The Doctor and I have been enjoying time together.Given he's gone completely plum loco bored at home, he missed a few weeks of pre-school, and told me he was sick of lying on the couch feeling tired and sick, I wanted to do something special to make the holidays fun. Not big over the top special, just making memories sort of special.
Matt was going to take him to see Toy Story 3 yesterday, but Tiny went bananas and I guess Matt sensed I was over Tanty Town, so he suggested I take the Doctor. PHEW!
I love those moments when it's just the Doctor and I. And there's nothing to read into that. I just enjoy having that one on one that we used to enjoy together pre-Tiny. I think it's important to 'date' each of my kids and enjoy special things together.
Today I took the Doctor (with my sister) to Kinokuniya. The Doctor is a big book lover. He had a gift voucher burning a hole in his pocket. So we three drove into the city and indulged in a couple of hours of perving on books.
I felt so excited to look at books with the Doctor. There are so many great reads ahead for us. We've read Alice In Wonderland, we're half way through Charlotte's Web, we've read How To Train Your Dragon, and we're also digging Milly, Molly, Mandy.
I truly believe that reading and reading with your child is one of the best gifts you can give a child, and one of the most important things to do. So much can be learnt, dreamt, thought of - just from reading each day. We try to read to the smalls every single night, it's really rare that we don't each lie in bed with them to read for a little while.
Lately thoughts have turned to my own reading habits. They are abysmal at the moment. I do like reading recipe books, but lately I get some screen time and go on a tour of the interwebz, here, there and everywhere. And all the bedside matter is lying dormant. Right now I'm reading Revolutionary Road. I'll talk more about that later this week (I've seen the film - have you?).
What book are you reading right now? (Well not RIGHT now, but this week?)
I need to set an example and pick up a book. I want my kids to see me reading. To see me devouring a book. I love writing, and I believe that that goes hand-in-hand with reading. I'm looking for books with instant gratification. Vampire novels and any mystic-fantasy type reading need not apply. Hit me with your recommendations!
* This is a pretty great read about reading and aspirations.
* Here's an article about how reading online can shatter your concentration. Twitter. Blogs. Email. FourSquare. Oh man. I am all over it!
* Last chance to enter the Teddy Bear's Wednesday super awesome giveaway!
15 comments:
Our kids are slightly older than yours. We have read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and we are working our way through The Famous Five series. The kids are loving all the adventures the five get up to. A chapter every other day or so and you knock over a book in a couple of weeks. It also helps the kids' recall memories develop because we ask them what happened last time before we embark upon the next chapter. They remember different stuff too which is interesting in itself. Me I'm between books. The last one I read was "Politically Incorrect Parenting" by Nigel Latta, which was great because it gave another way of looking at the kids and their behaviour and our relationship and stuff.
Kids: Mine are 5 and 3. Just started chapter books with 5yo too. So far The Magic Faraway Tree, a Bindi the Jungle Girl one after a recent trip to Aust Zoo (lame) and have Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Railway Children and The Secret Garden on standby. Waiting for her to be old enough for more Roald Dahl (Danny Champion of the World) and the Lemony Snickets. So many more. For my 3 yo at the moment in high rotation are classics like Going on a Bear Hunt and Five in the Bed, and especially the Eric Carle books Brown Bear, Panda Bear, Baby Bear etc and his 10 Rubber Ducks one too (5 yo loves the true story aspect to this as an added bonus). Gorgeous. and simple rhyming ones and sturdy flap books mainly. Lots of repetition there. Both love any and all of the Lauren Child Charlie and Lola books (and so do I). For older children she also has Princess and the Pea and a version of Pippi Longstocking.
OK for grownups looking for a good read - loved R Road in many ways but found it hard to read so much about a marriage like theirs and left the book a little flat. Can I recommend Atonement and Time Travellers Wife (if you havent already seen the movies), Rohinton Mistrys book A Fine Balance is a great long read (India in the 70s, amazing and awful at the same time. Very eye opening to poverty/way of life etc), just finished (and LOVED) Lo by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, about to start The Elegance of the Hedgehog for bookclub. Other worthy books we have read over the years at bookclub are The KiteRunner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey, The Slap Christos Tolkias, The Space Between Us by Thrity Umriga (or something like that???). Do you watch The First Tuesday Bookclub. Go to their website and you can view the archives of all book discussions and see lists of what reading/recommendations etc. Also Nancy Pearl BOOKLUST has a great list of must reads or books great for reading groups.
Havent read yet (think may be the only one) the Girl with the Dragon tattoo series - but they are meant to be awesome.
Will post some more if I think of any
Let us know what you get stuck into - always looking for great reads.
Oh and how could I forget The Gruffalo for the kids - big big favourite
the Gabriel Garcia M book is LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
Think my comment way too long and it got gobbled up
Get me started on reading !!!
Firstly you are gorgeous on so many fronts.
And I think it's a wonderful thing you read with the Dr and that he loves books. and it's a wonderful form of excitement between the two of you
very envious of your trip to kinokuniya!
How's the Dr finding Charlotte's web. I don't know how many times I've read that book, it's one of my favs, always have a cry.
I'm not reading any books at the moment, between the web, frankie and the paper I don't seem to be able to find the time. Terrible really. xo
I have been dying to go to that bookshop for ages. I must go. Next week. I've also just discovered bookdepository.com. Have you heard of it? It's AWESOME.
Right not I'm re-reading To Kill A Mockingbird. In (very) short bursts. xx
My attention span is very small. Teeny tiny. So I can only manage kids books myself these days.
My kids are older (15, 14 and 10) and we all just read the Percy Jackson series (5 books). They were a good read. (The movie was a dud though, don't bother hiring it...) I have the new Rick Riordan book in my pile of "next to reads."
The last book we all enjoyed (not the ten year old but EVEN the hubby read it and cried) was The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.
Before that it was "Pillars of the Earth" - I enjoyed that book so much.
P.S. I agree with mamabear -- bookdepository.co.uk rocks my socks. It's awesome
Well when I'm not reading Up the Duff, Birth Skills and Baby Love, I used to get through a good amount of all sorts of fiction. I'll be lazy and point you to my Library Thing where most of them are listed http://www.librarything.com/profile/verimaz
For the smalls have you got into any Tove Jannson and the Moomintrolls, more of a read-to-them book for now but very sweet and i still remember sections of it now 30yrs later....
I love reading too. I have a stack next to my bed and I work my way through. Ben and I are always at the DIRT CHEAP BOOKS!!....I find it necessary to yell that because that's what the guy does on the ad on tele.
I read pretty fast which means I read everything - Crime, grime and slime. Fangs, gangs and bangs.
The books that have moved me and stayed with me - The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Nifennagger, A Room With A View by E.M. Forster, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka and Sideways by Rex Pickett.
I have dibbed all of Enid Blyton and Harry Potter to read the kids. Ben has dibbed The Hobbitt and Lord of The Rings.
Have I ever told you that I was a librarian BK (before kids)? Just a plain old librarian. Not a porn star underneath.
xxx
The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo series is great. I don't normally read crime type books but this series is very good - they are definitely page turners.
It's not exactly "adult" but the Tomorrow When the War Began series is also excellent. Also very action-packed books. The movie comes out in September.
If you're after a bit more of an epic love story, read "The Bronze Horseman" by Paulina Simmons. It's great escapism and the characters are fantastic. I don't recommend reading any of her other books though :/
Oops - they're all series of books! hehe. At least if you read the first one, the next one is easy to get in to. Save yourself some getting-into-the-story time ;)
Enjoy!
I just read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and really enjoyed it. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series is good too, but I needed time between each one to regroup. My parents read to me and my sibs constantly and we're all huge readers!
Couldn't agree more about the reading to your kids. Result - they get the bug and before you know it your 10 year old is better read than many adults you know. He's read all the classic's including all three volumes of Lord of the Rings and his 'reading age' is off the chart.
Now, if you've ever read and enjoyed Brett Easton Ellis and Donna Tartt, I highly recommend 'The Lessons' by Naomi Alderman. Read it in a day which is rare since becoming a Mum!
I'm reading:
Tim Winton - Dirt Music
Just finished the Steig Larson Trilogy (thats kinda trashy but very gripping!)
Read any Gabriel Garcia Marquez for a magical gripping read.
Next on my list is The Book Theif...
Happy Reading *s*
I love dating my kids too - aren't they just so different when it's one on one, the whole energy changes.
You guys sound like you had an awesome day, how special!
"Just a plain old librarian. Not a porn star underneath." Toni B - LOL
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