January Reading

I'm feeling a little better today, though still extremely congested. All the boys are better and up and moving. The only benefit to being sick is quality reading time and I've had the last week of being tired and achy to do just that. So, I thought I would update you on my January reading.

I finished The Reagans:Portrait of a Marriage a few weeks ago and I have to say I learned a whole lot about the Reagan family and the presidency in general. (Did you know that they can't keep trinkets, gifts, etc. over a certain $ amount unless they pay the government for them? And, did you know that the first family may have a chef and staff, but they have to pay for their own groceries? I found those tidbits interesting.)

After a little reading rest, I've spent the last week catching up on some new books I picked up at the conference in December and Sam's last weekend. So, here goes:

1. Three Weeks with My Brother, by Nicholas Sparks. First off, I LOVE Nicholas Sparks. And, this memoir details a trip around the world with his brother (they are the only two living members of their immediate family.....the others are all tragic deaths) while regaling stories of his growing up, rise to success and family life. I was amazed by how he truly became a writer (he sort of "fell into it") and just how strong he is with everything he's been up against. I highly recommend this one.

2. Small Steps by Louis Sachar. This young adult novel is a semi-sequal to the award winning Holes (even if you haven't read the book, you might have seen the movie). It begins with two characters from Holes two years after their release from Camp Green Lake. It was a decent novel (no where near as good as Holes) with a terrible ending. I would say read it only if you've read Holes or, like me, you just happen to like juvenile literature.

3. Live Writing by Ralph Fletcher, my writing instruction hero. I finished this one last night and it offers some fabulous writing tips on character, setting, creating leads, etc. Not exactly your everyday novel to read, but excellent for teachers, new writers, etc. Typical Fletcher.....

I'm still working on:

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (after this one, I'm putting my LIW reading on hold for a while.)

Sister Freaks by Rebecca St. James

My teaching partner asked the other day what I do with all of these books that I buy and read. I told her, truthfully, we collect bookshelves in our house and there are books in every room. (Clay has two bookshelves in his room, Ben has one, there is a bookshelve and a book/magazine holder in the living room and two shelves in our office -- not including the books housed, stacked, and scrunched in on the two desks in the office.) Somedays, I think books are taking over!

Next week is super busy so I probably won't get in much reading time. I'll update you again in February.