When Steven and I discuss what we want out of our children, we both think they should be whatever they want to be, but they have to love reading. We don’t understand the concept of people who don’t read. Borders for us is like a candy store. When I was a kid, most media was censured at least somewhat, but books, I could read anything I wanted to (my mom didn’t even bat an eye when I brought home Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five at 13 years old). When Steven got in trouble, he got books taken away from him as punishment. We both can remember staying up all hours with flashlights under the covers (we still do that sometimes, minus the flashlights as no one monitors our bedtimes).
Everytime I go into Borders, there are just so many to choose from. It’s hard sometimes to decided what I want to read next. Sometimes I pick up bombs. I can’t make it through John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, it’s incredibly interesting, but it’s 600 pages in size 6 font and with the 2 toddlers, I’m just not hacking it. Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass I cannot get through the first chapter. I didn’t actually see the movie, but the previews looked good and I wanted to read the book. Seriously though, first chapter laboriously long and boring, I’m thinking of skipping the book and actually watching it.
What have I read lately?
I read Blindness by Josê Saramago. Think Lord of the Flies with blind adults. I picked up the book thinking it would be an interesting dive into the human character. It’s good, enjoyable, but very horrifically graphic. I don’t think I’d recommend it to most others.
Another Mother’s Life by Rowan Coleman. Chick Lit about learning to appreciate the life you’re given. Pretty good, predictable, nothing much to learn, just fun to read.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I’m big on post-apocalyptic and dystopia books and a sucker for romances (not like Norma Roberts, I can totally skip the intimate details of fictional character sex lives). So this book, a post-apocalyptical teen romance was right up my alley, I completely and thoroughly enjoyed it until the last page when I realized it was the first book in a series, and number 2 hasn’t come out yet. *groan*
The Birth House by Ami McKay. A fictional story of a midwife from Nova Scotia during the turn of the century and what happens when a medical doctor comes promising painless birth. I doubt very many people will read the book, the target audience has got to be considerably small, which is sad, because I really, really loved it.
What am I waiting to read? The Handmaid and the Carpenter by Elizabeth Berg, a fictional retelling of the birth of Christ. And The Glorious Deception by Jim Steinmeyer, a biography concerning a turn of the century magician’s (William Robinson) double life as Chung Ling Soo.
Oh and my favorite book of all time The Giver by Lois Lowry. You should totally pick it up and read it. A 10 year old can read it without difficulty and an 80 year old can read it and still have significant meaning. Steven’s favorite: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. *if you’ve read both of them, you can see how much Steven and I have in common and how much we differ*
I love to read also. There is such great joy in traveling to another place for a short while or just learning something new. I have always been a fan of woman’s magazines and actually believe that someday I will really make one of the recipes mentioned. I liked The Giver. We were actually required to read either the Caldecott Award Books or the Bluebonnet Award Books at some point in my academic career and The Giver was on the list for that year it was required for me. Now it is a tradition for me to read the books on the lists.
My book of choice right now is a children’s book called “Olive, the Other Reindeer”. Get it? All of the other reindeer. Olive is a dog who hears Santa say he needs “all of the other reindeer” and Olive believes she is the dog/reindeer for the job. There is also a movie but of course the two are very different. (good for comparing and contrasting with the older students). Okay. It is Christmas and I am going to have a wonderful Christmas this year, so I don’t have to grow up! I can enjoy my children’s books without guilt. Other books I enjoy reading to the kiddos are the ones about Duck as in Giggle, Giggle, Quack; Click Clack Moo; and Duck for President. The illustrations make the book. There are parts that younger kids may not understand, like the cows watching The Sound of Moosic on tv.
I miss Temple not having a decent bookstore where you can go in and read and relax. We don’t even have a Half-Price Books. Sigh. Temple has issues.
Dude, we’re all about Click, Clack, Moo at our house. I don’t remember which one it is, but I like the one where Duck makes a picture of himself instead of the Statue of Liberty like Farmer Brown told him to.
We don’t have a half-price books either. We go to half.com a lot, but not as much as when we were in the mainland as sometimes things go on the boat and can take 2 months to get here. So Borders is our refuge of choice.
Dude?? Okay, reading is absolutely the great past time and quite contagious. I caught it from you and now I read fairly frequently. I think I have completed about fifteen books this year; probably not as many as you but it is still one of my favorite past times.
I still love reading the scriptures, too. After reading the Old Testament through three times; the New Testament through 15 times; the Book of Mormon through at least 24 times; and the PofGP at least 24 times, I think I can almost tell every story from heart. I am not sure why I keep count but I do…
I am a little surprised you did not mention the current rage about vampires and alien invasions; both were good reads. Stephanie Meyers is either incredibily talented or very lucky.
Maybe I will stop buying PEZ and start buying books for you instead. You will have to tell me?
Anyway, I love you guys…Merry Christmas
Dad
I’ve mentioned Twilight enough, I think everyone knows I read those. And keep on buying the PEZ, I’ve got to have someone investing in my collection 🙂
My parents did the same thing as Stevens. I was constantly being tod to get my nose out of my book. Yep, get your nose out of that book. Who says that to a kid?? Actually we say it to Sam all the time only rephrased and we take away the book and hide it. Time will tell if we’ve permanently ruined him.