Who and What

My name is Hailey and my grandfather is a farmer. I'm the 7th generation to live on the family farm, and my babies (when the time comes) are going to be the 8th. My husband and I are even renovating a trailer on my grandparent's farm so we can move back to the family farm sooner. This blog encompasses the things that are important to me. These things are:

~Special Education
~ADHD, including my own battle with it over the years. It's now my superpower.
~Cooking
~Crafting
~Horses
~Farm Life
~Family
~Dogs
~Equal rights for women.
~Teaching
~Goal setting
~Fitness and health
~Financial Stability
~Reading
~Personal Happiness

Thursday, July 31, 2014

My Books, My Journeys to Other Worlds

This is going in our house when we build it.

I do not deny that my college education was an excellent one. I went to one of the best universities in the state (Virginia Tech) and participated an excellent program at a small local college where my parents met (Lynchburg College), for my graduate work. During this time I read more than I ever thought possible, but along the way I seem to have forgotten that you can, and should, read for the pure joy of it.

How did I forget that? How did I lose the wonder of walking the halls of Hogwarts? When did I stop noticing the color purple in a field? Where did I lose my compassion for Grace and Pilgrim as girl and horse struggled to regain faith in each other and humanity after a tragic accident? I don't know where it was lost, but I do know that in the last few weeks, I have read with a level of enthusiasm I forgot was possible.

Below is my list of my top 100 favorite books (or series) of all time, in no particular order. They encompass a wide range of genres, writing styles, reading levels (I love kids books), time periods and authors. Some I've only read once, others again and again. All are excellent.


  1. Water for Elephants
  2. Total Money Makeover
  3. Kiss My Tiara
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird
  5. Handle With Care
  6. House Rules
  7. The Hunger Games Series
  8. The Kite Runner
  9. The Da Vinci Code
  10. The Horse Whisperer
  11. The Color Purple
  12. Jurrasic Park
  13. South of Broad
  14. Uglies Series
  15. Leviathan Series
  16. The Harry Potter Series
  17. Divergent Series
  18. There Are No Shortcuts
  19. The Help
  20. The Happiness Project
  21. Happiness at Home
  22. The Storyteller
  23. The Elite Series
  24. The American Girl Books
  25. Fifty Shades Series
  26. The 5 Languages of Love
  27. The Giving Tree
  28. Romeo and Juliet
  29. A Thousand Splendid Suns
  30. Alice in Wonderland
  31. The Very Hungry Caterpillar (The first book I read by myself)
  32. The Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls
  33. Stellaluna
  34. A Series of Unfortunate Events
  35. Of Women and Horses
  36. Love You Forever
  37. Ella Enchanted
  38. Just Ella
  39. Alice Series
  40. Fairest (In case you've missed the theme, I love fairytale remakes.)
  41. Guess How Much I Love You
  42. Oh the Places You'll Go
  43. Hamlet
  44. Holes
  45. Chronicles of Narnia
  46. Bridge to Teribithia
  47. Charlotte's Web
  48. Matilda
  49. Ramona Series
  50. The Modern Girl's Guide to Life (A great, all around, tongue and cheek guide to life.)
  51. The All Around Horse and Rider
  52. Animals in Translation
  53. The Horse Boy
  54. Marley and Me
  55. Thank You Mr. Faulkner
  56. The Monster at the End of This Book
  57. Falling Up
  58. A Light in the Attic
  59. Where the Sidewalk Ends
  60. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
  61. Where the Wild Things Are
  62. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Series
  63. If You Give A Mouse a Cookie
  64. Half Broke Horses
  65. Frances Series
  66. Curious George
  67. A Char for My Mother
  68. Wayside School Series
  69. The Giver
  70. The Rainbow Fish
  71. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
  72. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
  73. Speak
  74. Mirette on the Highwire
  75. Airhead
  76. Shiloh
  77. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
  78. Peeps
  79. The Lovely Bones
  80. Cinderella Ate My Daughter
  81. Black Beauty
  82. The Eighty Dollar Champion
  83. Women and Madness
  84. Housekeeping
  85. Mean Genes
  86. So Yesterday
  87. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
  88. Misty of Chincoteague 
  89. Justin Morgan Had a Horse
  90. Not Without My Sister
  91. Hand, Hand Fingers Thumb
  92. Riding for Blue
  93. It's Not The End of the World
  94. Are You There God? It's me Margret 
  95. Calvin and Hobbes
  96. Every Boy's Got One
  97. Ever After
  98. The Loop
  99. Sight Hound
  100. Hatchet
What are your favorites? How do you enjoy books? 

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