I forgot to write this blog yesterday because I was concentrating on getting my unit done.  I realized today that I needed to get one in for this week.
I'm still only about a third of the way through The Last Song, but I am really enjoying reading.  It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something even though I am reading just for the fun of it.  Hopefully after the end of this week I can read more.  I would like to start trying to read at least 30 min everyday, just so I have some "me" time.
So Ronnie was accused of trying to steal some CD's and 45's from the music store, but it was actually Blaze who put them in her bag.  Ronnie had been in trouble before for shoplifting in New York so this would not look good at all if she was charged with it again.  Fortunately though, her dad believes her that she didn't actually do it.  Or at least he says he believes her.  Regardless, I am so glad to see that they are talking and starting to have a relationship.  Ronnie seems like she is a good person, she has just had a hard time adjusting to her parents divorce.  I was impressed that she slept on the beach all night to protect the turtle eggs, and the protective instincts she has for her brother show that she is very compassionate and loving.  I can't wait to get to know her more and find out what happens between her and her father, and her and Will.

reading times:
Thur     45
Fri        20
Sat       30

I'm still reading The Last Song.  I will probably be reading it for a while because I'm kind of a slow reader.  But I am really enjoying it.  I like how every chapter is from a different character's point of view.  I haven't read any book like that before, and since this is my first Nicholas Sparks book, I wonder if all of his books are written in the this way.  It makes it easier for me to follow the story.  At first I thought that some of the chapters may be a little redundant, but I don't think they have been.  I actually appreciate it if something is repeated because sometimes I have a hard time retaining things I have read.
I think that Ronnie is a very spoiled teenager, but I also recognize that she is in pain.  I'm glad to see that she uses her strong personality to stay true to herself and not fall into bad situations that could easily happen in her circumstance.  It's nice to see a teenage character not submit to peer pressure and stand up for what she believes in.

reading log:
Tuesday        15min
Thursday       45min
Sunday          45min

#4

I'm not sure what blog number this is supposed to be because I have lost track.  I have been having some health issues the last few weeks and I am trying to do some catch up work.
I was reading Something Blue by Emily Giffins, but it wasn't keeping my interest.  It wasn't something that I could relate to and had a hard time wanting to read.  I asked a friend of mine who is an avid reader to recommend something to me.  She brought me 4 books and I was trying to decide which one to read so I just picked one up and started reading.  It is The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.  Even though I am not very far into the book I really like it.  I want to read.  Yesterday my husband asked me to put the book down.  
I've never read Nicholas Sparks before.  I know that he has written some pretty emotional books and I wasn't looking for anything too heavy, but the prologue got me hooked.  Ronnie and her brother Jonah are going to visit their dad for the summer and they haven't seen him in three years.  Ronnie is not crazy about leaving her friends and life in New York to spend time with her father in North Carolina.  Their relationship has been strained since her parents divorced, but Jonah is excited about spending time with their dad.  
I am really excited about reading this book and I am hoping I have found my new favorite author.

Reading times:
Friday   10 min
Saturday  20 min
Sunday     65 min

#3

Well, I didn't get any reading done from my book this week.  I've been reading with my 7 year old and my munchkin (my 10 month old).  One of the books I read with Chase, 7, was 50 Below Zero by Robert Munch.  I love that book!  Unless you have heard it read by Robert Munch, you don't get the full effect.  (Here is the YouTube link just in case you haven't heard it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7fyiahPAB8)  When I was in Alaska working with 1st and 2nd graders, it was one of the most requested books from Tumblebooks.   It is a great interactive story when reading it aloud in a classroom.  My son loves to act it out.

My munchkin and I read Sandra Boynton and a couple of Jane Yolen and Mark Teague's dinosaur board books.  He is still very squirmy and likes to grab the books as I read, but I love it when he turns and looks at me and smiles.  It's like I said something that he thought was funny.  I need to read to him more often so he gets used to it.

I did a lot of reading online this week.  The last couple of days it has been -50 and colder in North Pole, AK, where we lived before we moved here in 2010.  I have been reading articles and messages from my friends who are having to deal with temps.  I remember once when it was about that cold and I never really understood cabin fever until that time.  You don't even want to walk outside.  The feeling is indescribable.  I just hope that everyone stays safe.

reading log:
Monday:    15min
Tuesday:    25 min
Saturday:   30 min
Sunday:     30 min

    

#2

This last week I continued to read about Darcy and her version of how she and Marcus got together and her betrayal of her fiance Dex.  It is really quite interesting reading from her point of view.  Darcy and Rachel talk about the same situations, but neither knows what is really going on with their friend.  Not very often do you get to hear a story from two different points of view.
I also read a book with my 7 year old son.  He has been wanting me to read a book to him.  Usually he has to read to me for his reading log.  So Saturday I read a book to him about wolf pups.  It was really a cool book actually because it was set in Alaska.  We love reading books about Alaska.  I tried to buy several before we moved and when I had my little guy last year my friends sent more as baby gifts.  Usually when I read books to children I try to ask them questions about what I am reading, but I don't have to do that with my son.  He is constantly asking questions.  Sometimes I have to actually tell him to wait until I'm done because we will never get done with the book if I stop every time he asks something.  But that's why I love reading to him.  He is so curious and observant.  A lot of the time he's not asking a question, but telling me something he noticed or some piece of information that he already knows.  My goal is to read to him several times a week instead of only having him read to me.   When we were at Disney World last month we went through the Swiss Family Tree House and he thought it so cool.  I'm thinking about reading Swiss Family Robinson to him.  I think he would really enjoy it because of the adventure.
Until next time...

Log times:
Monday  20 min
Wednesday  20 min
Thursday  15 min
Sunday  60 min  

Blog #1

This is my first blog...ever.  I'm not sure if anything I have to say is going to be particularly interesting, but then again it may be kind of nice to get ideas out of my head and "on paper."  I was going to read a book called The Out of Sync Child.  A friend of mine recommended it to me after we were talking about our children and the difficulties we sometimes have with them.  I decided though that if I was going to read for pleasure I wanted it to be something that was just for fun.  I still want to read the other book, but with all of the reading I am having to do this semester, I needed something I didn't have to think about.
So now I'm reading Something Blue by Emily Giffin.  This summer I read her Something Borrowed after spending a lot of time in the library trying to find something to read.  I saw the advertisements for the movie and I just happened to see the book in the library so I thought I would try it.  I hadn't seen the movie yet and I wanted to wait until I read the book to watch it.
The first book was told from the point of view of Rachel.  She and Darcy were best friends since childhood and Rachel ended up betraying Darcy by having an affair with her fiance.  The situation is not something I would condone or be involved in, and some of the language in the book was a bit harsh at times, but it's about young professionals living in New York City so I guess it is to be expected.  The book I am reading now, Something Blue, is told from Darcy's point of view.  It begins a little before where the other book ended.  Darcy just found out about Rachel and Dex (Darcy's now ex-fiance).  Darcy is understandably upset, but she refuses to let them off the hook, even though she cheated on her fiance and got pregnant with one of his friends.  WOW!  Now that I am actually putting this in writing it sounds really bad.  Like I said before, this is not something that I believe in, but I'm sure it happens.  Reading these books, however, makes me thankful for my marriage to my amazing husband and my Christian upbringing so that I was never in that type of situation.  So I guess I will be reading about how things work out for Darcy and her baby.  (I'm assuming it's a boy because of the title.)

reading times:
Monday    30 min
Wed         15 min
Saturday   45 min