On an old blog I once wrote a note about reading books I originally bought for my son, but he never touched. We're gonna revisit that topic. ;o)
About 3 years ago, while trying to boost my son (then 11) into reading more, I bought him the first book of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. We'd already given him the first 4 books of the Harry Potter series, and I'd read two of them to him, but he still just couldn't bring himself to tackle a book of their size. Alas, he wouldn't read Artemis either. So.. it sat on the shelf, staring out at me every time I passed the bookshelf. Until one day....
Bored and totally out of anything fun to read here at the house, I snagged Artemis Fowl off the shelf and settled into a chair and began to read. I didn't think I'd enjoy it, as it is targeted at the 9-12 age range, but I did enjoy it very much! Not sure if it was the fairy/fantasy aspect, or if it was just fun, without being deep and overlong. (Artemis is a 12 year old, HIGHLY intelligent and crafty little booger.. er, criminal. And he has a plan to steal the fairyfolk's gold.) The story clipped along without getting stale, and there was always excitement right around the corner. The characters seemed real, and it was a joy to read.
Then on to Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident I went. More fun, and just as enjoyable to read, maybe even more so! So of course Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code was up next. More of the same mindless easy reading a more adventures and fun! Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception promises another wonderful adventure, but I have to wait for the Scholastic Book order to be delivered to my son's school. LOL Why pay $7.99 at a local bookstore, when I can pay $3.95 and help the school at the same time?!
So, in the meantime, I curled up with yet another of the unread books my son had in his possession. Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale. Another wonderful book. Total witchy fantasy set in England, involving a young boy, a young witch, and a missing page out of a historical magic book. OH MY! lol I loved it.
Now, I'm beginning Eragon by Christopher Paolini. A book written by boy after graduating high school at the age of 15!! This one is about a boy, a dragon, and saving an empire. Recently the sequel ( in what will be a trilogy) was released entitled Eldest. I figure now's the time to read this one. ;)
For the record, I've been reading novels since I was about 13, encouraged by my mom, who was an avid romance reader at the time (she now includes mystery, suspense, fantasy and action into her reading lists.)
My first novel, given to me by mom, was On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt. A wonderful romance. After that, I read the V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic series and was hooked on reading for life! I read mostly romances exclusively after that until the mid 90's, and was introduced to the works of Michael Crichton. :) :) Since then I've read tons of books, including those from Dean Koontz, Dan Brown and Nora Roberts. Reading is fun.
At any rate, if you're looking for something light to read, but still WAAYY fun and totally enjoyable, pick up a kid's book. You'll be surprised how much fun you have!
As a footnote, I'm proud to say that my son finally did pick up reading (when he was good and ready) and has read the Harry Potter books, and the first Artemis Fowl installment, and is currently reading The Arctic Incident. ;) And is anxious to read Whispering to Witches after mom enjoyed it. lol)
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My third grade teacher really turned me on to reading with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Shortly thereafter, I had devoured the entire Narnia series (Voyage of the Dawn Treader was my favorite), and became a voracious reader thereafter. Heck, in a previous job I was known as 'Book Boy'. There is a lot of young adult fiction that really should be labelled 'all ages'. Though I haven't read any yet, someone recommended books by Shannon Hale as young adult fiction suitable for anyone.
My sons love books, we just need to work with the older one to not get lazy and guess at words he can figure out on his own. I think once he gets through some of the harder stuff (like the 'ough' letter combination), he'll enjoy it more. The school does a reading thing where if he reads or listens to 25 books a week, he earns rewards. I think most kids get theirs via being read to (which we do, too), but most of the books on his list were ones he read himself. The younger loves to pull out books we've read to him and tell us the story back based on the pictures and a little bit of word recognition.
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