NAMB's Recommended Reading

Time for installment 1 of NAMB (Not Another Mom Blog) Recommended Reading. Where I read something, and If I love it, I tell YOU to read it. My feature selection for today is:

The Best American Non-Required Reading 2008.

This book is Freakin' AWESOME! It includes some highly humorous subject matter, such as Best American Police Blotter Items from Kensington California. True and highly amusing tidbits from the police blotter of a very, very small town with a very bored police department.

Also, such gems as Best American Facebook Groups. I am soooo joining "I Beat George W. Bush on the SATs."

Also included in this book:

- Best American Last Sentances of Books
- Best American Names of Champion Show Dogs
- Best American Ron Paul Facts (Ron Paul invented Chuck Norris! Ron Paul doesn't pee, he liberates Urine!)
- Best American Kurt Vonnegut Writings

There is also a fantastic journal type story, called Best American Diary of the Living Dead, or: Are You There God? It's Me. Also, A Bunch of Zombies. I will let the title of that one speak for itself. It's some pretty funny stuff.

The book is not all humor, though. There were some very touching and thought provoking stories, such as:
- A story about poverty in Buenos Aires and people called "Cartoneros" who collect and recycle to make a living
- A girl given up by her mother at birth
- A boy's obsession with nonexistence
- The sun going dark for no apparent reason
- A vigilante conservation organization out to save the whales by literally running into whaling ships on international waters (The man who leads this was a founding member of Greenpeace and was kicked out)
- A biracial young woman searching for answers about Judaism in Israel (This includes a fascinating history of Ethiopian Jews)
- One of my favorites: An eye opening story about the Clinton Foundation and what they are doing for AIDS victims all over the world.

There are more stories, too. Short stories, Fiction, Non-Fiction, even a few comics and cartoons.

It really is a truly awesome book. Go, buy it, read it!

Stay tuned for more installments of NAMB's Recommended Reading!

Southern Vampires

I don't know how I am going to be able to wait until May 2009 for this to come out!



Sigh. Anyone else read these? GREAT series. For real. If you were a fan of Twilight, you will LOVE these even more! They are sooooo much better. More grown up, too.

For the record... I <3 Eric.

I need to get me one of these!

How cool is that?!

Maya's Favorite Books

Well, I was all excited to post my photos for Weekend Snapshot and Photo Hunter but I left my camera's usb cable at my in-law's house. Bah!!! I will have to post those tomorrow.

Day two of NaBloPoMo and the theme for the week is lists, so I thought I would share with you a list of my daughter's favorite books.

First up, The Ramona Quimby series. Who doesn't love Ramona? What makes this so great is that I loved reading the Ramona books when I was a kid. Her and her sister Beezus... I know you remember! She has 5 Ramona books and wants the rest of them.




The Junie B. Jones series. She owns all of the "kindergarten" ones and most of the "first grader" ones. I love reading these with her. They are so, so funny. Junie B cracks me up!! This was the second book maya ever read on her own, Dr. Suess being the first.



Earth and Space. This photo isn't the exact copy of the book she has, but it's the only one I could find. She carries this book with her everywhere! She reads it constantly and spouts off facts about volcanoes, dinosaurs, the moon, you name it. I love it because it's educational, she is learning so much from it. The illustrations are amazing, too.


A classic that I remember from my childhood... Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very Bad Day. Who doesn't have days like this sometimes? I think it's a great book to help kids relate to Alexander. They can see that sometimes, things don't go so well. That it's normal and can happen to anyone. Plus, it is kind of funny, too.


Maya's World, a series by great auther Maya Angelou. I partly named my daughter after her! This series introduces children to other children from all over the world. Maya's favorite is the France one. Kids can read all about other countries, other cultures. It's wonderful!



Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! This is a hysterically funny book where the reader is in charge, and can't let the pigeon drive the bus... but the pigeon isn't giving up so easily! Your kids will love it! Maya loves to really act out the parts, which is really cool to watch her do!



If you don't know who Pippi Longstocking is, the you need to crawl out from under that rock you've been living under and head straight to the nearest library. I love Pippi. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Pippi. Now my daughter is following in my footsteps!




The Magic Tree House series. Amazing! They are educational and entertaining, and they allow kids to really use and expand their imagination. We've learned about dinosaurs, vikings, dolphins, the middle ages, and more. A brother and a sister find a tree house that whisks them away, through time and all over the planet... and beyond!



Last but certainly not least, Walter the Farting Dog. I don't think I really need to say much more about this book. I dare you to read it without laughing!






I have been an avid reader my whole life, and I have been reading to Maya since she was born. Earlier than that, even. This has sparked a love for books in her which was my main goal, and for that I am thrilled!

I believe this is also why she started reading on her own at a very early age.

This was a very short list of favorites, the list could go on and on!

Do your kids have any favorite books? I'd love to hear about them!