A little bedtime reading

 Porter, Harry W., and Isla have been here since Thursday.  And I had assumed that only Isla would want to be read to, but I was wrong.  Harry W. was interested too, and often Porter would sidle in!

I have gotten rid of a lot of my picture books - gotten rid of in the sense that I have found new homes for them!!  But there are still some old faves on the shelves.

 

Isla was sure this would be "boring" but changed her mind!

 

This one she emphatically declared boring, but Harry W. didn't agree with her.

 

And Porter and Dad came in to see what all the laughter was about as I read this one tonight.

I love a good picture book - and I love reading them to kids.

I need to get my "Little Free Library" up and running!!

And maybe I need to become familiar with some of the new titles out there too!!

My Own Little Free Library

Perhaps you are familiar with the Little Free Library concept.  Or perhaps you are not.  But I love the idea of it - and I love all the Little Free Libraries I see in town - or I read about in the LA Times - or see on the website. There was one near Hannah's place in DC, and Theo and Ida loved stopping and getting a book.  There was one in their neighborhood in VA too - and I found a book I really enjoyed reading when I was there last summer.  The possibilities are endless.

Harry and Dawn have one - and I confess I have coveted it!  I guess I coveted it so well that they got the message and gave me my own Little Free Library for Christmas - Bonny was part of the gift too!

Now I am really excited to get it up and running - heaven knows I have plenty of books to spare!!  I have the spot picked out - and Harry is on board - I just need to nudge him in the direction of getting it set up so I can start playing Madame Librarian!!

I plan to set it up on the curb north of our driveway - it's a barren little spot, so I feel that a bench would be in order too.  I thought I had an old wrought iron bench behind the garage that could have been spruced up, but apparently in a fit of purging I got rid of it.

Oh well, now I'll just have to get a new one.

I also need to name my  Little Free Library - Harry and Dawn's is "The Lemon Avenue Library."  I'm thinking and brainstorming - suggestions are welcome.

Watch for updates!!

And stop by for a book if you're in town!

Second Time Around

I read this book a few years ago and certainly enjoyed it. Then my book group chose it for our selection this month, and I decided to re-read it. I often don't re-read books, but I may change my mind on that score.

For one thing, if it's been a long enough time, it seems almost like a first read - obviously I'm not retaining much. I am famous for "skimming" books to get through them quickly. I feel like I know how to dispense with scenic descriptions and lengthy ruminations. This probably contributes to the lack of recall on some scores.

Also, a good story usually can handle a second reading. I enjoyed reading this the second time - I thought I had the outline of the story pretty well set, but I had forgotten several significant details.

And since I want to take part in the book group discussion, a reading closer to the time of the meeting is pretty essential.

If you didn't check it out the first time I recommended it, check it out this time!!

Reading when I ought to be doing other things!

I have been reading of late - in fact very late!! I was up until 1:30 this morning finishing up a book in fact!! I get that way - I read when I ought to be doing other stuff!!

I found this on a "give and take" shelf at Curves. I remember once when I sent RoseAnn a little Swedish cap that Alice had sent - from Sweden of course - and RoseAnn said that it made Jennifer look like a "little Hutterite!" I knew nothing about Hutterites then - now I know a bit more. This is a true memoir about a woman whose family left the Hutterite colony they were living in - and the impact it had on her life. It wasn't stunningly well-written, but it was interesting and informative.

Found this on the shelf Marcie keeps in her classroom for students during SSR. She wasn't sure where she'd gotten it - then remembered that a publisher had sent it to her - maybe they thought she'd order it for her class. It's not really adolescent fare - but it is a compelling read - about a dystopian society where women are devalued and controlled. A disturbing story on one level, but well-crafted and almost believable.

Jan in the main office suggested this when I was asking for book recommendations for my book group. My group wasn't interested, but I started it - and stayed up late to finish it early this a.m!! It is also compelling, well-written, and somewhat disturbing. It's about a young woman who is kidnapped and held captive for 7 years. The author has emphatically stated that it's not the Jaycee Duggard story in fiction, or a re-telling of the Austrian Frietzel family either. She just wondered what the effect would be of raising a child in a very limited environment, and she explores that idea. The story is told from the point of view of the woman's 5 year old son - that part is poignant and riveting at the same time.

So now I have the newest Grisham on order at Amazon. And I'm going to order the latest Maisie Dobbs as soon as I finish this.

"I'm Barbara and I'm a bookaholic!!"

Books I've Read the Past While

I have been reading up a storm it seems - but then someone will say, "So, what are you reading?" and my mind goes blank!!

A list:

Theo Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham - I am an unabashed Grisham fan - this is his initial foray into the world of adolescent fiction. I'm not sure adolescents will like it though. But like all Grisham books, I find it a "page turner" but not always because it's gripping or scary - I just want to get the "rest of the story" as they say.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - I loved this!! It's about WW II and the Japanese internment camps - but it's a love story - the best kind! Maybe not literature - but a great summer read.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - can I just say this was wonderful reading!! It's a story of love and loss and victory - told by the dog!! (and it works!!)

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - strange and Indian - but then most of the Indian books I read are - but it's compelling. And it paints very vivid word pictures.

Joe Hill by Wallace Stegner - I'm currently plowing through this, but it's not very compelling. Usually Stegner is - so I'm a little perplexed.

I'm re-reading Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton for my book group in September. I always like her books - even in the re-reading. Maybe it's a sign I've forgotten them from the first time!!

And I've read a plethora of forgettable adolescent novels this spring - mostly to see if I want to recommend them to my students - they are usually well-written as far as demonstrating competent prose, but they don't "speak to me" so much. One was about a girl with an autistic brother - it was pretty well done - but it almost seemed too politically correct, if you follow my drift.

I need to find something to take to Phoebe's - or maybe she will have something there - where's some good airplane fiction when you need it??

Latest read

I had to be seriously persuaded to read this book. I had had it recommended to me by several people - but every time I read the brief synopsis, I was sure I wouldn't like it.

Then a friend brought it over to me and insisted I had to give it a try. She's a very persuasive woman, so I did. And at first, I put it down more than I picked it up.

But then I got hooked - and wasn't finished when we left for Oregon last week. We were driving - and I can't read while riding in a car. But that didn't stop me from picking it up every time we had to stop for anything!! And I stayed up at the first motel we stayed at - and finished it.

I think everyone has read it already - but if you haven't, be sure you do!!

Can I make it to next summer?

I finished the sequel to The Hunger Games - and the word is that the final book of the trilogy is set to come out next summer!!

I'm not sure I can wait that long!! That's the virtue of finding out how great something is long after everyone else has already discovered it. You can just line all the books up and plow through them. That's how I did Hornblower and the Maisie Dobbs' books - a much better way to do things.

Although it was fun to look forward to the various Harry Potter books.

Regardless, I have no choice but to wait!!

(In the movie Marley and Me, the character quotes Mark Twain as saying that ending a line with an exclamation point is like laughing at your own jokes! Oh well, it's an old habit with me - one I'm not liable to break any time soon!!!)

And I thought Catching Fire was even better than the first book - so my expectations are high! Mind you, it's not great literature - but it is gripping, compelling, page-turning - and there's nary a cliche in sight!!