This week I gave you the opportunity to come up with your own topic. I love doing this because then I can visit all the participating blogs and steal your ideas!! Haha, just kidding. That’s not totally the reason. I always get requests for really specific topics that I can’t broaden enough to make them apply to everyone who wants to participate, such as “top ten science fiction books” or “top ten books to read if you liked [insert book title here]”. Not everyone can do those kinds of topics and then they would have to sit out that week. So this week you get to do whatever you want!
Today’s my mom’s birthday, and since she’s my favorite person in the world I figured I’d share with you some of the books she’s read and loved, both as a child and an adult, and recommended to me throughout my life.
To my first and favorite follower:
The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope
Cherry Ames, Student Nurse by Helen Wells
Racoons Are the Brightest People by Sterling North
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Mary Higgins-Clark (all her books)
Virgin River by Robyn Carr (The entire Virgin River series)
Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs (The entire Lakeshore Chronicles series)
Have you read any of these books?
Which books do your mom or dad recommend to you all the time?
What topic did you come up with this week?
Jessica @ A Cocoon of Books
I just read The Thorn Birds! Maybe it’s because I’m a mom now, but I loved it ;)
Jessica @ A Cocoon of Books recently posted…Top Ten Works of Journalistic Nonfiction
Jana
That’s great! I’ve been wanting to read it myself. :)
Alex @ Booksy Daisy
Awww, what a nice tribute to your mom! :) Gone with the Wind has been on my TBR for a long time, but the length is so daunting!
Jana
Right!? It’s soooooo long! I’d love to read it too, but that is an investment!
Kay Wisteria @HammockofBooks
This is so sweet that you made this post for your mom! I haven’t read any of these, but want to read Gone With The Wind at some point in my life. I talked about contemporaries this week because I’m in a fluffy, spring-y mood lately haha.
Kay Wisteria @HammockofBooks recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Real World Reads
Jana
I love fluffy contemporaries! They make me happy. :)
Rissi @ Finding Wonderland
Jana, this topic is SO sweet. Love the idea. THANK YOU for a possible new idea when next you ask us to create new ideas for you to steal. ;)
Rissi @ Finding Wonderland recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | 6 Series I Still Haven’t Read (aka The Top Ten Tuesday Topic I Almost Didn’t Join!)
Jana
Hehe. Thank you! And yes, you can totally steal it if you want. :P
Katie @ Read-at-Home Mom
I love your topic for this week! I actually have that Susan Wiggs book sitting on my nightstand waiting for warm weather so I can sit and read it outside. I’ve never read Gone with the Wind, but it definitely would be on my mom’s list of favorite books too. My post for today is about my favorite endpapers in picture books.
Katie @ Read-at-Home Mom recently posted…Some of My Favorite Picture Book Endpapers
Jana
Thank you!
I’ve only heard wonderful things about the Susan Wiggs series, so I’m definitely wanting to read it soon. I love the topic you chose for this week! Endpapers can be so pretty.
Greg
Aw, that’s a cool way to do this week! And happy birthday to your mom! My mom had the Thorn Birds too, I remember that cover! I know I’ve seen that Sacajawea cover somewhere too. And the Bobbsey Twins and all those old classics… I love seeing those in antique shops, I’m always tempted to buy em for display.
Greg recently posted…Hawkeye Vol. 1 Anchor Points
Jana
Thanks!
I love old books as well. The illustrations on the covers are so fun and vintage. :)
Chrissi Reads
A lovely topic for your Mom! My mum really encouraged me to read which I’m forever grateful for.
Jana
Thank you! I love it when family members are readers as well. It’s fun to share that hobby. :)
Anne@Headfullofbooks
My mom and I share book recommendations, too. This is a very sweet post.
Jana
Thank you! I think I need to do a post in the future on books I’ve recommended to her that she enjoyed. I love sharing recommendations!
RS
That is my absolute favorite Sterling North book; glad to see it get a spotlight!
RS recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday (on a Thursday!)
Jana
I’ve been wanting to read it since I was a kid because my mom loved it so much. I finally bought a used copy last week!
Carol/Reading Ladies
Great topic! I loved Bobbsey Twins when I was young and I also share the love of Gone With the Wind and The Hiding Place and Thornbirds with your mom!
Jana
So fun! I still need to read all of these. :)
Carol (Reading Ladies)
Who knows how Bobbsey Twins would read as an adult?! I might be afraid to find out! 😂😂
But Gone With the Wind and Thornbirds would certainly be fun!
Annemieke
Happy birthday to your mom. :)
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Jana
Thank you!
Lisa @ Captivated Reader
Happy birthday to your mom!!
I’ve read The Thorn Birds and loved it! I want to read Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo.
My mom doesn’t read many books, but she did read and recommend The Wisdom of Sundays by Oprah Winfrey to me.
My topic for this week’s TTT post is ” Books by Authors I Don’t Plan to Read in the Future”.
Jana
Thank you!
I want to read The Thorn Birds and Sacajawea as well. I watch the Thorn Birds mini series with my mom when I was a kid, and I’ve been meaning to get to the book forever.
I like your topic choice. :)
Dani @ Perspective of a Writer
Awww I LOVE that you showcased book that your mom loved!! That is such a great list idea. I talked about hyped books! <3
Jana
Thank you! Your topic is a great idea as well. We’ll be doing hyped books for TTT in the coming months. :)
Lili Marcus
Happy Birthday to your mom… I love your tribute. :) :)
Jana
Thank you! :)
Katie @Just Another Girl and Her Books
I’ve read Gone with the Wind and own like three copies of The Thornbirds because I’ve apparently wanted to read it at least three times.
Happy birthday to your mom!
Katie @Just Another Girl and Her Books recently posted…*Top Ten Tuesday* Classics I Want to Read by 40
Jana
Gone With the Wind is soooo long that I’m totally intimidated. lol. How funny that you have three copies of The Thornbirds! Maybe it’s time to read one of them. :P
Thank you!
Jessica @ a GREAT read
Aww! That’s a sweet post! Those are pretty much new to me books too!
Here’s my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
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verushka
My mum tends to read the books I have these days since she retired! She’s funny how she totally gets into it!
verushka recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Audiobooks I will probably never finish listening to
Jana
That’s fun! I force some of my books on my mom, and it’s fun to discuss them with her. :)
Laura @ Library of Clean Reads
I read The Thorn Birds years ago and I had watched the mini series when I was a teen. My mom only reads Italian so whenever I read a great book I look for it in Italian on Amazon.it and order it for her.
Jana
I watched that mini series as a teen, too, with my mom. I need to read the book now. Which did you like better?
Laura @ Library of Clean Reads
The book has more details, but the mini-series brought it to life. Both were good.
Kay
This is a great topic and Happy Birthday to your Mom! I think she and I must be in the same generation as I’ve read 7 of the books you listed. My mother was not a reader herself, but she taught me to read when I was 4. And she supported my ‘obsession’ with reading all her life. I’m so very grateful to her for that.
Kay recently posted…Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie – Classics Club Read #3
Jana
Thank you!
My mom pushed me to read as well. :) It’s something fun we share.
Jennifer | Book Den
This topic is so sweet! Happy birthday to your mom.
Jennifer | Book Den recently posted…Top Ten April 2018 New Horror Book Releases
Jana
Thank you!
Hamlette
I think your mom and mine would get along really well! She loves Cherry Ames and Corrie Ten Boom and Mary Higgins Clark too :-) Happy birthday to your mom!
Hamlette recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Poetic Justice
Jana
Thank you!
Darlene
Happy Birthday to your mom! I loved the Bobbsey Twins as a kid, and I just read one aloud to my younger daughter.
I intended to tackle Gone with the Wind a couple years ago and joined a read-a-long, but the audiobook is 49 hours!! I couldn’t do it.
Darlene recently posted…Favourite Debut Novels #TopTenTuesday
Jana
Thank you! I found a Kindle bundle of a bunch of the Bobbsey Twins books. I’m excited to read them and see why they’re so great. :)
Gone With the Wind is SO long. It’s kind of crazy!
Nicoline
A really great idea for a topic! And nice recommendations your mom have given you!
Jana
Thank you! I’m excited to tackle them eventually. :)
Lisa of Hopewelll's Public Library of Life
Your mom and I love some of the same books! GWTW (read too many times to count), Thorn Birds (ditto, plus Richard Chamberlain as Ralph in the mini-series!)and the Hiding Place which my son and I listened to in dramatized form. Great list! And, happy birthday “Mom”.
Jana
Wow, you’ve read GWTW multiple times?? I’m impressed! It’s huge!
I did enjoy Richard Chamberlain in the mini series. :)
Thank you!
Zeee @ I Heart Romance & YA
Happy birthday to your mom!
I’m the only reader in the family, so no one really recommends books to me.. I do all the recommending! 😉
I have recommended The Lunar Chronicles and the Throne of Glass series to my husband and he enjoyed them.. 😁😁😄
Zeee @ I Heart Romance & YA recently posted…Favorite Book Covers 2018 Edition
Jana
Thank you!
You chose two great series to recommend to your hubby!
Crystal
My mother loved raccoons, so I read Raccoons are the Brightest People when I was little! (I stole my parents’ books a lot!)
Crystal recently posted…TTT – Top Ten Books by Autistic Authors
Jana
My mom actually got a pet raccoon because of that book! She loved it so much. :)
Helen Murdoch
I haven’t read any of those books, but I LOVED the Thorn Birds mini-series. And “Raccoons are the brightest people” has to be one of the best book titles ever!
Helen Murdoch recently posted…Review: Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
Jana
I really enjoyed the mini series as well!
And yes, such a fun title. :)
Runwright Reads
I love your topic. I also wrote about book recommendations – how I let other bookworms tell me what to read.
Runwright Reads recently posted…I let 5 Booktubers Pick My TBR
Jana
Thank you! I like your topic a lot as well. :)
louise ☆
Happy birthday to your mum! My mum doesn’t read very often these days because she’s glued to her phone (I call her a teenager to tease her, haha) but she does like to read Philippa Gregory’s books because she’s very interested in the Tudor period of English history. My dad, however, tends to read non-fiction books but when he does read fiction it’s either Superman comics from the 50’s and 60’s or the original James Bond books :)
louise ☆ recently posted…10 Backlist Books on My Spring 2018 TBR 🌷
Jana
Thank you! How funny that your mom is the one glued to the phone. Usually it’s the other way around. lol
Flavia
Ahhh I wish I’d thought to ask my mom what her top 10 books are! Maybe for the next freebie haha. I decided to make mine all about my top audiobooks :D
Flavia recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #48: Top Ten Audiobooks & Their Narrators
Jana
I’ll have to check out your topic because I’m ALWAYS looking for good narrators!
Flavia
Yaaay! :D I hope that you’ll find at least one book that works for you!
Flavia recently posted…Backlist Blast #7: Duels & Deception by Cindy Anstey
Sim @ Flipping Through the Pages
I wish my mom was a reader too. In fact, no one in my family is a reader and that sometimes make me feel lonely :P Happy birthday to your mom!
Sim @ Flipping Through the Pages recently posted…Ten Beautiful Libraries I Want to Visit (If I ever get a chance to go on the world tour)!
Jana
I can imagine that that would feel lonely.
Thank you!
Megan @ The Hungry Bookworm
I love this! Happy Birthday to your mom :)
Jana
Thank you!
Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse
I loved that Virgin River series! Your mom has good taste!
Jana
Oh my goodness, she cannot stop talking to me about Virgin River. lol. I need to read them so I can see why she loves them so much!
Joann B Downie
I loved that post of your mom’s books, My mom read the Bobbsey Twins also!!But my mom became a Trekkie in the 70’s so all she read (99%)were Star Trek books, however she also read Dune and I got her to read The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy!! Loved your post!!
Jana
Thank you!
jessicabookworm
My topic this week was: Top Ten… Books I Look Forward to Re-Reading :-)
jessicabookworm recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Books I Look Forward to Re-Reading
Jana
Very fun choice!
Kathy @ My Nook, Books & More
Happy birthday to your Mom! This is a sweet post and I might steal it from you lol. I haven’t read any of these books but I do remember my Mom watching The Thorn Birds. This might have been the first romance I was exposed to.
Kathy @ My Nook, Books & More recently posted…Top 10 Tuesday – It’s Spring! Covers With Flowers
Jana
Thank you! Feel free to steal it. lol.
I watched The Thorn Birds with my mom! It’s a fun mini series.
Kristi
Happy birthday to your mom! What a great tribute to your mom this week. My mom would have several of these on her list as well. I swear she has a Cherry Ames in the basement somewhere!
Jana
Thank you!
Jessie @ Dwell in Possibility
Hope your mom had a lovely birthday! I’m currently reading and enjoying The Thorn Birds.
Jana
Thank you! We had fun. :)
Glad to hear you’re enjoying The Thorn Birds! I plan to read it someday. :)
Hâf
My Dad doesn’t read anything without pictures!! And my mum hasn’t managed to finish a book in years. And my brother doesn’t go anywhere near books! I’m the only reader in the house.
My topic this week was favourite UK bookish Etsy shops.