Library Haul and What I'm Reading Now

We’re easing into summer vacation around here (although mother nature seems convinced it’s still early spring ). Even with the occasional day camp, it feels like we have a lot more time in our day to fill. Which means, we end up at the library more frequently in the summer.

I’d love to say that we were in a solid once a week library routine during the school year. But, truth be told between required reading for school, and a fairly large children’s book collection at home (thank you grandparents, aunts, garage sales, etc.), we’re more like bi monthly library devotees.

Summer seems like a good time to beef up the frequency of library visits and reading in general. And no, my kids don’t participate in our library’s “summer reading program”. When I told the librarian yesterday that we’d pass on signing up, she kind of stared at me blankly. But, I’m not voluntarily signing up for any program that requires paperwork and documentation on my end. Particularly for something my kids are doing anyway.

So, on to this weeks library haul…

My almost 12 year old is reading the second book in the “Knights of the Borrowed Dark” series by Dave Rudden and “The Menagerie”by Tui T. Sutherland , who also authored the “Wings of Fire” series.

He also grabbed “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers Addition.” This book is right up his alley, but I was hesitant, as I hadn’t read this particular addition before. We’re at a stage where we’re easing into him making independent reading choices, but I still like to weigh in. We settled on me reading ahead a bit and him giving us updates on what’s of interest in the book.

I read the original, “Lies My Teacher Told Me” years ago and found it interesting, if not entirely accurate. I’m just a bit skeptical of nonfiction that pushed too much of an agenda on either end of the political spectrum, if you know what I mean. We will see…

The four year old continues his obsession with these little Beatrix Potter books. I’m pretty sure the main draw is the itty bitty size. I grabbed “The Travels of Babar” as well. He also picked up a few randoms, including a couple Christmas books and, I kid you not a children’s book by Jenny Craig (of 90s weight loss fame).

I usually pick a few books and suggest a few more, but I’m not opposed to the truly random every once in a while.

I’m about a third of the way into “An American Marriage,” which has been on my reading list for a while now. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t wild about it at first, but it has really grown on me. The story telling is very raw and intimate from the get go and I think it was a bit disorienting.

I also ordered “My Father Left Me Ireland”, which I haven’t started. I’ve heard great things though, so we will see.

And yes, I am reading, “Girl, Stop Apologizing” by Rachel Hollis. I know the author’s particular brand of self help isn’t for everyone, but I find her charming. I’m not looking for theology or spiritual enlightenment, just a little motivation.

I also finished “The Enchanted Hour”, by Meghan Cox Gurdon last week. It was phenomenal and probably deserving of it’s own blog post.

Happy Reading!