Hello readers…thanks for joining me for this month’s Where Bloggers Live 07.2021: Books I Love. Thought about titling this “Favorite Books” but my list of favorite books is ever-evolving and changing. A book that I might really love now might not have spoken to me in my younger years. And might not be a favorite down the road. Although, I do have a few perennial favorites that will forever remain near and dear.
Hope you will grab a cuppa, kick off your shoes and get comfortable because when this retired librarian shares about books, she can get long-winded.
WHERE BLOGGERS LIVE
Happy to report I have a few new readers!! Welcome to my world. And welcome back always to those of you who stop by regularly for a few minutes here with me. Where Bloggers Live is kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…with bloggers! Each month I am always happy to see that my Where Bloggers Live posts are among my most popular. Probably because we are all a little curious about other people’s homes and lives. You can read my last Where Bloggers Live post, here, where we talked about organizing something in our home. That something was my craft space. I like to organize almost as much as I like to read. It’s the librarian in me. You can take the retired librarian out of the library but you can’t take the library out of the retired librarian. Organizing books is my idea of a real good time.
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WHERE BLOGGERS LIVE 07.2021
Did you know I host an online book club? Well, I do. I think we have been together for 2, maybe 3 years now. I should probably know which. But have never been big on anniversaries… The book club is called “Come Read With Me” and we are over 100 members as of this month. It is hosted on Facebook. And has been a real blessing to me because it has allowed me to share books and a love of reading just as I did for so long in my professional life.
We read mostly fiction. Almost entirely fiction. Each month I create a list of 8 titles with summaries and a voting link and email it out to the members. They vote on which of the 8 books they would most like to read. And the book with the most votes wins. Occasionally, I will sneak a memoir, biography or nonfiction book onto the consideration list but I don’t think we have ever selected anything but fiction to read as a group.
I have a running bibliography of all the books we have considered and it is available to the members on our Facebook page. There is never any pressure for anyone to read the winning book of the month but doing so myself has introduced me to a number of books I might have missed out on otherwise.
If you are interested in joining our group, please let me know. Thank you for excusing this shameless plug!!
Onward and upward…
Books I Love
There are a bunch.
As a Young Person
For years when I was asked for some of my favorite books, that list included Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (for its fantasy world) and Christy by Catherine Marshall (I imagined teaching, like the main character, in the poverty-stricken Smokies where I did my student teaching). Discovered The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, my first real grown up books, as a high school junior in honors English.
As a High School Librarian
When I became a school librarian, I read the latest and greatest books for the students I was teaching. Read the most titillating parts of Forever by Judy Blume aloud to my high school classes. As well as the most poignant chapters of Tears of a Tiger, the most alarming pages of Forged by Fire, both by Sharon M. Draper. My students lives often paralleled the lives of the teens in these books. After a book talk, we wouldn’t be able to keep the books on the shelves for months. It has been many years since I worked with high school students so I am sure there are lots of new books for this age group with which I am not familiar.
As an Elementary School Librarian
If you haven’t already, go ahead kick off your shoes. This section could go on forever!!
Most of my favorite elementary level books are about an underdog who overcomes. I always had the privilege of working in Title I schools where the children were from very low socio-economic situations. Mostly bilingual. Or monolingual…Spanish. While their lives were often sad, I wanted to share books with them about children who rose above their circumstances. Here are a few of my all-time faves.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio – and the whole series. The Joey Pigza books by Jack Gantos. Firegirl by Tony Abbott; One-Handed Catch by M.J. Auch. There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar. Anything by Katherine Applegate…especially, The One and Only Ivan. Kate DiCamillo, too, like Because of Winn Dixie. Barbara O’Connor…How to Steal a Dog. For a 31 days of writing challenge one year, I shared reviews of many of my favorite children’s books. And then on day 25 of the challenge, my mom made a suicide attempt, and I never finished the series. You can read the reviews I did write and some other children’s book posts, here. If you have children to entertain this summer, you can’t go wrong with books by any of these delightful authors.
Oprah’s Book Club
For years, the only books I read were children’s books. For work all day, and with my daughters at bedtime. When Oprah created her book club in the late ’90s, I jumped in with both feet. For the first couple of years of her book lists, I read many of Oprah’s recommendations. Mostly the titles from 1996-1998. The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman. And Jewel by Bret Lott, She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb (pretty sure people think that about me all the time). One of my all-time faves…Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts. I relished my grown up reading time. You can find a comprehensive slide show of her books, here. While some of the recent titles are familiar to me, it is the older ones that are my favorites.
Come Read With Me
As much as I love books, I am sad to admit that many of the stories don’t stick with me. Even the special favorites. It’s like with the last page, the last words…the story evaporates into the clouds of my mind. Same thing with movies. Anyone else have that trouble?
I should go back to count how many books we have read together in my book club. Will do that. But these titles are some that we considered or read that were special to me.
One of our earliest books was Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate – based on the true story of the Tennessee Children’s Home. The group doesn’t discuss much but it seemed that everyone was touched by that story. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly – fabulous WWII story with 2 prequels of sorts. We recently read The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth and her book The Mother-in-Law, which made us all think about family relationships and responsibilities. Both well discussed by the group. Kristin Harmel’s The Sweetness of Forgetting – family secrets, in particular one kept by a dying grandmother. I often to listen to books with Audible and The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate was like watching a play with my ears. Wonderful story of past and present.
Two Last Mentions
Have been saying that I am going to get back to my original purpose for blogging but can’t seem to do so. This post took me a step or two closer. But I want to get back to my theme of life after retirement. And have a guest post coming up with my friend Leanne at Cresting the Hill that I hope will be a step in that direction, too.
Several months ago I read the book Yeah, No. Not Happening.: How I Found Happiness Swearing Off Self-Improvement and Saying F*ck It All―and How You Can Too by Karen Karbo. It was such a breath of fresh air. A permission to feel a lot of what I had/have been feeling but felt bad about!! Self-help, self-healing and self-hope (which is what I originally typed accidentally instead of self-help) in one liberating book. So good.
And my favorite book of all times deserves a mention just because I could never write a list of books I love without adding it. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. My sweet father encouraged me to read the book. I think he loaned me his copy. It is one whose story I have never forgotten.
Your Turn
I thought this post would be easy to write but it wasn’t. Am always wordy. And could easily go on and on and on today. But will leave you with these titles in hopes that maybe you will find a book that piques your interest. Or something to share with a child you love.
Please join me in visiting the blogs of my comadres. Can’t wait to see which books made their lists.
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Thank you for spending a few moments here with me. Off to do some spring cleaning mid-July!! Enjoy your weekend. Set aside a few minutes to read!!
Hugs and kisses,
Sue from Women Living Well After 50
Hi Leslie, I’ve read many of the books you mention. My favourite books in 2021 are The Rose Code, Where the Cawdads Sing and The Things we Keep. I am in a small bookclub and we have been concentrating on the classics by the Bronte Sisters. it has been wonderful re-reading books I read at school and some that I hadn’t studied. I always look forward to your monthly book list on Come Read With Me but there are never enough hours in the day to read are there? xx
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Never enough hours to read!! I very much liked Crawdads and Rose Code but haven’t read The Things. Will check it out. I rarely reread books…with the exception of Anne Frank and Alice in Wonderland.
isthismutton
I’ve added most of your favourites to my book list! A couple of them weren’t available on Amazon. Looking forward to reading them.
tckk
I loved Lisa Wingate’s book when I read it a couple years ago. So sad that children were treated that way. Currently I’m re-reading almost all of Lori Wick’s books. She is one of my favorite Christian fiction authors.
rawsonjl
I am very much like that with books; there are soooo soo many that I love but I do have real problems remembering details from them as soon as I set them aside and start the next book. I immerse myself in them fully so it’s not like I’m skimming the stories but perhaps I just read too many to keep them all straight in my mind?
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I get so overwhelmed at times but what I am reading, that I have to stop and come up for a breath. There are so many great books to read, that I hate taking them slowly but I just have to.
Jo
I look forward to your post on Leanne’s site. As a child I loved mysteries – Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Hardy Boys, Famous Five…all of those. I wonder how it would be to read one of them now, almost 50 years later…
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I think you should try to find a children’s mystery to revisit now that you are an adult. Maybe one you haven’t read by a familiar author or even an author new to you? Just to see if they still hold some magic for you.
Jo
I should. Mum is in lockdown in Sydney at the moment and said she’s resorted to reading my old Nancy Drews.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ahhh, poor Mum!!
Retirement Reflections
Hi, Leslie – I knew by the title that I would love this post, and it did not disappoint. Like you, I’ve had a lifelong love affair with books. You’ve mentioned many of my favourites here. Adding to your list of children’s books, I love (almost) everything by Robert Munch, Judith Viorst, Sandra Boynton and Dr. Seuss. In adult reads, some favourites authors are Bill Bryson and Richard Wagamesse.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for sharing some of your favorite authors with me. I am not familiar with Bryson or Wagamese. Will have a look for their books.
Em
Funny, and not funny. I truly had forgotten how many memories I’ve made and had with books..um, because I haven’t read an actual book in ages.
Making the rounds in the group’s posts, I’d really forgotten there have been beloved individual books that have shaped my reading life and left an imprint.
I’m enjoying seeing everyone’s perspective and favorites, which have me remembering my own.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I hope you are finding a little time to enjoy a book these days. I know life has been exhausting lately but ending a crazy day with a few minutes of reading really helps me to unwind.
Daenel Vaughn-Tucker
I can’t believe I left The Lilac Girls off my list. Suuuuuch a good story.
I really need to start reading again. I miss the distraction.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
A friend recommended The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel to me today for our book club to consider as our August read. Historical fiction is my favorite genre and WWII my favorite time period. Lilac Girls was so good. Hope you will find a book in the near future that draws you back into reading. I am listening to Our Woman in Moscow and it is pretty good. The Rose Code is another one that you might like.
Iris
Goodness, you are a busy beaver. The book club sounds like quite a time consumer. I couldn’t read many of the books you mention. I can’t read or watch sad things. I’m such a wimp.
Iris
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I read and watch sad things and then have to take a break from them for a bit. They do get me down, too. But I like historic fiction and a lot of history is sad. My book club is just voting on our August read. Come join us!!
Dara
Lots of great reads here!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you!!
Jodie
I’m kinda in shock that you would read those parts of Forever to your class Leslie. I mean, I remember having to sneak that book around to read it…of course I do think that was in grade school….or maybe junior high, LOL!!!
Funny how we both chose a Judy Blume book to talk about!!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
PS…Sorry for the late comment. We were vacationing in Seattle over the last couple of days, and I was TRYING to disconnect as much as I could.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Jodie, I am forever late and apologizing for being so. I just can’t keep up with the blog reading and commenting.
I read the Judy Blume book aloud to the kids to shock them. And to get them interested in reading it themselves. And it worked.