Eliana, Thank you for sharing your precious pictures with us! What a beautiful day, and a beautiful couple! Are you going to share an updated pic of your sweet grandbaby?

:confused1: Am I missing something here? The Puritans were not the ones who were on the Mayflower. That was the Separatists. The Puritans wanted religious freedom for themselves but really weren't very tolerant of religious freedom for others (understatement :laugh: ), they wanted to "purify" the church of England from the inside out. On the other hand, the Separatists wanted religious freedom for themselves AND for others and wanted freedom to worship how they chose outside of the church of England. The Puritans came over to the New World after Plimoth was settled. Can you guess what was in our history lessons the last two weeks :lol: :rolleyes: The Witch of Blackbird Pond is one of my favorite books from childhood. My copy is well worn. I have yet to read The Scarlet Letter, though it was kind of in the back of my mind for this year. I've only read one Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, and I don't even remember a thing about it.

That's awesome. I was born and raised only 30-45 min from there. My cousin (and closest friend) is only 15-20 min from there. I would let the library know it's in the wrong section! Not that some of the crap that they call YA now should be in that section either :glare: The author only has 3 YA books. All the rest are adult.

Do you mind sharing what school? I hope you don't mean Soulless was in the YA section :scared: It was most definitely NOT YA fiction . Etiquette and Espionage is the first in her YA series. I enjoyed it, and Aly has read all of them. I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I hope to finish it in the next two days and then start Out of the Silent Planet. I'm listening to Eragon on audio while exercising (I hate exercising :thumbdown: ). And I'll be rereading Wrapped soon as Aly has picked it for our co-op read.

That was me last week! I kept thinking I should remember "who done it" but just couldn't get there! Sorry :o Even though strawberries are not my favorite fruit, ALL of your desserts and goodies sounded totally scrumptious!

:drool5: Strawberries aren't even my favorite but I think we should all come to your house for tea time! Have fun! My cousin and I did a weekend away in January...shopping and scrapbooking...it was so much fun! Thanks! They were delivered safely this morning, though Aly went with a low grade fever. :glare: I hope she feels better and can enjoy her spring break!

:grouphug: For light-hearted reading I would recommend The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer!.It is sure to make you laugh out loud. Or if you like fantasy, David Eddings's Pawn of Prophecy is light and fun. I, too, have not read it, but I was going to say the same thing! I think it will be fine. It looks like I'm going to have to make time for it since so many are going to read it. As to the space trilogy, I had to get it in e-book form. My library system (very large) has only two copies and they are both out. Spring Break starts tomorrow!!!! Girls are headed to their grandparents to spend the week! I will hopefully catch up around the house and get some reading done! :hurray:

For Mystery March I read Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. It has been many moons since I’ve read this, and it didn’t disappoint. I certainly didn’t remember the “who done it!†And it kind of gave me the creeps. Lol! I finished it at night and then questioned the wisdom of that. I like how Christie usually manages to pack a big punch in a short amount of pages. I’m looking forward to Aly reading this. GREAT CLASSIC MYSTERY! That was book #14 I started Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night.

:lol: Thanks! I wasn't sure and wanted to be safe ;) And it's good to hear that about your dad! :hurray: I have always wanted to read Mere Christianity, I don't know if I'll get to it in April but maybe...

Thanks, Robin!!

The Magician's Nephew is not my favorite book, but it does contain my very favorite chapter in the Chronicles. The chapter on the creation of Narnia, oh what a beautiful thing...it makes my soul sing. I can't imagine skipping this book! Or any for that matter. I read them in the order they were published. Always have. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair The Horse and His Boy The Magician's Nephew The Last Battle The were renumbered just 20 years ago. I know that the renumbering order is the "popular" order now. The "chronological" order of Narnia. However, like I stated, entering Narnia for the first time with Lucy is magical. Narnia is an unknown. Aslan is an unknown, and we, the reader get to experience the wonder at the same time as the characters. When the Pevensie's are sitting with the Beaver's and they each have a reaction to Aslan's name, even though he is an unknown. Well, I just think that is the way to go. Reading The Magician's Nephew first causes us to lose that wonder and exploration of Narnia. It takes a while before we get to the beautiful parts of the book, and it is taken for granted that you know who Aslan is and what Narnia is because it was written next to last. I think coming to it after all the others gives a richer experience. I taught the Narnia books last year in co-op. I taught them in publication order, though I had some very strenuous objections from one of the boys :laugh: But, as you can tell :lol: I feel pretty strongly about my side, and he lived through it ;)

Yes, the column on the left! The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair The Horse and His Boy The Magician's Nephew The Last Battle

Please, please, please, please read the books in the order that they were written, NOT the modern order! There is a special magic in entering Narnia through the wardrobe with Lucy for the very first time, discovering the wonder of Narnia through Lucy's eyes and the awe of hearing of Aslan. It is such a special entry into this wonderful world that Lewis created, especially since he began that creation with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Yes!!! It is actually on my list today to order the first book from the library. The first book is Out of the Silent Planet, right?

Robin, Since we can't get back to the previous Book a Week threads, could you list the upcoming author/challenge of the month for the rest of the year. Not only did an IRL friend ask, but I also don't want to read something that I was saving for one of the challenges :laugh: I only remember April is C.S. Lewis, September is Banned Books, and October is Spooky reads?

:grouphug:

Here's my round-up for last week. I'm a little behind ;) Our book club challenge for this month was to pick a book by its cover. My pick was The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag. I chose it from my Amazon wish list. I believe it was a BaW recommendation. It was a lovely book, very reminiscent of Sarah Addison Allen. I’m definitely a fan of this magical realism genre! The book was not only about dresses that could transform a girl, there was also a mystery, which surprised me! It was a delightful blend of the magical, romance, mystery and misunderstandings. I have another of her books in my TBR pile, The House at the End of Hope Street. I look forward to reading another of her books. TOTALLY ENJOYABLE! The following contains CC... I also finished my devotional book 101 More Devotions for Homeschool Moms, which I have been slowly reading through since August. I’ve had this book for a long time and have read bits and pieces but never read it all the way through. This book really met a need for me last fall, funny enough, it wasn’t a need for encouragement on the homeschool front, but life and my walk with God and getting me back into my Bible regularly. There were many nuggets to be had in her book. And, as always, there were some things that I definitely didn’t agree with (I’m very conservative but not that conservative). I found it HELPFUL ON MANY FRONTS. One of my Favorite Quotes: “Courage to persevere does not come from doing our work in our own power. Our flesh is not strong enough. God’s strength is what keeps us daily serving Him in the tasks we are called to do.†That puts me at 13 for the year!

That's funny, Garden Spells was my least favorite of the three I've read, but saying that I still enjoyed it. The Sugar Queen was my favorite so far. First Frost is on my TBR list. A couple friends have already read it and enjoyed it. Totally felt the bolded in this last series. We didn't finish it. Blah. I'm glad to hear this! I, too, liked the movie Austenland better than the book and so decided not to pursue Midnight in Austenland. I'll have to give it a try now. :grouphug:

The girls and I just got back from seeing a lovely rendition of Little Women at our local Shakespeare theater. I wish it hadn't taken us so long to discover theater, yet I'm equally glad that we continue to have the opportunity to experience it. If you haven't introduced your children to the stage yet, even Shakespeare, I encourage you to do so! Thanks for the rec!! I will add it to my list. All the best for the library book sale!!! Can't wait to hear your finds! Ours is coming up in April. Amen! Sister! You're preaching to the choir :lol:

:hurray: to getting us going again!!! Thanks, Robin! This is on Skye's all time favorite's list. I'm supposed to read it this year (actually, I was supposed to read it a couple years ago but it just wasn't the right time). I look forward to hearing how you like it! :iagree: I guess when your famous, nobody cares :laugh: I've finished two books and started my Agatha Christie. We have had a busy week and a still busier weekend/Monday. I hope to get my reviews in on Tuesday. We are busy watching March Madness :thumbup:

How exciting! My girls would be jealous! Heck, I'm jealous! That is awesome! :hurray: The little boy Skye nannies for is 3 now, and she's been watching him since he was 6.5 months. I'm getting a little taste of grandchildren with him and his sisters. I admit to not be able to wait until that stage!! The little booger was here yesterday and it's just so much fun! On a reading note, I'm still working on my book that I picked for its cover. Our book club meets Thursday night, and I'm a little behind in reading it.

:grouphug: Feel better soon!

I'm in the same boat with a lot of books to read! I am reading the book I picked based on its cover for my book club meeting later this week. I still need to read my Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, and I would like to find time to fit in Murder on the Orient Express! I need to read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as I'm already way behind in reading Harry Potter if I want to be done by May! And I need to pick a new read aloud for me and Aly. Is Mistborn the Brandon Sanderson book?

This has been on my TBR list for a couple years now. I just haven't gotten around to it! Thanks! And many happy wishes for your next couple of weeks with family :hurray: Dh has read In the Garden of Beasts, thanks to Robin's recommendation. He really enjoyed it! WWII is not my favorite to read about. Too much reality. Anyway, I let dh know about the new book.