.::still blinking::.

I love reading. When I was nursing Gentry I could go through a book a day. Now Hulu and Netflix entertain while I feed the baby. I wish I could regain my passion for reading. But the mindlessness of the tube just draws me in. Nonetheless, I still have some favorites that are worth reading.

The Time Travelers Wife (Rated R) I love this book. It is nothing like the movie. The movie is all kinds of lame and passionless. The book. Oh, the book. How I love thee. Full of passions and intrigue. I am serious about the R rating though. It has lots of bad words and weird sex. Don’t read it if you are the least bit skittish or unmarried or a newly returned missionary.

Eat Pray Love (PG-13) I loaned this one out. I will probably never get it back. So if anyone needs an idea for a future present, this would be a good one. I love the places this lady goes. I love the people she meets. I love the life she is so lucky to live. As I read this, I searched for real estate in all the locales. Did you know you can buy a house in Bali for like $30,000? Like a house on the beach. Can you even imagine?

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Probably R, I remember a few bad words) This is about a boy who’s dad dies in 9/11. It is kind of a progressive work of art besides being an awesome novel. I had to read it twice to understand it. But it is so good and clever and just plain cool.

Those Who Save Us (Rated R) What the heck? I guess all I read is awesome books with naughty parts. Anyway, this one really would be rated R. It is about a lady who gets pregnant with a Jewish mans baby during World War II. She doesn’t tell and the baby doesn’t know. The baby eventually grows up to be a woman. And I just can’t tell you. But I LOVED this one. It really made me think about what I would do to keep my family alive if things got incredibly bad. Rated R for weird sex and torture of Jews.

The Red Tent (PG-13) This is probably one of my all time favorite books. It is about Dinah from the Bible. Her life and the way they worshiped back than. There were pagan (kind of crazy) ceremonies. But what I really loved from this book were the relationships she had with the women in her life. It is, after all, named after the tent the ladies headed to monthly.

These is My Words (PG) I knew there was a book knocking around this old noggin’ that everyone could read. I love this book. I love the love story. It is turn of the century Arizona and a strong woman who lives a strong and brave life. There is also “Sarah’s Quilt” that I loved. I remember reading this book all day one day. I didn’t get ready. I just followed Gentry around in my pajamas, they were red, and could not get enough of it. You will love it. It looks like there is a new one called “The Star Garden.” It is getting in my hold list from the library right now.

And now for the kids books we are loving. You will see that these lean to the male persuasion. That is because the female child doesn’t care and just smiles and is happy to be included in anything.

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything This book is so cute and clever. I could totally see Gentry reacting the same way.

Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery I know you are looking at this book and thinking it must have been created by the ultimate Tolkeinstein nerd with large glasses and a side part. Possibly a bow tie. And you are very likely right. But we LOVED this book. Probably more than the one below. But seriously, it is everything a little boy could love and not so completely lame that you must scratch out your eyeballs. It is really a clever little story in comic strip format.

Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates Loved this one too. More dino-space loving.

Oh the Places You’ll Go This is of course the Dr. Seuss classic. But it is a POP-UP book. I mean. Can you even imagine how a wonderful book with a wonderful message could get any better? Well with things your kid can play with while you read it to him. Watch a video of it here.

What Was I Scared Of? Another one by Dr. Seuss. This one has glow in the dark pants on every page. Gentry loved flipping the lights on and off to see where the glowing pants were going to be next.

There was and Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly She dies of course and you get to see it happen. For real. The illustrations are quirky and dark. But it is totally a cute and fun book to read.

I am always looking for a good read. What do you all read and love?