B ~ Books

    Books have always been a big part of my life for as far back as I can remember.
    Growing up the selection of books in our home library was small, which meant I read and reread them all so many times that the characters in the books became more like dear friends. 
    I still reread some of them occasionally. It always makes me feel as if I'm having a lovely visit with an old friend.
    As we went through my parents things last week we piled all the books on the table to divide amongst us siblings. 
    As we sorted through them we reminisced about our evening bedtime stories and how we all loved listening to Mom read.
    The Little House on the Prairie series was one of all of our favorites. Most of us already had our own set, so it went to one of my youngest brothers. It was this series that inspired me to write when I was only a little girl. If what had been an ordinary life to Laura could be so interesting to me, my ordinary childhood might someday be interesting to my children and others as well, and so I kept little notes and diaries and wrote stories of happenings which came in quite handy when I wrote the Life with Lily series.
    My all time favorite series was/is the Anne of Green Gables books. I received my own set as a teen after Mom had seen how much I loved Anne. This one went home with one of my sister-in-laws who had never read them before.
    The Christmas Carol Kauffman books were divided among my brothers. Again, I already have all of them. It's been years since I read them last. Most of them I'm not even sure I would want to reread at this point. Light from Heaven had been the story of Joseph Armstrong and how he grew up with an abusive father. Lucy Winchester had such a sad life being married to an alcoholic. Search to Belong the story of Davy and his search to find his real mother. Even though I read them and the rest of her books many times, they never became close friends like some other books because they were simply too depressing.
    Grandma's Attic series was a delightful one. Mabel and her best friend, Sarah Jane became my friends and I enjoyed spending hours with them. Again, I had bought our own set when our girls were younger so this one went home with one of my brothers.
    Good Old Archibald
    Where the Red Fern Grows
    The Boxcar Children
    Black Beauty
    Summer of the Monkeys
    Feodora
    Old Yeller
    Lassie Come Home
   They were all still there. All well loved and read too many times to count. 
    Having access to the public library now, and visiting it weekly to check out piles of books I have to wonder which is best. My childhood with its limited amount of books that got read and reread a hundred times over and become beloved friends. Or Steven who is a voracious reader, but hardly ever rereads a book.
    Either way, we love books!