Wednesday - Series

Series. A good series of books can over take your life for months, sometimes even years. In Harry Potter's case, 7 years. Harry Potter is among my very favorite series. I would rank it above Twilight. I think that Rowlings development if characters over time was impressive. In this case seven books was perfect. Some even argue that the epilogue should have been continued in a whole other book.



I loved Twilight. I think Twilight is a great love story, and argue with me if you must, but 7 books would be overkill and I think Stephenie Meyer knows that so she is ending with 4. Four books will be perfect. I know many of you can't believe that I'm a Jacob Black fan, but what would the books be without him? Every good love story has to have a twist.


If you loved Twilight, I will say it again - read A Great and Terrible Beauty. There are only two in this series now and a 3rd one coming out later this year. Libba Bray is a witty author. She says in her biography that she loves Target. You can't argue with a girl who loves Target!





Now I must admit, most of the series I love have been LDS Fiction. If you aren't LDS you would still enjoy them, don't' let that scare you off. My top LDS Fiction series would have to be Work and the Glory. This nine book series I read last year. It took me a little over nine months and these are ones I could read and reread. I loved seeing the stories come to life and I was able to visit a lot of the sites where these saints lived. Church history had always been boring to me until I read these books.


Also top on my list of LDS fiction: Dean Hughes. The Hearts of the Children and The Children of the Promise were fun series to read. Each book follows the Thomas family of Salt Lake City. The Children of the Promise is set during WWII and The Hearts of the Children follows the next generation of children through the 1960's. My favorite out of the two had to be The Hearts of the Children, the 60's were fascinating times for me.



What is your favorite series? Do you love the time it takes to read one or find you want to move on to other books and other stories? What about children book series? I loved Babysitters Club, Nancy Drew, American Girls. Did you read series as a child?

Tuesday - Nonfiction

Ahhh, nonfiction, where to begin? I think that my true love for nonfiction began when we were living in Salt Lake City during our undergrad I was a frequent patron of the Downtown Salt Lake City library. This vast library had two huge floors of nonfiction books. I could have spent days and days touring the stacks of book shelves. Anytime I had a question about any subject I would literally drive myself downtown to the library and search out the section on these two floors. By this time my baby would be fussy and I would not be allowed to leisurely browse each book, so I would just check out as many as I could grab and head home to devour my treasures.

Nonfiction sounds boring to most people. Not to me. I love cook books, decorating books, parenting books, self help books, exercise books, health books, craft books, computer books, church, world and American history books, and organization books. Books that teach me how to take pictures, sell things on eBay, create an awesome blog, write well, be a patient mom, be a better wife, scrapbook, teach my kid to read.

I’ve also noticed a pattern that my nonfiction loves change over time. They are always evolving and changing to suite the needs of my life. We went on a vacation to Washington DC last summer. You can bet that I was a frequent visitor to the travel and American history section in the library. Since becoming a parent I have always loved reading new parenting books. I love reading different theories and strategies. I’ve recently started doing many at home school projects with my preschool child. I have never searched the education section of the library until the past month. Why have I lot looked there before?

For this post I have attempted to narrow it down to 5 of my current favorite nonfiction titles and a short quote from inside.

Raising Your Spirited Child
"Spirited – it feels good, sounds good, communicates the exciting potential of these children, and yet honestly captures the challenges faced by their parents. When we choose to see our children as spirited we give them and ourselves hope."
The Read Aloud/How to get your child to love reading
“Neither books nor people have Velcro sides –we don’t’ naturally attach to each other. In the beginning there must be a bonding agent – parent, relative, neighbor, teacher, or librarian – someone who attaches child to book.”
The Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking
Rise to the Divinity Within You, talks from the 2006 BYU Women’s Conference
“May we take time to build our testimonies and our faith, to love and serve, to learn something new, to build family relationships, and to find contentment and joy in who we are and our circumstances. When we spend our time well each day, the sun will shine, we will cast the gospel light into the dark places of this world, and we will make a difference.”
The Writer’s Idea Workshop
“Prompt: You’ve probably had many ideas for writing that you’ve never written down. Here’s your chance to do it. Brainstorm as many as you can recall. You might even want to write “Ideas” in a circle and create a “web” or “cluster” of thoughts around it”
~~~~~~~
So do you share my love for nonfiction or do you prefer fiction? What subjects are interesting to you? Do your interests change over time or stay the same?

Up tomorrow: Series

Monday - Children's Books

This week I thought I would feature my thoughts on different genera of books each day. I’m not an expert, and I hope each day will be something different to read. I hope you will enjoy. I chose to start the week with one of my favorites, children’s books.

We all know and I hope would agree, that reading should be an essential in any child’s life. I want to teach my children to love reading. I mean really love. I want them to grow up to be adults that know that reading completes them and makes them a round fulfilled person. Someday I want them to look back at their life and say, “My mom loved reading, and I do too!”
We all know that teaching is best set by example. I read every day in front of my children. Books, magazines, newspapers. But I also read to them. Here are a three of my favorite ideas that have helped me help them learn this love for reading.

Reading Caterpillar. I remember a similar thing like this being used like this during my school years. I started this with Gage during our preschool time each morning. We took old scrapbook paper and I cut a lot of circles. Gage helped me glue together a head and I explained the rules. For each book we read (or chapter, or part of a magazine) I would write it down on a circle and then it would help his reading caterpillar grow. He loves this and now he would rather read books so he can see his caterpillar grow than watch television. It wouldn’t necessarily have to be caterpillars. It could be trains, race cars, crowns for a princess, stars for the sky, balloons, flowers in a pot, get creative - you get the idea.

Books with themes. I got this idea from story time. Since we attend two different story times each week I thought it would be fun if I could find a way to bring the idea home. It’s easy. We read Sammy and his Robots, and then we make a robot. We read How to make an Apple Pie, and see the world, and then we make an apple pie. (We’ve been reading it all week and will be making the pie tonight for Family Home Evening!) We read Leaf Man and then collect fall leaves. I know this idea seems simple, and it is, but it works and it works with almost any book you pull off the shelf.

Chapter books. I didn’t think that my 3 year old was old enough for a chapter book. I’m not sure why, but I just didn’t think he would pay attention if we read one to him. Then I read The Read Aloud Handbook and my mind was changed. This book claims you can read chapter books to preschool age children and it will benefit their attention span and vocabulary. I decided to give it a try. We started with a very easy book, The Boxcar Children. It’s a series and it has to do with 4 orphaned children living in a train box car. This is Gage’s dream come true (not the orphaned part, but the living in a train!) We have seen Gage’s attention span lengthen in just the short time since we have started reading this book to him. We read a chapter or two each night, and then add it to his caterpillar. He curls up on our chest and listens and stares at the book as if it has pictures. He talks about it the next day; he remembers the story and loves this special time. Next on our list, Stewart Little, after which we will get a special movie night.

Books that help that I love:

The Read Aloud Handbook. This is one of most recent finds. I found so many good ideas and inspiring thoughts in this. Ideas about television, does and don’ts, lessons learned from Oprah and Harry Potter, and a surplus of books categorically listed.

How to get your child to love reading. Similar to the Read Aloud Handbook this has many helpful ideas and a treasury of books listed by subjects and reading level. This book also has great ideas for older children.

Kathy Ross Crafts Letter Sounds
Kathy Ross Crafts Letter Shapes
Both of these are fun books I found at our local library that have crafts for each letter shape or sound. I am hooked. Learning the alphabet is just one small step to this great big world of reading.

In the end we all are in different situations with different children. We try new things and we stick with the things that work. We each have different approaches to what works and what doesn’t. Since I love to share ideas – please share yours! What do children’s books mean to you?
Up tomorrow: Nonfiction

Confessions of An Obsessive Reader

This is a borrowed survey from Becky and then Susan. I love surveys so here we go:

What book are you currently reading?
I feel like I am currently between books. I just finished the Uglies series. I have started Inkspell and still have the desire to finish it. I am also reading The Read Aloud Handbook, I love it. Each Sunday night I try to read a talk from a book my mother sent me for Mothers day- Rise to the Divinity Within You, Talks from the 2006 BYU Women's Conference. I also am trucking along in the New Testament. I just finished 1 Thessalonians today.

How do you decide what book to read next?
I have a piles of books around my house. I sometimes I pick something from there. I have a lot of books I've acquired from Book Swaps. (I'll be doing another one in October.) I have a list saved in my computer and also carry it with me in my purse. I also am a huge fan of browsing the library.

Do you always finish books, or do you give up on them? If you give up on them, how many pages does it usually take?
I don't always finish a book. I give it a chapter or two but I will put it down if the language is offensive to me. I have a hard time with this because sometimes I am very drawn into the story but see the language as offensive and/or not necessary so I put it down. It's just a rule I have.

Do you ever re-read books you love? If so, how often? Give examples, if possible.
You betcha! Harry Potter, Twlight, Scarlet Letter, To Kill a Mockingbird, just to name a few.

Can you read books in noisy places (e.g. trains, buses, crowded rooms)?
I have two kids. I can turn on a movie and read. I believe that this qualifies for a yes answer. Sometimes this can be a very bad habit.

Where do you acquire most of your books? If you are a library user or borrower, how many books do you borrow at once? If a buyer, how many books do you usually buy at once?
I am a stay at home mom and my husband is a full time student - therefore I am a library user. I would love to be a buyer, but I can't at this point in my life. I borrow probably between 5-10 books each visit and I visit 2 different city libraries twice a week. That number is including children books so it might seem high.

Do you have any unusual tendencies while you read?
I love to eat milk chocolate chips and drink a cold coke while I read. I love to have a blanket to curl up with and will actually turn on the air container just so I can be comfortable with a blanket.

Do you read through pages at top speed, or do you stop to savor the sentences along the way?
It depends on the book. Most of the time I read through pages top speed. My husband always jokes that I don't read, but skim everything I pick up. Some special circumstances have me savor the sentences - when I read the final Harry Potter I savored it.

We know most of us can read just about anywhere, but specifically where and when do you do your best reading?
I do my best reading during my children's nap time. I sit on the love seat by our front window - with my coke and chocolate chips and read away. On days that I don't read I feel very grumpy by 5pm. I love this break in my day to relax, escape into a book and recharge.

Alrighty - I showed you mine, now show me yours. I am not going to tag anyone, but this survey was fun and I hope you enjoyed it and will take the time to take it as well!

Happy Reading!

Uglies

Uglies
Scott Westerfeld
4 Stars

So this series is recommended by Amazon readers if you like the Twilight series. Since I have first seen it it has intrigued me. Here is the scoop:

This is set in a city on the earth long after our world, as we know it, has been destroyed. Here in Uglyville, we find Tally, the main character, who is a few months away from her 16th birthday. When you turn 16 you undergo an operation and you become Pretty. You then get to move across the river to Prettytown. Uglies stay in ugly town waiting for this day and play tricks. It is during a trick that Tally meets her new friend Shay. Shay doesn't want to become a Pretty and thus a plot is developed. What happens to you if you don't want to become a Pretty? What happens if Uglies run away?

So, what did I think of this book? I loved this book and couldn't wait to get my hands on the other books in the series. I thought it had interesting deeper points that many young adult readers should be thinking about. There were actually a few points during my reading I wanted to grab a pencil and underline a sentence or two. On the flip side, there were points that I wanted to say "Enough with it already, I understand our world right now is corrupt and we have things we need to work on."

I loved Tally, and thought she was a good main character that many female young adults could relate well with. I wanted to be her friend and as soon as I put it down I had to read the next book in the series. I give this book 4 stars because I would read it again. As for the rest of the series, I'm not sure. I will do separate posts.

Pretties

Pretties
Scott Westerfeld
2 1/2 Stars

Well, I don't think that it is a spoiler to say that Tally becomes a Pretty, because it is the title of the book.

Tally is now a Pretty and I find her really annoying. She gets a message from her ugly past and all the pretty fun she is having starts spiraling downhill. With her boyfriend Zane she starts finding more and more about her past and the plot thickens. Is there more to life then being a Pretty?

I did not like this book. I wasn't sure after reading this that I even wanted to continue the series, but darn Scott Westerfeld knows how to write cliff hangers. If it weren't for that I would have stopped reading this series. Why did I dislike it so much? There were a few major reasons.

One. This is a young adult book. I know it is set in the future, but as soon as the characters turn Pretty, they are allowed to drink and party as much as they like. Hangovers are mentioned a few times, but their Pretty bodies are not allowed to get sick - therefore there are no serious consequences for all this binge drinking. I really had a hard time with that. Only a mature young adult reader would know that binge drinking - like portrayed in this book - is very bad for a persons health. I only hope that mature young readers read this. Uglies I would recommend, but I'm not sold on the idea of telling any of the youth at my church about this book quite yet.

Two. Cutting. This gets worse in the third book, but this is a serious problem with many people today and I wish that Scott Westerfeld could have found a different solution. I don't have much to say about it - just that I wish he would have used some other form.

Three. I think Tally was horribly mean to David when she met him again. I know this is a small reason to not like the book and it had all to do with her being a Pretty, but I just was sad for him. I like David.

Four. I think Pretty town reminded me of a lot of Biblical cities that were destroyed. If you are LDS it reminded me of the great and spacious tower refered to in the Book of Mormon. It was not a good place to live.

Specials

Specials
Scott Westerfeld
3 Stars

Tally made it and is now a Special. Shay is as well and they are together doing Special tricks. I liked this book a tad big more than I liked Pretty, but only because I really enjoyed the ending. There were also some fun twists that I did not see coming that I enjoyed.

Shay was rather annoying throughout the series to me, and I was really not happy that she was the boss over Tally. I was glad in the end that Tally and Shay were able to reconcile their differences and become better friends. I was also glad that Tally was able to stand up on her own two feet and go a different way.

I know that there is a fourth edition of this series coming out, I do not believe I will be reading it. Since this book was summed up nicely I believe I will leave it at that.

Darby

Darby
Jonathon Scott Fugua
5 Stars

While sitting at the library this week and watching my children play I looked up to see this book on the shelf. I have seen it there before, but I have never picked it up. Since it had an Iowa Children's Choice Award sticker on it I finally decided to pick it up and give it a chance. It's a children book and about 250 pages. I believe every child - probably around 10 years old - should read it and know the history that battled our southern states.

Darby Carmichael is a girl after my own heart. She wants to grow up to be a news paper girl. Her best friend, Evette, and her write a column for the Bennettsville Times in Marlboro County, South Carolina. While writing is great and she loves receiving all the compliments, it doesn't take long for her to realize that while a good newspaper girl only tries to tell the truth some people don't always want to hear it.

Set in 1926 this book examines the black/white issues that small southern towns faced. I personally spent many years growing up in the south and love small southern town stories such as this one. Darby, and her family, amazed me with her courage.

This was a very good story based on real interviews. It is very easy to read so there are no excuses!

Warriors Don't Cry

Warriors Don't Cry
Melba Pattillo Beals
5 Stars

While reading Darby, my mind kept referring back to the book Warriors Don't Cry, a book a read about a year ago. This non-fiction book is based on the "Little Rock 9" students who segregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

While living in Arkansas my mom picked this book up and read it. My husband then picked up the book at their home a few years later and brought it home to read himself. He never was able to read it and I tried a few times to read it without success. Finally last year I sat down and read the account told by Melba herself, who was one of the courageous students. It is an awesome story and very inspiring.

If you are light hearted book this is not the one to pick. She tells it how it was during that awful year and most of which is very hard to swallow. The fact that she stood through it all and graduated was amazing to me. I am not sure I would have the faith or endurance to do what she did. Thank goodness that someone did and that she shared her story with us. We are all better people because of it.

Mr Darcy's Diary

Mr. Darcy's Diary
Amanda Grange
4 Stars

I must be in a little big of a Jane Austen spin off rut because I saw this book and I had to read it after reading AustenLand. This tells the whole story of P & P from Mr. Darcy's point of view. It's very well done and I liked it well enough for 4 stars.

One thing that totally put me over the edge from 3 to 4 stars is in the last chapter or two of the book we get to see glimpses into the marriage of Mr and Mrs. Darcy. It's great. I love seeing how he softens up to her and knowing more of the story.

It didn't always read like a diary and that sometimes quirked me a little funny. If you are going to write something as a diary, then write it as a diary, but there were major points in this book that I felt it didn't come that way. Just name it Mr. Darcy's point of view and write it that way. I know this is a small thing, but for some reason it really bothered me.

It was cute though and if you love P & P then you will love this. I think it would make a great reading for a book club or any group of Austen fans.