Reading List

One of the things I am a great proponent of is a reading list. You have probably been exposed to this inflicted assignment way back in junior high or somewheres about.

I was looking for a list of best sellers from 1913 when I happened across a very interesting blog. From this blog I got a list of best selling books of the time.

On the list was someone that struck my eye as a very literary Hoosier - Gene Stratton Porter. Not her book Girl of the Limberlost, but Laddie.  Now, I was surprised to have never heard of this book, but then again Ms. Stratton was not long on my list of authors.

WHY?! I do not KNOW!

I have absolutely no excuse, just over sight.

So, I have taken it upon myself to at least start with Laddie. Why there? Because in summary it is about a family of settlers here in Indiana. That is it, plain and simple. UPDATE 2/19/2013: This is NOT about a family of settlers, as I had been told. This is about a family after the Civil War. As I am reading this to my 6 year old at bedtime, it is taking a while. So far I am reliving MY childhood days on an Indiana farm heavily wooded and crisscrossed with running water and hills and hallows through this wonderful book told by "Little Sister", Laddie's beloved younger sister. More to come!

It is written for those aged 9- 12 but, hey! A well written piece is a well written piece. AND you all know I love children's stories.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/91157814/laddie-by-gene-stratton-porter-vintage

If you have any recollections of this book please share. 

Here is that list from 1913:

The Inside of the Cup by Winston Churchill (not THE Winston Churchill!)
V.V.'s Eyes by Henry Sydnor Harrison
Laddie by Gene Stratton Porter
The Judgment House by Gilbert Parker
Heart of the Hills by John Fox, Jr.
The Amateur Gentleman by Jeffrey Farnol
The Woman Thou Gavest Me by Hall Caine
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
The Valiants of Virginia by Hallie Erminie Rives
T. Tembarom by Frances Hodgson Burnett


For now I will resolve to find a hard copy of Laddie. I MUST hold this treasure in my hands for a midwinter story telling to my daughter - no e-reader stuff for us! It seems to defeat the purpose of an older work to be read in electronic form. It was written with holding and cradling its pages with in your intent grasp. A much more intimate affair.

-Suzanna