Does anyone read? Part II

[Schmeelkie]

Speaking of Greek gods (I seem to be on a roll with gods lately...), picked up the first two Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan for Pumpkin. We're about 1/2 way through The Lightning Thief - enjoying every minute! Mostly I've been reading it to him - so he can pause to ask about things, most often - 'who's he the god of' and we consult our Bulfinch (so happy husband bought that years ago!). He read for about 30 this am, so again, I'll have to find some time before bedtime to catch up. Husband has been reading it after kids are asleep and keeping up with us. About right age-wise for Pumpkin (he'll be 8 in September) - funny and scary, but not TOO scary. Like somewhere between Harry Potter and The Spiderwick Chronicles, with some great education on Greek mythology slipped in there. A friend of mine was tearing through these books last summer trying to keep ahead of her 8-yr old daughter - so they came highly recommended.

[Shapley]

I read the first one, and enjoyed it somewhat. They made a movie of it, but I have not seen it. Apparently it did not do well at the box office. It seemed to go to video pretty quickly.

I bought the whole set for my son, though I think there a bit too juvenile for him. I have a thing about completing the sets. I think we have one other running series I need to complete, but I've kind of lost track. My son usually let me know when the next came out, but I think he outgrew some of them before they were complete. He read them all of the Percy Jackson series, I think.

I've been collecting the Complete Peanuts and the Complete Bloom County books, reading them as they come along. Peanuts ran for a long time, so I think Bloom County will be done before Peanuts will. The both seem to issue new volumes at about the same time.

I have the Complete Far Side and the Complete Calvin and Hobbes books. Unlike Peanuts and Bloom County, they were issued all at once.

[BigJon]

Our kids quite enjoy the Percy Jackson movie.

[Schmeelkie]

My husband actually saw and liked the PJ movie, but we thought it was best to wait until Pumpkin was a little older before getting the books. I'd say 8-10 or 12 is probably a good age fit for these. Heard Riordan's other series are good...

Shap - I'm the same about series. Going to get the last Eragon book, even though I was getting disenchanted with them because I want to know how he's going to wrap it up.... My husband, on the other hand, is perfectly willing to stop reading mid-book. I think I've done that once or twice in my life. Usually, even if it's bad, I need to know how it turns out...

Through the school year, Pumpkin discovered and has read almost all the Beast Quest books. These are chapter books aiming at 7-8 year olds - seems to me that the basic plot was pretty much repeated in each book - I read 2-3.

We have many Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes books. The kids like C&H so much, we'll probably have to replace a couple of the books we have!

[Shapley]

I put down the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books without completing the series. They were cute at first, but grew pretty tiresome after a while. My son finished them, but I think it was out of a sense of duty more than enjoyment. Like you, he had to see how they turned out. I reached a point with them where I just didn't care anymore. I think it was around about the fifth book.

[Schmeelkie]

Got through the Percy Jackson 5 book series in around 5.5 weeks. Really good - I would plan to read a chapter after the kids were asleep, in case Pumpkin got ahead in the morning, but would often end up reading 2, 3 or 4 chapters before I could put it down. Very fast paced, but still thoughtful and surprising. We're rereading the series at bedtime now. Bella has me reading parts of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at bedtime...

Husband got me 3 books for my birthday from Allen Steele's Coyote series that I'd had on my Amazon wish list, for, like, ever... he'd published much of the first book in a series of novellas in Analog and I was hooked. Great getting back to it now and looking forward to reading new parts!

[piqaboo]

Tristes Tropiques by Claude Levi-Strauss - very slow going - but just enough for a page or two a night.

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley, w Altoid.
She wants to start Harry Potter, but Roald Dahl's The Witches gave her trouble for a night or two, even though it specifies that the witches Can Not come into your house. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named suffers no such restrictions. Plus the meanness of HP's "family" will distress her. I confess to skipping a few sentences of meanness in TBS. She can read the book in a few months, and get all the details. At bedtime, I'm not up for intense discussions of man's inhumanity to man.

[Schmeelkie]

Pumpkin is more bothered by 'smoochies' than the scary stuff. Got through HP 4 and some of 5 with him, but really even he realized it was a bit beyond him and, again, the teen love stuff is just icky to him right now. Bella will sometimes get worried if she's listening in (HP or Percy Jackson), but I always tell her it's going to be OK. Of course, while he's seen a good bit of cartoon violence, Pumpkin still doesn't want to watch the trash compactor scene in Star Wars...(we still skip Obi-wan dying, too).

Got Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero - same world as Percy Jackson (some of the same characters), but primary characters are new. And btw - boy got almost nothing but books on his birthday (I also got him a venus fly trap), and the next day, when he got a check in the mail - wanted to buy, you guessed it, more books! That's my boy!

[Schmeelkie]

A colleague lent me The Passage by Justin Cronin. About 150 pages in I was going to give up - too dark and hopeless seeming, but somehow I kept going... then I really wanted to figure out the mysteries and ended up reading the whole thing. Basically post-apocalyptic story and if you can make it through the set-up (really more like first 250 pages!), the ideas and characters are well done and keep you reading. I think there's a sequel - might look into it, but afraid he's blown the best ideas in this one...
Pumpkin blew through the first installment of The 39 Clues series (Rick Riordan) in a little over 24 hours - now I've gotten sucked in - started just to help explain a few things... going to send husband back to the library this week and see how many more in the series we can get for the break! I'm going to use break and travel to get through another couple Analogs before I get into other books I have hanging around.

[Shapley]

Pumpkin is more bothered by 'smoochies' than the scary stuff.

"Ugh, they're kissing again! Grandpa, is this a kissing book?"

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Pumpkin is more bothered by 'smoochies' than the scary stuff.

"Ugh, they're kissing again! Grandpa, is this a kissing book?"

Inconceivable.

[Shapley]

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[jamiebk]

Inigo Montoya: You are sure nobody's follow' us?
Vizzini: As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable. No one in Guilder knows what we've done, and no one in Florin could have gotten here so fast. - Out of curiosity, why do you ask?
Inigo Montoya: No reason. It's only... I just happened to look behind us and something is there.
Vizzini: What? Probably some local fisherman, out for a pleasure cruise, at night... in... eel-infested waters...

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[In the boat in the morning]
Inigo Montoya: He's right on top of us. I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using.

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[Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up]
Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[Schmeelkie]

"You seem a decent fellow, I hate to kill you." Inigo
"You seem a decent fellow, I hate to die." the man in black

"Stop that rhyming now, I mean it!" Vizzini
"Anybody want a peanut?" Fezzik
"AAAGGHH!' Vizzini

Saw a t-shirt online - Plain white with what looks like a 'Hello, my name is' sticker on it. The bottom is filled in with, 'Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

[Schmeelkie]

Cranked through Guy Gavriel Kay's Ysabel while Bella had pneumonia. Vast improvement over his last title (The Last Light of the Sun or something like that). Helps a bit that he pulled in a couple of characters from the Fionavar Tapastry. Was really loving it before they showed up, so I know it's not just that. Wove a nice story with room for a sequel or at least going back to the main characters again.

[Schmeelkie]

Pumpkin and I have completed 9 of the 39 Clues books so far. He barreled through book 9 (190 pages) over the weekend. I have to keep up because he wants to discuss parts... They're fun and you learn a little history and geography along the way.

Husband got me into The Magicians and The Magician King by Lev Grossman. Yes it basically starts as a teen going to magic school...but it's college-aged kids, so you can have more 'adult situations'. And he makes overt nods to Harry Potter, the Narnia series and other classic fantasy/sci-fi stuff. Great original ideas, great character development, great surprises, really awesome writing. Highly recommended for fantasy fans! Adults, not for kids.

Also, apparently Orson Scott Card is at it again with Shadows in Flight - continuing to follow Ender's compatriot Bean and solving some leftover riddles. I think he's going to continue writing in this universe until he dies... Good book, not great, but easy to read and some good fun parts...

[jamiebk]

Currently reading "Extra Virginity"...an expose on the European olive oil industry. Sobering....

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Finally got around to the "Hunger Games" books. Read all three in four days. Nothing much else got done. Now to see if the movie is any good - the plot(s) should translate well.

My favorite bit is the end of book three, with the dead politicians.

[BigJon]

Just finished Legacy of Ashes, an expose of the congenital arrogance and incompetence of the CIA. No wonder GWB didn't trust the info they were giving him, they had no feet on the ground in Iraq. Disgusting. Based on the info, it sounds like the CIA is in no better shape today . . . scary.

[dai bread]

Have finally got around to reading "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang. It's an eye-popper. Things went on on China that were very largely swept under the carpet in our news reports, especially during the "Cultural" Revolution.

Given a dictatorial revolutionary regime, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. The stupidity on display is even more astonishing. The "Great Leap Forward" is only one of the examples.