FOR SCHOOL
By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman
Pre-read for Silas. The fictional story of a boy and his butler traveling from Boston to California during the Gold Rush. I enjoyed this one and Silas was heard laughing multiple times as he read it to himself.
Red Sails to Capri, by Ann Weil
Read aloud for Devon. The fictional story of a family and the guests of their inn as they pursue a risky adventure. This is my second time through this and I enjoyed it much more this time. I think having the boys catch more subtle things, such as sarcasm and personality differences, helped. Plus, I didn't strain my brain trying to come up with a gazillion accents for a book that's almost entirely dialogue. Lazy, but much easier!
Sing Down the Moon, by Scott O'Dell
Pre-read for Silas. The fictional story of a Navajo girl who is captured by Spaniards as a slave, then brought into captivity with thousands of other Native Americans by the U.S. government. Interesting story.
Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman, by Dorothy Sterling
Pre-read for Silas. Though I know who Harriet Tubman was and what she did, I'd never read her story. Excellent book!
Pre-read for Silas. The fictional story of a boy and his butler traveling from Boston to California during the Gold Rush. I enjoyed this one and Silas was heard laughing multiple times as he read it to himself.
Red Sails to Capri, by Ann Weil
Read aloud for Devon. The fictional story of a family and the guests of their inn as they pursue a risky adventure. This is my second time through this and I enjoyed it much more this time. I think having the boys catch more subtle things, such as sarcasm and personality differences, helped. Plus, I didn't strain my brain trying to come up with a gazillion accents for a book that's almost entirely dialogue. Lazy, but much easier!
Sing Down the Moon, by Scott O'Dell
Pre-read for Silas. The fictional story of a Navajo girl who is captured by Spaniards as a slave, then brought into captivity with thousands of other Native Americans by the U.S. government. Interesting story.
Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman, by Dorothy Sterling
Pre-read for Silas. Though I know who Harriet Tubman was and what she did, I'd never read her story. Excellent book!
FOR MYSELF
Arctic Homestead: The True Story of One Family's Survival and Courage in the Alaskan Wilds, by Norma Cobb and Charles W. Sasser
Interesting and an easy read with short chapters, but I started getting bored by the middle of the book and just skimmed the second half.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford
I heard of this book from Thea and I loved it!! It's the fictional story of a Chinese boy and Japanese girl, both American citizens, in Seattle during World War II.
Interesting and an easy read with short chapters, but I started getting bored by the middle of the book and just skimmed the second half.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford
I heard of this book from Thea and I loved it!! It's the fictional story of a Chinese boy and Japanese girl, both American citizens, in Seattle during World War II.
BOOKS I READ OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, BUT FELT TOO LOUSY TO BLOG ABOUT AT THE TIME
Learning to Swim, by Sara J. Henry
The fictional story of a woman who sees a boy fall off the back of a ferry, rescues him, sets about solving the mystery of who he belongs to and how he ended up in the cold water of Lake Champlain. I got totally sucked into this book! Great read!
How to Bake a Perfect Life, by Barbara O'Neal
While this book had some scenes and relationships it could have done without (which is my warning to conservative readers that you may not like this one), I really enjoyed the book. I always love books where friends, family, and strangers truly look out for each other, the downtrodden get encouraged, necessary boundaries get lovingly enforced, and people's hard lives get better. That's what this book was. Warm fuzzies.
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, by Wes Moore
The author develops a friendship with a man who shares his name and birthplace. Neither grew up with a father and both had hard childhoods. However, the author is a very successful man academically, professionally, and militarily, while the man he's come to know is serving a life sentence in prison for murder. This book traces the steps of their lives that got each of them to where they are now. Interesting, but kinda long.
84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff
This entire book is comprised of letters sent between the author, who lived in America, and a bookstore in London, one employee in particular. Sweet story, super short book. I watched the movie after I finished the book and didn't like it nearly as well.
If Wishes Were Horses, by Robert Barclay
The fictional story of a man whose family was killed by a drunk driver. In an attempt to deal with his grief he decides to restart his late wife's equine program for troubled teens. The son of the drunk driver ends up in the program and both families have to work through the tragedy that ties their lives together. Pretty predictable and it has a sex scene late in the book (usually try to avoid that in books, but I was sucked in at that point and kept reading), but I enjoyed it.
The fictional story of a woman who sees a boy fall off the back of a ferry, rescues him, sets about solving the mystery of who he belongs to and how he ended up in the cold water of Lake Champlain. I got totally sucked into this book! Great read!
How to Bake a Perfect Life, by Barbara O'Neal
While this book had some scenes and relationships it could have done without (which is my warning to conservative readers that you may not like this one), I really enjoyed the book. I always love books where friends, family, and strangers truly look out for each other, the downtrodden get encouraged, necessary boundaries get lovingly enforced, and people's hard lives get better. That's what this book was. Warm fuzzies.
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, by Wes Moore
The author develops a friendship with a man who shares his name and birthplace. Neither grew up with a father and both had hard childhoods. However, the author is a very successful man academically, professionally, and militarily, while the man he's come to know is serving a life sentence in prison for murder. This book traces the steps of their lives that got each of them to where they are now. Interesting, but kinda long.
84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff
This entire book is comprised of letters sent between the author, who lived in America, and a bookstore in London, one employee in particular. Sweet story, super short book. I watched the movie after I finished the book and didn't like it nearly as well.
If Wishes Were Horses, by Robert Barclay
The fictional story of a man whose family was killed by a drunk driver. In an attempt to deal with his grief he decides to restart his late wife's equine program for troubled teens. The son of the drunk driver ends up in the program and both families have to work through the tragedy that ties their lives together. Pretty predictable and it has a sex scene late in the book (usually try to avoid that in books, but I was sucked in at that point and kept reading), but I enjoyed it.
BOOKS I BAILED ON
Head in the Clouds, by Karen Witemeyer
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, by Piper Kerman
Starting from Scratch, by Susan Gilbert Collins
Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of the World's Smartest Horse, by Mim Eichler Rivas
The Puzzle King, by Betsy Carter
Head in the Clouds, by Karen Witemeyer
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, by Piper Kerman
Starting from Scratch, by Susan Gilbert Collins
Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of the World's Smartest Horse, by Mim Eichler Rivas
The Puzzle King, by Betsy Carter
