Books

Favorite books, good books, recommended books, etc.
Does anybody on here love books as much as I do? ;D

To Birmingham's Castle; by Alicia Willis.

I think I can give you a run for your money. =)

I'm not so sure about that. =)

The Minstrel's Song series by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt!

I'll see if I can get my hands on those. xD

"Do More Better;" By Tim Challies (How to organize your life)
"Do Hard Things;" Alex and Brett Harris (How to do hard things)
"Missionary to the Headhunters;" By Frank and Marie Drown (Missionary's at the time Jim Elliot was martyred)
"I Am Malala;" By Malala, and somebody else…. (About a girl who stood up for teaching children and was shot)
"SEAL of God." By Oh… I won't remember his name (About a Navy SEAL who goes through 'Hell Week' (and that's not too much of an exaggeration…) and after a rough time finally meets God.) Edit: Chad Williams

Thanks! =)

I've been reading the Harry Potter books……………………………………………………………………

and the Arizona Driving Manual. :p

and my new Debate book my mom got me for school.

xP

The Moody Family Series by Sarah Maxwell is a good series for kids; the Elsie Dinsmore series is another good one, although Elsie is pretty much an angel on earth. But my favorite series is the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. The older ones (written in 1960s or something) are better. Hardy Boys is also a good one.

The Hardy Boys are good :D The only problem is they get old after a while. (Their dad is gone and they have to solve the mystery themselves, they track the thieves, have a near-death experience and then finally capture them.) But I still like them. :P
For History this year Dani and I had to read a huge book called The Century (by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster). It has a video series that goes along with it with tons of video footage about the different events of the 1900s. It's definitely a read for older people (really sobering) but it was nice for me to see where most of the junk we're dealing with now came from. The videos were harder to watch, especially when we got to WW2, so we skipped some of them. Overall they were really good, though.

Thanks Hannah! We like the Moody's. I love Elsie Dinsmore, though sometimes it's hard not to forget that even christian kids aren't as perfect as Elsie and her children were. xP I haven't read the Hardy Boys, but I've read some Nancy Drews, and love them. I've read all the old ones that our library has. :P They used to have more…not sure where they went. xP
I think this is going to be a good way to get names of good books to read. xD Thanks Rachel!
Do y'all like biographies? I do! =)

I don't like biographies; I love them. xD

lol I love them too, at least most of them. xD
Do you have a favorite?

Haha, I have way too many favorites. ;) My favorite author is Eric Metaxas: Bonhoeffer, Amazing Grace (about William Wilberforce), Seven Men, and Seven Women. Also Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis, Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose… those are some of my top favorites. I'm drawing a blank right now, lol. Most of those probably wouldn't be for younger kids though…

Evidence Not Seen is a great biography.

Mission to the Headhunters is a biography.

Endurance Shakleton's incredible voyage. By Alfred Lansing is a great biography (a bit slow) about a voyage across the continent of Antarctica.

"Wings Like a Dove" by Christine Farenhorst? This is about a French Princess who is in the middle of a religious war.

I think Endurance is by Lansing… can't remember his first name. :P I started it once and quit; I found it very slow. :P

@Katrina- Yes that's it! Thanks! I have trouble remembering authors names, it was a bit slow. But it was somewhat interesting at some points. His first name is Alfred I think…

A Sparrow Alone is really good. I can't remember the author's name, though.

Thanks! I'm just going to have to make a list of all these books y'all are saying, and look them up after BB's over. xP xD

Oh, how could I forget??? The Hidden Hand is AWESOME.

I love that one. XD Do you love Lamplighters? I do! at least most of them. XP

I like most of them. Have you read House of Love?

Yes, I read that one. It's one of the best I think. =)

A Dream Not Imagined by Shantelle Mary Hannu is an interesting take on the Cinderella story. (written by a Christian)

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss is very good. I literally read it like five times in less than two months. xD You don't have to read it that many times, but it's worth reading at least once.

Thanks for telling me that, Katrina! I've been meaning to read that one, but maybe I'll have more motivation now that both you and Courtney say it's really good.
Hmm…I'll have to look that one up at the library.

Some more slightly different styles of books, but some of these I would recommend but gets the mothers approval first. Some moms of my acquaintance found some issues in them:

The Homelanders, Crazy Dangerous, and If We Survive by Andrew Klavan- Bad points- America terrorism, girlfriends???? people killed by terrorism. Good points- Strong friendships, Right is pretty right, Wrong is definitely wrong, they are Christians, written by a Christian, you can tell they are Christians, they pray in the book, The main character is a boy and has a very strong mentor. These books are fairly new (2012), they have the skill to make you angry at the wrong and they gave me a new understanding on terrorism.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin- Literally a real life chess game. Bad points- "Murder" (Notice the quotes). Good points- Sportsmanship. This is a good, funny read that you won't understand the first time, the second time things click, the third time you see even more, I've read it at least 20 times and I'm still finding more.

Rick Brant by John Blaine- SCIENCE FICTION!!! Bad points- Small degrees of violence, Bad guys, hints at girlfriends. Good points- A boy saves another boys life and gets adopted, the main character invents real life contraptions (that work).

If I Perish by Esther Ahn Kim- About a Japanesse girl who gets persecuted.

The best Lamplighters ^{in my very humble opinion, =P} are:

Prisoners of the Sea by Florence Kingsley – An exciting, mysterious, hilarious, can't put it down I've read it three times in six months kind of book. How historical this book is, I'm not entirely sure, but it sounds like it's very much based of the truth. One downside is it's on the line romantically. =P

The Haunted Room by ALOE – Despite the title, this isn't a sensational nonsense superstitious tale, but teaches some very great points about besetting sins woven into somewhat of a mystery.

The Heroes of Faith series (Shepherd of Bethlehem, Exiles in Babylon, Rescued from Egypt, and Triumph over Midian, especially Triumph over Midian) by ALOE – One thing I really love about this author is how she can intertwine her profound spiritual concepts into great stories.

Hand on the Bridle by Kathleen MacLeod – Although I don't personally care for the writing style, or really even a lot of the story line that much, the principles and imagery behind it are fantastic.

Titus: Comrade of the Cross, Stephen a Soldier of the Cross, Paul a Harold of the Cross, and The Cross Triumphant by Florence Kingsley – Historical fiction based on the Bible, and um, yeah, the first two especially are really, pretty sad but also triumphant at the same time.

Sir Knight of the Splendid Way by W. E. Cule – If you like allegorical Pilgrim's Progress type stories, this is one of those. My absolute favorite part is the story of the Keeper of the Well. It makes me cry. xP

The White Knights By W. E. Cule – This book is super sweet, about modern day (at least…at the time the book was written xP) knights.

Thanks, Emily! The only one I've read of those is Prisoners of the Sea, which I really liked. =)

Oh, and how could I forget…

G.A. Henty- Historical fiction, Many great books. Including some of my favorites… "Through the Fray (A tale of the Luddite Riot), One of the 21st, A Cornet of Horse, The Cat of the Bubastees (Spelling), Beric the Briton, A Girl of the Commune, Rujub the Juggler, The Young Buglers, The Final Reckoning (A tale of bush life in Australia), Dash to Kharkatom (Spelling!!!!!)".

Men of Grit series.

Lousia May Alcott- An Old-Fashioned Girl!!! Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, Jack and Jill, A Modern Cinderella, Silver Pitchers and Independence, Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys.

I don't remember who wrote it but the name is "Helen Lester" it is a amazing book! We found all the pages while we were unpacking somebodies glass a long time ago and we asked them if we could get all the pages and we have all but the very last page.

Lois Carlson- Monganga Paul, a true story about her missionary husband.

and so many more…

I just finished reading The Cat of the Bubastees for school. (xD♥) I haven't read any of the other G.A. Henty books you mentioned…I love Little Women, and right now I'm reading Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott. I want to read her other books too. I have a ton of book suggestions I could give y'all too, but they'll (most of them anyways) have to wait till after BB's over. I'd have to think to hard right now to remember all the authors. xP This is turning out to be an awesome way to get ideas for books! xD

Henty books are pretty good. Some of them had too many details, in my opinion (they're war stories, and sometimes they just gave too much information :P), and the plots are very predictable after you've read one or two (boy somehow gets to a high position in government or military, ends up in battles, usually gets captured, meets girl at some point during the story, saves her from some sort of danger, and marries her), but they're good books overall. My favorites were Beric the Briton and A Knight of the White Cross.

Patricia St. John wrote several good books. Most of them are fiction, which I don't read much of, but I really enjoyed them when I was a few years younger than I am now. :P Twice Freed is historical fiction based on the book of Philemon; it is very good. Treasures of the Snow is also very good. There are several others… The Tanglewood Secret, Rainbow Garden, and one set in some African or Mid-Eastern country (maybe Morocco? can't remember) of which I cannot remember the name. If you like good Christian fiction stories with morals to them, you'll probably like these.

I haven't read many Lamplighter books, but I can say that Titus: A Comrade of the Cross is very, very good. It's a fictional story, but kind of puts you in Jesus' time and lets you imagine yourself seeing His life, watching Him die, and discovering that He's alive. You can feel both the overwhelming sadness and the incredible victory. Also A Basket of Flowers (I think it's a Lamplighter? :P) is great; I reread it countless times.

Sorry this was so long. :P

That's okay. xD It wasn't that long.
I've read Treasures of the Snow, and also watched the movie. I think I may have read A Basket of Flowers, but I know I've listened to the audio. I love how many good book suggestions I'm getting on here! :D

Robinson Crusoe is good. I hadn't read it until about a year ago and found it really enjoyable!

I've never read that one, though I've read about it in a book (The Sign of the Beaver). XP I should look that up at the library too…

The Sign of the Beaver is a good book.

Have you read the Witch of Blackbird Pond or Bronze Bow by the same author?

No, but I've heard of Bronze Bow. Are they good?

The witch is amazing but boys won't like it as much. Bronze Bow is about a boy during the time of Christ which is amazingly good. My little brother liked it. (Oh wait, my little brothers like Elsie Dinsmores…) xP LOL

They sound good. xD
LOL

The Bronze Bow is good. xD Sign of the Beaver was pretty good too.

Okay, since both of y'all say The Bronze Bow is good, I'll have to look that one up sooner. The same with other books y'all agree on. XD

the Witch of Blackbird Pond was a great book. I really liked it. :p

@Rosie Rick Brant by John Blaine was AWESOME! :p I love practily anything science fiction, so when my brother told me about them I was pretty excited. I've read them quite a few times. :p

also, the books by Joseph A. Altsheler are awesome. Kinda like historical fiction. they aren't too complicated or overloaded with facts either.

what are Lamplighters? :p

and Eirini is Brianna M, right? :p (sorry if i seem weird asking that)
Edit Eirene. sorry

Um…Lamplighters are a series…a big series…not sure how else to explain it…but they're not even really a series…xP
That's okay, yes, I'm Brianna M. Irene is my middle name, and eirene is the Greek word for peace, so that's why I chose that username. =)

Lol ok. :P
Ok! I don't think I met you at Nats this last year, but I saw you a few times. :P. I'm too shy to go up and introduce myself so sorry. :P. I did meet Matthew and Courtney tho… Yes! I actually have a friend named Eirene…

No, we didn't meet, but I think I saw you too. I don't very often go up to someone and introduce myself either :P so that's okay. Maybe we'll meet this year…
That's neat! I know girls are named Greek words sometimes (Zoe and Aletheia are the ones I've heard before:).

The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff is really good. I'm just re-reading it because the History class in coop is discussing it for a few weeks. (@Brianna, it's the one I told you about Friday night. :) )

Oh, and Gloria and Brianna, I can introduce you to each other if you want, because I know both of you. XD

Haha, if I somehow get to Nats this year, I'll get Rachel M to introduce us! :D. Sound good, Rachel? :P
Yes! Zoe is a very popular name… I think I know 3 girls wih that name lol. Aleathia isn't so poplular… But I do know someone from BB with that name. :P

I haven't read Wars of the Realm, but I want too. I have read the Kingdom Series and the Knights of Arrethtrae. BTW, We would be glad of your company on the chat. =)