113 books this read -- FREE

I love to read. That much is obvious. But I buy many books at book sales, garage sales, etc. through the year. Of course, there is sometimes a book I want to read that is new or I can't find at the library or a book sale. In that case, I will order it new. On my shelves at the moment are four books I bought new, paying full price.

I'll sell what I can after I read them to re-coup losses. (Most people will tell you that reading is an expensive hobby.) I keep a chart to see how much reading costs me for the year

However, last night I sold the book Authority Abusers . What made this significant is that is not only did I get the last little bit back that I needed to make this a year of FREE reading, but I also made two dollars on my hobby of reading this year. Not a way to get rich, but it's always nice to finish the year in black on anything, including how much spent on books read this year!

Blingo -- a good search engine with REWARDS

I've heard it over and over. People are skeptical of the word "Free". I've heard, "There's no such thing as a free lunch" and "You get what you pay for." Well, that's just not the case when it comes to blingo. I've won some great prizes with them. Back in May I won my choice of an Amazon gift certificate or $25 cash. I've won movie tickets, too. They also give away iTunes downloads, and larger prizes such as iPod shuffles, playstation portables, and portable DVD players. All you have to do is use it as your regular search engine, and sometime you might find yourself with a screen that says you win. It's happened to me EIGHT times! How cool is that? It's one of the neatest sites online.

Click here to sign up:

Civil War Virginia

I was tired last night and decided to pick up whatever book was on my bookstand. There were library books there. I spent time in the children's section last time I was there, and on top was another "Dear America" book. Last night was spent with When Will This Cruel War Be Over? The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864

Reading a book set in the south during the Civil War was very different. I've always heard how the Union was the right side. I never really thought about how the south thought they were right, their dead, etc. I still don't agree with the south, but it helped me think about the fact they were people, too, and not just statistics.

Once again, I'm not sure I'd want a child reading this book, at least not until they were in their teens. The book opens with the girl's brother dying, and before the book ends her mother, uncle, father, and baby cousin all die. I know this was life during the Civil War, but it still was a depressing book.

Journey to Opportunity, Idaho

I have discovered I love the "Dear America" series. It's a fiction series where a girl writes a diary about the events of that time period. I just finished reading West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 I enjoyed this book, but I'm not sure I'd want children to read it. One of the two authors of the diary, a young girl, dies on the way to Idaho. I think children's books should be a little more upbeat. I know death is a part of life, but in a children's book where one of the main characters die, who is likely younger than the reader? I recently read Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan--The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932 and prefered it much more. Although the main character goes blind in this story, there isn't the hardships that are recounded in the "West to a Land of Plenty" book. Still, it was a good book, and I have to admire the pioneers who went west.