Saturday, January 16, 2010

What We're Reading - January Edition

I've recently learned that several friends get reading suggestions for themselves based on looking at our blog. I've been updating that list on the side but doing it that way doesn't save a history of past reads, so I decided to make this a regular blog post now and then.

(Note: We can hardly keep up with the kids' reading. They read more and faster than we can barely muster, so we've started something new. Every month, Mark and I take turns reading a same book as Thing 1 - we choose together, read the book ourselves, and then discuss it together towards the end of the month. And with Thing 2, we generally read a lot with him.)

Stacy: I recently read No Talking with Kate (she loves that book) as well as various book club books and am currently enjoying reading Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (at Tara's recommendation), A Wrinkle in Time, and Boy by Roald Dahl (our book club read for the month). I am also listening to the audio for The Awakening by Kate Chopin. And I have Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol sitting on my nightstand. As a family, we're working on The Lightning Thief (Thing 1 has already read the entire series and we're reading it now as well -- the movie comes out next month!).

Mark: He has recently read Number the Stars, The Giver, and The Lost Symbol. He is currently reading Percy Jackson (The Lighting Thief), Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Boy by Roald Dahl. And he has a huge stack of more books on his nightstand.

Thing 1: She is reading Cindy's Runaway Colt (that's number 13 in a series of over 70), Dog Friday, Ballet Shoes, and Mystery at Lilac Inn (that's number 4 in the Nancy Drew series). She is about to read Cindy's Glory (number 13 in the horse series) and some books about Helen Keller and Louis Braille. She has recently read (for about the 37th time) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Little Women, Kids' Almanac, and The Book of Lists. Among other things.

Thing 2: He has recently read The Lego Star Wars Visual Dictionary, Bakugan 1, 2, and 3, First Dog, and The Odyssey: Book 1 - The One-Eyed Giant. He is currently reading a lot of Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield books, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as well as various Magic Tree House books and Roscoe Riley Rules books and some Junie B. Jones books. Among other things.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 also listen to audio books together at bedtime. They've recently read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Clementine's Letter, The Emperor's Egg, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Horace, Morris, but mostly Delores, Double Fudge, The Polar Express, Diary of a Worm, and more.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but at least it's an idea . . .

13 comments:

terahreu said...

Good stuff. I just finished Lost Symbol. I loved it. I am working on John Adams - Awesome.

Emily said...

Whoo! I can only read one thing at a time, I'm impressed with y'alls attention span.

Alena said...

"No Talking" Has also been a Langan favorite....We have all read it at least twice!

Alena said...

Also I wondered if you could give me the info about book club?

Unknown said...

Loved reading a Wrinkle in Time as a kid, feeling inspired to read it again.

Chelle said...

I love this post. I'm always looking for something good to read, but just can't seem to find it on my own very often so suggestions from others are always appreciated! I also like to know what Kate is reading to get ideas for Brita. Brita loves the Nancy Drew books as well, and she just read the Mysterious Benedict Society books - she loves a good mystery. I hadn't thought about Little Women for her!

I hear you when you say you can't keep up with the kids reading :)

Boquinha said...

Ooooh, those Mysterious Benedict Society books look so intriguing to me. So much so, that we bought one. Kate hasn't read those yet (at least I don't think she has). We may pull that one out next . . . :P

Anonymous said...

Emily's right, I'm impressed with your ability to read that much, too.

Shawn said...

I have such random collection of things I'm reading right now. I'm reading "The Rise of Christianity" by WHC Freund. It's a scholarly book used in many religion classes. I'm also reading "American Promethues". This book was given to me in a gift exchange. It's a fascinating biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. I'm suprised at how thin the line is between crazy and genius. Finally, I just finished Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. It was a good read but I liked it less than The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons --but I will say, it doesn't have any action sequences quite as preposterous as Angels and Demons!

Boquinha said...

Sounds like Dan Brown has learned a thing or two since Angels and Demons . . . :P

J Fo said...

Good stuff! I just finished "The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society" per your request and LOVED it. I mean LOVED!

It's funny because I'm just starting teaching "The Awakening" for my Am. Lit class tomorrow. SUCH a great book. Great female empowerment. Great especially to teach the girls at my school. (I don't know if I'd be able to teach it if I had boy students!) I look forward to teaching it every year.

I'm currently reading The Hunger Games. So far it's great.

I also just bought "The Shadow of the Wind" per yours and Vivian's recommendation. These are mostly thanks to a great B & N gift card I got for Christmas!

Sorry for the novel, but with the topic of the post I only thought it proper. ;)

Boquinha said...

My best friend growing up HIGHLY recommended The Hunger Games to me. I'm curious to hear what you think. It's a series, I think. 3 books maybe?

I LOVE (I mean, LOVE) talking books and movies with you!!

Robynne said...

I'm obviously late catching up on blogs, but anyway...

I love hearing what you guys are reading! I also have a stack of about 15 books on my nightstand and love looking at it knowing what fun I'll have reading all of them! I *love* the Hunger Games books! There are 2 out now and 1 more coming out in August(?).

Happy Reading! :)