Tuesday 4~Bookish Questions

White washing the fencefrom Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer

 Bookish Questions

Welcome to Tuesday 4 kept up in honor of it's founder Toni Taddeo.
Over 12,000 books, many once required reading in schools and including children's books have been banned. Even Jane Eyre finds itself under scrutiny..


1.Do you think any book or series has helped form your view on things.. life, love, etc?
Many will say the Bible but how about more secular books that you feel have taught or influenced you?

There are so many different devotional/inspirational type books that I have read throughout the years that it is difficult to remember them all.  I will tell you about one that influenced my hubby and me from the beginning of our marriage and on for many years...we would read from the devotional book "Streams in the Desert" every day together.

This is the book we used, and it is quite old. It originally belonged to my father, but he gave it to us when we got married.

The daily devotionals always have a Bible Scripture reading and then a devotional, which may include some appropriate poetry or words from an old hymn.  And even though this was written back in 1925, the messages, although perhaps written in an old fashioned style, were always exactly what we needed for that day...even year after year...it just always seemed like it was written for us and for whatever we were going through at that time.

I am thankful that God helped us start out our journey together with this daily routine. We still read devotional readings and Bible passages together every morning before breakfast. It's the best way to start our day, and it has helped us to get through 57 years of life together.

As far as more secular books...I honestly cannot think of one right now that has had any greater or equal influence on my life than the Bible. Sorry.  No, not sorry.  

John 6:66-69 states it so well:

"66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Okay,  I know a good one that has had a profound influence on my life in a different way!

I received this cookbook as a wedding gift, and it is like the one my mother always used, and as you can see below, it has been well used throughout my 57 years of marriage! Next to the Bible, this cookbook has been my guide through many a day! And it has definitely influenced me and helped me to feed my family all the good stuff!

2. What is your favorite book or book series and why is it a favorite?

I truly enjoyed the Mitford series of books by Jan Karon, but I have given all my copies away, so I can't even show you a picture...well, maybe I could find one online... Okay, here's the series...the one at the bottom is the newest one. I have read them all and wouldn't mind reading them again. Jan Karon has a real gift for developing her characters and making you fall in the love with them. They are well worth the reading.

There are many other books/series that I have enjoyed through the years, but I can't recall them all now. Eugenia Price wrote some wonderful books, mostly about the old south and during the Civil War years or thereabouts. Here is a link to her life's story and more about the books she wrote.  I need to go back and reread some of her books. It's been a long time, and they are all so good. These are just a few of my favorite series of her books:

The Georgia Trilogy

The Florida Trilogy (although there are only 2 books?)

The St. Simons Trilogy

3. If your favorite book or book series was being cast for a TV/Movie series, who would play the main characters?

Of course, how could I forget Anne of Green Gables, and the movie series with Megan Follows as Anne?   She is my favorite actress for Anne Shirley, and this series is based on the books by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  It's been a while since I watched this, and it may be time to do it again!

I've written about Anne of Green Gables in one way or another many times over the years, but this was the original post that I wrote: A Kindred Spirit



4. Are there any books you have read many times?

HERE is a link to a former old Tuesday 4 post about my library.  If you go back and read that post, you will see pictures of many of my collections of old books,  many of which I have read several times.

On a more recent and current note...in my recent post HERE, where I told you about meeting our blogging friend Barbara and her hubby at "The Yearling Restaurant" for lunch, I mentioned the book (and the movie) The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.  I used to have a copy of it, but I couldn't find it, and after our lunch there at the restaurant that bears its same name, I was wishing I could go back and re-read that book again since it has been many years since I have done so.  I had intended to just try to check it out at the library, but in my mind I was thinking I wish I still had a copy of it to put with my other book, "Cross Creek", which is also by the same author, so that I would have a set of those books.  Well, as I was contemplating this, we went to a Fall Festival at The Trading Post at Deep Creek the other evening, and lo! and behold! one of the vendors there at the store had this book sitting there on the shelf waiting for me to buy it! That was a real surprise to see it right there when I was just thinking about it so seriously! LOL. So of course I bought it, and I am reading it now.  And yes, it has already been made into a great movie, starring one of my favorite actors,Gregorgy Peck!

Oh, and regarding THIS book below, that I mentioned reading HERE a couple of weeks ago.  Ahem, ahem...I am glad that I didn't know what it was going to be about before I started reading it, because I may have been thinking it might not be the kind of story that I would really want to read...ahem ahem...if you've read it, you will understand what I mean. However, that being said, first of all, once I started reading the book I was hooked by the characters and their stories from the beginning, but I had NO clue what was going to be taking place by the time they got to the part known as "The Calamity Club", which really wasn't until I was almost 2/3 the way through the book, and by then I was truly intrigued by their stories and knew I had to finish it all the way to the end, regardless of the "subject matter".   And I'm so glad I persevered and made it all the way through to the end, because there are many layers of things going on in this story...and each character was so unique and needy. I would recommend reading the author's notes and research information at the end of the book, but save it for the end.  However, it helped me to more fully understand the subject matter and the stories behind the story. It is actually in some ways fun to read, and in other ways difficult to read, but handled well by the author.  I guess I would say while reading this book, keep looking for the redeeming value of the whole story, because that is what is really important, and overall, I am glad I read it. Just be prepared for some subject matter that can make you squirm a bit at times. Now, whether or not this book will be made into a movie is yet to be seen...and whether or not I would go see it is also something I would have to think about.  

In closing, here's a prayer from the Psalms...

Psalm 17:5-8

5 "Uphold my steps in Your paths,

That my footsteps may not slip.

6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;

Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.

7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,

O You who save those who trust in You

From those who rise up against them.

8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;

Hide me under the shadow of Your wings..."

Have a blessed rest of your week.

Saturday Morning

Good Saturday Morning!  I hope this finds you doing well...I am concerned about some of our blogging friends in the panhandle of Florida, Alabama, Western Georgia, and beyond, who may be experiencing the effects of Hurricane Isaias today.  I haven't heard too much about how severe the impact was in those areas yet, but I did see that a lot of people were definitely without power.  We've been praying for you, and if you are in that area, we hope you will be able to check in soon and let us know how you are. Thankfully the storm did not come in our direction, and we only got some faint outer bands of rain periodically, but nothing severe here at all. Actually, we got less rain the past 24 hours than we did all week long! In a way I am a bit disappointed, because we were really hoping we would get more of that rain here, but we are thankful that we didn't get any serious storm issues.

As a matter of fact, the sun was shining this morning for a while! We hadn't even tried to put out the flag the past several days due to the rain, but this morning has been dry enough so far to let our flag wave in the breeze.  

 It was nice to see the sun again!!

And I know this isn't very clear, but I took this picture a little while ago through the window. I just wanted to give you an update on the status of Still Waters Pond...yes, you can actually see water over there on top of the pond bed, and there is a lot more water over under the bushes where it is a bit deeper, so that's progress! It looks like there's a moose walking over there and a fish ready to jump in the water! LOL.  That's our wind chime that was created especially for us after our son Matthew passed away, by a friend of ours who does amazing copper work.  You can click HERE if you would like to know more about the history of this windchime.

Yesterday I took advantage of some of the drier times of the day and went outside to examine what I was seeing out on the grass...

This trail of mushrooms was growing all in a line on the other side of our fence. There must've been a tree root or something under the ground that has decayed and these mushrooms have sprung up because of the rain to "lead the way".  

Aren't they funny?

I have managed to do a little reading this past week since we weren't out and about as much due to the rainy weather.  I checked this book out from the library, along with another one by the same author.  The other one I never made it past the third chapter. I just couldn't get into it, so I put it aside and tried this one in  hopes that it would be better, and it definitely was.  I enjoyed this book...even though there were parts that literally had me in tears...but to me, that's a sign of a good book! There may have been a few episodes that were not in my particular taste for what I like to read, but they weren't overly graphic and I was able to get through them without being too disturbed. (LOL).   The overall book was good and worth the read.

So, I took those two books back to the library yesterday and picked up this one that I had ordered online through our library system.  It is written by the author of "The Help", which I liked very much (and also saw the movie), so I thought I'd give this one a try. I just got started on it last night, and so far, so good.

What I wasn't expecting was that this book is literally 2 inches thick, and it's not even a large print book! So I guess I'll be reading this one for a little while! LOL.

Speaking of books, I received this sweet little bookshelf lantern as a birthday gift from one of our thoughtful and sweet blogging friends.  I had never seen anything like it before, and I thought it was just so fun...

I love how it adds a soft glow to my bookshelf and it just makes me smile when I look at it. You know, we have some of the sweetest blogging sisters...and I treasure every one of you!

I didn't have a lot of photos to share this week, so I didn't even bother to do a Friday Foto post yesterday. But I did have these photos of Blackie that I thought his fans would like...one morning when he came inside he was a little damp from the rain, even though he stays primarily on the covered porch...he apparently had gone out in the yard to take care of business, and he was damp...so I covered him up with this old towel and dried him off, and he loved it...

So we left the towel on the floor for him, and he now wants to lay on it when he comes inside.

However, sometimes he rolls off the towel while taking a nap...

I had to check his breathing to make sure he was still alive in this picture. All four of his feet where in the air and he was sound asleep! He's still such a character, and yes, he is well loved. He does, however enjoy going outside and watching the birds and doing "cat things", but then he's always happy to come back inside for his meals and to get some lovin'.  

Well, I can't think of anything else to say. We don't have any special plans for the weekend except for church tomorrow, and I am assuming Scott will be here by lunch time.  And no, we still haven't had that phone call conversation with our grandson. His "break times" at work just weren't a good time for him to try and call us, and I don't know what his days off are, so I will just wait patiently for him to get around to calling. At least the text messages were thoughtful and sweet, and I will be thankful for whatever communication we can have.  

Here's some good food for thought today...

Have a blessed and safe weekend.

Tuesday 4~October Reading and more

 October Reading

Welcome to Tuesday 4 in memory of our friend Toni Taddeo..
Most people love to read. It opens other world's to us. Autumn weather is often conducive to reading as weather can be chillier and rainy. Cozying up with a book can be a lovely way to spend some time.

1.  How do you relax in the evening after dinner?

I do love to sit in my recliner and read a good book.  If I don't have a good book to read, I spend more time at my computer, reading and writing here in blogland.  Sometimes, if hubby isn't watching football or other sports on TV, we will watch some programs together on TV that are mutually entertaining.  Lately we've been on a binge watch of the old "What's My Line" game show from the 50's - 60's.  We have found that very interesting since we both grew up in that era and many of the Mystery Guest contestants are entertainers from that time period that we remember.  It's also fun to see the different  kinds of occupations many of the regular contestants had, and especially funny when the "Star Panel" can't figue out what these people do.  I also enjoy seeing the clothes and hairstyles from that time period.  The show was on TV for over 16 years, so there are a lot of episodes to watch on YouTube. It's been fun for a change.  However, that partially explains why I haven't been as active here in Blogland lately! LOL

Here's a link to the What's My Line YouTube programs

2.  Do you read in bed? What kind of books do you read?

No, I do not read in bed. That would be too uncomfortable for me, plus I believe bed is for sleeping, and so do my eyes. When my head hits my pillow it causes my eyes to go shut quite rapidly. I have to hurry up and say my prayers before I start drifting away into dreamland. Now, I must admit that I often wake back up during the night and cannot get back to sleep, but reading is still not an option for me since my hubby is sleeping away peacefully next to me. 

3.  Do you have a list of books you look forward to reading? 

Not really a list. Here's what I'm currently reading:

So far so good!

And I just finished this one:

It was also very good. These are both a departure from my usual reading genre. I normally stay in the Christian non-fiction type books, but someone else (one of our blogging friends) had shared these books on her blog post, and I thought I would give them a try. I was not disappointed.  They both have some mystery and adventure involved, and for the most part are clean and without any foul language, so that's a plus!  I just don't like books that I end up being embarrassed when I read them, and these have passed the test. LOL. 

4.  What is the best book you've ever read and why? Or.. how about the worst book you feel you wasted time reading?

Well, of course the Bible is the BEST book ever written and read, and I keep reading it over and over every day, so that definitely is at the top of my list.  But besides that, I honestly can't think of any one book off the top of my head for either category.  I enjoyed the Mitford series by Jan Karon, and I understand her newest book is now available, so I am looking forward to reading it. I will probably wait until it shows up at the library since I do not  purchase books anymore, unless I know the author personally, or unless I get it at a reduced price at a yard sale or something like that. Although, if I have enough credits on my Amazon account, I may just order it and apply those credits toward the price. That's one way I do buy books.  

Okay, that's all for this week's Tuesday 4. You can Click HERE to join in the fun.

This morning we had to get up early and drive an hour + up the road for my hubby's Cornea Eye specialist appointment.  Thankfully he got good news from the doctor, and he doesn't need to go back for another 6 months! So that was a real blessing!!  Here's some pictures I took this morning as we watched the sun rising above the clouds:

And here it is on the St. John's River as we crossed over the "Black Creek":

  

And this was the moon last night:   So much of God's beauty in our skies!

And here's a good thought for today:

Now I must go, as our kids are finally home from their trip to Minnesota, and they are coming over for a spaghetti supper in a few minutes. We can't wait to see them!!  So tally ho, and away I go!!

Tuesday 4~Summer Reading

 Summer Books

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 which is not limited to Tuesday by any means. You can join in whenever you want to!  Click HERE to join in the fun.


Will you be reading this coming summer?
When the weather gets hot and humid so many stay indoors to keep cool and studies show that people read more in the summer.
How about you? Let's discuss it.


1. Do you have a favorite kind of book that you like in the summertime? What kind is it? Mystery? Bio?...

No particular kind, just whatever strikes my fancy as I go looking.  I do like cozy mysteries, and I also like historical fiction. I prefer Christian authors and publishers, but I will read other books if I can be assured they aren't full of foul language and too graphic descriptions.  I don't need to fill my head with that kind of trash.


2. Is there a book you return to again and again and if so why?

Well, besides the Bible, I'm trying to think of one. It used to be that I would try to wait at least five years between reading a book again so I wouldn't remember too much of the story to make it interesting. But nowadays I could probably read  the same book over and over again and not remember if I'd ever read it before or not. LOL.  I definitely enjoyed reading the Mitford series of books by Jan Karon, and wouldn't mind reading them over again, but I gave away all of my copies. I could check them out at the library I suppose. I hear she has a new one coming out in October, so I will be watching for that.

3. What book is better than the movie and what movie is better than the book??

The Guernsey Litierary and Potato Peel Pie Society was an excellent book, and it also became a movie, which I saw after reading the book. Although I loved the movie and the characters, it did leave some things out that were in the book and I was glad that I had read the book first so I understood the story better in the movie.

As far as a movie being better than a book, I am not sure.  Perhaps Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows as Anne, and Little Women with Katharine Hepburn as Jo.  But truly, I don't think any movie can capture the full depth of Louisa May Alcott's book, Little Women, or capture the complete personality of Anne of Green Gables as did the author, Lucy Maud Montgomery.  

4. Do you have a list of books you are looking forward to reading this summer?

These books below are currently in my bookbag from the public library.  I have already finished reading these first two:

And I'm currently working on this one:

These were all three much BIGGER, thicker books than I normally read, especially those first two by Kate Morton. I've never read any of her books before, because I usually look for books that are from Christian publishers with a Christian author and theme.  The book by Tamera Alexander fits that description well, and it is so far so good, but it's taking me a while to really get into it.  The other two by Kate Morton turned out to be excellent, even if they weren't exactly what fits into my normal genre of reading.  They were definitely mysteries, with a lot of going back and forth between characters and into the past to figure out the whole story. And they were clean enough to meet my standards of what makes a decent book to read. LOL. No foul language or really steamy descriptions of relationships, so I actually enjoyed them both once I got into them, and I would probably read more from this author.  

I used to read a lot of non-fiction type books that have current authors and topics on faith, devotional style books and those that especially encourage us in our relationship with God and our fellow humans. And I certainly can always still use encouragement and education in that area of life, but I find that I mostly just enjoy reading for entertainment and relaxation nowadays. And our ladies' Bible study at church  and our adult Sunday School class usually helps to fill that need for growing in my faith and encouraging others. However, if a book is highly recommended and it is something I am interested in learning more about, I will "check it out".   Which, btw, is my usual manner of reading. I rarely buy a book these days, unless it is written by someone I know, like some of our blogging friends are published authors and I love to have copies of their books, but mostly I check out books from the library or, if I see something I want to read at a thrift store or yard sale that is reasonably priced, I will buy it and then donate it to the library when finished. I don't need any more books on my shelves.

I have found this scripture verse to be a helpful guide when choosing a book to read or a movie to watch. I know sometimes we can get hi-jacked when reading a book and discover part way through that it is not what we thought it was going to be and we can choose to put it down if it is offensive, or walk out of or turn off a movie if it bombards us with foul language and other things that are not fit for our minds and eyes to see. This is why I am choosey about the types of authors and publishers I look for when selecting a book.

Philippians 4:8 KJV

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Thank you, Annie, for another thought provoking Tuesday 4.  Sunshine and Blackie approve of this message. LOL.

Tuesday 4~ Autumn Reading

 

Autumn Reading

 Happy September friends and welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

The Autumnal Equinox is September 22 and it is the actual beginning of Autumn. Many, however, consider Labor Day as the unofficial opening of the Autumn season of the "Ber" Month

1. What's on your reading list for September?

So far nothing!  I've been on the waiting list at the library for "Hillbilly Elegy" by our hopefully new Vice President elect J.D. Vance.  Apparently the book became quite popular once he was announced as Trump's VP pick, and so the waiting list to read it became rather long. I've been waiting a while. The lady at the library assured me I was next in line.  Meanwhile, I really haven't been doing much reading this summer.  When we had Covid in July I kind of lost my reading mojo and haven't gotten it back yet.  Usually I do most of my reading in the fall and winter months anyway, when it gets dark earlier and we have those "long winter nights" with nothing to do. LOL.

2. Does your favorite reading nook look anything like the one in the picture or do you wish it did?

Here is my reading chair, and you can read more about this on a previous Tuesday 4 post back in January!

And here is a picture of our "fireplace", when it is lit up, which won't be for a while yet. Although I can turn this beauty on without the heat and just enjoy the ambience of the firelight, which I often do once the days get shorter with the fall time change.  And yes, I can see this from my reading chair, which does make for a cozy place to sit and read!

3. Can you name some books you've read many times? Do you recommend them?

I have to think about that.  I enjoyed the Jan Karon Mitford series, and would read them all again if I hadn't have given my copies away! I guess I could check them out from the library.  I do have a collection of very old books, which I have shared before, and I've read many of them over and over again through the years. But they are VERY old, and some are getting too fragile to even try to read anymore, which makes me sad. They are all out of print and you would never find them in a library today either, but I did love them so much.Here is a link to more about those collections of books.

Also included above was Anne of Green Gables, which I love dearly.

4. Which of the classics have you read? Good Reads offer a list of classics they recommend here.

Oh, I'd forgotten to include "Little Women"  in my thoughts above about books I've read over and over...and yes, I've read quite a few of those books on the list, but probably not as many as I should have read!  I do remember reading 1984 by George Orwell, in 12th grade. It was required reading, and I took it home with me and my father picked it up and turned to a page that had a curse word on it and threw it in the trash and said he didn't want me reading such garbage!  I tearfully explained to him that it was required reading by Mrs. Hudson, the English teacher, whom he knew quite well as she was a member of our church.  He "harrumphed" and reluctantly let me pull the book back out of the wastebasket and finish my book report, but I think he had a talk with Mrs. Hudson about his feelings.  Oh Daddy, if you could see what kids are told to read today, you would turn over in your grave.  It's really sad what kids are exposed to in school today.  And we are actually living in the 1984 scenario pretty much now!   

Thank you, Annie, for these questions today.  

Of course, the most important book that should be on that list is the Bible!  And yes, that one I do read and recommend to others to read every day!

Psalm 19:7-12  English Standard Version

7 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward."

Tuesday 4~ Books

To be honest, I was going to skip this one as it seemed like I had written about books not too long ago, but then I saw that so many of our friends were participating and I wanted to jump on the "bookmobile" and join in. So here we go.

 
Books

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Books are such a big part of many people's lives. Maybe we should talk about that.

1. Do you have some books in your home? If so what subjects are they? Which is your favorite?

Oh yes, I have books in my home. Subjects? The majority have something to do with Christianity and faith, Bibles, Bible study guides, Pastoral counseling and theological books/commentaries, and also books on history, WWII, The Civil War, and many collections of Christian fiction and/or very old fashioned fiction from the late 1800's/early 1900's. Also I have many gift type books that are about tea/tea parties, women's ministries. Which is my favorite? The Bible.
Here are a few pictures of the collections of books in our home:

This bookshelf sits next to my desk. Many of these books are "gift books", cookbooks, Women's Bible Studies and other women's ministry type books
This little bookshelf is in the guest room, and it houses my collection of mostly very old, vintage, fiction novels. I've written about them before...Here's a link to a previous post with more details about these books , also HERE


This bookshelf sits in our living room, and there's a variety of books like textbooks, hymnbooks, ministry related books from my husband's years in the ministry and also some that I have collected about women's ministries as well. A lot of these books are getting outdated and probably we could purge quite a few from these shelves...




This is my husband's grandparents' antique secretary cabinet, and there are a lot of his books about history and WWII and the Civil War kept on these shelves. Behind all those pictures on the shelf are some old classics as well.



The pictures below are of my hubby's grandparents, "Nanny and Granddaddy Martin".
And here are those old classic books by Charles Dickens, J. Fenimore Cooper, Sir Walter Scott, and Washington Irving, Oliver Goldsmith, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. No, I haven't read all of these, mainly because they are so old and such small print...






2. Do you enjoy browsing around in bookstores ? Do you have a favorite you like to go to? 

The closest thing to a bookstore that we have near us is Ollies. They carry a pretty good selection of books at a discounted price. I enjoy looking at them but I try to refrain from buying. I now prefer to browse around our public library and check out books for free!

3. Do you think real books are clutter or do you just love having them around you?
Well, yes, real books can become "clutter" if there are just too many and not enough places to put them. But I do LOVE real books and I love having the ones that I have around. However, I try not to buy any new books unless they are written by someone I know personally (some of our blogging friends have written some excellent books that I love having in my library).

4. What is the oldest book you've read and what is the newest book you've read or are reading. The Bible is the oldest book I've read, and also the best. The newest book? Hmmm, I'm not sure. Maybe this one...it was really good.

Here is my current stash of library books, just picked up today:

I like to work my way through one author at a time until I exhaust all of the books available, and then I move on to another author. I primarily read Christian authors, as I told a lady at the library today, "They are wonderful books full of adventure and romance and great stories, and you never have to worry about being embarrassed by what you read!"


Well, I think I've certainly "exhausted" this subject for today's meme! I hope you enjoyed browsing through my library with me. Would love to have you come and 'check out' a book and stay a while for a cup of tea! Here's a couple of my favorite reading areas:



Okay, that's all for today folks! I need to get around and read your posts as soon as I can! Have a lovely day! And thank you, Annie, for hosting us once again!