Tag Archives: challenge

long time no spin!!

By Posted in Classics Club, Classics Spin, Reading Event Tagged , , , 3 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in a Classics Club event and I’ve missed all the fun! What’s more, I’ve missed the last 4 Classics Spins!  Jumping into #8 with my list of 20 titles.  No categories or bells and whistles, just a random pick from my master list :)

  1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings//Maya Angelou
  2. Fahrenheit 451//Ray Bradbury
  3. What Katy Did//Susan Coolidge
  4. An American Tragedy//Theodore Dreiser
  5. Invisible Man//Ralph Ellison
  6. Silas Marner//George Eliot
  7. Madame Bovary//Gustave Flaubert
  8. The Old Man and the Sea//Ernest Hemingway
  9. Portrait of a Lady//Henry James
  10. Heaven to Betsy//Maud Hart Lovelace
  11. The Death of a Salesman//Arthur Miller
  12. Anne of the Island//Lucy Maud Montgomery
  13. Pygmalion//George Bernard Shaw
  14. The Jungle//Upton Sinclair
  15. Of Mice and Men//John Steinbeck
  16. All-of-a-Kind Family//Sydney Taylor
  17. The Warden//Anthony Trollope
  18. The Age of Innocence//Edith Wharton
  19. Little House in the Big Woods//Laura Ingalls Wilder
  20. Mrs. Dalloway//Virginia Woolf

Next Monday the spin number will be revealed and I will post which of my twenty I’ll be reading this winter. The rules state I have until January 5 to complete whichever book is chosen.

Can’t wait to see what I get! :)

Happy spinning!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Days 3, 4, & 5

By Posted in Challenge, Writing & Blogging Tagged , , , , , 4 Comments

I’m going to knock out a few of these today.

15-Day-Challenge

[3] Who are your blogging BFFs?

Besides my real-life BFF, Arielle, who blogs @ Words to Match, and my other sweet blogging friend, Jobe @ Jobe Reads, I don’t really have any blogging bffs!

[4] What’s the last book you flung against the room?

I don’t think I’ve ever thrown a book across the room although, I came close with Robinson Crusoe.  I just gave up and didn’t finish that one!

[5] Recommend a tear-jerker.

When’s the last time I read a book that made me cry?

Oh!  The Fault in Our Stars definitely made me cry.

Yep.  That’s about it. Lol.

This post is linked HERE.

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 2

By Posted in Challenge, Writing & Blogging Tagged , , , , , , 1 Comment

15-Day-Challenge

 

[2] What’s your bedtime reading ritual?

My bedtime reading ritual usually consists of me looking longingly at the books on my bedside table and wishing I had time to read a few pages before I zonk out. There are the few times when I pick up whatever book I’m particularly enjoying and read a bit before turning out the lights. I do want to set times for reading certain books because I read, like, 5 at a time :P.

After thinking about my answer to this question, I am determined to make an appoint to read myself to sleep!  Better that than playing Bejeweled Blitz on my phone.

Yes, I just admitted to Bejeweled Blitz-ing myself to sleep.

This post is linked up HERE.

Happy reading y’all!

read along tuesdays – week 5

By Posted in Bible, Spiritual Growth Tagged , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

What?!  A Read Along Tuesday post on a Tuesday?  No lame Wednesday or Thursday edition?  I’m actually getting it together!!

Nope not really.

I was going to skip again like I did last week because I’m shamefully behind (and no I’m not telling you how far behind!) and didn’t feel like pretending I knew what just happened in the last several days (K, I guess that gives you a rough idea of how far behind I am! XD).  But then I thought, “Elyssa, why do you have to pretend?  You’re not the only person who has slacked off while reading the Bible in a year!  It’s a hard challenge, especially when you get to books like Leviticus where there aren’t anymore stories…” Okay, starting to see where I’m struggling?  Leviticus is NOT a particularly exciting read like Genesis and Exodus were.  So you can imagine my amazement when I realized that, alas, I am now supposed to be in Numbers! Whaaa?  And now, tomorrow, I’m starting Deuteronomy?  Oi!  Yeah, something has definitely got to change!  The Enemy knows I’m struggling with some of these ‘less intriguing’ passages and thinks that I’m going to just drop the ball here.

Yeeeeeah, no.  Not happening!  I’ve come to a bump in the road, not the end of the line.

Soooooooo, since I have no commentary today, (I’m going to have to do special Read Along editions for Leviticus and Numbers!) I thought I’d put together a short list of tips for reading the Bible in a year!

1. Pray

This is huge.  If you’re reading the Bible simply for academic or literary purposes, that’s great!  You’re reading the best authority on literature and philosophy out there!  (And of course, as a Christian, I must say that hope you feel God tugging on your heart and you respond to Him!)  If you are reading the Bible to grow spiritually then you know that Satan does have it in for you.  Big time.  When God’s people read His word, that deepens our connection with our Heavenly Father and makes us stronger Christians and brighter lights in a dark world and Satan can’t stand that.  So it’s imperative that you pray for the Holy Spirit to guide your heart and your thoughts as you read the Bible.

2. Mindset

If you come to this with the wrong mindset, you’ve already shot yourself in the foot. Rmember, you’re not reading the Bible to pass the time.  As a Christian, you’re reading the Bible to get to know the Lord better and draw closer to Him.  It’s a date you set with Him everyday to deepen the most important relationship of your life.  You think of it that way, and you’ll look forward to reading!

3. Do Not Play Catch Up!

Playing catch up is a sure fire way NOT to succeed.  If you miss a day, keep going.  You can go back when you have more time later.  JUST READ TODAY’S ASSIGNMENT.  Don’t try and go back and read what you missed before finishing what you’re supposed to read that day because, unless you have a 2-hour train commute to and from work, you’ll never make it. (And if you do commute 4 hours everyday to work, my heart goes out to you!)

4. Take Notes

This is called active reading.  The more you engage in what you’re reading, the more you’ll absorb and the more you’ll remember.  Jot down your thoughts, favorite verses, etc. You can also write down questions to ask your pastor or Bible teacher later!

5. Audio

I hesitate to include this because I don’t want it to become a crutch.  If you read my post, Audio vs. Hard Copy: How Do You Read?, you know that, while I love audiobooks, I’m more apt to regard listening as a different experience than reading print.  And I think this is especially the case with the Bible. Okay, having said that, I think audio versions of the Bible are great (especially for those 2-hour commutes!).  My mom plays the Bible on CD in her car all the time and it’s a wonderful thing.  I’m probably going to listen to the chapters I need to catch up on.  The reason why I hesitate is because it’s so easy to get distracted.  However, it’s a useful resource and it’s better than not catching up at all!

6. Set Up a Reward System

We’re human and we like goodies after we’ve completed a difficult task.  So pick some milestones and reward yourself at the completion of each!  Here’s a list of the categories found in the Bible:

Old Testament

The Pentateuch (Genesis – Deuteronomy)

History (Joshua – Esther)

Poetry/Wisdom (Job – Song of Solomon)

Major Prophets (Isaiah – Daniel)

Minor Prophets (Hosea – Malachi)

New Testament

Gospels (Matthew – John)

History (Acts)

Letters of Paul (Romans – Philemon)

General Letters (Hebrews – Jude)

Prophecy (Revelation)

Okie dokie!  There you have it!  Well we’ve got some difficult months ahead since I’m sure this is only the first of many times we’ll feel like quitting the whole thing!  But God is good and I know He’ll be there to pick us up and take our hands and continue the journey!  Just don’t quit whatever you do!!  

Y’all have a blessed Tuesday =)

november meme//classics club

By Posted in Classics Club Tagged , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

November’s Classics Club meme seemed fitting for me since this month will prove extremely challenging!!

What classic piece of literature most intimidates you, and why? (Or, are you intimidated by the classics, and why? And has your view changed at all since you joined our club?)

There are several titles on my list that intimidate me!!  I’ve never read Tolstoy, Dreiser, or Dostoyevsky (I still have to look up ‘Dostoyevsky’ cause I can never remember how to spell the guy’s name!).  There are times when I look at my list and argue with myself as to whether or not I should just dump a few daunting volumes and trade them in for less unnerving books!  However, so far, I’m determined to stick to my guns as it were.

So what’s the answer to the question?  Which title on my list is most intimidating?

Probably Gibbons’ The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  

Why did I even include this book on my list?  Don’t laugh, but when I found out that Thomas Edison had read, not only The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, but also History of the World, History of England, and The Age of Reason by the time he was 10 years old, I figured, well good grief Elyssa, you’re no genius but for crying out loud, you’re a college student!! Give it a go why don’t’cha?  I figured I could do with a little more history outside of required college credits right?  Broaden my horizons.  Stretch my brain.  Expand my knowledge.  It might take me a while to get through it, but I won’t know ’til I try!  We only grow as far as we allow ourselves to so reading beyond our normal ‘reading level’ does a world of good in keeping us literate.  This is how I figure it.

When I’m going to tackle this great work, I have absolutely no idea.  I might graduate first!!  But suffice it to say that Gibbons’ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is on my list and it’s there to stay!!

Ya’ll have a blessed day!