My 2012 Reading List

I had a good reading year in 2011.  Though some of you might not think 11 books is very many in one year, for me it is a huge success.  Here are the books I read last year.

• The Time Machine & The Invisible Man
• Looking For The King
• Till We Have Faces
• The Word Snoop
• Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship
• Oliver Twist
• Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
• The Complete Works by George MacDonald
• The Princess and Curdie
• The Princess and The Goblin

I enjoyed them all and started looking forward to a new year of new reading.  

Well... 2012 has gotten off to a slow start.  It's almost April and I've only finished 2 books.

The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures was my first book for the year.  I ran across this book while searching the library catalog for math-related school books.  It sounded interesting, so I decided to pick it up.  I wasn't so sure about it at first, but as I went along, I found myself hooked into the story line and wanted to see how it was all going to end.  

If you aren't a lover of the mysteries of numbers and math, then you might not enjoy it so much.

I thought it was very interesting though and enjoyed the way "the man who counted" solved the everyday math dilemmas as he traveled the Middle East.

The second book I read was Signing Their Lives Away:  The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence.   

                                           U.S. history has turned out to be one of my favorite things.  I would have never thought that in high school, because back then I found it all rather boring.  Throughout all our home schooling years though, we've never owned or read a history textbook.  We've read library books instead.  It's amazing how interesting history becomes when you read biographies, historical fiction, and topical history books written by professional writers.  We love to read what's called "living" history books.  

There are lots of books out there about the signers of the Declaration, and this is just one of them.  It was very good and enjoyable to read.  I liked the way the authors told the signer's stories without getting too long-winded, and how they found something interesting to say about each of them.  They aren't just signatures on one of our most important documents, but personalities come to life.  

So, that leads me to the present.  I am currently reading The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.  Why?  Well, I've never read it, and it was one of the earliest books that was circulated in the early colonies.  Originally published in 1719, it was a treasure, and people considered it a privilege to be able to read it, let alone own it.  I am 110 pages in and enjoying it.

So there you have it.  My reading list for 2012... so far.  What will be next?  I haven't a clue.  

Most of the time, one book leads me to the next.  

I'll just have to wait and see.  Happy Reading.