I Want All the Books!

I vividly remember the day that a book first captivated me. Mama sat me down, handed me Little House in the Big Woods, and told me to read for an hour. I was less than thrilled, not sure what the "big woods" were all about, but certain that the "big words" would be dry and dull. Several hours later I had to be pried from the pages, and I was hooked for life. 

So in the spirit of sharing this passion with you, today I am answering a book-lover's tag! (I compiled the questions from several different sources.)

1. Name a book you’re embarrassed to say you haven’t read yet.

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.  Somehow, someway, I have read every other Narnia book except for this one...

2. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

The receipt for the book itself.

3. Look at your bookshelf. What’s the first book you see with a yellow spine?

My beautiful Anna-Bond-illustrated edition of Heidi.
 
4. If you could have one new book from a deceased author, who would it be?

This is difficult, but I will choose Jane Austen. I still haven't read all of her books, as I am legitimately concerned about my mental state when I finish the final page of her final book and realize I have to go the rest of my life without a new Jane Austen. So I resort to rationing myself to an Austen a year and admitting that I am a weird book nerd.

5. Name an author who deserves more readership.

G.K. Chesterton, without a doubt. Have you read his books? If not, get thee to a bookstore or library and pick up The Man Who Was Thursday!

6.  Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I want to be a bookmark person, I really do. But most of the time I resort to a random piece of paper (or receipt, as the case may be!).

7. Can you stop anywhere in a book or do you have to finish the chapter?

Anywhere is fine unless the chapters are quite short.

8.  One book at a time or several?

Always several!  Currently reading: The Innocence of Father Brown and The Book That Made Your World.

9.  Do you read ahead or skip pages?

Gasp. Is skipping allowed?

10.  Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

Keep it like new as long as possible!

11. What books do you regret reading?

The Light that Failed by Rudyard Kipling. It was one of those books that you keep trudging through, sure that it cannot get any worse, and that after the main character loses his childhood sweetheart, goes blind, and finds his last masterpiece destroyed by a bitter servant there must be some redeeming ending. But then he died in his best friend's arms, and I was angry at Rudyard Kipling for a year.

12. On average, how many books do you read per year?

I don't really know. Up to 30, I would guess.

13. What book can you read hundreds of times and never get tired of?

The Scarlet Pimpernel--It is the best adventure/mystery tale ever!

14. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from a book?

I read the old book Ester Ried when I was 11, and it played a huge part in my maturing process from a baby Christian to a dedicated Christ-follower.  It made me realize that I could be sleep-walking through life without even realizing it, stagnant and unfruitful while thinking that I was fine. This book woke me up to the reality of living for Christ daily.

15. What is the most recent book you’ve read?

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I only decided to trust Kipling again because I wanted to read the original story before I watched the new movie, and I actually very much enjoyed it!

16. What quote from any book will you never forget? Why is it significant?

“In all they said, in their actions, in their looks, in their persons, could be detected a soft spot, the place of decay, the determination to lounge safely through existence.” -Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim

The book itself was very forgettable, but this quote has stuck with me as a challenge, for I never want this to be true of me.

17. How many books do you own?

Hold on...3 hours later...a total of only 218 books. "Hi, I'm Lauren, and I'm addicted to real books. Kindle just won't cut it."

18. Of the past year, what is the greatest book you’ve read?

The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization by Vishal Mangalwadi. Although I am not quite done reading this tome, it is one of those books that I find myself constantly bringing up in conversation or referencing in my own mind as I observe culture around me. It is a truly amazing read by an incredible man from India who challenges the West from the perspective of someone from the East, saying, "The Bible created the modern world of science and learning because it gave us the Creator's vision of what reality is all about. That is what made the modern West a reading and thinking civilization. Postmodern people see little point in reading books that do not contribute directly to their career or pleasure. This is a logical outcome of atheism, which has now realized that the human mind cannot possibly know what is true and right. This book is being published with a prayer that it will help revive a global interest in the Bible and in all the great books."

So let's start a revival of global interest in all the great books together! If you are a fellow book-lover, I would greatly enjoy hearing your answers to these questions! So comment below with your thoughts or do the tag on your blog and comment with the link so I can get some new book ideas.

Now, if you don't mind, I think I have some books to read!

{Right Now I Am}

Seeing...my messy bedroom
Hearing...the swoosh of air through my vent
Smelling...smoke on my clothes from tonight's bonfire
Tasting...my s'more!
Needing...sleep
Wanting...this shirt
Regretting...not finding music earlier for a duet with Micah.
Feeling...tired
Wishing...I was with Joel.
Thinking...about Joel
Laughing...with my siblings at how stupid I looked in Fred Meyer this evening as I uttered several sentences in a busy aisle. The strange glances from fellow shoppers caused me to look around and realize that Lauren was not behind me as I had thought, and I was talking out loud to myself.
Recovering...from an energy-sucking cold.
Believing...God is good!
Anticipating...my wedding!
Dreaming...about seeing Joel
Praying...for the freedom of Meriam Ibrahim
Reading...Love Letters from Cell 92: The Correspondence Between Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer, 1943-45

Singing..."All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"
Wearing...a coral swiss dot skirt with a bright teal t-shirt
Preparing... for my students' recital this Friday
Remembering...my fun Saturday in Seattle with dear friends this weekend
Trying...the gluten-free diet (a month into it now!)
Questioning...the Scriptural soundness of the popular "I-went-to-heaven-and-came-back" stories
Fearing...to open the letter from my library. I knew I should have returned that book sooner!
Loving...Joel

Googling...swiss dot *grin* I had to make sure it meant what I thought it meant!
Choosing...to see the bright side of the 80-plus days that remain between now and the wedding
Working...with darling children and one charming 88 year-old man as students is the best job ever
Emailing...my dad (is anyone else guilty of emailing someone in the same house?)
Sewing...nothing. That's the problem--I have a scarf, a dress, and a camisole I should be sewing!
Texting...I hardly text : )
Cracking...my ankle 
Considering...wedding invitations
Turning...certain responsibilities over to others. Delegation is not my strong suit, but I can see it is going to be essential to survive the next few months!
Reducing...my summer schedule
Longing...to see Joel
Suffering...from regular headaches but glad to be free of them today
Recognizing...that I am only responsible for my actions--but I am responsible for my actions.
Checking...with wedding photographers
Organizing...the recital, my wedding, my last month of teaching, and where my students will go for lessons after I'm done
Practicing...patience
Reckoning...how many hours of sleep I'll get tonight
and
Smiling... about how blessed I am.

Idea taken from Olivia at Fresh Modesty

Bibliophilia

Bookstore in Amsterdam, Photo Credit

In which Mikaela and I wax longer than usual, have more fun than should be allowed, make complete fools out of ourselves for you, answer some of your questions, and discuss one of our greatest loves: books.  Now that you know the topic, don't you think we deserve an Oscar simply for keeping our vlog from verging on feature-length film territory?  Please remember that in real life we move around a lot more, say things in unison more often, and talk about books for even longer periods of time.  'Nuff said! 

Now it's your turn!  We compiled these questions at random from here and here.  But now we tag all of you to answer these delightful queries and then tag as many people as you so desire!  Our alterior motive in all of this being, of course, that we may discover some new literary gems through your answers! 

Bibliophilia Tag Questions:

1. Which book are you currently reading? And why did you choose that book?
2. Have you ever bought a book just for the cover? And if so which one?
3. Which book-to-film/TV show transition did you think was done the best?
4. If you are a writer, where does your inspiration come from?
5. Who do you think is the funniest or most villainous character Jane Austen ever created?
6. Which author do you own the most books by?
7. How many books do you own?
8.  Is there any one thing that you think could have been improved upon in one (or all) of Jane Austen's books? What is it and why?
9. What is your favourite genre of book?
10. What is your favorite Jane Austen quote?

Don't forget to enter our ongoing giveaway for one of Mikaela and my favorite books and a gift certificate for beautiful music!  You can enter here until midnight, PST, on Monday March 5. 

Aha Moments

Photo Credit

Sarah asked during our last blogoversary,* "I would love to see a blog post on "aha" moments while teaching." At first, the question puzzled me. Aha moments? Those are few and far between, let me tell you. There is much flashcard drilling and posture reminding and scale assigning, but I hardly ever get the privilege of seeing a light bulb moment with one of my students where everything I have been teaching suddenly falls into place for them. Then I realized that the aha moment is as much about me, the teacher, as it is about my kids, the students. So, in no particular order--here are some memorable aha moments for me and my violin and piano students from the last five years of teaching. 

• Getting formal training (Suzuki Teacher Training for violin and a Piano Pedagogy class for piano)! I still have lots to learn, but I sure have learned a lot!

• Practice recital. Why not have all my kids come together a few weeks before the recital to play music-related games, eat snacks, talk about performance techniques, and play their songs for each other in order? It eases their nerves, motivates them to have the songs performance-ready sooner than the day before, and gives me another chance to hang out with some of my "favoritest" people.

• Intervalic music reading. It had been years of slow plodding in the music-reading department for one of my students, and then one day, as he struggled yet again with reading a song-in-progress, I called out the interval of the next note. A whole new world opened up for him, and we have never looked back.

• Practice sheets, a practice chart, and a practice contest. Where have you been all my life, you wonderful motivators of practice, you? I implemented the practice sheets last fall, now writing all the week's assignments in a handy graph and specifying exactly how many times per day everything is to be attended to. Throughout the week, my kids mark in their days every time they practice, and now I have an easy way to keep them accountable for practicing, and they have an organized method for referring to assignments! The practice chart/contest, which started in January and continues until June, involves a poster-board sized chart and graphs every student's practice days. The accountability and multiple awards and prizes up for grabs (most days practiced, most consecutive days practiced, most practice by a beginner, and most practice over a weekend) have been a wonderful motivator for the kids as well!

• Double joints were not a pleasant aha moment, but they were one nonetheless. How to keep those pesky joints curved, firm, and strong when they want to be angular, mushy, and weak? At least now that I've identified the problem in my students, I can work on fixing it with all manner of strengthening exercises (play dough, gathering up an entire sheet of newspaper in one hand, and "OK" signs with all five fingers play prominent roles in these exercises).

• Alfred's Premiere Piano Course--my dream piano curriculum, which is very much a reality in my studio!

• Anything can be a game if your attitude is right, and my students and I love our games.

• One of my students was in for a rude awakening when she engaged me in a battle of the will--she underestimated my stubbornness, however, and her aha moment has gained me respect and obedience in every lesson since.

• Watching some of my students take off with their composition project and come back with incredible, beautiful pieces. I am inspired by my students every week.

* This is the very last unanswered question! It has been challenging and inspiring to answer everyone's questions from last year, and we hope that you have more on your mind, because--believe it or not--our blog anniversary is next week, and will be full of special guest posts, giveaways, and an opportunity for your questions.

Photograph Credit: Nathan Russell. Used by permission under the Creative Commons License.

Elements of Stylish Blogging

Both Lauren and I have loved writing since we were five or six, when we penned “books” and peddled them to our customers (read: parents). Since then, we have continued to work on books, together and separately, have written a great deal for high school and college, and have participated in a myriad of writing contests. And of course, there has been One Bright Corner which has allowed us to hone our writing every single week for the past 2 ½ years. We are certainly not the most experienced, successful, or excellent writers you will find, but if passion compensates for other areas of weakness, then we are good to go!

Photo Credit

During our blogoversary, Ruthie had this question for Lauren and me: "I would love to someday read your tips and ideas for writing a good blog post. It is obvious you have penned some good posts, considering your large following and being named 'Blog of Note.'" Ruthie herself is an excellent writer, so I'm somewhat baffled as to why she would ask us for writing tips, but I will do my best. There are certainly some principles we have kept in mind all this time, and they seem to have worked well, so I’ll share them now in hopes that they might help you!

Watch Your Length

The internet is synonymous with “short attention span,” and even I am guilty of SAS when combing through blogs. As I start to read and scroll and read and scroll, the likelihood of making it to the end becomes less and less. We always aim for one Microsoft Word page (500-600 words); if your post is longer, consider breaking it up into a series or editing for clarity and precision.

Mind Your Linguistics

Always take the time to spell check your blog post, but even that isn’t enough. Comb the post carefully for typos, rambling, punctuation errors, and such. Go easy on the emoticons, and avoid them whenever possible—challenge yourself to express your meaning using a thesaurus rather than a colon and parenthesis!

I usually know what I’m blogging on three to four days in advance, and I spend those days mulling over my chosen topic and planning my approach. I aspire to write engaging, interesting posts that inspire and convict, and are easy to grasp, yet do not sink to sloppiness. These are tough goals that I do not always attain, or even usually attain, but taking the time to plan and even outline my blog post helps immensely.

Obtain Help

Without fail, Lauren and I proofread each other’s articles, and this has proved invaluable. Many are the times the other person will catch an error or point out a misunderstood statement. In the blogging world, where so much is instant and so little can be taken back, it is always wonderful to have another person with whom to cogitate. Even more importantly, however, is God's feedback. Do not neglect to seek guidance and help from God and His Word; ascertain that every point you make is Biblically based, or leave it out.

Of course, there are other things we work on too, like eye-pleasing formatting; eye-catching pictures; consistency in posting; citing all pictures, quotes, and information sources used; and enjoying further conversation with our readers in the comment section. These and all the other principles I shared are certainly not rules, and they are not boxes that we manage to check confidently with every single blog post. You will find typos, lengthy and uninteresting posts, and statements that can be misunderstood if you look for them! Neveretheless, these are the goals Lauren and I work towards every single week, and I hope you have found them helpful yourself!

Photo Credit: Bob Aubuchon

Guess What?

Lilla sweetly tagged us with this "Stylish Blogger Award."  Behold this gleaming model of style:

Along with this award, I am charged with sharing seven utterly random and little known facts about myself.  Here are my self-absorbed nuggets:

1. On past April Fool’s days, I have frosted a foam cake and hidden little frogs around the house, but I have yet to pull a truly epic prank. Those sorts of things are years in the making, so let's just say that someday…In the meantime I find delight in Google's yearly pranks.

2. When I was younger, for some reason I thought that one typically graduated at age 16. I still remember the devastating day that I found out the typical age of graduation from high school was actually 18. My first words upon learning this sad truth? “What a waste!” I graduated at age 17.

3. I am going to be the shortest person in my family. It’s my destiny, and there is no escaping it. I’m a nice 5 foot 2 ½, but Mikaela has me beat, and my little sisters are my height if not a bit taller right now.

4. I am an incorrigible girly girl in my tastes. Pink lipstick, cute earrings, fluffy skirts, flower in my hair…  What can I say?  I love my femininity! 

5. Right now I am taking “Financial Freedom” in school. With Scripture memory work, lectures to watch, interviews with other people, and essays to write, I am keeping busy and learning a lot. Anyone else out there Dave Ramsey nerds?

6. My favorite passage of Scripture has, for the past several years, been Isaiah 43. In my Bible next to that passage I wrote, “I am in love with God, and He with me.” The end of verse one on to verse two just overwhelms my heart:

“‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.’”

7. I finished my 123 page novel when I was twelve about a family of nine children during the Great Depression. At that ripe young age I had nearly completed several other books with Mikaela. One was a mystery having something to do with logging and twins, and the other was a time travel story back to the era of Daniel in the Bible. Both of these stories we decided one random day to delete in order to save space on the computer. This seemed to make so much sense at the time, but now it would head my “Biggest Regrets” list.

I hereby tag these ladies:
Sarah of Lord's Lass
Samantha of Tea and Ink
Ruthie of Journey of Faith

And I hereby tag all of you who read One Bright Corner--I would love to read your zaniest facts and anecdotes about yourself! 


Picture Credit: daniel_pfund

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Freeze Tag!

When I was ten or so, my favorite game in the world was freeze tag. At church family camp, we kids would fill our stomachs, grab a few cookies for the road, and promptly dash down the hill for a good round of freeze tag. These days, I'm more on the side of the old fuddy-duddys at whom I once shook my head for preferring to watch on the sidelines while their food settled. However, I'm still game for a frolicking round of tag once in a while--just not right after a meal. In that spirit, Rebecca at Pressing On has tagged us with the Honest Scrap Award. Pleased because Mikaela and I desire to be nothing if not honest, we humbly accept the award and share ten absolutely, undisputably honest things about ourselves that will bring a grin to your face and raise an eyebrow in surprise at the same time. Maybe. Or not.

I'll go first.

1. Natalie Wickham interviewed me on her Pajama School blog!
2. I love orchids, and although I only have one right now, I am carefully scoping out which one to get next!
3. I'm currently listing to The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton from Project Gutenberg on my MP3 player. So far, although I may not agree with every philosophic point, it is very thought provoking.
4. I chose the caramelized pear and toasted pecan ice cream. Yum!
5. In my time with the Lord, I am studying what the Bible has to say about a woman’s role in the church service or prayer meeting. To speak or not to speak, to pray aloud or not to pray—that is the question!
   

Mikaela:

6. I have a habit of “playing” with a sheet of cloth with my hands whenever they are not busy. Over and over, up and down, around and around. It’s weird, I know.
7. Isaiah is my favorite book of the Bible…currently. It’s also the book I just finished reading. Connection?
8. In the last few years, I’ve suddenly begun liking country songs (a select few). Is something wrong with me?
9. I have always wanted to be a wife and mother, but before I realized that was a life vocation in and of itself, I wanted to be a hairdresser.
10. Pairs of shoes I own: 16. Pairs of shoes that should be in the garbage can: 5. Pairs of flip-flops: 4. Thus, pairs of REAL shoes I own that do not belong in the garbage can: 7.

Finally, out of breath from running and delighted to keep the tag going, we hereby award Sarah of Princess Prints, Ruthie of Journey of Faith, and Abby of A Light to Follow the Honest Scrap award. They must then share ten honest things about themselves and tag seven (did I say seven? :) people whose blogs they admire. Happy tagging!

25 Things You Probably Don't Know

Rebecca, from Pressing On, tagged us, which means that we must post twenty-five things that our readers probably don't know about us. To make it easier on ourselves, we decided to split it into halves: the first twelve will be mine, the next twelve Lauren's, and the final one will be shared. ;-) Let's begin!

1. Let’s just get the “can’ts” over with: I can’t whistle. I’ve tried—and tried—and tried. I’m just a hopeless case. ;-)
2. I can’t cartwheel (or stand on my head).
3. In addition to playing violin and piano, I can also play viola (under duress).
4. I have never read all of Little Women. I’ve begun it countless times, and always love it, but…
5. The thing that most irritates me is when people lick their fingers before turning a page. Gross!
6. My earliest memory is the birth of Melanie, my younger sister. I remember staying at my aunt and uncle’s house while Mom was at the hospital, and I remember going to the hospital to see her. I was one month shy of my third birthday.
7. I once ran away as a child because I was upset that my house did not have stairs (having lunch I disliked didn’t help, either). Mom watched me go, thinking I wouldn’t actually do it, and then ran after me when I took off! She called to me, “Mikaela, you forgot your coat.” Oh, yeah—better go back and get that, huh?
8. I have never broken a bone.
9. I have kept a journal since I was nine.
10. I never drink my herbal tea with sweetener; I sometimes take my black tea with a small (small) amount of honey.
11. I had never cut my hair (besides minimal trims) until I was fourteen.
12. My favorite number is seven. What can I say? It’s odd (who likes even?), used less often than other numbers, and represents perfection (seven days of creation, etc.)!
13. I have extreme Morton’s Toe (look it up on Wikipedia). However, don’t feel too sorry for me, because it is a sign of royalty and even the Statue of Liberty has it!
14. I put my seatbelt on strangely and have endured much mocking for this habit. (I pull the shoulder belt behind my head, buckle it, and then pull the shoulder belt in front.)
15. As a child, I stuffed a French fry up my nose.
16. I can claim relation to John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Samuel Adams.
17. I have been known to go look something up in the encyclopedia, get distracted, and read through the entries until I snap back to reality.
18. My favorite books of the Bible are Isaiah and I John, but don’t ask me my favorite verse, because we’ll be here all day!
19. I love people that follow and comment on One Bright Corner!!
20. My childhood dream was to become an author, and I even finished a 130 page novel set in the Great Depression.
21. My favorite historical Christian figures include Eric Liddell, Darlene Deibler Rose, and Amy Carmichael.
22. I learned to read when I was four and have never stopped since!
23. As far as I know, I’m only allergic to one thing: a certain kind of deodorant.
24. I once started reading the Lewis and Clark journals, determined to finish them. However, I cood not quyte endoor the speling and punktuashon. (-:
25. Until we were 18, we had never spent a single, whole night apart from one another (i.e., in different locations, not just different rooms). So far, we still have only spent a grand total of one night apart.

And that's about it, folks! When you comment, it would be great fun for us to hear 5 (or 10 or...) things that we might not know about you. Please share! ;-)
Oh, and we hereby tag Jacqueline.