What we are reading.....

If there is one thing that we do well in this family it is read! For me, to read is to escape. I am reading a quirky book called, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian.It is written by Marina Lewycha and was nominated for the Man Booker Prize.


In this comic first novel, two estranged sisters living in England discover that their addled elderly father, a Ukrainian war refugee and expert on tractors, is planning to marry a young, enormous-breasted woman who sees his modest pension as her ticket to capitalist comfort. The sisters put aside their differences, and embark on a spirited campaign to save him from boil-in-the-bag dinners, slovenly housekeeping, and such extravagant purchases as a broken-down Rolls-Royce. In the midst of these machinations—which include long-winded letters to solicitors, venomous gossip, and all-out spying—Lewycka stealthily reveals how the depredations of the past century dictate what a family can bear.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

Sam, my 11 year old is reading, Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. He is trying to get caught up so he is ready for the new release
this summer. What else needs to be said about this book!
Austen, my 14 year old just finished Oliver Twist for his Honors English class and had finished Enders Game by Orson Scott Card before that. He decided he would chill with an easy one: Magyk by Angie Sage.
Book Description
The Magyk Begins Here. Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby's father,Silas Heap, comes across an abandoned child in the snow-a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?


My beloved husband is reading the 3rd in a series he has just discovered. This one is called Silverthorn and the series belongs in the fantasy genre. Kerry likes fantasy, but it has to be *good* fantasy--meaning well written, not mass produced. Any author who would like to catch my husband's interest has big shoes to fill: Robert Jordan, Tad Williams and J.R. Tolkein!






And what are we reading for that brand new read aloud I mentioned in my last post? This one---------

Kate Dicamllo has triumphed again, writing what I consider her best book yet, "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane." I read it in about an hour and sat crying over the last chapter. The tears were happy tears, though, and the ending very satisfying. The story revolves around the character of Edward Tulane, a vain china rabbit who is loved by his owner but feels no love in return. A misadventure throws him out of his pampered life and into a path of a series of fascinating people, each one more lovely than the last. Edward's heart grows and grows until the question is not can Edward love, but can he love again after the depth of his heartbreak. Dicalmillo has a pared down narrative style that is refreshing and throught-provoking. "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" may be a children's book, but it is never childish. The message about loving and being loved is one that is important for people of all ages.




I am finding myself in a very unique situation this weekend. My husband is taking my two boys to the ocean for 3 days and I will be alone in my house! I am sensing a weekend full of chick flicks, chocolate, reading and scrapbooking!!! :) I have an amazing stack of books just calling my name.