May selection: Laddie, by Gene Stratton Porter

On May 18, we'll be discussing Lisa's choice:

Laddie, A True Blue Story (1913) by Gene Stratton Porter is a wonderful and semi-autobiographical novel of siblings, family bonds, struggles and loves, learning and nature, and the complex joys of growing up in the country at the turn of the past century. Little Sister tells us the story of her brother Laddie, and the whole family is glimpsed through her loving eyes. A classic uplifting tale of self-discovery for all ages.

Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924), American novelist and naturalist, was born on a farm in Indiana and became one of Indiana's best-known authors. Writing fiction to support her passion for observing natural habitats, she also wrote non-fiction works that extensively dealt with birds, flowers, and other natural wonders. She fought for the conservation of the Limberlost Swamp and took up other cases of public welfare as well. A Girl of the Limberlost (1909) and Freckles (1904) are two of her most famous works. Amazon product review

You shouldn't have any trouble finding this in the library, but it can be read and downloaded several places online: Project Gutenburg (ebook), Google books, The Literature Network, Classic Reader, Questia.

Page Turner's review of The Book Thief

From Heather's Lines From the Page blog, posted December 17, 2008: "In the past few weeks I mentioned to a few people that I was reading a book that was narrated by Death. That got a few odd looks, so I'd quickly try to explain that it wasn't as morbid as it sounded; it was really quite good, in fact. Maybe I convinced some of them..." Continue reading