Aly (almost 15) devoured it earlier this year. She and dh really enjoyed the series. And yes, I do vaguely remember talk about tearing up and something being sad.

Stacia - scary article...the changing of the history books is the worst! After just being surrounded by American History that is not or no longer taught in our children's history books...well, it's scary. Shukriyya - I found A Beautiful Blue Death at the Dollar Tree. I picked it up because I loved the cover. I haven't had the chance to read it yet. Zee - There is a lot of truth to that piece on Umbridge! She makes my skin crawl. In other book news, I picked up Maze Runner the other night. Aly has been wanting me to read it and Scorch Trials before the movie comes out in September. So far it's just ok. Which is what I expected. We'll see if it picks up. The writing is fairly simplistic and there is no vocabulary, but I can usually get past that if the story is good. So we'll see.

Is this available in English? It sounds fascinating! Dd's and I would love to go on this type of tour. As a side note...multi-quote isn't working for me this morning. Anyone else having issues?/

That would be fun! We actually passed Louisa May Alcott's home. We were going to go back and tour it, even though it wasn't on our itinerary (many of the girls were interested), but it was $10 per person AND it was only a guided tour AND groups of 10 had to be pre-registered :glare: so we had to skip it. But it was still neat driving by ;) I had always wanted 10 kids so when we travel with the group I love it. They know NOT to mess with me after 10 o'clock at night ;) Dh says that's when I turn into "Bad Cop" from the Lego Movie :lol: They only saw Bad Cop once :lol:

Bumping this up! We are looking at this for a co-op class this year and have been wondering the same thing.

With 13 kids and the pace of our trip...it was possible :laugh: The trips we take our amazing! Our church has really gotten behind us and the encouragement we receive is overwhelming. In fact they would like dh to plan a history trip for them.

Back from our History Trip! Had a great time, the kids all had a great spirit! I've spent most of today sleeping, though. ;) I'll give a little recap in case anyone is interested. Sunday - Started the trip with 14 of us in a 15 passenger van driving, through heavy, intense storms which put us farther behind schedule than we wanted to be. Got food at a McDonald's that I swear was straight out of the Twilight Zone :eek: Monday - More driving. Boston Tea Party Ship stop in which it exceeded my expectation. They hand out little historical cards that tell about a person in relation to the Boston Tea Party. I was Herman Melville's grandfather, Thomas Melvill. We also took a side trip to the airport to pick up one more person. Skye's friend (20) had missed all of our previous trips because she was a missionary kid in Kenya. She changed her mind about going last minute and flew in to join us. Now there are 15 of us in a 15 passenger van with over 15 pieces of baggage :willy_nilly: Tuesday - Plymouth Day. We visited Plimoth Plantation (where I loved the Wampanoag village), the Mayflower II, and The Matrix of Liberty (aka The Monument to the Forefathers). The last was one of the favorites of the trip for most of the kids. The story behind this monument is astounding! We also had dinner at The Cabby Shack where I had the best clam chowder ever! Wednesday - George Whitefield Day. We visited Whitefield's Rock where he preached to 500 people in a field in what is now West Brookfield, MA. Also stopped by Ipswich, MA to visit historical sites of John Wise, a preacher whose sermons the Founding Fathers took many of their ideas from. Then we visited Newburyport, MA where we took a tour of Old South Church where George Whitefield is buried. The kids (not I) climbed the steeple and touched the bell which was made by Paul Revere. Then we climbed to the basement to visit George's crypt. We took a fun stop out to Plum Island Beach (beautiful) and let the kids walk in the freezing Atlantic and saw penguins on the way!! Thursday - Freedom Trail. Let me say that keeping track of 15 people on the Freedom Trail in downtown Boston is a daunting task ;) We gave ourselves ALL day and still ended up rushing! Highlights were The Old State House, the Old South Meeting House (which had a ton of George Whitefield stuff!), and Bunker Hill where all but me climbed to the top of the monument! We grabbed a canoli at Mike's Pastry on the way back and had a late dinner. Friday - We were all TIRED! First stop was Lexington and Concord, specifically the Old North Bridge and Paul Revere's capture site. We also saw the Minuteman Statue in Lexington, but Lexington was very crowded and busy with lots of traffic. After leaving there we sat and sat and sat and sat in traffic. A Lot of traffic. We finally stopped in New Haven to see a monument there (I was pretty tired after driving and don't remember much about that stop :o ) We drove through the Bronx on our way to our PA hotel and saw the New York City skyline! Kind of exciting that! Saturday - a fun stop at Hershey World to make our own candy bars and then home! This is my second history trip to Boston and I am always amazed at what a difference it makes to stand in the spot of history or read the original documents written by those who had such influence in the making of our country! Oh, and mum2...I didn't think of Ben Franklin air bathing once :lol: I will need to pick up an easy to read book as I have to get caught up here at home and finish planning school!

:iagree: I was just going to suggest Shannon Hale! Definitely not fluff. Dd's (now 20 and almost 15) LOVE these books!! I would also recommend Patricia Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles beginning with Dealing with Dragons.

Nice :lol: I love learning something new. I'll refrain from clicking the link :laugh:

No it did not. Are you going to tell me or do I need to google? :laugh: I did actually think about picking up Eddings, however, I really, really want dd's and dh to read it with me this year and am holding out for that. Oh, I've read it! This is my third time through :laugh: I think I was just in a really crappy mood last week (read pms), and I'm not a fan of teenage angst :lol: I ended up picking up a lovely Georgette Heyer, Arabella, and finished it in two days. We are heading out soon so I will not pick up another book until we get back!

:lol: :lol:

Last night I decided to give up on the Tracy Chevalier book, Burning Bright. I was 170 or so pages in and still had NO idea what the story was going to be about and still had NO connection to the characters and still found the characters to be highly unlikable, with the exception of William Blake and his wife. Ugh. What a disappointment! I'm glad I only paid .25 for it. I don't usually give up on a book that far in but blah, just blah. So after tossing that (literally) on the floor, I picked up The Clockwork Scarab again. I really like the idea of the Holmes/Stoker team but that's about all I liked. After a few chapters there was just a little too much "girl power" (gag) and WAY too much description of the machinery. When we got to the description of the girls' dresses with the steampunk themes, well, it joined the other book on the floor! In this case it may not be the book, it may not be the right time for the book, as I have enjoyed Gail Carriger's Etiquette and Espionage series and The Lady of Devices. So, now I'm not sure what to read. Even Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is irritating me! Harry has such an awful attitude and Umbridge is so nasty. Sooo, obviously it's me :rolleyes: Not sure what to read now, though not much will get read anyway because we are really close to our Boston trip and dh keeps us going from sun up to sun down. Should I start I Capture the Castle or wait until I'm in a better mood :lol:

I can't tell you how excited I was to see that so many people loved Baby Island!! :001_wub: It's one of those books that I haven't seen very often so usually when I mention it, people don't know what I'm talking about.

Both of those outings sound like so much fun! I'm not a huge Picaso fan but we love Van Gogh. How cool! It's not once that is mentioned very often but I so loved it! Yes! Thank you! It's from Boca Grande, FL. We love to go here and walk the beach when we visit my father-in-law.

So yesterday I finished two short books. I am having a hard time getting into another book after two great ones back to back. I read Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink for my Book Club. We chose “pick a book from your childhood†for our July selection, and Baby Island was one of my favorites! The book is well worn and has pages falling out J As someone who loved babies from a very early age (I had wanted 10 when I married), I thought that Mary and Jean’s situation was truly ideal lol! Who wouldn’t want to be stuck on a deserted tropical island with a bunch of babies? Anyway, it was just as sweet in my adulthood and it was in childhood! A SWEET BOOK, especially for young girls who just love babies. I also reread A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison. I wanted something inspiring since I am in planning mode. I have always loved the idea of Charlotte Mason. And though I do follow some of her principals loosely, the reality of it never has worked quite out for me, especially since Aly is a workbook kind of kid. The CM method always has so many things going on, or maybe I should say that Charlotte always put so much in front of her children for them to experience and learn. I’m always aspiring to add a few more aspects even at Aly’s age. I came away with a few nuggets to remember as I put together our Friday’s (we only do math on Friday’s now to leave time to do a little CM school). A GREAT LITTLE BOOK if you are interested in Charlotte Mason in a nutshell. I'm listening to one of the Rush Revere books because dh just read it and we leave for Boston very soon. I'm still picking up Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at night when I'm not falling asleep. I started The Clockwork Scarab but am having trouble getting into it. And I think I'll start Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier today for the author of the month. Something really needs to stick :laugh:

Dh and the girls will be so jealous!! They are huge Alton Brown fans! Dh and Aly's new favorite show is Cutthroat Kitchen.

Yep! That was me! Between it and The Historian I'm having a hard time settling in to another book :glare: They were both really good. My library didn't have GlimmerGlass :glare: I was really bummed about that. And I agree with your last statement! I used to have so much time to read and now not so much! Maybe I have too much on my plate. :glare: Angel, who is feeling incredibly grumpy today with a sore neck/shoulder :glare: :001_tt2:

:seeya: We've missed having you around! Angel, who is disappearing again in the attempt to plan Aly's 9th grade year...who was it that reminded me that school started in 5 weeks :scared: :glare: :leaving:

I finished The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova tonight. Wow! What an intriguing book! I enjoyed reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula a few years ago, quite a creepy Dracula. I also enjoyed The Twilight series, even with its sparkling vampires. The Historian’s story, however, was so unique. I found that it was kind of like Jaws where we don’t actually “see†the “villain†of the story until much later in the book. But the anticipation is there. I found myself comparing it to what I find in Michael Crichton’s writing, that desire to know what truly is fact and what is only fiction. I found it a truly marvelous weaving of all the parts to bring about a climatic whole. My only fuss would be that almost all of the book was undated. I would rather the author have given me dates to each event so that I could have better understood where in history we were at. Part of that may be that I read the book kind of choppily over two weeks. A REFRESHING AND UNIQUE take on Dracula.

What book is this? Sounds interesting! I was just going to post this! Eddings is truly brilliant with some of the best characters in fantasy. I would also recommend the Dragonlance series. Starting with Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Another set of engaging characters.

It has been weeks since I actually posted what I've read. Probably because I've barely read anything! I guess it's the year of traveling for us, which means not much reading time for me! So here are two books that I haven't posted, though I read them a few weeks ago. I'm still working on The Historian. I hope to finish it tomorrow or Tuesday. So I read my classic romance for Book Club, Refining Felicity by Marion Chesney. I know it was recommended by someone here, I just can't remember who! It was a perfect, classic, fluffy Regency Romance! The Tribble sisters were both hilarious and outrageous. It’s the first in the School for Manners series, and I believe I will read more if I can get my hands on them. GREAT FLUFFY READ. I also read Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay. My friend loved this book so much that she gave it to me for my birthday. I don’t read modern romance very often and journal/letter style is not my favorite, but this book hooked me from the very beginning. The writing really pulled me in. I was instantly invested in Sam’s life, her struggle to overcome the obstacles of her past. I was cheering her on every step of the way. And the anticipation of finding out just who Mr. Knightley was, well I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in an afternoon. A SWEET AND POIGNANT STORY AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE READS OF THE YEAR! I highly recommend this book! I had 6 quotes from Dear Mr. Knightley, but I'll only share 2 here. The first may be my favorite quote of the year :laugh: “How would it feel to get carried away on emotion like Marianne? To be so recklessly entranced? So passionately in love? I never thought Marianne’s devotion to Willoughby was prudent, and it wasn’t, but I bet it was fun. And later, I’m sure all that passion enveloped Colonel Brandon.†:001_wub: And a book quote “I’ve been sitting in my living room organizing my books. It’s so quiet and dark, but I don’t feel lonely. I feel safe. How could I not? All my friends are here. You should see them lined up…they are all arranged: Austen, Dickens, Webster, Gaskell, the Bronte sisters, Christie…They’re safe and sound and standing proud.†And my mid-year update...I'm a little behind on a Book a Week from all our traveling. *01. As You Wish by Cary Elwes (non fiction, memoir) *02. The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami (January Author, BaW rec, Japan) *03. The Princess Bride by William Goldman *04. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman (BaW rec) *05. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (England, February Author, reread, classic) *06. Archimedes and the Door Science by Jeanne Bendick (biography, Greece) *07. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (England, classic) *08. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (England, reread) *09. A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner (England, reread) *10. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (England) *11. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley (Canada) *12. The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag (England, BaW rec) *13. 101 More Devotions for Homeschool Moms by Jackie Wellwood (non-fiction) *14. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (March Author, reread, England) *15. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (England, reread) *16. Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury (England, reread) *17. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (England/Caribbean, classic) *18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (England, reread) *19. Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw (England, classic) *20. Eragon by Christopher Paolini (reread) *21. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (England, reread) *22. Refining Felicity by Marion Chesney (England, BaW rec) *23. Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay (USA)

Yes, it has the same feel. The girls and I felt it was like the Operation Genesis: Jurassic Park computer game. We had some giggles over that :laugh: The plot could be considered futuristic but it really follows along the original ideas from the first movie. And, like I said, we all appreciated the many little things they added to Jurassic World that were a nod to Jurassic Park!! They kept the score as well. I just picked up Burning Bright at my cousin's library book sale for a quarter! And I also have her novel, The Last Runaway, on my TBR list for my reading challenge (closest book I could find to my tiny hometown lol). I forgot Chevalier was the author of the month. I wonder if I can fit either of these in this month. This is the only Chevalier book I've read but I really enjoyed it! What a great and interesting story. :svengo: I just realized this myself, though we won't start for 5 1/2 weeks! And one of those weeks is our history trip to Boston and the other I'm keeping my "nephews." All I want to do is sit in the sunshine and read (if we'd ever get some sunshine here!) I had wanted to read World War Z this year! That has slipped my mind. I surprisingly enjoyed the movie, I think because the premise of the zombies was, dare I say, believable. Also, is Over Sea, Under Stone the first book in The Dark is Rising series? I also found it for a quarter and picked it up.

Amen sister! :lol: I dreamed about dinosaurs a night or two after we saw it :laugh: Dh rolled his eyes and laughed at me :lol:

:iagree: Love the picture! And I doubt that mathematics would work with me...probably make me sicker :ack2: :lol: Jurassic Park is a family favorite!! We all loved Jurassic World!! Especially all of the shout outs to the first movie. Were big geeks like that! :D

I am really enjoying it. Already I would like to read it again with not as many interruptions. I read Dracula a few years ago. I haven't tried reading the Kindle in the car (Aly has a paperwhite) but that is a good idea. I can sometimes look at my phone and text. I hate getting motion sickness. It's very frustrating. I am not auditory so audio books take real concentration for me. There is no way I would be able to do The Historian as an audio book. Too many shifts. As far as the season, for me there isn't one, unless you want to save it for your Spooky read in October. The book takes you all over Europe so there is a multitude of seasons. One of the wonderful things I have enjoyed about homeschooling is not having to fit inside the "grade" box. Just because it is a middle school book doesn't mean it wouldn't have any value in high school. Sometimes a "younger" book may get across a point that an "older' one would not be able to. I always keep that in mind when I am going through books. Also, I find that my older dd will come back to some of those middle school books that she ignored at the time. A little maturity makes for a broader reading scope and younger books take on a different appeal, usually finding that she may have missed some treasured children's classic.