25 Days of Jubilation + GIVEAWAY!

Posted December 11, 2011 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 99 Comments

Thanks to Cyndi, Jacinda, and Yani
for hosting such an awesome event!

Welcome to my stop in the 25 Days of Jubilation event! 
This event is hosted by three fabulous bloggers:  
Jacinda at The Reading Housewives, and 
I’ve had a great time visiting the blogs that have come before mine and 
I’m thrilled to be a part of such a fun event! 

Today, I thought I would take a few minutes 
to share my favorite bookish Christmas memory with everyone 
– something that I hold near and dear to my heart! 
It involves this precious lady & her love of books

Asheley & Grandma, a long time ago.  

I love to read today because of this woman. 
No other person is as responsible for instilling in me a love of the 
written word as my Grandma. 
I absolutely adore her and love her for that. 

My favorite bookish Christmas memory 
begins around the third grade and spans a period of about 16 Christmases
Yep, I said 16 Christmases

See, my sweet Grandma decided to gift me 
a series of books that were all my own 
~she was always excited about owning a complete set of something
so she began giving me 
five shiny hardback Nancy Drew Mysteries every Christmas 
until I had the complete hardback set (by Grosset & Dunlap)
There were 56 in all

On the last Christmas I received Nancy Drew Mystery books, 
I actually got six of them to complete my set. 
Oh! It was so exciting to me! I had anticipated the moment my set would be complete for 
ELEVEN WHOLE YEARS
but it was also sort of sadNow that I had all 56 of them, 
would this be the end of the tradition? 


Grandma to the rescue
By this time I was a sophomore in college and 
Grandma decided that she would continue her tradition with hardback classics. So…
 starting in my junior year of college and for the next five yearsI got three hardback classics every year for Christmas

This incredible tradition began in elementary school, 
 lasting through middle and high school, college, 
and the beginning of my marriage –
only ending after I had children of my own. 

I can’t you how many times I’ve read my Nancy Drew books. 
I still have them all, and they are among my most precious things
I can’t wait until my girls start reading them. 
I know they’ll love them as much as I did and 
they’ll probably read them over and over and over – just like I did,
because of my sweet Grandma.  

I know I’m not the only person to have a long-lasting 
bookish tradition-turned-memory like this one. 
But mine is fabulous and I did want to share it with you. 
My Grandma was remarkable in a million ways, 
and her love for reading was just one of them. 

So! Bookish memory aside, let’s talk GIVEAWAY
I have $25 for someone to spend at either 
Amazon or The Book Depository
That makes this giveaway an International one, folks! 

Giveaway Information 
  • You must be at least 13 years old to enter. 
  • Deadline for entry is Tuesday, December 27, 2011.
  • This contest is open to Everyone
  • Following this blog is not required, but appreciated!


The 25 Days of Jubilation continues! 
Be sure to visit the rest of these awesome blogs
to see what they have in store for us! 

Monday, December 12th:

Tuesday, December 13th:

Wednesday, December 14th:

Thursday, December 15th:

Friday, December 16th:

Saturday, December 17th:

Sunday, December 18th:

Monday, December 19th:
Karis at YA Litwit & Sarah at Workaday Reads

Tuesday, December 20th:

Wednesday, December 21st:

Thursday, December 22nd:

Friday, December 23rd:

Saturday, December 24th:

Sunday, December 25th:
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 
and 
Happy Holidays



Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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99 responses to “25 Days of Jubilation + GIVEAWAY!

  1. I love books by Charles Dickens when I was a kid…well, I still read them, they are perfect and always bring me back to my childhood 🙂

  2. Thanks for participating in this hop and for the giveaway opportunity.

    I loved your Nancy Drew story. I have all of them too, but several people contributed. But my 'set' builder was my mother. At eight years old, I got the six complete novels of Jane Austen for my birthday. And she did this many times over the years.

  3. Christina Kit.

    I love Judy Blume books, and all the Famous Five and Secret Seven Series. My grandma also gave me the whole Bobsey Twins series, and she loved reading Nancy Drew as well! I used to check it out of the library and she'd read it while I was at school:)

  4. At 6 six i've Bilbo the hobbit and the lord of the rings, i loved it several year after i've the complete serie of books from " la comtesse de Mont segur" ( les malheurs de sophie, etc etc)
    more realistic than LDR but still i love ( with a preference still for bilbo the hobbit ^^;;)

    thanks you for this international giveaway

  5. Yto

    as a kid i loved enid blyton, astrid lindgren and wolfgang hohlbein's books ^^ i loved them to pieces. especially astrid lindgren. she wrote so many great children books. pippi langstrumpf was my favourite heroin ^^

    i loved reading about your special tradition. you were lucky – in my family i'm kind of the odd one out, because i'm the only bookworm XD so i had to start loving books on my own, but my parents always were proud of me, because i read so many books ^^

  6. My grandmother actually got me into Nancy Drew as a kid too! I don't have all of them, (and I wonder if I should finish my set..), but I plan on making my kids read them as well 🙂 They were the books that got me into reading, and for that I'm always thankful!

  7. This is so sweet, I love it! I didn't read the original Nancy Drews… I read the Nancy Drew Files books. I've been thinking I need to read the original ones soon, because I think I would appreciate them much more now.

  8. I don't think I've ever read any Nancy Drews, though my brother's read a lot of the Hardy Boys. I really loved reading The Babysitter's Club and the Sweet Valley High books! And Archie comics, of course. 🙂

  9. Aww, Asheley, that's a really sweet memory 🙂 I remember I used to be obsessed with the Mary Kate & Ashley books! Every time the book fair came along or the book order was sent home, I would buy at least one. I still have tons at my house! Thanks so much for the giveaway!

    Sonia

  10. I've never read any Nancy Drew books, either! I must do that one day. I'm thinking of doing a read through for children's series books or something on my blog to motivate myself.

    My favorite series was The Babysitters Club/Little Sister. And I did enjoy all of the Sweet Valley books.

  11. Chelsea B.

    I was never a big reader when I was little, but I did love to have Fairy Tales read to me when I was a child, and when I got old enough to read, Scooby Doo themed books 😉

  12. Me and my Grandmother were the only readers in my family. Well I can't say that's true, I can see my four year old daughter following in our foot steps. My Grandma has since passed, but I treasure our book swaps we would have. I guess we both had a longing for an adventure. Thanks for sharing!

  13. I really loved fairy tales when I was little, like Grimm's books and Andersen and Perault. Also I loved reading Pippi Longstocking (everything by Astrid Lindgren basically) or Erich Kastner.

  14. Na

    I love Nancy Drew! In addition I also really enjoyed Sweet Valley, Fear Street, the Babysitter's Club, Little House on the Prairie and Love Stories series. There was plenty of standalone books as well =)

  15. That is such a cool tradition! Very special, even more so because you can share it with your own kids too! Also, I can not believe you own every Nancy Drew mystery. That's impressive 😉

  16. Awwww, yay for your grandma Asheley! That's so awesome that you can share a love of reading with someone:) For me, that person is my mom, I love reading a book and loving it, and then knowing I get to share it with someone else who will love it just as much.

  17. I used to read The Babysitter's Club, Amelia Bedelia and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Those were my favorites, wish I still had them.

    Thanks for the great giveaway! Happy Holidays!

    prefs22[at]yahoo[dot]com

  18. That is SUCH an awesome story!! I've actually never read Nancy Drew. I was addicted to the BSC and Little House books though. I definitely plan to start some kind of tradition like this with my own kids. I'm already working on collecting the classic little golden books. Thanks so much for the giveaway. I hope you have a Merry Christmas!!

  19. Aww! 🙂 Ashley <3s Asheley 🙂

    I have WAY too many favorites to name. Seriously. We'd be here forEVER.

    But my VERY most favorite book from when I was a kid was Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. I've read it (no lie) 50+ times since 4th grade & I BAWL every single time. But I never love it any less. Sigh. I just reread it last month actually 🙂

  20. My Granny bought me all the Nancy Drew books growing up as well. Those and my Anne of Green Gables series were very much loved. Book memories rock!

  21. I loved Nancy Drew too. I read all the classic yellow spined ones. I got so mad though when they changed the covers and made them shiny. And I read the new paperback that were being released.

  22. Sorry it's taken me so long to visit your post! I absolutely love it. How special and sweet of you to share with everyone. I know you'll always treasure those books!

    Great giveaway!! Thank you, again, for participating in this event 🙂

  23. Thanks for sharing your awesome bookish Christmas tradition! It makes me want to start something that like with my kids!

    I read more grown-up books when I was younger I read A LOT of Mary Higgins Clark books, not really a series, but my Grandma got me into mysteries and we still pass books back and forth!

  24. When I was younger I was obsessed with the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books. I've always kind of been interested in darker stories I guess lol.

    I've never read a Nancy Drew book but my daughter talks about them all the time because she has an aunt named Nancy Drew (honestly) and she thinks it is the funniest thing.

  25. How wonderful! I love Grandmas. 🙂

    As for my favorite childhood books, I was a big fan of The Chronicles of Narnia. I also loved anything by Beverly Cleary (especially Ramona). I was a big reader as a kid, so I had many favorites.

    Thanks for the giveaway & for sharing your story!

  26. Aw, what a sweet post. Thank you for sharing and doing a giveaway!

    When I was a kid, I loved Little House on the Prairie, Magic Tree House, Goodnight Moon, and so many more I can't remember them all! Then as I got older, at about 11 or 12, I started reading Harry Potter. Been hooked on that series ever since.

    🙂

  27. I've always been a big classics fan. After finishing high school I stopped reading for a while because of my busy schedule at university, but a few years ago I started again. The books are my best friends 🙂

  28. My favorite childhood book would have to be Harry Potter.

    Books have become my life. I try to read 1 book a day. It depends on the length of the book. Sometimes it takes me 2 days. 😀

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  29. My favorite series as a child was all the Enid Blyton books. Loved The Famous Five and The Secret Seven series.

    Thanks for the giveaway.

    Carol T

    buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

  30. Nataly

    I remember reading a lot of Junie B. Jones books. They were my favorite at that time. I also went through the Goosebumps and Magic Tree House phase.

  31. Thanks for the giveaway and sharing your lovely bookish memory 🙂
    I would cherish those books too.

    When I was younger, I loved:
    . Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    . Beverly Cleary
    . Sweet Valley High

  32. THAT is a sweet story 🙂 and this is a super sweet prize!

    I was a religious Sweet Valley Twins and BSC follower – I had all the super specials and Christmas specials (some were scary!)

  33. That is so awesome! My grandma has really good taste in books and has gotten me some great ones in the past. Nancy Drew has always been one of my favorites 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!

  34. I used to read The Princess Diaries series and looooved it! Actually, it was my first book that I was reading because I felt like.
    When it ends, I started to reading others ones, becoming this bookworm that I am today!!

  35. The book that made me love books and reading is definitely the Harry Potter series. That's my childhood there 🙂
    Thank you very much for this contest and merry Christmas to you and your family:)

  36. i read a lot of Babysitter's Club, Boxcar Children, and Sweet Valley. i still own most of my books. i just can't bear giving them up!

    pandaluvsu82 at gmail dot com

  37. Jayjay Atanacio

    One problem with me is that I didn't grew up reading book, I think the very least is that I've read Harry Potter Series tho I haven't had a chance to finish it.

    fallendream03 AT gmail DOT com

  38. I never read the Nancy Drew books, just the Hardy Boys with Nancy Drew. I also read The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron and Hank the Cowdog. Great giveaway!

    oreo_93 at hotmail dot com

  39. I have a LOT of childhood favorites, but one of my fondest memories is working my way through the Little House on the Prairie box set with my mother. I still have that old, well loved, box set on my shelf

  40. I am like you and LOVED Nancy Drew – Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. I had a crazy collection – I have over 250 in my closet yet. I also really enjoyed the Girl Reporter series.

  41. Oh! Another Nancy Drew fan, I had all of them at one point, my mom would help me collect them at garage sales and used book stores. They really hooked me on reading, along with Judy Blume and pretty much anything else I could get my hands on! Thanks so much for the giveaway!
    Lissa
    talewla08@gmail.com

  42. Thanks for sharing your wonderful story! I can say that my grandma is also responsible for my love of reading!! Nancy Drew was always one of my favorite series!!

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