Darren H Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Wow, it's been over four years since you started this thread, Christian. That's about the point that Joanna and I first started "trying" (I hate that expression) to start our family, and I remember reading the article that you linked to and thinking, "What a cool idea. I hope I get to do that some day." I haven't forgotten it. Last weekend I went to Borders, picked out six books for Rory, wrapped them, tied them together with a ribbon, and put them under the tree. So consider this a much-belated thanks for the link. In case you're curious, I bought her Madeline, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, The Giving Tree, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town. Quote Long Pauses Link to post Share on other sites
Christian Posted December 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 (edited) We LOVE Brown Bear, Brown Bear..., Darren. Sarah tells me that just tonight, she read Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? -- a lesser sequel, but still kind of fun -- to our youngest. He's the fourth of our kids to enjoy Carle's books. Edited December 10, 2010 by Christian Quote "What matters are movies, not awards; experiences, not celebrations; the subjective power of individual critical points of view, not the declamatory compromises of consensus." - Richard Brody, "Godard's Surprise Win Is a Victory for Independent Cinema," The New Yorker Link to post Share on other sites
Christian Posted December 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 No book stacks this year for our kids, but my wife received America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution. I got a book from my dad about the spiritual lives of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. I also received a small wine guide and tasting journal. I have several other books on my list, and a few gifts still to receive and open locally and at my in-laws' place. Whatever I don't receive gets considered as part of my gift-card/cash pool, which I'll spend before the new year. At this point I'm thinking the money will go toward music, but that'll likely chnage if I don't receive the new Library of America collection of Pauline Kael's writings. Quote "What matters are movies, not awards; experiences, not celebrations; the subjective power of individual critical points of view, not the declamatory compromises of consensus." - Richard Brody, "Godard's Surprise Win Is a Victory for Independent Cinema," The New Yorker Link to post Share on other sites
Tyler Posted December 25, 2011 Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 (edited) For Christmas and birthday (the 17th): Wonderstruck-Brian Selznick Zone One-Colson Whitehead The Illumination-Kevin Brockmeier The Art of Fielding-Chad Harbach And two audiobooks: Divergent-Veronica Roth Among the Missing-Dan Chaon Edited December 25, 2011 by Tyler Quote It's the side effects that save us. --The National, "Graceless"Twitter Blog Link to post Share on other sites
LibrarianDeb Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 I didn't get any books this year (the whole "why buy a librarian books" thing) but I bought my husband The Oxford Companion to Beer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Whitman Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 I didn't get any books this year (the whole "why buy a librarian books" thing) but I bought my husband The Oxford Companion to Beer. Does a virtual stack count? I gratefully received Scenes from Village Life, by Amos Oz, The Magicians, by Lev Grossman, (which appears to be a sort of Harry Potter Goes to College and Discovers Sex and Drugs), and Aurorarama by Jean Christophe Valtat. But the Kindle is still about a quarter-inch thick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Christian Posted December 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 that'll likely chnage if I don't receive the new Library of America collection of Pauline Kael's writings. No Kael-book gift for me, so I've got to prioritize the items I didn't receive and figure out my next steps. Quote "What matters are movies, not awards; experiences, not celebrations; the subjective power of individual critical points of view, not the declamatory compromises of consensus." - Richard Brody, "Godard's Surprise Win Is a Victory for Independent Cinema," The New Yorker Link to post Share on other sites
Darren H Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Rory got her second-annual book stack: The Snowy Day, Little Blue Truck, Curious George, Romeo & Juliet: A BabyLit Board Book, and Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo. And then I got a nice little stack of my own: Philip Roth's Nemesis, Joan Didion's Blue Nights, Nick Hornby's Slam, and Beauty in the Streets, an amazing collection of graphic design from May '68. Quote Long Pauses Link to post Share on other sites
BethR Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Rory got her second-annual book stack:... Romeo & Juliet: A BabyLit Board Book, .... I'm among the world's cheerleaders when it comes to giving children books as early as possible, reading to & with them, etc., but..."Romeo & Juliet"? I googled "babylit board books" and found this Publishers' Weekly article in which the editor says "Baby Lit is like a CliffsNotes versions for little kids with great illustration"--which already puts me off. There's so many great children's books. Can't they wait until high school (at least) to read Shakespeare? And what about the double suicide that ends R&J? No worries, says "creative director" Gibbs Smith in one of the comments: Obviously R&J focuses on the love story, not the gritty details of the original play. Just like elementary schools who put the play on year after year with kids, the good can be extracted to create an enjoyable story for all ages. So it's like "CleanFlicks" Shakespeare for toddlers? I'm not criticizing you, DarrenH, but the whole concept of this series, which also includes Pride and Prejudice. Just say no. Quote There is this difference between the growth of some human beings and that of others: in the one case it is a continuous dying, in the other a continuous resurrection. (George MacDonald, The Princess and Curdie)Isn't narrative structure enough of an ideology for art? (Greg Wright) Link to post Share on other sites
Darren H Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 It's just a counting book. I don't have it nearby, but, for example, five is "five friends" and each of the five people is a character from the play. I got it because it really is beautifully illustrated, and I'd been looking for a beautiful, little cardboard counting book. Quote Long Pauses Link to post Share on other sites
Tyler Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 And Two is "Two Suicidal Lovers," so it's really not all that sanitized. Quote It's the side effects that save us. --The National, "Graceless"Twitter Blog Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami Ozu by Donald Richie Quote To be an artist is never to avert one's eyes. - Akira Kurosawa https://www.patheos.com/blogs/secularcinephile/ Link to post Share on other sites
Russ Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Our 21 month-old Daisy got a few books, including a great board book called "Sisters," but the day was won by Jon Klassen's "I Want My Hat Back," which gets some pretty divisive reactions from the children book-buying public-- amazon's got 30 five-star ratings and 9 one-star ratings, with seemingly no middle ground. We love it, and it gels perfectly with our familial sense of humor. Quote --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites
Tyler Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Our 21 month-old Daisy got a few books, including a great board book called "Sisters," Based on the Brian De Palma movie? Quote It's the side effects that save us. --The National, "Graceless"Twitter Blog Link to post Share on other sites
Russ Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 You got it, man. And when I read her "Brown Bear, Brown Bear...", you can be sure that when I get to the page that asks, "White dog, white dog, what do you see?" I always say "I see Paul Winfield in a padded suit looking at me." My toddler, newb that she is, doesn't get the reference, but I always chuckle knowingly to myself. Quote --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites
Scholar's Parrot Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 For Christmas and birthday (the 17th): Wonderstruck-Brian Selznick Zone One-Colson Whitehead Wonderstruck was the only book I even asked for this Christmas. I'm about halfway through and am head over heels in love. I actually JUST started downloading the ebook of Zone One before I came into this thread...creepy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Russ Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 Last week my wife and I met for lunch and went to something she's been telling me about for years-- the 50% off sale at Scholastic. They open their actual warehouse for non-education professionals and you can browse through their entire stock of hardcovers and softcovers for all ages. We half-filled a standard-size shopping cart with $200 worth of books, discounted to $100, which gave us an additional $25 off. So, $200 in books for $75. So, everybody's getting a fairly substantial book stack this year. Quote --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites
Darren H Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 Awesome, Russ. Thanks again, Christian, for starting this thread so many years ago. I spent an hour (and lots of money) at Barnes and Noble last Sunday, and now Rory and Wren both have book stacks sitting under the tree. Quote Long Pauses Link to post Share on other sites
Russ Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 What did you get them? I'll have to fill in individual titles later. Daisy, our 2 3/4 year-old, is getting the two Elephant and Piggie books we don't own, but which she has loved when we've had them out from the library. One of them is Happy Pig Day. Among present-day picture-book writer-creators, I think Mo Willems is pretty much in his own league. Quote --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites
Christian Posted December 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Awesome, Russ. Thanks again, Christian, for starting this thread so many years ago. I spent an hour (and lots of money) at Barnes and Noble last Sunday, and now Rory and Wren both have book stacks sitting under the tree. And thank you for posting here and pulling it back up. I wouldn't otherwise have remembered the thread, but it is heartwarming to read the continuing tradition. Our kids have so many books that we don't make a point of buying them new books for Christmas. But I love receiving books, even though I have a stack on my end table of Christmas gift books going back four or five years! And now I have an ereader. Virtual books stacks just won't do. What did you get them? I'll have to fill in individual titles later. Daisy, our 2 3/4 year-old, is getting the two Elephant and Piggie books we don't own, but which she has loved when we've had them out from the library. One of them is Happy Pig Day. Among present-day picture-book writer-creators, I think Mo Willems is pretty much in his own league. Mo Willems! Isn't We Are in a Book his? Quote "What matters are movies, not awards; experiences, not celebrations; the subjective power of individual critical points of view, not the declamatory compromises of consensus." - Richard Brody, "Godard's Surprise Win Is a Victory for Independent Cinema," The New Yorker Link to post Share on other sites
Christian Posted December 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 And two audiobooks: Divergent-Veronica Roth Among the Missing-Dan Chaon Hey, Tyler: How was the Chaon audiobook? I sort of abandoned Chaon's You Remind Me of Me a few months ago but then resumed it a couple of weeks ago. I'm not really sure I'm "getting" it, but I may just press ahead and try to finish it. While searching for alternatives, I noticed the library also has Among the Missing available in eaudio. Worthwhile, or should I skip it? Quote "What matters are movies, not awards; experiences, not celebrations; the subjective power of individual critical points of view, not the declamatory compromises of consensus." - Richard Brody, "Godard's Surprise Win Is a Victory for Independent Cinema," The New Yorker Link to post Share on other sites
Gavin Breeden Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 My wife and I made a book stack for our daughter this year (she's almost 2 and loves to be read to) and for each other. Looking forward to opening them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Russ Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Mo Willems! Isn't We Are in a Book his? Yep. Ali thinks that one's too pomo, but I enjoy it. Plus, we've got a Sesame Street Golden book from the 70s where Grover pulls pretty much the same schtick. Quote --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites
Darren H Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) I'm not going to remember them all, Russ, but for Rory I got This is Not My Hat and I Want My Hat Back, Hop on Pop (she's in a Dr. Seuss phase), hello! hello! (which I got as a reminder for myself as much as for her), and Red Sled. Wren is getting a Spot flip-up book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (which Rory'll really enjoy for now), The House in the Night, and a couple little alphabet and color books. I ended up buying books for Joanna, other relatives, and a couple co-workers, too. Just doing my part to keep Barnes & Noble in business--and in Knoxville. Edited December 19, 2012 by Darren H Quote Long Pauses Link to post Share on other sites
Gavin Breeden Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 This is Not My Hat and I Want My Hat Back, The former is in my daughter's book stack and we purchased the latter earlier this year. Very fun books. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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