Books I Should Have Read in School, But Didn't

Books I Should Have Read in School, But Didn't link-up

Attention readers: Here is a link up you might want to try, especially with summer on the way and the potential of finding yourself lying on a beach with a good book, or resting in a hammock with a good book, or hiding in your bathroom with a good book. >gasp!< Did I really say that?  Well, many of us are moms, and sometimes our choices of pleasure reading time are limited. If this describes you, you will know what I mean.

In any case, as my grad class is reassuring me, it really IS in our students' best interests for us to read, too. In front of them. With them. Not just to them. Read alouds are important, too, but reading alongside one another shows your kids that you value reading for YOURSELF. For your sake, not just theirs.

So give some thought this spring, as we draw closer to those dog days of summer, what will you do with your spare time? Another load of laundry? Catch up on your sewing? Watch a show you missed on hulu? Check in with your Mommy pals on Facebook? Try another recipe? Organize your junk drawer? Well, some of those things are good. All are okay, given the time to do them. But in our busy lives, we have to choose sometimes...better over good, and best over better.

What is the BEST choice? Only you will know that. It might change from day to day. But seriously, give some thought this week to what you can do to be an example of one who LOVES to read. What can you do to model to your kids that reading is important, interesting, and FUN? 

Maybe, like me, you will see this link and think about all those books you were supposed to read for class, but were too busy reading the stuff you liked, to read along with the teacher in a book that someone else chose. Or maybe you just weren't ever offered the book, but you know it is a classic, and every time someone mentions how they just LOVED it, you feel kind of, well, out of the know. Think on those things and see if you can come up with a list like I did, then post it and link up.

You have until the end of the year. That is still a long way away. But don't wait too long because it seems to me that it was just Christmas a few weeks ago...time sure does fly.

Here is my list. I am going to try for twelve books I should have read, but never did, for whatever reason. If you read twelve, you achieve the "College Professor" level. You can choose as few as two (then you will be a "High School Graduate"...LOL). Since I couldn't whittle my list down to twelve, I wrote down all the ones I thought I ought to finally read, but my goal will be to read just twelve of these. I will have to see which ones I choose. Maybe I'll even read a few extras.

I chose mostly children's books because that's what I am interested in right now, but you can also choose picture books from younger childhood days to harder tomes from college classes. It's up to you. 


You will see these appear on my Books I am Reading section of my right sidebar as I add them to my monthly reading. I will also add them to the Reading Aloud Challenge posts as I get through each one...but don't expect to see anything until June, since I will be reading grad course books until then. Bah!

Here Goes...

1. Anne of Green Gables (I love the TV series! That doesn't count, though, does it?)
2. Caddie Woodlawn
3. Number the Stars (gasp! yes, I never did read this one...oooops.)
4. The Whipping Boy
5. Walk Two Moons
6. The Wizard of Oz
7. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (I know, I should have gotten to this one)
8. Around the World in 80 Days
9. James and the Giant Peach
10. The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle
11. Mary Poppins
12. Peter Pan
13. The Hiding Place (oh, you are shocked at me now, aren't you?)
14. The Princess and the Goblin
15. The Door in the Wall
16. Adam of the Road
17. Alice in Wonderland
18. Julie of the Wolves
19. Invincible Louisa
20. Elsie Dinsmore (I tried reading it a few months back, but never had time)

That's my list. Admittedly, I have read parts of some of these, but I have never sat down and read them the whole way through, all at once. So, for the sake of my students who will probably be reading these, and for my own enrichment (and to relieve the guilt!), I am going to try to read these by the end of 2011.

For ideas on what you might have missed and want to read, you can head over to Goodreads and set up a FREE! account (this might be a good summer project for your kids, too). Then you can generate all sorts of lists by topic and the choices are endlessly fascinating. 

Random thought: I think I'd be fine living in a library. Have you ever read From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler? Well, the kids in that book ran away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a great book (they solve a mystery while they are there). I've decided that if I ever ran away, I'd run to a library instead of a museum. More good books to read, and more comfortable furniture. Or maybe a Barnes and Noble...because they have lattes and cinnamon rolls, too. Happy reading, everyone!

check out goodreads

I hope you join me on this reading adventure. Leave me a comment if you decide to give it a try.

Blessings,

Heather