Just look at this forlorn book. I bought if for a whopping $1 recently.
The cover is old and frayed, but it still retains it’s lovely illustrations.
I handle the book as gently as I would a frail friend.
Most people passed by this book, noting it’s condition and age and rejected it. However, when I saw it, my heart skipped a beat.
You see, I read Benedict and Nancy Freedman’s book, Mrs. Mike
I read the book for the first time as a teenager. Since then, I’ve read the book several times over the years, and the story never gets old. The book is an adventure, a love story, a portrait of the beauty and ferocity of nature, a saga about loss, enduring love, and hope. This book is not all sweetness and light — but real life isn’t!! — and for that reason, I highly recommend it for any teenager or adult — in fact, while researching this post, I discovered that lesson plans
Anyway, like many book lovers everywhere, I love to share great books with friends. Thus, the reason for this post and for the giveaway.
To enter, simply comment below and tell me about one of your favorite books. Easy! You could be one of FIVE lucky winners who will receive a copy.
The giveaway ends in one week on May 27th at 5 pm CST. If you’re a winner, you’ll receive your book in the mail shortly thereafter. Just don’t be surprised if the book is used and ahem, not in the best condition.
[Update: The winners are: Jane Ellen, Alice Long, Drue Cochran, Kelly Windus, and Jill Palumbo.]
P.S. This post does contain affiliate links.
After raising 5 kids I have rediscovered reading. So many wonderful books. Favorites? Not possible. Here are good ones that come to mind and recently read
Unbroken Lauren Hilenbrand
Seabiscuit Lauren Hilenbrand A GREAT author
Taking on the Sufferings of Christ John Piper Biographical sketches of missionaries
Bonhoffer, Pastor, Martyr, Spy Eric Metaxus A ture account of a German Pastor during WW2
The Book of Missionary Heroes by Basil Mathews Free on kindle Amazing adventures
The Hole in Our Holiness Kevin DeYoung
Thank you Kim, I’ll put Mrs. Mike on my list. Have a wodnerful day.
Isn’t it wonderful?? I remember after I graduated college, I had NO interest in reading whatsoever. I was so burned out on having to read for my classes that it took me years to get interested in reading fiction again. Now, I’m reading as much as I used to as a child. Well, maybe not THAT much — I am an adult now with responsibilities after all.
My favorite book is Refuge by Dot Jackson. Hard to find,written by a lady who lives in a small town in South Carolina. Fabulous book. Just like your blog….Fabulous read.
I’ve put it on my reading list! I’ll hunt for it at thrift stores and discount bookstores.
Hi Kim
I am a READER for sure. Books are my best friends. My all time favorite has to be To Kill a Mockingbird. Side note here , Harper Lee was in a interview with a Readers Digest reporter and they referred to her HIT as To Kill a Humingbird , after that she stopped giving interviews. That really kills me.
Love your blog and your vintage ways.
That’s so funny! I’d never heard that before. It’s true: you do learn something new every day.
Now that is hard as I enjoy so many different venues. But I seriously love romance novels and my favorite is by Judith McNaught titled Paradise. Sappy I know but oh so good.
We all need a sappy read now and then, don’t we. Well, at least I do!
My books are cherished friends! Loved Mrs. Mike! Need to find a copy to read again!
I absolutely feel exactly the same way, Ellen. I hope to have more favorite book giveaways in the future.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. 🙂
Hi Kim,
Had not heard about this book, it sounds like a wonderful book to me. I’d love to locate a copy of it somewhere….must check out Amazon.com.
I have never been an avid reader, but always loved poetry. My mom had a some books that I loved as a youth, “WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG” by A. A. Milne, “AN OLD SWEETHEART OF MINE” , by James Whitcomb Riley, which I now have and another that I never could locate in her collection of poetry which included a poem about the wind….one line being ” I ask my pa about the wind, what made it blow…..and he said ‘Oh you’re too young to know’. ” I think the title of that poem was “Oh, You’re Too Young To Know”, someday I’ll see if I can find it somewhere.
Anyway, my very favorites were “Little Women” and “Gone With The Wind” . My mom had a copy of “Gone With The Wind” she had purchased when she and dad went to the opening at the theater in Monroe, LA, in 1939 and it’s the entire screen play edition…including beautiful pictures and character parts line by line. I have her copy, but it has really suffered over the years and unfortunately my dad repaired the binding with duct tape, of all things!
I remember reading a book “Summer of the Monkeys” to our 3 children when they were little. It was written by the same author who wrote”Where the Red Fern Grows”. Rawls I think. Its a book about a brother who sacrificed his strong wants(a paint horse) to give his younger sister a surgery to repair her leg. I don’t know if our kids remember the book but I remember “choking up” in parts as I read it to them. It made a lasting impression on me.
Funny how children’s books can do that. The children’s book that made me cry buffalo tears was Charlotte’s Web. I loved . . . LOVE that book so much.
Believe it or not, I have never read many classics like Gone With The Wind and Five Smooth Stones. I must read them!
I too read Mrs. Mike when I was a teenager and loved it. I am going to reread it after reading your blog. Thanks, Carol
How funny and ironic. I think it may be time for me to re-read it again, too, Carol. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!
Not sure I can pick a favorite book, I have favorite authors, especially Southern authors like Eugenia Price, Ferrol Sams, and Margaret Mitchell. My absolutely favorite book is a hymnal from 1909 that belonged to my Great-Great Grandfather. Nothing like an old book, but when it belonged to an ancestor, I cherish them even more.
Your comment reminded me of a book I read many years ago that was once owned by my Grandpa: Comanche Kid by E.B. Mann. Such a great read. I remember the pages were so brittle that if I wasn’t extra gentle with the pages, the paper would literally break off in your hands like a crisp cracker. I gave it to my brother last Christmas because he’s always loved Westerns . . . and our Grandpa of course.
Good morning Kim! I too love books…one of my most vivid memories is starting 1st grade and getting a little tour of the library…I can see it in my mind right now…and can still smell the books…and feel the excitement of a whole room full of books to choose from…but…which one first! The first book that comes to my mind when I think of “favorite” is “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant…a breathtakingly beautiful story with it’s roots in the bible. I have put Mrs. Mike on my to read list…whether I win or not :–)
When I was a kid, going to the school and county libraries were highlights of my life, so I can definitely relate. I read voraciously as a child because I was raised in a TINY town, and there was literally not much to do.
Growing up my favorite book was Little Women. I read it over and over and like most girls reading it, I wanted to be like Jo. I also loved the Little House on the Prairie books and the Nancy Drew books. As I got older Charles Dickens became my favorite author, and my favorite short story is Christmas Memories by Teuman Capote.
But right now my favorite book is a collection of short stories by Craig Johnson called Wait For Signs. My husband of 33 years passed away unexpectedly two days before Thanksgiving. He had gotten this book for me for Christmas and had wrapped it before he died. He bought me a lot of books through the years, some classics, some current, some fiction and some biographical like the two he gave me last Christmas about LBJ and Lincoln.
Thank you for having the giveaway and for sharing the book with us. I live in central Texas in a tiny house and enjoy your blog.
Oh my gosh, the story about your husband and the book he wrapped for you touched my heart! I’m a strong believer that there is no such thing as coincidence. I even blogged about it once. 🙂
I have always been a voracious reader, but my younger sister was not. I had to laugh at your post because Mrs. Mike was the ONLY book she EVER read from beginning to end!! She introduced ME–the addicted reader– to that book. I taught 7th and 8th grade language arts for over 25 years, and I KNOW I had to replace the paperback Mrs. Mike so many times! Now I am retired with my own Little Free Library in my yard for neighborhood readers and would LOVE this copy to add to my selection. Thanks for the memory! (My personal favorite to teach was STARGIRL by Jerry Spinelli. My favorite to read is BEACH MUSIC by Pat Conroy)
I’ve entered you in the giveaway! I’d love to imagine who might pick up the book and read it and how it might change their lives. Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting!
Choose one book? You’ve got to be kidding! Ninety-five % of my total personal possessions are books! I would be happy to give them away in exchange for a digital copy just to lighten the load. I cannot choose one book. I can narrow it down to 2! Books that made an impression on me were Ghost Fox by James Houston. A story occurring in pioneer America where an white female is kidnapped by Indians, her will to survive, and finally her integration in to the Indian community. My other favorite is Merchant Princes by Leon Harris. Its all about the “intimate history of Jewish families” that went on to create some of America’s most famous department stores, their struggles, their scandals……
You know, I haven’t gone digital yet and I don’t know if I ever will. I just love holding a book, smelling the paper, marking passages that I love to re-read, etc. Maybe one day I’ll decide to get a Kindle, but so far, I am not convinced I will like it.
Thanks so much for your book recommendations! I’ve added them to my list.
Hi Kim,
Hi Kim,
I love to read! I have a stack of books just waiting to be read. As a child I loved the Box Car Children.
Currently my favorite book is anything Mitch Albom (I may have misspelled his name) writes. I loved his book titled One More Day, because I would give anything to have that one more day with my dear, wonderful ,sweet Mother as the character in the book got to have.
Blessings,
Shelly
I’ve read only one of Mr. Alborn’s books — his first. I’ll have to check out the one you’ve mentioned — I hadn’t heard of it, and it sounds really special.
I couldn’t believe it when I saw the title “Mrs. Mike”!! I too, read the book as a teenager and never forgot it. I came across a copy of it years ago and have re-read it several times. As you say, a love story but real life in the Canadian wilderness runs through it. Did you ever see the 1949 movie based on the novel starring Evelynn Keyes and Dick Powel?
I have not seen the movie, but I dashed over to Netflix to see if it is available. Unfortunately not. Bummer!
OMG Kim, of all books to write about you picked my favourite too! I love Mrs. Mike, read it as a late teen. Wonderful book and many years after reading I wanted to read it again. Sadly my mother had downsized from the family home and it was donated. I have never found another copy, though I have looked. While my fav book there are others too, some better known from authors like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, Alexander Dumas. Most stem from childhood like Where the Red Fern Grows, The Last Buffalo and Black Beauty. But as a you g adult I read Ten Lost Years about the Depression and stories recounted by those that lived through it. Like old friends, books bring great memories!
The book you recommended about the Depression sounds very good, and that’s saying alot because I don’t usually read non-fiction. I’ll check it out!
How exciting, I love it when I find a treasure in an excepted place. I can never remember not loving books, the smell, feel, the emotions and the comfort that old favorites bring. My favorite fiction books would have to be the Mitford series by Jan Karon. These books have changed my life. I reread them often and listen to them on disc in my car just as often. Thank you for sharing this book and your memories with us. Have a blessed day!
Wow! That’s quite a recommendation! I’ve heard of Jan Karon, but have never read any of her novels. I’ll check her out!
I am one who couldn’t pick out one book either! I love to read and have ever since I learned how. Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher is one of my favorites, along with all her books. I find I have a fondness for English novels, love the descriptions of the countryside and their charming vocabulary. I also love childrens books and am starting a nice little collection. I have a few books on my ipad but much prefer to turn the pages of a real book. Now I wish I was home reading instead of working……………..
Jill, I love historical, European fiction also. I really loved “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Tracy Chevalier, for example.
Hi Kim
My favorite single book was “Gone with the Wind”, but as a young girl I really loved all the Nancy Drew mysteries. Currently I am a fan of anything by Jodi Picot. I have never read “Mrs.Mike” and would enjoy even a tattered copy!
I really like Jodi Picoult also!
I’ve entered you in the giveaway. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. 🙂
I almost forgot to leave a comment, was enjoying reading all the comments. I don’t know if I could name favorite book from childhood as it’s been while since then, lol. I am also a voracious reader, have to have a book. Don’t know how many times I’ve reread the Shell seekers also. I love all Rosamund Pilchers books, they keep me entranced whole way thru, she has several and her son Robin has also written some books. I also love Maeve Binchy’s books, she has several that are all related by characters and place, doggone it can’t remember name of her books right now. Would need to go out in shed to find some.
I would dearly love to read “Mrs Mike, think I might have seen that movie many years ago, was born in 1940. Maybe that’s why I’m so interested in books about 2nd. World War. I’ve gotten interested in some mystery books but not as much as Rosamund Pilchers and Maeve Binchy’s books. Have you read any of Nicholas Sparks books? Oh boy some of them are tear jerkers. Been rereading “The last song”. Hubs came in asked why I was crying, we had seen the movie with Greg Kiernan? and Miley Cyrus. “The choice” is another tear jerker. I also read the “Smoke Jumpers, don’t remember authors last name, 1st. name Nicholas also. Have read that one few times as it’s centered in Missoula, MT. Hubs worked out of Missoula for few years and we lived on other side of Continental divide, south of Helena on Canyon Ferry Lake. The smoke jumpers headquarters are by Missoula’s airport which we passed going into Missoula. I try to read different kinds of books by other authors time to time for variety but always go back to Shell Seekers and all her wonderful books.
I feel that I learn so much from books about human nature, my spelling is pretty good due to reading all these years. My hubs is not a reader, he complains about all my books taking up so much room. I buy many books at our local thrift store for 50cents for hardbacks and 25cents for paperbacks. I prefer hardback books. Lately have been donating several of books to thrift store again. Just need to remember what books I’ve read so I don’t buy them again (which I’ve done several times.) Would appreciate being entered to win Mrs. Mike. One way or other want to get your book so I can read it, sounds so good and very interesting. Happy rest of week and weekend.
JaneEllen, I laughed when I read your comment about buying books you already own. I, too, did that a few times and decided “no more”! (Although I do give extra books as Christmas gifts), I now keep a list of books I own and want to buy. I take it with me whenever I go shopping at a bookstore. I browse at bookstores also because you just never know when you will discover a new author you love!
Also, I’m like you. The first place I go when I go to a bookstore is their clearance section. (I also frequent thrift stores and the “for sale” section at my local library.) Many of the books I’ve read that I really have enjoyed I’ve bought for a $1 or less.
Happy week and weekend to you as well.
Where do I start. I suppose the oldies are part of me. I love To Kill a Mocking Bird, Grapes of Wrath, Alaska, Hawaii all of those books.
I remember the first time that I walked into our small town’s big Carnegie Library. My life changed. I learned to love the feel and weight of books, the smell and the quiet atmosphere. All of these years later I can call the feeling back and, in a way. see it again when I close my eyes and remember. I was young and did not understand the cataloging and genre locating but I knew I would find something I loved under the second window to the right. I can feel the librarian, ol’ Miss………… standing behind me.
I could never name a favorite book but right up near the top would have to be “Gone With The Wind” or another that I especially loved was The Doll Maker by Harriett Arnow.
I would love to win your favorite book but if I don’t I sure plan to find it somehow.
Thank you for your book recommendations, Carol! I’ve entered you into the giveaway. Thanks for visiting!
Wow, picking a favorite book is hard. Fiction? Non-fiction? Hmmm. I can’t pick just one, but the ones that stand out as books that have certainly touched me, that I have carried something of them on with me are ones that I really do like enough to re-read ; they are treasured again. I especially enjoy reading wih my kids, who thankfully still enjoy me reading to them even as teenagers and young adults. We can laugh at the characters in the story or talk about what is going on; it has been a real adventure hearing their insights. That said JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series would have to top our list followed closely with LL Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables books, When a Man’s a Man, by Harold Bell Wright, and most recently I have been enjoying Laurie R King’s The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and the subsequent “Mary Russell” books. Non fiction fav.s are right up there on my list too like Ralph Moody’s autobiographies starting with Little Britches, Frank Capra’s The Name Above the Title, Eric Metaxes’s bio on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Shelden Vanauken’s (sp.) A Severe Mercy. Oh and I’ll throw in two more from Neville Shoot: A Town Like Alice and Trustee from the Toolroom and a bonus find at a used books library sale in Boothbay, Maine: Down the Runway ( good auto bio for an aviator! ). I better stop now…..
I have always been a reader since childhood. I have moved through many genres over the years. I enjoyed R.F.Delderfield’s books (God is an Englishman), Wilson Rawls Where a Red Fern Grows and Rosamund Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers. I never heard of Mrs Mike but it sounds like a good read!
I love this post!! My grandmother gave me a dog-eared paperback copy of Mrs. Mike when I was 12 and it’s probably my first “favorite” book! I must have read it 50 times! In recent years, I would say that Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Art Of Racing In the Rain by Garth Stein are at the top of my list.
I read it too! and your right, it is real life. And I saw the old movie too. You Are So Lucky to find this book! Wish I had one.
Thank you Kim!
I am looking forward to reading Mrs. Mike!