Prince/Princess

In my Nana’s living room (or there used to be, I’m not sure if they are still there), there are two pictures, side by side. Two black and whites of two little girls. If you didn’t know any different, you would think they were the same curly-haired, chubby cheeked sweetheart. When my Nana was little, she looked EXACTLY like Shirley Temple.

So of course, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Shirley. My favorite movie of hers? A Little Princess. I finally picked up a copy of the book last month, and it sits patiently on my TBR shelf, pretty and pink and just waiting. I know it’s going to be as beloved as The Secret Garden.

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Clumsy

Oh this is a ridiculous post. I can’t even claim credit for it. I’ll be honest. I had absolutely no books that I could come up with for “Clumsy.” The few that I could kind of match…I had already used.

My husband was in the den with me while I was taking all these pictures–I’m writing these challenge posts ahead of time because we are at my parents’ house for the weekend. And he said “What about Danica Patrick? She crashes all the time!”

Oh my silly husband. But…it works right? And, he likes being on the blog, so here you go Honey. This one’s for you.

 

 

And just for the record:  This falls in to the category of “Books I Will Never Read.”

Diversity

I picked up a book at the book sale the other day that I’m really looking forward to reading. In elementary school, I remember learning about Helen Keller, and she’s always been someone who has stuck with me. She faced so much adversity because of her disabilities, but she grew into such a strong, loving woman. I could not imagine living in complete darkness and silence, how lonely that must have been. And she didn’t let that stop her from living a great life.

Secret Organizations

In March 2006, Dan Brown published The Davinci Code, and the world went crazy for it. The mysteries of the Templar Knights and the legend of the Holy Grail–that’s been in so many movies and books, it was destined to be a best seller. I fully admit to having a serious professor crush on Robert Langdon.

A lesser known book came out just a few months later in November. Raymond Khoury published The Last Templar. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it, but I remember it as a cop thriller mixed with historical romance. Khoury just came out with a sequel, which I picked up. I will probably reread the first book again before I tackle the second so maybe I’ll do a dual review.

The Templar Knights mix in to my fascination with lords and ladies and love of all things medieval. Their legends are all around mysterious, and their legacy branched into so many dark and secretive organizations. I’m sure most of it has been exaggerated in fiction, but it sure is fun to think about.

Angels

This was an obvious choice for me this week, since I am in the middle of reading Laini Taylor’s trilogy. It is all about the war between Chimera and Seraphs.

And check these Seraphs out. I mean come on. These are better than any feathery angels I could have pictured in bible school, that’s for sure! War Angels have some serious power behind them.

(Source:  Unknown)

You can check out my review of Daughter of Smoke & Bone and Days of Blood & Starlight. I just started Dreams of Gods & Monsters, so I’ll have that review up next week sometime.

Wars

We read The Odyssey by Homer in high school, and I remember being fascinated by Penelope. I thought her even stronger than Odysseus, though he was the manly soldier off fighting the crazy monsters on the way home. How strong she had to be, to wait so long, and then outwit the suitors who were wooing her.

I know the story of The Iliad too, of course, and I’ve seen Troy, with Brad Pitt. But I don’t think I’ve actually ever read the epic. It’s on my list, and has been forever.

My husband has these gorgeous hard paperbacks of the two epic poems, and I love to take them out and flip through them. Eventually I will sit down and tackle them, but not yet. I’m not brave enough yet.

Sentimental

When I was young, one of my favorite movies was The Secret Garden. I loved the story of the rebellious little girl, sent to live in a big manor house (because even then, I dreamed of living in a big manor house…maybe that’s where it started). She was of course an outcast, left to her own devices. I dreamed of having my own secret garden, a place to play alone, that no one knew about. And then when she finds Colin, sick and sad and angry, and nurses him back to health? *sob*

When I discovered it was a book…even better. And as an adult, the moment I could get my hands on a copy…I bought it. I have a well worn copy, now, that is way overdue for a reread.

 

 

Classics

When asked what their dream library looks like, any female book nerd from my generation has only one answer.

 

I don’t even need to tell you what this is. Everyone recognizes it immediately. And oh how we want it. This is the moment where we all fell in love with the Beast. Any man with that big of a library OBVIOUSLY has something going for him, right?

I have always wanted a big library. I knooooooow I’ll never have a huge manor with a library as big as Beast’s. And besides…I would do mine in wood, not whitewashed walls with gold trimming. It’s way too bright in there. But, I need walls covered in books. I find extreme joy in spending time with my books, organizing, reading, touching, smelling. Yes, smelling! Mmmm old musty book smell.

I am finally getting to the point where I can say I am PROUD of my book collection. It’s taken me awhile to get here. I sold off a huge percentage of my collection a few years ago, and I’m finally building it back up. After a book sale this weekend, my shelves are FULL. Well kind of. I actually have two more shelves that are broken right now, hopefully when we move we’ll be able to get that fixed.

A great number of the books I have collected lately are classics, but I didn’t realize just how many I had until last night when I was taking the picture for today.

 

They nearly filled my whole desk! I have a LOT of reading to do. Some of these aren’t even on my To Read list, and they should be! And HOW PRETTY are the leatherbounds in the middle? I am addicted to the new BN collection that they’ve come out with in the last year or so.

I am desperate to get a good copy of The Great Gatsby. I was really hoping to find one at the sale this weekend, to no avail. Hopefully soon. What else is my classics collection missing? Sooo many, I’m sure.

Thrones

Today’s theme is a pretty obvious one, and I’m sure everyone is going to post Game of Thrones. When I first read the series, I kept thinking, man, I really like this, but I feel like these characters almost NEED the screen. The books were SO complex that I was having a hard time picturing everything.

And I was right. I fell in love with the shows, because there were so many details that made sense once I saw the characters brought to life. And, I was surprised at how much I remembered from the books, details that matched or didn’t match, that made me go WHAT?! *cough cough Jojen cough cough*

After the Martell/Mountain battle, I gave in to my desperate need and bought the first 5 book set. I’m dying to reread the series, but I am not going to do it until after we move in August. To read the GOT is a full on commitment, and one I just don’t have time and brain power for right now. So, after we get settled, I will do a reread, and possibly an analysis of each book, maybe we will do a readathon/discussion group. What do you think? Would anyone be interested in something like that?

Stars

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been reading a LOT of Ernest Hemingway lately. Hubs got me the big leatherbound collection from BN for Easter, and I am working my way through it. I’m almost done, just Old Man and the Sea, which I’ll probably do after the readathon.

When I saw today’s theme, the first thing that popped into my head was the moment when Lt. Henry is wounded and needs surgery. He doesn’t want just any surgeon to do it, only a Major will do. A prospective surgeon comes in, he offers him a drink, to which the doc replies basically, “Hey, why not 10 drinks!” He examines him, tells him he can do it right away (the other doc had told he’d have to wait half a year), and that’s when Henry notices the star. He’s a Major. Done, and done.