Stacking the Shelves and What Happened This Week: Happy Holidays

What I Bought and Received:

Graphic Novels

 

Fahrenheit 451 Graphic Novel, Tim Hamilton
The Beats, Harvey Pekar, Ed Piskor, Paul Buhle-- Graphic novel that gives a short history of a few of the most prominent members of the Beatnik Movement

Classics

 

Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton-- I love this book and this beautiful Penguin Deluxe edition I received for Christmas!
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, Sylvia Plath-- So excited to read more of Plath's prose. I love her work.

 

Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, and The Body in the Library, Agatha Christie-- Can't wait to read more of Christie. I've read one of her mysteries and really enjoyed it. I'm excited to get to some of her more well known tittles.

 






A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway-- Not crazy about Hemingway as a person, but can't deny his talent for writing, especially short stories. This one is about his experience in Paris in the 20's as a part of the Lost Generation,which I'm really interested in.
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley-- I have been wanting to pick this one for a while, but couldn't decide on an edition. I finally decided to go with this leather bound Barnes and Noble edition; I just love that spine.

Young Adult-- Should I Give This a Go?

The Disenchantments, Nina Lacour-- I picked this up really cheap, and was just planning to save it for my future classroom, but then I thought maybe I would want to read it. Have you read it? Did you like it? Let me know!

What Happened This Week:

Monday-- I started the week off with my 2014 End of the Year Book Survey. I loved writing this post. 

Tuesday-- I made a list of the Top Ten Books on my Wishlist for Santa. 

Wednesday-- I shared my thoughts about rereading one of my all-time favorite books The Rules Of Civility.

Thursday-- Merry Christmas! I took the day off from posting. 

Friday-- I wrapped up my completion of my 2014 Classics and Rereads List. 

Stacking the Shelves Hosted by: Tynga's Reviews 

Sunday Post Hosted by: Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Happy Holidays!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Santa Should Bring Me (Because I've Been Good)

The books on this list are books that I have been lusting over for quite a while, but can't quite bring myself to buy yet, or haven't found the perfect edition yet. 

Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish

1. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel

2. Well Read Women, Samantha Hahn

3. Texts from Jane Eyre, Mallory Ortberg

4. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Anita Loos

5. I'll Give You the Sun, Jandy Nelson

6. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr

7. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson 

8. The Big Sleep and Other Novels, Raymond Chandler

9. Burial Rites, Hannah Kent

10. 101 Dalmatians, Dodie Smith

Bonus-- Any of the Penguin Deluxe Editions, Drop Caps Series, or the Cloth bound Classics!! 

My Favorite Christmas and Holiday Picture Books

No surprise here, but when I was a kid I loved to be read to way before I could read on my own. We still have the majority of my picture books, and I love to go through them at any time, but especially during the holidays. I thought I would share a few of my favorite Christmas picture books today to get you into the Christmas spirit, and to remind you to pull out your old favorite picture books every once and awhile.

The Hat by Jan Brett

I love Jan Brett's illustrations. They are so intricate and beautiful, but my favorite part about her books when I was young was the abundance of pictures on the side borders of the pages. With those pictures I could make up my own story and "read" to my parents. I own many of Brett's works and read them over and over as a kid.

The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett 

This is my favorite illustrated version of this poem. Again, the illustrations are beautiful, and you can see a sample of Brett's side-border illustrations. 

Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco

The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco

Patricia Polacco is another on of my favorite picture books authors/illustrators. Her books are so full of color. culture, and love. I will warn you, her books have a large amount of words for picture books so the littler ones may not be able to sit through the whole book, but the stories are beautiful and these books are great for upper elementary and even middle school kids. She has so many different books about different cultures and holidays, and a beautiful illustration style. 

Aunite Claus by Elsie Primavera 

 If I had to pick a favorite Christmas book, this would be it. I love, love this book. It's so magical and heartwarming and captures the spirit of Christmas beautifully. I know there is another book featuring the same characters, but I have yet to check that one out, but I so need to. The second one is called Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

This book is a Winter classic. It contains no words, just beautifully illustrated pictures that tell the story of the adventure a young boy and his snowman have. This is great for younger kids because they can make up their own story and feel like they are reading all by themselves, plus you get to listen to their unique story. The colors in this books are gorgeous and kids are really drawn to this book. This books is not about a specific holiday, just winter in general, meaning it's great for every child, regardless of what holiday they celebrate. 

The Snowy day by Erza Jack Keats

While this book isn't about a holiday, it sure is a winter classic. Kids love this book. There is just something about this book that draws kids in and captivates them. The pictures and colors are beautiful and the story is sweet. If there is a young child in your life that you have a hard time getting interested in books, I would suggest giving this one a try. I know my little cousins love this book, and want to read it back-to-back even though they will hardly sit still for five minutes any other time.