Christmas Read

The only thing I must have for Christmas is a book!
It is a tradition that I get myself and each of my children a book for Christmas. I never choose a book for Kari-he usually picks his own and I can never guess his taste because he's all over the place in what he wants to read. I think he'd be happy if Micheal Crichton had a new book however.
That's all I need and if it were up to me that's all they'd get. I love having some days off and time to read.
It's been a busy year so far, and I'm sorry to say, aside from some Old Testament and my daily Book of Mormon fix I haven't finished a book since "Ahab's Wife" this last summer. Oh, I did read a really annoying little Richard Paul Evan's book a few weeks ago-but that's not what I'm after. I'm talkin' really good down time with a really good book. I'm going hunting for my Christmas read this weekend.

I'd like to pick a new one, but if I can't find one that looks good I'll just reread one of my faves; Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice or maybe Les Miserables.
I'm also in love with the books I read with Henrik when he did "HomeSchool" for a few months in fourth grade. I'm not even sure if I can say what it is those books really meant to us, but we theorized together that the world has just always been a rough and "dangerous place" full of scary and impossible trials-you just have to "get through". That seemed like a really important thought for a fourth grade boy and his mom that year. We read "The Lonesome Gods" by Louis L'amour, "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas" and "Little Britches". Maybe I'll read one of those again.
I loved reading the abridged "Shakespeare for young readers" with Raini one summer-those classic stories alongside beautiful illustrations kept her attention all the way through Romeo and Juliet to Macbeth. Jon's favorites have included "Super Diaper Baby"and "Hashbrown Winters" but he has been brainwashed-I mean- converted by his dad to Science fiction through "Runaway Robot" and I'm not sure how many times they've read that one together, but they really need a new book!
Oh the exquisite joy of reading "Heidi" and "Little Women" with Sophie and Miya! Fifth and sixth grade are the perfect time to read about Meg's desire for popularity, Amy's tantrum's and Heidi's compassion and service despite her homesickness!

We've found other books that have also worked their way down deep into our souls over the years; "Fablehaven", "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane", "Stargirl", "White Fang", "Diary of a Wimpy kid" and various Harry Potter's to name a few.

I've recommended lots of books to my kids over the years and now they're giving me some ideas ...
Raini is still waiting for me to finish the last of the "Twilight" series-still don't know what happens. Henrik thinks I should read "Hunger Games" even though I will be grossed out. Sophie and Miya are way into Ghost Stories like "Waiting for Helen" or "A Doll in the Garden" so I have lots of good ideas and can't wait to see what I will pick!