My bookshelf
- What I’m currently reading
– Coma by Robin Cook. I like it so far. The writing style is not perfect but it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the story. I keep thinking I may have read this book a very long time ago, and just don’t remember it.
- What I recently finished reading
- Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. This is the first time I’ve read a book by either Douglas Preston or Lincoln Child and this was my first encounter with FBI Agent Pendergast (I loved the unique character!). I really enjoyed reading this book, and since I’m not a Preston & Child expert, I don’t have other P&C books to compare it to and judge if it’s better or worse. Compared to similar nail-biting thrillers, this one makes it to the top of my list. The chilling, gruesome and scary suspense throughout the book kept me on the edge. I think my heart skipped a beat or two several times and I don’t have any nails left to bite. If you’re looking for a good thriller that will keep you up at night, this is it. I can’t wait to read more by Preston & Child.
- What I think I’ll read next
- Chomp by Carl Hiaasen, a young adult novel. My best friend recommended this book to me and told me I would like Hiaasen’s stories. I’m giving this one a try and if I like it, I’ll read more of his books down the road, probably starting with Hoot.
My kids’ bookshelf
- What they’re currently reading
- Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner. Over the snow, the world is white and quiet, but under the snow lays a secret world of squirrels and hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other critters who live hidden or underground in the woods during the winter. This is a great book for kids who want to understand better how nature works. The illustrations are very pretty too.
- Little Penguin’s Tale by Audrey Wood. Grand Nanny Penguin tells a group of little penguins the story of a little one who is searching for fun in this ice cold world. As she tells her story, you can see Little Penguin doing exactly what she describes: he slides down the hills, dances with the gooney birds, and mingles with dozens of other animals at the Walrus Polar Club, until… he gets eaten by a whale! But the other little penguins don’t like how Grand Nanny Penguin’s story ends so she decides to edit it. This is another hilarious story by brilliant children’s book author Audrey Wood.
- What they recently finished reading
- Judy Moody and Stink: The Holly Joliday and Judy Moody and Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt by Megan McDonald. McDonald has also written the Judy Moody books and the Stink books. My six-year old has read a few books featuring each character so far and really likes them. Somehow when you combine these two siblings together, it seems to create some very funny stories. How would I know, without having read any of these books? Because I sit next to my son when he’s reading them and I hear a lot of giggles and laughs as he turns the pages. Sometimes he even asks me to read a page so I can laugh too. He quickly takes the book back when I’m done though. To me, that is what reading is all about.
- What I think they’ll read next
I don’t know but I’m sure it will be good stuff. What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?
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I’ve done that a few times–read a book I swore I’ve read before but can’t be sure. I’m currently reading “The Waiting Room” by F.G. Cottam. It’s a scary book (though I’m still waiting to be scared) and really well written.
You’ll find that Robin Cook isn’t the strongest writer–he gets even more cliched as he goes on–but he weaves a good story.
Cliche is a good way to describe this writing. It was his first novel and it was written in the 1970s, so I understand. It’s just that the editor could have done a better job. But I hear you about the story, it’s very intriguing so far.
I have Over and Under the Snow it’s lovely!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who likes this book!
I often reread books…sometimes on purpose and sometimes by mistake.:)
Love the books your boys are reading! Just listened to an early childhood ed webinar on the importance of building language skills in very young children…and how reading with them, communicating with them, providing a rich language environment gives them, not only a head start on language and literacy…but a clear advantage throughout the school years and beyond. Hurray for you, Milka!
I so agree with you, Vivian! My kids are a very extensive vocabulary and they get it from books because the vocabulary we use in everyday conversations is pretty limited (I’m talking about people in general, not just us). So books are a great way to run into words we don’t use every day, or find synonyms for these common words.
Yes, the webinar examined two types of ‘talk’…business talk as in ‘wash your hands’ and play talk as in ‘open-ended conversations’ about the past, the future, what if, word play, storytelling, etc.
Sounds like a good webinar, well worth your time!
Yes, it was…it’s amazing what great free resources are out in webinar-land.:)
I see you are still staying up past midnight. What happened to your resolution?
Haha, trust me, I try! It’s a terrible cycle I’m stuck in. I keep thinking if I go to bed earlier, I’ll get up earlier and do things then, but I’m afraid I’ll just sleep longer and won’t have that time. And the other night I was actually asleep by 11pm, only to be woken up by a chirping smoke detector at 4am…
I hate that when it happens! Why does the battery go dead in the wee hours?
And it’s almost one of the smoke detectors in the hallway next to the high ceiling, so the chirping echoes a long and it takes me 10 minutes to figure out which smoke detector has a dying battery. Fun times!
Still Life with Crows sounds gripping. I might have to wait until I grow my fingernails out from the last book I read if you bit yours off on this one.
I found the murder scenes very detailed, but when you get to the very end of the book, it makes excellent sense and I felt like a fool for not figuring out why people were killed that way. It’s really good but you won’t want to put it down.
Was it gruesome detailed, like you want to puke as you read?
Not that bad, and it helped when the authors described the investigators cringing at the scene. When the main character, Pendergast, examines the scenes next, he’s very methodical and you see the scene as he does, so it’s not as bad. Really, I can’t stand horror movies and this book was far from that. The suspense is what did it for me!
Okay…that doesn’t sound too bad. I love suspense.
You can close your eyes for the murder scenes if you want. ;-)
It’s wonderful that you and your kids read so much. I took a quick survey the other day . . .
This week’s Mind the Gap: How do you prefer to read, with an eReader like a Kindle or Nook, or with an old school paperback in hand?
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/weekly-writing-challenge-mind-the-gap-2/
The results might surprise you.
Can I say I’m not too surprised? Although I’m somehow surprised because the poll takers are all bloggers so you’d think they’d pick technology devices more. Yes, e-readers are convenient, but I love my paper books. As for children’s picture books, I don’t think you can beat paper, especially for some of these books that are quite large in size. They wouldn’t look as good on a small screen.
I expected the vote to be closer . . . I voted PAPER but figured that most poll takers (on computers and smart phone) would vote tech.
I was DELIGHTED to see that my assumption was incorrect!
Go BOOKS! :D
Give it 5 years and it might be 50/50, but for now, I’m enjoying these numbers too!
Carl Hiaasen’s books are really funny but I haven’t read Chomp. Tourist Season is a good one too. Anyone living near any kind of tourist area would probably appreciate it. :)
Oh, I’ll have to put that one on my to-read list. Living in San Diego, I have some exposure to tourists. ;-)
We love Over and Under the Snow at our house! (Glad we agree on a book again!) ;)
Haha, I’m glad so too! You must have missed my review of King Arthur’s Very Great Grandson, which we enjoyed a lot, after I read your review of it.
http://perfectingmotherhood.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/www-wednesdays-january-2-2013/
Ah, I did miss that! (I think we were still traveling.) I’m glad you liked it – and the new Olivia book too!
We like Olivia a lot here, even with all boys. The Christmas book is our favorite. We love the part when she cuts the top of the Christmas tree to put as a centerpiece on a dining table.