Reading with my children

Silent companions of the lonely hour, Friends, who can never alter or forsake, Who for inconstant roving have no power, And all neglect, perforce, must calmly take,-- Let me return to you; this turmoil ending Which worldly cares have in my spirit wrought, And, o'er your old familiar pages bending, Refresh my mind with many a tranquil thought: Till, haply meeting there, from time to time, Fancies, the audible echo of my own, 'Twill be like hearing in a foreign clime My native language spoke in friendly tone, And with a sort of welcome I shall dwell On these, my unripe musings, told so well.

-Caroline Norton

I've talked about this before. My childhood home was filled with great books and if nothing else inspired a great love for reading in me that has thankfully passed on to my twins. We have great fun reading together and have made a bit of a game out of it. Here's what we do: I read everything they read when they are reading it and then we have lots to talk about together. It's magical really, I never run out of things to talk to the twins about. Every other book (or series of books) they read is recommended by me that way I can introduce my favorites to them and vise versa. For example, my daughter is reading Memnoch the Devil which is a continuation from my recommendation of Interview with a Vampire which I based on her enjoyment of the Twilight series (she agrees, Edward wouldn't stand a chance against Lestat ;-), my son is reading Inkspell which is of his choosing and I am reading both. From time to time I think I'll add gems from our literary pursuits here, maybe a passage we liked or a recommendation here and there. Won't be doing reviews since although books may be disliked based on preference there is no such thing as a bad book.