Pages

▼

Friday, July 10, 2015

Friday Linkups: Mystery Behind the Wall















It's Friday linkup time!  I'm linking up with the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer, Book Beginnings of Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, and the Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice.

This Week's Blogger Hop Question:
If you are in a book club, where do you meet?  A restaurant, someone's home, the library?  If you are not in a book club why not?

My Answer:
I have been in two book clubs and in the first one we met at member's homes and in the 2nd one we met at a restaurant.  I enjoyed the restaurant meeting more for some reason and that one seemed to go on longer.  Both of those were associated with a Mom's Group I was in for awhile and so we were connected by kids and not necessarily common interests.  While I met a lot of great people there were also a number I had nothing in common with and I gradually lost interest in attending and time just got to be in too short of supply.  My local library has several clubs that I'm thinking about trying out at some point.

This week's book is one of my absolute favorites from childhood - Mystery Behind the Wall by Gertrude Chandler Warner.  This week while the Tornado was at story time at the library I was wandering around the children's books and came across the Boxcar Children section.  I had been trying to remember the title of my favorite one not too long ago that essentially involved a scavenger hunt from long ago.  So I was thrilled when I saw this one sitting right on the shelf.  I was even more surprised that it was stamped for the library branch that I used to go to when I was a kid which is completely across the county.  So not only is this one of my favorite books but this is probably THE very book I read!

The Beginning:
"I don't know what to do with myself," exclaimed Benny one day.

My Thoughts:
We're about halfway through summer vacation here and when the older kids were younger and I'm sure when the Tornado is a little bit older I heard this kind of think quite a bit about now.  Something about the middle of summer always seems to drag for kids.

The 56:
"I give up," he said.  And that was something Benny Alden almost never said about anything.

My Thoughts:
I have a vague memory of this book so I do have a feeling Benny will be feeling better soon.  I'm sure one of the other Alden kids will talk some sense into him!

What are some of your childhood favorites?
at

16 comments:

  1. JoAnnJuly 10, 2015 at 7:21 AM

    My book club grew out of a playgroup, too. The kids went to kindergarten and the moms genuinely liked each other and wanted to continue meeting... that was 20 almost years ago! Most of the original members have moved away, but I am still in touch with them. The group has evolved, but is still meeting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cora - Tea Party PrincessJuly 10, 2015 at 8:30 AM

    Aaah, I miss the summer holidays. And I do always remember being bored by the middle of August.
    Cora @ Tea Party Princess

    ReplyDelete
  3. ElizabethJuly 10, 2015 at 8:38 AM

    You should try the library one. I bet you would like it.

    My first library one didn't read books that I really liked so I dropped that one, but I found another library one where we just discuss the books we read for the month. There isn't an assigned book...I like that because I can be in one book club that has an assigned book and the library one where we just read and tell what we liked or didn't like.

    ENJOY your weekend, and I hope you find a book club close by.

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

    ReplyDelete
  4. KayJuly 10, 2015 at 8:41 AM

    What a fun thing that you found a favorite book! Serendipity! Hope you enjoy your revisit with old friends.

    I wish I could invite all my blogging friends to come attend my mystery book group. We have a really good time. And we meet at the library where I used to work. You might check out the book groups at your local library. There could be a good match just waiting for you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Laurel-Rain SnowJuly 10, 2015 at 8:57 AM

    How wonderful to discover a childhood favorite, and with the stamp of your own library. How serendipitous is that!

    I loved The Boxcar Children, and also saw a section with the books in my current library...it was great to see that those books are still around.

    Here is my pick today: “THE PERFECT SON”

    ReplyDelete
  6. BrittanyLJuly 10, 2015 at 9:44 AM

    I do have a book club. It's a few local bloggers. We've been online friends for years and would meet a few times a year at book events and author signings. And we talked on whatsapp everyday. So finally we decided to just start a book club and meet once a month. We usually go for lunch and than end up Chapters(how do you expect a bunch of book nerds to stay away from a book store?). It's fun and we do spend 90% of the time discussing books. Which is what I need since all of my non-blogger friends do not read. :)
    I actually never read The Boxcar Children. Nancy Drew for sure. Babysitter's Club, yup! Although my most favourite and one I read at least once a month was The Naughtiest Girl bind-up(3 books) by Enid Blyton. I really need to buy myself a copy of it for my collection since I have no idea what my mom did with it.
    Happy reading!
    Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anne@HeadFullofBooksJuly 10, 2015 at 10:45 AM

    Very cute book. I have never read a Boxcar Children book. My loss, obviously. Thanks for dropping by.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Breana M.July 10, 2015 at 12:59 PM

    I like the idea of book clubs but I've never been in one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. NicoleJuly 10, 2015 at 4:25 PM

    It is always exciting to stumble across a book you read when younger and loved! Happy Friday!
    Here is my Friday 56:
    http://missdothacker.blogspot.com/2015/07/friday-56-will-pooles-island.html?showComment=1436559616950#c336502453734994566

    ReplyDelete
  10. Literary FelineJuly 10, 2015 at 4:52 PM

    How fun to revisit an old favorite! I don't think I ever read the Boxcar Children books.

    I used to belong to an in person book group and we met in a coffee shop.

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownJuly 10, 2015 at 6:44 PM

    I've heard of this series. I think I have one of the books.

    I'm looking for a local book club now. I miss the gathering together and talking about books.

    My 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/07/10/the-friday-56-68-for-nick-by-taylor-dean/

    ReplyDelete
  12. BeaJuly 10, 2015 at 7:39 PM

    Okay, that's cool that it's probably the same book. :)

    I've yet to find a book club that reads books I'm interested but I like the idea of them.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  13. StormiJuly 10, 2015 at 8:07 PM

    Wish we had a book club around me, downside of living in the country..lol. Hope you having fun with your book. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. guiltlessreaderJuly 11, 2015 at 9:55 AM

    I admire that you're able to join book clubs. I think required reading would personally turn me off, but I think having people to discuss books is such a cool thing to have. I've seen Mystery Behind the Wall many many times but never seem to pick it up or read it! How strange!

    ReplyDelete
  15. fredamansJuly 11, 2015 at 1:44 PM

    I've not heard of this author or book before. Sounds interesting though.
    Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yvonne @ Fiction Books ReviewsJuly 11, 2015 at 5:02 PM

    Hi Katherine,

    I have never really felt the urge to join a bookclub, although talking to friends and colleagues, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of them in the area. I tend to read quite slowly these days, simply from lack of quality time, so would always be stressing about getting a book finished in time!

    I used to spend every Saturday afternoon in the local library as a child and could never wait to finish any homework and go to bed early, so that I could read as much as possible before 'lights out'. These days, whilst I am a firm believer that libraries should be kept open at all costs, I seldom visit my local library, with the majority of any physical books I own having been purchased from local charity shops.

    The British equivalent to Gertrude Chandler Warner from my own youth, would probably be Enid Blyton, although her stories about the 'Famous Five' and 'Secret Seven', always featured more conventional children, who lived as part of a loving family unit. I could never get enough of her books!

    http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/enid-blyton/

    Thanks for sharing your lines and memories, I had a great time :)

    Yvonne

    ReplyDelete