Sunday, November 15, 2015

ANNOUNCEMENT: Little House Read-Along for 2016!

It's almost here! 
The end of 2015 and the beginning of a "Wilder" 2016!! 
I love this graphic Bex created! (She's the talented one!) :)
I have wanted to read all the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder for longer than I can remember--
probably as soon as I discovered them! 
How I ever missed them as a child I will never know...but...
that doesn't mean I can't read them now!
And...so can you! Along with Bex and me!
Twitter--#littlehouseRAL
This series was published about 20 years before I was born. 
I can only assume they were in my local library, but I sure didn't realize they were! 
However, I am prepared to 'right this wrong' in 2016!
I did watch the TV series as a child and loved it and I am certain I will love these books!

So, grab your best friend, daughter or son, granddaughter or grandson, niece or nephew, next-door neighbor, blogging friend, any reader in your life and join in! Or just bring yourself!
You will have the opportunity to connect and discuss with others across the globe as we launch into what I'm sure will be an exhilarating reading experience!
We will read the nine books from the boxed set and three (or four) more. 
You can purchase these if you like or check them out from your local library! 
I can't wait to get the set and then send it off to my grandchildren once I've read them all 
at the end of next year. Just in time for End-of-Year giving 
and probably good timing for the age of readers in that household! 
You can purchase from your local independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble  
or Books-A-Million, and there is always Amazon. 
This could be added to your very own "wishlist" as a gift! 

This is a great opportunity to read a whole set of books that qualifies for The Classics Club! This is particularly pertinent for their Women's Classic Literature 2016 event!
In addition, I will count these toward my Historical Fiction reads!
We will read one book per month of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of Little House books. 
Here is the reading schedule:
                    January 2016            Little House in the Big Woods
                    February 2016           Little House on the Prairie
                    March 2016               Farmer Boy
                    April 2016                  On the Banks of Plum Creek
                    May 2016                  By the Shores of Silver Lake
                    June 2016                 The Long Winter
                    July 2016                   Little Town on the Prairie
                    August 2016              These Happy Golden Years
                    September 2016       The First Four Years
                    October 2016            On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South                                                                       Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 by Laura                                                                           Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane
                    November 2016        West From Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder,                                                                        San Francisco, 1915 by Laura Ingalls Wilder,                                                                              Roger Lea Macbride, Margot Patterson Doss
                    December 2016        A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert and/or
                                                     Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pamela Smith Hill

The Albert book, A Wilder Rose, is a well-researched accounting of the literary partnership between Laura and her daughter, Rose. Although they co-wrote this series, they did not make others aware of the collaboration--everyone thought Laura was the sole author.(And yes, this is the same Susan Wittig Albert who writes three series: China Bayles, The Darling Dahlias, and The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter.)

Pioneer Girl is an annotated autobiography and is a bit of a chunkster at 400 pages. 

Please feel free to commit to the whole read-along or you can read only certain books, or jump in and out as you please during the year. We do ask that you use the link below (Crossing my fingers that it will work!) to connect directly to an introductory posting or page on your blog specifically for the Little House Read-Along, and please feel free to use Bex's beautiful graphic on these postings! If you do not have a blog, do not despair! You can still easily participate! There will be introductory posts at the beginning of each month with a link to connect to your review, which could be posted on Goodreads or another similar forum. Or...if you simply wish to participate by commenting, that certainly works, too! 
I'm sure we'll all be commenting on everyone else's reviews, etc., which is the hope!
Sharing is the goal! 
You can follow along each month on my Little House Read-Along 2016 page 
as all postings will be linked there.

Did you know this series of books has its own website? How cool is that?!? 

Additionally, Emily of The Bookshelf of Emily J is a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and this past spring she visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder house and museum in Mansfield, Missouri
I love the pictures and her descriptions of this experience in the posting. 
(I will link to some of her postings as we progress...)

Have you read any or all of these books before? Or will this be a reread?

It's my first time and I cannot wait! Bex and I are both beyond excited!
Feel free to register below with a link to your introductory posting/page! 

15 comments:

  1. I've only read the series in full once, about five years ago. I'm really excited to revisit the series in full! Thanks for hosting! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's fantastic, Jillian! I will be anxious to hear your thoughts and whether your reactions are different now...five years later! :) Since I'm almost 60 years old and have never read them, it will be a real journey for me! Welcome!

      Delete
    2. Oh, that WILL be a journey. It will be magic! :)

      Delete
  2. Hi, Lynn. I just finished reading the series for the second time this last summer. I also read through the series w/ my kids two years ago. There is so much to soak in with every visit. I'm really glad to read them all over again. And it will be fun to read along with others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Ruth! It is great to know these books have enough depth to benefit from rereading to such a degree! I'm thrilled you'll be with us. It sounds as if you can provide some deeper insights! Fun fun fun!

      Delete
  3. I am excited to reread the series! Thanks for organizing this read along :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's great to have you along, Jane! It was a joint effort by Bex and myself! It's going to be so much fun! I am so excited! It will be fantastic to see how those of you who are rereading it feel about it the 2nd or 3rd or whatever time! I'm just like a little kid I'm so excited to read it for the first time!

      Delete
  4. I'm so looking forward to this! It's been forever since I've read the series! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so sorry, Elyssa! I thought for sure I had replied to your posting! It will be G-R-E-A-T to have you join us! I'm so anxious to see how this series resonates for all of you who are rereading it, especially if it's been awhile! I am just so excited to finally read these books!

      Delete
  5. It will be really interesting to revisit these, and see if I still have the favorites in the series. I've reread a few of the books, and parts of them, but not all, so the adult perspective will probably be a little different!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is always interesting to me to reread books from my childhood. For one thing, I notice the writing tools employed by the authors now, but I find that typically, the meaning remains much the same for me! We're thrilled to have you along!!

      Delete
  6. I've never read these books but have always wanted to. In fact, my mom had copies of most of them. (The ones she didn't have I have recently purchased). I am looking forward to reading this series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It will be great to have another first-time reader along! You and I can compare! :)

      Delete
  7. I've gotten started! And posted a link to my review at An Armchair By the Sea. I'm new to the miracle of blog linking, so let me know if there's anywhere else I should link to. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I apologize for never replying to this message, but your review showed up just fine, so you did a great job! :)

      Delete