I want to kick some ass with Alex Cross!

Anything having to do with the written word has always fascinated me.  I love it.  English is a breeze for me.  Words are like air to me.  English is like breathing.  I’ve never had a problem with it.  I aced every English and literary class consistently throughout each grade and level of schooling I took.  So naturally, reading is a great love of mine.

What I like about books is there is no judgement.  You know the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover?”  Well, the saying is correct.  Books, unless non-fiction, cannot be deemed right or wrong.  No one can tell you how, where, when, and who to write a book to and for.  Characters, places, events and themes are all made up as you go along, or they can be carefully planned out.  The point is: it doesn’t matter.  There is no set time, place, or person to impress.  (I know there are writers out there who do it for a living and obviously have to impress to make a living, but I’m sure you can comprehend the point I’m trying to make.)  I’m definitely beyond jealous of these people.  Incredibly jealous.  Reading and writing is a huge passion of mine.

Currently, I am on a tremendous James Patterson kick, reading the Alex Cross series.  Why has no one EVER told me about these in the past?!  And more to the point: how did these slip by me?!  Reading, writing, and gross disgusting crime scene blood and guts and rolled into one?!  Now that is more like it.  That is me ALL. THE. WAY.  Someone get James Patterson on the phone.  I want to meet him.  Now.  He is my hero.  I want to kick some ass with Alex Cross!

I just finished Double Cross and I am just starting Cross Country.  I have read all of his books, starting from Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls, all the way up to Cross Country in just a few short weeks on my kindle touch.  I seriously can’t put them down – when I find them time to read!  When I have some time to myself, that is what I find myself doing, sitting down holding my kindle.  I don’t go anywhere without my kindle and my phone.  I won’t go upstairs or downstairs in my own house without it; I won’t leave the house without it; I’ve become addicted, all thanks to Mr. Patterson.  He is like a drug.  He feeds my addiction to disgusting crime scene stuff through the use of my passion of words.  What a powerful combination.  He knows how to get to me.  Good job, James.  Good job.

Kindle Craziness!

WOW it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything.  It’s just been crazy.  The end of the school year, broken bones, all kinds of trips with the kids, new animals added to the household (a beautiful new Calico cat named Daisy).  It’s just been a wild and crazy time.  3 kids and me leaves me no time at all to do much of anything for myself.

The newest craze in my house with my kids is their kindles.  Thank goodness.  I love to be able to say that my kids new craze isn’t a video game.  Or anything wacky or stupid that’ll get them hurt.  I already have a kid with a broken bone.  Boy broke his finger and boy was that the biggest ordeal of the year so far.  That was the craziest week of my life for a long time.

The whole craze started when I started reading books on my iBooks on my iPad, and Best Friend was reading books on her hubby’s (who also happen’s to be my brother!) kindle touch.  We were talking about the differences between the two over the phone in conversations, then through text as well all the time.  She bragged about the kindle touch a lot, and to me it sounded unbelievable, but as I told her and Hubby, I just couldn’t imagine spending the money on an e-reader when I had iBooks on my iPad.  But then…

We came face-to-face when the kindle touch and the iBooks on the iPad.  And I was sold.  I bought my kindle touch that day.  Literally as soon as I got home I ordered it.  And of course, Brother, who always has the best things (I so hope he read that, because if he did, he rolled his eyes and said “whatever”), had the best case in the world for his kindle touch too.  It comes with a light at the top that you can pull out, and it runs off the battery of the kindle.  (The battery also lasts for months apparently if you keep the wi-fi turned off.)  So I also ordered the same case.  Duh, why wouldn’t I?!

And once again, I’m addicted.  This time, to my Kindle Touch.

Then the mistake came.  My kids saw it.  Big Girl, who is the biggest reader I’ve ever met of a child, wanted one.  And me being the mother I am, of course wanted to buy her one immediately.  And Hubby said, “go ahead, if there’s a kid that deserves one, it’s her.”  She came home from school this year, finishing first grade, with a perfect report card for not only the last semester, but the entire year, and her reading teacher wrote that she was reading consistently at a 3rd grade level at this time.  When we are at home, she walks around reading.  She takes books in the car.  She reads her self to sleep at night.  She takes books everywhere.  She definitely does deserve one.  And I’m so proud of her!  So I told her all of that.  We told her how proud of her we were, and that we ordered her one.  The joy that overcame her face was enough to know right then and there that the decision was right.  She was so happy.

Then came the problem.  How do we tell boy that he wasn’t getting one and she was?

So hers came yesterday.  She opened it.  He got mad.  Of course.

I sat him down and talked to him, and started explaining to him why we got Big Girl one and not him.  I said, “We got Big Girl one because she came home with a perfect report card and her teacher said she was reading at third grade level, and we are very proud of her.”

His response: “Well, I had a perfect report card all year too, Mom.  And I learned to read this year.”

Man down.  And that man was me.

How the f do you come back from that?  So instead of discouraging his reading efforts, I decided to order him one, against my better judgement. But after all, he is right.  If that’s the standard I was going on, my 5-year-old son was smart enough to point it out, and I wasn’t smart enough to see it myself.  How could I not know he wouldn’t understand and get mad?

So, I got on Amazon and ordered Boy one.  But I had a huge talk with him.  I told him if he didn’t use it, and I didn’t see him trying to learn how to read better and making a big effort to read, I would sell it to someone else that loves to read.  I told him he didn’t need one just because me and Big Girl have one.  But I also want to encourage both my kids to read, the love it, and anything I can do to help, I will.  And if this is something that will help him, I’m all for it.  If not, I’m sure the thing will sell for a decent amount and I won’t lose too much money (staying positive!).

So that’s what’s going on at our house nowadays…

We leave for the beach in less than 2 weeks, we will be going to Water Country tomorrow (I hope).  And in the mean time, there will always be the Kindle Touch…