Great book. I keep rereading it every year or so as son ages. He is very spirited and the book has been a great resource.

Tried it and have to say no. Too much movement to concentrate on book. Easier to watch tv.

I love Bodie Thoene's Ad Chronicles, plus her other books. There is also Dee Henderson whose writing I like.

Congratulations to ree for making times top 25 blogs of the year list. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879276_1879279_1879071,00.html

Happy New Year! Posting this a bit early since I'll be working most of the day tomorrow. It's the end of 2009. Many many thanks to everyone who participated and thank you to those who followed our progress throughout the year. And a big heartfelt thank you to Kay who came up with the idea in the first place. How did you do? Did you manage to read 52 books this year? Even if you didn't, how many did you manage to read? Did you discover a new author or a new genre. Did you rediscover an old classic or reread a book from years gone by? What book did you finish up the challenge with? Did you read from a list and fly by the seat of your pants choosing a different book each week? What was your favorite book? What was your least favorite book? Did you learn something new about reading, yourself or a topic you read? What is on your wish list for 2010? What authors, genres, or books would you like to see spotlighted on the 52 Books blog for 2010? Just a few questions to think about as we wrap up our reading year. On the 52 books blog, will be Mr. Linky so folks can link to their wrap up posts on their blogs. If you don't have a blog and want to leave a comment on the post with how many books you read, that would be great as well. Whether you read 1, 3, 20, 52, 100, or 200 or more, be proud of your accomplishments.

I began blogging three years ago as a way to connect with family, talk about homeschooling and improve my writing. Since then it has bloomed in to all about homeschool, writing, reading, and life in general. I have a couple things to add to what txbloobonnet said. If you want followers and people to read your blog, you have to visit other blogs and comment on their blogs. Show interest. I've noticed a big difference between the homeschool bloggers and the book bloggers. The book bloggers love to comment on each other's blogs. Whether you know them or not. Folks are welcome with open arms no matter what. Where as with the homeschool community, like I did in the beginning, many lurk and read but never comment. I have a site meter so I know how many folks check out my blog and the 52 books blog. I really don't know what the difference is and why folks don't feel comfortable commenting. There are several different meme's to get involved with that will expand your readership and you'll ever find more folks who are into reading the classics and discussing it. I have a couple linked on the 52 books site such as Teaser Tuesday and Wonderful Wednesday. Saturday salon is a great site for posting links to your reviews. Pick one and see how it works for you. I'll be posting about mini challenge within the 52 books challenge for reading classics - 12 classics in 12 months when the new year starts. I'll be starting off with Aristotle and highlighting some classic books and authors over a period of time. Good luck with your reading!

I have that one as well - have to clear the decks for that one since it's so huge. Have fun reading.

Along with the complete text of the story, are annotations running down the side margin giving insight into biblical allusions in the story, plus at the end of each chapter are discussion questions. It's very neat and makes the story all that more interesting. I'll be writing up a review shortly and posting on my blog.

The Egyptian sculpture of blue hippo or......?

Mine is into video games - got him a Nintendo DS, some mario games plus a new wii game. He's playing wii right now. Also Lego's. Anything lego.

James (10) was still awake when I went to bed at 12:30. He's a night owl but has to stay in his room once prayers are said and I leave after reading. I snuck the gifts out to the living room, put the stuff in the stockings, munched the cookies. When hubby came to bed an hour later, kiddo still awake. He tried the old "can I come out and kiss you again routine" so he could see what we were watching. We told him no since watching Harry Potter. He's not allowed to see it yet. I had to wake him up this morning to see what Santa left under the tree.

Merry Christmas to you too!

My hubby and son really have good taste. Hubby gave me a beautiful watch. Plus they gave me Green by Ted Dekker Robert Heinlein's Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Spin by Robert Charles Wilson A Ship Possessed by Alton Gansky Lethal Harvest by William Cutter and 50 things to do when you turn 50. "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" and "Angels and Demons." Plus Santa gave me "Labryinth" and "The Princess Bride." Today I'm reading Special Edition of A Christmas Carol which include christian insights and discussion questions. Very interesting. James is enjoying playing his new Nintendo DS and hubby reading "Why We Suck" by comedian Denis Leary. Merry Christmas!

This is the 2nd to the last Thursday in the month so we are on week 51 starting book 52. Merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy holiday to everyone. Hope you get plenty of books under the tree or in your stocking this year. Hubby shopped off of my Amazon wish list this year and there are quite a few book shaped packages under the tree. The surprise will be which ones he picked. I'm currently reading Dune in e-book form on my Nook. I read it back in the 80's so don't remember much about the story at all except for the sandworms and the blue eyes. Next thursday will be posting our wrap up post so give some thought to your hits and misses, new author discoveries, surprise likes with new genres, etc. Merry Christmas!!

I decided 2010 is going to be my Deliberate Year! Ever since I heard about Jennifer's idea of the Year of Reading Deliberately, the thoughts started rolling about in my head about being deliberate with not only my reading, but also writing as well. Plus being deliberate with my health since watching my blood pressure and eating choices, especially after that choking scare. Happy to say I was pleasantly surprised when I stood on the scale yesterday that since I've given up pepsi's and chips, it resulted in me dropping 8 pounds. With that in mind, I'm joining Trish's 100 Mile Fitness challenge and I've both pedometer's for both myself and father. Then I receive this wonderful email from Chris Baty. Dear Writer.... I ran into your 2009 NaNoWriMo novel yesterday, and it said that you two are currently "taking a break." I offered my condolences and mentioned that I'd probably be seeing you today. It quickly scribbled out a note for me to give you. The note seemed kind of personal, so I didn't read it. Here it is! "Hi! Come back to me. I'll be better this time, I promise!"..... ....So here's my proposal. What if we pick one of the promising stories we've started and set aside, and then spend 2010 finishing it up and making it great?" Hence the birth of The Year of Writing Deliberately was born. Deliberate - "Done with or marked by full consciousness of the nature and effects." How often do we go through our days on auto pilot, not giving conscious thought to what we are doing. Never fully in the moment, but thinking about what needs to be done next, splitting our attention away from what actively doing at the moment. So, what does this have to do with writing? I like writing and seem to do plenty of it -whether blogging, class work, lesson plans, business letters, etc. For each of these things, the outcome has be letter perfect almost from the get go. You edit as you go and make sure all the grammar and punctuation is perfect. Writing a novel is different because the first draft is free flowing thought - getting it all out there on paper first, then going back once, twice, maybe half a dozen times to edit until you are happy with it. It's been an interesting experience and I now have 3 works in progress. My first nano Floating on the Surface is resting, waiting for me to get back to it. I decided to rewrite the entire thing this year and worked on it until Nano 2009. The story is at a turning point in which I either have the action take place in a shorter period of time (which my characters seem to be lobbying for) or spread it out over a longer period of time. I discovered when you veer away from what the characters want, they rebel. My Nano 2008 Winter's Illusion is on the shelf and I'm going to let it stay there until I finish the other two. I took more time finishing Winter's Illusion and think it going to need a couple edits, but no major rewrites. I'm looking forward to going back and rereading. Nano 2009 The first draft of Eyes in the Ashes is about 60% done and I'm already thinking about editing it because about 15% of it is filler. I ended up writing two different scenarios in the middle of the story. I wrote scenes for both scenarios so it's a mess, but now know which direction want to take. But the first part is good and will keep going. I'm going to go back over what have written so far, take out the filler, and continue from there. Father sat down one night when I stepped away from the computer and started reading the story. I thought he would lose interest after a couple minutes, because he did with Floating on the Surface. He doesn't read fiction, but he got captured by the story and can't wait for me to finish so he can read the rest of the story. High compliments indeed and really made my day! So, my first goal will be to finish Eyes, then get back to Floating on the Surface. I'm going to commit to writing everyday. Doesn't matter how many words or pages, just as long as I commit to sitting down and writing for at least an hour, giving the story my full attention. During nano, I had a goal of 2000 words a day and managed to accomplish that because I didn't turn on the computer, didn't check my emails, didn't blog until I was done writing for the day. I dedicated my morning to writing, before Father and James got up for the day and the daily distractions started. So for my 2010 Year of Writing Deliberately, I will dedicate my morning to writing. Every morning! I found I have to write every single day because when I start differentiating between writing on the weekdays only and taking off on the weekend, by Monday morning, the resolve isn't there. Then I have to work on Mondays, so justify not writing because I only have an hour before work so go online. And so on and so on. I love writing! I love putting pen to paper and letting my thoughts flow and I amaze myself sometimes. I look at it later and say "wow I wrote that." I will be sharing my progress weekly since you all help to keep me accountable. If anyone wants to join me in the Year of Writing Deliberately, come join the social group - writing like your hair's on fire. What works do you currently have in progress and what are your writing goals for 2010?

Well - I've joined a few challenges and have quite a few books on the nightstand A Canticle for Leibewitz - Walter Miller (sci fi) A Choice of Gods - Clifford Simak (sci fi) A Room with Dark Mirrors - Velda Johnson (suspense) 2nd Chance - James Patterson (mystery) 206 Bones - Kathy Reichs (mystery) Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (Historic) Bearing An Hourglass-Piers Anthony (sci fi) City of Bones - Cassandra Clare (ya paranormal) Cold River - Carla Neggers (suspense) Comes a Horseman - Robert Liparulo (suspense) Dark of Night - Suzanne Brockmann (romantic suspense) Daughters of Eve - Lois Duncan (ya) David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (historical) Dear and Glorious Physician - Taylor Caldwell (historical) Death Dream-Ben Bova (sci fi) Don't Look Behind You - Lois Duncan (ya) Down a Dark Hall - Lois Duncan (ya) Dragonsinger - Anne Mccaffrey (sci fi) Dune - Frank Herbert (Sci Fi) Emma - Jane Austen (historical) Everlasting - Kathleen Woodiwiss (historical) Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (sci fi) Falls the Shadows - Sharon kay Penman (historical) Friday - Robert Heinlein (sci fi) Glory Road - Robert Heinlien (sci fi) Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman (historical) His Excellency George Washington (nf) Hothouse Orchid - Stuart Woods (mystery) House on the Strand - Daphne DuMaurier (historical suspense) Ice - Linda Howard (mystery) Jane Emily - Patricia Clap (ya) John Adams - David McCullough (nf) Kill for Me - Karen Rose (suspense) Lost Souls #5 - Lisa Jackson (mystery) M is for Murder - Sue Grafton (mystery) Maximum Ride the Angel Experiment - J. Patterson (ya sci fi) Only Milo - Barry Smith (mystery) Pirate Latitudes - Michael Crichton (mystery) Project Pope - Clifford Simak (sci fi) Promise Me - Harlan Coben (suspense) Rainwater - Sandra Brown (historical) Schindler's List - Thomas Keneally (german history) Servant: The Kindred - L.L. Foster (paranormal romance) Shiver #4 - Lisa Jackson (mystery) Soul Catcher - Leigh Bridger (urban fantasy) Stranger with My Face - Lois Duncan ( ya) Strong Poison - Dorothy L. Sayers (british mystery) Sudden Death - Allison Brennan (suspense) Summer of Fear - Lois Duncan (ya) The 39 Clues #1 - Rick Riordan (ya mystery) The Appeal - John Grisham (legal fiction) The Bible of Clay - Julia Navarro (bible thriller) The Confessions of St. Augustine (nf) The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester (sci fi) The Gatekeeper - Michelle Gagnon (mystery) The Hidden Treasures of Glaston - Eleanore Jewett (historical) The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint Exupery (child fantasy) The Lost City of Z - David Grann (nf historical) The Millionaires - Brad Meltzer (political thriller) The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins (historical) The Night Before #3 - Lisa Jackson (mystery) The Perfect Couple - Brenda Novak (romantic suspense) The Road to Jerusalem - Jan Guillou (historical fiction) The Scarlet and the Black - J.P. Gallagher (nf) The Third Circle - Amanda Quick (historical) The Tower of Shadow - Drew Bowling The Vor Game - Lois McMaster Bujold (sci fi) The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin (ya) Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (sci fi romance) To Your Scattered Bodies Go - Philip Jose Farmer (sci fi) Under the Dome - Stephen King (Horror) Unnatural Death - Dorothy Sayers (british mystery) Untraceable - Laura Griffin (mystery) When Christ and His Saints Slept - Sharon Kay Penman (historical) Wicked Games # 6 - Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush (mystery) Wizards First Rule - Terry Goodkind (fantasy) On my E-Reader have Sense and Sensibility, Dune, Dracula and a few others can't think of right now. I've also joined a speculative fiction challenge and have been discovering some interesting books.

Some wing it and some make a list. You do whatever suits you. I have several challenges going so have a list. You can do reviews with a thumb up or thumb down or however you want. It is very casual. However, I do have to say short stories in magazines don't count. It has to be a book. Just do your best and see how you do. Most of all have fun.

nudge!

I have a nook but sure you can probably get the same books for kindle. Dune - Frank Herbert Judas Kiss - J.T. Ellison Marked - P.C. Cast My Soul to Lose - Rachel Vincent Pride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility Templar Legacy - Steve Berry Dracula - Bram Stoker The Dark Tower Series Gun Slinger - Stephen King.

Posting a bit early since I won't be online Thursday. Thursday is the start of Week 50 in the quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks and starting book # 51. We are winding down the year with 2 weeks left and heading towards our goal of reading 52 books for the year. I'm currently reading Cold Blooded by Lisa Jackson. It's interesting and the villain is really creepy. It's one of those books that you have to be in the mood for it. Since we have two weeks left in our quest to read 52 books, how about giving some thought to what books you really enjoyed and what books you didn't. I'll be posting a final wrap up 'how did you do, what did you think, what would you have done differently, new author discoveries, etc. post when all is said and done. And while you are putting together your lists for next year, I have a few discoveries I posted about on 52 books. It's one week to Christmas. Are you buying books for the holidays and what are you reading this week? That is if you have time to read while preparing for Christmas. :)

Thank you. The doctor did mention to dh about the balloon. Having an upper gi exam done next month. Thanks for the link to Schatzki Rings. Need to educating myself on all this wonderful stuff.

Great suggestions and we have been discussing. This is the 2nd instance in which he's been home alone when an emergency happened. The first when dh broke his ankle last year and now this. Both times we've been able to help ourselves and tell him what to do. However, what happens, God forbid, the time we aren't capable of doing that? Having a poster list taped over the phone is a good idea. He has been putting together an emergency phone list notebook for webelos. We'll have to finish it and put by the phone as well.

That's an excellent idea. I did want to do a wrap up thread when all is said and done. What everyone read or what they liked or didn't like. I'll mentioned it in thursday's thread.

Thanks everybody. Today I've been on an all liquid diet drinking lots of water, tea, broth, ensure. I'm still hungry but oh well. Tomorrow I get to eat soft foods. I don't have Gerd, but have noticed a problem with bread and chicken having a hard time going down if eat too much a portion at one time. I mentioned it to the doctor last night. I'm glad my husband was there, because I didn't hear a thing the doctor told me. He thinks I have a narrowing of my esophagus so I'll be going back in a month for a full GI scan. In the meantime they gave me prescription prilosec to take in the mornings. My dad has this problem and he takes some pill for it that relaxes his throat. Anyway,this is something I hope never to repeat. Won't ever be eating another jimboy's steak taco salad again. Will be more careful to eat small portions from now on.