What's interesting about Dickens is that his books that I find most interesting aren't my favorites on the whole. Like I'd say that Little Dorrit is a more interesting book than Oliver Twist. It has more original characters and thought provoking themes. But Oliver Twist is much better paced and more engaging. Similarly, Bleak House and Hard Times have more intriguing and original ideas than David Copperfield but David Copperfield is much more consistently enjoyable. I think Great Expectations may be the only Dickens book that is equally interesting and competent. That's part of why it's a favorite of mine.

The trouble is with Charles Dickens is the schoolroom curse. Earnest teachers in the post war era thought books like David Copperfield, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Girl of the Limberlost and Oliver Twist were suitable for primary school students' reading and study. Primary school ages are usually from 8 to 11-12 years of age. Which is why I tended to avoid them ever after. I suppose some of those teachers wanted us to appreciate how well off we were, in Australia in the second half of the 20th century. Depends on the students' point of view of course, and in some cases what their circumstances were.

I did read Oliver Twist as an adult, having seen the filmed Musical, which I always find very enjoyable even in local theatre productions. Dickens' books were among those pieces of literature which were among the first to feature in radio productions, television programs and movies. One such television program was A tale of two cities which I saw a snippet of when visiting a relative - that bit of Madame Therese Defarge knitting her way as the tumbrils went by on the way to the guillotine. I had nightmares for years over that one. However, I enjoyed reading the book which I was given for my 13th birthday and enjoyed it immensely. I even enjoyed that story in comic form in what were Children's Illustrated Classics editions. Has anyone else ever seen these Illustrated classics comics or anything like them? Some editions included one about Marco Polo, Alice in Wonderland, HG Wells' books, like War between the Worlds and The Time machine as well as Jules Verne's novels and even two about the Bible, including Exodus and much of the history of Israel and Judah until the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar.

I finished re-listening to "North and South" and I think I enjoyed it much more this time. It did seem to drag as much as I remembered because I knew what was coming. I really love that story and definitely wan to see the whole miniseries sometime.

I'm currently in the midst of of re-reading two different series by Lynn Austin, "The Chronicles of the Kings" (I probably won't re-read the 4th book in that series as I personally don't like it as much) and the "Restoration Chronicles." I've really liked most of her books I've read.

I have seen Connilyn Cossette books a number of places on the internet and in the library catalog, I haven't yet pick one to read. What do you enjoy about her books, Anfinwen?

I like her Biblical accuracy, combined with intriguing plots. The book that got my attention and introduced me to her work was "The Wings of the Wind." It's based around the passage in Deuteronomy 21:10-14. I had thought before that the situation of women married into Israel this way would be an interesting premise for a story, and here it was! It does not disappoint! An interesting aspect of her two series about the exodus from Egypt and then settlement of Canaan, is that it's a good reminder of what kind of cultures God was using Israel to remove, and why He was so adamant that they not mix and become like them. It's hard to imagine the things that went on in those cultures.

Oh, I need to read some more Wodehouse. I read Do Butlers Burgle Banks? last fall, what a fun read.

I haven't heard of that one; I'll have to look into it!

In prepping for homeschool during Christmas time, I checked out a bunch of children's Christmas books from the library. I got The Nutcracker, The Snow Queen, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
I couldn't believe I'd never read Nutcracker before, but I really enjoyed it! It's very much a Beauty and the Beast tale.
I haven't read the other two yet, but I accidentally got an abridged version of Christmas Pageant, so I'll probably return that one and find the chapter book instead.
Hoping to get Snow Queen read over the weekend.
Are there any other good Christmas books you all would recommend for younger children?

I can't think of any great Christmas books that you haven't heard of already, FantasiaKitty, but I'd like to say that The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is one of the greatest American books I've ever read! (Most of the my favorite books were written by English or French authors.) Barbara Robinson did a great job sort of satirizing Church culture without coming across as offensive or mean spirited. I hope you can get a good unabridged copy.

Are there any other good Christmas books you all would recommend for younger children?

I don't know what books you are already familiar with, but some that our family has enjoyed are "The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado, "The Three Trees" by Angela Elwell Hunt, "Jacob's Gift" by Max Lucado, "The Legend of the Candy Cane," and "The Legend of the Christmas Tree" both by Lori Walburgh.

There's a really sweet version of the "Nutcracker" story illustrated by Scott Gustafson.

I really liked The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, fantasia, although I think I was a bit older than your kids when I first heard the story.

In other booksy news, I'm currently reading Heretics by G.K. Chesterton and enjoying it a lot. I keep trying to get my mother to read his essay on cheese so she'll understand why I keep referencing him.

In other booksy news, I'm currently reading Heretics by G.K. Chesterton and enjoying it a lot. I keep trying to get my mother to read his essay on cheese so she'll understand why I keep referencing him.

So then I just had to go read it myself! (Hmmm, was that deliberate? Tsk, tsk ) My first Chesterton essay was the one on chasing one's hat. Don't remember what it's called, but it was funny, and coaxed me into reading all of the Father Brown stories. There are some other's of his sitting on the shelf; haven't got to them yet.

On the subject of Charles Dickens, I have Oliver Twist, Dombey and Son and possibly Our Mutual Friend on my bookshelf to be eventually read...

Anfinwen, hurrah for another The Blue Castle fan!
I'm still meaning to do a reread and then rewatch of North and South - hopefully sooner rather than later, but who can say!

Jo, I love that your dad is such a big fan of Dickens and names household items after his characters.

SSBN_Dawn_Treader, glad that you got to do a reread of CoN!

SA, have you worked any more Wodehouse into your reading rotation yet?

wagga, I've seen various illustrated classics for children, but apparently not the series you are referencing.

fk, I think I already mentioned Herriot's The Christmas Kitten, though that's not longer than a picture book. Otherwise, sorry - we never did much specific Christmas reading. Hope you find some good books, though!

Welllllll, I made another trip to the uni library and checked out a bunch of books. Most of them are about pioneering and homesteading women, but there are a couple about women in WWI and one about US Army nurses in the Korean War.
One of the WWI books was Faithful to Our Tasks: Arkansas's Women and the Great War by Elizabeth Griffin Hill; it was a bit dry and academic, but it had a lot of interesting details and was a fairly fast and short read.
I also read Oil Field Child by Estha Briscoe Stowe, which was an amusing read - and an informative memoir of growing up on Texas oil fields during the mid-to-late 1920s.

I also went to a booksale last month, and came out with about a dozen books (three being Foxtrot collections) - I have finished about half of them, though it's a little less impressive since several were middle grade books. But both The Finches' Fabulous Furnace by Roger W. Drury and The Family from One End Street and Some of Their Adventures by Eve Garnett were fun - and had cute illustrations. The latter reminded me a little of the All of the Kind Family books, simply in the style of storytelling (though it didn't hurt both were about large families).
I also read Woman of the Boundary Waters by Justine Kerfoot, a memoir about living and working in far northern Minnesota, on the Canadian border, in the 1920s and onward. I didn't love the book, but it was an interesting read; I also now would like to visit the area.

I also read The Eleventh Trade by Alyssa Hollingsworth in the past couple of days. It left a bit of an ache - which is appropriate, due to the main character and his grandfather being Afghan refugees settled in Boston - but also seemed very familiar; I can't figure out the latter, other than an idea of a non-fiction book I read (and a fictional one I started) and a story I heard on a radio program. The characters felt very real, though, and I enjoyed guessing

I also just finished a reread of Alex O'Donnell and the Forty CyberThieves by Regina Doman. It's still not my favourite of the series, but I understood some of the characters and their dilemmas better this time around.

And I am currently reading Montana Woman Homesteaders: A Field of One's Own, edited by Sarah Carter; it's a collection of letters, diaries, and other accounts of female homesteaders in Montana, mostly during the early 1900s. I've just started, but so far it's been informative.

I really liked "A Tangled Web" though it was a slow start and I really wanted a family tree to sort everyone out.

Oh, I really liked that one! I too want a family tree, though. It is in some ways several interconnected stories rather than one narrative, but I thought a lot of the characters were interesting. Although there were a few that made me feel like tearing my hair out. Blue Castle is definitely my favorite L.M. Montgomery book though.

Are there any other good Christmas books you all would recommend for younger children?

The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas by Madeliene L'Engle. Tomie dePaola has several Christmas themed books. My favorite growing up was An Early American Christmas.

I recently finished Six of Crows.

I am currently reading Legion by Brandon Sanderson. It's three novellas, and I heard an audiobook of the first one awhile back. The main character, Stephen Leeds, is a genius with an unspecified mental condition that causes hallucinations of different aspects of himself and he solves crimes. The second one so far is just as engaging as the first.

fk, I just remembered that the original American Girl books all had a Christmas book. Not sure if your kids would be interested, but it could be an interesting tie-in if you've been studying any of the historical periods in history.
Slightly less tongue-in-cheek, have you all read any of the Hank the Cowdog books by John R. Erickson? They're written for children (specifically to be read aloud, if I remember correctly), but I found them when I started college and still thought them a lot of fun.

Oooh, let me know what you think of Legion when you finish, Dot! I'm assuming it's a standalone book?

Slightly less tongue-in-cheek, have you all read any of the Hank the Cowdog books by John R. Erickson? They're written for children (specifically to be read aloud, if I remember correctly), but I found them when I started college and still thought them a lot of fun.

Oh yes! I can't count the night's our family snuggled down with those playing. There are so many now that I've stopped trying to keep up with them, and the new ones don't have the nostalgia factor that those I grew up on do. I think the very first one we ever heard is "The Swirling Killer Tornado." Oh how we loved it!
I also just like the author as a person. He had an interview with Dr. James Dobson, formerly of Focus on the Family, and told how there were talks going on for some sort of production based on his books; but they wanted to do things he didn't approve of, so he didn't go through with it.

Anfinwen, I will have to add Connilyn Cossette to my list of authors to try.

Nope, haven't gotten any more Wodehouse yet. I might have to wait a while to get some from the library, trying really hard to focus on reading unread books around the house. However Hoopla has a number of Wodehouse audiobooks, I should probably make an actually list of audiobooks to "read" and put some Wodehouse on it.

I certainly enjoyed In Sheep’s Clothing and Wiser Than Serpents by Susan May Warren, would love to get my hands on the middle book in the series. I was disappointed in Hidden Peril by Irene Hannon, I had enjoyed the first half of the book, but the second half just wasn't a pleasurable read. Also super tired of Christian authors' obsession with Starbucks.

I'm currently reading A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter, Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn (just barely started rereading this one, it will be a quick read once I have a couple of hours to just enjoy it), and The Courage To Be Christian by Mike Nappa (had to get this one from the library a second time, barely made any progress on it lately).

I'm almost finished listening to Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, I read the book 4 or 5 years. I was looking for a quick entertaining read (plus I have been listening to The Adventures of Sam Spade radio show from the 1940s/1950s and that had me in the mood for some Dashiell Hammett, although I do prefer the radio shows to the books) and decide it would fun to listen to the audiobook and thus be able to recommend it to my brother. There's some language and definitely quite a bit of violence in Red Harvest.

SnowAngel

Slightly less tongue-in-cheek, have you all read any of the Hank the Cowdog books by John R. Erickson? They're written for children (specifically to be read aloud, if I remember correctly), but I found them when I started college and still thought them a lot of fun

We actually did read them aloud. I don't remember any of the plots, but it was a fun addition to the usual read-aloud time when Mom wasn't trying to get through Freckles. It literally took her years because she would stop for long enough that we forgot where we were so we would have to start over again.

Legion was excellent. And yes, it is a stand-alone. It's the project he worked on when he needed a break from the other ones apparently. I believe at one point there was talk of adapting it for television? But then it fell through because FX picked up a Marvel show with the same name. Anyhow, I can definitely see how the three novellas could be expanded into two or three seasons if additional cases were written for the show.

Next up: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. It came out yesterday? The day before? Anyway, my brother describes it as "Girl and her dragon meets Top Gun meets Ender's Game". And although there will be sequels, it currently doesn't require any additional reading from Sanderson's many other works. There are many sequels of his that I am impatient to read, but he produces such a variety of content so quickly it's hard to be annoyed with him.

Slightly less tongue-in-cheek, have you all read any of the Hank the Cowdog books by John R. Erickson? They're written for children (specifically to be read aloud, if I remember correctly), but I found them when I started college and still thought them a lot of fun.

ABSOLUTELY!! We used to read them aloud together, and also listened to a few on tape. We still quote Drover on occasion - "Oh Hank, it's my leg. My leg's gone out, Hank! You'll have to go on without me!" etc. etc.

On the subject of Christmas books for kids, there weren't a ton that we really went back to regularly, but one that comes to mind is The Church Mice at Christmas, by Graham Oakley. There's a whole picture book series about these church mice, all fantastic for both kids and adults. Then there's a Little Golden Book called The Christmas Story, written by Jane Werner Watson and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.
Oh, there's also an I Spy Christmas book, I believe. Not particularly edifying but rather fun.

The past couple days I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and all I could think of was "why on earth have I not read this before?" I actually remember trying in the past but couldn't get past the first chapter. Boy did I miss out! I loved it! I cried through the whole last chapter though. I've turned into a mushball like I remember my poor mom being when I was little.