In Which I Express my Lifelong Love

I'll be updating this later, but I need to close this window before my family gets annoyed. So here's a start.

Dear Void,

For the record, I did write a post for this blog. But I put it in the wrong blog. And blogger won't let me copy-paste. So there.

I never ever want to live in a house that isn't teeming with books. A house without bookshelves or book stacks in almost every room, a home where tripping over a book on the floor is unusual. I never want that to be me. I want to live--always--between the dedication page and the Acknowledgements. I curl up to sleep between front and back covers. I breathe air scented with the aromas of paper and printer's ink. I eat while reading. I listen to music while reading. I carry on conversations while reading. I have even been known to watch movies while reading.

Which is, I admit, unusual.

So let's talk books for a minute. Delicious, wonderful, cozy books. I been asked for recommended reading... here I go. (Note, the parentheticals are other people's recommendations)

P.S. There are some terms you'll need to know to navigate this.

Brain candy; noun, [invented by my mother c. 1980ish] a term describing a type of literature that is enjoyable and well written, but which does not imporve the mental capacity of the reader. (Note: this may be untrue. Sometimes you learn, mostly from high-level brain candy.)

Easy Adult; these are books about adults that are easy reads. Easy Teen and Easy Kid are some obvious terms too.

Lit Love: a character I personally am in love with.

Skettttchy: a book with semi-quetionable content.


Artemis Fowl and the following series by Eoin Colfer. Stories of a genious boy's interaction with a hidden magical world. Medium Teen brain candy. Lit Love Butler.

The Boxcar Children #1 by Gertrude Chandler Warner. The first book is a delight. The story of four siblings trying to make their way in the world. Super easy kid brain candy.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (first book titled Dealing With Dragons) by Patricia C. Wrede. Fast-paced, intriguing plotlines involving unusual royalty, dragons, and other magic. Fantasy. Middle-upper brain candy. Lit Love Mendenbar (and Cimorene in a non-lesbian way.)

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. The story of a crippled orphan girl (Kira) in a post-apocolyptic rural town with a semi-magical gift for weaving. It's a whole lot less stupid than it sounds. This is not brain candy, but I do absolutely love it. I also have a huge crush on Thomas the Carver. Also of note is The Giver, set in the same world and time but in a completely different city, where things are overly controlled and individuality is a lost concept. The main character, Jonas, has the semi-magical ability to absorb others' memories when they are passsed on to him. Technically these two books are both part of a series that ends with The Messenger, but I didn't like that book. However, if you are interested, it is the story of Matt from Gathering Blue and involves both Kira and Jonas as well.

The Hatchet by Gary Paulson. A brilliant short novel about a boy's struggle to survive the Canadian Wilderness. Fiction. High-level brain candy.

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards. The fantastic story of three siblings who, guided by a highly imaginitive professor, search the lands of mythical creatures for the last Whangdoodle. Easy braincandy, very lighthearted.

Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards. The story of an orphan girl who finds a project that helps her to become truly self-identified. Kid high brain candy.

The Melendy Series (first book titled The Saturdays.) by Elizabeth Enright. The story of a world-wars era family, particularly the children. Fiction (semi-historical.) Easy brain candy. Easy kid.

(Mitford Series) by Jan Karon

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater. A story about a man, his family, and a troop of performing penguins. Lots of fun. Fiction. Young Brain Candy.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. The story of a boy who chooses a life in the mountain wilderness. I freaking love-- not just love, freaking love--this book. I read it more than once a year. Fiction. Medium brain candy.

-The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill. One of my all-time favorite books, this is a humorous short novel about a historical war that never occurred. Pretend-Historical Fiction (yeah, figure that out!)/satire. Medium level Brain Candy. Lit Love Maxie Hammerman and Morris the Florist.

-The Pyradain Chronicles beginning with The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Based on Welsh mythology, these books tell the archetypal story of a boy, his friends and associates, and their quest(s) to save their world. It's been a while since I read them, but I'd say they're just a few notches below J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings series.

-Watership Down by Richard Adams. I have a confession to make--I have yet to ever actually finish this book. It's really long. But I really like it as far as I've read! It's very dark fyi. The story of a group of rabbits (led by the prescient rabbit Fiver) as they are fleeing an unknown and horrifying threat. It sounds mystical and silly, but really it's a social commentary and it's beautifully written. Once you get past the fact that they're rabbits, it seems pretty human. (Ha.) This is adult-level writing, not something to be breezed through, sneezed at, or handed to your eight-year-old. But I do like it a lot. (also, please love the juxtaposition of brEEZed and snEEZed. Tee hee.)

-A Wrinkle in Time and the following series by Madeleine L'Engle. Books involving magic, scienc, Christian faith, and a some beautiful insights. Fiction/Fantasy/SciFi. Teen. Many Waters is a tiny bit sketchy. My personal favorites in the series are A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet.


Authors of note:

Orson Scott Card--author of a whole bunch of science fiction works very few of which I have read. I strongly recommend the Ender series AND the Shadow series. Absolutely worth your time. (Lost Boys is creepy but very well done as well.)

Beverly Cleary--author of books in several young age ranges, she writes cheerful, funny, real-life stories. Especially notable are Fifteen and The Luckiest Girl, both of a medium teen brain candy range, romantic (not dirty.)

Eoin Colfer--see Artemis Fowl. Multiple series on a similar level.