2017 Reading Challenge discussion

Post your books either published in or about the 1800's.

At the Edge of the Orchard
"1838: James and Sadie Goodenough have settled where their wagon got stuck"...this brutal life in the Black Swamp of Ohio is heartbreaking. Plant & maintain 50 trees to prove to the government that your intention is staying, when really it's all the little graves and loss that tie them to the swamp.
The oldest son escapes this life and heads west. Pioneer life is laid out for its harsh, unforgiving brutality.

Joanna wrote: "At the Edge of the Orchard
"1838: James and Sadie Goodenough have settled where their wagon got stuck"...this brutal life in the Black Swamp of Ohio is heartbreaking. Plant & mainta..."

Good recommendation. I put it on my to-read list.

The Yard
I added this on another challenge but it fits this category as well, in case someone is looking for a book to read in this category. This book is set in London after the notorious murders of jack the Ripper in 1889. Twelve detectives, called the Murder Squad are left to tackle a new villain who has just taken one of their own. I really enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars.

News of the World



I absolutely loved this book, and I'll admit I teared up more than once :-).

Set in 1870s, an elderly man who makes his living by reading newspapers to people in remote Texas towns is tasked with delivering a 10 year old girl to her relatives. The girl, Johanna, has been a captive of the Kiowa Indians for the past four years, and remembers nothing of her former life.

Wow, that looks pretty neat.

by Leo Tolstoy

Challenges can be a great, gentle prod to read something that you've always meant to, but never found the time for. Having read Anna Karenina is almost a greater pleasure than reading it, because there is, in many places, too much story. Yet Konstantin Dmitrich Levin's search for meaning resonates through the book, and the resolution of that quest is a joy.

I'd go as far as to say that the HAVING read is far greater than the reading of Anna Karenina. I was fortunate enough to have listened to it on audio - all 38 hours of it!

R.K. wrote: "I'd go as far as to say that the HAVING read is far greater than the reading of Anna Karenina. I was fortunate enough to have listened to it on audio - all 38 hours of it!"

"Having listened to..." sounds like the greatest accomplishment of all. Well done, you!

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Through Rushing Water by Catherine Richmond