Back in April I wrote about three books I’d bought at the used book store. I finally finished all of them, the last one last weekend. Here’s a bit about what I thought of them. Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson: I was familiar with Bryson’s work from A Walk in the Woods but had only thumbed through his other books at the store. This one was on clearance so I nabbed it and was immediately fascinated with the book. The book begins with the initial colonization of the U.S. and how the English language was brought over from…

There is always a book or a series of their youth that bibliophiles cling to fondly. Anne of Green Gables is one of them, but the other is The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin. One Christmas, I think the year of 5th grade, 1990, I received books 1-4 and 9-12 in box sets. I was vaguely familiar with the series but quite soon they became an attachment. I devoured the series, re-reading them over and over again. My daybed was against the wall that I shared with my brothers room, but not pushed all the way down towards the east wall, creating a cozy nook. I would pile up…