At the beginning of the Summer I made a personal goal to turn off the TV and pick up a book. And then, once I finished that book, to pick up another. And another. Until Summer was over. Here, in no particular order, are the ten books I’ve read this summer:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Burrows– A delight of a book written as an exchange of letters between close friends and associates in England and its outlying islands shortly after the end of World War II chronicling instances of love, laughter, surprise, heartache and the courage it took to make it through the war.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett– You’ve probably read it. If not, you should! I was so enthralled with Stockett’s ability to narrate the book in the distinct voice of black maids in the post segregation south. A touching, nerve wracking, be true to yourself story.
The Bartimeaus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud - (The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye and Ptolemy’s Gate) All 1,552 pages of this trilogy kept me on the edge of my seat, made me laugh out loud and had me weeping. The recommended age for readers is 9-12 years, but I found the sense of humor to be much more sophisticated than that. Think Harry Potter, but with magicians instead of wizards and a sarcastic genie telling much of the story. Again, this series is narrated by several characters and Stroud gives each a clear voice. Loved this series and will force my children to read it. {Just kidding, they’ll read it of their own accord!}
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – If you haven’t partaken of the joy that is THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, stop reading my blog right now and go buy all three books. Give yourself two, maybe three days if you’re a slower reader, and then call me. We’ll talk. Yeah, it’s that good, and I believe is one of the best pieces of Young Adult Fiction to be written in a long time.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen– The autobiographical story of mountaineer Greg Mortensen and his quest to build schools high in the mountains of Pakistan for children who have next to nothing. Amazing considering Mortensen was living out of a storage unit and had next to nothing himself! A great, deep read that left me wanting to do something to change the world.
Dance With Them – A lovely compilation of short vignettes about children and struggles and life written by mommy bloggers. {famous mommy bloggers}. Great for bedtime reading – conquered a vignette a night until I was done.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling – I just finished reading this out loud to Hannie B. and RedDog. Even though they’ve both seen the movie and HB has read the book on her own, they hung to my every word and begged for more chapters each night. A classic!
The Book of Mormon – Yep, read it again. And again. And still found new insights and inspiration for my life and family that I didn’t find the other ten times I’ve read it. Would you like a copy? Let me know!
6 comments:
Excellent reading list. Our family committed to turning off the TV as well. No more cable. And I read so many wonderful books. Seven of your ten.
Even more amazing: I don't think we'll be re-subscribing to cable any time soon. The kids are watching streamed shows from Netflix and DVDs from the library to supplement their reading time.
The only one I haven't read is Three Cups of Tea so I'll add it to my very long TO READ list. Loved all the others but you know that because I suggested several of them to you.
Thanks for posting this! I am anxiously awaiting delivery of The Hunger Games trilogy. Should be today. Looks like I have one more task to add to my list, a visit to the Library!
Great list, some of my favorites. I haven't read the Bartimeaus Trilogy so I will have to add that to our list.
Some I've read, some I'll look forward to reading. My friend recently read Stones in Schools by Greg Mortenson. She said it's similar to Three Cups of Tea but a much better read. I had a hard time getting through Three Cups. Although it was very inspring, I found it repetitive, somehow. I hope everyone is doing well there and excited for school!
Thanks for some reading suggestions. I haven't read Mockingjay yet and think I will have to be mentally ready before visiting Katniss again. I am excited to try the others though. Thanks!
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