Reading right now.
Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 12:43PM Today I wanted to share with you the last little knitting project I did in October, but I can't get a good photo of it for whatever reason- sometimes these things just don't work out- so I thought I'd share with you a little bit of what we've been reading around here lately.
First, something purely pleasure, that I've mentioned here before:
from my all-time favorite author, A.S. Byatt, her new book, The Children's Book. I haven't been able to read much, both to my utter dismay (oh, to have a whole day just to read read read!) and joy (savoring every last word). I'm about three chapters in and already captivated by the characters she's created and intrigued to see where the story will go. Not begun, but sitting on the endtable: The new Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna. Frankly, I don't have a good history with Kingsolver- I can't think of a book of hers that I've loved- but this one sounds interesting.
Second, getting ready for the holidays: the Winter Wynstones book (did you know that there are many Wynstones songs available for download on Amazon?),
the Autumn/Winter Tiptoes Lightly book (The Festival of Stones),
and the always helpful Festivals, Family, and Food and The Children's Year.
On the girls' bookshelf right now, a mix of old and new:
Woody, Hazel and Little Pip (an old favorite!)
All The World (new book illustrated by Marla Frazee, who we love, and also illustrated one of our favorites, Everywhere Babies)
Autumn (not a season goes by without one of these in heavy rotation)
All About Alfie (we adore Alfie and his adventures with his sister Annie Rose! Very lovely read-alouds)
Little Chick (a newer book, a sweet collection of stories by the author of our well-beloved Sam books)
The Little Fur Family (an old favorite that we could read over and over- and have!)
We try and keep just six books out at a time. I like for at least one to be seasonal and one is always a library book (those get rotated out weekly on library day). The others I rotate out with the books we have stashed away when I feel like the girls' interest has really waned (or mine has, ha!), usually one book every couple of weeks.
It used to be a dozen books, but then I read about the six books at a time idea in Simplicity Parenting, which is a book I feel truly...evangelical about. I wish that every parent could read it, it's that wonderful. You know how there are just some books that resonate with you as a parent? This is one of those books to me. Anyway, I didn't think we'd ever want to do just six books at a time (my husband and I are HUGE readers. I used to read books at the rate of almost one a day at the time we met, when we were working at the local independent bookstore), but it has been wonderful. Just a few, high-quality, read-it-again books has been a boon for all of us.
What are you reading right now?
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Reader Comments (25)
Love reading book recommendations....thanks! I can't believe there's a Marla Frazee we haven't read. It's on my wish list now!
Lise inthepurplehouse.blogspot.com
Love that Marla Frazee!
Darn it, I have to go photograph my knitting project. Thanks for the reminder!
I'll have to go get that A.S. Byatt book. I love her. Possession is one of my all time favorites. I feel the way about Kingsolver. I liked Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but it took me a couple of chapters to get into it. Her fiction writing always strikes me as too forced. Like she's trying way to hard to be quirky and "magical". Does that make sense? Oh, and I'm reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.
Annika is reading Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins, with the occasional foray into TinTin. Gunnar is an audio book guy. He just finished the 2nd Artemis Fowl book.
Sarah, I feel the same way about her. I want to like her, but...yeah. Forced. Isn't Outliers fascinating?
Do you also know of "All Year Round" by Christine Fynes-Clinton, Ann Druitt and Marje Rowling - one of the first Steiner-Waldorf books I read and our copy has been loved and used for many years now. And I'm so glad you love the wonderful Alfie books!
All Year Round is definitely another go-to for us! Such a great resource.
Oooh, thank you for all the lovely book recommends! I'm going to go find Simplicity Parenting (as if I don't have enough parenting books on my shelf...one of my favorites being Parenting from the Heart). I have to say that I adore Barbara Kingsolver (used her in my thesis paper and she spoke at my college graduation). She does take a bit to get into, I have to admit, but I love her plot development (I think my favorite would be The Poisonwood Bible). At any rate, I really NEED some light reading, as I just brought home Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Gotto from the library. I do have the lovely knit book Socks from the Toe Up sitting here, as I really want to try some socks this winter. Nothing like a little inspiration...just like YOU!:)
You are so sweet!! I honestly wish I could love Kingsolver- clearly, since I keep reading her books! :) Maybe this one will do it for me.
I can totally identify with your reading situation. I am working through the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society right now, just a few letters at a time (no time for more) but I love the idea that it is an opportunity to savor it as well. It is a read that I am really enjoying. Along with that I am reading various crafting and cooking books. I am very excited about the books that I just picked up from the library yesterday... Everyday Zen (recognize that title?) and Creative Play for your Baby: Steiner Waldorf expertise and toy projects for 3 months-2 years / Christopher Clouder and Janni Nicol. I'm looking forward to delving a bit more into some of the Waldorf philosophy.
Oh, I am so excited to see all the comments on this post. I just LOVE to see what everyone is reading!
Kerry, isn't Potato Peel Society a fun read? Everyday Zen is an old favorite of mine from college days- full of wonderful wisdom. Enjoy!
i just discovered Little Chick last month. oh. my. goodness. i LOVE that book. i could stare at the pictures all day!
Such sweet stories, too! A keeper :)
I see several of our favorites for children here too. I have such a problem with books. We go for simple in most areas, but books, oh my goodness, you should see my living area right now. So, six books at a time...this is major food for thought! Maybe I need to add Simplicity Parenting to the stack on my nightstand :)
Hehehe! He talks about simplifying in really every area- it is a really wonderful book.
Thanks for recommending Simplicity Parenting - it looks really good. Plus when I went to his website I saw that he lives about an hour from me in Waldorf Land (also known as Hawthorne Valley, NY). So instead of having to order the book, I'll be able to pick it up over there this weekend.
Oh, Sarah, you and your proximity to Waldorf Land! I'm jealous :)
Thanks for sharing, Kyrie! I've added almost everything to my library list (love that I can do it all online). I'm reading an Ina May Gaskin books about giving birth. Since it's been about 5 years since I last had a baby I'm trying to get "in the zone." I'm also reading a book of Mr. Rogers quotations. It is so sweet and makes me love him more than I did already.
I love Ina May!
I just finished Simplicity Parenting and I LOVED it also. The style is very different than Mitten Strings, but I rank it right up there with it as one of my all time favorites. So much great practical advice. I've passed it on to my husband--I'm hoping that having him read the book will be better than me always telling him what I read as a "gentle suggestion." I congratulate you on the editing of your book collection. Now that my oldest (7.5) has really started reading, I don't know how I could do it. She is reading all the time, and constantly is asking me to go down to the basement to find something from our "stash."
Of course our littles aren't old enough to be burning through the chapter books just yet! Hehe. I gave Simplicity Parenting to my husband to read as well...he's going a bit more slowly through it than he does his novels, but he IS reading it! :)
I had The Children's Year and Festivals, Family, and Food out on the table yesterday. We love to read stories from the Wynstones books too, but the only season we don't have is winter. The autumn/winter Tiptoes Lightly book we will be reading throughout this and next month. St. Martin and the lantern walk stories next week of course. Another favorite for autumn is The Harvest Story by Elizabeth Reppel. For chapter books we just finished Farmer Boy, and will probably start another Little House book soon. For grown-up books, hmm... does the Live Ed third grade curriculum count? Other homeschool and Waldorf books out now include The Challenge of the Will, School as a Journey, and The Way of a Child. I also just finished Will-Developed Intelligence, which I had been wanting to read for years. And then there are the library books, which these days seem to be all about chickens, goats, and beekeeping. You have me thinking I should take my book ramblings over to my own blog...
I just finished School as a Journey, too! How did you like it? I thought it was really interesting- some food for thought for sure, especially for homeschoolers. I am looking up The Harvest Story right now!
I adore the Alfie books. Thanks for the reminder--I must get some for my boys.
Though I haven't visited in a while, It's lovely over here.
Glad to see you Lizz!
These are some of my favorite books, and my favorite time of year to enjoy them. Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much for the recommendation for Simplicity Parenting. That book has been in and out of my Amazon cart for weeks. Now it is IN for sure. Also, you have a library day? What other "days" do you have in your weekly rhythm? I have some but would also like ideas. I dont think that you have posted about this before--forgive me if you have.
Definite IN! I'm going to do a whole series on rhythm (daily/weekly/monthly/yearly) next week I think, thanks for the reminder!
Alfie! That's a trip down memory lane! I remember poring over those books, and loving the pictures.
Thanks for the lovely reminder,
Fiona :)
The girls pore over them, too :) We love Alfie and Annie Rose!
I almost picked up "The Children's Book" the other day, but decided to soldier on with Fredericka instead (I just bought "Babel Tower.") It's taking me forever to get through that series for some reason, though I enjoy them.
This could be our bookshelf filled with the same children books. And we love Alfie, though it doesn't seem that many people have read Shirley Hughes' books.
Thanks for that good list of book recommendations! We're, erm, on the verge of trying, and so of course I keep obsessing over what books I'll eventually want to ask for, etc... very good to keep these in mind! xo
Just ordered simplicity parenting from the library- but sounds that it might be one i have to purchase.
Glad someone is reading these days!:)
oh Kyrie, I SUCK at commenting, but I read your every post - and every single word resonates with me and I want to scream YES YES YES and ME TOO and ME ALSO, etc. etc. etc. But then I just get so bogged down and bookmark for later instead of commenting.
I adore a book list. It think all of these books are also on my shelves - but must go directly to get Alfie, new Frazee and Simplicity - thanks so much for the tip. I struggle with reading, I was a total bookworm, and now I'm just a buyer-shelver-can't get around to reading much when my time is so short. When do you fit in personal reading? I focus mostly on parenting/waldorf books - recently the Henning Köhler books and still getting through Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour.
The book # has always been a struggle for me. I totally *get* and appreciate the arguments for it - but then my son is seriously obsessed with books, he sucks them up like crack - and yes, I want to help balance that, and yet, he is also painfully aware when I put away anything, but specifically when I hide books. I try to rotate, and seriously, the guy has total inventory in his head of what is missing. It's always a push/pull with trying to meet his needs and yet create the space around him that supports him. I guess one solution might be to stop buying books - but HA! I'm headed to Amazon right now!
xo
Aww I remember books I had with the same illustrator as All About Alfie! Not sure if it is the same author..
If you ever get the chance to hear Kim Payne, go. He's a very inspiring speaker. I first read about the idea of reading a few books over and over in "You are your child's first teacher". I didn't really get it until my children were in Waldorf kindergarten and I saw how deeply they took in the story that was sometimes re-told for an entire month.
And there I was blogging about sharing current reads! I'm over from sarah's blog. http://knittingthewind-westering.blogspot.com/
Lovely place here.
Hello! I just wondered what age range these books for your girls were? My daughter is 20 months, would these be appropriate/engaging for her? Thank you!
Rachael