Wordless Wednesday: Read Across America Day

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday, and also Read Across America Day! Lately, Aiden has started gaining more interest in books and I am so glad! I love reading, and I hope he will grow up and have an appreciation for books. Here is a picture of him reading one of his favorite books, "How Big".

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2011 Reading List

I have finally put together a list of books I plan to read in 2011. I set a goal of 12 books in 2011, but I have already finished the first one and we're only on the 4th day of the year. Haha. I'm sure I won't finish all of them so quickly, but my January book was really good!

The books listed below are all books that I have heard about from other people, and are books that I heard good things about. I have a bad habit of buying a book, and never reading it. So, I will probably go to the library or borrow most of these books.

I also have a list of extra books for 2011. These are books that I would also like to read, and if I finish my 12 main books early, I can read some of the extras. I'm sure that as the year goes on, and I hear about more books, my extras list will probably change and get bigger. I am really looking forward to this year of reading!

January - Look Again by Lisa Scottoline

February - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

March - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling

April - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  by J.K. Rowling

May - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

June - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

July - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

August - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

September - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

October - Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

November - Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

December - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Extra Books - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall, The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin, and Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp.


There are a lot more I'd like to read, and if I have time I will. For now though, this is my list. I'm trying not to set a goal too high so that I don't stress over not reaching it or being behind on it. I am also trying to watch less TV and spend less time on the computer - reading helps me with that. I don't have a lot of time to do any of those things with a busy toddler running around the house, but I try to make time. I can usually squeeze in a few chapters of a book during nap time (if I don't nap too), and then more reading before I go to bed.

Jenny really loves reading, and I hope that Aiden will love it too when he's older. I try reading to him now, but he's usually too busy to be read to. Jenny would let me read to her all day though. She is my little book worm, and Aiden is my busy body. Haha!

Here's to happy reading in 2011!

Books Read in 2010

I have seen several other blogs who have posted reviews of the books they read in 2010, so I thought I'd do the same thing. Although, I am a little ashamed to admit that I only read 6 1/2 (I'll explain the 1/2) books this year. I'm hoping I'll do better next year, I have a pretty large list of books I plan to read.

Here are the books I read...

The Twilight Saga Complete Collection by Stephanie Meyer 

 Honestly, I saw the first Twilight movie when it came out a few years ago. At the time, I had no idea that it was based on a book. Looking back though, that should have been obvious. I liked the movie, and once I found out that it was also a book, I had to read it. I liked the book even better than the movie. Isn't that what always happens? Books are (almost) always better than the movie. I will admit that the books are pretty poorly written, and are not by any means the best literary work. I do, however, like them. I think they are a fun, cheesy, read.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

This book was one that I wanted to read because there was a movie coming out about it, and I wanted to read it before I watched the movie. This book was pretty good. It was a little predictable, but I liked it.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

This is the 1/2 book I read, meaning that I only read half of it. I don't even know if I finished half. It was so boring. After all the hype made about this book, I was totally disappointed. Of course this is just my opinion, and there are a lot of people I know who really liked this book. I guess memoirs just really aren't my thing. It was the first memoir I've read and it wasn't what I expected. I probably should have finished the whole thing, but I literally felt like I was forcing myself to read it.

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

I read this book as part of an online book club I did, Book Beginnings and Bookends. I loved this book! This was my favorite book from 2010. I could not put it down! Since it was a book I read as part of a bookclub, we had a reading schedule we were supposed to stick to. I just couldn't do it, I had to know what was going to happen next. I ended up finishing the book several weeks before the book club ended and I was so glad I did! I'm not gonna tell you what it was about because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might read, but this is definitely a book I would reccomend.

Well, that's it. That's all I read in 2010. I'm going to post my 2011 reading list in a few days. Let me know if you have any suggestions as to what you think I should read. I'm always looking for another good book! Right now I am reading a book called Look Again by Lisa Scottoline. I just started it last night so I don't know enough about it yet to say if it's good or not, but so far I like it and I've heard good things about it. 

Also, I recommend that (if you like to read) you join Goodreads. It is a great way to keep track of the books you've read, books you want to read, and your opinions on the books. It is also a good place to find books you'd like to read based on the reviews of other people. 

I hope you're all having a great week, I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of 2010!!   

The Library

As many of you can probably already tell (from my book club posts), I love reading! There is nothing like curling up in bed with a good book just before going to sleep. When I was younger, before Aiden, I used to read a lot. Since having Aiden however, I have less and less time to read. I was thinking that the older he got, the more time I'd have to read - but I was WRONG! It seems like the older he gets the more and more he demands my attention, and the more and more I am having to go behind him either removing him from a situation he shouldn't be in or cleaning up after him. Recently though, I decided that I was going to have to find a way to make time for reading. So, I decided to cut back on the amount of time I spend on the computer and in front of the TV, and start reading instead. I joined a book club, and more recently Jaime and I got new library cards.

I couldn't be more excited about the new possibilities having a library card opens up for us. I don't have to worry now about how much I'm spending on books or how many books I've already bought this month. Now I can go to the library, get what I want, and return it when finished....and I don't have to pay a dime so long as the books are turned in on time. So far the only downside to the library is that some of the books I want are all already checked out and then I have to request they hold it for me when it becomes available. Not a problem, except that sometimes it can be months before they become available. So, with those titles, I usually just end up buying them. Either way, I'm still saving money.

My most favorite thing about the library however, is that I can not only get books for myself, but I can also get them for Jenny and Aiden. They have lots of books here at home, but we've read all of them at least 10 times. So now I can go and get them new books to read every week! I've already gone twice to get them books, and here are the ones we got....

Elmo One, Two, Zoo - This book was fun and really cute! Aiden liked it a lot, and even Jenny enjoyed looking at the colorful pictures. Those little flaps on the right with the different animals on them make it very easy for little ones, like Aiden, to turn the pages. This is a board book, which is also a necessity when choosing books for Aiden. Paper pages are bound to get torn with him. So these cardboard pages are the way to go!

The Kissing Hand - This was another cute story. This one was about a little raccoon who was about to start school, and he was a little nervous. His mother taught him a great way to keep from being scared and to know that she was always with him, even at school. This was a great book for Jenny, because she recently started kindergarten.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - This was always one of my favorites in school. It is written by Eric Carle, and it is a classic. It tells the story of a very hungry caterpillar that starts out as an egg, and then eventually turns into a beautiful butterfly, but now without getting a stomach ache first!

Chicka Chicka ABC - This is another one that I got for Aiden, again with cardboard pages. Reading this story is a fun way to teach your kids the alphabet. Aiden and Jenny both love this one!

The Sneetches....And Other Stories - Another classic story! Written by none other than Dr. Seuss. His books are so fun to read, and Jenny really loves the rhyming words. A great thing about this book is that it has a total of 4 stories in it, so it can be read multiple nights.



It's Vacation Time - This is one that Jenny picked out. I'm not sure why she chose this one, because when we got home she asked me what it was called and what it was about. We read this one a few nights ago, and she liked it. It's about some friends who are getting ready to go on vacation, but they can't get everything to fit in their suitcase. The illustrations in this one are really bright and colorful, so Aiden likes it as well.

Henny Penny - This one I can remember reading as a child, and I'm sure a lot of you have read it too. It's about a chicken, Henny Penny, who thinks that the sky is falling so she must tell the king. On her way to tell the king, she runs into several of her friends who decide to go with her to tell the king. Eventually they run into Foxy Loxy, a fox, who tries to trick them....but does her trick work? I can't tell you that, it would ruin the ending! =)


So, those are the books we've been enjoying for the last couple of weeks. Soon I'll do a post on the books that I have been reading lately, and hopefully y'all can suggest some new ones for me. I hope you're all having a great week....TGIF!