Reading

Since Christmas I have made a big effort to read more books. I've always been a reader, but over the years I have slacked off and don't read as much as I'd like. Sure, there's those short waves of rabid reading (Harry Potter, DaVinci Code, Twilight, etc), but now I'd like to be more consistent. Since Christmas I have read several books, most only taking 2-3 days to read (some less). I've read: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and Princess Academy(all by Shannon Hale), Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, Among The Free (Shadow Children series) by Margaret Peterson Haddix, The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and all of The Spiderwick Chronicles (Books 1-5).

Most of those books on the list were quick reads since they are Children's or Young Adults books. The shortest book on the list, The Time Machine (I'm counting all five Spiderwick books as one), took me the longest to read because it took me awhile to get into the style of writing, but still was a good book.

I would recommend all of these books, although, while I liked the concept and character discovery of The Catcher In the Rye, I did struggle with the foul language that was used. I actually had started the book several years ago and had never finished it. After knowing so many people who love that book, I was determined to finally read it from start to finish.

My favorite book on the list to date would have to be The Goose Girl. It took me a couple chapters to get into the book, but once I was in, I couldn't pull myself away from the story. It was beautifully written and weaved a great tale. It's actually based on Grimm's Fairytale "The Goose Girl" and Shannon Hale did a wonderful job expanding and giving more life to the story.

Right now I am working on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Like The Time Machine, Frankenstein is taking me awhile to read because of the style of language used. I am also finding out that the original Frankenstein story is quite different than what I had thought it to be from all of the different usages of the Frankenstein concept.

I have also been reading The Book of Mormon to Jefferson to help him with his challenge to "Beat the Bishopric." The Bishopric of our ward challenged our primary to read The Book of Mormon and if they beat the Bishopric, then they are promised to receive a candy bar the size of The Book of Mormon. That has been a good incentive for Jefferson, so we have been (mostly) diligently working on our reading so that Jefferson will earn his candybar. We are currently at the beginning of the book of Alma. I stop every few verses and have him repeat to me some of the words I read to make sure he stays focused. I don't really expect him to understand most of what we read (since he is only 5) but hopefully the next time through he will remember some of what we are reading now and be able to understand more.

Once I'm finished with Frankenstein, I plan on reading Dracula by Bram Stoker and then moving on to some Jane Austin (of whose books I've never read). That is, unless I break down and buy the hardback version of River Secrets or Book of A Thousand Days (both by Shannon Hale) because I can't wait any longer for the paperback editions to be released.