Reading

I'm sure it seems like I haven't read anything in about 8 months but that isn't true.  Last fall/early winter, I re-read the Bloody Jacky Books, by L.A. Meyer.  Over the summer, I convinced my mom to give me the series since she didn't actually read it, and as far as I could tell I was the only one actually reading her copies of books.  I love the series, and it was nice to read them back to back, which I never had the chance too, so I could finally remember ALL the characters.  I wish Meyers would hurry up and finish the series, as much as I love the books how many adventures can one character have in four years.  Seriously nine books already?!  Still I do love Jacky, and so after I finished all nine books, I couldn't bare to read a book with a different character.

Here are my last two reviews of Meyer's books.

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Adventures of Jacky Faber, on her Way to Botany Bay by L.A. Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh I loved this book, because I love Jacky.  This is one of the few books in the series that made me cry.  Mariad's character/story is definitely sad in this book. I do love these stories, but I'm getting ready for a real conclusion.

The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea by L.A. Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly don't know what to write, I love Jacky as my other reviews say.  But there are so many synopses online it seems silly to write a plot review.  Her bald head in reference to boys weirds me out. The end of review.

View all my reviews

Since I loved Jacky too much to read about any other fictional character's after such a marathon, and being in my first trimester of pregnancy next I checked out a near million baby name books from the library.


Baby Names Made Easy: The Complete Reverse-Dictionary of Baby Names by Amanda E. Barden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my favorite baby name books I checked out from the library.  She arranges them by topic, ie nature, religion, etc. Which was great because meaning of names is a big thing for me. My son's means, "God is my salvation" and my daughter's name reverences religion and the month she was born.  It was great because it had a glossary to look up names, which was useful, because the were arranged by topic then alphabetical order.

Baby Names That Go Together: From Lily, Rose, and Violet to Finn and Fay - Sibling Names That Mix and Match in a Perfect Way by Eric Groves, Sr.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I thought this was a super lame baby name book.  I didn't find it useful at all.  It groups names, ie listing all the female names from Harry Potter in a group, or a bunch of greek mythology together. I did read the whole thing, but I didn't find it useful.

Beyond Ava & Aiden: The Enlightened New Guide to Naming Your Baby by Linda Rosenkrantz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thought this book had some fasnicating information about baby name trends, history and cultural patterns of naming.  The downfall to this book is the author does not include definitions.
She also has a website I've referred to, nameberry.com

Choose the Perfect Baby Name: Use Numerology to Decide on a Name That Will Benefit Your Child for Life by Sonia Ducie

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was complete fluff and I knew that when I checked it out.  Its about Numerology for your baby name.  I checked it out as a throw back to all those slumber parties. Reading the horoscopes and doing the numerology pages in the teen magazines.  I had fun reading our name horoscopes, I mean numerology scopes for about a half an hour then I picked up a real baby name book.  I didn't believe any of it, it was purely entertainment. 

The Baby Name Countdown: 140,000 Popular and Unusual Baby Names by Janet Schwegel

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I would never recommend this book, it has no definitions, no nothing.  Just a list of 140,000 names.  It was pointless.

The Baby Name Bible: The Ultimate Guide By America's Baby-Naming Experts by Pamela Redmond Satran

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Extremely useful name book. Very comprehensive and gives definitions.  Easy to use, straight forward. I think I will actually check it out again, and re-read all the boy names.  I'm not sure my husband and I are getting anywhere or not with our name picking.  I like the long list of variations it gives for names too.

Then I was reading to break back into fiction, I started reading Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had never read Laura Ingalls Wilder before, but had heard bits and pieces of my husband reading Farmer Boy, twice to my son, years apart. After hearing different chapters here and there, I got the book one from the library. I love Laura, she is so wonderful. We bought the box set and hopefully my son will read them himself next year. This is the first in the series and boy does Laura's family have a different life than mine or even her future husband Almanzo. I would highly recommend this book to any age.  I love her parents too.

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this book too, because really I can't imagine anyone not loving Laura Ingalls Wilder. One of the things I love about her books is even though they are about a girl I don't think they are only girl books.  I don't think she overly plays up the girlishness at all, I think a boy could totally enjoy the plot.  

Apparently Laura fixed my problem, because I started reading other fiction again.
Then I re-read things for my book group.
I read The Evolution of Calpurina Tate, which is what I picked for book group, two more times.
I also re-read and considered Hattie Big Sky, and What Happy People Know.  I would highly recommend all three books.
I also then I got,

Digging to America by Anne Tyler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was told this book was a fictional story two families who adopted Asian daughters, and the differences in how they raised them.  Being fascinated with foreign adoption I quickly got the book from my library.  I was mistold about this book.  The book is a coming of age book about a middle age widowed Iranian woman in America.  Ok, so maybe its not coming of age when the character is in her 60s, but it was still a story about one girl's grandma, not about the two families who adopted the girls.  I was very disappointed, in fact I was mad when I finished the book and annoyed I'd wasted my time. I guess this is just not one of the genres I like at this stage of life, because I know many people love this author. Terrible thing is I found out it is book group selection in about 10 months, I can't re-read it then.  I guess I'll just have to remember I didn't like it.

Now I'm currently reading the Chocolate Pot Series, I've finished one, and am on two.

Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book.  I thought it was Jane Austen mixed with Harry Potter.  How can you go wrong with that mix?!  The romance/society/dating of Austen and mixed with magic.  It was fun, and I would totally recommend it to people who like both JK Rowling and Jane Austen.  It was a little predictable when it came to the romance, but isn't that the way we like Austen's time period.  But I also found two story tellers slightly confusing, the book is a series of letters back and forth between cousins.

Moral of the story, I have been reading.  

I guess its also no surprise that after lunch my kids and I get out our books and read. I guess my daughter "reads" but my son is actually reading.

Second moral never give up on someone who doesn't read, or doesn't like reading, or is struggling at reading, one day if you never give up they may read like a banshee. 

Also I would like to point out my library would make my life so much easier if they kept a cache of everything I read in the last 6 months.

I've also recently read, along with reading to your kids one of the best things you can do for your kids is read in front of them.  I think I have a check on that.  Second it also said every child who is a early reader was read to in the home.  I think that is a duh statement.  A couple of years ago, I read that children who have books in the home but aren't read to are more likely to become readers than children who are read to but don't have books in the home.  That is good for us, because we aren't as good about reading to our daughter as we were with our son.  But I mostly think that has to do with personality.  A lot of time she has no interest in us reading to her.  Other days we read and read and read to her.  She does show signs of emerging literacy since she is now "reading" her book, ie telling the story herself, and now she finishes the sentences of the books she really loves, like Snowballs. Actually considering she is the only one in our house who can't actually read, it makes sense she often would prefer to pretend to read, since that is what she thinks we are adoing. Unless she isn't familiar with the plot or its bedtime, then she wants us to read. My son brings home a different book every day from kindergarten to read to us, and if she doesn't get her chance to go on a picture walk (flipping though the pages looking at each picture) there is heck to pay.
And now you know why my family believes a room without a book is like a body without a soul. I guess Cicero said that.