When I was a kid I had an encyclopedia-like set of children’s classics. They were bound in dark blue with gold lettering. Each book contained to halves of two different stories. For example, one volume might contain the second half of Peter Pan and the first half of Alice in Wonderland. One summer I read them all, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, Robinson Caruso, The Call of the Wild, Just So Stories, (others I’m sure,) and half of Swiss Family Robinson. I was just thinking about it the other day, I never did find out what happened to that Swiss Family Robinson. I guess whoever gave me that set got tired of buying half books . . .Hmmm. . . oh well.

I read all of the Little House on the Prairie books and I loved Trixie Belden. Never heard of Trixie Belden? Well, she was a lesser known counter part of Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys. How did I get a hold of somewhat obscure books written in the 40s when I was 10? I think my mom may have read them when she was a kid and she would pick them up for me at garage sales. I dug Trixie more than Nancy because unlike Nancy who was rich and beautiful, Trixie was kind of a tomboy and had freckles and lived out in the country and argued with her brothers.

I recently bought the first three Trixie books from Amazon. I haven’t re-read them yet, but she’s on my list. Others on my list are Anne of Green Gables (I heard these were good as a kid, but I accidentally picked up House of Seven Gables in stead . . . bad choice.) I have Mary Poppins to read, and I’m not sure I ever finished the Narnia books, I have all of the Little House books to re-read at my leisure, two more OZ books, Peter Pan and I’m thinking I really need to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (did I ever read it in the first place? And now I don’t have a copy!) I love Ronald Dahl. I also have about 100 other books that I keep impulsively buying! I’ve been trying to stop buying books! These are just the children’s books, what about all the other ones? Sci-fi, fantasy, literature, history, theology . . . will it ever end?

I am currently reading 1. Edith Hamilton’s Mythology
2. The Srewtape Letters
3. Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)

PS this is one of those blogs that I wrote a long time ago and never posted . . . I have now finished #s 2 and 3 and am half way through The Dragon Reborn and The Mediations of Marcus Aurelius. (although I seem to have misplace Marcus, he's a skinny little thing) I'm not sure I'll be able to squeeze another one in before school starts, but I'll try!