My thoughts on To Kill a Mockingbird
I'm running the risk of sounding like a broken record, but I don't know how else to phrase this: how on earth did I miss all of these wonderful books when I was in school? I was in honors classes in high school. I have to admit to not liking those classes because I never understood the focus on "symbolism" and "what the author REALLY means". But what books did we actually read anyway? And why didn't we read some of these classics? Oh well, since I home educate my children I will make certain that they are exposed to these wonderful books! :)I thoroughly enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird. The beginning was slow for me as I struggled to figure out what on earth was going on and who wa

To Kill a Mockingbird: A Summary
To Kill a Mockingbirdby Harper Leepublished 1960Scout and Jem Fitch live in Maycomb, Alabama in 1935. They are being raised by their father, Atticus, a lawyer, with the help of Calpurnia, an African-American lady. One summer, Atticus is assigned to defend Tom Robinson, an African-American man, against charges that he raped and beat Mayella Ewell, a young caucasian woman. The children find themselves dealing with the prejudiced attitudes of friends and family, but Atticus requires them to turn the other cheek. Despite the lack of anything but circumstantial evidence and the words of 3 caucasian witnesses, the jury finds Tom guilty and sentence him to death.

The Twilight Saga and Jane Eyre
I added Jane Eyre to the list of Bella's Bookshelf when I read the following quote from Stephenie Meyer:''I read it when I was nine,'' says Meyer, ''and I've reread it literally hundreds of times. I do think that there are elements of Edward in Edward Rochester and elements of Bella in Jane. Jane was someone I was close to as a child — we were good friends! I think in some ways she was more real to me than any other fictional heroine.'' (Entertainment Weekly)I'm so glad I did. As to the elements of Edward and Jane in Edward and Bella, that was a little trickier for me, except for one glaring exception: neither of the individuals seems to s

My thoughts on Jane Eyre
I thoroughly enjoyed this month's selection for Bella's Bookshelf! My enthusiasm waned while reading The Prince and the Pauper last month, and to be honest, I never even finished it. And while I loved Little Women the month before, that really touched my heart as a mother more than as a woman and a reader. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, as Little Women will always stick with me, but it was sometimes quite convicting to read the way Marmee handled herself with her daughters and in her situations compared to the way I handle those things.Jane Eyre was a completely different experience! I had a hard time getting into the story

Jane Eyre - A Summary
Jane Eyreby Charlotte Brontefirst published in 1847Jane Eyre was rendered an orphan following the death of her parents. She was left in the care of her uncle and his family and, upon his death, was horribly mistreated by her aunt and cousins. At the age of 10, her aunt sent her to live at a charity boarding school for orphans. There the mistreatment took on a new style in the form of poor living conditions. However, Jane made friends and found a mentor. Soon word got out about the conditions at the school and improvements were made. Jane continued to live there and eventually taught at the school for a couple of years.When her mentor left to g