Books
One of my favorite past times is to read. I read just about anything. I really enjoying reading the romance books especially the paranormal ones. One of my favorite authors is Christine Feehan. My husband who is wonderful and smart…ok nerdy…asks me why don’t read something good, I tell him I am and he says no something from Dickens. I tell him I read for enjoyment and to escape reality not to get depressed. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy reading the classics, but sometimes its just good to escape in a good romance book. However, when it comes to reading romance books I am very picky, there are certain authors that I like and certain types of romance books that I like. I tend to stick with the historical, time-traveling, paranormal, suspense things like that. I do read some contemporary but I’m very, very picky of those. I’m not to keen on the ‘harlequin’ type romance books.
Another genre I like is the mysteries especially the cozy mysteries. Also just general fiction books. However, I will reach for a non-fiction book and read it too. I enjoy reading about history…just not to keen on the war aspect of it. I enjoy what the day-to-day aspects. Also, nutrition books, cookbooks ( I like collecting those) self improvement books. Like I mentioned before I read just about anything. There are a few I just don’t have a desire to read.
I also have strong opinions on banning books. I don’t think anyone should be banned from reading a book. Just because I don’t want to read it or I disagree strongly with the author, subject what ever doesn’t give me the right to keep someone else from reading it.If I don’t want to read it I just don’t read it. I understand some parents point of view on certain books that are required reading in school. Maybe the answer could give a couple of choices to read that way you don’t have to give up your convictions and students have that choice to read what they are comfortable with. Call me crazy but I think that is a good solution. Some of the banned books make no sense to me. You have to think about what time period the book was written, the subject matter, the point or idea the author is trying to make about situations. I was reading a book once that I stopped reading after 10 pages. I couldn’t finish it because of the very strong language, words and violence it had. Does that mean I should keep someone else from reading it? No it doesn’t. Will I try another book that they wrote, sure because I know that I might have just picked the wrong one. Think about a book that you really like and someone said nope, sorry you can’t read that because WE feel that it contains language, subject matter that we find offensive.
There are some young adult series I enjoy to. The Percy Jackson Olympian Series is awesome. I took the girls to see the Lightning Thief. Mary Margaret (my oldest) and I were comparing the difference between the book and the movie. I have yet to read the Twilight series, I’m going to, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I did cheat and watched New Moon when it was in the theaters. I watched it before I watched Twilight. I know, I know, I do things backwards sometimes. I did understand the basic plot of New Moon.
I enjoy listening to books on CD too, especially on long road trips…like driving from here to Birmingham, Al. It comes in handy to when you have a dyslexic daughter. I’m going to get The Hobbit on CD for her to listen to as well as a few other books on CD. I do read to her and she can read the short little chapter books, but the big ones I’ll get the CD for her.
I’ll be posting some books I’ve read on here when I have time to list them. I do welcome comments on books and book recommendations. My friends give me great recommendations. I am always looking for that next great book to read.
Until then happy reading….
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Janet |
February 25, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Wow…you and I have very similar feelings towards books. I am also very dyslexic (and combine that with 90% right brain during elementary school, makes for a very bad english/grammer…life..experience), so I understand where you and your daughter are coming from. I didn’t start really reading until probably around the 4th grade when my uncle got me interested in Mad Magazines/Books…they were funny, simple and caught my interest (despite mothers hatred for them). From there (around 6th grade), I went to romance (harlequin) thanks to a schoolmate…and over the next few years learned to love reading. And now I read as much as I can.
I love mysteries, but like you said, more of the “cozy” ones. Agatha Christie is always a favorite, love Hercule Poirot. I also love the food based murders of today, such as Joanne Fluke, Laura Childs, and Diane Mott Davidson. I also love the Cat Who series and Mrs. Murphy tales. But you will also find my nose buried in sci-fi/fantasy, such as R A Salvatore.
As for classics – for most of them..yuck. During school, I was forced to read so many crappy “Classics” (such as Where the Red Fern Grows, the Yearling, etc), that I started hating the classics. I ended up telling my teachers this – if I have to read 240+ pages and the main character(s) dies at the end and nothing Happy happens, I will throw the book at you (and have). Eventually they listened and realized I refused to read depressing books – my life was already depressing enough at that time (in 1.5 year, I nearly died to a staff infection-3 weeks in a hostpital, my parents divorced and I lost my grandfather, grandmother and great-grandmother to a car crash)…that I didn’t need somebody else’s depressing life). So when it comes to “classics”, I throw most of them in the trash.
As for banning – I agree, 1 man’s trash is another man’s gold. The only thing I would like to see is in schools and their require reading to get more updated and better. When i was in senior in high school, we had to read Crime and Punishment. Nothing to major about that, but after we read it, on of my fellow schoolmates decided that he was one of those “superhumans” and with the help of my boyfriend’s (at the time) mother, kidnapped 2 people, killed 1 and tried to kill the other. And out of a class of 26 TOTAL, having 1 become a murder because of a book was shocking. Anyways – it boiled down to the fact that while we read and “discussed” it on a writing aspect, the psychological aspect that was really needed wasn’t being discussed and this kid really thought that he could commit the murders without being caught. SO, while I agree about the banning, I do think schools need to look at what they are requiring students to read and make sure the kids are at a level to handle both the writing aspect, and the psychological aspects as well…not just force books on kids just because they are “classics”.
Okay…I think stop now…lol, as you can see, books are a passion of mine too. 😀