Habbsies, we should read all of the Castles series books. I can only ever remember the title of Castles because that dude was my favorite. It's the last in the series, I think. I have all of them. Anyway, to get them on your kindle, just download the file, hook your kindle up via USB to the laptop and manually add them. That's what I do. I think you may have to eject the kindle first.
As for the rest of you... I'll probably get them out in the morning. SO GET EXCITED.
THESE ARE NOT SMALL ENOUGH WORDS!
I am a moron.
No, really. I'm not sure what the hell it is. Most things I can figure out on my own or with a bit of help. But some things confound me unless spoonfed to my ass. For instance, I taught myself to sew. But I can't seem to figure out my damned serger to save my fucking life.
Ha eclaires sent them all to me years ago!!! Okay maybe 8 months ago. Lol. I looooove Castles. The others are Guardian Angel and.....maybe Lyons lady?
Ack I was watching the Hallmark movie "Rose hill" yesterday and it was bad. No Harrison. Awful.
hahaha!
When I was 15ish, my bff and I watched Rose Hill separately. She loved it and I was ripshit pissed because I'd recently read the book and as you know, uh huh. She wanted me to let her read the book or at least tell her what was different but I refused. Her parents were fundies of the highest order and if they ever found out, no.
I used to pilfer my mom's trashy romance novels and I hated all the ones set in the American west where they were out on the frontier being kidnapped by indians. I only liked ones set in Europe where everyone was really rich and it was just an evil Marquess trying to force the rich, formerly awkward, bookish but now beautiful heiress to marry him until the now nice, but formerly womanizing Duke rescues her.
The Indian ones were always shittily written too. Cassie Edwards can fucking suck it. There was no attempt to separate different Indian tribes or discuss their customs. It was allll tripe. I think I was forever ruined from Indian romances because I read Dances with Wolves. Plus the kidnapped white chick was always some wheedling asshole and/or damsel in distress who didn't have two brain cells to rub together. The crux of their attraction to each other seemed to me a combination of stockholm syndrome and an interest in the exotic. Of course, the idea of being tamed like a fucking horse by some grunting, brusque dude who kept shoving food in my face didn't quite appeal either.
Also, if you like dukes and shit, please pick up some Mary Jo Putney or Mary Balogh. Putney is particularly good if you like tortured, might have PTSD veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. She also has a special place in my heart for not only featuring main characters of different ethnicities but actually bothering to research them. Just don't read the one with some heifer named Kiri. She's annoying as hell, half Hindu or no. Her brother Ash is much more interesting, trust.
I used to LOVE those Indian romances, even those really cruddy Janelle Taylor ones. Now, I look back and it was WTF was I thinking? It's just what habbsies described and worse - it's almost always a rape dressed up as a "seduction" and then she instantly falls in love/lust (same difference), and they do it like rabbits until they make a "half-breed" child and the end.
These Happy Golden Years is probably my favorite since it's about Laura and Almanzo falling in love. The First Four Years was depressing as HELL, but I read it because you know, I felt COMPELLED to. Also, never read Farmer Boy when you are hungry or trying to diet, etc., as I swear all they do in that book is eat and eat and oh, Almanzo gets a colt (sorry for the spoilers LOL).
Finally, the real life Almanzo was quite the hottie (I posted his picture earlier). Dean Butler? He's okay looking, but neither his looks or acting did Almanzo justice. Manly, indeed.
I know we've moved on, but Huck Finn is a very common 8th/9th grade book. They have the context by now of American History and such. And the n word is not unheard of in books they read. Its a discussion point in class.
Ha eclaires sent them all to me years ago!!! Okay maybe 8 months ago. Lol. I looooove Castles. The others are Guardian Angel and.....maybe Lyons lady?
Ack I was watching the Hallmark movie "Rose hill" yesterday and it was bad. No Harrison. Awful.
hahaha!
When I was 15ish, my bff and I watched Rose Hill separately. She loved it and I was ripshit pissed because I'd recently read the book and as you know, uh huh. She wanted me to let her read the book or at least tell her what was different but I refused. Her parents were fundies of the highest order and if they ever found out, no.
She was so pissed.
And this is why I've never liked Jennifer Garner.
I couldn't even finish it. I was like, wait, who is this Fergus, and why is there no Harrison Stanford MacDonald?!?!? And who is this woman in the kitchen. And why didn't Mary Rose to go a fancy St. Louis boarding school. and why doesnt she have blonde hair. And on and on. I had to turn it off. I thought it would be enjoyable fluff but I was so very wrong. lol.
See, I was obsessed with the fact that Eliza *made* ice cream. So I tried by putting milk and sugar in the freezer and failed. It tasted kind of good, but not like ice cream.
Lazy, lousy Liza Jane?
I used to make ice cream with my grandma, so that was no mystery to me. (ftr, we always made pineapple cherry ice cream and it was goddamn delicious)
LOL at lazy, lousy Liza Jane!
One of the things I was seriously annoyed with for TV LH is how they made Laura and Liza Jane BFFs from the get-go. In the books, specifically Little Town on the Prairie, Liza Jane was a straight up bitch to Laura and Carrie (the part where Laura rocks the desk for Carrie stands out). I have to wonder about the dynamic when they became SILs.
Our ability to analyze literature simply changes as we grow. As a pre-teen, I didn't see the beatings or racism in Little House, I didn't see the Populist politics in Wizard of Oz, I didn't know about all the existentialist philosophy in Little Women, I didn't really think deeply about the religious propaganda in Anne of Green Gables. And I know my mom never sat down with me to say 'honey, be aware this is a bad song.' I remained ignorant until I returned to these books in college, really. They were just fun characters that I knew lived in a different world than I did. The historical perspective of the stories is part of what makes them enduring, quality children's literature. Know what your kids are reading, be prepared to answer questions and provide insight, but give kids some room to read things themselves and create their own questions when they're ready.
ETA Drove out west on 90 to work in Yellowstone one summer. There are a few random places where you'll see an old shack and nothing else for miles. Freaked me out to realize how people lived out there and were so completely disconnected and distanced from everyone when things went wrong.
Also, for hunky Highlanders, try Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series. Gotta add time travel to really enjoy your Gaelic hunks.
Our ability to analyze literature simply changes as we grow. As a pre-teen, I didn't see the beatings or racism in Little House, I didn't see the Populist politics in Wizard of Oz, I didn't know about all the existentialist philosophy in Little Women, I didn't really think deeply about the religious propaganda in Anne of Green Gables. And I know my mom never sat down with me to say 'honey, be aware this is a bad song.' I remained ignorant until I returned to these books in college, really. They were just fun characters that I knew lived in a different world than I did. The historical perspective of the stories is part of what makes them enduring, quality children's literature. Know what your kids are reading, be prepared to answer questions and provide insight, but give kids some room to read things themselves and create their own questions when they're ready.
Well, you are clearly out of place on this board.
Case law!
I am confused. Why is she out of place? I thought several of us in the Hunger Games thread said that we'd let our kids whatever because they'd probably gloss over or not understand various aspects. And that we'd be aware of what they are reading, let them ask questions, etc.
I was never able to get into the show, but I certainly read the shit out of those books. Maybe I'll have to reread now to see what I catch as an adult. I only remember race being discussed with some minor exchanges with Indians.
eclaires, there might be elements you'd like. I mean, Charles can circle Caroline's teeny tiny waist with his hands. Not too different than scarlett's 18 inch waist I loved picturing the hoop skirts, even if that wasn't actually what they wore. IDK, I think I merged LHOP with Charlston ante-bellum fashion in my imagination.
sushi, loved the descriptions of Ma's tiny waist and how Pa can span it with his hands, as well as all of the clothing descriptions of Ma, Grandma, and the aunts in preparation for the sugaring dance in Little House in the Big Woods.
Speaking of LHITBW, this is my favorite quote and one of my favorite LH quotes (and probably high on the list of favorite book quotes - period LOL). Emphasis on the bolded.
When the fiddle had stopped singing Laura called out softly, "What are days of auld lang syne, Pa?"
"They are the days of a long time ago, Laura," Pa said. "Go to sleep, now."
But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa's fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods.
She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.
When the fiddle had stopped singing Laura called out softly, "What are days of auld lang syne, Pa?"
"They are the days of a long time ago, Laura," Pa said. "Go to sleep, now."
But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa's fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods.
She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.
Aw man...I just got all teary.
And HUGE DITTO to the Scottish man love happening in Outlander. YUM.
I almost missed a LHOTP post! I loved all of the books and ditto to not realizing the extent of the racism or spankings. I remember the one line in one of the books, (Big Woods I think?) where Laura says "Ma hated Indians" and I do remember wondering why. I really need to read these all again. It's been so long and they are such good books.
I loved the tv show too. One of my favorite shows of all time. The early seasons really were good. They stayed pretty close to the books, aside from keeping the family in Walnut Grove the whole time when the real life family was only in WG a short time. BUT the first few seasons of the show are really good and I like that they depicted how hard farming and 1800s life was. I think the show does a great mix of mushy and happy with tragedy. But once they find Albert, it goes in the shitter. I don't know WTF Michael Landon was thinking adding that little asshole to the show. And the last season? OMG bad, so very bad.
And agree that the show really jumped the shark when Albert joined the cast, not to mention, the "we must add more kids to that already crowded shack" with Cassandra and James (although what a cutie Jason Bateman was back then).
I love Jason Bateman. They should have added him to the ever changing group of kids in school. After watching the show most of my life, I concluded Albert is their Jump the Shark moment and I'm glad you agree. There are definitely some good episodes post Albert (The Christmas They Never Forgot) but as a whole the show just started the downward spiral. Not to mention Michael Landon was busy hitting the bong and groping the makeup lady so I think he was writing the scripts while he was baked or getting a BJ. There is no other explanation for the giant strawberry. None.