"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

It has been a good 35 years since I last tackled Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.

The novel of the trials and tribulations in England and France leading up to the French Revolution is not light reading I admit, and...I don't seem to be able to read it without dissecting it...  

I am sure I will relax a bit once I get into it (and realize there is no test involved ha ha).  But for now it seems necessary to look stuff up and then make notes so I can figure out the plot!!

So you are wondering...why even read this book?  Well here is the long and the short of it.  After each of the girls have graduated from high school, I have taken them to Europe on a trip.   Nicole and I went to England, France, and Italy (oh the stories I have of driving a 5-speed through the french countryside).  With Chelsea we deviated a bit and went with lots of mothers and daughters on a school sponsored trip to Italy at the end of her junior year (no driving stories...but stories all the same).  So with Katelyn it will be London and Paris (her choice)...and Nicole and Chelsea will come too (also her choice). While Christmas shopping last fall I bought each of the girls a copy of the novel thinking it would be fun (not even the right word here) to read literature about the two cities...

So yes, my first book of my 11 in 11 reading list is going to be a challenge...but that is okay as I am also reading...

and loving every page of it! Go here http://thepioneerwoman.com/about/ and check out the pioneer woman's blog. She's great fun and has some fabulous recipes too!

I hope those of you who have joined the 11 in 11 challenge are enjoying your books.  Be sure and update us in the comment section in this post as the month progresses. Those who want to see what all the fuss is about click on the January archives list and read the post A New Year Means New Challenges...Right?  I'd love to have more of you join...it's free and there are no tests involved!!  Happy reading!