What's On My {Fiction} Bookshelf

Earlier in the school year my oldest came home with the Scholastic Book order form, excited to tell me that the new Rick Riordan book was available for pre-order. Not only that, but he spent his own money to buy it. He was even more excited the day the order arrived and he got to bring The Son of Neptune home, where he promptly fell into it, not resurfacing until he was done. At that point, he brought it to me... and when I caught up on the library books I was reading, I read it too.

The Son of Neptune is the second book in the second series of books featuring Percy Jackson, who is a demigod (one immortal parent, one mortal parent) and the son of Poseidon. The first series focuses on Greek gods and demigods. This second series brings in the Roman aspect. It's fun, there's a lot of mythology, it's completely unrealistic, there's a lot of slaying monsters and improbable heroics in battle by a bunch of teenagers, and did I mention it's fun? My son loves the books and they spark his imagination, and I like that there are books that he reads that I enjoy reading too, because then we can talk about them. My husband is next in line to read it, when he's done with one of my son's library books from another series that they both enjoy (but I've never read; not my style).

A family of readers...oh, it's so much fun.

Also this week, I've been reading The Chronicles of Prydain out loud for the nth time. My younger son chose the series as his bedtime books (when we read to him) when he finished with the Bone series. The set of books we have dates to my own childhood. I think I requested them for Christmas one year. They're starting to fall apart, actually. I've read them out loud several times, beginning with my oldest--they are wonderful read-aloud books. I've had sick kids all week, so I've spent a lot of time reading aloud to my 7yo while he rested on the couch. My older son would put his own book down to listen to the familiar stories, and my daughter would snuggle next to me, and we all listened as another set of heroes, in a very different time and setting than Percy Jackson and his friends, fought against their own foes.

So far, I've managed to stay healthy...which means, of course, that I have plenty of voice to read aloud. So that's what's on my {fiction} bookshelf this week...what's on yours?