Turn Back Tuesday-- On Books

So what's up with the Kindle and the Nook and other devices that can hold thousands of ebooks all in one little machine that can fit in your purse?  While I know I would LOVE to be able to have any book I want at my fingertips no matter where I am, I just can't understand being able to feel justified in spending actual money on something I can't hold, touch, or smell (yes, smell is very important while enjoying a good book).  And what can you do after you read this virtual book?  You can't put it on your shelf.  You can't see it while walking through a room and be reminded of the good time you had with this book or that.  You can't hand the book to a friend and say 'you've GOT to read this!'.  If, heaven forbid, you hate the book, you can't sell it on Amazon and recover at least a little of the money you spent on it.

  

As far as I'm concerned, reading a book is an experience beyond looking at the words.  The act of holding a book and turning the pages and, yes, even folding down the corners when you get interrupted is just as much a part of the experience as the story you're reading.

Having said all this, let me tell you I've never actually used a Nook or a Kindle.  The closest I've ever gotten to one is when I sat across the aisle from an old man on an airplane who seemed intensely engrossed in his Kindle.  So, tell me readers, is it really worth it?  What's so cool about an ereader?

I don't know when my love for books began. I don't particularly have any memories of books from my early childhood but it had to have started sometime. I really started reading (outside of school) in 7th grade. I joined a book club at my middle school that consisted of me, a really smart girl named Mickelle Johnson and the assistant librarian. We would meet before school once a week and discuss books. The library at Dixon Middle School was old and worn. The second I walked in through the doors I would smell the smell of old books, dust and old carpet. It is a smell that I will never forget, and one that I love. We would sit at a table near the back placed between two large shelves- the fantasy section. It was here that Mickelle introduced to me the realm of fantasy.

My older brother, Aric, was also an influence. He was rarely ever seen without a book in his hands (or pockets). On family car trips he would read the ENTIRE time. I don't know how he didn't get car sick. When I was in high school his bedroom was next to mine. At night I would go in before bed and tell him good night...he would be reading. When I woke up in the morning to get ready for school I would go in to tell him good morning....he was still reading.

Anyway, while I do love reading, it is BOOKS that I am in love with. Actual books. It is my dream to have an enormous library in my home one day (getting a home is first on the list of course).  One with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling black bookshelves.  (one of those cool ladders that rolls along the shelves would be cool too)  Some people have large DVD collections, other people collect CDs.  Well not us.  It's books we want.  

Geronimo!!

We've always known Ruth was smart.  She has always had a large vocabulary and has been LOVING math. But I was starting to get a bit concerned about her reading.  In Kindergarten, Ruth hated reading.  She considered her 20 mins/day reading as one of her chores.  I tried to make it fun, but I was not successful.  When first grade started she somehow got some motivation and began doing well with reading.  She's tested off the charts with reading and comprehension.  She's even doing well with spelling (100% on EVER spelling test so far this year).  But her teacher brought up a concern (and I had noticed too) that Ruth still had trouble reading for a long period of time.  She would read a couple pages and then want to move on to the next book or the next activity. If she even looked at a Magic Tree House page or another page with more than a paragraph, she would feel overwhelmed.  Mrs. Peterson asked us to work with her on her sustained reading.  

I was at a loss as to how to go about doing that until I discovered the Geronimo Stilton series.  These are real chapter books with some pictures throughout.  The pictures are colorful and fun.  The stories are so fun and educational.  Now she can sit and read 30 pages and be sad that we're telling her to stop.  These books have given Ruth the confidence she needed and I think she's ready to venture on to more chapter books.  (Not that she wants to... she's perfectly content with Geronimo...and so am I).  If you have a young reader I HIGHLY recommend these books! 

 

Number One

Jones and I have officially begun reading our first book together for the year. (okay.. we're cheating!!! We're listening to an audio version of it!)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimon is the coolest book ever. Stay tuned for our full report when we finish it in the next couple days!

So what do YOU think? Is listening to an audio book the same as reading a book? Do you consider it cheating when you are supposed to be reading it? Please! I need some answers so I can know whether or not my guilt is justified!

A resolution...

I never make New Year's Resolutions. Mostly because I don't like to commit to things I know I'm not ready to commit to. But I think this year I'll be different! I figured if Ruth has a resolution, then maybe I should. And I want my resolution to be like hers. Since I already know how to read, it will just have to do with reading in general. And because I love my husband, I have lassoed him in to my resolution as well.

Background:
While Jonesy and I were dating, we spent a lot of time reading books together (out loud). We also used to enjoy listening to audio books on long car trips (this was before children came our way). Since we've been married we have only read one (and a half..I got impatient and read ahead) book together.

Resolution:
We are going to read a total of not less than 6 books together this year! This will require a lot of sacrifice on both our parts. Jonesy will have to play less xbox and I will have to watch less Gilmore Girls.

We Need Your Help:
So now we need some good suggestions of books that would be good/fun to read out loud together. Any genre will be acceptable (except maybe chick lit or bodice-ripping romance).

Thank You :)

Chapter Books

Ruth has discovered the wonders of reading (or being read to). We decided to start reading chapter books to her at night before bed. I wasn't sure if she was quite ready to graduate to listening to a story without pictures but I was happily surprised. I should have known she'd love it because everyday in the car she insists on listening to stories from my ipod. (check out storynory.com for free podcasts of all kinds of stories!)

Anyway so now she's (read: we're) hooked! We've been reading mostly Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne. Ruth wants chapter books for Christmas and I think we're ready to branch out and find more chapter books to read. Any suggestions??

Book A Month Challenge-- August

The theme for August was "Cold". With work, school, bbq's (real Texas ones), and life we kind of forgot to pick a book for this month's challenge until just recently. Jones has opted out for this month's challenge because he's been busy with work getting ready for school to start. So it's just going to be me. I chose to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I think it is appropriate for the theme 'cold' mostly because when I think of WWII and Nazi Germany I always imagine snow and coldness (mostly because of I book I read in high school called Night by Elie Wiesel--also recommended). There are also moments in the book that involve cold--brrr! I got cold just reading it. Click HERE to read more about The Book Thief.

And here is my review...



The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is probably the best I've read in a long, long time. The story is of a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany during WWII. The author is amazing. He can create the most wonderful pictures and feelings just with words. Highly recommended!


View all my reviews.

If you want to learn more about the Book A Month Challenge, click HERE.

It's been a while... (Book Recommendation time!!)

So you might have noticed (or not) that we haven't posted on the Book A Month Challenge in a while. It's not because we're not reading, it's because we never found a book for the July theme (which was Independence) and our move in June distracted us from that month. Don't you fret, we're planning on reading a book for August (the theme is 'cold'). If you don't know what I'm talking about read this post and also click here.

Like I said earlier, just because we haven't been reading our BAM Challenge books doesn't mean we haven't been reading. I have officially dubbed this summer as 'chick-lit summer' for me (Jones refuses to join in on the fun). I've been tearing through the pages of many chick-lit books. Don't worry, they're not the 'bodice-ripper' (as my husband calls them) type books. They're just simple every-day romance books. Here are a few that I've loved:

The first one I picked up this summer was called P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. I hadn't seen the movie yet so I thought I'd try the book. I loved it.
The story is about a girl (not quite 30) whose husband dies of brain cancer. A week after his funeral, she finds a letter from him that explains that he has written her 12 letters, one for each of the next 12 months. I was a little nervous to read this book because I knew it dealt with death and I wasn't in the mood to cry through a novel. I was pleased to find that the book was not all about the sadness of death but about how a person can still be happy after losing someone they love so much. Anyway...I saw the movie after I read the book and it was very different from the book. I loved the movie every bit as much as I loved the book but I am glad I got to see/read both. If you've seen the movie and loved it, try the book too. It's different enough that you'll almost feel like you're reading a different story.

The next few books I read were some by the writer of the Shopaholic series (which I haven't read yet). There was The Undomestic Goddess and Remember Me? These were both fun books. (To read a description of each, click on their pictures).

The next book was Austenland by Shannon Hale. It was a lot of fun. I listened to this one as an audiobook so my opinion might be a bit different than one who has read the book. The story is about a girl who is practically obsessed with Jane Austen characters (mostly just Mr. Darcy though) and gets sent to a resort where everyone dresses and acts as if they were there in a Jane Austen novel. This is a book I will own (which is saying a lot... I don't buy books all that often (but I do have a dream of having a libray in my home some day FULL of books that we love!)). Anyone who loves Jane Austen (wether they love the books or just the movies or both) will love the book.


The next book was a quick read called Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. I saw the movie years ago and loved it. The book is even better. Its an imagining of the backstory of the painting Girl With a Pearl Earring painted by Johannes Vermeer. I can't do the plot justice in describing it so click on the picture to get the summary from the back of the book. This is also a book I will own someday. (note: I'm not giving hints about gifts to give me in the future...or maybe I am...)

The most recent book(s) I've been reading (aside from the Twilight series) has been The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. My Mother-in-Law recommended this book to me years ago but the title kind of scared me away from actually reading it (I mean really, travelling pants?? come on...). I saw the movie when it first came out, enjoyed it and figured that was enough for me. But then when I saw that the second movie was coming out, I decided I should try the books. I'm very glad I did. I just finished reading the Second book and I'm heading tomorrow to the library for the third. The author does an amazing job of showing the reader the closeness of the four friends as they go through all the drama of growing up. The books remind me of my growing up years and the friendships and relationships I had. I love how by the end of the book I feel as close to these girls as they are to eachother. I'll own this series as well!

All of these books are safe to read for those who don't want to get into the "bodice-ripping" romance but still want to read about love. I have more chick-lit that I've read this summer (these are just the highlights), if anyone wants a complete list just let me know. I've got a list of a fun urban fantasy series among other various books.

So what about YOU? What have you been reading this summer??

Ruthie Reads

When Ruth was a little bit younger than Gareth is now (she was about 16 months old) Ruth had a favorite book called Snowmen At Night. She would make us read that book to her about 4 or 5 times a day. One day were amazed to find that she had the book memorized. The funny part about that was that since she was still too young to know how to speak words, it was actually the SOUNDS that she had memorized. She could recite that book to us every time. I REALLY wish we had put it on film because it was truly amazing.

When Ruth did start learning words, her ability to recite that book disappeared. She can no longer do it. We kinda set that aside as a fun memory and left it there. Just the other night she decided to surprise us again by telling us that she can read. She opened up one of our library books and began to read it to us. (Okay, she wasn't reading.. she just had the whole thing memorized). The book is called Cowboy Camp by Tammi Sauer.

I decided I couldn't put it off this time. I wanted to get it on film. Ruth was being a bit camera shy so when I finally got her to start reading and found the camera was out of focus I didn't want to stop and make her start over. So sorry about the blurriness. Also, Ruth didn't want to be in the movie, she just wanted the book to be in it.

It's Over!!

I finished reading Breaking Dawn, the final book in the Twilight series, today. I'm so glad it's over!

Don't get me wrong, I loved it. But it's exhausting being obsessed by a story that hasn't ended yet. I read the first three books back in September or October of last year and have constantly had it on my mind ever since. (If you don't believe me, ask Sarah...we seriously mentioned it every time we spoke). I enjoyed the last book and am very pleased with the way it ended. I feel like I have closure. I will no longer be obsessed as much.

So if you haven't picked up the books yet I very much recommend that you should! Now you can read the whole story without having to wait for another book to come out. I've got them if you want to borrow them.

Anyone want to come see the movie with me when it comes out in December?? Jonesy won't take me.

Warning!! Only read the comments if you have read the book or don't mind spoilers!

Yep, Read THIS

This is a pretty cool book! Read it! Even if you don't have kids! Ruth loves it and so do we. I'd go into more detail about the plot but since it's a kids book and the plot is so simple I'd give it all away! Just trust me, it's good. It's called An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler

BAM--May

This month's Book A Month Challenge Theme was Mothers. We didn't really feel much like being serious so we chose to read one of my favorite non-serious books. My secret reason for suggesting it was so I could get Jonesy to read it. The book we read had a lot to do with Mothers... well one mother in particular. It was called: Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom. I have actually blogged about this book before, just click here.

Just to give a little background, here is a little tidbit about the book:

" Lots of women put their careers aside once the kids come along. Kate Connor, for instance, hasn't hunted a demon in ages.
That must be why she missed the one wandering through the pet food aisle of the San Diablo Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, he managed to catch her attention an hour later-when he crashed into the Connor house, intent on killing her.
Now Kate has to clean up the mess in her kitchen, dispose of a dead demon, and pull together a dinner party that will get her husband elected to County Attorney-all without arousing her family's suspicion. Worse yet, it seems the dead demon didn't come alone...
It's time for Kate Connor to go back to work. "

Havilah's Opinion:

This book was a lot of fun for me. I obviously don't have any skills in the demon-hunting industry, but I found that I could very easily relate to the character (mostly because she's a mother, but also because she's awesome and so am I). I rate this book among my favorites; not because it was life-changing or because I was inspired by the story, but because it was fun, exciting and very entertaining. I'm curious to see how my husband felt about the book. Maybe I just loved it because it's about a soccer mom who kicks butt.. or maybe I loved it because it's a great book. Either way, I highly recommend this read!

Jones' opinion:

The book was cute. The main character , as Havilah points out, is a soccer mom who happens to be a retired demon hunter. I thought the action was fairly enjoyable and the dialogue was believable. The twists in the book, however, were easily seen about 30 pages away, and a lot of background information, (such as why the particular manner of dispatching demons works) was sadly lacking. All in all, an enjoyable piece of fluff. This is the first in a series, and Havilah owns the first three, so if I get bored, I may read the rest. I think you can take it or leave it.

A Good Book

My mother bought me a copy of Stephenie Meyer's new book: The Host. Unlike the Twilight series (written for teenagers), The Host is a book more aimed at an adult audience. Instead of vampires we have parasites--alien parasites.

I really enjoyed this book. I think I even liked it more than Twilight. There is some romance in the book but it's not unbearably mushy like it is in those other books (don't get me wrong, the unbearable mushy-ness in Twilight is lots of fun but it gets a bit old). The characters in The Host are well developed and very likeable.

I recommend you ALL to read this book! It's a great science-fiction novel. I even think Jonesy would like it but he's too afraid to read it.

I need book recommendations!

I am in the mood for a good detective book. Any suggestions??

BAM--April

Well you might have noticed (or not) that we didn't post for the Book A Month Challenge in March. That is mostly because we were busy and because only Jonesy read the book (I am a slacker--and not that interested in sushi) But just so you know, The Zen of Fish is very highly recommended by Jonesy. He's just been too busy to write about it. So read it

This month, the opposite happened. I read the book we chose and Jonesy didn't. I think it's mostly because he has no interest in beauty. The theme for April was 'beauty' so we chose to read Memoirs of a Geisha. We thought this would be appropriate for the theme because Geisha are all about beauty. An important thing I learned from the book is that being a Geisha is not only about physical beauty. In fact, that has little to do with the beauty of a Geisha. The clothes they wear, the dances they do, the music they play and the conversations they have are more the type of beauty that defines them. Being a Geisha is an artform.

Anyway, the book is a story about a young girl who is sold to become a Geisha. She goes through many trials, both physically and emotionally. The author did an amazing job of telling the story. It flowed perfectly. I really enjoyed reading about another culture and getting a glimpse into a lifestyle that I had preconceived notions about that were completely wrong. If you've seen the movie you might think that you don't need to read the book. I rented the movie after I read the book and was sorely disappointed. The plot is all wrong, the characters are not the same; it's like a whole other story (a crappy one). So read the book, please! This book is highly recommended!

BAM--February

So I bet you are ALL wondering why we haven't posted a blurb on the Book A Month Challenge for February. Well I'll tell you why! Because we are lazy. The theme of the month of February was 'Heart'. We chose to read Princess Bride by William Goldman because it deals with the issues of true love (which have everything to do with the heart--not really but figuratively). Jonesy was not looking forward to reading a 'love book' so we decided on one that a man can enjoy just as much as a woman. So here are our reviews:

Havilah said:

This book is about: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." For those of you who have seen the movie and never read the book, I must tell you that you are missing out on a lot of the story. There are fun/interesting back stories on each character that make the story come more alive. Prince Humperdinck, for example, has a lot more to him in the book than he has in the movie. Fezzik and Inigo have more adventures together that are funny and exciting. The book is very well-written with many jokes (subtle and not-so-subtle) This is one book that I would recommend for everyone to include in their library. If you feel satisfied by the movie I promise you will feel even more satisfied by reading the book. Read the book!

Jones said:

Well, I thought this was a fun book when I first read it about 8 years ago, and it was nice to revisit it. I had, of course, seen the movie, and it is one of my favorite from my childhood, ('cept that kissing crap) Now, usually, people say the book is better than the film. I am not too sure in this case. While, like Havilah, I thought the back stories on each character were awesome, and I personally think that Humperdink was much better than the films foppy version, the pacing of the book was annoying at times. See, it's supposedly a translation of a classic Florentine text (it's not) and the author interrupts at times to say he's cutting out boring parts, (which he did in a humorous manner, so they worked fine) or to complain about his frigid wife or fat son (which I didn't like) or to explore his thoughts on love (which were o.k., sometimes). I thought it was unnecessary at times, and it kind of put me off. The writing was very good. Many of my favorite one liners actually came from the book, and it was a delight to read them. Plus, there were many more that I think should have been included. The ending, was...unsatisfying. And abrupt. The imagery was good, and overall, it's a good book. I would, however, recommend that you get the 25th anniversary edition of "The Princess Bride", because as I recall, some of the things I didn't like in this version were gone in that one. But I could be wrong. Final say, it was a fun read, but despite the extra stufff, it doesnt quite replace the movie, in my opinion.

Oh and on a final note, the BAMC theme for March is 'craft.' We are having a very difficult time deciding on a book for this one. If any of you know of a book that has ANYTHING to do with 'craft' let us know!

"Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future" by Mike Resnick

So we read our book for the Book A Month Challenge. This month's theme was Time. We chose to read a book called Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future bye Mike Resnick. Here are our reviews:

Jones:

I really liked the book.


Oh, you want more? Here's the lowdown from Amazon:

In the year 6303, when earth is bare of anything larger than an insect or a mouse and most people have left for the stars, Duncan Rojas receives a most unusual visitor. His name is Bukoba Mandaka, and he is the last of the Maasai. Mandaka wants Rojas, senior researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, tusks that weigh over 200 lb. each.

Lately I have found that if a book doesn't grab me the 1st 3 chapters or so, I have to put it down. I'm an old man, and my time is precious. Ivory, however, kept my attention the whole time. The story is a futuristic armchair detective story, with Rojas searching for the tusks via his computer. The tale isn't boring however, because every clue in the tusks story is told in a very well written manner. The book uses the tusks as a device to tie together a number of different stories across space and time, which are sometimes sobering, sometimes hilarious. The book slowed down a bit at the end, and after his journey, the main character doesn't change much, which considering his personality is a bit of a disappointment. But overall, I quite enjoyed it. Yay.


Havilah:

I really liked this book too. I went into it thinking it was going to be a book about a man who travels through time to do his detecting. But I was very surprised. Instead of actually traveling through time, his computer searches records. Every time it finds more about the tusks, we (as readers) are transported through time to witness the story firsthand. I don't know if I've ever read a book quite like this one. It is a bunch of short stories that span over 5000 years and are all interconnected. It is true that in the end, after going through an unforgettable experience, the character does not change much. I think by doing this, the author points out one of man's major flaws: inability to change. The book explores issues of culture, history and identity while at the same time imagining the future's culture and even the future's history (read the book.. that sentence will make more sense). I have put this on my imaginary list of favorite books (which basically means that I really liked it).

If you are looking for something fun to read that is a little different from your usual book, pick this one up!

Stay tuned for our announcement of our choice of Feburary's BAM Challenge book. (just as soon as we find out what the theme is). If you want to join us on this adventure click here.

Book Recommendations

There are a couple books that Jonesy and I have both recently read that we want to recommend. The first is called The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This is a very well-written book. Probably the best I have read in a while. It is book one of a trilogy. Just click on the picture of the book if you want to read a small blurb about the story.

The next book series we want to recommend is called Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. This series has a new (and pretty cool) way to think about magic. Click on the picture to read more about the story. P.S. Brandon Sanderson is the man who has been given the job of finishing the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (RIP). After reading this book, I know he is the man for the job. I'm excited to see what he can do.

This past month has been a great one for reading. We don't get to read much during the school year because Jonesy is so busy with work and I am so busy with school. It's too bad school starts next week, I still have a dozen books on my list to read.

BAM--January

If you've already forgotten, we are doing a Book A Month Challenge thingy. This month's theme is: Time. You can choose any book that has anything to do with time. (historical, historical fiction, scientific, or even a book with time in the title). We challenge all of YOU to read a book this month too and post about it on your blogs! We have chosen a time travel book called Ivory by Mike Resnick. When we finish it, we'll write up a 'he said/she said' review just for you!

P.S. If you click on the picture, it will take you to Amazon.com to read about the book

Book A Month Club

Holy crap, Jones posts!

So, our friend Anali wrote in her blog about this thing called the Book of The Month Club. Basically, every month they pick a theme and you read a book about within that theme. Then you write a review about that book. Since Havilah and I like to read, and I would like to expand my reading experience beyond Fantasy and Sci-Fi, (not that there's anything wrong with that) I figured I'd sign us up. So, if we somehow overcome the fact that I will be uber busy next semester without much time for reading, AND the fact that I read 1 millions time faster than Havilah, hopefully you'll see a joint he said/she said book review from us every month. Or we'll fail miserably, and you can mock us for it.

Book Reccommendations

I have learned that it is a lot of fun to read books that are recommended by friends. The latest have been a series about a "Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom." Yeah, it sounds cheesy, but these books are actually very good. I am about to finish the second book, and I am assuming the third is just as good as the first two. If you are in the mood for a well-written, exciting novel that doesn't require much in the way of thinking, then these are the books for you. Trust me, they're fun!