Everyone who knows me is aware that I LOVE to read. Well, that's actually not nearly strong enough, let's say I devour books. I always have a stack from the library on my nightstand, and as soon as I finish one, I move on to the next. I read while brushing my teeth (always have, for as long as I can remember, and I can't imagine how people can just...stand there...for 2 boring minutes without a book to pass the time.) When I was a (shy, chubby, clumsy) kid, and my exasperated mother ordered me to "go outside and get some fresh air", I would grab a book and head to the front yard, where I would then plop myself down to read in the sunshine. Anyway, you get the picture.
So it's no surprise at all that my kids are already avid readers themselves. Derek recently said to me, "Mom, I want to go to Barnes & Noble and buy some books." I pointed out that we have a perfectly good public library less than a mile away, where they let you walk out with as many FREE books as you can carry. "Yes," he patiently responded, "but I want to have books to keep, so I can read them over and over." How could I argue with that? I myself have a bookcase in the basement full of favorites that I've acquired over the years, special volumes that I return to time and again, because I enjoy them with each and every re-read. (Jeez, he IS becoming a mini-me...)
Fortunately, he has also developed my predilection toward fantasy stories...boy wizards, Greek gods come to life, elves and sprites: the more fantastical, the better! Thus we recently purchased and bulldozed our way through the entire Percy Jackson & the Olympians series (5 stars, and 2 thumbs up--well, really 8 thumbs, since we all loved it). Now I've introduced Derek to a boy genius/criminal mastermind called Artemis Fowl, whom I discovered several years ago and am revisiting right along with him. The stories are set in Ireland, and chronicle Artemis' various adventures with the "Lower Elements", or in other words: the Fairy World. The books are suspenseful, funny, and clever, and lead to some lively discussions around the dinner table (since Husband has also gotten sucked into reading them along with us...all part of my Dastardly Plan...to, um,wait, I've got it...form our own Book Club!? Nevermind, I'm clearly no good with evil plots.)
However, the introduction of this new Supernatural Realm has had other unexpected repercussions as well. For example, Riley and Derek were bantering playfully back and forth yesterday, until Riley effectively terminated the argument by calling Derek a "Punk Fairy." So for those of you keeping score, it was:
Derek--speechless; Riley--Winner! (Mom--convulsed with laughter, trying desperately not to spit out her coffee.) Just a classic example of what useful-life-information you can glean from quality children's literature!
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