Thursday Book Suggestions

Kids:

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese

Ping is a duckling who craves adventure, but also loves his duck-y family.  This story is about both Ping’s solo adventure down the Yangtze River and his joyful return to his family.  It’s a great story, but the real magic is in the illustrations.

Older Kids:

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

At some time or another, every child or teen thinks about running away from home and making a go of it on their own.  In My Side of the Mountain, Sam does just that.  He tells his parents goodbye, travels from his city home in New York City to a tract of land in the Catskill Mountains, and teaches himself to live off the land.  Sam makes human and animal friends, has fantastic adventures, and begins to grow from a boy to a self-sufficient young man.  This book offers something for everyone – young, old, guy, gal, city slicker, or country bumpkin.

Young Adult:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Here are the facts:

My hubby has never been a reader, much to my dismay. 

I picked The Hunger Games up from the library, then hubby stole it from me and read it cover to cover in a day.

This is all the motivation you should need to read it!  (I loved it, too.)

Adult:

The Art of Racing in the Rain: a Novel by Garth Stein

The best book–by far–that I’ve read in the past 6 months.  Another book told from the perspective of the dog, but this one is completely different than its peers.  It was much deeper than I expected, and has something to teach everyone.  Who knew doggies had such profound thoughts?  I was very excited to hear it’s being made into a movie (due out in 2012).

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Books, Libraries, and Reading

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”  ~Charles W. Eliot

Most people only have to know me for a short period of time before they learn that I’m sort of obsessed with books.  I love books.  I love reading.  I love book stores.  But–most of all–I LOVE public libraries.  See, buying books takes money.  Buying books the way I read them takes LOTS of money.  I am poor.  Thus, I let my library buy the books…and then I get to read them…for free (as long as I manage to return them on time!). 

For as long as I can remember, my mother chaperoned regular trips to our local public library.  There was much anticipation and excitement on library day, and the four of us probably ran amuck in the library quite often.  My poor, run ragged, genius mother cultivated a passion for reading in all four of us kids.  And then she proceeded to spend exactly 45% of her precious time extracting our noses from books in order to participate in some of life’s less important activities, such as meals, school, and chores.

A coworker who also enjoys reading mentioned to me the other day that she has trouble coming up with books she wants to read.  She said she gets a bit overwhelmed when she walks in the library, because she’s not sure how or where to find a book that she will enjoy.  And I realized that there are probably lots of readers with the same problem.

First, what is it that makes a book great?  Personally, I like the following definition:

You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”  ~Paul Sweeney

This is going to sound a little Facebook-esq, but here are my Thursday Book Suggestions for your next literary friend…

Kids:

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

A childhood classic written by one of my all-time favorite kids authors.

Older Kids:

 

A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry

Educational, but still fun, this book tells the story of a river through the years.  I read this book over and over growing up and was very sad when my copy got destroyed during one of our moves.

Young Adult:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

If you liked Twilight, you will likely fall in love with this book, too.  The writing often borders on prose, giving the book an artistic feel all its own.

Adult:

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

 Everyone who enjoys books should give Dan Brown’s a try.  His books are heavy on the details, yet action-packed, giving you a fast paced read with substance.

 

P.S. My library – The Washington Centerville Public Library – has an excellent resource webpage for finding your next favorite book.

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November Goals: Recap

I caught myself coming and going both ways this month.  It was absolutely crazy!  The sad part is, December is bound to be just as bad, if  not worse.

~

1. Write Christmas lists.  Yes – here.

2. Read 3 books.  Partially – I finished The Good Guy by Dean Koontz and am in the middle of Dune by Frank Herbert.  Dune has taken me a loooong time to get into, but I’m starting to like it.

3. Winterize my garden and flower beds.  No.

4. Find & purchase a soap dish.  Yes! – Exactly what I wanted for 99 cents!

5. Make mulled wine.  No.

6. Complete my barely started knitting project.  No.

7. Get a group together to go see ”The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.  Yes! – So much fun!  I’ll post about it sometime soon.

8. Try a new type of wine.  Yes – had a glass of Valley Vineyards‘ Vidal Blanc tonight.  I want to try more Ohio-grown wines.

9. Make dish(es) for Thanksgiving dinner!  Yes – I made Cranberry Fluff, Cranberry Muffins, Coconut Macaroons, Pancakes (for the morning after), and Mashed Potatoes.  The only thing that didn’t turn out was my Cappuccino Pie–it never set up.  Bummer!

10. Buy at least two Christmas presents.  Yes – two down, many more to go!

11. Pick up manure in arena & haul at least 10 loads of sand into the arena.  Yes – I thought my back was going to crack in two the day afterwards! 

12. Ride my horse at least 3 times per week.  Yes – except when the weather was bad and over Thanksgiving week, but that was a given.

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