Book Report

Yesterday I saw Owain sitting at the little dining table by himself, absorbed in... a book!! Okay, a comic book - with lots of pictures. It was a comic dad bought for Cait - Winx Club.

Owain was very involved in turning the pages, pointing to some frames along the way. I think this is pre-reading behaviour. Does not matter that he can't actually read the words but the fact that he knows it tells a story, has interesting pictures, and hooks him enough to actually keep him flipping the pages, is good enough!

Lolita and I had a good laugh - he looked so cute sitting there, poring over the comic book. She told me that she's seen him even making up stories to go with the book! Apparently, Cait also does this - flips through books, makes up stories, and if its something that has been read to her, she remembers and parrots the text without actually reading it. Again, I think this is typical pre-reading behavior and something to be encouraged. So I am happy! They will learn to read when they're ready to learn to read. And from what I read, that's not likely until the age of 7!

Isaac is into books on ghosts and ghoulies! He enjoys the Mr Midnight series. And I saw a copy of Tekong Nightmares sitting on the table in the living room - apparently his friend passed it to him! Gillian calls this a 'toilet book' - because its just the sort of book to read in the loo! Trashy and riveting quick reading. Yesterday, I picked up Tekong Nightmares when I was bored while tandeming Owain and Trin and I was quickly hooked. In the 10 to 15min the babies took at the breast, I finished easily 7 or 8 stories. So very light, easy reading!

Other than that, he's still re-reading Harry Potter (and killing all my first edition copies! They have all either lost their covers, are tattered, missing pages or really dog-earred!). I have threatened to ban him from the next and final instalment of the HP series because of the way he treats my books. Despite many lectures on treating books with respect, somehow all the books he reads end up very tatty and torn.

Anyway, I am trying to interest him in L'Engle (which has a nice touch of Sci-Fi/ good values etc) but he does not seem keen. The boy is also into books on knights and damsels in distress. Can't remember the titles but it's pretty funny stuff. He's also finished the whole series of Unfortunate Events. So right now, there is a bit of a vacuum... maybe I'll lend him my copy of Eragon, subject to strict promises of good treatment!

Gillian, who hates reading, seems to finally dip her toe into the world of books a bit more. She's into a lovely Illustrated Compilation of Classic Faery Stories at the moment. Which is good 'cos the stories come in short snippets that succeed in holding her attention for the duration of the story.

KH? Too busy to read. Busy marking assessment papers (haha!) and working late into the night after the kids have gone to bed. Any leisure time he has he spends watching the EPL summary.

Mom is into my book: A Brief History of the Dead - very classy, very absorbing read. Good stuff. While some bits are a bit cheem and deserve a re-read, the plot is rich and the characters so real. The book talks about a city where the dead go after they die. Sort of like purgatory but without the suffering! They go there and continue their lives there. They live there until everyone who still holds them in their memory also dies. So basically, the premise is, death is not the end - we live on in the memories of others. And only when those who remember us die, only then are we permanently erased and our existence ceases to be. In the book, earth has experienced a plague and most of civilisation is wiped out. Except for a researcher stranded in Antarctica. What happens to her, and to the people in the city of the dead, those who are connected to her in one way or other, is the key plot in the book. I loved reading that and so did mom. I think I will enjoy reading that one again.

As for me, I'm in between books. Finished a trashy Olivia Goldsmith recently (yes Gayle, this one's got your name on it!). Ploughed though A Swiftly Tilting Planet by L'Engle. Have a tempting Georgette Heyer and Adriana Trigiani and another L'Engle still unread. And am halfway through a fascinating book on the interconnectivity of humans and other organisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi etc) and why we basically need disease to survive! Porridge-brained me can't remember the title now but it's a good read loaded with stuff you never knew was possible!

I really think its time to sell my books - they're over-flowing out of our bookshelves, stacking up on the floors and tables and in my bed. Maybe a book sale in my house? Kids could help run it. Price each book at $1 - $4... hmmm. Would people come?