Winter Time & Book Reading

I am happy to see January over. It is always the longest darkest feeling month of the year. The weather in PNW has not been to bad. We've had some snow, but mostly it has been rain, as typical. Gray days are getting old. Yesterday it rained almost all day and was very gray. At one point the rain stopped and the fog set it. I could barely see anything outside...

I am enjoying the fact that the days are getting a little longer. Every now and again we are starting have some sunny days and I'm feeling that spring can not be too far away! I've seen a few more birds out and am waiting until I hear some pond noises (frogs croaking). All are sure signs of the changing seasons. I know that baby chicks have arrived in the feed stores. It does make me want to pick up a half a dozen.. :) But, I'll just be patient and wait until next year, I think, ha, ha..

One thing I have done this winter is to read more (at least more than I do during the busier months of the year). I've read a few books that I really enjoyed. Some are classics. I've read a lot of books over the years and I always come back to classic books. They are enriching and enjoyable to me. They increase vocabulary, challenge my brain to think, they improve IQ, and give me a look at historical times in context (which I find fascinating), and classics are part of our literary history as well and why not always be learning and growing and partake of this art form?

I thought I'd share a few books that I've read. They are linked to both the Kindle version and the paperback version. I read a lot of my books on my Kindle. The nice thing is that many of the classics are free or very inexpensive. (Affiliate Links)

I read these books while doing a study of Christian World View:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

(the Kindle version)

(Paperback):  Frankenstein



Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 


The Kindle Version:



(Paperback):The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Dover Thrift Editions)


Both of these books were quick reads. I have seen countless Frankenstein movies over the years and have to say I enjoyed reading the real story! :) My favorite of the two was Dr, Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.


These books went along with the study I did in Christian World View. I read the following book after I had finished them:

The Deadliest Monster  by Jeff Baldwin

Only available in paperback: 




 
It was very good and I'd highly recommend this study to anyone with high school age children. It would be a fantastic addition to any homeschooling curriculum.


This book was historical fiction. It was based on a true story of a crew of men surviving for over a year on the ice-bound Antarctic seas. What I liked knowing was that the author had actually been able to talk to families of the survivors and was allowed to read their diaries in order to come up with the most accurate story. I was so much in awe by their ability to survive such a harrowing journey.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

(The Kindle version)

 

(Paperback): Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
 
And another classic:

Jane Eyer by Charolotte Bronte

She does like to write in flowery prose!  I enjoyed it as I do books by her sisters, Ann Bronte and Emily Bronte. I have Tenant of Wildfell Hall on my “to-read” list next. 

The Kindle:


 
(Paperback): Jane Eyre


Currently I'm enjoying a good old fashioned mystery. I will always love a good mystery! I'm reading Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Wisehouse Classics Edition) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

So as the rain continues and the gray skies loom overhead I will spend my evenings lost in other worlds and other times and read!!