Fave Reads Friday #22 – Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Last time I wrote about the books I am working on I had just started Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. That took me less than a month to destroy. It was hard in parts because I feel like the book needs some editing….not from a content standpoint, but a fact check of sorts. For instance, the dates jump around in places to where I had to go back and check that I wasn’t crazy in thinking that they were out of order.

Let’s not focus on the negatives though. I really enjoyed this story and it reminded me of the summer when all I read were “the classics” like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and Portrait of a Lady. The language is quite beautiful in this type of book, but I can’t read it every day anymore. The only other downside to the book was that the story ended so abruptly. I expected a little more adventure…..

SPOILER ALERT!

For instance, when they saw the giant man and the mastodons, why did they not go and investigate more? It seems to me that the book really told little of a “Journey” and more of a hike gone awry with little adventure at all other than storms, near starvation, and a few explosions.

My son is waiting on a different version of the book so that he can read it as the language did prove to be a little much for him.

We are still working on The Secret Garden at bedtime and I have gotten about 1/3 of the way through Part of Our Lives (more on those to come). My youngest just finished reading me The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo and we’ll be watching the movie for our Friday night pizza/movie session tonight. He is now working on Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke (the third in this series of graphic novels he has read). And the oldest just completed Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (another I haven’t yet read) and is on to something I can’t wait to read myself: Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan. It’s 500+ pages! I am so proud that he’s attempting such a large book at his age!

What have you read lately?

What’s the biggest book you or your kid(s) have read?

What are you reading with/to someone?

Any suggestions for my summer reading list?

Fave Reads Friday #21 – Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

When I was in high school my parents got divorced. My mom and I used to watch Gilmore Girls (her more than I at the time). When I did watch it wasn’t really my thing, but I do remember wishing that Lauren Graham (aka Lorelei Gilmore) would be my mom and that we could have all that witty banter that she and Alexis Bledel (aka Rory Gilmore) had. Sadly, my mom was a mom of 4 kids and we weren’t that close.

Many years later, after my first marriage ended, I watched Gilmore Girls again…..all the way through. At that time I really wanted to be Lorelei myself. I wanted to have a child and raise it and have them be my best friend. I was seriously considering being a single mom and all of the ups and downs that choice would entail. I found myself unemployed (by choice) and realized that wasn’t such a great idea. Plus, at that time I was still going off of the statements of doctors that with 99% certainty I would NEVER have children of my own.

Skip ahead to my summer reading goals 2020…..um, to actually make time to read…..

Now that my library is back open for pick-up and drop off (although they come out and place things on a table and there is absolutely no human interaction AT ALL), I have started to check books out again. The first book I picked up was Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham. Why? Because it’s LAUREN GRAHAM! I loved her in Gilmore Girls, I loved her in Parenthood, and I am currently loving her in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.

Okay, so I am not going to lie to you, I didn’t read the description of this book before I checked it out I was really disappointed when I started reading it……because……I thought it was going to be a biography….and it’s not. HOWEVER, the story is wonderful and amusing and well written and I found myself pleasantly absorbed in it. The first day I read 8 chapters! In one sitting! The second day I read another 8 chapters….in one sitting! And then I couldn’t sleep that night, so I stayed up and read the whole rest of the book.

It felt soooooo good to read and to read something that was entertaining and well written. If you are looking for a great read by the pool, at the beach, or wherever you’re holing up for the rest of this summer pandemic chaos, this one is at the top of my recommend list.

So, now that I’ve given that one a whirl….what’s next?

Well, I am currently reading The Secret Garden to my kiddos (have never read it myself and there’s a lot of blatant racism in this book). My oldest was supposed to be reading Journey to the Center of the Earth, so I picked up his copy when I was still awake the other night and started on it. Then, I realized there was no way he was actually reading it, so we’ve decided to read it together. And, I returned Someday and picked up Part of our Lives: A People’s History of the American Public Library by Wayne A. Wiegand. That one remains unopened at the moment. In addition, next month I plan to start re-reading the Anatomy and Physiology text book I teach from to refresh myself and my labs.

What have you read lately?

Ever thought you were reading a different book?

Ever finished a book in three days?

What are you reading with/to someone?

Any suggestions for my summer reading list?

Fave Reads Friday #20 – Fill Your Kids’ Shelves with Books About Black Experiences — Mommy Shorts

I love reading Ilana’s book lists. I have found some of my kids’ favorite books from her lists. This one in particular made me think that maybe my kids don’t read enough different authors or types of books. They sometimes have difficulty connecting to stories about kids that are different from them. This is probably a fault of my own doing. I tend to look for books featuring boys (except for our most recent books: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy and The Secret Garden). I want to expand our list of titles on our next library trip!

 

The stories on the news right now are horrifying and make racism in this country seem insurmountable. But we must consider that by not acknowledging the existence of racism with our kids, including all the smaller examples that do not make the news, we are contributing to the problem. This week, Harlow and I read…

via Fill Your Kids’ Shelves with Books About Black Experiences — Mommy Shorts

Fave Reads Friday #19 – Reading what you have

During Spring Semester my reading was slow and almost non-existent. But, since quarantine began I found a little more time on my hands. And once the semester ended…..all I had was a book. Unfortunately, all I had was ONE book.

Fave Reads Friday #18 – The End of Free Reading

I never did get my Summer Reading finished and that’s that last time that I wrote about books I have been working on. Since that time I managed to devour three more books, but know that this will end as this semester gets going. So here’s a few things that I enjoyed and highly recommend.

Fave Reads Friday #17 – Two Strong Women

On goes the Summer Reading! My kids have been so great at working on their reading! And, despite the breakneck speed at which this summer is flying by, I have found more and more time to read myself. Here are three more books I’ve accomplished so far…..

Fave Reads Friday #16 – Summer Reading in Full Swing

Today is the first day of the Summer Reading Program at our local library. They’re doing a big kickoff party tomorrow that we’re going to, but today is the “OFFICIAL” start date. My kids got out of school last week though, so we’ve already been reading. They’re working on the Mensa for Kids’ Excellence in Reading List for K-3rd grade as it encompasses their current reading levels and ages. I’m working my way through the list of books I’ve “saved for later” at the library.

So far I’ve finished three books since I finished teaching for the semester…..

Fave Reads Friday #15 – Devoured

Things I write about from time to time are the food that I eat and the books that I read and occasionally books about about food. Back in March and April when I was traveling a ton for NETA I was able to get some serious reading done. One book I completely destroyed in a single weekend was Devoured: How What We Eat Defines Who We Are by Sophie Egan.

 

Fave Reads Friday #14 – Fiction, Comedy, and a Bit of Reality

Do you ever forget to hit the publish button on your blog? That’s what happened to me on Wednesday, but I’m not letting hit happen today! It’s been over two months since I last posted a Fave Reads Friday; and almost as long since I wrote about what I was reading. There’s been a few different directions my reading has taken me, so let’s jump right in to the list!

TOLT #76 – Modeling

Well, it’s Thursday and I still haven’t finished How We Live Our Yoga, but I did start to find some anecdotes that spoke to me. Maybe the back portion of the book is meant to be the best so that if you actually stick with it it will be worth the time?

There was one passage by Judith Hanson Lasater in which she talks about how her yoga changes over the years and about being a “Swami Mommy” As my youngest is starting Kindergarten on Monday and I move into the next phase of my own life, I realize why my kids need me to do my yoga just as much as I need it. They need me to be patient and ever evolving along with them. My life is changing and so is theirs. They also need a mom who is flexible both mentally, emotionally, and physically. I need to grow and change and listen and able to keep up.