meaning of a book reading or let your imagination grow!


my sister gave me the sweetest copy of pride and prejudice for christmas–and since i’ve seen the movie {all versions} many times, i figured it was finally time to settle down and read it too! should i admit this my first time to read pride and prejudice?

it’s so fun! the last book i read was fun, but certainly not great literature. some days i can only squeeze in about 15 minutes of reading before bedtime, but it’s good for my soul.

have you read any good books lately–whether they’re great literature or not?

87 comments

  1. P&P is my FAVORITE book of all time 😉 We’re reading it in February for my virtual book club. You should stop by if you want to chat about it. I think you’ll love it! (and it doesn’t hurt to picture Colin Firth when you’re reading 😉

  2. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. A forbidden love affair in the 1900’s. LOve, passion, drama and all the ingredients necessary for a juicy tale.

  3. You are going to love reading Pride & Prejudice. It’s just going to wet your appetite to read all of Jane Austen’s books.

    I’m reading The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. It’s a fun read.

  4. I just stumbled upon this blog…..and it has been a delight. Thank you! I do have one question for you, though it’s kind of strange……so please bear with me! I am assuming you have naturally curly hair? I was admiring your curls, and my hair is naturally curly, slightly less than yours. What product(s) do you use to make the curl look so defined and pretty? Would you mind sharing? Thanks, from a fellow curly-haired girl!

  5. That is my most fav. book ever & may I just say I’m so jelous of you having even 15 min. of reading time in a day!

  6. I too have watched the movies over and over again. I read it for the first time a couple of years ago. I decided to buy the whole set of Jane Austin books. I really enjoyed them all.
    The last book I read was the Wednesday Letters. Very good and a quick read.

  7. Just finished reading “The Invisible Wall” based on a true story last night and discovered in the comments at the end of the book that the author was 96 YEARS OLD when he wrote it! What a great book!!

  8. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot should be on everyone’s reading list – and mandatory reading for med students. Wow – what an amazing story. I think I read the whole book with my mouth hanging open. A week after finishing it, I still can’t stop thinking about it.

  9. Some how I’ve always know that you were a kindred spirit! I love love love Pride and Prejudice. I usually read it at least once a year and end up reading all of Jane Austen’s books every couple of years! My favorite movie version is the BBC version with Colin Firth, but the Kira Knightly version definitely works in a pinch.

  10. I do love a good Pride and Prejudice movie and have read the book as well as Darcy’s Story – which is P&P from Darcy’s point of view written by someone other than Jane Austen, can’t remember who. I liked it a bit better than P&P 🙂 You might like the Pink Carnation series of books – it’s Victorian England with some spy romance thrown in 🙂

  11. Everyone is reading so many good books and I added some to my list to read as well! Right now, I am reading the third book in the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay. Love these books!

    1. WHEW! I wondered when someone would mention The HUnger Games! I am reading “Catching Fire” right now, and I just really really really really enjoy them!!!!!! Glad you are too!

  12. I love Jodi Picoult …just read her book Handle With Care . Very good . Would be happy to mail you my copy if you would like it 🙂 . It’s about a “special needs” child … I have a special needs son just as you do . Just shoot me an email & I would love to send it to you . Have a happy day !

  13. Oh, yes! My sweet daughter is studying Little House on the Prairie in 2nd grade. Hubby and I went to the bookstore to buy it for her. I love reading it with her at home. So pure, simple, yet full of teachable information.

  14. Just recently finished Radical by David Platt. Working on Ann Voskamps Dare….now. I know. How brave of me. Right? Radical stepped all over my toes. My feet still hurt. Loving everything about Ann’s too.

  15. I am in a book club, which I highly recommend, everyone should start one. We just read Olive Kitteridge. I loved it, some of us did not. But that is what is great about a book club. Next we’re reading “Let the Great World Spin” I can’t wait to start it!

  16. Oh Lisa, how fun! I just adore Austen. You should definitely read Persuasion, too – it’s almost my favorite Austen novel! I’ve enjoyed having audio books as well; right now I’m listening to Mansfield Park while I sew. I just love the girl’s accent! 😉

  17. I just finished reading Ken Follet’s Fall of Giants. It’s a very interesting look at World War I from many different sides.

  18. i must read every night and often have one fluff book and one real read going at once..i love aussie books…bryce courtney, cloudstreet by tim winton is so aussie and real….i must say too i have never read a book that i didn’t like..i just get so into the characters….i will read p and p one day…soon!!!!xxx

  19. I read a ton and enjoy a variety of genres, but the best book I’ve read in the last five years or so is “Shanghai Girls” by Lisa See. The story is so moving and just absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend it!

  20. Just started Jane Eyre. I love Pride and Prejudice (the book, never seen the movie) and you definitely will too. I’m definitely a “literary” reader. I sometimes eat up a “fluff” read, but I really like to read stuff that confuses me a little but pushes me to think.

  21. The 5th (and final) novel in a series that I’ve been reading finally came out this week, so I have snatched moments of free time to devour it on my Nook instead of reading articles for my class, like I ought to have been doing. So now, I’m playing catch-up on my required readings … but I finished the novel! 😉

  22. I love to read. Mostly I read memoirs…. they are so addicting. Right now I am armed with a bunch of adoption books. Since we are starting the process soon! The stories are heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. I love books.

  23. Your copy of P&P is very sweet-looking. Two years ago my sister gave me a beautifully-bound volume of all of Jane Austen’s works. One day I hope to start enjoying it, but for now it makes me happy to see you enjoying yours. 🙂

    Right now I’m reading A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle. She’s best known for writing children’s books, but this book is one in a set of memoirs. It’s substantive and gorgeous – a real breath of fresh air.

  24. I also watched Pride and Pedjudice many times before actually reading the book….and have since read many “spin-offs” and enjoyed them all. The Help is a great book…and as I read it all I could think was “Who could they get to play these characters in a movie?” My daughter tells me they are making it into a movie…so I can’t wait. I read a lot of non-fiction…then YA fiction in between. (like to be able to recommend titles to teens when they ask). Someone mentioned Rick Riordan…I like his books too.Enjoy!

  25. I just finished re-reading P&P. Persuasion and Emma are my two other favorite Jane Austen novels. I’m currently reading A Being So Gentle by Patricia Brady, a historical novel chronicling the love story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson. I love reading historical novels from the pre/post American Revolutionary period or any non-fiction for that period as well.

    You’ll love P&P, Lisa. Darcy is a great literary character, and I think we as women can all identify with all the Bennet sisters in some form or another.

    Happy reading!

  26. I just finished Grace is for Sinner’s by Serena Woods today. I am also reading Breaking Free by Beth Moore. Amazing books. Not classic literature, but who knows…they may be someday! ;).

  27. All of Jane Austen’s books have a sense of complexity that doesn’t make an easy read, but definietly romanticly wonderful!
    I just started Emma!

  28. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane… a darling story with a touch of sadness… super fast read if you are looking for something quick and amazing.

  29. I’m currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. I started it years ago and never finished, so I started over. i can’t see the next movie before I read the book. I think one of my favorite books I read last year was probably These is My Words– so good!

  30. the girl’s and i are reading Little Women together. it is lovely. makes us disappear together to another time and place as we imagine our selves as part of the March family.

    i need to read more. my soul needs the stillness that comes from reading.

  31. Oh, I’m jealous. To read it for the first time again. The first time I read P&P, I underlined and wrote boy crazy comments in the margins! I was 15. I treasure that copy. AND, I find myself thinking the same things even now. Enjoy the goodness!

  32. Just got a new e-reader noevl for Christmas and I’m totally addicted! Read some fun easy stuff to begin with to sort of “develop my relationship with it!” Love the Sophie Kinsella books…so fun.. and hilarious. Love Jodi Picoult and Emily Giffin. If you haven’t read anything by Kelly Corrigan, she’s awesome as well. Just has two non-fiction reads, but they are both great and inspiring.

  33. I read a lot of young adult literature because I am a high school teacher and just finished Whale Talk by my FAVORITE YA author…wow, wow, wow!

    On the adult level, Jason F. Wright is an AMAZING author and everyone of his books (except the first which is out of print and I am so bummed because I can’t find a copy!!!) have made a lasting impression on my soul!

  34. AND you read? We could so be best friends if it weren’t for geography! Right now I am reading “Bella Tuscany,” the follow-up to “Under the Tuscan Sun.” It makes my heart long for a villa! The last book I got sucked into was “The Hunger Games,” which is young adult, but sooooo good, and it’s the first in a trilogy! I have to say I love guilty pleasure reads the best, and Sophie Kinsella’s books are my faves; just read “Mini Shopaholic” this fall and laugggghhheed!

  35. Well Emmy got me hooked on the Francine Rivers books and I just finished Her Mother’s Hope & Her Daughter’s Dream (a two book series). SO, so, so good. Loved them both!

  36. I’m currently reading Canterbury tales (a 1934 “modern english” translation) and Chronicles of Avonlea. I’ve read P&P, and loved it. I’ve seen the movies. I don’t really remember if I liked the BBC one. I liked the new one, but thought the Bennet women were all ridiculous except Jane.

    Enjoy your pretty new book and your cozy reading spot!

  37. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books – happy you like it too!
    Last book I’ve read was The Book Thief. Very good, although very sad at the same time.

    1. The Book Thief was wonderful and so sad . . . I’m always glad to hear that others have discovered this wonderful book!

  38. Water For Elephants by Sara Greun was my fav of all my summer reads 🙂 But right up there in the top 5 would be “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by maryann shaffer & annie barrows, “The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder” by Rebecca Wells & “Stern Men” by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love)

    you’ll love em’!

  39. i’ve watched P & P, but never read it. with all the books i read for school {textbooks AND other books} i need an easy read to wind down at night. but, i’m re-thinking it now that i’ve read your post! 🙂
    Sarah-Anne

  40. Yes, I have made some time to read lately. I found a new Christian author Robin Lee Hatcher and I have read a few in her coming to America series, I also read a novel by her Firstborn. I just finished Half Broke Horses and I am almost done reading The House on Malcolm Street! I have been reading fables and fairy tales to the kids from a book called I’ll Tell You a Story, I’ll Sing You a Song by Christine Allison

  41. That is such a great book! I just read The Help for my book club. It was really good! I love to read and will stay up way past my bedtime to do it.:)

  42. I am taking a Children’s Literature course right now. The best reading treat is “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” As delightful as the movie is, the boom is 1,000x better! I could hardly bear to put it down. It is best read aloud to a snuggle buddy who is just as captivated by Dorothy’s adventure as you are. 🙂

  43. This is one of my favorite stories, I too am reading Pride and Prejudice right now. I thought it would be a fun way to start off my new year of reading. I love reading, wish I had more time too. Check out my blog, I have my 2011 list posted. Another of my all time favorite authors is Francine Rivers….her books weave scripture into the story line, they are intense and moving…I usually try to read one a year. My fav is Redeeming Love. It starts out a little hard to read, but gets soooo good!
    Jodi Pilcolt is great too.

  44. I just finishe Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin and it was good! I loved The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe too! Reading is my very favorite thing to do!

  45. that book is available for FREE download on Amazon for the Kindle. It is on my list to read.
    I just downloaded ann voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. i heard such great things about it. so i can’t wait to start reading it today.

  46. i always have a book going – i am really enjoying reading books by Lee Child – with the characte Jack Reacher! wondering when you read about Mr. Darcey are you picturing Colin Firth?

  47. Love that book cover! And I LOVE reading good books. I’ve read all of Jane Austen’s books. The ones I go back to time and again are Christy, Through Gates of Splendor, To Kill a Mockingbird, Redeeming Love and Les Miserables. I know that last one is killer long, but it’s such a good book. (Skip the chapter about the French sewage system if you ever read it. You’ll know when you get to it.)

    Right now I’m ready Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson. I just ordered Ann Voskamp’s book and hope to get Annie Downs’ book soon also.

  48. My parents started me “reading” when I was 18 months old and in my first toddler bed. Little Golden Books were a staple and I LOVED the Little Red Hen. I read every night before bed and have kept that habit ever since. Scriptures, novels, assigned reading, craft books and “How-To”… Austin is a perennial favorite. My latest has been A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Lady Isabella Bird. Quite an adventuress….

  49. Lisa! Did you know that PCPA at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria is doing Pride and Prejudice? It plays from April 14-May 8. It should be a wonderful show. Check out http://www.pcpa.org for details.
    I loved The Help also. It’s a book that stays with you.
    (email me and I will get you a deal on the play since I work for PCPA)

  50. If you do not know Jodi Picoult, you have to read her books – I have read every single one, and I crave for the new ones coming out (I actually mark the publish dates in my calendar) – oh, have I mentionned that I am not really a reader? Try them, they are so cool. My sister’s keeper is the most intense one I find.

  51. I confess, I love easy reads. Especially since reading is my primary source of relaxation. i love to just tear through a good story. I love children’s books (I’m a teacher who loves to talk about books with her students) and adore Gail Carson Levine and Rick Riordan. I also like the fantasy genre. Mercedes Lackey is my favorite!

  52. I’ll be the first one to admit, I tend to read “fluff”, not great literature. I just finished the last Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood novel, and now I”m starting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’ve heard it’s great and it was only a $5 Kindle download so I couldn’t resist … so far it’s great.

    1. @Mandi: You sound like me. I have to warn you, I heard The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo was great, too, highly recommended by many of my friends. It just didn’t do it for me. Too slow at some points. I poldded my way through, but I won’t be reading the next 2 in the series. I hope you like it more than I did. If not, back to our “fluff!”

      1. I completely agree with your thoughts about “Dragon Tattoo.” SLOW and bogged down at first…almost painfully so. When the story picks up at about page 150 it gets interesting, but some of the imagery is VILE and so terribly disturbing that I will not read the rest of the books. Reader, be warned.

  53. Oh my goodness! I call myself a huge Jane Austen fan, but have never read it! 🙂 Good for you!

    I am reading ‘The Help’. I am loving every page.

    I just finished ‘The House at Riverton’ by Kate Morton ~ incredible book!

    1. The Help was my book of 2010! Isn’t it fabulous??
      My mother grew up in Jackson, Ms. and her mother’s help (after she was grown and out) was named Minnie. She was more like Aibilene though.
      Happy Reading!

  54. looove p&p – glad you’re enjoying it!
    best book i’ve read recently was The Help (kathryn stockett) which was absolutely great great great. 🙂

  55. I must say, I found your blog about a week ago and now I check it everyday. I love your jewelry and the photos that you post. The strange thing is, I found your blog by chance one evening right after speaking with a family member about “tethered cord” that they had just found in their six month old, and he was feeling particularly guilty,wondering what had he done to put this on her? even though there is nothing that could have been done to prevent it. I happen to scroll through and see your bible verse, and immediately sent him a text, and the name of your blog. It was almost as if God sent me here to find that verse for him. Thanks for all you do.

  56. I found that if you find a good bookstore, like the novel experience in San Luis Obispo, it is easy to find good books. I just bought a book there from a staff person’s recommendation and found a wonderful read. ‘Eucalyptus: A Novel’ by Murray Bail about a father and his daughter, and her path to falling in love. I read the entire 255 page book in one sitting yesterday (and could read it again today).

  57. I just finished “Eat.Pray.Love.”, which I bought before Christmas to give away, but just couldn’t since I loved the movie *lol* Really like the book, too, especially because of the Italian part 🙂

  58. hubby got me a kindle for christmas and it’s my new love! i admit that my personal reading choices ARE NOT typically thought provoking – but i’ve been able to find some really great fiction books by christain authors for free! gotta love that….. 😉

  59. Love that book!
    I’ve been in the middle of Sense and Sensibility for a few months now, it stinks when life gets in the way of a good book (but I guess it’s better than a book getting in the way of a good life!)

  60. pride and predjudice, hmmm… i need to read that again…
    yes, a great read is “peony in love” by lisa see… she is fantastic…all her stories are wonderful!
    p.s. i think i’m in love with your blog ; i’m already in love w/ your jewelry 😉

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