Anne's late start 111 in 2011

The only books I can remember reading so far this year are:
1. Still Alice by Lisa Genova a fascinating look at a brilliant woman diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and how not only she but her family deal with it. Would be interesting for those who have a loved one with this disease. Written by a neurologist.

2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett was interesting due to being written from different point of view, the help and those who employed them. I can't put my finger on what I didn't like about this book. It was well written and if not compelling at least maintained my interest so that I finished the book.

3. Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas a nice if totally unbelievable romance novel.

4. Crazy Love: a memoir by Leslie Morgan Steiner
Brave to write now that she has a new life. I didn't find it all that well written.

I'm also going to include books that I read or that I hear read to my 5 year old son, Gman. I'm only going to comment on those I love or hate.

G1. I can't think of the name but it's that annoying one by P. D. Eastman about that bear like animal with spots who wants to be in the zoo.

G2. The Best Nest by P. D. Eastman

G3. Go Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman

G4. Chester the Worldly Pig by Bill Peet
We're currently on a Bill Peet marathon. Love his stuff, nothing too annoying except a bit of politics that most kids won't notice. Gman is loving them and so are his parents.

G5. Jethro and Joel were a Troll by Bill Peet - so far 3x this month

G6. Merle the High Flying Squirrel by Bill Peet

G7. No Such Things by Bill Peet - rhyming, not for those who hate Dr. Seuss - who I love but husband hates

G8. Jennifer and Josephine by Bill Peet

G9. How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head by Bill Peet - 3x as well

G10. Kermit the Hermit by Bill Peet rhyming and one of my favorites so far

G11. The Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg by Bill Peet

G12. 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental -a math book and very popular with a boy who's not even doing math yet. He finds it hysterical, sadly his dad finds it annoying. Gman "read" it to himself on one occasion and to a little buddy on another.

G13. Andrew Henry's Meadow by Doris Burns - my own book from childhood, excellent story, excellent illustrations, very popular

G14. One Kitten for Kim by Adelaide Holl - another of my personal childhood books. Another great story.

G15. The Story of Zachary Zween by Mabel Watts - another of my childhood books

G16. Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss

G17. and to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss

G18. Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss

G19. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

G20. I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew by Dr. Seuss

G21. Sir Toby Jingle's Beastly Journey by Wallace Tripp - another great story with great illustrations. Highly Recommend.


There's more, but that's all I have right now.

G21. Ella by Bill Peet - at bedtime, rhyming

G22. No Such Things by Bill Peet - at breakfast this morning, rhyming, second read

I tried to read Down by Norah McClintock, but it wasn't for me.

G23. The Kweeks of Kookatumdee by Bill Peet, last night for entertainment

G24. The Wump World by Bill Peet, entertainment but not very entertaining as it was mostly a political story about how we're destroying the earth and not much of a plot.

G25. How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head by Bill Peet, for the 5th time.

G26. Zella, Zack, and Zodiac by Bill Peet, another entertainment book and very entertaining.

G27. Buford the Little Bighorn by Bill Peet, for bedtime, anti-hunting which is not popular in our house due to being supplied with our meat via hunting.

G28. Pamela Camel by Bill Peet, at breakfast this morning and taken to school to share with friends.

and I started Perfection by Julie Metz. So far I haven't been thrilled, but I'm only a few pages in so maybe it will pick up.

UPDATE 02/28/11
I read 1/2 of PERFECTION and then gave it up as not worth my time. I feel for this woman, but I keep thinking of her daughter and what she'll think when she reads her mother's book about her father. And honestly, I just didn't like the way it was written.

G29. The Wump World for the second time

G30. The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, very enjoyable. We're probably going to buy this book for him as I'm a neglectful gardener and he likes to help me. I'm going to try and get him to help me pick out and plant our veggies and flowers this spring, which is JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!! Yippee!

G31. Cock-a-doodle Dudley by Bill Peet, bedtime, not bad but not great

G32. The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock by Bill Peet, bedtime, I really loved this one. Good story of being true to yourself and not changing the way you look due to peer pressure.

A late start (and a late welcome), but better late than never! Loved your Dr Seuss marathon above, he's so much fun to read aloud.

I agree about Seuss, but both Grandma and Dad hate him. I can't imagine why. I love all the silly words and rhyming, especially

G33. The Sneetches and Sylvester McMonkey McBean and Mordecai Alley Van Allen O'Shea (from another book). It all has such (usually) great cadence.

G34. Randy's Dandy Lions by Bill Peet, bedtime, okay but not the best

G35. Encore for Eleanor by Bill Peet - loved it. I think it is based on a true story about retired circus elephants on a ranch who paint (I saw something on TV about it).

Both of these were for bedtime on 2-16-11.

G31. Cock a doodle Dudley by Bill Peet, bedtime, not bad but not great.

G32. The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock by Bill Peet, bedtime, I really loved this one. Good story of being true to yourself and not changing the way you look due to peer pressure.

Neither will become a Touchstone. Very annoying.

TA DA!!!!
05. Soulless by Gail Carriger - see, I actually do read grown up books! Well, sort of grown up anyway. Good romance novel with a fantasty element (vampires and werewolves living among people as part of the community - kind of Sookie Stackhouse-ish), interesting plot, I think most will figure out the ending before the end of the book (semi-predictable) but the "who" at the end was the disappointment.

G36. Fly, Homer! Fly by Bill Peet

G37. Huge Harold by Bill Peet

G38. Kermit the Hermit by Bill Peet - one of my favorites.

The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock by Bill Peet

one last attempt at a touchstone. Drives me batty when they won't work.

G39. Cowardly Clyde by Bill Peet - beloved and we only got our copy yesterday

G40. The Ant and the Elephant by Bill Peet - one of my favorites

We love Bill Peet so much that I've started collecting them. So far we have KERMIT THE HERMIT, HOW DROOFUS THE DRAGON LOST HIS HEAD, BUFORD THE LITTLE BIGHORN, HUGE HAROLD, HUBERT'S HAIR RAISING ADVENTURE, and COWARDLY CLYDE. I'm determined to get them all because even when he starts reading by himself, I'm convinced that Gman will love them as much as when we read them to him.

I started Changeless last night, but didn't like it after loving Soulless so I skipped through it and went directly to Blameless which is proving much more interesting if my 1 AM bedtime is any indication.

My last try for a touchstone Cock-A-Doodle Dudley. I don't know why it's having such trouble. I hereby give up.

Lucky Gman gets a lot of reading!!

I'm not a huge fan of television as I don't think it requires kids to use their brains. My son would sit in front of the TV completely engrossed 24/7 if I let him. I'm not completely opposed to TV and I do think it can serve a purpose .... if a kid is sick and lethargic I think letting them veg out with a movie is the perfect pasttime for a while or a Friday night movie night with the family is lots of fun. As a day to day activity, I would prefer to read and have my son do the same. It's also a great way for us to bond as he loves to sit on my lap or lay in bed and have me or daddy read him a story. He's working on reading himself as we do a few flashcards with him and some "I Can Read" type books. He's very proud when he finishes a book or even gets a sentence correct and of course, we praise him to the heavens when he does it - poorly or well, he gets praise for trying. I was raised by parents who loved reading and instilled it in my siblings and myself, I'm hoping to do the same for Gman.

G41. Cowardly Clyde by Bill Peet - second time.

Tonight there's been a request for Discovering Otters. It's pretty long (for a 5 year old) and dry, but lots of pictures. He does enjoy having me read him sections of his animal encyclopedia, but those are much shorter. Although, we did learn all about sloths. Did you know they turn green due to humidity and mildew?

I continued on with Blameless, but didn't have time to finish it.

If you have read a good book on Rwanda genocide, could you kindly recommend it to me. I am reading Gil Couremanche's A Sunday by the pool in Kigali and would like to read more on genocide issues. Thank you very much indeed.

Rohit

06. Blameless by Gail Carriger - eehh. fun but not thrilling. Pretty much the same as SOULLESS.

07. Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart - I really like the Ruby Oliver books. Not great lit-ra-chure, but fun.

08. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King - I enjoyed the back and forth from the 3 main story characters, but felt that the interjections from the building (a town monument, sort-of) were pointless, distracting, and not entertaining. I also disliked how vague things were. At one point Vera and male interest James are talking about the Pagoda (monument) and why it was built. There it ends. No revelation of something funny or ironic or anything. A big inside joke that remains alluded to and we, the readers, are not let in on it. And the at the end there are allusions to what Charlie did (and I don't need all the details) but nothing definite is revealed, the same with the way Charlie died. All in all, interesting but disappointing.

I realized last night that I want to read 111 books, in 2011, in 11 months. That's 10.09 books a month. I need to get a move on. I'm already 2.09 books behind this month.

G42. Cowardly Clyde x 3

G43. Fly, Homer! Fly! - last night for bedtime. Another favorite

G44. Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure by Bill Peet - Saturday for bedtime. cute but not his best.

We probably read more than that, but I can't keep track over the weekend as we're usually too busy. I need the week to recover from my weekend.

G45. Clotilda by Jack Kent - bedtime

G46. The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock by Bill Peet - 2nd time

G47. The Whingdingdilly by Bill Peet - second time, although it's actually about the 100th because we own this on audioCD and we listen to it a lot.

I started Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride and am enjoying the witty repartee and the general silliness and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and again am enjoying the writing and silliness which hides much deeper issues. This month I have to read 12.2 books.

09. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathon

G48. Green Eggs and Ham - at the library to Gman and the little friend he made there, the cutest little curly-haired girl. She was adorable, very verbal, used big words approrpriately, and was comfortable asking me to read her a story too.

G49. Lucky Jake - by Sharon Hart Addy - another library read that came home with us

G50. Powerpuff Girls 8x8 #08: Bought and Scold by Laura Dower

G51. Powerpuff Girls: Fishy Business by Laura Dower

G52. Animals Staying Safe by Xavier Niz

G53. Big Bad Bruce by Bill Peet

G54. Animals Staying Safe by Xavier Niz - afternoon entertainment. feel asleep on the floor after dinner, so no bedtime story

10. Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess - very hard to read, graphic without a lot of details, not for the faint of heart

G55. Jennifer and Josephine by Bill Peet - third read for Gman, first for mom

G56. The Curious Garden by Peter Brown - third or fourth read, I've lost count.

We're having our first sleep over tonight so I don't think much reading will be accomplished.

G57. The Three Billy Goats Gruff - at bedtime for our first sleepover!

G58. Merle the High Flying Squirrel by Bill Peet - bedtime Sunday

G59. The Caboose Who Got Loose -Bill Peet - audioCD this afternoon in the walk-in closet set up with blankets draped over chairs like a fort

G60. The Whingdingdilly -Bill Peet - audioCD in fort

G61. Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully - Audrey Penn - audioCD and fort. What makes a book so much better when heard in a fort? I don't know, but it just does!

11. Scars by Cheryl Rainfield - predictable

G62. Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent by Bill Peet

G63. Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney - bedtime, still a favorite

12. My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger - very entertaining.

G64. Big Bad Bruce by Bill Peet - while cuddled on Grandma's lap, snuggling his blankey, and sucking his finger, after his bath, just before bedtime. It was as cozy as it sounds.

G65. The grown-up day by Jack Kent - another book from my childhood.

G66. Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure by Bill Peet

We started reading Discovering Otters but it's really long and Gman was exceptionally tired last night. I really didn't expect him to manage to stay awake last night for even the first part, but he muscled through part of OTTERS and then requested HUBERT which he stayed awake for as well. He usually sings his dad and I a Gman-original lullaby (strangely something about us being sheep in a pasture) before drifting off. Last night he rolled over, said he was trying to think up a song, and promptly fell asleep.

I started St. Francis de Sales sermons on Lent last night. Didn't make it long before I was out cold as well.

G67. D. W. the Picky Eater by Marc Brown

G68. The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies by Stan Berenstain

And I can't remember Friday night's book because I was pretty much sleeping while reading it.

Shock and suprise, we didn't read a picture book last night. Really, I am shocked. We have attempted in the past to read chapter books but the lack of pictures and the more descriptive passages don't grab him yet. But last night he was insistent. He wanted a Narnia book, we were going to read the first chapter and then we were going to stop and turn out the light and go to sleep. Usually I have had to bribe him with the promise of a picture book after the chapter, but last night he didn't bring it up, so I didn't either. So last night we started The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis. We have read other chapter books. We read all of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Stuart Little, and Flat Stanley. Can I just say that I really didn't like STUART LITTLE? I forgot the part at the end where he hooks up with the tiny human and acts like such a jerk because his canoe gets ruined. He was really obnoxious.

G69. and me 13. The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis - a variation on the creation story. very interesting and entertaining. kept the boy entertained for days.

G70. The Magic Treehouse #1: Dinosaurs before Dark - by Mary Pope Osborne - entertaining for the little guy, but poorly written in my opinion. As it was written for kids who are just learning the art of composition, I found that it had too many sentence fragments, and not in the conversation where it would be acceptable, but in the descriptive part of the book. As I read it to Gman, I just made complete sentences, but I don't think it's great to have this in books where children could use it as a role model for their own writing.

G71. The Magic Treehouse #2; The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne - and another thing I didn't like was the kids sneaking out without their parents knowing. Those kids apparently live somewhere where it is save to go traipsing around in the middle of the night (or at least at dawn). I live in a very dangerous metropolis even though I try and stay to the safer part. I don't want my kid thinking its okay to sneak out when I'm not looking - whether to go to his playhouse in the backyard or anywhere else.

G72. Brickbeard's Treasure - a LEGO book which is really just an ad to buy more legos.

We've started The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis. We read the first books last year. I have to reread The Horse and His Boy because I wasn't present for the end. Dad and Boy finished up without me. I think I also need to reread the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader because I can't remember how it ends.

14. unPlanned by Abby Johnson - the story of her change from director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Bryan, Texas to pro-life advocate in the Coalition for Life. Powerful read, but parts of it didn't resonate with me. I was never anything but Pro-life so some of her choices are especially foreign to me. Can't really be summed up, needs to be experienced. Still fascinating and very timely as it was in the new in 2009/2010.

G73. The Night Before Christmas - author of this version unknown. Someone was very tired last night and needed some attention while mom cleaned up the dishes. So snuggle time on Dad's lap was called for and Gman chose this book.

G74. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, again. Was really tired and just wanted to veg and be entertained instead of having to pay attention to plot.

15.St. Rita of Cascia by unknown - a very small, interesting biography of St. Rita

G75. and me 16. The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis - I'm still trying to determine the allegory for this story. I know it has something to do with going to hell and releasing sinners, but I'm still trying to figure out other plot elements. We also started THE LAST BATTLE last night. I already don't like Shift and already think I know the allegory for this one.

Yes, the allegory behind The Last Battle is pretty easy to figure out - it is the least subtle, I think.

G76. Pirate Pete by Kim Kennedy - an easy reader that had literally one sentence on every page. But the boy enjoyed the whole pirate thing.

G77. Henry and Mudge and the Wild Wind by Cynthia Rylant

We started something about a principal named Mr. Klutz, called Mr. Klutz is Nuts, but I thought it was really sending the wrong message. It was all about a boy who hates school, is disrespectful to his teachers, etc. We didn't make it very far in the book before I nixed it. Right now Gman thinks school is fun....he gets to run and play and do some desk work. I don't want to give him the idea that hating school is even an option yet. Let him love it until he doesn't. If he thinks it's not cool to love school, then he may talk himself into that attitude ahead of the prepubescent angst that usually causes it. I'm praying that he just skips that whole thing and loves learning his whole life.

G78. Annie and Snowball and the Cozy Nest by Cynthia Rylant - Gman loves the cute little bunny

G79 and 17. The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis - wow, this might have been the least subtle of his allegories, but the action was great. We couldn't put it down. We were slowly reading through, finding out what happened and then Friday night we got to a good part. Saturday Gman and I were laying in bed and Tom came up to join us and I mentioned that maybe we should read another chapter this morning. And one thing led to another and I read out loud for 2 hours straight. We loved it. Even Gman at 5 held mostly still for 2 hours to hear how it ended. And then he asked a bunch of questions both during and when it was over showing that he was indeed paying attention. Tom and I are going to preview the movie "Prince Caspian" and see if Gman is old enough to see the whole thing.

G80. The Garden That We Grew by Joan Holub - enh. We're gardening, but this wasn't that interesting. We're going to get some better books and see what happens in real gardens with real seeds.

G81 and 18. The Boxcar Children - by Gertrude Chandler Warner - very wholesome. Gman enjoyed. I think Dad enjoyed finishing more. He was a bit tortured by it.

19. Worth Dying For by Lee Child - another Reacher novel. What can I say. I enjoy them.

G82. Noah's Ark - by Mary Packard. We've had this for awhile but it's the first time we've read it. Not too bad.

20. Testimony of Two Men by Taylor Caldwell - I loved this book. It was well written and lyrical. The plot was very current and it was interesting to see what was written in 1968 is still so very relevant today. Highly recommend.

It has come to my attention that I have been reading drivel in the past. I started thinking about this challenge and maybe I shouldn't be so all quantity obessed as quality. Maybe my goal should be to read well written books or intellectually stimulating books instead of as many as I can fit into a year.

21. Blindman's Bluff by Faye Kellerman - Peter and Rina, need I say more?

Started My Side of the Mountain with Gman. He's really into it. Wants to learn how to start a fire with flint and steel.

G83. some stupid pokemon book - I hate those little demon creatures. never getting them from the library again.

G84. another stupid pokemon book - see above.

G85. Never Tease a Weasel by Jean Conder Soule - Requested last night. I don't know why it's so popular. He was even disappointed that is was so short but he is insisting that we read story books all this week instead of chapter books.

G86. Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss - one of my favorites

22. Friendship Bread by Darien Gee - I like it. Well written and draws the readers into the lives of the men and women it details.

G87. Horton Hears a Who - by Dr. Seuss

G88. The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss

G89. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

G90. Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Pot from Disney

G91. Insects are My Life by Megan McDonald

G92. Scrambled Eggs Super by Dr. Seuss

G93. Two Little Gardeners by Margaret Wise Brown

G94. Cornelius by Leo Lionni

23. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - I enjoyed this book. The villians were completely evil, but except for the main bad guy, repentant in the end. The good guys triumphed and the bad guys got their just desserts. What's not to like? There was a bit much of building explained and some overly descriptive passages that I skimmed, but all in all it was a very interesting read. It took me several days to get through it as it was a very dense book. The end seemed hasty. Everything that happened after and including the murder of Thomas Beckett seemed superfluous to me, except for the very ending which was like an epilogue. Still 4 stars out of 5.

Gman started the summer reading program at our local library yesterday. They have a challenge requiring the kids to read 3 picture books (for the little guys - 2 chapter books for the bigger kids) for 6 "challenges". That makes 18 books for the whole summer. Seems a little wimpy to me. When I was growing up we had to read 100 books for a single iron on t-shirt transfer and a certificate. Now they're giving out silly bands, tickets to kids' museums, baseball tickets, etc for reading 18 books. This isn't even a challenge for our family, but I guess the idea is really to get those kids who don't read to do so. In any event, Gman was determined to finish the whole challenge yesterday. We managed to finish the first 2 sections while at the library before mom's voice gave out (He insisted on repeating everything I read so that HE was the one reading, I was just helping). We finished #3 at bedtime. Now all I have to do is remember what we read.

G95. Mimi Loves to Mimic - Yih-Fen Chou - okay but a little too young for Gman.
G96. Sneaky Salamanders by Suzanne Paul Dell'Oro - nice to add a little non-fiction and we learned some interesting stuff. Did you know some salamanders can regrow their eyes and legs? Why are more scientists studying this phenomenon and seeing how it can benefit humans?
G97. Another Day in the Milky Way by David Milgrim - very cute
G98. Milo's Hat Trick by John Agee - very cute. We took out several more of his books to enjoy at home.
G99. Just Another Morning - Linda Ashman - cute story about a little boy with a great imagination - I had to explain to Gman what he was imagining as it wasn't always obvious to him even though it was to me. It was also rhyming which added a special touch - makes it easier to remember for little boys.
G100. Souper Chicken - I don't remember who wrote it (touchstones aren't helping on this one), but it's a cute little story about a chicken who learns to read and doing so helps her save a variety of farm animals. Long enough to satisfy Gman and cute enough not to make me grit my teeth. At the end the chicken starts teaching the other chickens to read and Gman sounded out the word "hat". Not a huge achievement for anyone else, but it makes me grin like an idiot. My little man is going to be reading to me soon.

24. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova - FASCINATING. I really loved this book. The heroine is one of those driven to succeed people and in a car accident suffers a brain injury that makes it impossible for her to be aware of the left. Anything left. Her left arm, her left leg, words on the left, sometimes the left side of words, people on the left side of the room. I think the most interesting part was when her husband was frustrated that she just couldn't look to the left and see him and she asked him to describe the furniture in the room. Once he had she asked him a question, I'm paraphrasing here, what if I told you you'd only described half the furniture in the room? where would you look to see the rest? That really brought it home for me. Well written with other plot elements that add to the interest - the financial crisis that results from the accident, interpersonal relationships, ADHD, etc. Read it, it's worth it.

A weekend traveling to a meeting gave me ample time to read. I spent 14 hours in airports or on planes on Friday and another 7 hours on Saturday. Needless to say, I actually got to read grown up books! WooHoo!

25. Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey - really just a romace novel. I thought it was going to be something else so I was a bit disappointed, but I did like the twist she had on the Cinderella story.

26. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris - not the best but not as bad as the worst one which I can never even remember the title. Glad to see some conclusions of certain plot lines, thought some things were random (Alcide), and found the end way too easy. Be interested in seeing what happens with Erik and Sukie. I wish this author had not gone TV as I suspect that may be what's affecting her writing.

I started Arabian Nights and What the Dead Know. Not enthralled with either.

I know Gman had some books read to him this weekend but as I wasn't there, I don't know what they were. He listened to a few stories from Arabian Nights but wasn't particularly interested and we kept slow going with MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

27. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga - ehn. Nothing special or entertaining really. Sort of depressing with no closure. Didn't like Kyra. I liked King Dork better.

I am set to start War and Peace and I think it's going to take me all year.

Something tells me that since it is mid-June, I'm going to be lucky to make it to 50 books this year.

G101. Too Big by Ingri D'Aulaire
G102. Buffalo Bill by Ingri D'Aulaire
G103. Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road by David Macauly

and we're listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on CD.

G104. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George - Dad loved it, Gman was indifferent
G105. Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain - Edward Ardizzone
G106. Terrific by Jon Agee
G107. Nothing by Jon Agee
G108. Two Feet High and Rising - a story about Mort from the movie Madagascar and his love of King Julien's feet.
G109. A Visit to the CTW Seasame Street Hospital by Deborah Hautzig - Gman is getting his tonsils out this summer so we're working on making it less scary.
G110. Night Vision - I don't know who this was by, but it was a CARS book

I read part of a collection of stories including one from Charlaine Harris, but I only skimmed the other 2 stories in the book so I don't count it.

G111. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - read aloud. Now we're starting Treasure Island.

28. Wolfsbane and Mistletoe edited by Charlaine Harris - easy read, led me to some new authors and good to fit in around a hectic schedule.

G112. A Fly Went By by P. D. Eastman - loves the repetition and the building up and remembering of the list.

29. 13 Clocks by James Thurber - short little fairy tale with a bit of a plot twist at the end. Good for younger audiences. I really enjoyed it. The illustrations were beautiful and the language was lyrical. There was one unresolved part regarding the rose. It seemed completely unnecessary.

Treasure Island wasn't working for Gman so we gave it up for now (he's only 6 so we have plenty of time) and started The Black Stallion. He loves it. He's bouncing on the bed with excitement at night while I read. He can't wait for the next chapter and I have to say, each chapter has something very exciting occur. Great read for boys as there's lots of adventure, but also examples of bravery, good manners (courtesy and respect to all), and perseverence. This would probably be a good book for boys who aren't interested in reading.

113. Oops by Arthur Geisert - currently being read by Dad who hated 365 Penguins but which Gman loved.

114. Tales from Foreign Lands vol. 1 collect by Rev. Joseph Spillman. 4 short stories Love Your Enemies, Maron, The Festival of Corpus Christi, and The Cabin Boys all read aloud to Gman by his dad.

30. Heidi by Johanna Spyri - I just love this book. I want to be Heidi. I don't think Gman would get into it though, not enough action, so I read it by myself. I'm going back to A Little Princess, The Secret Garden and The Ordinary Princess too. All for me. WooHoo.

So how possible do you think it is to read 81 books in less than 6 months? That would be 13.5 books per month from now to Dec. 31. And I have a tonsilectomy coming up as well as a ton of stuff at work. I think this may be the first time in my life that I don't reach my goal for reading. And I'm kind of loving it. Makes me feel more challenged, more like I have something to strive for. Makes me realize that I'm not as selfish as I think because I am making (even minor) sacrifices to be a better mother, wife, and employee. Strangely good feeling.

31. I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan - good story. the brothers were believable, Jared was just kind of there, Bobby Ellis was greatly annoying and really didn't serve any purpose. The Tim/Sam relationship was believable, the Debbie/Riddle one not so much. The Sam/Emily relationship started out good but didn't have enough time to develop before the crisis scenes so the whole last 1/3 of the book was kind of a stretch, but still okay if you could do some belief suspension (not my strong point). The ending was too perfect for most people, but I loved it. i would have liked to see more of what happened to Clarence. 4 stars

32. The Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie Price.

Hmmm. What to say? Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is "random". The book is well written, however, it seems very disconnected. People are brought up and dropped again quickly as if they didn't serve any purpose to the plot and were therefore just disposed of. The plot is interesting, but there isn't really any character development. And I understand the need for the police to keep interrupting as they are the ones doing the interrogating, but it just makes it all that much more disjointed. And what purpose do the notebooks serve? And why is this boy so obsessed with helping this one girl, he doesn't even seem to like her all that much as just pages in he's already interested in another girl? And why aren't the characters of Jules and Judd better developed? And what about Homer? He's just sort of randomly thrown in there. And any abuse is peripherally mentioned and then dropped. And why isn't there more about his father? This book could be a whole lot better if it would just flesh out some of the topics it just touches upon. I don't expect every book to have a pat and final conclusion. I realize that my preference is for books that end with an explanation, but I also realize some authors like to leave the plot more open-ended so that the reader can come to their own conclusions. With all that said, this book doesn't have that aura to it. It just seems random and unfinished as if the author just threw a bunch of randomly conncected thoughts on paper and published it.

33. House Rules by Jodi Picoult - well written.

G115. The Black Stallion by Walter Farley - G loved it. so much so that he requested it at times other than bedtime and would get so excited he couldn't lay down but had to bounce on his knees and holler with excitment.

G116. Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni - for little children
G117. Theodore and the talking mushroom by Leo Lionni - was he taking mushrooms himself when he wrote this? Kind of bizarre
G118. The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni - very political

#64> So how possible do you think it is to read 81 books in less than 6 months? That would be 13.5 books per month from now to Dec. 31. And I have a tonsilectomy coming up as well as a ton of stuff at work. I think this may be the first time in my life that I don't reach my goal for reading. And I'm kind of loving it. Makes me feel more challenged, more like I have something to strive for. Makes me realize that I'm not as selfish as I think because I am making (even minor) sacrifices to be a better mother, wife, and employee. Strangely good feeling.

Apologies for the late reply, it's been busy at Chez Wookiebender too. (Wish *I* was having a tonsilectomy though. Stupid things, keep on getting in the way.)

I think that having less time for reading makes you appreciate it all the more.

But I don't think your work deserves your sacrifice. ;)

34. Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee - well written. I liked it. It wasn't difficult to read but wasn't something that I couldn't put down either. I liked the alternating narrative between Emily and Sandy.

35. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - a summer re-read

36. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
37. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
38. 1001 Books to Read Before You Die by Peter Boxall
39. Hit List by Laurell K. Hamilton

G119. Rascal by Sterling North - I don't know how interested he was in the majority of the book although he did ask question - i.e. what does "foray" mean and he definitely didn't like the end. We're going to start Peter and the Starcatchers next.

40. Summer's Child by Luanne Rice - nothing too unpredictable for a romance/suspensish novel. I thought the ending was trite.

Woohoo - only 71 books to go before the end of the year.

That's the right attitude! :)

41. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Middle school book, took me about 1 1/2 hours to read with interruptions. Interesting and well-written, it kept my attention. The story is about a boy, Luke, who is a 3rd child in the future US. Families are only allowed to have 2 kids so Luke has been hidden in the attic his entire life. There is backstory about how the law got passed, the reasons for it, etc. It reminded me a bit of a less intense Hunger Games, something appropriate for middle schoolers as opposed to high schoolers. 4 stars.

G120. Disney's Chicken Little the Disney version
G121. The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler
G122. When is Saturday a Sesame Street book featuring Grover by Deborah Kovacs

42. Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard

43. The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers

44. The Villa by Nora Roberts

45. Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts
46. Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton

G123. Junk Day on Juniper Street by Lillian Moore
G124. Night Vision - a Lightning McQueen adventure
G125. It's Candy Time - a Jimmy Neutron adventure
G126. Iron Man 2: Meet the Black Widow
G127. Iron Man and the Crimson Dynamo

and then thankfully Dad came home and I didn't have to read any more books because really I was sleeping through them.

47. Among the Imposters by Margaret Peterson Haddix - book 2 of the Shadow Children

G128. The Magic School Bus Ups and Downs by Joanna Cole
G129. Buy My Hats by Dave Horowitz

Gman loves the Magic School Bus. I don't know why. He doesn't see it on our TV and I know he generally only gets to see movies, Wild Kratz or Phinneas and Ferb at Grandma's house. But since it's educational, I read it to him, even though I sort of hate it. I really dislike books that have sound bites from the characters in the middle of the page. I think it throws off the narrative flow. But that is only my own personal bias. He loves it so he gets it.

We're still working our way through Peter and the Starcatchers and he seems to be loving that as well. Some chapters are a single page (front and back) long while others are 20 pages. It makes for interesting reading of a "chapter" a night.

G130. Buy My Hats! by Dave Horowitz - He loves this book, even took it to school with him today.

48. Among the Betrayed and
49. Among the Barons both by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

These "Among" books are written for middle school children and aren't very long, but I find myself pondering some pretty heavy topics after I've read them. The US has gone through droughts and famine and as a result families are only allowed to have 2 children. The law has only been in effect for about 14 years. Many families have had 3 or more children and these become the shadow children. They have to hide because it is an automatic death sentence for them and their families if they are discovered. Some of the topics I've been thinking about are obvious - forced sterilization of women after their 2nd child, a culture that makes pregnancy out to be unattractive and disgusting, abortion, birth control, etc. But other topics are less obvious. One thing the kids do to survive is get fake IDs so that they can come out of hiding. So I've been pondering ... when is it acceptable to deceive or lie? I was once involved in a theoretical discussion about this various topic. If you were living during WWII and the Nazi's came to your door and you were hiding people of the Jewish faith, would you lie to protect them? Or would you be honest and accept the consequences? Would you allow yourself and your family to die and condem other innocent families to die? Or would you lie and perhaps add straw to the camel's back toward your own eternal damnation? Who knows the mind of God? Would you be forgiven because you were protecting someone else or does all deception count the same no matter what? And this is all brought up in my mind because these children and their families are taught to lie the day the kids are born. As a Catholic birth control is verbotten - so if I lived in that society would I follow the laws of my Church or the laws of the land?

It's funny (not in a ha-ha way) that kids' lit sometimes makes you think more than adult lit.

Personally, if your God would rather you give up innocent people to the Nazis than lie, then I think your God might just be a bit too hardline for my tastes. But if you're already hiding Jewish people, then I think you've accepted that you're going to cross that line, even if you haven't admitted it. Because who really would offer to shelter people, and then hand them over the instant they were asked? It'd be better to be honest up front and not shelter in the first place; but it'd be best to accept that some rules were meant to be broken. I assume that the "Among" books suggest that these laws are wrong?

I'm currently reading A Dry White Season which has a lone white Afrikaner man fighting for justice. Not because he's upstanding, or brilliant, or a fighter. But just because he's an ordinary man who has noticed what's going on around him, and it's offended his sense of justice. I like the idea that it can be ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Sorry, going off topic there...

The "Among" books are all about the shadow children trying to figure out life. Should they get fake IDs and live a lie or should they be themselves and possibly die. So it's even more existential - be true to self and face annihilation or live a life of fear and lies. I understand why kids would identify with these books.

G131. Lentil by Robert McCloskey
G132. The Pig Who Ran a Red Light by Paul Brett Johnson
G134. Buy My Hats! by Dave Horowitz - about a billion times
G135. Bearhide and Crow by Paul Brett Johnson
G136. Angelina and Henry by Katharine Holabird
G137. Veronica on Petunia's Farm by Roger Duvoisin
G138. The Four Donkeys by Lloyd Alexander
G139. Such a Prince by Dan Bar-el
G140. Slither McCreep and His Brother, Joe by Tony Johnston
G141. The Magic School Bus Ups and Downs by Jane B. Mason
G142. Little Skink's Tail by Janet Halfmann
G143. Bought and Scold by Laura Dower
G144. Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss

G145 and 50. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - I cannot recommend this book highly enough, especially for boys. Gman was so excited he again couldn't hold still. When we finished the book he had me go back and read his favorite scenes over and over (fyi - bashing Slank over the head with coconuts).

51. Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix
52. Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix

I'm on the final one now, Among the Free.

And the most amazing news ever - Gman is reading!!!! I love it and hate it. I love that he's able to read and I hate that he's growing up so fast. It will be nice when he is able to entertain himself with a book, but sniff, sniff, my baby is growing up. So far he has read ME 2 books. They are about 8 pages long and have 2 - 5 words per page. It is wonderful.

A1. Mat by Bobby Lynn Maslen
A2. Sam by Bobby Lynn Maslen

A3. The Red Hen by Bobby Lynn Maslen - This one was much harder than the previous 2. We're going to have to work on the earlier books before we get to the end of the series.

G145. Trollerella by Karen M. Bourgeois - pretty lame

Great news about Gman reading! I love it that my kids can read, although they still get a book every night. I think they appreciate that as some intensive Mummy-time since I'm so often busy at work, or housework! (Note: I do try to ignore the housework as much as possible... ;)

A4. Mac by Bobby Lynn Maslen

G146. Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss

G147. The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss

G148. The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis for the 2nd time this year.

A5. Mac by Bobby Lynn Maslen
A6. 0 to 10 by Bobby Lynn Maslen

A7. 0 to 10 by Bobby Lynn Maslen

53. Among the Free by Margaret Peterson Haddix
54. Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Sharon Lathan - ehn.

A8. Mac by Bobby Lynn Maslen
A9. Sam by Bobby Lynn Maslen

G149. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
G150. The Best Day Ever by Marilyn Lashbrook

*LOVE* the Grinch. It's my traditional Christmas Eve read to the kids (along with "The Night Before Christmas"), but they request it quite often throughout the year, and I never say no. :)

The Grinch is the only Seuss that my husband likes and since Gman and I love Seuss, we read it quite often so as not to annoy dad. We also read the others and just let dad leave the room. :)

Does anyone have any suggestions for a new reader? He can only really read 3 letter words, although he's working up to longer words at school and often asks how to spell things - turtle in the car ride to school this morning. He's also EXTREMELY interested in animals. We watch the PBS show "Wild Kratz" every day if we can.

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett. Very simple sing-song about a young girl and her toy monkey visiting a zoo. Lovely illustrations too, this one's very popular with me and Miss Boo.

"Monkey and me, monkey and me, monkey and me, we went to see, some.... penguins!" etc.

I love Fox in Socks, but all those tongue twisters might be overwhelming for Mr G. :) One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish?

Mutt Dog! is a lovely picture book about a stray dog. (It starts sad, but ends happy.) Words are bigger than three letters, but one to read to him and have him read back, maybe.

Thanks, Wookie, I'll have to see if our library has Monkey and Me and Mutt Dog! We have the other 2 at home.

Apparently he reads a bunch at school. We got report cards yesterday and he did excellent. At parent/teacher conferences I was told that he often tries to do flash cards and read books by himself when the other kids are moving on to other things. I don't see that at home. With me or the hubby he gets frustrated and wants us to do it for him. I guess we don't provide enough of a challenge. He always wants to be best and do it right when other kids are involved, but is happy to be a baby with me.

He's loving Dave Barry's Starcatcher series right now. Honestly, I don't know how he's keeping it all straight as it jumps between so many different voices and scenes.

My kids are pretty good readers (Miss Boo just got a merit award at school for her reading! Colour me proud), but they still love having a book read to them at bedtime by me. (A chapter a night of Roald Dahl for Mr Bear this week and while Miss Boo at the moment wants sticker books with me, she'll read Dr Suess in her bed for a while after I tuck her in.)

The book-being-read-by-parent(-or-grandparent) is a nice chance for them to unwind, snuggle, get some quality time with a parent, and postpone bedtime for as long as possible. My kids take maximum advantage of it.

Gman is the same about bedtime reading. I am always getting requests for "just one more chapter". He knows I'm a sucker for reading and he uses it to his advantage. It's pretty funny. He'll be laying in bed with his eyes all but closed, snuggled up to my side, and as I close the book, he's still mumbling ..."One more chapter, please, Mom." I can't get enough of it.

A10. "What is That?", Said the Cat by Grace Maccarone - lots of bigger words and contractions so it wasn't as easy as I had expected. Still, Dad reads to Gman at most of his meals so long as Dad's not eating as well, so it was a delightful treat to have Gman read to us during dinner last night (he had eaten earlier because he had soccer practice and if he doesn't eat before it, well, let's just say the waterworks start over the least little thing).

G151. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
G152. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis - second time. Gman and dad are starting PRINCE CASPIAN next (again). Gman and I are plowing through PETER AND THE SHADOW THIEVES with multiple requests of "just one more" chapter. We're also working on several craft projects for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We're making a collage of what we're thankful for and also placemats for Thanksgiving and Christmas and place cards for Christmas dinner. Yesterday afternoon he spontaneously made something out of supplies on the art shelves. A first.

Gman got a gift certificate for reading from school. It was for food which is unfortuate as Gman doesn't eat (not much, anyway). But both he and I were very excited by it. He continues to sound out his words one letter at a time, but he's getting better at sight words. I have purchased a few Scholastic Readers for him as the Bob books are not exciting enough (no plot and no colored pictures).

G153. Joel and Jethro were a Troll by Bill Peet - so I spent $10 on a children's book. Is that crazy? He enjoyed it so much and I enjoyed reading it to him so much that I just had to buy it. I think one of the reasons he loves it so much is that one of his best friends is named Joel. Sometimes I call Gman Jethro or switch the name Jethro when I'm reading to Gman, just to tease him. He pretends to be annoyed, but I can tell he loves it. The sly little grin gives it away every time. I love Amazon's option to buy used books. I think this was about $26 (at least) new.

He also wanted How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head but we ran out of time. He asked for it again this morning as we were getting dressed, so I promised it to him tonight and so did his dad. I'm going to suggest to him that we go through and read all his books in his bookcase (he has TONS) and get rid of those he hates and save the ones he likes. We're remodeling a room in our house to turn it into a family room complete with bookcases in an alcove. Once it's complete I'm going to move the majority of his toys downstairs. He hates playing upstairs when everyone is down so his toys don't get played with as much as they should - too much TV watching because it's where everyone else is. So now he will have a room downstairs with most of his toys and the majority of his books. That way he can grab stuff to play with while I am cooking dinner. I may even move his little desk downstairs so he can sit at it and play "school".

G154. How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head by Bill Peet - as promised
G155. An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler x 2 - He thought it was so funny that once I had read it to him, his Dad had to experience the humor of this book, Gman's favorite being Trevor, the shark-dog.

I'm working on World Without End for my TBR challenge. Looks like I may complete that challenge this year - only one more book to go and I'll have read all 10. I doubt I'll make it to the finish line on this challenge. I don't think I'm going to be able to read 57 books in 2 months since I have only managed to read 54 in the last 10. But when I consider that I've read (or heard read to) 155 books to my monkey-boy, I am good with the results. Just think, by next year he'll be reading to himself and I may not get to read to him all that much with his fierce independent streak.

G156. The Holy Twins by Kathleen Norris - read to G while finishing making dinner. He enjoyed it and stayed for the whole book, which was a picture book, but not short. He really enjoyed saying "Scholastica". Lately he has spent most of his time "trilling" his tongue - loudly and often. And I don't discourage it because while somewhat annoying, he obviously is enjoying the sensations it brings and I know this whole experimenting with sounds won't last too long. But hearing "Scholastica" said over and over with emphasis on the siblants was a nice relaxing break.

I have so enjoyed reading your thread. Loving the stories of reading with your little one. And how wonderful that he is on the road to reading himself!

Well, I took a week off work (I won't call it a vacation because I was still at home, had housework to do, and no one cooked for me:P) and expected to make some progress on reading, but alas, sleep and housework robbed me of my time. I did manage to finish

55. World Without End by Ken Follett and enjoyed it a lot. It was very similar to Pillars of the Earth with multiple plot lines all intersecting at various points. I hated the Wulfric and Gwenda plot line because it was emotionally draining. And I didn't see the point about Thomas's past, except as a way to tie history into the plot and it was a very weak tie-in.

G156. Veronica by Roger Duvoisin
G157. Veronica on Petunia's Farm by Roger Duvoisin

56. Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - this wasn't as good as the first book. Obviously there's a lot of suspension of disbelief that needs to take place. I could do that with the starstuff (although I did think they could have come up with a better name for it), but had real difficulty with "Lord Ombra". I didn't feel there was a satisfying answer to what exactly he was and I disliked the notion that his ilk would be in future books. I like how certain elements were thrown in for the entertainment of pre-adolescent boys - the escape from the tower comes to mind. The ending did seem a bit sudden for some reason. I don't know why. There was a lot of build up and some really great suspense scenes, but then all of a sudden it was over. I can't put my finger on why I felt this way, unless because there was so much build up - too much anticipation and not enough delivery. I did cheat, however. I was supposed to be reading this to Gman and finished it without him. I'm still reading it to him at night, but once he fell asleep, I had to find out how it ended. Perhaps when I reread it to him I'll be able to better identify why I felt the ending was so sudden or perhaps will realize that it wasn't.

G158. Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. We had to skip a few paragraphs here and there as they were a bit too scary to read at night. Next up...Peter and the Secret of Rundoon - the conclusion to the trillogy.

G159. The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
G160. I am drawing a blank about what we read the night before last. I know it was a story book that he picked out, but I can't recall it. Obviously a great read!

Edited 12-5-11 - I looked around on the floor (his room makes tornadoes look tidy) and located Morris the Moose Goes to School by B. Wiseman. This is what we read. Now I can't remember Friday night's book.

LOL at G160! :)

G161. Giant John by Arnold Lobel - Gman loves this one. I really can't figure out why. It's okay, but he said it's one of his favorites. Well, good, then we read one of his favorite books last night.

57. Q & A by Vikas Swarup - I have never to my knowledge read a book about India. Not through any prejudice, simply because no one had ever recommended one to me, or if they did, it didn't sound interesting. This book, on which the movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was based, takes place in India, both the slums and the mansions. It's a very far-fetched story, but really well told. The premise of the book is that an uneducated, 18 year old waiter gets on a show similar to that Millionaire show that Regis Philbin used to host - a trivia quiz show - and wins. The young man has had little formal schooling, he's an orphan, and has spent the majority of his life struggling to survive. And yet he wins a billion rupees (close to $2 million). He gets arrested for cheating and taken to and tortured at the police station. Suddenly a young woman he doesn't know bursts in and rescues him. She is a lawyer who takes him back to her apartment and he explains to her the sequence of his life that makes him capable of answering all the questions that he shouldn't have been able to answer. The story is not sequential. It jumps around a lot because the questions were all from different points of his life and the questions are addressed in the order that they were asked on the quiz show. I found this book really fascinating. There were so many things I didn't know about India (not that I would ever have claimed to be an expert on Indian culture and history). I love learning new things in the course of reading a good novel, especially when I can then go and research them more when there are things that I am curious about.

58. Mystery by Jonathan Kellerman - a typical Alex Delaware novel.

Oh, I enjoyed "Slumdog Millionaire" very much. I've got the book somewhere, must get around to reading it...

59. Nightwoods: A Novel by Charles Frazier

I can't say that I liked this book, but I can't say I didn't either. The story was not that interesting in terms of plot. A lot was very vague and left up the reader's discretion, which is not my favorite thing, but it was precise enough without being specific. The story is of Luce (Lucinda) living in an "abandoned" resort pretty much cut off from society, missing mother and no relationship with her father. She inherits her younger sister's twin children when Lily, the sister, is murdered by Bud. The children witnessed the murder and had been "messed with" by Bud so they are pretty much walking zombies - mutes who like to set fires and kill chickens. The story revolves around Luce trying to help the kids, getting into a relationship with the grandson of the owner of the resort and dealing with Bud when he comes to town.

There is a "stillness" about this book that is somewhat breathtaking. There is not a lot of conversation between the characters. There are interior monologues, but they are in 3rd person as if reading the person's thoughts and getting all their emotional reactions described in 3rd person as well. It makes it a very unemotional book, but very clear. Perhaps it's the imagery in the book that causes this feeling of stillness, but when I read this book I felt like I was "reading" a crisp mountain morning as the sun eases the fog off the day. It never became bright (the lives of the characters did not lead to this), but like a clean, clear light was shining behind the fog and the only sounds were the whisper of the wind through cedar trees.

Hm, I've been eyeing that one off in the shops. I may leave it for another day to buy, now...

60. Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn. Great. Now I've got another series that I'm in love with. First book that I read on my brand-spanking-new-Kindle Fire, which will hereafter be referred to as "My Precious".

G161. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. Absolutely loved this series. He got it as a Christmas present from his aunt and he was ecstatic even though we'd already read it. Now he can read it himself when he grows up.