Another family reader and his books

With summer in full swing, my boys have had plenty of time to relax and rearrange (and rearrange again) the things in their rooms.  As Em's reading skills increase, he asks for more new books and gives more of his old books away to his brother... not that Em will never see or use the books again, as we always have them in various stages of reading all over the place!   The hustle and bustle of books in between brothers has created a commotion in Ro's book collection, namely book crowding.

Above you see a partial collection of Ro's books.  Notice the bulges in the crates.  There actually are more books than this, but this is what fit in the space he had and the other books were rotated in.  Not easy for my munchkin to peruse at all... Ro was ready for a better way!  

Ikea bookshelves and Daddy to the rescue!  Now, the books are in order-- woo hoo!  Now, the books are much easier for Ro to find himself and put back whenever he is done with them.  Being able to come to and say "Mommy!  My room is allll clean and the books are alllll put away!" has been very rewarding for Ro.

I still have a shelf of books to bring in from the living room library, but this is a fabulous start for the newest reader of the house.

New Library

Looking back at several posts, I've talked often about us being a very reading oriented family.  I have always been a big reader, often reading novels in one sitting.  I remember many many a bleary morning in high school having spent half of my supposed-to-be-sleeping hours cuddled up with Stephen King's latest tome.  I remember my local public library and the elation when my mom would finally let me walk there by myself.  I remember when my friend Sheri got a job at the local bookstore and pumping her for discounts and borrowing advanced copies of soon to be released fiction and non-fiction works.

When I moved out on my own for the first time, I packed too many books in each box and realized that stacks of books were heavy!  And, where was I going to put my collection?

Years and years and bookshelves later, our library finally has an all-in-one-place home!  I have culled the collection down to the must-haves, the cherished historical, the willed by family, the daily inspirers, the kiddo educational and crafty ... the subject list goes on, but you know what I mean.
Once my hubby attached the bookcases to the wall, I began the task of sorting and re-sorting.  This was not easy primarily because I kept opening the books and wanting to read them rather than shelve them!  I quickly realized that my sons' books would need to stay in their rooms as I was running out of space.  By the end of several hours, I was mostly happy with the arrangement.

So, now the aftermath.  The library has been in place for a week today and the family and I are deep into the lovey dovey honeymoon phase with it.  Every day I re-find a new book to peruse.  Em and Ro and even Rob have stopped to look and think and pull a book out.

"Mom, can we make this?  I think I want to make this." Em says one afternoon while looking at a kids crafting book.

"Momma, I like this, who... where is this from?"  Ro says after finding Rob's collection of comic strip books.

"          "  Silence from Rob as he picks up a historical photography book and stares at something intently.

"Where is that... ah...!"  Me as I find exactly what I was looking for-- no longer having to search my old shelves in several locations around the house.  Shelves that had books behind the books that were hard to get to and sadly rarely looked at.

Loving the new library!

Oh, and if you want to know what is where... my organized in my brain shelving system is noted over on Flickr.

Middle of the week mess

My favorite reading chair in mid-week mess. Most weeks, I try to put back all the accumulated books I've taken out, but sometimes they just pile higher and higher to near-toppling point. Other than a yarn diet (which I will eventually explain), my only other resolution this year is one that I made and kept last year. And the year before that. To use every book I own. All craft books, cookbooks, homeschool books, reading books, etc. I thought maybe I'd reference my piles and what I've looked at this week thus far.

On the bottom left are kid type books on indoor and outdoor activities. I'm especially digging the new "Let's Go Outside!" book by Jennifer Ward on the top of the pile. And Ed Emberley's "Fingerprint Drawing Book" is excellent for rainy day fun.

On the bottom right and on the right arm are crafty books I'm going through for upcoming gifts for expectant loved ones as well as my own munchkins. I finally found a fabric to make my boys some reusable sandwich and snack saks with. Betz White's book "Sewing Green" suggests PUL but I'm going to try somethin' else... we'll see how that goes. And, if there's enough time, a purple gingham elephant from the Claire Garland book "Toys to Sew".

The entire top of the side table holds the cooking and baking books I've looked at, referenced or used this week. The Involtini from "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" came out tasty! The Irish Stew is currently on the stove from "The Irish Heritage Cookbook" and is always a hit in this house full of carrot and potato lovers. ... uumm, what else? Oh! Casatiello bread from Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice", Cream Cheese Dough from Nancy Silverton's "Pastries from the La Brea Bakery", and hopefully tomorrow night, a Kougin-Amann from Gale Gand's "Butter Sugar Flour Eggs". Tonight I've had a hankering for Bialy's. so I'm reading up on those too. Yummy! Now I'm hungry!

Next week, more books and hopefully some food and craft photos as well.

What is on your bookshelf? What books never seem to stay put and wander around to your reading nooks and crannies?

In praise of public libraries

This is a quick pic of most of the books we currently have out from the Los Angeles Public Library... I did quickly get a more posed shot, but Ro wanted to grab his current favorite and so I snapped a pic of him reaching for it to use instead.

Way way back when I was a kid, the hobby of reading was the one I did more than pretty much everything else. From birth, my room was strewn with books. Books that were mine, books that came from my Mom's childhood , books that were my Dad's, Grandma books, etc. When I got older, I participated in book reading contests at school and started reading to my little brother.
I don't remember the day I went to the Tarzana library to get my very own library card, but I do remember being slightly annoyed that I could only check out three books. What the heck is that!? I would beg my Mom and Grandma to take me as often as possible. Of course, I did have other hobbies, but reading was the one thing I could do (and still do) everywhere. Riding in cars, at the beach, on the airplane, during a lunch break... you can't just carry a sewing machine around with you and pop it in your backpack like you can a tome.
So, when Em and Ro were born, really before they were born, I read to them. When I think back about it, I actually began preparing their library far before I was even pregnant... grabbing a board book here, ordering a volume there, researching different subjects and such while still single and newly married. I have always known reading was important to me and that gaining knowledge from books was one vital habit I wanted and needed to pass along.
Back to the library. I still read, review and research books to buy and have a steady list of "to-read" books on online sites such as Paperback Swap and Goodreads, but with the economy the way it is, I cannot just buy every book that catches my eye. Enter the Los Angeles Public Library! I LOVE my library! With the advent of the WWW, I love it even more! !!!!! Online reviews, databases, friends' recommendations... a zillion ways to find quality books for my family and I to read.
So this past Tuesday, I took Em with me to get him his own library card and continue my bookish family tradition. I will still continue to find books I would like to read to him and Ro, but now, I believe Em is old enough to come along with me and add his own tastes to the reading pile as well.
There are so many thoughts swirling in my head about reading. The importance of reading aloud to children, reading to get lost in another world, reading for research, seasonal reading, avoiding empty books... many other blogs for many other days.
Do you go to your local library? What other online book sites do you like?

A Peanut Butter Sandwich

Someday I will write about my mild obsession (I'd call it mild, my hubby wouldn't) with books. My love of books began very early... like at birth! And so I have kept my books and love of reading to pass on to my children.

Reading to my boys is always a fantastic time for me. I use different voices and faces - different accents and shouts and whispers - I am a one woman three ring circus of reading enjoyment! (Probably a holdover from high school drama and speech competitions.) We read everything... and with April having been National Poetry Month, we added reading several poems each night before our books. (Yes, this is a super late blog to be writing about April's poetry month in the middle of May-- sorry 'bout that.)


So one night, I was reading to Em and flipping through one of my favorite poetry books as a kid-- and I come to the "Peanut-Butter Sandwich" poem by Shel Silverstein. Immediately I flash back to 3rd grade with Miss Palai and what I remember to be my very first speaking engagement! I chose to do this very poem because my dad is obsessed with peanut butter sandwiches. If you click on the picture of the book above, you can actually see my writing (I know, bad girl for writing in books, but hey I was 9) of how I handled the poem... speaking fast here, making faces there. And I guess my mom timed me that I read the poem in 1 minute and 55 seconds.


Back to the present... Em is listening to me, with giant wide eyes and slightly rapid breathing as I tell about the "silly young king" and his peanut-butter sandwich dilemma. I am loving it! He's hooked in and I am so happy he's loving it too! The poem ended with him finishing the last line and a big guffaw laugh and "AGAIN Momma, read it AGAIN!!!" It really is a great poem.


If you like reading to your children and would like to be more animated, Mem Fox has a wonderful book called Reading Magic and her site gives some commandments to follow to help your child learn to love and appreciate reading also. Mem Fox is the author of that one book that every parent I know seems to have and love and memorize in their child's' baby and toddler years... "It's time for bed little mouse little mouse, darkness in falling all over the house..."


If you have Where the Sidewalk Ends, try reading the peanut-butter poem and also "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out" aloud. It is a tongue twisting fun!