Authors A to Z: A and B

Welcome to the official first edition of #authorsatoz ... the place where those of you joining me on my challenge to read a book by authors A to Z this year get to fill us all in on how you're getting on!

It's been so lovely these past few weeks to see a few of you have joined me on my challenge to read 26 books this year... its been a good challenge for me too! I am so guilty of heading back to the same favourite authors time and time again, so its been good to broaden my horizons even in this first month. I've also been blown away by the number of people who have made fabulous suggestions and I'm really excited to read some classics that I've been meaning to for years!

Please link up any #AuthorsAtoZ blog posts below, and if you aren't a blogger, leave us a comment below and let us know how you're getting on!

So here you are... my authors A and B...

BOOK 1: "A"
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT
"THE OLD FASHIONED GIRL"
Oh! How I loved this book... I just adore Alcott... I mean, who doesn't love Little Women?? Its just a good old classic with a good storyline where nothing particularly happens, but it just grips you the whole time with the loveliness of the setting, the humour and quirkiness of the characters, the appreciation of the ordinary. It was a little more slow moving in the middle, but with enough pace to keep me hooked and a perfectly satisfying (some might argue predictable... but in the most lovely way) ending. I really, really enjoyed it... and its one I'll enjoy sharing with the girls in a few years time.
Favourite quotes:
"When you feel out of sorts, try to make someone else happy, and you will soon be so yourself."
"I don't want a religion that I put away with my Sunday clothes, and don't take out til the day comes round again; I want something to see and feel and live by"

BOOK 2: "B"
ROBERT BARRON
"MARY BARRON"
This book has been sitting on my shelf for a while. Written in 1914, it is the biography of Mary Barron, a Northern Irish Pastor's wife with a fascinating life story. It's been an interesting read, but mainly for me from the perspective that my Great-Grandmother (who was her maid) gets a few mentions!
Favourite quote: page 107
" Her nature, however, was not such as to lead her to sit down and fret and uselessly refine under a crushing load of sorrow. She was of too large and generous a nature for that. She had given out love in many directions, she had many interests, she had much to live for, and she still had a work to do..."

So now its time for "C"... As we head into February, I'm hoping to tackle "C" and "D" and looking forward to sinking my teeth into "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, and "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier... thank you so much to those who recommended!!

So now its your turn... link up your progress below! This linky will be continuous, so will be open to add to right up until the 1st of January 2016! It will be great to be able to look back and see all the fabulous books we've read, but also to share some ideas for recommendations from those who are slightly ahead!

So link up, and please pop over to any other blogs, say hello and cheer them on!

See you again on February 1st!

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The idea is to read 26 books you have never read before by the end of the year, by authors A-Z, beginning with A and running all the way to Z by the end of the year... We'd love you to join in the fun!