Current Reads

During our read-aloud time Julius and I are now reading the sequel to The Shakespeare Stealer. It is called Shakespeare’s Scribe. In my personal reading time I’m splitting time between Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, by Eugene Peterson (a book on Spiritual Theology) and The Primal Blueprint, by Mark Sisson—the diet and exercise plan that Scott and I have been following. Even though we’ve been following the basic principles Sisson advocates, I haven’t fully read the book yet and am finding myself wishing I knew more about the why of what we’re doing. Julius continues to read Detectives in Togas in his personal reading time.

Book #2: The Shakespeare Stealer

The Shakespeare Stealer is about an orphan boy named Widge who is sent by his master to Lord Chamberlain’s men (Shakespeare’s theater company) where he has to decide if he wants to steal and copy a play or risk his life and be part of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He joins the company, but he still has to decide whether he wants to steal Hamlet or join the company.

I liked this book because it has a lot of action, adventure, and intrigue with plot twists. It was fun learning about how Shakespeare’s company actually did the plays in Elizabethan England.

Review by Julius, age 9

Book #1: The Glass Castle

I just finished this book. What an incredible life story. Raised by a brilliant drunk and an artistic (probably bi-polar) mom, the author and her siblings experienced a childhood that ranged from quirky/eccentric/creative to downright neglectful and abusive. As time went on, it seems it was more of the latter than the former. She and her siblings manage to survive and overcome their desperate circumstances—but I confess that it was very uncomfortable to read about some of the horrors these children experienced.

Let’s do it!

So Julius and I are going to try to read 52 books this year! I’ve been an avid reader since my childhood, Julius is now coming into his own as a reader, and both of us love our read-aloud time every evening. So between his books, my books and our books, I’m sure we’ll hit 52 and more. I’ve been wishing for a way to keep track of the books we’ve read, and blogging this challenge seems like a great way to do that. Currently here is what we’re working on:

Julius – Detectives in Togas, by Henry Winterfeld

Andrea – The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls

Read Aloud – The Shakespeare Stealer, by Gary Blackwood

Around the World

I learned of the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge from a woman who posts on my favorite parenting message board. She linked to this blog. One of their “mini challenges” is to track the places you’ve gone through your books. Both Julius and I love books about other places and times in history, so I thought this would be fun. Watch the tag cloud called Around the World on the right side of the blog to see where we’ve been!