SJ's favorite book so far

Well, I did say it would be while between updates.  SJ (my daughter's nick name) is an active little girl.  We're coming up on her first birthday and she rarely slows down for reading right now.  However tonight she cuddled up next to me and we read 6 little Sesame Street board books before she was off again.  This got me to thinking about the books we've shared this year and my impressions of her reading interests.

Yes, I realize she's not even a year old yet, but it's still easy to see which books she prefers over others. For example, her least favorite book so far has been I'll Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Shelia McGraw.  She won't let me finish it.  By the time I reach the boy's teenage years she tries to close the book. 

She's fascinated by her First Words: Let's Get Talking book, though there's no real story there to follow. I think she just likes all the colorful pictures and different tabs that are so fun to gnaw on.

The Peter Rabbit Touch and Feel book she got for Easter didn't last very long.  Though she liked the textures found throughout the book, it wasn't sturdy enough to stand up to her curiosity. 

But the one that she comes back to time and time again is a silly little book that I love reading with her as she giggles through a good portion of it.  Five Little Monkeys jumping on the bed by Eileen Christelow is SJ's go-to book.  When she's ready for a story that's the one that gets pulled out of the pile.  Naturally, I'll be getting other books out of the Five Little Monkeys series for her.

With her birthday coming up, I have a list of books I'm considering picking up to share with her. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle will be our next purchase and hopefully another favorite.

2014 - Reboot

I didn't intentionally stop keeping up with this blog, but switching jobs made it infinitely more difficult to make it a priority.  Two months ago I had a daughter and one of the things I started thinking about was how to insure she loves reading as much as I do.  One way I'm going to try and do this is making sure books are prevalent in her life.  We've already started this - her book collection is small, but my goodness will it grow. 

I'm also taking this opportunity to read some of the classic children's books I never quite got around to when I was growing up.  For Christmas she received the classic picture books Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown & Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney as well as the chapter books The Story of King Arthur & His Knights by Howard Pyle and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  I'm looking forward to sharing these books with Hiccup (our online nickname for her) but we're starting our reading journey with The Chronicles of Narnia.  I'm trying to get into the habit of reading a chapter a night with her - and while I realize she's not able to follow the story right now, she's hearing the language and it's designated Momma/Daughter time right before bed.   Hopefully she'll enjoy it as much as I already do.

So my plan for this blog is going to alter a bit and become more of a record of the books my daughter and I share.  I can't promise frequent updates, as one 15-16 page chapter a day won't get us through books very quickly.  But I will put up a review of each book we read together, even if it's a small sort of thing.

Be well and have a wonderful 2014.

Dead In The Family

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Usually I jump right into a Sookie Stackhouse book and I don't stop until I reach the end. I'm completely satisfied and can't wait to crack open the next one. Sadly, I didn't feel that way with this one. For one thing the way the book began with the very short, choppy chapters I couldn't get into the flow until around page 92 or so. Once I hit page 100 I was off and running. The build up of tension went on throughout the book as it always does but the resolution felt too quick and left me feeling a bit disappointed.

I enjoyed the growth we saw in Jason's character and I hope that remains. Sookie's internal examination of her own character and how cold she's grown towards certain things was very well done. With so many different characters it's impossible to give everyone a lot of time on the page but there's never enough Sam to suit me. I think he's probably my favorite character in the series outside Sookie herself. Here's hoping the next book is a bit more enjoyable for me.

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I apologize for taking so long to post this review! I managed to miss the fact that though I reviewed it on Good Reads I never got around to it over here.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott is told from the point of a 15 year old girl who was abducted and abused since she was ten years old. Her captor, Ray, has molded her into his twisted version of the perfect girl. When the book begins all she's waiting for is the day she gets too old to fill Ray's fantasy so he'll kill her. That desperation remains throughout the book though we do get to see the barest hint of hope towards the end. The book's ending is not what you expect to see but perhaps the only ending that matches the tone of the book.

Goodness this was a hard read. Not the language, but the content. Like I said when I started the book, this wasn't the story I expected to read. It is powerful, it is chilling, and honestly? It's a bit harsh for my tastes when it comes to YA. I think it's an excellently crafted book, but when I was a teen I would not have gotten any enjoyment out of this story. I can't see myself recommending this to anyone under the age of 18.

Reading Update

I haven't posted a review in over a month. For that I apologize. I have been reading, but the books have been pretty fluffy. I will get reviews up for two "cozy" mysteries I read in August soon. Currently I'm reading a YA novel that is a very hard read. When I saw the title "Living Dead Girl" I was sure it would be some type of light humor about a teen goth - that's what I get for not reading the book jacket. This is YA Realistic Fiction - gritty and emotional without being sappy in any way shape or form. I'll post a full review when I finish it. But as I usually only get time to read during my lunch break I've drug my heels on this one. Every page makes me lose my appetite so it's usually left sitting on my desk while I find a writer's magazine or a book on MS Vista to flip through instead.

But since I have to turn it back in to the library next week I'll finish it up and post my review by Thursday. Have a great weekend!

American Gods

Two reviews in one day, I'm on a roll!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I started reading this the first time about four years ago and I never finished it. But, since it is a source of inspiration for Scion, the tabletop game I absolutely adore I decided to give it a second chance. Not the mention I happen to think Neil Gaiman is a brilliant author, so I figured my first time around with American Gods was just not the best time for the book.

I was right, because this time the story grabbed me and I really enjoyed it. Shadow is a character that is incredibly illusive. He doesn't give away much of what he feels or thinks and is, in general, a good guy that made some mistakes along the way. He more than makes up for them once Mr. Wednesday hires him. The story unfolds slowly and builds to an intriguing climax before it gives an ending that satisfied me.

What I think I enjoyed the most however was the game of trying to decide who all the characters represented. I'm pretty sure I got all of them, but of course there's no answer key to tell me if I'm right or wrong. Now I just have to find the novella Shadow is featured in as well, I'd like to know what happened to him.

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Bad Moon Rising

Bad Moon Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I've been anticipating this book for ages now. See, I love the Dark-Hunters but the Were-Hunters really really intrigue me. I think Vane may be my favorite of all the characters in these books. But this book isn't about Vane, it's about his brother Fang and his star crossed love Aimee Peltier, the only daughter of Mama Lo and Papa Bear, the owners of Sanctuary. The Peltiers are a fantastic family full of great characters. Frankly I hope we get to see a book for Dev and Kyle as well sometime.

Fang is an interesting character but I didn't connect with him the way I expected to. Aimee is marvelous, you just can't help but like her and want to see her happy. Getting to see Savitar in action was great, and meeting the Hellchaser Thorn added a new character I want to know more about. Given this was a Were-Hunter novel instead of a Dark-Hunter novel it made sense that we saw very little of Acheron but I missed his presence anyway.

What I enjoyed in this book was Fang and Aimee's devotion to each other and their loyalty to their families. That worked really well for me and fit the characters as we've come to know them through other books. The one thing I didn't like was the lack of time line for the book. I found myself getting confused in some areas trying to determine which timeframe different portions of the book took place.

No matter what the Dark-Hunter series continues to entertain and inspire, I'm just disappointed that I have to wait a while for another book to come out. :)

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