You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Chit Chat About Books
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What are you reading and why? 2015 version
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Berit
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Feb 19, 2015 04:16AM
That's funny about 50 Shades, my daughter who is 17, really wants to read it. So, I read it just so I knew what was in it and to talk to her about it. She read Twilight at probably age 12, and I know she probably didn't really understand or appreciate it. Yes, I liked Twilight :-) I don't believe it's a cultural thing, I think it's a personal thing. I've never really censored anything my kids haveread. That is just me though, I think it's probably harder when you're the grandparent you don't want to step on the parents toes.
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Now that I think of it, I read 50 Shades, because one of my daughters friends who I am kind of a Siri get mother to read it. She told me it was the most realistic love story shit ever read, I got a little worried and wanted to read it so I could talk to her about it. My daughter can read it if she wants, but she hasn't yet.. I think the best thing is to have a dialogue with your kids about what they are reading and watching.
I agree completely, Berit! Talking is key. :)
I always like "grown-up" books. I read of lot of murder mysteries and Nora Roberts books in my early teenage years. A lot of Stephen King and horror books too. I remember reading some book about a haunted house and I think the ghost (female) seduced the man that lived there. I remember being slightly disturbed yet fascinated by a sex scene between the ghost and man. It felt very illicit and I'm quite sure my mom would have flipped had she known what the book was actually about. She never told me what I could or couldn't read though. I'd find books on amazon I wanted to read and ask for her credit card and order them. That was back when amazon was solely an online bookshop. I remember ordering some compilation of "romance" stories that to my teenage brain ended up practically being erotica. I hid it under my bed just in case my mom decided to read the back cover! LOL.
Rusalka wrote: "I totally remember reading my first sex scene in a book at 14 though. The Horse Whisperer"I remember reading bits and pieces of Lady Chatterley's Lover with my cousin, under the covers, with a flashlight. I'm surprised the giggling didn't alert my aunt and uncle. I think we were around 14 years old. I have no idea where she got the book.
I like your approach Tasha. Allowing them to read the books or watch the movies, and then discussing them with them will expose them to your views and standards. They're going to find the books and read them in secret, and then you have no chance to talk about what's right/wrong, morally correct/objectionable, because you don't know what they're reading.
Come to think of it if my 12-year-old asked me to buy him a book, any book, I probably would. It cannot possibly be any worse than any of his video games or anything he sees on You tube. :-)Cherie , I will definitely give you my thoughts on the book, sometimes it's really good to know what the kids in your life are reading about :-)
KimeyDiann wrote: " I hid it under my bed just in case my mom decided to read the back cover! LOL."ROFL! I read a lot when I was a teenager (hmmm, when I think of it, I don't recall any age when I didn't read a lot). Something I devoured then were Harlequin romance stories (Mills and Boon), which I now wouldn't touch with a stick (no offence). But they were perfect at the time. My older daughter has read some Nora Roberts novels, but she's not that much interested in them.
I started with Stephen King books in my late teens, I think Carrie was the first one (a Finnish translation, my English skills weren't good enough to read books in English yet).
Camilla wrote: "KimeyDiann wrote: " I hid it under my bed just in case my mom decided to read the back cover! LOL."ROFL! I read a lot when I was a teenager (hmmm, when I think of it, I don't recall any age when ..."
Me too, Camilla. I have always liked to read. I had almost every Goosebumps (R. L. Stine) book ever published. I loved mystery and scary stuff when I was a kid and teen. I still do , although I'm not as keen on horror anymore.
I just added A Man Called Ove and Unsaid to my TBR. I'll save these for when I need a good cry though lol
I have three children, and only one reader. If my boys asked me to buy them a book rather than a video game I would probably do it. My sons don't read anything more than music reviews on the Internet, oh yeah and baseball stats.
I stilk have all my goosebu.ps up to #40 or there abouts
The Goosebumps series was not available here when I was a kid. I wish I would remember more of what I read when I was an adolescent... I remember reading a lot of Enid Blyton when I was younger; at least the Famous Five books were translated into Finnish. There was so much less available when I was younger, in the 70s and early 80s, than there is now.
I read the goosebumps series too when I was young. I think I was still in elementary school. I loved scary books back then, wonder what happened.Other favourites were The Babysitters Club, the series by Enid Blyton about twins at boarding school (not sure about the title) and Nancy Drew.
My older daughter used to read The Babysitters Club. I remember reading Nancy Drew, my daughters never were interested in it.
We had everyone of my dads happy hollister books from when he was a kid. Still have them. I doubt many others my age had ever heard of them.
More important than whether restrictions are placed on books or not, active engagement in an environment of love and safety are what defines good parenting and grandparenting. Based on that, seems like there's an abundance of good childrearing going on around here : )
Not stepping on toes as a grandparent also makes sense... except sometimes when parents are physically or emotionally absent.
Camilla wrote: "ROFL! I read a lot when I was a teenager (hmmm, when I think of it, I don't recall any age when I didn't read a lot). Something I devoured then were Harlequin romance stories (Mills and Boon), which I now wouldn't touch with a stick (no offence)...."Gosh! I could have written that - all the way to reading in Finnish.
Travis of NNY wrote: "I stilk have all my goosebu.ps up to #40 or there abouts"I was actually looking at some of the goosebumps titles not too long ago and there were only a few titles I didn't recognize. I think I stopped reading them in the late 90's and we sold my collection at a yard sale or something.
Apparently RL Stine is going to start publishing goosebumps books again!
Kimberly wrote: "Bouncing between 
"Oooo... those both look good. You could read Snowmelt River and discuss it for next month's group read theme.
Tejas Janet wrote: "More important than whether restrictions are placed on books or not, active engagement in an environment of love and safety are what defines good parenting and grandparenting. Based on that, seem..."
Exactly. Good points, TJ!
Janice wrote: "Gosh! I could have written that - all the way to reading in Finnish."You're never too old to learn a new language!
Berit wrote: "I have three children, and only one reader. If my boys asked me to buy them a book rather than a video game I would probably do it. My sons don't read anything more than music reviews on the Intern..."I have just the one, and he surprised me when I discovered him reading and loving it as an adult. I think his wife was a big influence there. He did read as a kid, but not all that much.
My grandson loves to read. He's currently soaking up the Riyria Revelations. My granddaughter was a little slower in jumping on the bandwagon, but she is now finding some books she really enjoys. She's right with me in the Lunar Chronicles. When I told her that Fairest had just been released, she said, "I guess we need to go on another roadtrip." Warms the cockles of my heart, so it does. :)
Janice wrote: "I have just the one, and he surprised me when I discovered him reading and loving it as an adult. I think his wife was a big influence there. He did read as a kid, but not all that much. My grandson loves to read. He's currently soaking up the Riyria Revelations. My granddaughter was a little slower in jumping on the bandwagon, but she is now finding some books she really enjoys. She's right with me in the Lunar Chronicles. When I told her that Fairest had just been released, she said, "I guess we need to go on another roadtrip." Warms the cockles of my heart, so it does. :) "
Awww, that's sweet! I think one of the pleasures of eventually having grandchildren - not that I'm in any hurry to have any yet - is reading to them and teaching them to love books. I have saved almost all of our daughters' children's books so that I can read them to the grandchildren (if I ever get some).
I think I have also influenced my husband whenit comes to reading. I know he didn't read at all when we met. Even now his taste is very limited (he reads only Finnish mystery/detective stories), but at least he reads.
Sounds like my bf Camilla. Only action/adventure/crime and almost only in the bath tub, but he reads ;-)
Peggy wrote: "Sounds like my bf Camilla. Only action/adventure/crime and almost only in the bath tub, but he reads ;-)"LOL! I love reading in the bath tub, preferably with a glass of white wine! Pity that we don't have a bath tub at home...
My brother - the one with baby boy triplets - reads to his 6-year-old son almost every night. Except when away a few nights a month for work trips. It's their special time together. Hope he'll be able to keep this going with the triplets. And hope I'll be able to help : ) Still waiting to hear for sure where they're going to land after Malaysia.
I seem to have opened the censorship discussion again. No problems. I really do not go out of my way to censor what the kids read. I know that they can get their hands on most anything out there if they are really determined. My grandkids are all readers and we talk about books all of the time.I should have stated my plight over the Eleanore and Park book a little better. I was using the "grandma says" stick on Danyell that day in the book store. I already had about $80.00s worth of books in my arms and we were looking at the books in New Arrivals section. She picked up the book and read the summary on the back. I was looking over her shoulder and reading along. What I saw was the $22.00 sticker price. What she saw was "a love story". She had just finished reading the book with the girl that had cancer and died (I cannot remember the title.) I had read the book too and we had talked about it. I just did not want to pay $22.00 dollars for the book that day. It is down to $11.20 now, and I probably would buy it for her, if we went shopping again and she asked for it.
I still would like to know the story line from someone who has read it though. I probably will not read it myself.
Cherie wrote: "I seem to have opened the censorship discussion again."Sorry, I haven't been part of the group long enough for me to experience this discussion earlier. I don't think there's one correct answer to this; every parent/grandparent should do as she/he feels is right. I think it's interesting to hear how other parents/grandparents have dealt with the issue.
Camilla wrote: "My older daughter used to read The Babysitters Club. I remember reading Nancy Drew, my daughters never were interested in it."My sister and I read Nancy Drew but I could never get my daughters interested in it either, Camilla.
I never enjoyed scary stories, even as a teen. I was into sci-fi and fantasy then. I never read Stephen King but my daughters all did. I read Forever Amber when I was 13, I think. I stayed up all night reading it at my Grandma's house. She never said a word about it to me.
Camilla wrote: "Cherie wrote: "I seem to have opened the censorship discussion again."Sorry, I haven't been part of the group long enough for me to experience this discussion earlier. I don't think there's one c..."
Oh, I did not mean to say we could not have it again. That is the great thing about this group and posts like yours. New folks get to add their comments and we get new views. I love it!
I'm jealous of you with significant others that enjoy reading. The day I see my husband reading a book that isn't an instruction manual or car magazine, I'll probably faint! LOL. Although I did manage to get him interested in a few audiobooks when we were commuting together. He would drive in the mornings and I would drive in the evenings while he usually napped. I'll never forget the day he asked "are you going to turn the book on or what?" I just grinned and looked at him. He rolled his eyes at me and said he was curious what was going to happen. It made me happy! LOL. There was another time when he was driving but there wasn't really anything interesting on the radio and he told me I could turn the book on if I wanted to. :)
KimeyDiann wrote: "Travis of NNY wrote: "I stilk have all my goosebu.ps up to #40 or there abouts"I was actually looking at some of the goosebumps titles not too long ago and there were only a few titles I didn't ..."
I also read the Goosebumps series when I was young. Well, a fair few of them anyway. They are packed away in a box somewhere in the attic now. I used to quite enjoy the tv series too. Did anyone else watch it?
Cherie wrote: "I seem to have opened the censorship discussion again. No problems. I really do not go out of my way to censor what the kids read. I know that they can get their hands on most anything out there..."Dialogue is the real key in any case in my opinion. It's been very important in raising my cats and dogs :D
Seriously, I decided to forego having children, and I still think that I probably made the right decision for me given my family background, but sometimes I wish people recognized that not having children can also involve sacrifice.
Tejas Janet wrote: "sometimes I wish people recognized that not having children can also involve sacrifice."Oh, I certainly do.
TJ, living involves sacrifice. I'm being serious. I don't believe in the discussion about some people having it easier than other. Each person know what is he/she going through.
Wow! I was away for several hours and look at all that is happened :-) I think as everyone has stated communication is the key to it all. Kids today are exposed to so much there is no way we can monitor everything. Saying that, I started reading young adult books so I would know what my daughter was reading not to censor her, but to be aware of what she was being exposed to. Now my kids friends seem to come to me with all their problems personal and otherwise, I think it's just because they don't feel judged by me and I listen to them. It sounds to me like we are all doing an amazing job ;-)and I will definitely let you know how Elinor and Park is :-)
Lisa wrote: "KimeyDiann wrote: "Travis of NNY wrote: "I stilk have all my goosebu.ps up to #40 or there abouts"I was actually looking at some of the goosebumps titles not too long ago and there were only a f..."
We didn't have any channels that carried it
two of my closest friends made the decision not to have kids for two different reasons, and I completely respect them for that.One more thing, I agree with Sandra everyone makes sacrifices.no one's life is any easier than anyone else's that is for sure.
Sandra wrote: "TJ, living involves sacrifice. I'm being serious. I don't believe in the discussion about some people having it easier than other. Each person know what is he/she going through."Amen!!
Camilla wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "sometimes I wish people recognized that not having children can also involve sacrifice."Oh, I certainly do."
I didn't mean people here per se. I meant just going thru life "out there" ; )
People here are unusually accepting and supportive imo.
Cherie wrote: "I just did not want to pay $22.00 dollars for the book that day"LOL fair enough!!
Sorry, please do not think I was judging you. I do find the ability for kids that age to work out what they are mature enough for fascinating. I get carried away. And it is interesting to see what people with kids actually do do.
Tejas Janet wrote: "People here are unusually accepting and supportive imo."Group Hug!! We are all spectacularly awesome I feel :D
No, Rusalka - I did not feel any judging going on, from you or anyone else and I was not trying to pass any on. Berit - I like to read the YA novels too. Not just to keep up, but because so many are so well written.
TJ - I admire people for making the decisions for not having children (for whatever their reasons) and I almost envy them sometimes. I almost wish my girls had not had so many, but who am I going to wish away?
I totally understand and support the members here who love and talk about their furry kids as much as we talk about our human ones.
I started reading YA novels to see what my daughter was reading. Now I read them because, they are very good and I love the world of teens. I loved being a teen and I love my teenagers. I just think that is the most amazing age. :-)
I finished Wolf in the Jack Caffery series. This series is dark and compelling and the writing is excellent. Here's my review of this book: I was thunderstruck by this amazing book in this wonderful, dark series. I could hardly put the book down and there were some surprises I wasn't expecting; especially the ending. I was holding by breath several times throughout. Can't wait for the next one.Reading lighter fare right now. The most recent Charley Davidson book, Seventh Grave and No Body.
Janice wrote: "What's she got in her pocketses, Precious?"lmao
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