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The right amount of space. Not too spacey, not too cramped… create a space that allows you to be cozy and comfortable while reading. Consider the different furniture and accessories you’ll be needing as well so your space does not look too cluttered.

Cozy seating. An overstuffed chair, bean bags, a fluffy couch, a seat with an ottoman… what kind of seat makes you not want to get up from it? If you plan to read to your children, ensure that there’s enough space for the two of you in one seat too.

Good lighting. Correctly position your lamps so your reading material is well-lit, and that the light does not get into your eyes.

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Side table. To hold your eyeglasses, a cup of hot chocolate, a bowl of popcorn, pen and paper, more books, your reading light, this table will hold your reading companions.

Bookshelves. Have some bookshelves in your reading corner instead of in another room. Easy access to many books will encourage more reading.

A Book Bag or a Book Basket. If you read several books at a time, put the set of books you’re currently reading in a basket. This way, you don’t have to go back and forth to the bookshelf when you’re in the mood for that other book you’re reading. And if you have multiple reading corners at home, you can just carry your book basket to the other corner and not balance a bunch of books in your arms.

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Quiet time. Getting lost in a good book is wonderful… except when you suddenly hear your neighbor screaming or your teenager’s stereo blasting again. Choose an area that allows for long moments of quiet reading.

Decorate with items inspired from readings. Don’t hesitate to place that Sorting Hat you got from the mall by your couch — it shows how much you enjoyed the Harry Potter series.

Happy reading!

Post from: Blisstree

Creating a Reading Corner

Summer reading programs at local libraries offer youngsters fun and reading encouragement.  Our library, the Pease Public Library in Plymouth, NH, has excited young readers for many years.  I’m always impressed by what is planned for youngsters and the community.  Also, the children receive prizes, donated by local businesses,  for the number of books they read during the summer.

Image: sxc.hu

Even, though my grandchildren are too old (high school and college age when the programs are geared for pre-school through grade 8), we do attend some of the family programs…movies, entertainers and projects.

I’ve taken Kara and Alex to these summer reading programs since they were in pre-school.  Then when I was no longer needed to help, I enjoyed the evening reading and using my laptop while I waited.

Visit your library and those in neighboring towns. We still check out many books and movies throughout the summer and enjoy them at home.

Post from: Blisstree

What Does Your Library Offer?

This was considered an appropriate policy, especially since students as young as fourth grade wanted to check out these books.  This gave the parents input into their children’s reading selections.

This raises some interesting questions:

Do you think a school should limit a student’s reading material unless he/she has parental approval?

Do you like the fact that a school will check with a parent first?

Do you think the school or librarian should simply let children of any age read whatever books are in the library?

As a mother and grandmother, I like the idea that I’d be consulted and give input into my child’s reading matter.  What do you think?

(Image: Pop Culture Graphics at Amazon)

Post from: Blisstree

Should School Libraries Monitor Kids’Books?

IMG: Amazon.com

Summer Reading Books:
Scary Stories: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz
Fairies: Cook Book By Barbara Beery
The Kids’ Book of Chocolate By Richard Ammon
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Always Wear Clean Underwear! by Marc Gellman
Franny K. Stein: Mad Scientist by Jim Benton
The Shivers in the Fridge by Manushkin
How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty by Nathan Zimelman
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Falling Up by Shel Silverstein

How many of you remember poems by Shel Shiverstein? I also remember Franny K Stein and the Wimpy Diaries as her brother checked them out just a year or two ago. Course I didn’t like her comment, “Mom you know these books right?” In reference to Shel’s, “Yeah why?” She kind of shrugged and replied, “They just looked old, like classics.” OUCH.

Post from: Blisstree

The Library Bags are Home

I’ve turned my entire bathroom into a library. The haphazard way of just putting books and magazines on the back of the toilet was driving me crazy. So, I added a magazine rack next to the toilet paper roll holder.

But, the part I love most about my library/restroom is the wallpaper. It’s the pages of a real vintage book. I tore the pages out and modge podged them onto the wall and painted the molding pink.

My grandmother had a pink bathroom and my whole childhood I just loved that room. Since becoming an adult I’ve always painted my various bathrooms pink.

While using the guest bathroom at someones home I was taken with their wallpaper. It was expensive, I’m sure. What I loved about it was that it was all poetry. But, it was poetry about Time. Every poem was in relation to time. Time, and running out of it, I decided, was not going to help me do my business.

I loath most poetry. Say what you have to say. Don’t make me critically deconstruct it to figure it out. But, rhyming poetry is much, much worse. The one poet I truly adore is Dorothy Parker. So I took an original Not So Deep As A Well printed in the 1960s that I already had and glued the pages to the walls. Because the book was over 40 years old it gave the walls a really romantic aged look.

I accented with signs and towel hooks that say things like ”When train is in station, please do not flush” and “Bath 5 cents, Towel 10 cents.” I kept the cameo pink and white cut-outs (honestly I haven’t the slightest idea what they are really called) for art. 

But, alas, my daughter is starting to read and Dorothy Parker is more suicidal, morbid and maudlin than is appropriate for small children.

Razors pain you, drugs cause cramp, acid stains you, rivers are damp, guns aren’t lawful, nooses give, gas smells awful – might as well live.

I thought perhaps the bathroom should be just a tad more optimistic and uplifting. So, I found a Leaves of Gold book, also printed in the ’60s. This time the pages are encouraging thoughts and affermations about life. My favorite is the one about Abraham Lincoln’s resume, which includes a lifetime of failure after failure and then BAM President of the United States. Dig that. I pasted these pages right over the top of the Parker pages.

I adore my bathroom. It’s probably my favorite room in the house. I love words and this bathroom reflects that. It also functions as our library or reading room, so I dig that it reflects that. And it was cheap, the book was $3.50 and the liquid starch I got at the dollar store.

Post from: Blisstree

Library/Restroom Wallpaper