Bargain Book Bonanza (14): A Hubby Edition

 Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!

A book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

BBB is the place to showcase all the great books (new, used, vintage, electronic, audio) that you have scored on sale.

Each Monday through Thursday, all book lovers are invited to carouse, make merry and revel with bargain book abandon!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.

Lesa is hosting this week!

Hi, friends! Apologies for being so late with this week's BBB. This is the third week of summer break and I have already lost track of days! And if you think I've been wallowing and relaxing, think again. Right now, I'm plumb tuckered out from a general frenzy of activity due to unexpected aggravating news that I will share soon. But for now, on with Bargain Book Bonanza...

Have I mentioned before that my spouse is also a bookworm?

My hub, Jim, is an eclectic reader too except in the nonfiction category. He reads it all but his favorites are anything relating to his multitude of special interests, humor  and biographies/memoirs of people in the arts. 

But my man isn't a fictional lost cause-- he read and loved The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings before we met. Good thing that... since he would've had to hit the road otherwise. Seriously. 

The guy had potential so I decided to keep him. And my badgering faith paid off!  A few years ago, he started reading a few of my science thrillers. But the piece de resistance:  Jim read all the Harry Potter books!    Now if only Jillian's boyfriend would put a little bug in his ear regarding a certain bracelet... 

Since Jim is a bookworm and has always bought the most books between us (in my pre-BBB days, that is), it really tickled me last week when he asked: What are you going to do with all your books?

I said: Read them!

Duh, what did he think I was going to do with them!
Of course, I conveniently missed the gist of the question which was book storage.

And guess who found book bargains last week? Yep, my good ol' weak-willed hub.  Only two books though so I guess the house won't burst at the seams. 

Jim found these at the library's neverending sale. He was particularly excited about the Brian Wilson memoir since the Beach Boys are his second favorite  childhood band after the Beatles.

How good was the bargain?

Two hardbacks for a dollar! Can't beat that!

For discussion:

Is it important that your present/future significant other is a reader?  Did any past relationships fizzle because your significant other didn't get your passion for books?

If you have a bargain book, please share. We love to brag on bargains! The linky will be open through Friday this week.






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Scholastic Book Club and Dinner Dictionary

Warning-- silly, base and scatological humour ahead. Read at your own risk.

We often read at the table after dinner.  Sometimes even during dinner.  We're so literary.  Tonight Dellylu brought her Scholastic Book Club catalogs to the table to browse.  

 

She first commented on the pony series, comprising I Want a Pony, A Pony for Keeps, A Pony in Trouble, Give Me Back My Pony, Pony to the Rescue, Too Many Ponies, Runaway Pony, Goodbye Pony, The Wild Pony, Don't Hurt Me, Pony, Keep Out Pony, and Circus Pony.  The entire set is on sale for only $45, a savings of $86.88 (a BBB post, maybe?).  She reckons the best one of the series must be Too Many Ponies, because there are definitely too many.

 

Then Izzy commented on the fine book, Dr Proctor's Fart Powder.  We laughed at the title and the blurb, which reads, 'Nilly and Lisa must help Dr Proctor keep his super-strength Fart Powder safe from the neighbourhood bullies!'   Since Hubby is the only boy in the house we found the idea of a fart book hilarious.  I tried to tell them about proctology and the pun with the Dr's name, but couldn't find the word in our dictionary. It was in Wikipedia.

So then Hubby commented on a set he found, saying, 'Here are some books about ponies who don't eat enough fibre. It's called Magic Ponies Bind Up.' 

Storytime: There's a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems

Hey, Y'all! This is my first official post for the new challenge - picture books. I am super excited, because I read to my little ones so much, yet I hate to keep BLATHERING on about it, you know?

But, now, you HAVE to read my blathering, AND you have to like it. See? It's a Win - sorta Win situation.

Now. On to the review.


My review first. Now, I am speaking as a mom of three, count'em (I have to!), three squirmy wormies! And, although you may feel as though I am a regular June Cleaver (I give off that impression), I actually get rather bored reading some children's books. I know! Gasp! The horror!

So, my perspective is one of a young(ish) mother who will be reading said story about 20 times during the following week. How disgusted will I be with it? THAT, ladies and germs, IS the question!

This book, by Mo Willems, is absolutely. adorable. Aaaand (Yes, there is an "and"!) aaand...FUNNY!

I could totally read this one 20 times this week! 

The pictures are very simple- actually the same basic picture as the cover. I like that because you see the expressions on Piggie's and Elephant's face, and the colors are muted. So there is not a lot to distract from the words.

And the words are very easy to read - the story is a conversation between Piggie and Elephant and beginning readers can read the high frequency words that they will be familiar with (the, bird, on, etc), but there is enough repetition for them to grasp new harder words and memorize them (somewhere, head, etc).

This book will be entertaining for older readers, as well, but it will not be challenging. This is really a beginner's level book.

All of the books in this series (Piggie and Elephant) are similarly written, and I give them a "4 Whews!" and "2 1/2 Snickers (as in laughs, not the candy...although that could work too..)". I may just buy this book and a few more in the series.

 

Nico's interview. (Nico is six, and "motivationally challenged" - that means...uhh..lazy. So he HATES to actually read - he wants me to do it. He pretends, yes, pretends to sound out the words so that I will give in and just read the dang word. He works harder at not working than actually working!)

Me: Nico, did you like this book?

Nico: Uh-huh. Can I go?

Me: No.What did you like about it?

Nico: I don't know. Are we finished?

Me: Not yet. COME BACK HERE! Did. you. like. the. story.

Nico: Yeah. It was funny. Maaaamaaaa, can I go NOW?

Me: Jus' a sec. Did you like to read the words?
Nico: No. Well, yeah, but I just don't know how to read all those books. Can I go?
Me: *sigh* NO! Now. What was your favorite part?
Nico: Elephant said "Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh." And it was funny. He thinks there was a bird on his head!
Me: NICO! COME. HERE! Do you think other kids would like this book?
Nico: (Grinning) Yeah. It was funny. Now can I go?

I must say, I let him go. Through the entire interview, he was hopping up and down. How would Oprah or Barbara Wawa have handled it? Could they have made him cry? Or would they have started to cry?


Anyway, folks. There you have it. It was funny. And not torturous to read the words. He read it with me once, once by himself, and once with his brother and sister each. Not bad, boy-who-doesn't-like-to-read, not bad at all!



Please visit the Read to Me Picture Book Challenge's February linky party   hosted by There's A Book for more terrific picture books!

Many a Pickle Makes a Mickle, or Show a Clean Set of Teeth

Drunk monkeys, a holy man that's not, and a confused ice cream boy.
I just reread a very funny, bizarre, but sweet story about a family in India.

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai is one of my favorite reads. It's been around awhile. This is the author's first novel, and it's a "whimsical" first novel!

                                                          
Sampah is a young man whose life is not going as it should. Fed up, he runs away to a guava orchard, climbs a tree, and refuses to come down. Very quickly he becomes the town's sage.


What makes this story so fantastic is that the absurdity of the situation is somehow familiar.

The author expresses so many insights into people, the private thoughts that we have and pretend to not.

The family of Sampah are delightfully odd - selfish and selfless, miserable and happy, all rolled into one - from his father whose love for his family drives him to greediness, to his angry, aggressive, yet sympathetic sister.

Don't these juxtapositions sound like real people?

The townspeople are equally enjoyable to read about, and the description of the countryside- the smells, the colors, and the foods - really make you want to visit this guava orchard, and perhaps stay there with Sampah.

Pick this up for a nice relaxing read, or to delve deepaahhh and deepaahhh into your soul. I'm not a deeeeep person, so I just enjoyed the hilarity of it all. Best reading, bookworms!