Weekend Links

Our life this week in quick links:

I'm reading:

I have been given an official prescription that I need to spend more time doing things just because they are fun (this is the benefit of going to see a therapist for my slide into depression - more on that later), so with that in mind I went to the bookstore this week. I wanted A Dance With Dragons, but the sheer size of the hardcover book gave me pause. That thing would throw my back out carrying it around! Definitely going to get that on the Kindle. Instead I bought David Sedaris's holidays on ice, a collection of six holiday stories by the caustic comedic writer. So far I'm enjoying it, but not busting out loud with laughter.

We're reading to the kids:

We finished the Ivy and Bean book this week, and instead of starting another chapter book I thought it would be nice to read a few picture books. Even as they get older, I don't want to stop reading all the wonderful picture books out there!

Me ... Jane introduces us to a little girl named Jane and her fun stuffed monkey, and all the fun outdoors they have. And of course it turns out that the little girl Jane is Jane Goodall and she grows up to have wonderful adventures outdoors with real apes. Hypatia loved it and was inspired to jump right up and go join Roots to Shoots and save the world. This book has made it onto a lot of "Best of 2011" lists.

Grandpa Green is a romp through a crazy topiary garden, so the illustrations are very interesting. It also reads like a love-letter to a beloved grandpa. This is also on a lot of "Best of 2011" lists.

In the Rainfield: Who's the Greatest? is a story from Africa about an argument between Wind, Fire, and Rain about who is the greatest. In the end, Rain, the gentlest, is also the greatest, but the story was a bit odd to our ears. However, the illustrations are very interesting with a blend of photo collage and paintings, and we enjoyed examining them very much.

We read some other books about explorers, but I'll post about them later.

We're listening to:

Pimsleur's Learn to Speak Spanish, as we drive around town.

More NPR than we had time for before. A pleasant side-effect of my longer drive to work after our move, and a reminder that I really ought to send in a pledge! The kids are also getting old enough that they actually listen to it with me, and it sparks lots of good conversations about what's going on in the world.

The Children of Green Knowe, which Carbon has heard already too many times to count. This book series is easily his favorite of all time. Hypatia has only heard this one once before, so we're listening to it again in the car. They are truly, deeply, lovely books.

We're watching:

Project Runway, Season 5. The kids LOVE this show, and the whole family enjoys watching it together. And they are working with some of my old scrap fabric and making sketches, trying to become designers themselves.

Star Trek, the Original Series. I loved Star Trek when I was a kid, and it's fun to share that now with my own kids. Sure, it's silly, but it still has a lot of good messages and we've had some great family discussions based on it.