On top of the manure pile - they don't mind - they think it is a mountain!
Well, this Blogiversary thing has certainly turned into a lot of fun. I hope that if you have time, you will read through all the comments that have been left. Yesterday's topic about FOOD certainly hit a chord. And I don't think it is about the prizes either - so many people are passionate about their food. I sense a general trend growing within the USA and it's good. So read through if you can find the time.....I actually started this Blogiversary Celebration because I have a pretty busy week happening with more book deadlines -- things to pull together and illustrations to tweak. Every night I go to bed wondering what I can dream up overnight for the next day's topic to win the prize. I've got my prizes under control due to the generosity of some fine folks. But the topics - that have now become very important for me and my family - those topics for the discussion! Last night I printed out all of Tuesday's comments and The Farmer is still reading through them (he is a Luddite and will not look at a computer).
Today's topic is books and magazines. You all know we are rather bookish around here. Books spill out on every surface. They are piled up in stacks, holding up other objects. They are not categorized by section in the different bookcases - they once were but it is a jumble now. This is unfortunate because sometimes we go looking for a certain book and it eludes us - mostly because it is read so often and doesn't get put back to where it belongs.
Last weekend, Julia and I went to Dedham, MA to stay with my niece while her family was away. It was a bit of a vacation for us from the mud and we got to spend three days with my mom which is always a joy. When we go to Dedham, we always make it a point to stop by The Blue Bunny. It is a kids bookstore and becoming a bit of a great resource for lovely, educational games and toys. It is located in Dedham Square and we can walk to it from Laurie's house. Sometimes we visit there two or three times. It is run by the lovely Janet Reynolds and way back when, I did a class for her on Kids Embroidery when they first opened.
The Blue Bunny is owned by the Reynolds Family - as in Peter H. Reynolds and his twin brother Paul. They also run a company in Boston called Fablevision. You may recognize Peter's name if you have children. He is the illustrator of the very popular children's book series "Judy Moody." He also writes many books on his own including two of my favorite kids books - The Dot and Ish. The Reynolds Family is all about fostering creativity in the arts with children and helping them to become and stay creative.
I must admit, Julia has become quite the stalker. Every time she goes to The Blue Bunny, she asks for Peter H. Reynolds. (She never forgets the H and he has told her what it stands for - I can't remember but I'm sure she can.) He is an extremely busy guy and I always explain to her that he probably won't be around. She writes him notes - well not exactly notes, but letters -- and leaves them for him to read including book reviews of his work. He sends her postcards in the mail. Last weekend, we went to the Blue Bunny and she did her thing.... "Is Peter H. Reynolds around?" And the answer was "Yes, he's across the street. I'm sure he would love to see you Julia!" You should have seen her smile. We purchased a few things and went across the street. Peter and his wife Diana are opening a gallery called "The Heart of the Square" and they were there working.
He is the kindest man. He spent at least 30 minutes with Julia talking about all kinds of things. Julia is like a sponge and they have had a dialog going for a little while now. She remembers everything he ever said to her and frequently brings them up again. She asks about his new projects, what is happening to his old projects (like the Judy Moody movie she is really hoping will happen someday), when his next book is coming out. Then they talk about our sheep and animals and what she is doing. She told him about the script she is writing based on the Judy Moody and Stink books. And about the "adaptation" she is doing of another one of the Judy Moody books. He stood there listening intently. It was just lovely and I thank him for being so patient and encouraging with my little girl.
Which leads me to my next topic - Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is turning 40 this year. It has just been published in a fabulous pop-up version which I saw last weekend. Those pop-up books are great. This weekend in Amherst at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, they are having a big shindig for the Caterpillar's Birthday. If you are local and have kids, you might want to stop by.
Which leads me to today's topic. If you are interested in winning the prize, please answer the following question or questions:
What is your favorite book or magazine? What was your favorite book when you were a kid? What are your kids favorite books? What is your favorite cookbook? What is your favorite knitting or craft book? You get the gist - write why if you have time. What do books mean to you? Are you worried about the "death of print"? Have you given up print to only read on-line? Do you have a Kindle?
As usual, anything bookish or magazine-ish goes and there is no judgement here!
Here are today's prizes are:Five balls of Julia Yarn donated by my friends at Nashua Handknits
A copy of Nashua Handknit's Premier Magazine with a special article about me, also donated by Nashua - check out their new website here!
A copy of Knitting for Baby by me and Melanie Falick, donated by STC Craft.
Enter by noon on Friday to be counted. You don't have to answer all the questions but what I am looking for is a bit of dialog if you can find the time!
Tuesday's winner was Punkin. Congratulations to her.
Big prize tomorrow - come back if you can!
122 comments:
Woot! I am the first to lerave a comment! I will try to be thorough, right now my favorite magazine is Cuisine at Home because I love the scrumptcious step by step photos combined with new recipes to try. When I was a kid my favorite books were two different series' Laura Ingalls Wilder and Sam Campbell's books about wildlife. To be honest I am not really sure why by their spines still tell the tale of how much they were loved! I don't yet have kids but I'd love to introduce them someday to my old favorites. My only craftboook right now is a crossstitch alphabet so I guess it is my fave. I love books they have been my window to the world and I hope the internet and new technology doesn't completely kill them, I would miss the crisp feel of the pages the smell of ink the physical indications of how far I am and how much is left to go. "death of print" is very sad and I hope it doesn't really happen. I read bolgs online and the occasional ametuer story but I much prefer actual books for reading. I don't own or want a kindle. Well thats all!
Sam
superbutterfly12@yahoo.com
No time to be thorough, but:
Favorite children's picture book: "The Golden Egg Book" by Margaret Wise Brown with the illustrations by Leonard Weisgard-- no other version will do. You needn't enter me in the drawing, just wanted to introduce you to a beautiful book.
Reading from screens is killing my eyes. Print all the way!
-- Gretchen
What list of questions, Kristin!
- What is your favorite book or magazine? Too many books to select from, although in general I would point to Charles Dickens or John Irving if pressed. I have every issue of Threads except #'s 2 and 4 (which are out of print).
- What was your favorite book when you were a kid? Any of the Albert Payson Terhune books. I was not allowed to have a dog as a child, and I was a devoted reader of the whole series. (Many dogs as an adult, BTW, and all but one have been rescues.)
- What are your kids favorite books? See above.
- What is your favorite cookbook? Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vols. 1 and 2. Exhaustive and unsurpassed!
- What is your favorite knitting or craft book? The Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionary. I bought it off a news stand when I was a preteen and taught myself to knit from it. It was a tiny purchase that has provided decades of fulfillment!
- What do books mean to you? They have been my loyal friends throughout my life.
- Are you worried about the "death of print"? Print is simply another medium. People worried about the death of the oral culture when print arrived, and we will in time see an even greater appreciation of the printed word. I see the power of this every day in our greeting card business: as people receive less truly personal written communication, what they do receive they value even more.
- Have you given up print to only read on-line? I use both as appropriate. I think that is the direction that things usually take: the right tool for the job will in time sort itself out.
- Do you have a Kindle? No, but I have a netbook in addition to my desktop unit, and it has been a liberating addition to my online reading capability.
Thank you as always, Kristin, for providing a pleasing stop on the daily road. Best wishes on your anniversary!
What is your favorite book or magazine? Right now my favorite books are anything by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I reread at least one of her books every month. I also pick up and reread my Richard Aul books frequently. He was a garden landscaper in the 50's--the books have the most charming pictures in them as well as practical landscape gardening tips.
What was your favorite book when you were a kid? The Secret Garden, which I am now reading (again) via DailyLit.
What are your kids favorite books?
Funny that it is "Caterpillar's" anniversary, because that is definitely the kids' favorite. They also LOVED a little book called "What if Everybody Did?" a cute little book we picked up at the dollar book store that is quite hilarious!
What is your favorite cookbook? Newman's Own Cookbook--there's not a bad recipe in it, and Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook.
What is your favorite knitting or craft book? Anything EZ.
What do books mean to you? My hubby and I were talking about this just this morning--he loves the hunt of a good book and the feel of a good old book in his hands. I love the content--the lovely pictures and the actual words and the imagery they create in my mind.
Are you worried about the "death of print"? As my husband is a printer, yes, we are definitely worried about that. Large printing companies that have been in business for a hundred years are going out of business. Very sad. Some of that is the economy, and some of it is that they didn't change with the times.
Have you given up print to only read on-line? I DO read online, several hours per day of blogs, books, email. But I always have several real books going at a time, too.
Do you have a Kindle? Nope.
What is your favorite book or magazine?
I love the Country Magazines and will dearly miss the one that stopped printing. Country Living, Country Home, I squeel when I see them in the mailbox.
What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
Mandy by Julie Andrews. I first read it just because my name is Mandi, then I fell in love with the story.
What are your kids favorite books?
Right now my son is into Star Wars, and my daughter loves anything to do with princesses.
What is your favorite cookbook?
Whistlestop Cafe Cookbook. It's a fun and funny book,and the recipes are awesome!
What is your favorite knitting or craft book?
The Itty Bitty Hats book by Susan Anderson. It's pretty to look at and all the projects are fast and turn out cute.
What do books mean to you?
To me books are an escape.
Have you given up print to only read on-line?
NO! There is nothing that compares to curling up with an actual book.
Do you have a Kindle?
Nope, no plans to get one either.
My favorite book as a child was "Anne of Green Gables". I just loved the fact that my mother had read that book as a girl as well (in translation, since my mom grew up in Eastern Europe). It was neat to think that we could share something in childhood.
I love to read in general. It gives me the opportunity to visit another time and place. I enjoy reading cookbooks to give me inspiration for the perennial, "What should I cook for dinner?" question. Since I took up knitting, I enjoy looking at knitting books, dreaming and planning what I'll make next.
BTW I'm enjoying your blogoversary contest. What interesting questions!
When I was a young child my favorite picture book was something called Cocalo--I think. It was about a donkey who lived in Mexico. I don't remember why I liked it so much--I only remember I constantly asked my mother to take it out of the library for me. When I got a little older I loved anything by Beverly Clearly--the Ramona series, and Henry Huggins. I even wrote her a letter once, for a school project, and she wrote back to me. It was very exciting. My favorite kids books that I read to my daughters were the Kevin Henkes books like Chester's Way, Chrysanthemum and Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. The sensibility conveyed in these books is lovely and the illustrations are great. I also love Eric Carle and Tomie di Paola. The Strega Nona books were always a big hit in our house. We once went to a book fair in New York and got to meet Tomie, who taught the kids how you blow a kiss in Calabria. It was great. I don't really have a favorite cook book, but I like reading Ruth Reichl's memoirs, and anything Calvin Trillin writes about food and eating--especially the early Alice Let's Eat books. I love reading Elizabeth Zimmerman's Opinionated Knitter--her writing is so beautiful. I love looking at the pictures in your Kristin Knits books and I read your blog faithfully every day. I also love all of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's books. These days I find I would rather knit than read, although I love James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux mysteries--particularly because of the descriptions of Louisiana bayous--they are so evocative. I am reading more online than I used to, but I still like to hold books and newspapers. I am a lawyer, and I still like to go to the library to do my research the old fashioned way, rather than using LEXIS online, although that is shifting these days too.
Don't have time to wrie much, but I love books and always have. I don't have one favorite...I usually love what I'm reading at the moment. No Kindle, listening to my first audio book and I'm a bit mixed about it. Not sure I'll continue with them. I like bookstores too...touching the books and the smells, it's like being in a yarn store!
Thank you for the contests - fun!!!
tcrpm at sonic dot net
i joined a book club a few years back reluctantly b/c i was afraid it would take away from my knitting time! it has a little but i've enjoyed reading books i wouldn't normally think to read. just finished 1000 white women which was fabulous. i have a longish commute to work so i have started listening to them in the car which can be exciting too!
stremlec@9isd197.org
I love books!!!!! Magazines, too!! I refuse to read the local newspaper online. If I want to read it, I buy it. I think that some of the reason for newspapers failing is because they put them online but don't charge for reading them.....it's too bad. We don't have cable tv, instead my favorite thing to say to the "bored" teenagers in the house is go read a book. We have a few magazine subscriptions, Field & Stream, Martha Stewart, Interweave Knits, Hobby Farming, Farm & Ranch.... And I always buy books through the school book orders (Scholastic). I guess we're book-ish!!
You've been picking such great topics! We love books here but I am trying to be better about getting them from the library instead of buying them.
When I think back to my childhood I remember (and still have) books by Gyo Fujikawa and Richard Scarry. Later I loved the Chronicles of Narnia.
Now I read my news online but we still get magazines and I don't think I would like a kindle. My kids (ages 6 and 3) love the classic books (Beatrix Potter, AA Milne, Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle) but some books we love that may not be as popular are the Henry series by D.B. Johnson, The Animal Hedge by Paul Fleischman, and the Beaver Pond (one of my husband's childhood books) by Alvin Tresselt.
As a child, I loved The Borrowers by Mary Norton and the Chronicles of Narnia were magical as well. When my children were little, they loved stories about Babar, the Moomin and anything by Astrid Lindgren.
I know for me the books will never die. There is nothing better than to curl under a blanket and open a book - a computer screen can never match the look and the feel of a book, whether new or well-worn, and the anticipation of what the new page will bring.
Oh I do spend a lot of time worrying about the death of print...especially because I am a graphic designer. I work for a not-for-profit, not a newspaper or book publisher, but I feel the pinch all the same. I am going back to University to take web design but I just don't love it. I am thinking about switching careers altogether because of it. I can't believe your Farmer never looks at a computer! That is quite a feat. Now I get almost all of my news online.
My favourite book growing up...was The Hungry Caterpillar! Yes it's true. I have since bought many of Eric Carle's books as an adult. I also loved The Chronicles of Narnia (I refuse to watch the movies).
My favourite cooking book is Cooking Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. As for crafting...I am slowly acquiring all of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books and I can tell that they will become fast favourites in my collection.
I just love your photos of the little lambs!
Love this topic. I come from a long line of book store owners and librarians. My favorite books as a child were, Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web and Trumpet of the Swan. I loved E B White! My love of all things E. B. continued into adulthood. One Man's Meat is an excellent collection of essays. On a similar note, I love the essay collections of Noel Perrin. If you haven't read his 1st (2nd, 3rd) person rural, you should give it a go.
My favorite books growing up were "Little Women" and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" - I swear I read them both so much they faded! I worry that newspapers will become antiques more than I do books.
Unfortunately I was into collecting cookbooks for a few years and had about 76 which I weeded a couple of years ago to 25 or 30. The revised "Joy" and two crock pot books are the ones I pull out most frequently and "Moose Wood" doesn't have any dust either!
My time for reading is limited due to my commute so I use the Western Mass Library Systems new (within the past 2 years) on-line presence and down-load audio books for my i-pod or burn them to Reusable CD's. (It's much easier now that I overpend monthly on my Sprint Air-Card for the computer - before I'd download at work during lunch.) 90 minutes otherwise spent on NPR or talk radio is spent on an eclectic mix of ear-candy. My favorites are mysteries but I will admit to once missing my exit due to being engrossed in Harry Potter!
Let's see...
* What is your favorite book or magazine? -> I re-read Little Women, Gone with the Wind, and Lord of the Rings every year.
* What was your favorite book when you were a kid? -> Little Women, hands down. Though I also remember reading the Babysitters' Club, Sweet Valley, and Boxcar Children. Ooohh, Charlotte's Web was fantastic too.
* What is your favorite cookbook? -> Currently, Everyday Food. I usually go online to search for recipes, though - allrecipes, Food Network, epicurious.
* What is your favorite knitting or craft book? You get the gist - write why if you have time. -> I keep buying pattern books, but I keep coming back to Vogue Knitting as my go-to resource.
* What do books mean to you? Are you worried about the "death of print"? Have you given up print to only read on-line? Do you have a Kindle? -> I learned to read later than most of my peers, but have read voraciously ever since. (I estimate that I read about 80% of the books in my elementary school & middle school libraries, and I haven't stopped since.) I will willingly forgo sleep in favor of reading a few more pages (or all of 'em) of whichever book I'm reading at the moment. I have to hold the physical book (or newspaper, or magazine) in my hands. I love the feel, the smell, the look of books. I don't have a Kindle, and I doubt I will ever buy one. What can I say, I'm old-fashioned when it comes to books (though not when it comes to choice of reading material, I'll pretty much read anything, including the dictionary if there's nothing else available!), I *heart* books!
Forget food, this is a topic I am absolutely passionate about! I have always loved books. My favorites as a girl were Eloise and Harriet the Spy. On my 50th birthday my husband and I will be staying at the Plaza in honor of Eloise. I am beyond excited. Of course, I only had boys, which means no one to share my girlhood favorites with. I discovered a whole new wonderful world in the books my sons grew to love. Kipper was our youngest's favorite. Red Ranger Came Calling is the BEST Christmas book ever. The list is endless. Thank you for today's topic. You are so right, this is so not about prizes!!
We're pretty old school here --we still get two daily papers. My favorite books are Harry Potter, I'll admit--they are the only novels I reread or keep on my shelf; otherwise I only collect knitting books and get novels from the library.
For kids books, my faves are "Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep" by Teri Sloat and "Chicken Soup with Rice" by Maurice Sendak, I'm less interested in knitting magazines since I realized I rarely knit anything from them. Favorite knitting book: Green Mountain Spinnery--serviceable patterns, nice paper and lovely styling.
My daughter's favorites have changed from anything with a picture of a moon in it (baby) to the Secrets of Droon & Rainbow Magic fairy series at age 7. I'll mention my husband, since he has an all-time favorite: Shelby Foote's trilogy of the Civil War. I'm not in love with cooking, but The Victory Garden Cookbook is arranged by vegetable and has helped me cope with mystery CSA vegetables.
As Gretchen mentioned above, I don't think our eyes will always tolerate lots of electronic reading.
Nope, no kindle, and don't like to read online, love print books and mags.
Fav craft mag - I guess VK.I like IK too and knitting books? Too many to count, though Elizabeth Zimmerman's books/dvd's are up there with Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Knitting in the Old Way
Fav other mag - I guess Real Simple. There used to be a great country-living type mag (many years ago) called Country or something similar. Larger format paper than the usual, nice glossy, great photos, a bit upper end in style, but I really enjoyed it.
Now there's a mag called Country, but it's very farmy/ranchy and I prefer more gentleman's farm/English country type of style, though I can't afford that style!
fav book when a kid - Charlotte's Web, I think - who can remember that far back!? I used to take 3-4 books out of the library every weekend, read a lot of books back then.
fav books when a teen/young adult - romance novels
fav book(s) now - the Harry Potter series - devoured them all
fav cookbook - Recipes from a New England Inn, Trudy Cutrone, great Swiss/German/Austrian fare
son's fav books are anything Einstein, quantum physics and the string theory (he's getting his PhD)
looks like daughter's fav books are romance novels, like her mom!
For me reading is more than just the story or the article, it's the style of the writer that captures my interest. The story might be great and interesting, but if it's poorly written, I'll put it down. I love Interweave Knits and Spin-off magazines. I also enjoy the Better Homes and Gardens quilting/sewing periodicals. I am currently reading World Without End by Ken Follet. My childrens favorite books when they were small were Good night Moon and The big Red Barn. I can't imagine the death of print! Please let it not happen!
My favorite books are _Temple of My Familiar_ by Alice Walker, and _A Circle of Quiet_ by Madeleine L'Engle. I loved L'Engle's _Wrinkle in Time_ trilogy as a child.
My favorite cookbook is Edward Espe Brown's _Tassajara Bread Book_. Aside from all the yummy bread, I love the way he talks about the meditative aspects of baking.
For knitting, my go-to technique book is the abridged Vogue how-to (can't remember the exact title), but I love anything by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee as well. She is funny, and reminds me that you have to be willing to take chances with the craft if you're going to learn anything.
I'm not worried about the death of print, but I'm very worried about the environment and think that more people reading electronically might save a lot of paper. That said, I much prefer to read a book than a screen. I don't own a kindle.
Congratulations on the bloggiversary. I enjoy your posts (especially stories about Julia and photos of sheep) very much.
Kim A.
Books - next to knitting that is a subject close to my heart. My favorite book as a child was Little Women - probably one of the few books I have read over and over. I love to read. Actually my mother and 2 sisters are also avid readers. Somehow not one of us (other than my mother of course) produced a child who shares the love of reading. I can't help if this is because of video games/ tv / etc , or something we did or didn't do? Thanks for the wonderful contest.
Favorite magazine: Cook's Illustrated
Favorite book as a kid: If you give a mouse a cookie
Favorite cookbook: Good ol' Better Homes & Gardens red & white plaid one (it has everything!)
Favorite knitting/craft books: I love the Mason Dixon books and Weekend Knitting -- I guess both of them mostly for the patterns.
I used to read much, much more for pleasure before I became an attorney -- now I do so much reading at work that it does not feel as enjoyable to read in the evenings or on weekends. I haven't given up print yet, but I do think I'd enjoy a Kindle both for work AND personal use.
My favorite adult book is Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and my favorite kids book is You Are My I Love You by Marilyn Cusimano (it's absolutely a wonderful book to read to your kids). As a kid my favorite book was Me and the Bee Who Knew Everything, which was one of those books you can order with the story personalized with your child's name and names of his/her friends and family. My son is nine and really enjoys the Bone series of books (they're graphic novels). I think my favorite cookbook has to be the basic Betty Crocker one. I'm just learning to sew so I'm currently enamored of any sewing book - no particular favorites so far.
I love books - they are totally an escape, better than movies because they're portable and because I get to know what each character is thinking. As an aside, you should totally check out LibraryThing...it's a book cataloging website (the first 200 are free, beyond that you pay $25 for a lifetime membership and can enter your whole book collection - I figured it was worth the expense in case anything ever happened to my books so I'd be able to try and replace them). Anyway, you add the books and can tag them in whatever way you want, then you can see who else has the same books, and there are all kinds of other neat applications. I have over a thousand entered and three boxes to go.
I prefer books to reading online - for one thing there's the portability issue and for another my eyes start to hurt if I read online for too long. So I can't see that print will disappear - too many people like the paper version, I think.
rachel.m.hopmoen@gmail.com
For our family books are just a way of life. Good old fashioned paper books! I don't think there is a room in our house that doesn't have some. We still read with the kids almost every night and they are 20, 17, and 13! ( Well, the oldest only listens when she is home from university ) The children have all excelled in school and I believe reading is part of that. Our favorite fiction tends to be fantasy or science fiction, but most anything goes. I just finished reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and fell in love with it!
My favorite books growing up where the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but reading the comments has reminded me of many books I loved: Anne of Green Gables, The Black Stallion, The Borrowers, Little Women, and the Boxcar Children.
As I got older: The Lord of the Rings, Jane Eyre, Robin McKinley's books; oh there are so many!
I couldn't choose a current favorite, but I was thinking a couple days ago that I hadn't read the Little House books for a long time! I like to read a lot of urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but I still love books like Little House and My Side of the Mountain. I guess Animal, Vegetable, Miracle would fit in with those.
My kids love to read too, we have bookcases everywhere. They read most everything.
I've bought a couple ebooks and read them on my computer, but I don't much like being stuck in front of the screen. I like to carry my books all over and read as I do other things. I haven't been too impressed with readers yet. They're heavy and expensive - can't see the benefit.
The magazine that keeps sucking me back in is Sunset. I think I'm coveting the outdoor living lifestyle.
I am a bookaholic and probably have purchased more books to read than I have years left to read in. Nancy Drew was a favorite when I was a child. In the same theme, I enjoy mysteries still. I love the Lady Detective Agency series. I love all Knitting books and mags. I think Knitting Rules is one of the best overall books to have.
Francis
The titles I remember as a kid are Watership Down and Mrs. Frisbee & the Rats of NIMH. Now I like me some sci-fi or a good murder mystery.
I was delighted when my DD brought home Robert the Rose Horse from the library this week. My Dad still has that one in the bookcase from when I was a kid. Her current favorites usualyy revolve around dragons or dinosaurs.
Cherrie
Hi Kristin,
I'm a print-aholic as is my dear husband. He reads and re-reads books whereas I only read books once. I used to just look at my cookbooks, but now, I enjoy reading them as well as any of my knitting books. I mean really sit down and read them from front to back. And magazines...oh my gosh! I love both my cooking and knitting magazines.
One of my favorite books from when I was a young reader would be To Kill a Mockingbird; or, maybe, a Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, we don't have children to pass this love of books on to, but nieces and nephews often get books from us for gifts.
Thanks for your wonderful blog.
Favorite book-Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver-a memoir of sorts from her life in the Sudan
Favorite books as a child (I am old)-The Color Kittens (A Little Golden Book), Little Black Sambo (I was far too young to realize the racist implications in this now banned book) and Black Beauty as a pre-teen
Favorite Cookbook, Soup Bible, although I collected cookbooks over the years I no longer by them as the internet is so rich with great recipes.
Favorite craft book Carol Strickler;s 8 shaft weaving pattern book and the Barbara Walker knitting treasurys
I have books all over the place, with 300 or so on the bookshelf awaiting a read, I do not worry at all about books and new technology as Bibliophiles are soo numerous and the experience of reading a book is so much more than the printed word that I think hardcopies of books will always be around.
I think differently about newspapers and mags. I get most of my news on cable news networks, my weather off the computer, the book review online from NYT and although I love and adore books I would also like to own a kindle for the portablility of it all. I think it would be great if you got both the hardcover and the ability to put it on a kindle with every purchase you make.
So many questions! Favorite book was Sophie's Choice. Favorite book growing up was just about anything. It takes me ages to read anything now. Most is gardening/landscaping references and texts for class. I don't mind reading from the computer as it saves paper. I prefer used books and the library for the same reason.
Favorite cookbooks: anything by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (his wife has an excellent gardening book too), Julie Child's The Way to Cook and most of Nigella Lawson.
I love books of all kinds...always have!! I don't worry about the death of print, because I think certain types of books just have to be touched and loved. I do unabashedly own a Kindle. Why? Because I do worry about the death of trees, and there is so much paper out there. I got the Kindle, though, not so much to replace books (though I do get certain kinds of books on it, when they're available...but I would never get a cookbook or a knitting book on the Kindle...that's the kind that has to be touched and seen in the flesh)....anyway, I got the Kindle to read the many articles I have to read for my graduate school program, (and it's also nice to download the New York Times on it, along with whatever web-knitting patterns I'm working on at the moment). It is so much better than printing, lugging, and then storing all that paper!
And by the way, I own Knitting for Baby, Colorful Stitchery, and Kristin Knits! Knitting for Baby, along with Knitting for Kids, are really what I used to teach myself how to knit.
Thanks for all the creativity you bring into my life!
My favorite kind of book, regardless of the subject, is one that inspires me to create.
Aside from the Bible, I can't really say that I have a favorite book, or magazine. Whether it be with books, food, or even movies or music, my prefernce is generally based on my mood at a given time. I go through periods where I want everything I read to be truth, to teach me something in some way. Then I may sail along for a period of time, wanting to read nothing but fiction, something to take me away and let my mind rest.
The books that stand out most in my memory that I read as a child were The Velvet Room, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Jane Addams.
My kids are both now grown, and I honestly can't remember what their favorite books were. I do remember hours and hours of reading to them when they were babes on my lap (and oh, how I miss that!), but not their choices as they got old enough to choose.
I don't have a specific favorite cookbook, but living here in the south (Texas), there seems to be an abundance of fundraiser style cookbooks, many put out by church or community women's groups. I have a number of them which I treasure. I especially get a kick out of reading the really old ones I've collected. The terminology can be a real hoot at times! ;-)
Living on a fairly tight budget, I'm not afforded the luxury of buying craft books very often. I depend on free patterns from the internet for many of my knitting projects. I did make a recent splurge purchase for Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns:.
There was a time when I considered chucking most of my cookbooks, because I found myself running to the internet everytime I needed a new recipe. It was quicker. THANKFULLY, I came to my senses before that happened. My motive had been to reduce clutter in my household, but upon spending an afternoon browsing through my many cookbooks, I realized how much I do get inspired by them.
I love the feeling of opening a brand, new book; that anticipation of what lies ahead. It's a 'delicious' feeling. If I have a new book, whether it be fiction, a craft book, or a cookbook, I set it aside until which time I know I'll be uninterrupted so I can savor the moment when I first begin to read it.
I feel I hogged too much space, but it felt good to put all that in writing. This has been one of the more entertaining blog contests in which I've participated!
What is your favorite book or magazine? What was your favorite book when you were a kid? What are your kids favorite books? What is your favorite cookbook? What is your favorite knitting or craft book? You get the gist - write why if you have time. What do books mean to you? Are you worried about the "death of print"? Have you given up print to only read on-line? Do you have a Kindle?
My favorite book of all time is Little Women by L.M. Alcott. I grew up in a family of three girls and one little brother, so I always felt I could relate, especially to Jo, as I am the second daughter. As a child I was enraptured by James Herriot stories. My mom would read to us from his books in the evening and we girls would sit and embroider or crochet while we listened. My girls are both little still but they both love books, all kinds. My three year old is totally into animals, so any book with pictures of animals or stories about animals are hits with her. My one year old likes books with pictures of things she can name. I don't really have a favorite cookbook - I haven't gotten in to cooking from books. Don't have time in my life right now. :-) My favorite knitting book is Knitting for Baby - it was the first one I bought right after learning to knit and really helped me learn so much more than just the basics. It's a beautiful book.
Honestly, books mean everything to me. I read all the time. I have two manuscripts in the works and more in my head... if I ever get the chance to put them down on paper. Our house is full of books of all kinds. I always say we will never be too broke to buy books - even if we have to eat beans and rice our budget always has room for books!
And as for the Kindle - my boss has one and I hate the darn thing. It's always breaking and she can't figure out how to use it and the battery always runs out. Stupid piece of plastic! :-D
Hilary in Michigan
Yes I am so afraid that we will lose the art of print...I do not even know what a Kindle is, so I looked it up, that should tell you where I get most of my reading done...Print...
I can not remember what my favorite book was as a child, maybe it was Madeline or even Curious George, since I still enjoy them with my children...How I would love to take the kids to the Hungry Catepillar event, they would absolutely love it..They are 5 and 3, and Books are such a big part of our lives...They have books coming out of our ears. They are everywhere, but the bookshelf. I think at the moment their favortie book is Brown Bear...They both have speech delay's so it is a big part of their thearpists, and so I think that may be why. I myself do not really hve a favorite book at this time. I have Narnia, but still have not found the time to read it. Also Cold Mountain is waiting for me. In my late teens and early 20's I was an avid reader of Harlequin...I was even in several clubs...I would wait for my next shipment, and read all my books in a week, NOW I seem to read mostly kids books, and do not take the time to read my books...
I read most all of the comments, especially the ones before me...
Hope you all have a wonderful day...
Oh...forgot to add this..
basilwendy (at) yahoo (dot) com
I used to love to read when I was a kid. Then came the years of stuff I HAD to read for school- not interesting, necessarily. I'm just out of habit, now. I do read crafting and parenting magazines as well as a few devotionals, but most of my reading is kids books. I am determined to have kids who appreciate reading. So far, so good. We make our weekly trip to the library and enjoy.
What is your favorite book or magazine?
Magazine is Real Simple, or Martha Stewart (on occasion)
What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
Judy Bolton mysteries
What are your kids favorite books?
I don’t have children, but I really like to read children’s books. Harry Potter, and whatever looks interesting
What is your favorite cookbook?
Don’t have one of those …yet
What is your favorite knitting or craft book?
Not to brown nose, the Class Elite pattern books you put out years ago. I also really like Melissa Leapman’s first book on cables
What do books mean to you?
They take me away to places I have never been and tell me stories that always intrigue me
Are you worried about the "death of print"?
I think printed books will go two ways. First there will always be the traditional book as we know it. New books and accompanying technology will make books interactive. I can see holograms imbedded, books linking to websites and I haven’t even touched on audio components.
Have you given up print to only read on-line? Do you have a Kindle?
Don’t have one and not sure I want one.
My favorite magazine has to be "Real Simple", with "Interweave Knits" a close second. When "Real Simple" comes in the mail I wait until I have some quiet time to really enjoy it from cover to cover. "Interweave Knits" gets read from cover to cover and then I look over it again and again.
"Nancy Drew" was my favorite as a child. My daughter is a avid reader and loves the "Twilight" series.
I don't like to cook but I have learned a great deal from "The Fannie Farmer Cookbook".
The "Mason Dixon Knitting Books" have amused and inspired me.
My daughter owns a "Sony" e-reader. There are books from the library online that she can download for free. I have used it from time to time but I still like to own my own books, especially my knitting books.
My favorite book is "The Time Traveler's Wife". My favorite children's book is "From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler". My daughter's favorite is "The Cat in the Hat" and all of The Bear books published by Barefoot Books. I am a bit worried about the death of print, however, I do receive all of my national news online. I receive a paper for my very local news. I don't own a Kindle.
Thanks for running this give-away!
Kristina
Books! A topic I am even more passionate about than food . . . .
When I was growing up I loved L.M. Montgomery--I was a little romantic. I think I read everything she ever wrote that was in print. As I got older I moved on to Jane Austen (still the romantic) and the Brontes.
Funny thing--I went to University, and instead of going into romantic literature, I fell in love with 20th Century African American Women's Lit. I love Alice Walker, Toni Morrisson, Gloria Naylor . . . I spent a lot of time with Lorraine Hansberry. I think I became more interested in the difficult questions in life as I matured--how other people live, see, and experience the world.
I can never pick a favorite book because I love to read waaaay too much. I'm not worried about the death of print because there is something very different about reading on a page and reading online. Too much online reading gives me a headache. I do however, usually prefer to find crafty and cooking things online versus in a cookbook or craft book. Something about the search feature instead of endless page flipping finding what you need.
I read everything under the sun as a child. I adored Louisa May Alcott, the Bronte sisters, and Laura Ingalls Wilder books.
I love the new and diverse choices that are out for younger readers, but I do worry that the publishing industry is a bit outmoded and clonish. With the advent of Harry Potter, there are a jillion books about wizarding and some are just rubbish. I don't get that.
We chose the design of our house because it had bookshelves encircling 3 sides of the fireplace! My favorite book as a kid was Laura Ingalls. Right now I'm reading to my girls: "A Secret Garden" and Mark Twain's "Joan of Arc" both fabulous.
I love your lambphotos! How are the triplets from yesterday doing?
Books! Don't get me started... I read all the time, and am fortunate enough to have kids that love to read as well! My youngest got the first Judy Moody- book 3 years ago,when she was nine, she read it in four days, and I had to buy her #2! She now has all, and I like them just as much as she does! They also read Nancy Drew, Terry Pratchett, Harry Potter (well, me mostly...) horsebooks, mostly everything! My favourite when I grew up? "A tree grows in Brooklyn" was high on the list, along with a lot of the Norwegian writers (Torbjørn Egner, Anne Cath. Vestly, Swedish Astrid Lindgren)."Anne of Green Gables", "The secret garden", a lot of the "classics".... I've read many kid's books now, and there are many good ones. I read a lot of crime, there's an Icelandic author- Arnaldur Indridason- that I really like. Then there's "The Kite Runner". Gabriel Garcia Marques. Isabel Allende.Basically I read everything- and I prefer paper to the computer!
Cookbooks? Some Norwegian ones- but I'm not very fond of them... When it comes to craftbooks, I'll read/browse/look at anything! Knitting, embroidery, crochet, decoupage, weaving, sewing, cardmaking- you name it! I don't do all of it, but it sure is fun to look at them! I bought five books yesterday...finally getting a copy of Lord Of The Rings! and a few for the kids as well...Hubby thinks I spend too much on books and craft supplies;-), but it can never be enough!
My favorite book of all time is The Great Gatsby. It was the first book that made a lasting impression on me as a young reader. To this day when I read it, I feel like I escape to another world where nothing is what it seems and everything has a message beyond the obvious. My current favorite magazine is Orion - simply because no matter what the subject the writers make me think about the world around me and my place in it. I love books and I don't ever plan on giving up on print. I have to hold it in my hand - that's a big part of the experience for me.
Books, now there's something I love!
My favourite book when I was a child was 'The Oxford Book of Childrens Verse' I still have my copy all tatty but loved. When I was a teenager I loved 'Anne of Green Gables' and read it again in my 20's along with all its sequels. I call my best friend my Kindred Spirit because of it. As an adult I read a lot but the one book that has stuck in my mind is 'Once in a house on fire' by Andrea Ashworth, about a girl growing up in England in the 1970's, prabably because I can understand some of the things she thinks and does. Favourite magazines are too numerous to mention, I buy far to many, but 'Country Living' has to be my very favourite. Favourite cook book is 'Favourite Teatime treats' published by the National Trust, lovely cakes and biscuits to bake. Favourite craft Book is 'Little Felted Animals by Marie-Noelle Horvath', I am trying to make some of the lovely creatures but they are harder than you think!
I love books, could almost say I am addicted to them, I have far too many-or so Hubby says. I buy them and they have to sit around sometimes for over a year before I get to read them. Tare piles all over the house, and piles of magazines too. I don't think I will ever not buy books, as much as I like reading things on the computer nothing beats the feel of a new book, buying it and the antisipation to get it home and out of its bag. The turning of the pages carefully to look at it and savour it. I bought Jane Brocket's 'The Gentle Art of Domesticity' someone said to me "but you can just read her blog", yes I do read it but the book is mine, and I can pick it up take it where ever I want, read it when ever, where ever and it's more relaxing. A good book is Relaxing.
Love
Lyn
xxxxx
What is your favorite book or magazine? One of my favorite book is "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron
What was your favorite book when you were a kid? Hmmm that's hard to say..... I read so much .....Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities".
What are your kids favorite books? My youngest sons loved to read the "Goosebook" series we would go out every week and buy one book each until the books they loved got to be a little too expensive. And then went onto Tolkien by the time they were 11 or 12, I have to say I didn't pick him up until high school. My daughter loved anything and everything, she got into dracula and that sort of stuff.
What is your favorite cookbook? I loved the Fanny Farmer cook book, in fact I passed it onto my middle son and his wife when they were just starting out.
What is your favorite knitting or craft book? I don't have a favorite I love them all .......that is why I have them
Are you worried about the "death of print"? No I will always buy books.
Have you given up print to only read on-line? NEVER!!!!!!
Do you have a Kindle? No I don't see the point.
I would like to recommend to Julia one of my favorite books, Loretta Mason Potts. I checked it out from our village library and read it over and over when I was about her age. When I was in graduate school I started thinking about it again and wrote to the library to say that if ever they wanted to get rid of it I would be delighted to take it. They sent it to me by return mail! It's about a family whose "other sister" lives somewhere else because she's horrid--but she's horrid because she's found another tiny world to which she thinks she belongs. When the kids discover the existence of their sister and find out about her other life all kinds of amazing things happen. There's so much in it--too much to recount here--that I've reread it several times as an adult as well. It's an amazing small work of art.
My favorite books from childhood are a) the Laura Ingalls Wilder series; b) Charlotte's Web; c) The Chronicles of Narnia. My favorites books to read to my children are the Harry Potter series. I'm a major in the Marine Corps Reserve and was mobilized (fortunately only to Washington, DC) from 2001-2002. In order to stay connected to my oldest son (who was in 2nd grade), I read the first 3-4 books over the phone to him nearly every night. It was the thread that held us together. We still love the Harry Potter series. Sometimes we watch all the movies in a HP Marathon weekend.
I've since read the series to both boys at least once.
I love books. There's nothing like curling up with a good book and escaping to another world.
Your contests are so much fun. Thanks for coming up with such a great conversation starter. It's almost as much fun as the little lamb pictures.
; )
Well, I love knitting books and magazines and have a huge collection. It's hard for me to stop long enough to read many books but I listen to books on take (CD's actually) all the time. I have a book on pause on my MP3 player as I'm writing this (checked out through READS at my library). My favorite series recently was The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. My children (ages 10 & 7) love to listen to books in the car and we just finished book 4 of the Harry Potter series this morning and I plan to check out book 5 at the library today.
Francie from Tennessee
Argh! Such a tough question! I was an English major purely because I loved books, so it's next to impossible to ask me about a favorite. If I had to hazard an answer, I would say that Madeleine L'Engle's "Wrinkle In Time" is probably the one I've held closest to my heart. Although, my six year old is now working her way slowly and diligently through "The Tale of Despereaux" so it's rapidly becoming a favorite. Among 'grown-up' books, I have to probably say that "Possession" is one of the finest books I've ever read, but then so is anything by Charles DeLint, Patricia McKillip, Jane Austin, Charles Dickens....
I'm a voracious reader. As a child, I was so proud when I could print my name and get my library card. I almost always checked out the maximum number of books allowed. So it's hard to zero in on just one favorite. I loved Louisa May Alcott's books and read from Little Women through the entire series. The Old Fashioned Girl was a favorite in that series.
Currently I'm reading mysteries. I especially like the ones which include recipes although I seldom cook the items. I enjoy Emily Brightwell's books about the Inspector and his household which help him solve the murders. It's fun to mentally follow them around London unearthing clues. P. D. James' books are always a good read and are picked up when I want a leisurely, deliberately paced read. Other mysteries are fluffier and can be read quickly.
Because of budgetary issues, I'm trying to wean myself from magazines. Current favorites are Knitting and Simply Knitting from England even though they are pricey. Fortunately I was given gift cards to Borders so I've been able to get some issues without blowing my retiree budget.
-I love read and I love many books, but there's a book that left me inside a lot of beatiful emotions: DOVE by Robin Lee Graham. You have to read it if you don't read it before: it's a great true story.
-I've recently completed a collection of cookin' books: every book tell about cooking in every different Italian region: it is very interesting!
-I have a lot of knitting magazine, inherited from my mother too, from '70 to now!There are a lot of ideas on them and it's nice for inspiration.
-Every book I read is a new adventure I live, as I am an actress.. I identify myself in them and I live the same emotions of the protagonists.
- Yes, I love to read a real book, not a virtual one.I never read a virtual book.
Thank you for the chance to win this great prize!
Books are also dear to my heart. I cannot imagine my home without my walls of bookshelves....they were there as I grew up, spilling over with every possible kind of reading material....and now my husband and I have created a great collection of our own.
I have a vested interest in supporting the book industry as my husband is a novelist and we are about to depend mostly on the income he gains from his writing.
Currently we live in a city devoid of independent bookstores and that is a great pity to me. We are hungry to return to Massachusetts where we have enjoyed many an afternoon in such bookstores as you described here Kristin.
I'm going to mention a few of my favourite kid books(chapter books with illustrations) that I have read in recent years to my kids:
Varjak Paw and The Outlaw Varjak Paw by SF Said
The Jenny Linsky books by Esther Averill
Hachiko Waits by Leslea Newman
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo
Gobbolino The Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams.
There are three books that I read over and over again – Persuasion by Jane Austen, Possession by A.S. Byatt, and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Whenever you meet another Jane Austen fan, the icebreaker question is always “which is your favorite book?” Persuasion is my favorite. It’s not a very long book, but there’s so much packed into it, and I think Anne Eliot is Austen’s most realistic character. A.S. Byatt wrote about two Victorian poets in Possession. Although they are not real poets, the characters and documentation are so well done that it’s hard to believe these people never existed. You really get to know all the characters in the book – every one of them has a detailed back story. Neverwhere is a great fantasy story – I will never look at the London Underground the same way again, and I still giggle at the idea of an angel called Islington.
I’m also rather fond of the Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. It’s got everything – if you’re in the mood for something quick, there are poems. If you want some humor, there are plays. There’s a ghost story and even a gothic novel. He used words beautifully.
I had many favorite books as a kid. The Wind in the Willows and Little Women were at the top of the list. Rat was always my favorite character with his simple life on the river. Little Women was probably the first really long book I ever read. I think it would have been lively living in a run down house with the March sisters.
Lately, I’ve been listening to audio books while knitting. There’s nothing quite like someone with a great voice reading a story to you. Stephen Fry, for example, is one of the best book narrators around, in my opinion. And since I get motion sickness when I try to read in a moving vehicle, filling my i-pod with audio books has helped me avoid countless hours of boredom.
I can’t imagine not having books around. Sinking into the pages is the easiest way to get away from what’s around you for a little while. I don’t think we’ll ever see the death of print. It will simply appear in a different form, or we’ll revise the definition of “print.” After all, articles and essays and books and other things that appear on the Web are considered “published” even if there’s not a paper version. I am intrigued by the Kindle, and variations thereof (imagine having your entire library stored on one little device!). I don’t own one yet, and until they make some more improvements to it and lower the price, I think I’ll hold off getting one.
Favorite books as an adult - Solace of Open Spaces, A Country Year, A Book of Bees, Sylvia's Farm: the journal of an improbably shepherd, Where Rivers Change Direction.
Favorite books as a child - anything with horses except Black Beauty. I have no children, but my sheep love when I read Three Bags Full to them, like the shepherd in the story ;-)
Favorite craft book - oh I like so many of them, especially if they have beautiful photographs.
No fear of the death of print - well, except for newspapers - things ain't lookin' so good for them. Do not have a Kindle - even with the "warm" name, it's not "warm" - and my computer does not like the pool or the beach or being stashed in my backpack or tucked into a corner of the lambing pens and does not *smell* like a book.
My favorite knitting book is knitted babes by claire garland. This changes monthly because I have a short knitting attention span. I also love the magazines wondertime and family fun.
Oh gee, I was looking at the sheep again...when I was a kid I read all the Nancy Drew books I could get my hands on. Before that are brain cells dead in the head somewhere...As an adult, my granddaughter at 14 read "The lovely Bones" and that has stayed in my head as a favorite read. I also loved "Out of Africa" and "Armegeddon" years and years ago. I buy Better Homes and Gardens quilting magazines and that's about it, sometimes Canadian Living Magazine has some great knitting kits and I may look at those.
Does the farmer not think that the sheep are on that manure pile to feel the heat off the pile and just to be that much closer to the sun!
They are also, tell the farmer patting the pile for him!
I absolutely ADORE books. I always have one with me just in case I get stuck somewhere...and I'm always reading several at home too!!!!! As a child, I had two favorite books..."Follow My Leader"..I don't remember the author, and the original (not Disneyized) 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith. As an Adult, I find I adore all the Dr. Seuss Books, he was a man before his time. Such lessons without preaching. I also love cookbooks, my current fave being "How to Cook Anything" by Mark Bittan. I've also been inspired on the craft front by Kristen's Colorful Stitchery Book (and blog) and by Jenny Hartman's Sublime Stitchery Books,and blog. Books were my friends during a lonely childhood and remain so to this (not so lonely) day. I hope that print NEVER goes away, because I love laying in the sun with a tasty snack, a delicious beverage, and a good book.
The questions you are asking are fun! Do I love books? Oh how I love books! One of my favorite children's books is "Understood Betsy". My favorite magazine is "MaryJane's Farm". Another favorite is Sylvia's Farm. I love to read homesteading books, historical books, and many other books. My library is full to the brim!
I love to read, and I love hard copy. Drives the spouse nuts. Thinks if I can get it online, why do I need a book? Because I do! Favorite book as a chile - Phantom Tollbooth. My best used cookbook is my BH&G that I got in 1976. I can't be limited to a favorite craft book or mag, I don't think.
My mom always referred to me as 'the reader' or 'her reader.' I grew up on Judy Blume (*especially* "Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself", my favorite) and still have my copy of "Peppermint", the sweetest little story about a kitten that continues to catch my heart every time I think about it. If we had a fire, that would be the first material object I would save.
Now my loves are scattered to every genre...Wendell Berry is in first place right now, both for fiction and poetry. I read "Little Women" for the first time last year at 26, and I could not believe how wonderful it was!
In spite of all this, fairy tales call me back over and over again, and folklore has been a consistent element of my life. "Tales Before Tolkien" is the best compendium I know of.
Cookbooks...ah, that would be nice! I can't cook worth a rotten potato, but have tried to branch out a bit. Most recently I read the "Imus Ranch" cookbook, from a place where sick kids go and learn to live close to the earth and eat well.
Though I do not like clutter, I will never, ever read a book on a Kindle. I do not like to stare at screens, and I need the tactile experience. As a church librarian, I should certainly hope that my job would always be necessary!
Reading off a computer screen hurts my eyes after too long. I could never give up holding a book in my hands. Favorite knitting books? Elizabeth Zimmermann's- all of them. And Top Down by Barbara Walker. I could never pick a favorite children's book. As a kid, I loved the Boxcar children and Mrs. Pigglewiggle. As an adult?- Jane Eyre would be on the list, and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, oh!, there are just too many.
And I don't know what Kindle is.
I love when you write about children's books, Kristin! I think I have The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Good Night Moon committed to memory, we read them so many times when the kids were younger. Junie B. Jones made all of us laugh with her antics. Charlotte's Web and Anne of Green Gables are a couple of my personal favourites.
I get so sad that I hardly have time to read anymore, so it must be good if I'm going to read it!! I used to read novels in a day or two, but no longer. Sadly, I can't remember the last time I read a novel. So now, my few minutes of reading time are spent pouring over craft magazines, either knitting or sewing / quilting. I dream of creating the projects (though it's usually only one that actually gets made) and I get all googly-eyed over the fabrics and yarns. I just get so absorbed in them!!
Gosh, when I was a kid I read constantly. I had a set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books that I read so much that the covers fell off every single one of them. I always found books required for school excruciatingly hard to read, except for Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth and Steinbeck's East of Eden, which I still just love and read over and over. I am a really fast reader, so getting through a novel is not so much of a chore. Now that I have kids it seeme like my reading is limited to what I can get through in five minute increments - blogs and magazines for myself; bedtime stories for the kids. I have several Sandra Boynton kid books memorized! Also since kids I have read and loved all the Harry Potter books, and am slowly convincing at least one of my kids to do the same.
When I was a kid my favorite series of books were by Edward Eager, the first in the series was titled, "Half Magic." It was about some siblings who find a talisman and in the process of taking turns with it, come to realize that if you want to get your WHOLE wish, you have to wish twice, otherwise you only get half of your adventure. There were several other books in the series that all revolved around magic adventures. My best friend and I devoured them around 3rd-4th grade, and re-enacted them on the playground.
I don't own a Kindle, can't imagine reading from one right now, although a year ago I couldn't imagine having an iphone. Now my music, photos, email and calendar are all on it. So I'll never say never. It just makes me sad that print seems to be going by the wayside. The husband of one of my friends is a photographer for our local newspaper, so I am aware of the downsizing that has been happening in the journalism world. Many local papers are closing down altogether.
My favorite magazines also seem to be going that route. I subscribe to Country Home (now gone), Country Living, and Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion (now gone). Where will my inspiration come from?
My favorite cookbooks are the America's Test Kitchen New Best Recipes and Family Cookbooks, and the Barefoot Contessa series. Try her coconut cupcakes. Woo Hoo! I make these every Easter. Only about a week's worth of calories in each cupcake.
My kids loved Arnie the Doughnut and What Pete Ate From A to Z. Especially the line, "Poo on Mrs. Parsley." My 15 year old read the entire Twilight series( 4 books) in about a week and is in love with a fictional character. Shel Silverstein was always a favorite, and having 6 kids, we would expedite bathtime by sometimes throwing 2 or 3 in at once when they were little. We would recite his poem:
There's too many kids in this tub.
There's too many elbows to scrub.
I just washed a behind that I'm sure wasn't mine, there's too many kids in this tub.
and on that note, I'll sign off.
I love this week of dialog - so fun to read and hear from everyone.
Favorite cookbook: Sally Schnieder's "A New Way to Cook." It's my go-to, stranded on a deserted island tome (and I chose that word deliberately: it's seriously thick!). I love her flavor combinations, and the thoughtful ways she cuts fat but not flavor, and the appropriate use of fat when it's needed. With these recipes, you seriously taste the ingredients. I love love love this book!
Otherwise, I collect magazines the way some people do spoons or ceramic trinkets. I'm all about house stuff these days, so Fine Homebuilding is usu. my mag of choice, though This Old House is fun as well.
And I'm currently reading "Not So Big Remodeling" by Sarah Susanka -- I love her books and her refreshing take on making your house feel like a home.
Kids' books: Right now, my daughter loves "Book!" by Kristine Connell George (she's 15 mos.). But she adores "Brown Bear, Brown, Bear", her big book of nursery rhymes, and "Hop On Pop."
My favorites among her books are the once that introduce legendary artists: "Dancing with Degas", "Sunday with Seurat", "Painting with Picasso," etc.
I could go on (and on! I haven't even discussed craft books -- Deborah Newton's design book is genius!), but I'll simply say that
I love books -- I for one enjoy the feel, the texture, the ability to curl up on the couch and snuggle in and get lost with one. Such a simple joy, but a necessary one for my well being.
I love to read, and I can't imagine that a Kindle would replace the feel of a book in my hands. Could you take a Kindle out to the lake with a blanket? Could you lay in a hammock with a good Kindle? It just doesn't work for me... maybe that makes me something of a Luddite myself.
I don't have a single favorite book, I have scads of them. I'll read anything I can get my hands on, and more than once, if I have any say about it!
Favourite books... hmmm tends to be more favourite authors.
Favourite magazine is easy - BBC Good Food. It always has lots of great recipes.
As for kids books the girls read a lot of different books. The oldest (13) is just reading her way through the Angus, Thongs & snogging books (took me awhile to get used to the titles).
Craft books - no favourites but I have lots that I like to dip in and out of.
And the death of print - I think we'll have paper books around for a while still. Can't snuggle under the covers with a computer!
thanks!
Susan W
Wow! Lots of options here.
I love books! I am collecting all the Newbery Award Books and have other half of them now. The Door in the Wall tops the list of award winners. I prefer reading good children's books to most modern novels for adults. They're just more interesting.
Favorite cookbook? More With Less Cookbook, and the ubiquitous Better Home and Gardens Cookbook. For many years I used recipes from Laurel's Kitchen every week.
Hmmm, magazines: Sunset. Cast On. Interweave Knits.
I don't own a Kindle, and I'm not really interested in getting one. I like to HOLD a book in my hands, and fall asleep at night with it by my pillow. Can't (or shouldn't) do that with a Kindle.
I don't have a favorite knitting book, have lots of them for different projects, but I do refer to Barbara Walker's knitting stitch patterns book ALOT.
When I was a kid, I loved Eloise, and Old Black Witch, and Fortunately, Unfortunately. In fact, I still have all of them!
I haven't read all that many craft books, but I love the Yarn Harolt's style and sense of humor.
I would be interested in trying a Kindle, but not enough to spend the money. I love books, especially old books, too much for it to ever replace them. It seems like it would be great for newer books, and especially traveling, though.
What is your favorite book- The Bible....still relevant to live by
magazine- ULTRARUNNING, because I am an ultrarunner
What was your favorite book when you were a kid? Jane Eyre
What are your kids favorite books? Eric Carle, Lucy Cousins.
What is your favorite cookbook? Heidi Swanson's cookboosk (101. cookbooks.com
What is your favorite knitting or craft book? Yours, seriously
What do books mean to you? I LOVE BOOKS- words have meaning- connecting us to other people, places, times, events. books open up worlds to children. I FIRMLY believe kids should be read to from the time they are born.
Are you worried about the "death of print"?
Nope.
Have you given up print to only read on-line?
No way.
Do you have a Kindle?
No way.
thanks again :)
I loved your post today, Kristin! I went to high school with Peter and his twin brother, Paul. They were both just as creative and as talented then as they are now. I keep track of them at Fablevision, and through their Mom, who I live not far from and run into occasionally.
To answer your book questions:
My favorite magazine is probably Interweave Knits. I can't think of just one favorite book, but the best one I've read lately was Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. We read it for book club and everyone loved it!
My favorite book as a kid was probably Charlotte's Web. I also read every Nancy Drew book in print.
I don't have a Kindle -- nothing like the feel of a book in your hand, nor the smell of a brand new book!
Thank you for the wonderful story about Julia and Peter. Reading it, I can just picture Peter being so patient with Julia and interested in what she had to say.
I read for about a half hour every night on weeknights, a little more on weekends. Most from the library but anything with knitting mentioned I usually buy. I read almost anything, I hear about a book or read a review and add it to my list.
I don't know if these are my favorite children's books but when my niece and nephew (now 20 and 18) were younger, we found my old Where the Wild Things are and 2 Topo Gigio books in the attic and I refused to let them leave the house. They are now in the bookcase near my computer. My niece never liked to read but my nephew used to read a lot of smaller books, Pokemon and other series books. Neither liked Harry Potter and no one in our house have ever read them.
Favorite magazine is probably Interweave Knits. I don't have a favorite cookbook. The one knitting book I always go is the Knitters Companion for anything I want to look up quick. I have a few more technique/finishing books that I look to for help.
I spend too much time playing games on my palm pilot so there is no way I want to read on a small device. I like to hold the book in my hand. I don't read online newspapers or anything like that. Blogs and Knitty and Ravelry are it for my online reading. Too much else to do.
Chiming in from Greenfield, MA here...
I work in children's publishing, so I have a lot of favorite books in the genre! I rarely have time for grown-up books anymore.
I hope that printed books NEVER go away. They are precious.
And it was lovely to see you and have lunch with you today. I had a great time!
OH my ~~~ touches my heart. I love Wendell Berry, Jane Austen, GK Chesterton, The Inklings , John Buchan, Willa Cather, Kathleen Norris, Elizabeth Goudge, Francis Schaeffer, and Amy Carmichael. I collect many of these so my bookshelves overflow into piles on the hearth or on top of the desk. But that's for a visitor to sit a spell and read a bit!
For my children when they were young:
Beatrix Potter, Shirley Hughes,
Thornton Burgess, Seven Silly Eaters, the Inklings again .......
those famous books..... Lazy Tinka, Sir Gibbie, Meindert Dejong's books....They each have bookshelves in their rooms, at least two! Mine has 4 ~~
I think my most favorite book to give to a friend to help them love to read is Jane Eyre. It has transformed marriages. I'm saddened to hear that our libraries are taking old books off the shelves and my reading list for my high school literature class would not be feasible in our government schools. It is just too many and too high a reading level.
I even like reading knitting books which is what I did with yours!
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." C.S. Lewis
Bonnie
thebuck@mindspring.com
one more thing.......
I found a kindred spirit in another blogger who loves Elizabeth Goudge.
I emailed her in Memphis and mailed her my duplicate copies of Goudge's
books. Thus, starting a great distance blogging relationship that brought humanness and realness to this machinery right here. Melissa is sort of our "out of town" reader at our book clubs too. We even speak about her at our wonderful evenings. The night we did Green Dolphin Street we had
something that fit right into the time period and story: the napkin caught fire as one got too close to the center candles, threw it on the carpet, threw her RED WINE on that ( yes, pale carpet) and we all thought we were back in the late 1800's as in the book. For Pride and Prejudice, we had an evening tea ~~ REAL MEN READ JANE AUSTEN ( Peter Leithart quote) so the 20 ladies tested two men who dared enter the room. Thankfully both had read one of her novels.
Bonnie from above!
i think i left for work today before you even posted! Hmm, my favorite book when i was young was beverly Cleary's Ramona the Pest. In high school it was john irving's The hotel new hampshire. For magazines my ultimate fav was always Yankee (which i do not even know if it is published any longer) My gram used to renew my subscription each xmas but has passed.
Well, of course my favorite mag is Interweave Knits, followed closely by any other knitting-related magazine. I live in a very rural area of VT and am not near a bookstore that sells knitting mags, so I really look forward to getting them in the mail...I seem to get a vibe when the time is near for them to arrive! My favorite book as a kid was Little Women and I think I was inspired by the main character, Jo, and her strength in a time when women/girls weren't supposed to be strong. My two boys, thankfully, love to read....I should say 'finally' instead perhaps. The oldest is reading the Spirit Walker series, and the younger is re-reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I am not worried about the death of print as there is something so irreplaceable about holding a book and flipping pages. Our library here in our little town is always busy, full of toddlers, teenagers, and all the way on up. It heartens me! I don't have a Kindle...don't even know what it is. I do listen to downloaded podcasts on my Ipod, but that's as techy as I get, and it's only when I need to be inspired to hop on the treadmill:)
I have always loved books. My favorite book when I was a child was Charlotte's Web. In HS it was Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I have never bought an audio book, and I do not own a Kindle. I want to hold a book, with pages in my hand and smell it and feel it. My favorite cookbooks are The Barefoot Contessa- simple, good ingredients! My favorite magazines seem to be disapearing...and that makes me feel sad...Contry Home, Country Living, and Mary Engelbreits Home Companion.
Whew! What a lot of questions! and comments!
I am an avid reader. My husband jokes that I'll read anything and everything. Which is mostly true. I'm just a likely to read a Pulitzer prize author as I am to read some true crime paperback fiction. If I ever go back to school, I'll get a degree in library science. My favorite book happens to be whatever I am reading at the moment.
Growing up, my TV watching was closely monitored by my parents. Not so with what I could check out of the library. By age 10, I was roaming the adult fiction shelves. I have had various phases over the years...my Stephen King phase, my classics phase, my Anne Rice phase, my black history phase, you get the picture.
My favorite book as a kid was "Owl at Home". There was something comforting about him. And the illustrations are fabulous. I would say the book was the beginning of my personal love of birds, especially owls. Much to my delight, my mom saved the book for me to give to my own girls. I don't think they love it as much as I do, but they indulge their mama from time to time.
My older daughter really loves Olivia. We have all of the books. I can see why. Olivia and my daughter share a love of the dramatic and story telling. I adore the drawings. And we have even made an Olivia quilt, my daughter and I-- she picked the fabrics, and I made it. My baby loves any book by Sandra Boynton. Especially "15 Animals".
Like other posters, books are an escape for me. Since I stay at home all day with young children, some days, books are my only adult interaction. Any book...from reading books to crafts books.
Right now I have two favorite craft books, the first is "Designing Jewelry with Glass Beads" by Stephanie Sersich. I enjoy the author's color sense and funky style. I took a class from her years ago and am glad to see all of that info condensed into a book. The other book I keep coming back to is, of course, your book, Kristin. I actually see a lot of similarities in use of color between the two books.
I don't have a Kindle but do have an I phone and I could read on it if I had the application. But, somehow that seems wrong.
My most favorite children's book was Lady Greensatin and Her Maid Rosetta. It was the story about a French mouse. I read and reread this book as a child after WW11 when we were all interested in things French.It delightedly kept my attention and filled my imagination with a special life.Now, I keep many knitting books at hand but kept closest to my chair is Mason Dixon Knitting Book 1.Sometimes I don't read as I am constantly knitting. But then I take a break and enjoy my collection.I am doing some Spring cleaning and have been sorting my books and have stopped to really read For the Love of Knitting, a very large intimidating book of collected stories. This book has been here just waiting for me to give it undivided time. Last night I was reading another oversized book, Kaffe Fassett's Book of Patterns. As I gain more experience I appreciate the depth of information shared in the books.
Margok
As a child my favorite book was The Secret Garden, and it is still up there. I am an avid Victorian Novel reader, I adore Dickens, and I also love pre-Victorian Jane Austen (of course!).
I have been worried about the death of print since my parents told me it was a future possibility in 1980. As such I have 24x8 linear feet of books here and a similar amount in storage back in Maine. I will never own a Kindle, I will leave that to the next generation. I can't sacrifice the tactile experience of a real, honest book.
My favorite magazine is O. I also love Cook's Country, Everyday Cooking, Martha Stewart, BHG, and Yankee.
My favorite knitting books right now are written by Nancy Bush, any and all. I am in love with socks. I have an extensive cookbook collection, and I lean heavily on Barefoot Contessa and Julia Child. I also love my Star Wars Cookbook (wookie cookies!) and my Elvis Cookbook titled, "Are You Hungry Tonight?". It is the best for kitsch.
Fun!
Sarah (sarah_dedmon@yahoo.com)
My daughter and I are reading through the Little House books - both for the first time. I am excited that she loves them, because we might be entering the chapter book phase. And she loves to ask questions about the topics - from making butter to the death of a beloved pet.
My favorites are Tess of the D'Urbervilles and My Antonia! - strong nature and destiny themes, I guess.
I do worry about the death of print - I love getting magazines in the mail, cracking open a new book, and browsing at the bookstore or library. Though I shop at amazon, read blogs, and get patterns from the internet, I appreciate edited content.
My favorite craft book - well I love to look at quilting books, though I don't quilt. Just adore the color and texture combinations!
Hello! First, I do have a Kindle (my second one, LOVE IT) and use it constantly. Favorite books....John Adams and Peace Like a River. Favorite book as a kid? Becky's Birthday and Becky's Christmas by Tasha Tudor. The illustrations were beautiful and I still remember them. My favorite cookbook? The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook - it has a killer shepherd's pie recipe! My all time favorite craft book is by Gwen Marston - "Collaborative Quilting"...I love to read and re-read it. Her love of non-perfection is evident and I've become a better quilter because of Gwen. I also loved "Knitting In America" because learning about knitters and their passion was fascinating. I love my Kindle for the portability when traveling, but I will never forsake the printed page - some books demand that. As an example - "Dear Friend" is about the letters between John and Abigail Adams - that's the kind of book you want in your regular library, along with Art and Quilting books, because you need to soak in the pictures.
I do not have a Kindle - and probably won't get one. I do use my MP3 player to listen to books while I work around the house. I can download them from the library.
Favorite cookbook - this is hard - I really like Diet for a Small Planet - which I have used for over 20 years. I also like the old standard - Betty Crocker (in a binder). Good standard recipes.
Favorite Children's book - I really love The velveteen Rabbit.
Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns(I think that is what it is called - I'm not sure of the name, but I know where it is on my shelf!)is top of my list for knitting books because of the sheer number of stitch patterns.
There are times to read print material, times to listen to a good book, but I really don't like to read a book on line - give me the printed word every time.
My favorite book right now is A Thousand Splendid Suns. It was written by a man in the voice and character of a woman and it tells the story of her life in Afghanistan. Very compelling! Our lives are so easy compared to hers - and the real people like her. My favorite kids book is "Love you Forever." I can still cry when I read it. My kids would say that the Sandra Boynton books are their favorites, especially "the Going to Bed" book, "One Dog" something, and "But not the Hippopatamus." Just now I could not remember the names and my 16 and 18 year old sons remembered!
Right now my favorite knitting "book" is the Nora Gaughan Volume 1 - made lots of things from that.
I AM worried about the death of print since my husband is a PRINTER! But I have to read every day - just like knitting! My favorite kind of vacation is sitting on the beach and reading as much as possible. Learned that from my mom on many visits to the Jersey shore growing up.
Theresa Lerner
Reading! What a great topic... I don't think I can narrow it to single favorite. Books - I like books written by J.D. Robb, Nora, Roberts, Patricia Cornwall... Harry Potter series... As a kid - I liked the Laura Ingalls series, Donna Parker series, Hardy Boys, Misty of Chincoteague, horse/dog books in general. I also love magazines - knitting, decorating, women's interest. Reading is a part of my nighttime ritual. I always read being going to sleep - it is what helps my brain turn off thinking about work, the to do lists, etc.
Donna Goad
drgoad@hotmail.com
I love children's books - it's funny even though your child get's older - they are classics and you can always find a small friend or relative to read to. Eric Carle is one of our favorites - also Shel Silverstein. Liking Amy Rosenthals books. I am reading Eat, Pray Love. I also have to have knitting and sewing books. "Seams to Me" Anna Marie Horner and "The Complete Book of Wool". I love to read and enjoy creative enriching writing and topics. Sounds like your favorite bookstore is a wealth of knowledge on all that. I will have to check out their website more often as I am not close. Thanks for the blog celebration and give-a-way's it's been fun.
My favorite book to read right now (still) is Pride & Prejudice, my favorite magazine is Sunset (for the gardening and the recipes), and my favorite cookbook is Nigella Lawson's How to Eat because I love the way she thinks about food.
My favorite crafting book is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac because it has a little of everything and I learn something new each time I pick it up.
I'm not worried about the death of print, but I do worry about the death of the independent bookseller who doesn't have much of a stake in new media.
Thanks for asking :)
A couple of thoughts that came to mind when you asked your questions. One of my fav children's books is Mama Mama Red Pajama. My grandkids love that one (for small children). I think I would like a Kindle for one reason....vacation. Once a year we try to do a beach vacation & just veg out. I mean I sit by pool or ocean & read all day....then get cleaned up & hit an early bird special. I pack about 10 books & then sometimes buy more. But I love my "old fashioned" books too.
What is your favorite book or magazine? crime and punishment - not sure why. i have just always loved it since i was a teenager. i re-read it every few years.
What do books mean to you? i adore books - the smell of them, the feel of them, the emotions they invoke, both old and new. i even love collecting them; the hunt for them. and for these reasons i am not worried about the "death of print". there are too many others like me, i believe.
i do read online but only news. i have thought about a kindle but it would never replace my books. it would only be for the convenience of instantly downloading and reading a book/magazine wherever i am.
Hi Kristen,
I don't read all that much anymore since I picked up knitting with a vengeance again a few years ago. I do read more in the summer than any other time because we spend a lot of time on the beach. I mostly read "trash novels", you know the kind where the girl always gets the guy and there is a sappy happy ending, and I like browsing through magazines. I like any and all knitting magazines. Oh, and happy blogiversary.
My fav mag is Martha Stewart Living.
Fav book, pride and prejudice.
My son's fav book is "There was an Old Lady who swallowed a fly", he's 16 months.
Fav cookbook is America's test kitchen.
I love every craft oriented book i've ever bought, so that's a hard one.
Books mean a lot to me. I love the tangible feel to them and how they can transport me to another place or teach me something new. I would be sad to see books no longer being printed and I truly hope that never happens. There is something so satisfying about buying a new book and opening it to read for the first time. I do some reading online, but I haven't enjoyed it. I've thought it would be nice to have a Kindle, but don't really know if it is worth the price since I'm not sure how much I would actually use it.
Books are a huge part of my life and thankfully I have a husband who supports my habit. I do have a tendency to get lost in the reading part of something and then fail to actually do things though.
Gad. If I try to answer those questions, I'd never finish writing and you'd never finish reading. The Farmer would run out of paper.
Nope, never giving up print. I read onscreen when I have to, and often I do, but there is nothing like a book. Or lots of books. There are books in every room of our house. Books definitely come before food (both are essential). We also have well-worn library cards. The only thing we are missing is enough time to read everything we want to read.
My current favorite book is Susan Tweit's brand-new Walking Nature Home. It does everything right: it is comfortable to read, and shares someone else's experience that illuminates parts of my own life.
The first book that I remember reading that really grabbed me was "Amos Fortune, Free Man". My early life was spent reading for school/college as well as Asimov, Clark, Niven, and all the SciFi books. When I became a mom, I really enjoyed cuddling up to read aloud to my boys. "Owl Moon" was a read-again favorite, the words are so melodic, all of Yolen's works are great ("Briar Rose").
The Berenstain Bears always seemed to know what was going on in our family.
It was a great joy when the boys "discovered" Tolkien, and we could delve into that world together.
I'm always looking for a good book. Stephen King writes so well that I'm scared to read his books (give me a blanket to hide under.)
Crichton is great at writing "what IF we tweek this part of reality".
Recently I've enjoyed books by Jonathan Safran Foer and Neil Gaiman.
Cook books: The Joy of Cooking and The Silver Palate Cookbook.
Craft book: "RagRugs" by Meany and Pfaff or "Byways in Handweaving" by Atwater or anything by Collingwood.
I do listen to lots of audio books, especially while weaving or driving. Classics I download from Librivox.org.
I don't own a e-book.
I have a great town library.
And you know why Kids Knitting is a great book? It's because it doesn't talk down to kids. It challenges them and empowers them. Thanks.
Being as I am from a family of professional cooks, I don't have one cookbook I can claim as an absolute favorite, though the Joy of Cooking is the best basic in my opinion. Fav children's series - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. Currently on my nighstand - Caramelo. Fav authors - Joanne Harris, Milan Kundera and for a good giggle, Peter Mayle. Do I fear the death of print? No. I recently visited bibliophile who literally had 50,000 books in his home. I believed him too. The house was huge and the walls were lined with volumes. I coveted the 19th century books on fashion. Ooh, la, la.
These days I'm sharing my passion for books by tutoring a young neighbor who is having difficulty reading. Today we learned that llamas are great at protecting sheep from coyotes. :-)
My favorite book as a kid was anything written by Elizabeth Enright--I read everything she wrote. Gone Away Lake and The Four Story Mistake were two of my absolute favorites. I also loved Little Women and read it about once a year. The writing style of both Enright and Louisa May Alcott seemed to really transport me into another time/life, which I loved!
I adore Cooks Illustrated -
Now that I've added quite a lot of items to my list of things I'd like to read...
I've read so many wonderful books and magazines that it's impossible to choose a favourite. Even for childhood favourites I can't name just one, unless I restrict the question to early childhood, before I could read, when it was Where Is The Bear? by Betty Hubka. My parents sure got sick of that book, and I still, at 23, have most of it memorized. If I had to choose just one book for the rest of my life, though, I'd choose the Oxford English Dictionary, because I don't think I'd ever stop learning things from it.
The Joy of Cooking is a great reference, but my favourite cookbook, and the one I use most often, is the Complete Harrowsmith Cookbook. I like it because most of the ingredients don't require a trip to a specialty store.
Books are really important to me, but I'm not too worried about the "death of print" - I don't plan to give them up, and I know enough people who won't that I think books, at least, will be around for a while. It doesn't bother me to go online for time-sensitive material like newspapers and some magazines, although I'd like to see better ways of archiving them.
Talking about books is one of my favorite subjects. We have books everywhere in our home. We actually have a dedicated library in our home, but we also have one or more bookshelves in every room. Right now, I have a couple of piles of books on the floor next to my bed.
It's hard for me to pick a favorite book since there are so many. I do love Les Miserables. I'd take it to a desert island with me. I love Jane Austen. I'm currently reading all of her novels.
My favorite kid's book is also difficult. I love the Narnia series, the Little House series, and the Anne of Green Gable series. I also love The Little White Horse. And don't even get me started on picture books. I love them and collect them.
I don't subscribe to many magazines. After my kids are grown and I have more time to devote to my hobbies, I will subscribe to some quilting magazines. I love quilting.
My favorite cookbooks are those by Mollie Katzen.
My kids are currently enjoying E. Nesbit's books, the Chronicles of Prydain, the Lord of the Ring series, and Where the Red Fern Grows. I can't read the last one aloud to them without crying.
I'm not too concerned about print going out of style. I think there are too many of us bibliophiles around.
I have never used kindle and have no desire to use it. I love my computer, but I hate reading books on it.
Our house is one that is filled with books. My husband and I are voracious readers. My favorite books growing up were the Cherry Ames and Vikki Barr books, the Little House on the Prarie books and any Fairy Tales. My two favorite picture books were "Christina Katerina and the Box", and "We Were Tired of Living in a House".
Cookbooks - I have a big shelf full in my kitchen, but the ones I use the most often are "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bitteman, "The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book" by Marilyn Moore along with two spiral bound cookbooks, "Look, I can Cook" from a Synagoge in Hull, Ma and "Grace and Gravy" by the Cape Cod Council of the Elderly. The last cookbook is kinda special as it was my late grandmother's, and it has her notes scribbled in it.
As for my favorite books/magazines now - I read lots of Science Fiction, but Jane Eyre is one of the classics that I read and reread.
My toddlers favorite books are "My cat likes to hide in Boxes", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?" and "5 Shiny Stars"
If you go to Google's main page, the google word is The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
My favorite craft book is hard to pin down, I have a bookcase full.
;)
I don't own a kindle, but I don't worry about books going away to be replaced by e books. Too many people like have a book in their hands.
Kate
Kasalter-at-hotmail.com
My favorite books are those from Jane Austen, followed by The complete stories from Beatrix Potter.
I need those books to feel well inside. I need this dreamworld because the real world is often so cold.
Craft books : When I wake up and I have an English day I prefer "Tudor Roses" and "The Celtic Collection", when I have an American day I study "America Knits"(The best from the best) and make a visit through my American cross stitch stash including American cross stitch magazins. When I am ready with looking, all troubles are away and I feel well.
For me it is more important that craft books give me a good feeling with excellent fotos and excellent layout, than only an exact pattern but nothing to see.
Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland von
Anja
mueller.hude@web.de
Your questions remind me how unsophisticated I am. My favorite magazine or book. Whatever one I am reading at the moment. I usually like to be entertained rather than taught while I'm reading. I don't know what a Kindle is but it sounds intriguing. My kids favorite books are (and mine, I suppose) are 'Lucy Anna and the Finders' and the 'If you give books' by Laura Numeroff. I love Clara Parkes 'Knitters book of yarn'. I'm very afraid of books not being printed anymore. I like to hold them in the bath, or read while I'm cooking dinner.
Oh, there are so many books I love! Well, First place: Harry Potter. I'm almost sorry about this, as I am studying German language and literature, but I love Harry Potter! Well, I have a big stack of books, I love the smell and the feeling of holding them in my hand. My absolutly most beloved crafting book is Poetry in stitches from Solveig Hisdal, followed by - surprise - Kristin Knits. But the only book I could not miss is "Naturfarben auf Wolle und Seide" from Dorothea Fischer, a book about Dying with plants. I love Kaffee Fassets Mosaic book...There are so many books. My daughter Iva (5 years) hears The Hobbit read by my husband, and my little daughter Nia (3 years)sleeps with books in her bed, but I think she likes best Where the Wild Things are from Maurice Sendak.
My life rotates around books, and if there is anything I'd like to learn or know - I buy a book. I learned knitting, spinning and dyeing with books. Oh, I forgot Diana Gabaldon...well, I better stop, there are worlds of books.
So, happy blogiversary from Germany
My favorite knitting book is Knitting in America by Melanie Falick. Not so much for the patterns at first (I was intimidated by all that intarsia) but because of the way she went into each knitter's passion for the craft and how many of them made it a major component of their life. As I struggle with the well-meaning friends in my art group who say thoughtless things like "well, at least your family will be warm this winter" when I show a batch of my art hats (which BTW are going to be featured in a show at the Canton Museum of Art this spring; not just for keeping people warm) it is nice to return to that book and be reminded that this is also a legitimate career path and passion.
In the same vein, that is one reason I love Vogue Knitting, with its designer profiles. I have the 25th anniversary issue with the interviews with the old wave and new wave of knitting designers by my bed, and pick it up when I need a reminded that a career following a passion can happen.
Books… one of my absolute favorite things in life (other than the people and animals in my life who I love). Books are a door for learning and imagination – and I truly believe if I don’t have either of those, I might as well bury myself. I can’t imagine a life without books – like you, my house is full of them. But there is always room for one more! And, I want the hard kind – I read on computers all day at work, and they have their place, but my eyes can only take so much of that type of punishment. A book is a treasure – random words thrown together in miraculous ways that teach or inspire or entertain or simply take us away from our every day existence. We can take them wherever we go, we can write notes to ourselves in them, and they are so much fun to share!
My favorites change over time, although I do have a few all time special favorites. As a child, I absolutely loved any Dr. Seuss book – I’m pretty sure we had them all. My mother tells me that I used to “read” the books to her before I really could read… I had memorized them, and apparently even knew when to turn the pages. So many children books have such beautiful art work in them as well – a feast for the eyes and the imagination. Even though I don’t have children, I still love reading children’s books, because they often have a clever and simple ways of teaching a poignant message. As an adult, I have loved “Kitchen Table Wisdom” by Rachel Naomi Remen as non-fiction (one of those books that I get something different from each time I read it – I’ve given it to many friends as gifts) and “Illusions” by Richard Bach as fiction (makes me think about how I perceive the world.) One of my absolute favorite books of all time is “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Such a beautiful story and beautiful messages. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
I also receive a number of magazines (knitting, culinary, home improvement, decorating, gardening) – I still love National Geographic – such wonderful information and beautiful photography – it wisks me off to far-away lands and helps me appreciate other cultures and ways of living. I love to cook and bake, and have quite a collection of cookbooks. My latest culinary interest has been learning more about the technical side of bread baking, and my current favorite book is “Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads.” I also recently read Molly Weisenberg’s “A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table,” which I truly enjoyed.
Am I worried about the “death of print”? Sometimes I think the world is moving toward a “Farenheit 501” kind of scenario; however, I’m not so worried about it. My belief is that at some point the world will recognize that technology is only a tool, not something that should rule us – getting back to the simple things, like appreciating a good book out on the back porch on a warm, sunny day. That produces a feeling of satisfaction and well-being that no computer ever will. I think, in many ways, the Farmer has it right.
Darby in VA (darbyo@wans.net)
~books~books~books~ terrific !
I feel like I am prehistoric with all the technology now and I am still hanging onto letter writing, holding books in my hands as I read and magazines. My favorite knitting magazines are Interweave Knits & Vogue Knitting International & Piecework. After yarn, the next quantity of "things" in my house are stacks of books. I very much wanted to be a childrens' book illustrator since I was six years old,so I collected the books of Tasha Tudor, (I have a Corgi drawing she sent me after I wrote her when I was about 13) Trina Schart Hyman, Tomie
DePaola, Steven Kellogg, Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Beth & Joe Krush and many New England artists/authors. Some favorite books when I was small, Hitty, her first hundred years by Rachel Field - loved the line drawings and the travel adventure story theme.
All 28 of the small Beatrix Potter books. I remember going to the South Londonderry Library in Vermont as a special event with my Mom, the creak of the old screen door on the library's porch in the summertime, and finding ALL those little books by Beatrix Potter. I wanted to take them all home, all at once. I loved how the library lady stamped the book with the ink that had the date, so sad for me to see that its just a computer blip when you check out a book now. My son also loved the stamping part of getting a library book so much that when the little town in Iowa we lived in when he was about 3yrs old was getting the computer system, they gave Oren the stamper and an ink pad - still a treasure to him !
..... one of his favorites,
The Winter Bear by Erik Blegvad.
....aahhhhh, I must get to work, I bike 3 miles to my job, so will add more later...can't wait to read the other comments............
Michelle
YarnSoup@yahoo.com
My favourite book? Probably a blank one I can write in myself. Otherwise? Ender's Game, The Secret Garden, A Room of One's Own... to name a few. It's difficult to choose.
My favourite magazine again, hard to choose. i recently found this Japanese craft magazine that I've fallen hard for (Idees I think it's called) and it's really inspiring and gets my creative juices flowing. (Unfortunately $$)
As a young child, it was Go Dog Go, as I grew older any Mrs PiggleWiggle (i'll probably buy the treasury that's out one of these days) and then The Secret Garden. I'm an Anne-girl so I love Anne of Green Gables too.
My favourite cookbook is the one I do not have. It's my great grandmother's. Supposedly she was an amazing cook. I've been waiting for my cousins to send me copies for a decade now. Otherwise I like this "1,000 X Y Z Recipe" series (I have the gluten free one and the jewish cooking one). They're really great.
Probably any Elizabeth Zimmerman book (Starting with knitting w/o tears) or one of Barbara Walker's treasuries. As something I *MUST* own. I love looking at /any/ book for inspiration. I love looking through yours but am embarrassed to admit I've not yet purchased any. I love your postcards though and they've made beautiful gifts.
Books mean the world to me. I want to move more so I can buy more bookshelves than anything, even more craft space (almost everything is double shelved). Reading is really really important and I'm thankful I know how and that I have access to books I can borrow and can buy some.
I think it's more the death of reading which should worry people more. Don't forget books as we know them were different from scrolls for a while. ;) Today I feel many people just want short bits of summary. They want instant gratification. That said, my local libraries are bustling with people taking out lots of books... and DVDs.
Have you given up print to only read on-line?
My husband has said we can't subscribe to the NYT in print, probably b/c it's delivered after we leave for the office in the morning. I miss reading it in that format. But, we subscribe to other news/magazines instead. If I can, my new trend is to supplement a physical copy of the book with an electronic one. I don't always mark pages of favourite passages, but will remember much of the text. Electronically, I can search that and find it.
I don't have a kindle or an sony e-book reader but someone recently made a good argument as to how it's easier to knit and read (or spin!) so i'm going to try to borrow a friend's sony soon and test. i don't think I'll buy one yet though. there's something about balancing a book and smelling the paper and turning pages...
All your questions this week have been hot topics -- ones that I could write on for a long time! Maybe that's why I read your blog - you like the same things! :)
Books -- next to food and possibly before crafts, books are my great hobby. My favorite children's authors/illustrators are Kim Lewis and Shirley Hughes both from the UK. Adult books -- just read North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell and it was terrific. Am reading An Irish Country Doctor right now and it is very entertaining.
I rarely have time to read anymore, and when I do it's in small snippets of a few minutes here, a few minutes there. So Magazines are what I read most. I think Real Simple is my favorite (even though my subscription has lapsed). Lots of fun & good ideas, and great for reading in small bits! I loved the Babysitters' Club books when I was a teen. Before that, the Ramona books (Beverly Cleary I think?). My kids are in to Richard Scarry and The Maisy books right now. My favorite cookbook is the Betty Crocker. My mom and I both have them (hers circa 1978, mine circa 2000ish), and we will call each other up and ask "What does Betty say?" and compare the old & new versions of the same recipes. We take some things from the old and some from the new to get the recipes just right. Our cookbooks have lots of sticky notes and things written in the margins! They will be great heirlooms some day. My favorite knitting book is....All of them! :) I definitely haven't given up print. I'm a visual person, I like paper. I can't read things online for extended periods of time. I don't own a Kindle, but they intrigue me. I'm not sure if we would like it or not.
My book list is going to be totally out of control by the time I finish reading all these comments! Thanks, Kristin, for getting people to share all these wonderful things. Here are my answers:
Favorite book: The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver
Favorite book as a kid: well, that depends on which year, of course, but one year it was Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
My kid's favorite book (girl, age 12): A Corner of the Universe, by Ann Martin
My favorite cookbook: I really can't answer this -- too many! But one of them is The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two, by Anna Thomas, and another is Sacramental Magic in a Small-Town Cafe, by Peter Reinhart (the perfect cole slaw recipe is in there)
Favorite knitting or craft book: way, way too many to choose just one. But take a look at Knitting for Peace, by Betty Christiansen
I'll never give up print, and I don't want a Kindle. Am I worried? Yes, of course. But not all change is bad. . . I'll see what happens. What do books mean to me? As a lifelong passionate reader, quite a bit. They're my recreation (when I'm not knitting) and one of my favorite escapes. I have a weakness for mystery novels and what I call "intelligent fluff" but that's not all I read. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't read!
I am the daughter of a bookbinder who loved books. So, from work, I'd get the upside down, pages missing books, and every two weeks we would go to the library where I could get 5 books. I love any book that is a great story and really long so it lasts forever. My favorite book when I was a child was Little Women, which I bought before I could really read it, but kept trying until I could. Besides my knitting magazines, I have subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens for many years, and now have been enjoying Real Simple.
I'm upset because they no longer publish my favorite mag.. Cottage Living. I used to get so much inspiration from that magazine. I don't read books much because I'm just too busy to sit and read for long stretches, but I do love a good mystery. I'd probably read more if I had a Kindle. At least for a while until the shine wore off. LOL. My favorite knitting magazine is Interweave Knits, although I subscribe to Vogue Knitting and Knitters magazines as well. My favorite knitting book is "Knitting the new Classics" and Pomo Spice is my favorite sweater from that book. It is fabulous...... all that neat color work.
"The Giving Tree" was the first book that I remember as really having an impact on me. To this day, it is still my favorite. I also have a leather bound "Our Family Recipes" book that my mom gave me back in the 80's that I write all the "must have recipes" that I've gathered through the years, mostly from my mom. Although I love to look through cookbooks at the pictures, I almost always go back to my family book or just "call my mother." As far as knitting books, I would have to say "Itty Bitty Hats" is probably the one I look at the most. I just love baby hats, and Susan has the neatest patterns. Because I'm not a very experienced knitter, I usually read the quick and easy type magazines for knitting and crochet. The Bible also is a must read for me since, for me, it holds all the answers and really keeps me grounded.
There's no way I can choose just one favorite book - I love so many of them. What's nice is that my whole family loves books! Yay! i can narrow an author that all 4 of us, from ages 7 to 44 love - Daniel Pinkwater!
ALthough I buy less magazines today becasue of all the eye candy i can get online, I will never give in my hand books. I tried years ago to read books on my Palm Pilot and hated it. I know the Kindle is differnt, but, I think I'm sticking with paper!
Kristin,
Wrote on this this morning, but found this great quote that I think fits your topic on books and creativity:
Perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them.
Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton
Bonnie
thebuck@mindspring.com
My favorite book as a child was anything by Dr. Seuss. I was/am also fond of Eric Carl.
My favorite knitting magazine (and has been since college) is Interweave Knits. I have a bad habit of buying any knitting magazine I can find though.
Beautiful colors in today's blog prize! Fingers crossed! :)
Too late for the contest. Just wanted to say how much I loved this post.
I loved COUNTRY HOME magazine and am sorry it is gone.
As a kid, I loved the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE books best. Still do, I think, though I have been reading a lot of Edward Eager and Eleanor Estes of late and might have to add them to my fav list. I'm also a huge fan of Sharon Creech -- particularly GRANNY TORELLI MAKES SOUP.
I love to read THE COOK AND THE GARDENER by Amanda Hesser, but cook most out of THE JOY OF COOKING and Tom Valenti's ONE POT MEALS.
Books to me are air. Food. Furniture. Skin. Soul. I cannot live without them. Someday, I suspect I will have an electronic reader and will be very happy to use it for recipes and nonfiction and craft books and travel guides and a whole bunch of other sorts of reading. But some sorts of things (novels, for me, and kids books) were meant for pages.
"Little Women" is really best book for kids!! I just love it...
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