Are Books Here to Stay?

As I've mentioned, I'm a big fan of real books, and it seems independent bookstores, along with book sales, have seen a recent revival. This NPR story, "The Technology Of Books Has Changed, But Bookstores Are Hanging On," discusses the resurgence, crediting the benefits of printed books over digital. I agreed with so many points made in this story, especially how it really feels you can absorb more when reading a printed book. I also loved another comment, that they "just look better." It's true. Overall, it seems really positive that booksellers are starting to embrace what they describe as a book's "bookiness." Bookiness is good.

The one thing that made me really sad when I listened to this was how frequently I buy books from Amazon. Shame.

Thanks for passing this on, Allison!

Photo by Natalia Romay

My Recent 'Aha' Moment

Just as I sometimes doubt other projects, I've questioned why I've started this blog about my love for reading and writing. The vision hasn't been completely clear as I've worked through these first months of posts. Then I had an 'aha' moment which clarified the reason I've been marching forward. In the prologue of her memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, accomplished writer, Anna Quindlen, writes:

"That's what's so wonderful about reading, that books and poetry and essays make us feel as though we're connected, as though the thoughts and feelings we believe are singular and sometimes nutty are shared by others, that we are all more alike than different. It's the wonderful thing about writing, too. Sometimes I would think I was the only person alive concerned about some crazy cul-de-sac of human behavior. Then I would get letters from readers and realize that was not the case, that we were not alone, any of us."

Connection. Reading and writing connects us to ourselves, each other and our surroundings. By nurturing these pastimes even in the face of the more convenient activities constantly starting us in the face, we can more actively think about our dreams, our history or struggles.

It's easier than we sometimes think to bring reading and writing into the fold when we've got work, soccer practice, dishes, and the millions of other things that pull at our time. I hope to share those ideas and more right here.

Procrastinating the Writing Day Away

Lately I've been a world-class procrastinator whenever I sit down to write. I've gone through phases like this before, but this is a particularly bad one. It might be because summer is so close or maybe I've just been working on similar stuff for the past five years and need something fresh. Regardless, I hope it ends soon because I need to meet some serious deadlines!

Until I find a way to motivate, today's all ThursdayStyles....

...and Pinterest...

...and when all else fails, staring into space works.

Wish me luck. Any tips to stop a major procrastination phase?

Bookshelf Love

Once upon a time there was a pair of very sad and neglected bookshelves. As my friend Allison would say, they were very off brand.

After a long and painful home renovation, some new ones were built. They were happy, but still needed some love.

With some help from Fringe, I found some beautiful gray and white leopard Thibaut wallpaper to cover the backs of the bookshelves. And now: very Sara, very on brand. Still tweaking some accessories but it's looking good! I'm trying to stack my books by color, a big decor trend these days.

I love my wallpaper, but I just heard about a new line of removable wallpaper from Chasing Paper. Such a great idea for a project like this because you don't have to commit and can really have fun with color and pattern with no worries! I have a small bookshelf project in my front hall and I'm thinking about trying it out.

Bookshelves are a book and decor lover's dream, right?

Weekend Morning Reading Date

Before kids, weekend mornings consisted of breakfasts out, lots of coffee and reading. We'd sit with the Sunday New York Times or a book. We'd chat a bit, but mostly not. Still somehow, it felt like real quality time together. We hadn't done this in years - until this weekend. 

Our little one's preschool had a "Parent's Day Out" event that her sister could go to as well. Typically when we get to take advantage of something like this, we race around separately doing errands or buzz around the house tackling chores. But this time, due to an ill-timed soccer game for the big one, the girls could only go to the event for an hour. Rather than wasting time racing home and back, we decided to enjoy it, go to a nearby coffee shop and read. 

It was miraculous. We went to an adorable Parisian-style bakery, sipping on our coffee while reading the paper and our books. Chris is still into the political biographies, while I went with something lighter. It felt so fun to be out during the day doing something really relaxing. Hoping to lean on the grandparents or even get a sitter to do this again soon. 

Do you ever go on reading dates?

Learning to Read (at Home)

My daughter is in kindergarten this year. With an August birthday, she's one of the youngest in the class. She's a quick learner, and has always picked up on things like numbers, ABCs and letter sounds very easily.

When her senior kindergarten year began, she wasn't reading but was close on her way, knowing the letter sounds and beginning to read simple words. Throughout the year, they've worked at school on building up sight word knowledge, continuing letter sounds and sounding out words. She continued learning and improving, but she started getting frustrated when we would try to have her read to us. The year went by and although she'd made steady progress, she wasn't really reading and many others in her class were.

I know you're saying, it doesn't matter, everyone learns at their own pace. But it did bother me and I knew why. I wrongly assumed she'd learn it all in school, and that if we practiced at home a bit and read to her daily, she'd get it. Of course, in time, I'm sure that would work, but I am a huge resource to her and I wasn't helping the way I could. At school, while the teachers do an amazing job, she is one of 22 kids. Here at home, she is one of two. Clearly, we could do more to help her read at home if it wasn't coming to her easily. Why wouldn't we?

I talked to her teacher and learned about the different reading levels at school. Very few books at the bookstore use those same levels and understanding them helped me find more books that were right for her. Her teacher gave me a chart of Development Reading Assessment levels and how it correlated with guided reading levels. At her recommendation, I searched her DRA level on Amazon Google to found resources that helped me find books for her. Here is a similar chart on the Scholastic website that helps you find books by DRA level.

When I found the right books and dedicated 15 minutes a day to reading them, my daughter started making much more progress much more quickly. It's amazing what can happen when the books aren't too easy or too hard. She quickly began reading and it just took a little extra work at home. Now that I know what to look for, it feels easier to find books that are appropriate even if they don't show the reading level.

Whether through trial and error or matching the DRA level to guided reading level books, here are the books that I've found really helped when learning to read:

1. BOB Books - These are the first books we got that my daughter could read. They start with simple easy consonant vowel consonant (CVC) words and short vowel sounds. Repetition helps boost confidence.

2. Tug the Pup - These books I got once I found out her level at school and referred to the chart my teacher gave me. She was a DRA Level 4 which correlated to Level C. I started with the first set that is A-C, with reward stickers when she finished a book. She breezed through them, needing help on words here and there. I could seriously see her get better as we went through this set. We recently started working on set D-F. The stickers sound silly but they seriously motivate her to tackle book after book.

3. Biscuit - We've found the I Can Read and Step into Reading Series really inconsistent. Some "Level 1" books are easy and others impossible. When Charlotte starting to read we found the I Can Read Biscuit series. The Biscuit books are "My First I Can Read" level, which are fairly simple. My daughter likes that these are bigger books, rather than the small "easy reader" size. Biscuit Goes to School was the first "real book" she read on her own. While they don't teach her how to read in a way the early readers do, they build confidence and are consistent.

4. First Little Readers - These books from Scholastic are just like the ones the teacher sends home every week to practice. Here you get a huge pack of 25 books at their exact guided reading level. We are still working through our pack, but it is so nice knowing that she's working on the exact same thing she'd be working on at school. I think of these as perfect practice books. Once you master them, you move up to the next level.

It's easy to get anxious and want to move ahead when you see they are reading. What's worked for us is taking a step back and mastering the easy readers. Slowly we are starting to tackle some I Can Read Level 1 (again, not the same as guided reading levels - oy, so confusing with all these levels!).

Hope this helps anyone who has a kid who feels stuck. That's how we felt and it is slowly getting better. It takes the parents' hard work in addition to the kid's and I think that sunk in for me a little late. Just 15 minutes a day seems to be doing the trick!

Brushing Up My Vocab

I work from home as a part-time freelance writer. Most of my daily conversations take place with my 3-year-old, who often reverts to baby talk when she doesn't want to do what I say and begs to watch, as she puts it, "lots of Peppa Pigs." So you may understand why I don't always feel quite as sharp as I used to. I recently decided to brush up my vocabulary as a result, thinking it may at least fool me into feeling a little smarter.

I signed up for A.Word.A.Day on Wordsmith.org. Every morning a new word with its definition and usage is e-mailed to me. They've included colophon, frangible and expurgate. I haven't known one yet. Feeling smarter already. And now back to Peppa Pig.

P.S. Messy hair, don't care.