My bookshelf
– What I’m currently readingThe Enchantress by Michael Scott, the last in the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. It’s 500 pages long, due at the library in six days and I already know I can’t renew it. I also have to read Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James for my book club meeting at the end of the month. Since I got my copy from a friend who hasn’t read the book yet, I need to give it back to her by next week. Did I say it was another 500-page book? HELP!
– What they’re currently reading
– Chalk by Bill Thomson. This beautifully illustrated wordless book tells the story of three children visiting a playground, finding some chalk, and drawing pictures that come to life, including a lifesize Tyrannosaurus Rex. Yikes!
– Flap Your Wings by P.D. Eastman. A boy finds an egg without a nest and puts it in a nest without an egg. Mr and Mrs Bird think the egg is a little big but take care of it. When it hatches, surprise, it’s a baby alligator! But the birds do their parental duty and keep feeding him until he’s too big for the nest. All he has to do then is “flap his wings” to leave…
– Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child. Hubert Horatio is a prodigal child but his wealthy parents happen to be terrible spenders and about to lose the family estate. Hubert sets off to find a way to convince his parents to become more thrifty and save what little money they have left. A great lesson in money management, showing what can really happen when you blow it all.
– What they recently finished reading
– Dear Fish by Chris Gall. While at the beach, a small boy writes an invitation to the fish to come for a visit, puts the paper in a bottle and throws it into the ocean. What comes next is a little more than he expected.
– No David! and David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon. David is a young boy who likes to get in trouble but figures out a way to apologize by the end of the day. This is the second time we’re borrowing the David books from the library and my kids can’t get enough of them.
– What I think they’ll read next
I have no idea! What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?
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Perfecting Motherhood 
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” I’m surprised your book club is reading it. I haven’t read it and don’t plan to, but with all the hype, I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.
I just finished the Agatha Christie book you recommended (“The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”). As I mentioned, it’s well-written and a great read, but I have to admit, I was let down by the ending. ***SPOILER ALERT AHEAD*** for anyone who hasn’t read the book. I think it’s difficult to pull off having the first person narrator be the killer. We, as readers, should be privy to his thoughts, and that would include his reaction to his murdering another man. Early in the book, I wondered if she’d go that route, and sure enough she did. But I still enjoyed it immensely.
I have some thrillers I want to read next, but I need to read a few novels from fellow bloggers that I downloaded. I have quite the queue!
Ah, you’re so pragmatic! ;-) Haven’t you heard of blackouts, when people just can’t remember what they did, no matter how horrible it was? I think she pulled it off quite well but I might be less skeptical (or more gullible) than you. I want to guess you do the same with movies, right?
I would never have put 50 shades on my to-read list unless it was for my book club. I just hope it reads fast because I have several other books I’m way more interested in I want to get to! Good luck with your reading queue, it sounds like you’ll be busy for a while.
Yes I am pragmatic. Such a curse! :) I probably wouldn’t have been as bothered by the 1st person thing if I hadn’t read not to do that very thing in various books on writing. Sometimes it’s hard to quiet that internal editor. But I still loved the book and will likely read more of hers.
I think it’s Stephen King who had some good advice about following most advice from books but also knowing when to ignore it. I would think the biggest challenge for any writer is to find his/her own unique voice, and not be influenced so much by the popularity of some books that may not feature the best style (Twilight?).
Yes, and I can definitely ignore it when the writer is as good as Agatha Christie! Did you know that only the Bible and Shakespeare have outsold her?
Wow, I had no idea! That’s really impressive, especially for a female writer in the early 1900s, using her real name and not some male pseudonym. She must have had a publisher who realized how much money they could make with her. At the time, murder and mystery novels were not that common so I’m sure the novelty was welcome. Just like vampire novels today…
I believe I also read that she was the most published author. Her books filled three shelves at the Barnes & Noble I recently visited!
Love the books the kids are reading! I love the David series also…reviewed one of them a couple of weeks ago on my blog. :) Dear Fish sounds intriguing…I will check it out…may have to get it for my grandson. :)
Regarding 50 Shades…it is a quick read…and pretty page-turning…a bit on the edge. The Nicolas Flamel series sounds great…but I need to finish the other 2 50 shades that my daughter sent me before I start on anything else…and before that, I have to finish The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon…my sister gave it to me for my birthday (in February) and I am just getting to read it this past week. :)
Looks like you’ve been pretty busy reading too! I really hope 50 shades reads fast because I’d rather read The Enchantress and find out how it all ends after six books.
You’ve encouraged me to check out that series…in my spare time. :)
I think you’ll like it. Much better than any vampire series for teenagers that’s out there.
I will have to read A Dog’s Purpose. I have had it on my Kindle, but still haven’t read it. Sounds like a good one for the summer! Thanks! :)
It is most excellent and everyone who read it after I told them about it loved it. I’d love to tell Ms Rubin to read it too but I’m afraid she won’t buy the whole reincarnation. ;-) It really would be a great summer read and if you like it, be ready to read the sequel. It really makes for a great conclusion, even though the first book doesn’t end in a cliffhanger at all.
Yes, that one might really test my practical limits. :)
I think you’d really enjoy and it would give you a good mental stretching exercise. What’s not to like about a story told by a dog in the first person? You’d think it’s impossible to pull through but Cameron did it brilliantly. He really deserves to be on the NY bestseller list for it.
I have no problem reading books that require me to suspend belief–I require that of my readers in my upcoming book–but I just prefer to read books with human narrators. I’m funny that way. :)
Oh, it’s not all arfs and woofs! I feel I should dare you to read the book now and not like it! ;-)
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