Can't Go Wrong with Books

One just can't go wrong with buying books.  

I know, I know.  It is much more cost effective to borrow books from the library, and I do like to do that.  

It is much more cost effective to use Overdrive and borrow books online to read on my Nook.

But sometimes, I just like to have a book in my hands, to turn the pages, to feel the thrill of checking to see how long a chapter is or to see how many more pages until the end of the book.

Landon and I have taken a few trips to Barnes and Noble, just to look for books.  I have taken Tessa and Cooper also, but I really like to take Landon.  

His interest in books lies in those relating to history, which I think is a cool thing for a boy of nearly 10 to enjoy.  Part of his interest is connected to Grandpa Norm because he likes books about World War 2 and the Navy.  But his Papaw likes history also, so I think there is a connection to him as well.

Today we spent about an hour at the store in Lafayette.  He headed to the back to the children's section immediately, but he stopped along the way to browse at a few of the tables.

For me it was fun to just watch Landon explore.  He wandered from shelf to shelf, perusing titles.  He would pull a book off the shelf, flip through it, then replace it.  Occasionally he would pull it and keep it, then return it later when he found a title he liked better.

What he decided on today were two classics---Moby Dick and Robinson Crusoe.  He spotted RC first and mentioned something about reading it or hearing about it in class.  I recommended Moby Dick and suggested that he think about several others, like The Last of the Mohicans, Tom Sawyer, and Huck Finn.  He left those on the shelf and continued to browse.

Since he can usually select three books, he moved from shelf to shelf looking for another.  One that he selected was written in comic strip format with boxes, illustrations, and speech bubbles.  I wasn't thrilled with that selection, but it was what he wanted so we went with it. 

Next we wandered to the front of the store and Landon settled on the floor to look at his books while I perused shelves for me.  Did I need a new book?  No.  I have a huge bag of books that still need to be read, but as Landon said...."Mamaw can't go to Barnes and Noble and NOT buy a new book."  This is true.

I finally found a book that I liked, but he wasn't ready to go yet.  He wanted to return the book with the comic strip format and select a different book (I was secretly happy with that decision!).  What he found was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  (and I was secretly happy with that decision too!)

His mommy was surprised when she saw his selctions.  I think his Aunt Megan was surprised also.  

I am thrilled that he enjoys reading.  I am thrilled also that going to Barnes and Noble to look for books is a special time for the two of us.

And it helps also that we stopped at Culver's for ice cream after!

I need to add this....when we left B & N, he was flipped through his new books.  I told him to open Moby Dick and I would tell him the first three words in the first chapter.  He was surprised that I knew they were "Call me Ishmael."  He thought I looked at the page, but I told him I was driving and besides that my vision is so blurry right now that I couldn't see the words on the page, even if I wanted to!  I think he was impressed, and even more impressed when he told  Papaw on the phone and he said the same thing!

I think I told enough about Captain Ahab and the Pequod to pique his interest.  I hope he likes it. 

I'll keep you posted....