The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert was a fun cozy mystery that I finished this afternoon! I rarely read books set in the early 1900's, but I found this book truly delightful. Set in 1930, the Darling Dahlias are members of a Garden Club in Darling, Alabama. When a young woman is killed, the Dahlias band together to try and figure out what really happened. I enjoyed reading about small town life in the 30's. I could easily picture my Grandad's house as it was when I was growing up, and my aunt's could easily have been part of the club itself! And the author also had lovely descriptions of the food and some recipes in the back of the book. One of the gals in the story was reading a new mystery, "The Secret of the Old Clock." I actually had to look it up and see if Nancy Drew was really written in the 30's!! Quote: "She had already read every single one of the detective novels the Darling Library had on its shelves (not a great many - it was a small library) and was reading the best ones for the second and third time. But that didn't spoil the pleasure, for it was her opinion that a good novel, especially a good mystery, deserved more than one reading."

I am finally beginning to finish some of the books that I have been reading. It is unusual for me to have so many going at one time! Sunday night I finished Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings. I have been so tired lately, too tired to read, that it's not surprising that the first thing I've finished in weeks is another audio book. I enjoy how this book brings so much together in the first series. Though I knew how it was going to end and what was going to happen, it is still as much fun getting there as the first dozen or more times lol. I do really wish my family would read these. I've spent quite a bit of time in the last two years delving into the books they really wanted me to read. I think it's time they reciprocate! Though it has taken me months, I have finished Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It took me a while only because it was so deep that I needed no distractions while reading it. Taking it in small chunks also helped me to process what I read. I enjoyed discussing this with Aly and her co-op class. I didn't always agree with Lewis, which is to be expected. He is after all just a man. I found, however, that I could relate to many of his illustrations. He explained things in a down to earth way that was completely understandable. Some difficult topics were covered in such a conversational tone that I was able to look at them from a whole new perspective. It was truly an excellent book, one I would recommend.

I agree with the bolded but on looking back to see how old loesje's dd was, I probably wouldn't recommend it without pre-reading. Everyone's 13 yo is different ;) I probably wouldn't have handed it over to my 13 yo. Well, neither of my dd's at 13 would have enjoyed it. :D Though it has been a while, I don't remember anything explicit in Remarkable Creatures. There was one s*x scene but it was short and really didn't tell/show much about what was going on.

Ooohh! Fun! You should be reading Persuasion and Remarkable Creatures! :D Stacia: Here's hoping the little (um) lady settles in and let you love on her more and more!

Chews on Books sounds like he is in that FUN stage! And count me as another that is totally jealous here! Have a wonderful trip! :lol: I hate when they expect food when I'm in the middle of a good book!!! Priorities people!!

LOL! My first theme park ever was Cedar Point. I had no idea that other parks didn't have ridiculously long lines and that there were sometimes people telling you where to go! Universal was such a treat compared to that! Dh and I used to bring cards to play waiting in line on a summer day at Cedar Point. I get severe motion sickness so I can only ride when drugged up ;) and I can't overcome my fear of heights! I have never been on Millennium Force! Maverick is Skye's all time favorite coaster! I've never been to Disney but Cedar Point has never been super family friendly. It's all about the coasters. Kings Island does a little better job in that area as far as just coaster parks go. :D I could care less about college, honestly. My dad was a very successful construction company owner doing everything from drawing the blueprints to finishing touches on the homes they built, all without a college degree. So I don't feel it's necessary to be successful in life. However, I do believe in encouraging my kids in whatever path they want to take, and at this moment that includes college for Aly, who might like to be the next Scully from X-Files or the next Abby from NCIS. :laugh: If she decides to be the next Parker from Leverage, well then I'd have to step in. :lol: When I was in high school, the big thing was to do Cedar Point the day after prom! That sounds awesome! You are a better woman than I! When they did the slideshow of baby pics during Skye's graduation, I cried, and I didn't know half of the kids that she was graduating with!

:lol: I'm a pretty laid back homeschool parent, I certainly don't fit the classical mold, but knowing that Aly (also rising sophomore) wants to actually go to college makes me have plenty of doubts! Yeah for ds's commencement! Boo to our stupid Ohio weather! I totally agree with the bolded! And enquiring minds want to know which roller coaster it was? Millennium Force or the new one?

The Vale of Aldur was on the list from The Belgariad by David Eddings! :001_wub: I'm in the middle of listening to the series (I've read them over and over so many times that I thought they would be the perfect audio books...and they are!). I love the characters in David Eddings' books! They are like family or old comfortable friends.

I acquired a copy of My Antonia last month. Which is better Death Comes for the Archbishop or My Antonia?

I believe People of the Book is also in my Amazon list! I know that over 3/4 of that list is recommendations from here! I, Claudius is not, but I'll need to look it up. Actually, I have a ton of looking up to do with all of these suggestions! :party: Congrats to college boy! And carry the Kleenex! So what do people on the west coast consider an Extreme Roller Coaster park? Here in the Mid-West, it's Cedar Point! I am not, nor ever have been, an extreme roller coaster rider but I live with 3 of them (the girls take after their daddy!). That sounds like an absolute blast!!! Another that I had not considered and the first 2 are on my shelf! I really enjoyed the first one! I just acquired the 2nd last week and haven't had a chance to read it! I love reading about Tudor's as well, but you are right, they are hard to find clean! I mean it is Henry the VIII and let's be honest, he was a little fixated on procreating a boy :rofl: I will definitely be looking up the Bess book for myself! I would love one about the Scrooby Pilgrims! This summer we are finishing the cycle (again) on our Christian history trips with our youth group at church. We've done Williamsburg and areas south, Boston/Plimoth and areas surrounding, and finishing up this year with Philadelphia and areas surrounding. Our youth would love to travel over the pond and do England and Holland! Our church is really behind our trips and so are our parents but I'm not sure we could raise enough funds to do it!

I read The Historian last year but never considered putting it on the list! Aly would love it, I think. And I have Death Comes for the Archbishop in my own TBR pile. Timeline would be a great one, though maybe with a little editing (dd is sensitive to language). I love Crichton and I think she's seen the movie! Ooohh! Thanks! This is amazing and will help so much! I'm not sure how I'm going to narrow it down! I agree with the bolded! I was thinking that The Illiad and The Odyssey would fall into a similar category. The Daughter of Time has shown up on almost everybody's list, and I realized it is in my Amazon TBR list! :laugh: I understand! You all are broadening my perspective. On my original list I was thinking classics plus some children's/YA books that we never got to as read alouds. I don't think I had fully considered the scope of some of the adult historical fiction. Basically Aly's school year (9th) turned out to be very heavy, not only in load but in content (Modern World History...war & atrocities :scared: and then the Worldview curriculum). I usually do a lighter 9th to ease into high school and a lighter 12th to give free time to really nail down their niche. We are not super classical over-achiever homeschoolers. Anyway, since we are finishing the cycle of history, I decided history next year would be light. A reading trip down the timeline of the world basically. Aly really liked this idea, and at first I was thinking only of all the cool kids books we never did as read alouds. Then I started thinking about all the classics that would fit. And then I had the great idea to ask here :laugh: So I'm trying to narrow down what could easily fit into a school year. I think maybe it's a bigger task than I realized.

:eek: :lol: Bring Up the Bodies sounds familiar. I'll have to check those out. I will definitely share my list as soon as I whittle it down some! This is more for me and Aly, though what I'm planning could go on the co-op options list come to think of it. That's not a bad idea! Aly will be 16 at the start of the school year, and she definitely is not as sensitive as my older dd. But you know I'm fairly conservative, lol, so definitely no eye-burning moments :lol:

Does anyone want to play a game? Ok, well not really a game, but you all are MOST knowledgeable in the book department and there is no one better to turn to in my not so humble opinion ;) If you had to pick 20 (or so) historical fiction books to "read through history" with what would they be? This would be from Creation (or early Sumerian culture for those of you who are evolutionist in nature) all the way to present day. The books can include any age range but I would prefer no R rated books ;) I've been trying to figure out what my picks would be, but I'm already over 20!! :eek: What would your picks be? :bigear:

Have fun! I love getting away with my friends! Adorable! I will refrain from showing my animal loving older dd. Our 2 cats and the Bunny have enough animal personality for us right now!

How exciting! Have a wonderful holiday! And take pictures to share ;) It has been awhile since my last reread of The Hobbit but I was also surprised and disappointed with the movies. I enjoyed reading The Hobbit more than The Lord of the Rings Trilogy but loved The Lord of the Rings movies better. :grouphug: and ... Ali took the words right out of my mouth!

Thanks! I didn't have to cook a thing and OBVIOUSLY didn't clean :laugh: and then had Vanilla Bean cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Yep it was good!

:seeya: Hey there everyone! I think it's been a couple weeks! Theater is finally over. Whew! What an experience! Aly love love loved it, though, so I'm guessing we'll be doing this craziness again next year. Though I will be more prepared for it! I will post of picture of Aly in her costume (that her sister made) when I get them onto my computer. There hasn't been a whole heck of a lot of time for reading lately. After recouping from theater, we are now trying to finish up school. I'm counting the last book I read in April for my "Mediterranean May." ;) It certainly fit the category! The Night Villa by Carol Goodman has actually been sitting on my shelf for years, ever since finding it at the library's book sale. I'm trying to read more of the books this year that I've picked up at the book sales and thrift stores. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I prefer a fantasy or historical setting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did we get the story of Sophie Chase but we also went back in time to hear the story of a young slave girl in Herculaneum in 79 AD, which had me looking up some history and geography! It was a wonderful story filled with ancient history and mythology. Funny enough I had unknowingly picked up another Carol Goodman book at the book swap store. I can only hope it is as good. A couple days ago I realized that Magician's Gambit was going off my Overdrive. Fortunately it was on my shelf. When I realized that I only had around 55 pages left, I picked it up and just finished it. All along as I've been listening to it, I've thought how I've only ever read these in my book club Collector's Edition. They kind of all read as one book that way. Listening to it separately, I realized that this was one of my least favorite of the series. It's still good but not great, really feeling like just a bridge or transition book. Funny how that happens. Anyway, I'm thankful that the library has the next one on audio. I'm actually enjoying listening to them. Our pastor's wife gave us two more bookshelves :hurray: Then Pastor promptly gave dh a laundry basket full of history and church books :lol: My house is a total disaster zone! In fact I really wanted to spend my birthday yesterday in my pj's reading but I ran away from my house instead :tongue_smilie: and went shopping. I need to find a place for the new bookshelves and get all these books & curriculums sorted and put away! A daunting task indeed!

Jenn: Awesome photos! It looks so beautiful. And fun!! Happy Birthday to your dd! I'm trying to remember if I knew we shared a birthday! I read this just a couple months ago. My friend and my cousin, like you, both quite enjoyed it and thought for sure I'd love it too. For me it just fell short.

I need some help! Those of you who have read World War Z and seen the movie...does the book EVER connect with the movie!?!? I really loved the movie and was looking forward to the book but I"m 100 pages in and it's nothing like the movie. If none of the movie story line is in there, I think I'm ready to give it up.

Yummy! My favorite! :scared: :hurray: Let's keep it that way shall we! I was too sick to concentrate on reading over the weekend but was able to listen to my audio book. I finished Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings. It was a comfort to listen to one of my favorite stories. I was able to drift off to sleep without worrying about missing anything (though I still rewound it when I woke up). I'm getting used to the reader's voice and just enjoying the story again. Our April book theme (IRL book club) is Birds, a book with a bird in the title or a book about birds or a book with a bird as a character. I chose one of my favorite Lori Wick books to revisit, The Hawk and the Jewel. I started it last week before I got sick and was finally able to concentrate enough to finish it today. Brandon Hawksbury has got to be one of my favorite heroes. It has been quite a few years since I have read this, and though it is still one of my favorite stories, I did find the writing more simplistic than I remember. It's kind of funny how that happens. Like I said, still one of my favorites. Thanks for all the well wishes! I'm still battling a cough and crazy fatigue but better than I was over the weekend. I'm trying to rest up as the first round of Mary Poppins performances start Friday night.

This is my current audio book! It's been a couple years since my last reread, and I figured this non-auditory person could keep up with a story I know so well ;) I'm still waiting for my girls to read it. :glare: :iagree: Aly loved the Droon series after she finished Magic Tree House! This is my fly by post for the week! We are deep into dress rehearsals and performances begin a week from today. :scared: I also have come down with a cold or allergies or whatever this crud may be :thumbdown: so I'm feeling pretty crappy! I'm currently listening to Queen of Sorcery and reading Mere Christianity (still), The Hawk and the Jewel, and World War Z. I'm feeling a little ADHD with all the other stuff I have going on and can't settle in.

The onset of Spring Break enabled me to have some uninterrupted quiet time for my morning devotions. I finished Be Joyful by Warren Wiersbe. A devotional type book on Philippians I had been reading since January (I think). Though I liked his Be Committed book that I read last year a little better, this was still an excellent study of Philippians and a wonderful reminder of all that we have to be joyful for. Not only did it remind us to find our joy in Christ but also to watch out for those things that can be stealers of our joy! Quote: "As you contemplate the day's schedule, be sure that nothing you have planned robs you of the joy God wants you to have." I seem to need this reminder :o I'm a very emotional person and tend to get caught up and let things bother me that really shouldn't. The author compared the people who are a thermometer (going up and down with every situation, always letting others affect them) with people who are thermostats (those who keep steady, setting the tone for the situation and having an effect on others). I tend to be more thermometer than thermostat, much to my shame, and would like to strive to be better. I'm still trying to finish Mere Christianity, listening to Queen of Sorcery, and also reading World War Z. The latter is not what I expected. I really liked the movie but so far nothing is much like the movie except Israel's 10th man. So I guess the jury's still out there.

I haven't touched my blog in a year but I'm thinking about this! (If I don't forget by the end of the day). I don't have a theme, though I thought of picking something from our many travels last year for each day (since I never blogged about them). I also passed it along to Skye who blogs about life more frequently and really enjoys doing these kinds of things. Yes and yes!

After a wonderful Easter service at church, we had a beautiful 75 degree day in which to relax and read outside! I was able to finish Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs. What a fun cozy mystery! I absolutely loved the atmosphere of historical Charleston. All of the descriptions of the tea shop were lovely. I found myself not only wanting to sip some tea but also to have my own tea shop! The mystery itself was good, not great. I was fairly sure of the murderer early on, but it didn't take away from the fun. That makes #14 for me for the year.

:grouphug: When my Grandad died he was almost 101! He is still missed! And more :grouphug: to sweet girl and you all! It's so good to hear she is gaining weight! My fluffy recommendation would be The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer. Light and hilarious and properly diverting!