books, movies and CDs

Oh my! It’s amazing what a little respiratory illness has done to me over the last eight days. The coughing and lack of sleep have zapped all of the energy out of my prego old lady body. I guess it’s good preparation for what is to come. =]

So now I have about five million posts swirling in my head, and I’m hoping to stay awake long enough to write a few of them between 10 loads of dirty laundry.

Fortunately, it’s summer so I have been spending several hours a day sitting by the pool while my kids play. And that has given me some extra time to read. I was wondering what everyone else is reading this summer and what you recommend.

I recently finished The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. This book touches on racial issues, tragedy, love, the bond between women, not to mention bee farming, which happens to be of huge interest to my husband. (That is the topic of another post.)

I cried my eyes out from start to finish reading this book, but it was worth it. Fortunately, I read a lot of it while sitting in the whirlpool tub in the Smoky Mountains so the tears just streamed right into the water. That saved me a lot of clean-up.

I also just finished Daisy Chain by Mary E. DeMuth. This book was suspenseful enough that I was able to finish it in just a couple of days. I would definitely recommend it, but the book is a little predictable and the characters are a bit shallow, especially coming right after the Bee book.

I didn’t realize when I started it that it was the first in a trilogy. So, I felt like the ending was a little cheap. It basically forces you to get the next book. So, I plan to rebel by reading something else first. That will really show them, huh?

The kids and I also are in the midst of listening to about five books on CD. Our favorite is Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien. I thought I remembered reading this as a kid, but the story seems completely new to me. We can’t wait to get in the car on our way back and forth to the pool to find out what happens next.

We also recently listened to Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes. It was good summer listening. Not my favorite, but a good mystery for kids.

I’m hoping to check out some of the recommendations you all gave me a few weeks ago. If you missed those, be sure to read the comments of this post for some great ideas for children’s books.

Finally, I am way behind the times when it comes to watching movies. But I recently rented three movies that I thought were decent: Marley and Me, New in Town and Seven Pounds. I absolutely loved Seven Pounds and the fact that more than halfway through the movie, the viewer still has no idea what the movie is about.

I actually watched this movie twice right in a row. The second time was even better because I could put all of the pieces together. I even watched all of the special features that came on the DVD. If you have seen this movie, tell me what you thought.

I would love to hear your recommendations on books, movies and children’s books. Please give me some ideas in the comment section!

I’m trying to avoid starting on an antibiotic, if possible, so I could have a few more days of low energy. And that just means more time sitting by the pool reading a book. Hey, it could be worse!

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