Tag Archives: reading

Day 3187 – Children’s Book Day – or – The Best Children’s Books I’ve Read

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Last year, I read 300 books. 200 of those books were Children’s Picture books. I’ve had some people say those didn’t really count. But I have to say, I was moved to joy, laughter, and deep thinking after many of those “books that didn’t count.” Today is Children’s Book Day, so I wanted to share some of the best children’s books I’ve read recently.

All of these links are Amazon Affiliate links. That means if you purchase the book or something else on Amazon after you click on the link, I will get a small percentage. If you’ve been here a while, you know I only ever share links to products, books, etc. that I have personally read, used, and believe in.

Brontorina by James Howe – A brontosaurus doing ballet is reason enough to read a book, and part of the reason I grabbed this one. But what I found was a story that encouraged chasing your dream, encouraging others to chase their dream, and not putting anyone in a box.

Bad Day at Riverbend by Chris Van Allsburg – As a kid, I loved Two Bad Ants, also written by Chris. I sought out his other books and found this one. It was such a different story line than any other kid’s book I’d read before. This was a really fun read.

Mother Bruce by Ryan Higgins – I love the books that turn what you expect an animal to do and be into something completely different. I especially loved that Bruce ate organic. I am now a super big fan of this series and read each new book when it comes out.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin – This was so delightfully fun. I laughed very very hard reading this one. I mean, how can you not enjoy a book about dragons who love tacos?

Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians! by Jason Carter Eaton – I picked up this book for the title alone. What I found was a very comical result of a messy room. This is a great book if your kids are having trouble cleaning up.

Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus – I am very patriotic about my US of A. This book was such a great reflection of this great country and I loved all of the elements that came together. There were a few books in my stack of children’s recommends that moved me to tears, this was one of them.

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty – When I first picked up this book, I read the title as Reverse Engineer. Since I’m all about systems, it sounded perfect. Upon reading, I realized my mistake, but I found something better. This book was a great reminder about creating things, failure, and the drive to continue on. This is great for little inventors.

What Children’s Book do you recommend?

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Day 3178 – A Big Reading Accomplishment – 500 Books Read And Tracked On Goodreads

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A few days ago, I checked my Goodreads read shelf, and realized I’ve tracked 500+ books read! I started tracking back in 2014. How I’ve used Goodreads has changed over the years, but it is definitely THE best way to track the books you’ve read, want to read, want to share with others, etc. It is seriously a must have app/tool/whatever you want to call it for anyone who is serious about reading.

Do you use Goodreads? Share your tips and tricks and experiences below.

This is an older photo, but a pretty good representation of my bookshelf at most times. 😀

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Day 3153 – Thoughts On Rereading Harry Potter

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Last night, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When I first read it, I read it in about 24 hours. This time around, it took me four days. One of the main reasons I wanted to reread the series was to read it slower. Some of the better books I’ve read over the years, I’ve read very fast the first time, that another read through is warranted.

It was fun to read this epic story again, especially knowing how it all ends and ties together. You see things you didn’t see the first time. One unexpected thing was that I saw different characters in a different light due to my life experiences since the first read through. Instead of feeling one way about a character and their actions, I found myself sympathizing with them. Further proof that people can change and that things look different with experience and time.

And obviously, I had to wear my Deathly Hallows socks while reading. 🙂

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Day 3151 – You Have No Excuse For Not Reading – repost

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originally posted 2/25/15
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I hate excuses. I hate when my tendency is to make them. Starting an email to someone saying “I’m sorry this took so long” kills me. I hate when people whine and complain and don’t DO anything about it. Seriously, if you hate your job, do something else or be thankful for what you have.

Ok, ahem, let me step down from my soap box and give you some practical tips I’ve used over the last week or so.

A list of tips for everyone who thinks they don’t have time to read:

– Take Facebook, Twitter, whatever off your phone and install/use your ebook reader. When you have the two minutes to kill in line somewhere, pull up the ebook reader and READ.

– Turn off the TV at the end of the day and READ. Want mindless entertainment? There are a ton of books that fit that bill. (But I’ll be nice and not give suggestions.) 😀

– Waiting for someone? Pull out the book in your purse, laptop bag or satchel and READ.

– Fun fact – the average person reads between 40-100 pages per hour. Even if you’re SUPPPPPPER slow and read 10 pages per hour, if you cut out that hour TV show each night, you’ll read a 200 page book in under 3 weeks. If you read your 10 pages every night for an hour, you’ll read about 17 200 page books in a year. If you can read 50 pages an hour, that’s one 200 page book every 4 days…..averaging that, you’re looking at about 90 books in a year.

– Accountability/tracking app – Goodreads. You can find your friends and share books with them, add books you want to read and find books you didn’t know about through suggestions.

– Listen to them! Books on tape are a great way to rack up the numbers. The last two weeks, I’ve gone down to a friend’s house in DC, which is about an hour from Bret’s school. So I’ve been listening to How To Win Friends And Influence People In The Digital Age. It also helps to pass the time of a long drive. This particular book helped me figure out a problem I was facing almost immediately. Great read!

– Read to your kids, spouse, dog, cat, invisible friend.

What’s your excuse? I’ll talk you out of it. 🙂

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Day 3150 – One Of My Favorite Perks Of Bret’s Day Job – A School That Loves Books As Much As I Do

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Last night was the annual literature night at Bret’s day job as a teacher. The school is transformed as recreations of epic lands. From a Wonder Woman set of rooms – where you can build your shield, bracelets, and tiara – and then run an obstacle course – to a Lorax room – to a room where you could read to two dogs – to a HARRY POTTER ROOM! I jumped up and down when I first arrived and saw it. This was by far my favorite room (especially since I’m tearing through the books again). It included bookmarks with quotes from the book, a bowl of snitches (chocolate candies), to a virtual reality broom riding station, to a wizard selfie station. I, of course, encouraged Bret to participate.

We also got to visit the local library’s book mobile, something I’ve always wanted to do. As luck would have it, they had a copy of the movie version of The Book Thief. I’m currently listening to this on the recommendation of another reader. I have attempted to read it SO many times and just couldn’t get into it. This fellow reader had a similar struggle and was also caught up in the audio version. It’s crazy how much of a difference the right reader can make.

I can’t wait for next year’s literature night! Woo!

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
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