Happy Monday. . . .Read On. . .

I have said numerous times that I read all the time; if it is not a text book it is a novel, magazine or blog.   My hubby is also an avid reader, of course he loves his war novels and history.  He loves Stephen King and has many of his novels.  I am very thankful that our kiddos both like to read.  Big T took after his daddy with a love for history books and Sprat likes a good mystery just like his mama.  I did not find my joy of reading until I was out of college and I found Robin Cook.  If you do not know him, he writes medical mysteries and I love them.  I was never a Harlequin romance girl, I did not care for those at all.  I even found a series of knitting murder mysteries, yes knitting.  They are easy and very interesting.  Give me a good murder mystery and I am set.   In the last several years, a group of my girl friends formed a book club and I joined.  I thought I needed to broaden my literary awareness beyond murder.  I have really stepped out of my zone in the books I have read with this great group of ladies.  This is not a hard core book club so if we do not finish the book it is no big deal.  We all have families and kids and they are very understanding when life happens.  I have tried to read every book but, I must admit there have been a couple that I did not read.
     One of our books we chose was sort of a murder mystery, "Gone Girl."   I was finishing this one up when my dear hubby got hurt.  He decided he needed something new to read and when I finished he started reading it.  I do not think we had ever read the same book, I thought this is going to be fun to talk about when he was finished.  I was very impatient for him to finish because I wanted to know what he thought and I wanted to see the movie.  I swore I would not see the movie until we both had finished the book.   I think you can gauge a good book by how you feel about the characters, I had definite feelings about both of these main characters.  I will not spoil the story or the movie if you have not seen it.  You will have definite feelings about this book and the movie.   The hubbs is now reading, "The Help," another good book and movie if you have not read or seen it.  
    I have started a new Stephen King  book that my mom gave Big T.  He is knee deep in another book right now so I did not think he would mind if I borrowed it.   I will let you know how I like it.  I only have a few months before I am back in my text books for school.  I will be taking a public speaking class and a Constitutional Law class.  Looking forward to August.

Paper Books vs. E- Readers . . .

What is your opinion on the e-readers like Kindle, Nook, and tablets?  I personally prefer paper books to any e- readers.  I like the feel of the pages and I also like being able to pick up my book and see I only have so much left till I am done.   Sprat had a fit several years ago and wanted a Nook, he had his own money and so I let him buy one.  We found a used one in his price range and he was happy.  I think he was in sixth grade because he was reading the Hunger Games and this particular Nook had this book already loaded.  I think he has only read one book on the Nook and now he uses it to play games.  I know there are people that use them regularly to read their books and love them.  I can see the lure if you are traveling, because they take up less space than a paper book and would be perfect for that.
According to an article I read, six minutes of reading is enough to reduce stress by 68% and reading keeps your brain working effectively as you age.   If that 68% is accurate I should be stress free.  Since my classes have started all I have been doing is reading, funny how I do not feel stress free.  Reading may also keep Alzheimer's at bay, now that I can believe.   This particular article goes so far as to say that paper books are better for reading comprehension.  They said it was something about our brain linking the story to where it fell on the page.   If this is the case why are our schools so up in the air trying to push all of this testing to computer.  Maybe they should be informed of this study.  Reading an old fashioned novel is linked to improving sleep too.   Maybe I should be reading a novel instead of my programming text book before I go to bed.  I think this may be a good topic for my book club ladies.
So what do you all think; e- readers or paper books?  I would love to know what you are thinking.

What is everyone reading??????

What has everyone been reading this summer?  I am looking for some new books to read.  I have a little break till school starts and I have to start reading text books.   I am still in my book club but I read this months book so fast I am looking again.  I have one of the "Jack Reacher" books  and I am reading it now, should be finished with it soon.  I enjoyed the distopian books Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  I was not sure I would like them, but they were very interesting.  I read some Maggie Seftin books, they are mysteries that are set around a small town in Colorado.  They are centered around a group of women that knit and crochet.  Each book has a recipe and a knitting pattern.  I loved these.  I may have to pick me up some more of them.  Happy reading to all.

Book Club. . . Divergent. . .

We had book club on Saturday night.  We always have a blast.  This group of ladies are the best.  We have a great mix of women younger with young children and older with older children.   To be a diverse group we all get along well and we are not afraid to voice our opinions on any subject.  No shock there I am sure.  This month we read Divergent by Veronica Roth, it was good we all enjoyed it.  We are going to read the second book in this series for next month, Insurgent.  These books are on the Dystopian world after everything falls apart.  At the rate we are going these are looking more and more like a fore shadowing of our fate.  Ahh, but that is for a month of posts.
I enjoyed this book, it is not one I would have picked for myself.  I am glad I read it and I am sure I will enjoy the second one as well.  I personally prefer murder mystery books.  I would recommend this one though, it does have suspense, twists, some romance and mystery.  I like being in a book club because this encourages me to read other things and spread my wings to venture in areas I would not normally go.   So far we have read:  Water for Elephants, The Memory Keepers' Daughter, Wicked, and Divergent.  All good books, I think my least favorite was, The Memory Keepers' Daughter, just because it made me cry so much.    I am also reading Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child.   This is in the series that the movie Jack Reacher was based on.  It is good, I have not seen the movie but I think I would like it.
I like to read the books before I see movies.  When I was younger I always heard people say; "oh, the book was so much better than the movie."   Back then, I could not imagine a book being better than a movie, but now I see what they are talking about.   Your books give you more insight into characters that movies just do not have time for.   Sprat seems to be like me on this subject.  He read all of the Hunger Game books and read the first one before he saw the movie.  He agreed the book was much better than the movie.  He is anxiously awaiting the second movie.
I did not like to read when I was growing up, I did not begin to enjoy it until I found my murder mystery books.  The first author I got hooked on was Robin Cook, I think I like him because he wrote medical mysteries.  I am so glad that my kids have found subjects and authors that they enjoy at such an early age.   Both boys love to read and read well above their age level.  The each have very different interests when it comes to reading too.

Book Club Reading Selections. . .

After talking with our local librarian about our book club, she gave me a list of books that might be of interest.  Here is a list she gave me:  The Fallen Angel, Backfire, Shadow of Night, Sandcastle Girls, Creole Belle, and Next Best Thing.  These are all fiction titles.  Here are some non-fiction titles:  Wild, Unbroken, Killing Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe:  The Final Years, and The Amateur.  You can also google to find the latest book club lists.

I think I would like to read the Marilyn Monroe book or the one about Lincoln next.  They both seem like they would be worth while.  If you are interested in joining a book club you can always start one of your own or check out your local Library and see what they have to offer.  The group I am with started on Facebook.  

Summer Reading

So we went to the Library yesterday just in time to sign up for their Summer Reading program.  They want the kids to read in 15 minute segments.  Every 15 minutes they read they color in a picture and as they are coloring in pictures they are earning prizes.  This is very managable and the kids have to keep up with it.  Jack loves getting prizes.  He read for an hour and fourty-five minutes yesterday.  Thomas read for an hour.  They both checked out their own books and are now excited about completing their coloring pages for their reading times. 
I give kudos to the Library for such a clever plan.   All I have heard for the last several days is that you have to keep your kids reading over the summer in order to keep them learning and so they will be ready for their next grade level.   Thank you to my local Library for a great plan. 
We also went to the movies to see Marmaduke.  It was really cute.  The kids loved it.  I could not believe it but we were the only ones there.  As hot as it has been I thought it would be really crowded.  Right before the movie started another gentleman and his two kids came in so it was only the six of us in this giant theater. 
After the movies we headed for home so the kids could do their reading.  I have picked up a book myself to read.  I figure if I show them I am taking time to read it will also encourage them to do the same.  I will have to tell you about my book later.  Mine is purely for pleasure.