KDanae Reads

Oliver Twist. The number that was chosen was 14 which meant Oliver Twist is the lucky Classic I get to read next. I haven't started it yet and actually probably won't until April 1st (which is actually when we are supposed to have it finished). But until March 31st, I am not reading any of my fun, light, entertaining reads. I am only reading works by C.S. Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Why am I doing that you may ask? Well, I decided that even though I am not Catholic I would participate in the celebration of Lent this year and the thing that I am fasting from is reading too many books just for entertainment. So, instead of making myself go crazy and give up reading completely, I decided to just focus my reading on Lewis and Bonhoeffer in the hopes that my faith would be tested and grown in this time of fasting. But once Easter has come I will go back to my Classics, TBR Pile and routine of alternating between fiction and non-fiction. So, here's to Oliver Twist , Lent, Lew...

The wonderful moderators over at the Classics Club decided to give us a little mini-challenge. A little spin on the Classics Club challenge to read at least 50 classics in 5 years. This mini-challenge is to make a list of 20 Classics from our lists that we haven't read yet...  they are calling it our Spin List . We can pick some that we are excited for, some we are dreading, some from our favorite authors or any number of combinations. We have to number the books 1 to 20 and then next week the moderators are going to pick and post a random number. Whatever that number is we have to read the corresponding book on our list by April 1st... even if it is one that we are dreading and just can't get into. I love this idea and am looking forward to it. I have been enjoying all of my reading so far this year, especially since I have been alternating between fiction and non-fiction. So, I think this is going to be a great way of picking what I read next. Without further ado... Here is m...

When I was at the cabin in Idaho for my honeymoon last year, I spent my days reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. At first it took me a while to get into the story and then about a third of the way (and half way through my trip) into it I began to see why so many love it. Why it has found its way into the list of classics that will never die away. It is definitely a story that has withstood the test of time. It is one that women of all ages can and do turn to when they are looking for a story that puts a bit of a spin on love and romance that is different from other romantic stories. It really is a great piece of writing and one that I would have no problem reading again one day. But I have to say that this week it got surpassed in favor for Agnes Grey by Charlotte's sister Anne. I can't really put my finger on what made Agnes Grey so wonderful in my eyes. Maybe it's because it was written by a younger sister who got lost in the shadows at times in her family, espec...

I wrote the other day about how one of my goals for this year is to start alternating what I read. And by alternate I mean that every other book I read will be fiction and the others will be non-fiction. It is a goal that I just started working towards in the last few weeks. So far, I have read 3 books... 2 non-fiction, 1 fiction. I have enjoyed all of them and I think that already it's helping me to engage better with what I am reading and to focus more on what I learn or explore. I am not sure how long I will stick with this goal/plan. I definitely want to stick with it until my TBR pile of hard-copy books has been defeated. The books on my Nook are mostly fiction anyway, so I think that if I can master my TBR pile of hard-copies I will feel quite accomplished and productive. The latest book I read was called Walking His Trail by Steve Saint. Steve Saint is the son of a missionary pilot named Nate. Nate and 4 of his friends (Jim, Ed, Pete and Roger) were killed by a savage ston...

Is it really February already? I went to work and couldn't believe my eyes when I looked at the calendar. I had to ask my husband how long we've been in a our new apartment because I have completely lost track of days, weeks, and time in general. It was a busy month and at times I didn't read much at all. But looking back over my stats I did pretty well overall and am looking forward to see how I do this coming month. I don't have anything planned out that I am going to read. I have decided that I need to even out my reading a bit and so I have decided to alternate between fiction and non-fiction. I am hoping that it will help me to focus on whatever book I am reading at the moment and cut down my TBR pile. Since I just finished Peter Pan I am going to switch to a missions book written by one of my favorite missionaries. It's called Walking His Trail. I am looking forward to it and I am already pleased with this plan to switch back and forth between types of books....