Anne of Green Gables, some challenges, the library, and other stuff

Over the weekend I FINALLY finished Anne of Green Gables. This is a book that I never read as a child, and over and over I hear about how wonderful it is, and how it's everyone's favorite. I've had a copy for years, but didn't get around to reading it until this year's TBR Challenge. (That's right! I read a challenge book!) Don't shoot me, but eh. I had to force myself to read it. I did not begin to enjoy it until Anne STOPPED TALKING SO MUCH. Which means I liked the last few chapters. I was tired of the whole "Gil- other people" thing way too early. After finishing it, I'd love to have someone email me the summary of the rest of the series, because I want to know, but I don't want to read it myself. Or if someone could tell me specifically which book has the romance in it, I might read that one. I think I might have liked it as a child, but as an adult it bored me. I'm discovering that I don't really love descriptive books. Oh sure there are some, but they are usually about specific locations (The South and New Orleans, mainly.)

As you may have noticed, I've recently started reading a lot of Young Adult fiction. Some of it bores me too, but not nearly as much as Anne did, or as much as Little Women did. What makes a book turn into a classic? Which of the books I'm reading now will be a classic? Will any of them? If I reread Pippi Longstocking and Harriet the Spy am I doomed to be disappointed?

One of my personal goals for the year was to read 52 books this year. Last year I read 47 (or was it 48?) This is my 52nd book, so I am 3.5 months ahead of schedule. The full list can be found here.

Last weekend the Monkey and I did a lot of fun stuff together. One of our stops was at the library where I checked out WAY TOO MANY books. I checked out half a dozen YA novels for myself. His Monkiness and I discovered the kid's dinosaur books and he Very Carefully selected 10 or so of them. I am not sure what his criteria are, but there was definate choosing going on. I love that he loves stuff so passionately. We also hit a small Fall Festival, where he had his first encounter with a bouncy house.

What else? I made a new bag, it's so darling that I want to use it myself, but it's too small for all my mommy crap. There are pictures of it over here. I made a slipcover for the ottoman that turned out really well, despite the fact that I was making it up as I went.

All in all, a very successful weekend!