Ten things about me and reading - 31 Things

ONE | My favorite childhood memories were summers walking to the Bookmobile. I could easily check out 16 books each week and read each one.

TWO | One of the hardest things about moving to Ecuador was the lack of public lending libraries and the limited selection at bookstores.

THREE | I will always prefer traditional books vs reading books on an e-reader. Nevertheless, I’m happy that I can buy books for my iPod Touch. It is freeing to have a selection available of new and old, right at my fingertips.

FOUR | Even though the device tries to mimic the experience, reading books on my iPod Touch is not so enjoyable.The screen is small, the device difficult to hold, the glare eventually tires my eyes, it is difficult to visualize where things are in the book. Reading electronically has taken a little of the joy out of reading.

FIVE | I almost never leave home without a book in my purse/bag/car. 

SIX | I am not super particular about the genres I read, but I do go through stages. Ten years ago I would only read “highbrow” literature: classics, Nobel Prize-winning authors, winners of the Booker Prize. Five years ago I was only interested in magazines and “fluff.” Nowadays I find myself reading non-fiction.

SEVEN |  Two of my favorite books are Wuthering Heights and Les Miserables. I was an English major and read a lot of 18th-19th century British literature, and to this day I continue to prefer British writers. I miss the analyzing books for symbolism and motifs of my college days.

EIGHT | I wasn’t expecting to love the Harry Potter series so much. I can’t wait until the boys are ready for me to read it to them. I ask them every week. 

NINE |  The boys are read to every single night. Andrés and I take turns. They actually look forward to bedtime and this ritual helps them fall asleep quickly. Some days they have us read for 45 minutes or more.

TEN |  I don’t intend to ever get rid of any of the books in my collection. Most have been brought in suitcases from the States every year. I love each one.

I have so much more to say on the subject - I will probably be revisiting this idea again and again in the future.

Here is the look of the two-page spread:

Our routine

It is nice to have a routine, now that the kids are in school. We come home, finish homework, then play for a while until supper is ready. By 8 p.m. the kids are in jammies and in bed, waiting for their bedtime story. When they were very little, I loved this tradition, but sometimes now I wonder if it was very smart of me. As they get older, the stories/books get longer, and now they both want a book, since they can never agree. It turns into an hour-long ordeal some nights, and if we refuse a story they have a fit, claiming that it will give them nightmares (and it usually does).

Today we "read" from the Arthur book we got this summer at the library sale. The pieces were missing so Daddy had them made and laminated, and the kids love putting all the characters all around the pages, in their slots. Now they like to tell their own stories with them (which involves a lot of smashing heads and feet in doors and standing upside down), but sometimes these stories will go on for twenty or more minutes.

They never seem to tire of them, though.

So tired of Sharks!

That Sharks book. I bought it for the kids this summer, to help relieve the onus of the Reptiles and Amphibians book, which was a book we were reading at least 3 times a week, if not more. I am beginning to regret buying it, however. Like its predecessor, Sharks has become the go-to book for Nicolás. We probably read it four times a week. I love reading to the kids at night, but I cringe when Nico brings this book into bed (each of the kids gets to choose a book each night). Tonight Daddy did the reading, and I felt relieved. I love sharks and manta rays, but a girl can only take so much! ;)

My bookshelf

Got a few books on the To Be Read shelf, at the moment. Most from the library. A couple lent to me. Most excited about the Garrison Keiler book. I haven't ever read anything by him. Should be interesting.

About to figure it out

Agustin is getting to the age where, any one of these days, he is going to figure a few things out and make the transition from toddler/young child to young boy. Tonight Nicolas chose "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as his bedtime story and Agustin started asking the questions: "Why does Santa only wear red and white? That seems strange." and "How can Santa deliver presents - doesn't he need to sleep?" and "I really don't think Santa can fit down a chimney - and it's too dangerous!" Of course I came up with a good enough answer for each one, but day by day it gets harder and harder.

The other day he said to me that monsters don't exist. "Of course they don't, honey," was my immediate response. But then he looked at me quizzically and said, "But then fairies don't, either."

I dread these talks because one day, inevitably, the light bulb will go off and my little boy will be a big boy. :(

Oh, Harry Potter, How I Love Thee

Finished The Goblet of Fire last night, and started The Order of the Phoenix this morning. They just keep getting better. My mom had said that Goblet of Fire wasn't that good, but I loved it, and loved that it was over 700 pages, which means it lasted longer. I guess my favorite so far is still The Prisoner of Azkaban, but honestly, Rowling is a genius!

I am getting nervous though. What will I do when I finish Book 7?

{Gulp} I don't want to think about it.

One funny thing - every time Agustin sees me with a new book, he gets all excited. Last night he saw Book 5 on my night table and he looked at me incredulously and said, "Harry Potter FIVE?!" Then he started dancing and jumping all over, all excited.

As I write this, Nicolas saw Book 5 on my night table and took it and climbed up on the bed and said, "Harry Potter Five? I'm gonna read Harry Potter Five."

Addicted to Harry Potter

It's bad. I'm addicted to Harry Potter. I finished the third one (The Prisoner of Azkaban) this weekend in Ambato and almost cried because I hadn't thought far enough in advance to bring along book 4.

Got home, first thing I did was go get it from Agustin's shelf.

Started reading and really just don't want to put it down long enough to make some supper.

So may skip supper tonight.

Yes, it's that bad...er, should I say good?

Next will be the movies!

Reading Hour

Lots of reading going on these days in the house. The kids picked up a Pink Panther book this weekend at the library and have read it several times. I just can't say no - when they ask me to read, I have to drop everything and do it. Daddy is the same, but for Legos - when Agustin asks him to play Legos with him, he drops everything.

Library Day

Went to the Damas library today - it has been a lifesaver for me these past 2-3 years. One of these days I will put up a post with the books I've read, 90% of them from that library. I took the kids with me today. Agustin goes through the books like water - he really is not selective at all. Since I have to rent them at 25 cents a book for every two weeks they are out, if he gets 25 books, that can be a bit pricey, so I told the kids to keep it to four books today. They were great - went through the big stack they had originally chosen and pared it down to four. But then...Mommy had to do the same.

One of the things I miss most about home is having a (good) library, as well as a Barnes and Noble, nearby. Geez how I miss the library and B&N.

Getting around to Harry Potter...finally!

So I've decided to read Harry Potter, finally. My mom gave me the first three books many years ago, before I had kids, and I read the first two and half of the third. Then I decided that I wanted to read them all, in order, so I stopped reading and started collecting. This summer I got the last one, and so finally this week I decided to start reading. Just finished the first one, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and loved it (I liked it the first time, too). I'd love to read them to the kids (I remember my mom reading us Little House in the Big Woods), but I think it'd be too scary for them (they're huge babies).

Transformers for bed

The Transformers book has been a hit. We read it every day, and the kids are not getting tired of it.

Our nightly routine consists of reading 2 books (each kid gets to choose one, and unfortunately for me, if they happen to choose the same one, they end up choosing another anyhow - it can make for a long bedtime routine). Then the kids get tucked in, say prayers (Nico makes fun the whole time but Agustin takes them very seriously), and then Mommy has to stay and sing songs in the dark as they fall asleep. We started the song-singing back in November when one of the kids was feeling bad, to help him fall asleep, but somehow it has become a tradition. Right now the four most requested songs are Jingle Bells, Jingle Bell Rock, the Transformers song (from some commercial when I was small - I like that one since it is only two lines long), and On Top of Spaghetti.

I am usually exhausted by the end of the entire routine and collapse on my bed.

Bookshelf makes mommy smile

The title says it all. Somewhere to house the kids' books is a good thing. And I love that now the boys can get to their books easier (before they would always fall and make a mess). Nicolas is especially enjoying the shelf, as I will often find piles of books around the house or on his bed as he takes them off the shelf and looks at them.

Book shopping

I had the day off today to go to Agustin's open house at school. He did great and brought home a great report card (19.3/20), but one thing I noticed is that he is a little behind in his reading. The other kids read much faster than him (although I am still unsure as to whether they understand what they are reading). So I decided to take him to the bookstore this afternoon. He got four books, from Toy Story to Ice Age 3 to Transformers and one about Hot Wheels, and enjoyed sitting down with them and reading them (especially the Transformers). I really hope I can help him improve his reading skills. He loves to hear stories, loves going to the bookstore and library and going through the books, but it has been hard getting him to read on his own.

Reading the Paper

Got a glimpse today of Agustin after school, reading the paper. Probably just looking at the pictures, but he seemed so serious and intent on the act that I got a small glimpse into the future.

Memory, Books and Vacation

Lots of Memory and relaxation around the house this Christmas vacation. Nicolas especially is fascinated by this game, and asks everyone to play it. He doesn't cheat - too much. He cries when he loses and gets excited when he is winning. He pouts and walks away and hides his head in a pillow if someone gets the pair he had his eyes on (although he is getting better about this the more we play - big brother is now doing the same, however, which makes for tedious play). He "saves" the cards that are pairs by placing his hands on top of the cars, and he won't let anyone else turn them over, unless we want to see the Pout.



Myself, well, what have I been up to? You guessed it - lots of reading! Finished The Book Thief (got it in Vegas) and it was not at all what I expected.



I hate it when I get a book, thinking it is going to be great because so many people have recommended it (when I bought it at Borders, the girl even commented that I had made a great choice!). It wasn't bad. It was sort of good. Again, it was meant for teenagers, like the Twilight saga. Maybe that's my mistake. There is no comparison to Twilight, mind you, but I thought the language was too contrived at times. I shouldn't be so critical, but there were some sentences that just didn't make sense to me much at all. I guess the author was trying to show the power of words, how they can envelop you, change you, imprison you and free you. Sometimes I just wanted more of the story, though, and not so many "words".

I kind of liked the narrator, however. Death. The author did a great job of making sure that the narrator was not such a cliche. It was still a good story, although I didn't cry once (and I cry at everything), so there was something that couldn't make me care enough about the characters.

I am going to blame the power - excess - of the words.



I am still working my way through Angela's Ashes. It is really good, amazing, and I can't quite make myself believe that Frank McCourt will make it through to the end. He is amazing and the story is so great, and I can hear the Irish lilt of my Great-grandpa Kreyer as I read McCourt's memoir. The way the ideas are threaded and connected is so much fun, and there are some parts that are just hilarious! I mean, what do you do with a line like this:

Before he leaves his house he always sticks his head out the door and tells the lane, Here's me head, me arse is coming.

You laugh out loud!

So, back to school and work tomorrow. I am expecting lots of tears tonight!

Let me take this moment also to wish you all a Happy New Year!

"This is how Mommy reads"

"This is how Mommy reads."

Nicolas has started taking the books off of my new bookshelf and "reading" them. I guess he watches my love of books, and has begun to understand the pleasure of paging through them and just feeling the pages under his fingers. He will caress the words on the page and tell me what they say (always nonsense words), and then go get a new one off the shelf. So fun to see him enjoying the act of reading. Also fun to realize how the second child, after watching the first, picks up the idea of words a lot faster than the first one. Agustin never quite grasped the idea of words on the page until he went to school, but Nico already has the idea down pat.

I love it when he tells me, "Agustin should read, too, instead of watching TV."

Then he says, "I like reading. More than watching TV."

And adds, as an afterthought, "But I like watching TV a little too." (Just in case I decide to make him read instead!)

Smart kid - the same one who tells us he will save his chicken for dessert because it's his favorite part (then he starts with his dessert!).

Crespuculo, or Twilight as You Have Probably Heard It Called

I am well into the Twilight series, and since many of my dearest friends seem to be obsessed by it, and since I cannot NOT read something that everyone is talking about, even if it is something I would never pick up on my own, I decided to acquire the series on my last trip to the States. Unfortunately, vacationers in Orlanda,FL do not seem to be much interested in reading, and I could not find a bookstore anywhere near the Disney World properties. Not even in the resort, where I thought for sure they would have a stand for magazines and books or something. Strange. Anyhow, I ended up looking for the books at a Walmart, and could only find the first one. I got it, and when I got back home started reading it. I don't know what I was expecting, but it sort of fulfilled my expectations and didn't at the same time, so I became intrigued and decided I had to read all four books. But where was I going to get them?

Fast forward to the largest display of Twilight books in an Ecuadorian book shop in a nearby mall, and all in English! Wow! Amazing. So I spent a small fortune on the other three books and have settled in to figure out what the hype is all about.

Maybe I was wrong to read all of them in a row. Too easy to find inconsistencies. Or maybe I was wrong to mention that I was reading the series to a bibliophile friend who was none too happy, and then proceeded to tell me his theory that Meyers had books 2-4 ghostwritten. But I haven't enjoyed them as much as I expected to. It is a book for young adults, so I realize who the audience is supposed to be, but I find myself going back page after page and trying to figure out what the heck is happening. For example, at a crowded party Edward will "leave the room" and Bella will be frantic to find him, only to notice Alice in the corner, who has "caught Edward's eye from across the room". Now, how did that happen when I had assumed he had already left? I know it is picky and petty but that is the kind of reader I am, I guess. I am not reading the books for their literary worth, but for the story (and the story is good), but if I am reading for the story, I would think the author would have to be more careful with the details that really make the story move. So, I have been struggling with that aspect of the books (and yes, the first book was much more polished, making me buy into my friend's theory).

I also have not appreciated how flat of a character Bella seems to be (I think she is changing a bit in book 3). I mean, the girl is obsessed with being a vampire, to the extreme that she (who I had the impression of being so smart and perceptive) seems to miss out on the whole picture. And if she really loved Edward that much, as much as she obsesses to, why wouldn't she listen to his reasoning a bit more? It makes me think she doesn't really love him but instead is obsessing over him because he has that (apparently) special vampire characteristic to appear irresistible to humans.

One of my friends has said that Bella is so flaky because she is in love. Perhaps. She was supposedly so different from the other girls her age, though, that she has secretly disappointed me that she is acting like the star struck teenager. Really, is it so different to think a teenager would want to give up everything to become what appears to be a glamorous, eternal vampire - give up marriage and college and babies and family and friends and death for a boy? Wouldn't every teenager be willing to do that? They are, after all, quite selfish and not much interested in the things about life that make living living. Oh Bella, you are so sad sometimes. What a sell out.

These are the questions I have, and normally they would sound like good ones, except that there is nothing in the story to help me through them. Like the author is just avoiding those hard questions. Again, it is YP Fiction, but even young readers deserve to have the hard questions approached, don't they? Especially with such a successful series.

On the whole Edward is a much better character, deeper and more intriguing, which probably explains why the series is so popular, since many of my friends seem to be secretly in love with Edward Cullens.

Ha! Taking a book so seriously. I am still obsessed with getting to the end, so don't think I am saying I won't read them. But, I am a little surprised at their wide spread success (don't hate me!).

Library Day

Today is library day, which makes me very happy. So far, since finding the lovely damas library, I have checked out and read the following books:

• Notting Hell by Rachel Johnson. A quick read, similar to those British chick lit books but maybe not as good as something by Jennifer Weiner, for example. Still, light reading and enjoyable, although not really my type.
• The Book of Salt by Monique Troung. I couldn't finish this book, and actually did not enjoy it at all. Every time I felt like something was going to happen, the plot would thin out and leave me hanging. I did not like the second person voice at all, and felt like the narrator was too educated and insightful, almost pompous at times (under the guise of a humble cook), for who he was supposed to be, which made him completely flat in my opinion. The prose has some potential, although it felt like the author (this is her first book) was trying to hard to impress and would therefore forget about her plot and her characters. A little too verbose. Anyhow, NOT a recommendation, although I may check out something by her in the future. I don't know, I just expected more...
• The Other Boelyn Girl by Philippa Greggory. I have read another book by Greggory, and enjoyed it (The Constant Princess). Her books remind me of when I was young and would read historical romance - I always loved getting wrapped up in a story from the past. I guess I like them because English royalty has always confounded me, and by putting the kings and queens into "real" characters, I feel like I understand it better. I feel like I am learning as I read. It is a long book and I haven't finished it yet, but it is interesting and well written.
• Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult. I've read My Sister's Keeper, and enjoyed it. I like the suprise endings, and Picoult's writing is basically flawless. She can really move a plot along, although I did not understand the reason for giving background on the main character, Jack St. Bride. Anyhow, Picoult is good escape reading, and reminds me of why I love to read in the first place! I can finish a book of hers in a few days, a big plus for someone who can barely get reading time in.
• The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. I have been looking forward to reading something by Kidd for years. The librarian told me he has The Secret Life of Bees, which I have heard is better than The Mermaid's Chair, but I am glad I at least got to read something by her. Not my favorite book, but a quick read and different plot. I liked the descriptions of the settings.
• Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. WONDERFUL. This is a great book. It says "A Memoir in Books" on the front, and that is a good description. I would recommend this book to anyone. Not my usual choice of book, but even better than I had imagined!
  

On the Nightstand

I have been reading a lot more lately than I had been. Partly it is Amy’s fault, since she was getting through a couple books a week, and made me feel that old nostalgia. I remember looking forward to summer so that I could read twelve, fourteen, twenty books a week. I was insatiable. I loved it. There are no real regrets - I feel I got my fair share of play in, too. But going to the library and bringing home bags full of books - knowing that I actually had the time to get through them all - was icing on the cake.

So, I have started to make an effort to get more reading done. I still have a good ten books or so in my English collection that I haven’t read (lots more in my Spanish collection), and quite a few more I could stand to read again, so it shouldn’t be too hard. One thing that has changed greatly from summer days as a kid, however, is that my self-diagnosed, not ocmpletely-joking-about-it, attention deficit disroder has kicked in and I can no longer keep my mind on one book at a time. So, at any given time, I’m reading 3-4 books at a time.

Right now it is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. This is a book I ahve been looking forward to reading for probably the last two years or so, and which I was so excited to find in a used bookstore here in Quito. I have been hoarding it since I bought it about a month ago, but now is the time. I am only a few pages into it, but I feel a little shiver of excitement go up my spine every time I look at its cover. (At this point I am sure even Amy is thinking, YIKES! She’s losing it.)

I am still reading Mosaico. In fact, I’ve only gotten through a few chapters since last time I blogged about this book. I am beginning to think that the problem is in the translation, however, and not the book itself. I just can’t get into it - it feels very flat and repetitive. And that’s too bad, but always the problem when translation comes into play, especially on books that are not best sellers or classics.

I am also reading Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund. It is not at all the kind of book I thought it would be, and is not an easy read. Yet, I find myself unable to put it down. It has some sort of magnetic pull, and the voice, which was annoying at first, has started to grow on me. When I am not reading it, for some reason I miss the characters. This doesn’t usually happen to me with this kind of book, so, without actually realizing yet, I’ve already gottten halfway through it.

And just finished is A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. A crazy title for a great book. This, on the other hand, was an easy read, but not because it was not worthwhile or mere fluff. It was simply good writing, a great storyline that moved things along, and wonderful, funny characters. Really enjoyable. Too bad about the title, perhaps. When I first heard about this book I had no desire to read it. Then, I found it in the book shop here and decided to go for it, since I had heard so much about it. Definitely a book you could gobble up in one night on the couch sipping coffee.

The last book I am into right now is Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz. Yes, quite a change of genre and voice. It is my car book, however, and car books are very important to have. These are books that you keep under the seat of your car in the event that you get stuck somewhere in line and need a good book to entertain you. It can’t be anything too deep, because you could get pulled away from it at a moment’s notice, and it has to be something not too hard to follow since you may not get back to it for weeks at a time. This used to be my purse book, but since Agustin was born, it has become my car book, since I often get stuck in the car at malls, restaurants, home, etc. while we wait for him to wake up fmr his car nap. So a car book is vital at these moments.

It is an old book, a murder/mystery, and one which I think I may have read when I was younger. I chose it because I liked Koontz’s books when I was a teenager, and I wanted to explore that old fascination I remember having for them. I have been pleasantly surprised with the book so far - Koontz’s writing is sound and actually not bad, and the characters feel less flat than a lot of the other characters you see in that genre. So, a good car book that looks like it will be a good read. (Unlike my previous car books, Meg by Steve Alten and The Millionaire by David Baldacci - both of which have characters that are so predicatable and cliched that they distract you from the plots, which are also predicatable and cliched, but oh well. A car book is a car book.)

I found my library card and got online. My wish list is at 32, but I have thought of a couple more I’d like to put on there. I am sure I’ll end up buying many of them, since I will never get through them all. But I love getting online and dreaming my way through the library’s web site. And that’s Ramsey County.... Hennepin County is even cooler and better.

Next big purchase will be a PDA so I can buy ebooks online and download them instantly. It’s not my favorite way to read, but it is easy to keep up with the new stuff that’s out there, and I don’t have to buy a bookshelf to accomodate them (nor dust them, which is a big plus)!

I guess it’s time to end this post - I’ve been interrupted four times by screaming kids with nightmares/tummyaches/hunger pains, etc.
(Note: This was written the night of my frustration. I am uploading it a few days later.)

Long Time, No Write

I've been largely absent this month because of the teacher training course I've been involved in. One of our self-proclaimed "good" TEFL tutors decided to skip out on the program, without warning us at all, and I had to pick up most of her hours. I've been working long, long shifts - up to 14 hours a day, but it is extra income and well paid, and we finish this Friday so it was relatively short-term. Today is another long day, one in which I'll probably get home after the kids have fallen asleep. That is a depressing thought...