking #25for25 -- 25 specific books I want to read this year.  From my list above, 8 are rereads and 17 are books I haven't read before.  I like that mix.  

How about you?  Have you set yourself some bookish or reading goals for this year?  Share a link if you've blogged about them!

"The Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann David Wyss

I read this with some friends on Instagram as part of the #DisneyOriginsBookClub last month, and it was such a fun trip down memory lane for me!  I read this several times as a kid, and I've seen the 1960 Disney movie dozens of times -- it's one my kids love now too.  But I haven't reread the book since my teens, so I was eager to revisit it.

I finished reading this right before we went to Florida on vacation.  My choice of attraction to visit in Disney World was the Swiss Family Robinson tree house, and it was awesome!  The pictures throughout this post are from my visit there.

A Swiss family -- Mother, Father, Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Francis -- are stranded on a deserted island when the colonizing ship they were sailing on runs afoul of a giant storm.  Because that ship was meant for the establishment of a new colony, they have every conceivable tool and supply at their disposal.  They just have to ferry them to land from the shipwreck.  Also, because both Father and Mother are extremely resourceful and unbelievably knowledgeable, they have no trouble at all making a very fine new home on that deserted island.

One of the things I liked best about this book is how adamant the father (who is the narrator) is that they ask God to bless their every venture, and thank God for every blessing that befalls them.  You can tell that the author was a minister, and that he took his faith very seriously.

Besides being a minister, Johann David Wyss was an amateur naturalist and outdoorsman, and he made up this story as a series of bedtime stories for his sons, teaching them lessons about animals and nature, as well as survival skills and moral lessons.  He wrote the stories down eventually, but never shared them with anyone.  His son, Johann Rudolph Wyss (author of the Swiss national anthem!), eventually found his father's handwritten manuscript, spiffed it up, and submitted it to a publisher.  And it was a great success, way back in 1812.

All of that explains why this story is extremely episodic (because it was made up in little bits at bedtime, night after night) and occasionally pedantic (because it was meant to instruct the storyteller's sons).  Neither of those characteristics made the book unenjoyable for me in the slightest, but there were people in our reading group who found those aspects fairly off-putting, so YMMV.

Is this story far-fetched?  Totally.  Is it a rip-roaring good time?  Absolutely.  I really love stories of people building new lives with only what they have at hand, and that's probably due in a large part to this book.

By the way, the family's last name is NOT Robinson.  Their last name is never given, nor are the first names of the parents.  Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe was so popular when it came out in 1719 that it spawned an entire genre, called "robinsonade."  As this Wikipedia article explains, robinsinade stories are all about castaways surviving on deserted islands or in other remote and inaccessible places.  There were German robinsons and French robinsons and so on -- so the book's title means this is a robinson story about a Swiss family, not about story about a Swiss family named Robinson.

Now you know!

Particularly Good Bits:

With God's help, let us endeavour to live here contentedly, thankful that we were not cast upon some bare and inhospitable island (p. 20).

Everyone had the pleasant sensation which attends successful labour, as well as experiencing the joy of affording unexpected pleasure to others; and I especially pointed out to my sons how truly genuine happiness consists in that, rather than in mere self-gratification (p. 87).

But, in reality, the more there was to do the better; and I never ceased contriving fresh improvements, being fully aware of the importance of constant employment as a means of strengthening and maintaining the health of mind and body (p. 160).

And my great wish is that young people who read this record of our lives and adventures should learn from it how admirably suited is the peaceful, industrious and pious life of a cheerful and united family to the formation of strong, pure, and manly character (p. 237-38).

What can be more delightful than to find harmony of opinion in those we love when a great and momentous decision has to be taken? (p. 274)

"The whole earth is the Lord's, and where, as in His sight, you lead good and useful lives, there is your home" (p. 276).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for characters running into dangerous animals now and then.

This has been my 36th book read from my third Classics Club list.

The 12 Days of Christmas Book Tag

I created this tag for movies on my other blog last year and realized that it would work beautifully for books too, so I'm doing it all over again, but here on this blog this year!  

All pictures are mine from my bookstagram account.  My reviews are linked to titles where applicable :-)  

Rules: 

#1 Use a different movie for each prompt 

#2 Add photos and/or explanations of how your choices fit the prompts 

#3 Tag a few friends to play along 

(They're more like guidelines, actually. Just so you know.) 

1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree -- book that involves agriculture 

Shane by Jack Schaefer is about a farming family that befriends a lonely gunman, and the ways they help each other.  I love it more every time I reread it.

2. Turtledoves -- book about a long-lasting relationship 

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott shows Jo and Frederich Bhaer's lovely marriage off in such wonderful ways.  They're one of my favorite fictional married couples.

3. French Hens -- book that takes place in France 

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas takes place pretty much entirely in France.  AND it's my second-favorite book of all time.

4. Calling Birds -- book where people talk on the phone 

Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George has several instances of people talking to each other on that newfangled device, the telephone.

5. Golden Rings -- book with multiple romances 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen has a whole lot of romances in it!  Two for one sister, in fact.

6. Geese A-laying -- book with a birth or that features babies 

Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery involves Anne and Gilbert welcoming their first baby.  It's beautiful, but bittersweet.

7. Swans A-swimming -- book where someone goes swimming 

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster has a very memorable scene involving a bunch of guys swimming out in a pond in the woods.

8. Maids A-milking -- book with cows 

Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery is about a girl who must overcome her fear of cows.  I mean, there's more to the book than just that, but those cows are a pretty important part.

9. Ladies Dancing -- book with a dance scene 

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis has a big ball toward the end that is a high point of the whole book.

10. Lords A-leaping -- book about athletes 

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton isn't exactly about athletes, but Ponyboy is on the track team at his high school.

11. Pipers Piping -- book with someone playing a musical instrument 

A Song Unheard by Roseanna M. White is all about musicians, especially two particular violinists.

12. Drummers Drumming -- book with characters in the military

Soldier On by Vanessa Rasanen is about a man in the military and the wife he leaves behind when he's deployed.

Now it's your turn!  I tag:

Meanwhile, in Rivendell...

Along the Brandywine

Ink Castles

A Great Book Study

Holds Upon Happiness

If YOU want to do this tag too, feel free!  Here are the questions, for anyone who's going to do this:

1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree -- book that involves agriculture 

2. Turtledoves -- book about a long-lasting relationship 

3. French Hens -- book that takes place in France 

4. Calling Birds -- book where people talk on the phone 

5. Golden Rings -- book with multiple romances 

6. Geese A-laying -- book with a birth or that features babies 

7. Swans A-swimming -- book where someone goes swimming 

8. Maids A-milking -- book with cows 

9. Ladies Dancing -- book with a dance scene 

10. Lords A-leaping -- book about athletes 

11. Pipers Piping -- book with someone playing a musical instrument 

12. Drummers Drumming -- book with characters in the military

"Persuasion" by Jane Austen (yet again)

Yup, still my favorite Jane Austen book.  I can't believe the last time I read this was in 2015!  Silly me.

Characters are always what draw me to a story -- if I love the characters, I will love the book.  If I don't engage with the characters, no matter how much I like the author's writing, I won't actually love the story.  So the reason that this is my favorite Austen book is because Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth are my favorite Austen heroine and hero.  And together make my favorite Austen couple.  That's just how it is.

Of course, Austen's writing also delights me. She's so smart without being pompous, polished without being glib, and sincere without being sappy.  I love how deeply we get to know and understand her characters -- many of them, not just the main character.  And I love the way her books bring home to me the fact that no matter how much the externals of society change, people are the same inside, century after century.

Quick description of what the book is about, in case you don't know already:  Miss Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth were engaged eight years ago, but she broke off their engagement because her surrogate mother believed the marriage would be unwise and imprudent.  Neither of them have ever fallen in love again.  Now Wentworth is back on sea, important and wealthy and ready to settle down, but still harboring bitter disappointment over Anne's ending things with him.  Anne is unappreciated by her own family and has lost her girlhood beauty, but has grown into a patient, wise woman who has learned to understand herself and those around her.

I read this as part of a buddy read on Bookstagram, and that was so much fun!  I really love discussing books with other book lovers.

(Mine from Bookstagram)

Particularly Good Bits:

"There is hardly any personal defect," replied Anne, "which an agreeable manner might not gradually reconcile one to" (p. 31).

A submissive spirit might be patient, a strong understanding would supply resolution, but here was something more; here was that elasticity of mind, that disposition to be comforted, that power of turning readily from evil to good, and of finding employment which carried her out of herself, which was from Nature alone (p. 138).

Her spring of felicity was in the glow of her spirits, as her friend Anne's was in the warmth of her heart (p. 227).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G.  Nothing objectionable here.

Like I said, it's my favorite Jane Austen novel.  I have many copies...

"The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth von Arnim

Oh my goodness.  What dear, sweet, charming book!  I loved it so much!  In fact, it is one of my favorite new-to-me reads of the year so far!

Back in the 1920s (when this was written), four women from London decide to go on holiday to Italy together.  It all starts when dowdy, weary Lotty Wilkins sees an advertisement offering that people can rent an Italian castle for the month of April for a reasonable price.  She knows she could never afford it herself, and asks a passing acquaintance if she would like to go there with her.  That worthy, pious, and also weary lady, Rose Arbuthnot, agrees, though she really doesn't know Lotty at all.  Together, they advertise for more people to join them on this vacation, to split the bill and make it more manageable.  Only two women respond -- crabby, proud Mrs. Fisher and beautiful but chilly Lady Caroline Dester.

The four of them arrive at the castle, San Salvatore, in search of rest and a chance to get away from their troubles.  Instead, they find joy, love, and peace.  In seeking to escape their troubles, they each come to realize that they are the source of their worst troubles.  When they learn to lay down their inner hindrances and become more their true selves, they each blossom into new and happier people, one after the other.

The castle's name, San Salvatore, means Savior in Italian.  Lottie repeatedly refers to it as heaven, and I think you could read this whole book as an allegory if you wanted to.  By coming to faith in Christ and being near him, we find joy, love, and peace, and shed our worldly troubles as we learn to put off our old selves and become more Christlike.  This makes us new and happier people.  Whether von Arnim meant this as an allegory or not, I don't know, but she certainly chose the name San Salvatore on purpose -- even if just to signify that their time there saved these four women in various ways from the troubles that bedeviled them before.

This book sat on my TBR shelves for over a year before the #kindredspiritnetwork chose it as the read-along book this month.  It was exactly the book I needed to read right now, and I'm so happy I could discuss it with other lovely bookstagrammers!  If you're looking for a bright, cheerful, uplifting read this spring, do yourself a favor and pick this up!  It reminded me of A Room with a View melded with The Blue Castle in a way.

(Mine from my Instagram account.)

Particularly Good Bits:

Why couldn't two unhappy people refresh each other on their way through this dusty business of life by a little talk -- real, natural talk about what they felt, what they would have liked, what they still tried to hope? (p. 7).

Colour seemed flung down anyhow, anywhere: every sort of colour, piled up in heaps, pouring along in rivers -- the periwinkles looked exactly as if they were being poured down each side of the steps -- and flowers that grow only in borders in England, proud flowers keeping themselves to themselves over there, such as the great blue irises and the lavender, were being jostled by small, shining common things like dandelions and daisies and the white bells of the wild onion, and only seemed the better and the more exuberant for it (p. 76).

Was it possible that loneliness had nothing to do with circumstances, but only with the way one met them? (p. 88).

...kind ladies smiled, reason or no.  They smiled -- not because they were happy, but because they wished to make happy (p. 95).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G.  No untoward scenes or violence.  Might have been a mild curse word or two, but I can't remember any.

This is my 45th book read and reviewed for my second go-round with the Classics Club and my 14th for #TheUnreadShelfProject.

"Daddy-Long-Legs" by Jean Webster (again)

This is such a perfectly chummy book!  I'm glad that @shapedbystoriesdiane and @ahatforeveryread chose it for this month's #KindredSpiritsNetwork group read on Instagram -- I can't wait to discuss it with everyone there!  It was so delightful to reread it, a perfect pick-me-up in the midst of a fairly hectic month.

Judy Abbott is an orphan with few hopes for the future, but endowed with a sparkling wit and fierce intelligence.  One of the trustees of the orphanage where she grew up offers to anonymously send her to college, with the stipulation that she must write him regularly about her progress.  This book is almost entirely composed of her letters to him -- she calls him Daddy-Long-Legs because all she's seen of him, as far as she knows, is his shadow on the wall, elongated and stretched by the setting sun.  The letters are sprinkled throughout with funny little drawings, one of which got used for the cover of this edition.  (It also contains the sequel, Dear Enemy.) 

The drawings are funny, but the letters are even funnier -- this is one of those books where I chuckle out loud while reading it.  (And then my family demands to know what's so funny and interrupt my reading, but oh well.)  Judy Abbott's fish-out-of-water perspective on college, the lives of the rich girls around her, and knowledge are purely delightful.  There's also a bit of a love story, not a sappy or sugary one, that I quite like.

Also, all of these letters really feel like actual letters!  I never have to suspend disbelief over this book because none of them get that "nobody would write this scene out in detail like this in a letter" thing going on that some epistolary novels do.  So if you tend to dislike books composed of letters for that reason, don't avoid this one, because it neatly avoids that issue!

Particularly Good Bits:

Speaking of classics, have you ever read "Hamlet"?  If you haven't, do it right off.  It's perfectly corking.  I've been hearing about Shakespeare all my life, but I had no idea he really wrote so well; I always suspected him of going largely on his reputation (p. 62).

You know, Daddy, I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination.  It makes people able to put themselves in other people's places.  It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.  It ought to be cultivated in children (p. 70).

The world is full of happiness, and plenty to go round, if you are only willing to take the kind that comes your way (p. 85).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  G.  Clean, light, fun, and pure.

Book Love Giveaway

Do you love books?  I certainly do.  With Valentine's Day coming up soon, I thought this would be the perfect time to celebrate the love of books by hosting a giveaway.  I'm trying something new and hosting the same giveaway both here on my blog and on my Instagram account -- people can enter either here or there.

There are TWO prize packs for this giveaway:

Prize 1 is a chalkboard print book sleeve from Book Gizmo, a "Fondness for Reading" candle from Northanger Soapworks, an "I read past my bedtime" sticker from Pure Joy Creative, and a set of 4 bookmarks from Mirkwood Scribes, which are printed on cardstock and laminated for extra durability.

Prize 2 is a perky pink book sleeve from Book Gizmo, a "Music and Reading" candle from Northanger Soapworks, an "I read past my bedtime" sticker from Pure Joy Creative, and a set of 4 bookmarks from Mirkwood Scribes, which are printed on cardstock and laminated for extra durability.

This giveaway is open for US ADDRESSES ONLY.  Sorry, my international friends, but this too heavy for me to ship overseas.

You can enter this giveaway in multiple ways:

1.  Follow me on Instagram.  Leave a comment on Instagram saying that you're following me.

2.  Follow this blog.  Leave a comment on this blog saying that you're following me here, and whether you're following by GFC or Bloglovin'.

3.  Leave a comment here on this blog post OR on my Instagram post about this giveaway, telling me which prize you'd like.  If you'd like either one, you may say so.

4.  On the Instagram post, tag up to 5 friends who share your love for books.  One extra entry is earned for each person you tag.

5.  Share the Instagram post in your stories there for 24 hours and tag me in the story (or screenshot it and send it to me if your account is private).

(NOTE:  You do not HAVE to follow me either here or on Instagram for this giveaway.)

This is a flash giveaway, only open for a few days.  I will draw the winners on February 1 and announce them both here and on Instagram in my stories.

This giveaway is not affiliated with Google, Blogger, Instagram, Facebook, or any of the shops I bought the prizes from.  If a person wins and does not reply to my notification that they won within one week (by February 8), they forfeit their prize and I will choose a different winner.

Reading Plans for 2020

Time to gather up my plans for next year's reading and share them with you.  Because I can.  Mwahahah.

So, I didn't do a "My Year with..." personal challenge in 2019 because I just couldn't settle on one.  But I have figured out one for 2020!  It will be My Year with C. S. Lewis.  I'll kick that off by participating in Olivia's read-along of Till We Have Faces over at Meanwhile, in Rivendell... which you can learn about here.  

Besides it, I aim to read some books about Lewis, and maybe reread Narnia, but also maybe read some of his books that are sitting on my to-be-read shelves.  Especially since Cowboy gave me a boxed set of a bunch of Lewis books for Christmas.

Which brings me to the rest of my reading plans for 2020.  Y'all, I have too many unread books.  How many?  This many:

That picture's a little misleading.  The books piled on the floor are ones I've already read, but don't have homes for.  The books ON all those shelves are ones I haven't read, plus about 60 more that are in the basement on our nonfiction shelves.  Grand total of unread books I own and want to read (so, not counting research resources) is 537.  EGAD.  That's crazy talk.  Ouch.

I've been trying to get a handle on these for a couple years now, by doing the Mount TBR Challenges and so on, but it hasn't helped much.  So this year, I'm participating in #theunreadhselfproject2020 challenge from The Unread Shelf.  My goal is to clear off one whole shelf in my bedroom so I can put those books piled on the floor onto an actual shelf instead.  I'll be tracking my progress on Instagram and probably talking about it here too.  

This project comes with specific month-to-month challenges, which will be an interesting twist on the "read books you already own" sort of thing I've done previously.

I've dedicated a couple of pages in my bullet journal to keeping track of what I read, especially as regards this project.

So.  Those are my reading plans for next year.  Do you have reading plans?  If so, what are they?

The Seven Question Book Tag

I'm in the mood to fill out blog tags.  And Eva tagged me with this a while back, so I'm going to seize this mood and fill this out!

RULES

• thank the person who tagged you (thanks, Eva!)
• answer the questions given
• create new questions
• tag bloggers to answer your questions

(All pics are mine from my Bookstagramming adventures.)

EVA'S QUESTIONS

What’s the first book you can remember reading?

By myself?  Um.  I have memories of reading this little paperback version of "The Little Red Hen" when I was very small.  Probably some sort of early-reader book, and I was about five.  I also have memories of a comic book someone gave me before I could actually read -- I remember lying in my bed counting squiggles of particular shapes in the speech bubbles, which I didn't recognize as letters yet.  I would've been like three then.

First person or third person POV?

I like both :-)  For years, I only wrote in third person, and some books just require that distance, but I've become better at writing first person with practice.  For reading, though, I like both.

What’s the longest series you’ve ever read? (It can be in terms of page numbers, amount of books in the series, or any other method of calculating.)

For adult novels, the Aubrey-Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian.  There are twenty of those.  (I mean, I've read way more Hardy Boys and Trixie Beldens and Mandie books, but those are not adult books.)

What book world would you least like to enter?

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens depressed me a lot.  Nobody there I want to hang out with.  No desire to travel there.

Do you own any autographed-by-the-author books?

I do!  Several, in fact.  I got my copy of Fahrenheit 451 autographed by Ray Bradbury when I was in college, and I got my copy of The Beekeeper's Apprentice autographed by Laurie R. King about ten years ago.  I also have a couple others that I bought that were signed, and some written by friends who signed them for me.

What is your favorite place at which to buy books?

The 2nd and Charles here in our city is really fun because I can often sell back a bunch of books and movies there in exchange for store credit, and then the new ones I buy don't cost very much.  And I love Mermaid Books down in Williamsburg, VA, and Royal Oak Books up in Front Royal, VA.  So, yeah, used book stores are my jam, but I like new books too.  I love Barnes & Noble -- we have two that are less than an hour away, so I get to them three or four times a year.  If we had a Barnes & Noble here in our city, it would be my favorite, but since they're farther away, they're a special treat instead of a regular place to visit.

Who is your favorite sibling duo/trio/etc in literature?

Boromir and Faramir from The Lord of the Rings.  We never get to see them on page together, but their brotherly bond shines clear even so.

MY QUESTIONS

1.  Villain you wish would turn good so you could like him in good conscience.
2.  Hero you don't think is worthy of the title hero.
3.  Heroine who deserved a better ending.
4.  Sidekick who ought to get a spin-off.
5.  Series that you wish could have gone on for just one more book.
6.  Author you'd like to thank for a book that is meaningful to you.
7.  Dream cast for your favorite book.

I TAG the following bloggers:

Mamahood Memoirs

Meanwhile, in Rivendell...

Movies Meet Their Match

Musings of an Introvert

Play if you want to!

"The 100 Dresses" by Eleanor Estes

There are some stories that I think of as Important.  I don't remember the first time I thought of a story that way, but I know that by the time I read this, probably around the age of ten, I already had the idea that some stories were Important.  Capital I, bold letters, and all.  

Important stories are ones that each me to look at some aspect of my behavior or the world around me in a new and different way.  They teach a moral lesson, but without preaching.  It's hard to teach moral lessons without being preachy -- as an author, I know that full well.  But some stories pull it off beautifully.  This is one.

(What other stories have earned the label Important over the years?  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  A Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter.  Movies like Rebel Without a Cause, Blackboard Jungle, A Gentlemen's Agreement, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?)

It's a very simple story.  A group of schoolgirls tease Wanda Petronski every day.  She's poor, she wears the same shabby dress every day, and she claims to have a hundred dresses in her closet at home.  Wanda never gets angry about the teasing, never reacts in any way but to eventually walk away.  One girl, Maddie, is self-aware enough to eventually realize that she joins in teasing Wanda because she's afraid if she doesn't, they'll tease her instead.  The book as a whole focuses on Maddie's journey from timid joiner to resolute individual.  It accomplishes this with 78 pages, half of them filled with illustrations.  It's a masterful example of sparse storytelling with nothing extra, nothing unnecessary.  A good story, well-told.  Which is my favorite kind.

Oddly enough, I remembered this book ending differently than it does.  I've been convinced for years that Wanda died at the end, and that's how they discovered the truth about her hundred dresses.  But she doesn't.  I'm really wondering now why I thought that.  Huh.

I read this as part of the 2019 Newbery Read Along hosted on Instagram by @lollipopsandlyrics and @happylittlebirdy.  If you also love classic children's fiction, please join us!

(My bookstagram)

Particularly Good Bits:

Wisps of old grass stuck up here and there along the pathway like thin wet kittens (p. 53)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G.  Appropriate for all ages, though most appreciated by first grade on up, I think.

This is my 25th book read and reviewed for my second go-round with the Classics Club!  I'm halfway there!