Summer Reading ~ A Time for Mom

The Schoolhouse Review Crew is weighing in on the topics of Books and Reading this week on the Cruise site. The post goes live tomorrow, so go see the wide variety of posts on these topics.

I don't know about you, but during the official school year the majority of my reading involves read-a-louds to my kids. I desperately try to fit in my own personal reading time. But, after planning, teaching, grading, and record-keeping all day long, it seems to get moved to the back burner until we have breaks from school. That's why summer is the perfect time for this mom to get caught up on some reading!

Yes, my kids are enrolled in the Summer Reading Program at our local library. Eli will mostly want to read non-fiction books (especially ones related to weather) and Brynne will read just about anything that catches her fancy. The challenge is for me to lure them away from the computer, Wii, television, and regular play time to slow down and read. It's also a time for me to challenge them a bit. I want Eli to start to get over his fear of chapter books, so I will try to get him started on a Geronimo Stilton book soon to get ready for our first unit for school on the Olympics. My plan is to let him listen to one chapter, then read the next, and so on. And I will just have Brynne continue reading her Puppy Place chapter books, trying to increase her speed.

But what I will really be doing a lot of is reading MYSELF! I have a list of books I am wanting to read.

• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking by Susan Cain
• One Day by David Nicholls
• The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass
• Kindred Spirits by Sarah Strohmeyer
• Life of Pi: a novel by Yann Martel
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Lars
• The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
• We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Several of these have been made into movies recently or are going to be made into movies soon. Books are always better than the movies, but when a movie is made from it I have found that the book has usually been excellent. So a few times a year I do a search on Amazon for books being made into movies, and that's where I get my list. Then I read those books and DON'T see the movies.

Currently I am reading Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. And, I am doing an informal book club/study if you would like to join me.

I am also reading Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnavon. After watching the first season of Downton Abbey, I am hooked on that era. This book is written by the current Countess of Highclere Castle.

Moms .. do you find yourself reading more in the summer? What books are on your shelf?