WWW Wednesdays – January 23, 2013

Yes, technically today is Thursday but I finished writing this post late last night, so I saved it for this morning. I tell you, I could really use an extra two hours in the day, every day!

My bookshelf

– What I’m currently reading 
– Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. This is my very first encounter with both authors. My best friend gave me this book a year and a half ago for my birthday and I’m finally reading it now. I have a feeling I’m going to bite a few nails off while reading this story…

– What I recently finished reading
– Are you there, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. What a sweet book! I’d never read it until now, and now I wish I had read it when I was a preteen like Margaret. She’s such a lovable character, you can’t feel anything for her but love and empathy. I enjoyed her search for religious purpose throughout the duration of the story. She originally didn’t have an issue speaking to God without belonging to a specific religion, having been raised religion free, until her new friends told her she had to pick one. Her adaptation to a new suburban life and friends and the discoveries of her body are something I would think most girls and women can relate to. I loved how Margaret stood up in front of her parents and grandparents to claim her religious independence and personal choice. I would love to find out what became of Margaret when she grew up. Did Judy Blume ever write about that?

– I also read two books on happiness: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People by David Niven. You can read my full reviews in my post The pursuit of happiness from earlier this week.

– What I think I’ll read next
– Coma by Robin Cook (it’s waiting for me at the library). Carrie at The Write Transition suggested I read it. I figure it’s only fair I do it, after all the books I’ve recommended her to read! I think I also have Harmful Intent on my personal bookshelf to read, if I really like this one.

My kids’ bookshelf

– What they’re currently reading
Books with Paddington Bear by Michael Bond! I can’t believe it’s taking me so long to introduce my kids to this super cute bear from Darkest Peru. Especially because I read several of these books as a child. Of course we started with the first in the series, Paddington. We’ve also read Paddington Bear at the Circus, and Paddington Bear and the Busy Bee Carnival. I have more Paddington books coming from the library, including some pretty long ones, and some in French. Yeah, Paddington!

– What they recently finished reading
– The Little Bear Treasury by Elsa Holmelund Minarik (pictures by Maurice Sendak). We love Little Bear and we tend to borrow these stories a few times a year from the library. Little Bear is just like my four-year old in his thoughts and actions. It’s an early reader book and my son reads words and short sentences in there, so it’s an added benefit to these sweet stories.
– No dinner! The Story of the Old Woman and the Pumpkin by Jessica Souhami. We’ve read this story in French in the past, but it never gets old. This is the retelling of a folkstale from India, where an old woman outwits a wolf, a bear, and a tiger who want to
eat her while she crosses the forest to go see her granddaughter. This version is very funny and very witty, and my kids really like the simple, yet bold, illustrations.

– 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?

If you enjoyed reading this post and would like to receive future postings, please enter your email address and click the Sign Up button at the top right of this page. Thank you for reading!