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My journey through doubt into faith

by Isobel Kuhn

The story of how Isobel found God, discovered His will for her, and obeyed. I love this book.

Lassie come-home

by Eric Knight

Lassie's owner loses his job and is forced to sell her. After being brought to northern Scotland, she escapes and finds her way home to Yorkshire.

I read this to the kids, and they were enjoying it — until they watched the movie. Then they knew what happened, so were not too interested in the book. But eventually we finished reading it, and they did like it. It is a slow book, though — everything takes a long time in this story. It was first written as a magazine serial, and then expanded to book length, so that's likely why.

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

A future world in which pleasure is continual and all babies are grown in test tubes and bottles and are adapted to certain jobs for which they are pre-selected. There are, however, a few "savages" on reservations.

This book was better than Nineteen Eighty-Four, but still not great.

Nineteen Eighty-Four

by George Orwell

The world is in constant war, people are watched contantly, and life is without any pleasure.

I had never read this classic and, since I generally enjoy classic science fiction, I thought I'd read it.  Quite disappointing.  It's a depressing book, really.

Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

Proud Mr. Dombey puts all his hopes in his son, but the child (whose mother died in childbirth) dies, his daughter is ignored, his new wife leaves and at last, his business fails. Is Mr. Dombey ruined or is there still a chance for him?

I love Dickens, and I found this book, which I had never read, in a second-hand store. It's very long, but quite an interesting tale.

A Lantern in Her Hand

by Bess Streeter Aldrich

The fictional story of Abbie Deal and her family during the late 1800s and into the 20th century. They traveled to Nebraska from the east coast by covered wagon and built a town.

The Treasure Seekers

by E. Nesbit

The exploits of the Bastable children who are attempting to "restore the fallen fortunes" of their family. They come up with a number of rather questionable money-making schemes which they try one after another over a period of several months.

I read this to my children (aged 10 and 14) and we all loved it. It's set in the late 1800s in England and it's very funny. One of the children is telling the story and says that they don't think you'll be able to guess which it is, but my kids thought it was quite funny that you could tell right away.

Eight cousins

by Louisa May Alcott

Orphaned Rose is intimidated by her 7 boy cousins, but they soon come to love each other and learn some valuable lessons.

The Princess and the Goblin

by George MacDonald

An old, allegorical fairy tale (fantasy novel) in which the young princess Irene discovers a magical great-great-grandmother in the attic, makes friends with a young miner and later rescues him from the horrid goblins, and he in turn rescues everyone in the castle.

The lesson of trust in a God we cannot see will likely need to be explained to younger children. I read this book to my kids and they loved it.

This story was first published in 1872; the author, a long-time favourite of mine, was an acquaintance of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain and greatly influenced several later writers including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle.

The Return of the King

by J.R.R. Tolkien

In this third part of The Lord of the Rings, there is a great battle during which Frodo reaches Mt. Doom with the ring. Later, the rightful king is crowned and the hobbits return home to the Shire and put it to rights again.

I'll admit that, while I found the story very entertaining, I'm glad to finally get to the satisfying conclusion.

The Black Joke

by Farley Mowatt

Two Newfoundland boys attempt to take their father's schooner back from the rum-runners who stole it. This is a great adventure story for boys.

The Two Towers

by J.R.R. Tolkien

In this second part of the story The Lord of the Rings, the fellowship of the ring has been broken and Frodo and Sam go in one direction and everyone else in another.The wizard Gandalf returns and Frodo is captured in the evil land of Mordor.

OK, the story is interesting, but it's beginning to get a little long.

The Fellowship of the Ring

by J.R.R. Tolkien

In this first part of the fantasy story The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, inherits a powerful ring and to save his world from evil, undertakes a dangerous journey on a quest to destroy the ring.

Best Loved Books...

Reader's Digest
Best Loved Books for young readers
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
by Victor Hugo

Great Cases of Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg

(Lost Horizon by James Hilton - I didn't read this one because I read the full version within the last couple of years.)