A Little House Sampler by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane edited by William T Anderson

Yay another post!  I am trying to get through as many of these as possible today in order to get caught up, so brace yourself!

When I was a little girl some of my favorite books were the Little House on the Prairie books.  I remember reading them with my mom and loving Laura and her story.  These books made me wish that I had grown up back in her time.  I wanted to be Laura's friend SO badly!   My mom also loved these books, to the point that when I was 9 or 10 we went and visited some of the homes Laura writes about in these books.  While I don't remember much about the homes we visited I do remember how awesome it was to see places that my childhood hero actually lived in and wrote about.  It was one pretty sweet history lesson.  It's been a long time since I've read these books.  Many other authors have captured my attention since then, but Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books will always hold a special place in my heart.  She was one of my first favorites and really turned me on to how awesome the wonderful world of reading can be.

This particular book is a compilation of some of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane's writings that didn't make it into the stories.  A lot of the articles are pieces that these ladies wrote for their local newspapers.  There isn't any particular story line to this book because it is a compilation.  Anderson does provide some historical background to each entry which helps readers place what was going on in the Wilders' lives at the time that piece was written.

I loved reading this book and getting some more information about one of my favorite authors!  I think it would be neat to re read this book as I read the Little House on the Prairie books.  Reading this book has made me want to reread the series.  While I haven't started it yet, I think that will be a project I take on this year.  I  have been so focused on finding new books or more intellectual books that I have forgotten some of the classic books from my childhood.  It's time that I revisit them and give them the attention they deserve!

Until next time (which will probably be after I eat lunch :)  ),

Tara

The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel

I have read a lot of books since my last post.  I have a decent amount of free time at work to get reading done, but have been slacking on the whole "posting about it to my blog" thing.  I think I have 5 or so books to blog about, so please bear with me as I get through them all.

The most recent book I have completed is The Red Leather Diary.  This book was a completely random read for me.  I found it at the library and it seemed like an interesting idea so I decided to give it a shot.  The author, Lily Koppel, found this diary in a dumpster in NYC. After reading through the diary she wanted to learn more about the author so she recruited a Private Investigator to help her find the author of the diary.  The result of the diary and Koppel's meetings with the author of the diary is this book.

The red leather diary was a diary written by Florence Wolfson in the 1920s.  It covered a 5 year span in Florence's life from the ages of 14-19.  While the entries in the diary are short, the story itself is complete because of the interviews between Lily and Florence.  We journey with Florence as she graduates high school and goes to college. We spend time with her on her summer journeys to the coast.  We explore Florence's relationships and sexuality and she tries to discover who she is.  And then we learn what happened to Florence all these years later.  We learn who from her past she marries and how her life ends up. 

I really loved this book.  While it is a biography about a "nobody" it shows that everyone experiences the same trials as a teenager.  The same struggles I faced in the 2000's, Florence faced in the 1920s.  It is a timeless story that I believe anyone can enjoy.

I think one reason I was so attracted to this book is because I have a secret desire for my journals to become published pieces.  While I blog a bit, all of the super juicy fun stuff goes straight into my journals.  I think it would be so cool for my journals to be discovered when I am 90 years old by a New York Times author that wants to make them into a book.  The possibility, no matter how remote, of this happening really makes me want to be more diligent in my journal writing.

The book I am currently reading is my all time favorite.  Bonus points if you know what that is!  I will leave you in suspense until I am finished with it. 

Until next post (which is probably coming pretty shortly because work is pretty dead right now and I have nothing better to do),

Tara