Book Crush by Nancy Pearl

Jennifer took some time on Wednesday to talk about her daughter's voracious new reading habit and the need for a comprehensive list of go to books for children.

I have to agree with her. Coming from the same family and growing up with the same inexplicable hunger for the written word it was only inevitable that our children should inherit the family's genetic propensity towards cozy afternoons in far off worlds.

That being said, it's nearly impossible to keep up with. If I had thought, as a child, that it would be advantageous of me to keep a list of the books I read, perhaps it would be easier for me now. Then again, perhaps not.

My daughter has no interest in reading Black Beauty or Black Stallion even though these were my fall back books when I needed something to read. The reality is, my daughter has only read one book I read as a child--The Case of the Vanishing Boy by Alexander Key--everything else she just seems to snub out of pure stubborn spite. (No resentment on my part... I swear).

So what does a parent do!?

I can't keep up with her reading (she can read multiple books at once... I can't, she has untold hours of free time... I don't, she has elders who encourage her behavior... I wish).

That's when I happened across the best book I've seen in a century (okay, maybe I haven't been alive that long, but that's beside the point).

Book Crush by Nancy Pearl is the child version of her hot selling Book Lust and compiles the world of books for kids into a fantastic gem of parental go-to.

"...it's a great idea for families to set aside half an hour after dinner, to all sit down together and read. This can be a time when each person reads his or her own book, or it can be a time to read aloud a book the whole family might enjoy, such as John D. Fitzgerald's The Great Brain, Farley Mowat's The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit, or M.T. Anderson's Whales on Stilts, to name just a few. This shouldn't be a time set aside only for the children in the family; it's vital that everyone have this time every day to lose themselves in a good book."

Each book Ms. Pearl mentions is bolded and easy to see in each of the 304 pages.

That's right, three hundred and four pages packed with book titles and authors. Who can go wrong with a book like this!? Even adults would do well to pick this book up.

   Biographies for teen readers serve a couple of functions besides being useful homework assignments. The first is that the best biographies broaden and deepen a reader's awareness of the complexities of well-known people. The second is that biographies are a good way to help less-than-enthusiastic readers discover the joy of books through reading about someone they admire or are curious about. Here are some excellent choices:
   In the well-documented and clearly written The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler, James Cross Giblin offers an in-depth (but not too long: only 246 pages) biography of one of the most powerful leaders of the nineteenth century.
   When she graduated from high school, Valérie Zenatti, like all Israelis, male and female, spent two years in her country's army, from 1988-1990. As she makes clear in When I Was a Soldier, she discovers, as other have before her, that "the army changes everything."

 So head on over to Amazon, or out to your local library and see what jewels you can find in Nancy Pearl's wonderful compilations.


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Books:
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Black Stallion by Walter Farley
The Case of the Vanishing Boy by Alexander Key
Book Crush by Nancy Pearl
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be by Farley Mowat
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Whales On Stilts by M.T. Anderson
The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler by James Cross Giblin
When I Was a Soldier by Valérie Zenatti

Blogger Interview: Cannwin

I have to tell you that I've had this idea in my head for awhile but this week seemed like a good time to post it since I'm up to my ears in responsibilities. So I'm going to interview myself!

Has reading a book ever changed your life?

I have had several books that have had an affect on the course of my life, but I can't say that I've ever had one that actually changed my life. Well, I could list a few life changing religious books.

Do you prefer to read fiction or nonfiction? Explain your choice.

I used to be solely devoted to fiction, but in recent years I have come to really discover and love the memoir. Life stories definitely have an emotional tug for me. I am moved by the trials and struggles that actual people have to deal with and I love knowing that despite the odds actual people can overcome anything.

Some of my favorites are A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, West With the Night by Beryl Markham, Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks and Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes.

Has reading a book ever made you cry? Which one and why?

Yes... I'm wondering who hasn't. There was this one book called Petersburg by Emily Hanlon. I read it when I was 19 and first out on my own. I was absolutely riveted by the plot line and could barely put the book down. Then one night at work the most unbelievable thing happened in the plot and I threw the book down in shock. It took me a good month or two before I picked it up and finished it.

Another, more recent book is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, the end of that book made me sob.

How many books do you read each year?

Depends on the year. When my husband was in Iraq I read the entire Wheel of Time series in one year, that's 12 books. Plus the Harry Potter series. He actually wrote me a letter that said, "I see we're becoming the major financiers of Waldenbook."

Books kept me sane that year.

Have you ever written (or started to write) a book?

::blush:: Yes. Two. One on my own and the other for NaNoWriMo, they are the first two in a series I intend to finish sometime in my life. The series is called 'The GodWrought.'

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would they title it?

The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin. Hahaha.

If you could pick a book you’ve read to make into a movie, which one would you choose?

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, but it would have to be on the caliber of Lord of the Rings or I would never go see it.

What was your favorite book as a child and why?

The Case of the Vanishing Boy by Alexander Key. I literally read that book until it fell apart.

Which character in a book best describes who you are?

I like to fancy myself as an Eowyn type.

What’s your favorite kind of music?

I don't think I have a favorite, I listen to whatever catches my fancy.

Who’s your favorite singer or band?

I have always adored Jewel. (Does that date me?)

What’s your favorite album?

The Hope Floats soundtrack. It's the best album EVER.

What’s your favorite song?

If You're Not the One by Daniel Bedingfield.

Do you like to sing karaoke?

Not on my life.

Are you a good dancer?

Probably not, but I'd like to think I am.

Do you like musicals? (movies or theater)

Yes. I adore Les Miserables and Fiddler on the Roof and Phantom of the Opera and My Fair Lady and...

Has a song ever made you cry?

I can't listen to the We Were Soldiers soundtrack, it makes me physically ill. I love the music, but it has a practical PTSD affect on my system. It dates back to my husband being in Iraq.

Do you have any questions for us, the bloggers?

Books: A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
           West With the Night by Beryl Markham
           Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks
           Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
           Petersburg by Emily Hanlon
           City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
           The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan
           Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
           Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
           Case of the Vanishing Boy by Alexander Key
           The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R Tolkien

Music: Hope Floats Soundtrack
           If You're Not the One by Daniel Bedingfield
           We Were Soldiers Soundtrack
           Les Miserables Soundtrack
           Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack
           Fiddler on the Roof Soundtrack
           My Fair Lady Soundtrack