Author New to Me...Willa Cather

I have completed my second book in the Back to the Classics challenge.  This time I have chosen the author new to me category.  Originally, I had thought I would read Jules Verne.  I tried to read From the Earth to the Moon, but I just could not get into it.  So while walking through Barnes and Noble one morning with the kids, I came across their classics section and Willa Cather.  An author I had not heard of, let alone read.  I ended up choosing her novel O Pioneers! which was written in 1913.  Willa was born in Virginia, but moved to Nebraska with her family at the age of ten which gave her ample memories to pull from for her story.

The story follows our main character, Alexandra Bergson, from a young girl through her life in Nebraska.  The back cover sums the story up like this, "A gripping saga of love, murder, greed, failure, and triumph, O Pioneers! vividly portrays the hardships of prairie life.  Above all, it champions the belief that hard work is the surest road to personal fulfillment.".  It's a good summation. 

It is not a very long book, making it a quick read.  You get a very good sense of what it would have been like living on the prairie in the 1880's.   I really liked the character of Alexandra.  She's smart,real smart.  She loves the land, and refuses to give up or give in!  I mentioned at work to a friend that I was reading Willa Cather as my author new to me, and she highly recommended that I try, My Antonia, by Cather also.  I will have to add that to my never ending need to read list.  

Reading Bingo

Last Summer, I made summer reading bingo boards for my kids.  I have all these books lying around, and no one was reading them!  So to remedy the problem, I created this...

A Summer Reading Challenge!  The kids formed certain bingos and received predetermined prizes...Yes, I was bribing my children to read; but hey, it worked!  Well, it sort of worked.  Both kiddos completed two bingos on their boards (there are a total of four bingos per board), and then they stopped.  That is until my son pulled it back out around the holidays and asked if he could finish it.  I agreed, like I would tell him no, and he finished his challenge.  I was happy, he was happy, and it has lead to him wanting another challenge.  Smiles. All. Around.

Classic Mystery Complete!

I have completed my first book for the Back to the Classics Challenge.  Yay!  Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles was my choice to fulfill the Classic Mystery, Suspense, or Thriller category.  I must admit, for a book written on a bet with her sister, Agatha Christie did an amazing job.  

Here's a quick summary:  The story is set during World War I in England.  Captain Hastings, our narrator, was injured in the war and has been invited to recover at his friend's home Styles.   During his stay, Emily Inglethorpe is fatally poisoned with strychnine.  To help solve the mystery, Hastings enlists the help of of his old friend a Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a quick read, that provided lots of twists and turns and red herrings.  The edition I read had the original chapter 12 reveal written by Christie included at the end of the book.  I must admit, I like the published version over the original.  The best compliment I can give is that I am looking forward to reading more Poirot mysteries!  

Back to the Classics Challenge 2014

One of my goals this year is to participate in the Back to the Classics Challenge 2014.  I am super excited about it, and am ashamed to admit how few classics I have actually read.  I swear sometimes I wonder what I did in all my literature classes!  You can find all the details for the challenge through the link above.

Here are my choices (as of right now) to fulfill the challenge....

1) 19th Century Classic: Emma by Jane Austen
2) 20th Century Classic: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett changed to Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
3) Classic in Translation: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
4) Classic By Woman Author: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5) Classic by an Author Who's New To Me: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne changed to...O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
6) Wartime Novel: War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Optional Categories:
1) Classic American Novel: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2) Historical Fiction Novel: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3) Classic Mystery/Suspense Novel: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
4) Classic Book That's Been Adapted as a Movie: Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
5) Extra Fun Category: Write a Review of the Movie or TV Series adapted from Optional Category #4.

My Iowa

What to blog, that is the question.  Choose a topic they say, well: I sew, but there are tons of great sewing blogs.  I bake, lots of blogs about that too.  Homeschooling?  You guessed it, lots of blogs on that too.  So, I guess that leaves my life in Iowa.  There are blogs on life in Iowa, but not my life so I am going with it.  So here goes...

I love Iowa.  It's beautiful here.  I am not originally from Iowa.  Nope, I'm a transplant; but this place grows more than corn...it grows people too.  I am from Michigan originally, Detroit to be exact.  I am very proud to be a Michigander!  I always will be until the day I die.  However, I love Iowa.

It's beautiful here.  Not in a breathtaking mountain view way, but it is beautiful.  It's rolling fields of green and skies so blue.   In case you are unfamiliar with Iowa, it is NOT flat at all!  We grow corn and soybeans (and pigs), not potatoes.  Most of us live in the city, not on a farm; but I wish I lived on a farm.  Just a small one, nothing too big. 

What to expect from this blog?  A little of everything...some baking, some sewing, some homeschooling, and a whole lot of Iowa.  I hope you'll visit.