The Eyes You Buy With

I loved this question that was recently posted on Booking Through Thursday. (My apologies to Amy, who I'm sure has already answered this.)

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

My eyes are definitely bigger than my book belly. I currently own at least 20 books that I haven't read yet. But when I find a good deal on a book that I know I want, I can't leave it on the shelf. (Or, often in my case, bid-less on ebay)

Plus, I'm lucky enough that my family knows how much I love to read, so they buy me books as gifts. I LOVE when they do, but they are rarely books that were already on my list, but most of them get added to my list of "I want to read"s too. But at least I know I shouldn't run out of good things to read. Especially not for a LONG time.

So how about you? What are your book buying habits?

What a Treasure

So, I am the worst club manager ever. Family has been sick and computers have crashed and I am really late getting a discussion started on Treasure Island.

I did however, really enjoy reading the book. It was an easy to read while taking care of a million other things, kind of story. I found it fast paced and attention grabbing, even though I sometimes struggle with Stephenson's language.

It definitely makes you think twice about "treasure hunting". I think it's a great statement about how money doesn't bring happiness. I think that by the end of the story everyone one the voyage would agree that it wasn't worth what they went through to get it. A lesson that I think too many people don't believe.

While reading the story I also did some reading on Stephenson's background and upbringing. Because of that, I found his attitudes regarding religion interesting in the book. What I read said that he was an unbeliever (something that tore up his family) yet I felt he did a very good job at portraying the feelings and actions of those that did believe in the book, as well as the feelings of those that did not, like Silver.

I also couldn't help but think about Jim's part in the whole story. He isn't much older than my son and I couldn't imagine my son dealing with betrayal, work, and danger, of those magnitudes. I realize that we don't give our children as much responsibility, as early, as people did back then- but I still can't imagine sending my young teenager off on a ship of men, of which I only knew one, to search for a treasure that belonged to a deplorable man. It actually made me sad that he had to lose his innocence as early, and in the way that he did. Especially when he was forced to take a life to save his own.

So how did you enjoy the story?

(I also hope you are enjoying Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And don't forget to vote for Nov. book in the side bar.)

Good Ole Robert Louis

I really hope that you are all enjoying Treasure Island, or at least the way the Robert Louis Stephensen writes, because he won the choice for Oct.'s book too. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde won the vote for next months book. Hopefully it will help get you all in the Halloween mood. "OOOooohhhhhhh."

It's a Sin to Kill a Mocking Bird

I had always wondered where they came up with the title to this book. Now, I'm glad that I know.

I learned so much from reading To Kill a Mocking Bird, this month. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it in the, "it made me mad" sense. (Sort of like Uncle Tom's Cabin.) I was appalled at the things that I considered wrong, but I loved how the story was told and the people and things that were good.

I also "enjoyed" seeing the evils of the world through the eyes of a child. It once again reminded me that our children are ALWAYS listening and watching us. They understand so much more than we give them credit for, but they also need our guidance and example for the parts that they don't understand yet.

Of course there were lots of parts that weren't easy to read. Parts that made me angry, parts that confused me and made me wonder what I'd have said in that situation. (like when they find out about Tom's death in the Missionary lunch). But there was a lot of good I found in the book as well.

With the narrator being a child, I found this book a very easy to read, story, yet every once in a while they would throw in a comment by a character that was so profound and eloquent. Like when Atticus gave his closing statements in court and brought up Thomas Jefferson and that "All men are created equal" can be taken so many different ways, but that the one place that it is absolutely true is in a court room.

Or the way that Mr. Raymond confessed to putting on an act of being a drunk to make it easier for the town not to like him, because he knew that they wouldn't accept his life style.

I adored Atticus' sense of character. How he always thought of what his children would think of him before he did any actions. And how he could make sure that they heard what he wanted them to hear, even when they thought they shouldn't be listening.

I really enjoyed the lesson learned from Mrs. Dubose. And I love the quote about walking in other people's skin before you pass judgments on them.

I also enjoyed Miss Maudie's way of peacefully and lovingly telling the truth, especially to the children.

Most of all I thought that the book was very nicely summed up in the closing statements when Scout and Atticus said:

"...Atticus, he was real nice..."

"Most people are Scout, when you finally see them."

I don't know if I've ever read a book before that when I was finished I had both an upsetting pit in the bottom of my stomach and a longing to read more of the good.

(Leave your comments here, I can't wait to read what you thought too.)

Grapes ...

I wish I had a cleaver title for this post, but to be honest, I didn't get both the books read like I had wanted too. However, I know that this book is supposed to take place around the same time as the Great Depression, and I would love to hear what similarities and differences were found to our times.

If you chose the Grapes of Wrath, please leave your comments to this post.