Books I Was Assigned to Read in School

I was in junior high and high school during the late 1960s and early 1970s. I had wonderful English teachers who used a combination of assigning books to be read and assigning a list of books to choose from to be read. By the time I finished high school, I had read all of these classics. 

I loved all of them, though I admit that Lord Jim was a struggle to get through. Looking back at these books from the lens of 2024, I would note that these are not very diverse but it did start me on a path of reading that I continue today.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

The Odyssey by Homer

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.   

the 1970 Club

Hosts for The 1970 Club

The 1970 Club is Hosted by Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon at Stuck in a Book.

How Does the Club Work?

Just read a book published in 1970 and review it on your blog, Instagram, Youtube. or any other social media or just leave a comment on it in the round-up posts on the hosts’ blogs. 

What books have I already read?

• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach*
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown
• 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
• Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
• Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shinryu Suzuki
• The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
• Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary
• Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
• Future Shock by Alvin Toffler*
• All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot*
• The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
• Parent Effectiveness Training by Thomas Gordon
• Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression by Studs Terkel
• Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham
• Love Story by Erich Segal*

Astericks indicate books read within a few years of publication.

What books would I like to read?

• The Paper Chase by John Osborne
• Ringworld by Larry Niven
• The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark
• Being There by Jerzy Kosiński
• Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono
• Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 by Julia Child
• Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective
• Sisterhood is Powerful edited by Robin Morgan
• The Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown
• Grapefruit by Yoko Ono
• I Remember by Joe Brainard
• Time and Again by Jack Finney
• Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
• The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

 

The Sunday Salon: Big Sandy, Here We Come!

     

Welcome! I'm happy you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week plus it's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

I'm headed to Big Sandy to see the grandkids today. My husband and I will be here all week. Big Sandy, Texas does not always have the best Internet, but I will make every effort to catch up on visiting blogs in the evening when we return to the cabin where we are staying.

What I Read Last Week:

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (Inprint author)

Entitlement by Rumaan Alam (Inprint author)

What I'm Reading Now:

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham 

The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Sunday Salon: "...and that powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse..."

Bookish Brags: Little Free Libraries

Cozy Comfy Cinema: Blithe Spirit

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

I joined the readalong of W. Somerset Maugham's book, Of Human Bondage, this month at Ti's blog, Book Chatter. I'm only a few chapters in, but the discussion goes for all of October. The book drew me from page one. It's not too late to join in.

The 1970 Club runs from October 14 to the 20. It is hosted by Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings and Simon at Stuck in a Book.

I plan to read The Paper Chase. I also hope to watch the movie.

Optimistic October

from Action for Happiness

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

Paul Lynch, the author of Prophet Song,

winner of the 2023 Booker,

came to Houston Monday night.

Good Thing #2:

My writing group and I 

ate and hung out at the Hotel Lucine

in Galveston Tuesday.

Such a beautiful place.

Good Thing #3:

The tree cutter who came to remove the tree limbs

felled by Hurricane Beryl 

accidentally displaced the electrical wire.

The fellow who came to fix the electrical wire

accidentally displaced the Internet line.

But AT&T was able to send out 

a repairman the same day,

and all is well at my house again.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

   

Today's Featured Book: 

Prophet Song

by Paul Lynch

Genre: Fiction

Published: August 22, 2023

Page Count: 320 pages

Summary: 

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police on her step. They have arrived to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

Ireland is falling apart, caught in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny. As the life she knows and the ones she loves disappear before her eyes, Eilish must contend with the dystopian logic of her new, unraveling country. How far will she go to save her family? And what—or who—is she willing to leave behind?

The winner of the Booker Prize 2023 and a critically acclaimed national bestseller, Prophet Song presents a terrifying and shocking vision of a country sliding into authoritarianism and a deeply human portrait of a mother’s fight to hold her family together.

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

"The night has come and she has not heard the knocking, standing at the window looking out onto the garden."

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

"I thought you were somebody else, he says, the other day I had some trouble at the door. Trouble, she says, what kind of trouble? It's hard to know exactly, three men called to the door and I did not like the look of them, they said they were from the party, they looked like thugs..."

Read this book.

Eilish is a mother of four, a wife, and a scientist. One day two men come to her door. They want to see her husband. Then her husband disappears. Other people begin to disappear. Eilish tries to go on with everyday life, getting her kids to school, cooking, going to work, checking on her elderly father, and she also tries to find out what is going on. Emergency measures have been put into place. Eilish tries to reassure everyone that things will get better soon.

Things do not get better.

Read this book. I urge you to read this book.

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

October 11-17. Do you have a favorite book to turn to in order to celebrate Halloween each year?

I do love Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. All three volumes.

Comfy Cozy Cinema: Blithe Spirit

I suggested to my husband that we try to do a few Comfy Cozy Cinema choices this fall, and he agreed. 

Movie Title: Blithe Spirit

Original Release Date: 2020

Where I Found It: DVD at my public library

Rating: PG-13

Time: 95 minutes

Amazon Rating: 4 / 5 with 6,184 ratings

Cast: Dan Stevens, Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Judi Dench

I know, I know. I watched the wrong version of Blithe Spirit. Forgive me. I have my reasons.

Short version: The tree guy came to remove the tree limb felled by Hurricane Beryl in July. He bumped the electrical wire. The electrical guy came to fix the electrical wire. He bumped the Internet. The Internet guy came to fix the Internet. He changed the password to a secure one. 

It is a secure password. So secure that I don't even know it. So I can't log into the Internet and watch tv.

I thought I was requesting the 1945 version of Blithe Spirit from my library. In any case, it was the 2020 version that arrived for me.

So, okay, 2020 Blithe Spirit it is.

What's the Story About?

Author Charles (Dan Stevens) has writer's block. He goes to see a spiritualist, Madame Arcati, (Judi Dench) who accidentally brings back Charles' first wife, Elvira. Second wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) is not glad to see Elvira. But, it turns out, Charles is delighted as it's actually Elvira who has been writing his books. 

My Comfy Cozy Rating: Medium 

Comfy Cozy Qualities: Humor, gorgeous settings, 

a bit of Noel Coward (though it's highly diluted in this version) and,

best of all, more Judi Dench

Here's the trailer for the movie.

My Thoughts?

I liked it. I'm sad I didn't get to see the 1945 version, but still this version was funny and light. 

Maybe I will call AT&T and try to wrestle them for my password. If I can, it won't be too late to do a compare-and-contrast.

Oh my, and next week is one of my all-time favorite movies, Rear Window, with one of my favorite comfy-cozy actors, Jimmy Stewart!

This is year two of Comfy Cozy Cinema, hosted by Erin at Still Life, with Cracker Crumbs and Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. Erin and Lisa invite us all to join in by watching the movie, posting about it, and linking up within a week of the day listed on the chart below.

Bookish Brags: Little Free Libraries

Reading has brought me so much joy in my life. 

One of the ways I like to share my love of reading is through Little Free Libraries.

My husband built my first Little Free Library #2924 in 2012, and installed it in front of our house. We replaced it last year.

In 2015, we put Little Free Library #30157 in the Fair Oaks neighborhood of my town. The steward of that library is keeping it going strong.

Liverpool is a town of about two hundred people just down the road from my town. Liverpool has no public library. In 2016, we installed Little Free Library #31446 in front of Liverpool City Hall. The city secretary had a new LFL built and installed last year, and she keeps it going.

Thank you to Lydia @ https://lydiaschoch.com for this prompt.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.   

The Sunday Salon: "...that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse..."

    

Welcome! I'm happy you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week plus it's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

What I Read Last Week:

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono

The Min-Min by Mavis Thorpe Clark

What I'm Reading Now:

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (Inprint author)

A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca by Andrés Reséndez (Naturalist book club)

Entitlement by Rumaan Alam (Inprint author)

Throughout the month of November, bloggers Liz of Adventures in reading, running and working from home, Frances of Volatile Rune, Heather of Based on a True Story, Rebekah of She Seeks Nonfiction, and Deb of Readerbuzz invite you to celebrate Nonfiction November with us.

Each Monday, our weekly host will post our topic prompt and include a linkup where you can link your posts, connect with other bloggers, and dive deeper by reading and sharing nonfiction book reviews. Feel free to use our official Nonfiction November graphics, too! 

For more details about Nonfiction November, see my post Nonfiction November Returns: Save the Date.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Comfy Cozy Cinema: Kiki's Delivery Service

Books I Refused to Read Because They Were Too Popular

Nonfiction November Returns: Save the Date!

The Sunday Salon: World Postcard Day, Comfy Cozy Cinema, and We'll Prescribe You a Cat

I just have two more Oz books to read before the end of the year.

I think I can do that.

From my reading this week:

"That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”

—Walt Whitman

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. I've established a regular routine now of writing down my 3 Good Things. 

Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

Inprint Reading Series 

at Rice University

with authors 

Rumaan Alam (Entitlement) and

Danzy Senna (Colored Television).

Good Thing #2:

The Breakfast Mamas,

get together

to celebrate Brenda's (in blue) 

77th birthday.

Good Thing #3:

My husband and I enjoyed seeing

the high school play, 

The 39 Steps,

with my dad and his wife this week,

free for seniors.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.