These are the books I read since 1996. I read every one myself, all the way to the end. Some of them are children's books. I am not ashamed of that anymore.

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1996

1. The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
It is made with easy words on purpose. By the end I knew them all. I read it to my grandson Myles. He was five.

2. Go, Dog. Go!
by P. D. Eastman
Myles liked the dog party at the end. So did I.

3. Frog and Toad Are Friends
by Arnold Lobel
Two good friends. I read it to Myles. Then he read it to me.

1997

4. Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
My first real chapter book. A short one. A lady comes from Maine to a farm on the prairie. I liked her.

5. Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
A spider saves a pig. I cried at the end. So did Martha.

6. Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
A boy and his dog in Texas. I knew how it would end. I read it anyway.

7. The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway
An old fisherman and a big fish. He works hard and he does not quit. He is my favorite.

1998

8. Shane
by Jack Schaefer
I saw the movie in 1953. I did not know it was a book first.

9. Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
Two men looking for work in hard times. I remember hard times.

10. Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
A boy and his two hound dogs in the Ozarks. Another sad dog book. Martha says that is my fault for picking them.

11. Tuesdays with Morrie
by Mitch Albom
A man visits his old teacher every Tuesday. I go to my teacher on Tuesdays too, and Thursdays.

12. Rocket Boys
by Homer Hickam
Boys in a coal town in West Virginia build rockets. I know coal towns. It was a good one.

1999

13. The Greatest Generation
by Tom Brokaw
The man from the TV news wrote about people my age in the war. It took me a long time. Some parts I read two times.

14. The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
A dog named Buck in the cold country up north. This dog does fine. Martha was glad.

15. The Pearl
by John Steinbeck
A short one by the man who wrote Of Mice and Men. A poor man finds a big pearl and it brings him trouble.

16. Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
Martha's grandson lent it to me. A boy alone in the woods. I read it in four days.

17. Angela's Ashes
by Frank McCourt
A man tells about growing up very poor in Ireland. We were poor like that. He made me laugh too. It was long and I did not want it to end.

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What I am reading now

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
I am on page 112. Ask me in October.

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If you know a good book for me, write and tell me. Not too many dogs.