Tag Archives: Book Worm

Favorite Books January 2018

January 30, 2018 Zoe

There were some dark days when Harley was a newborn. I was rarely able to read books. Lately, I’ve been prioritizing reading time for myself, getting into bed every night at 10 so that I can give myself half an hour to an hour of reading. Sometimes I’m exhausted and fall asleep within 5 minutes, and sometimes I have to force myself to go to sleep before it gets too late. But I’m loving my extra reading time for myself, and I’m also making an added effort to read to Harley every single day. So here are both of our favorite books, January 2018 edition.

Just a bit of fair warning, Harley gets to pick which books we read, which means we often read the same ones, over and over again. And I only have a short time to read each month, so I might not have the most expansive list of titles to recommend to you each month. I’m also on an Afro-SF kick, so my Science Fiction genre is influenced by a very specific leaning. But still, here’s what we both enjoyed, and I’m just SO pleased my little one is turning into a bookworm already. Continue Reading

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Why you want to win this Book Owl giveaway

February 24, 2016 Zoe

I think by now we all know that reading to our offspring is incredibly important. It boosts vocabulary and language skills, is important for bonding, and helps with literacy and education for life. I asked for books at Harley’s baby shower, and when people ask me what I want for her first birthday, I think I will ask for more books, or subscriptions with The Book Owl. That’s why I’m very happy to be able to giveaway one month of The Book Owl to a lucky reader.

I first heard about The Book Owl over on Pregnant in Cape Town & Ever After. It sounded like Loot Crate, but for books for little ones, which it pretty much is. Last week, I decided it was time for me to give it a whirl, so I signed up for a one month trial box. Kirsten, the genius behind this service, wrote to me to find out Harley’s name, interests, and which books we already have to avoid duplications. But there are so many more reasons to love The Book Owl. Continue Reading

25 Comments Geek, Giveaway, Parenting

Book Worm Books Giveaway

Activities for baby development – 0-3 months old

February 22, 2016 Zoe

I am determined to give Harley the best shot at life, wanting to give her all the mental, physical and social advancements possible to help her in her later life. I already knew I wanted to read to her as part of my plan to hopefully raise her to be a book worm. However, at this extremely young age, reading is sort of difficult – her attention span is really short and she’s barely even able to focus on the pretty pictures. I still like to read to her, but it doesn’t feel like it’s doing much to help her develop.

Thankfully, the massage class I started going to with her actually gave me tons of other ideas for activities with her. That, combined with reading a bunch of articles about really early childhood development, means that I’ve sorta learned how to develop her various skills until she reaches the point of being able to grab her toys or focus on pictures when I read her books. Continue Reading

8 Comments Child Development, Geek, Parenting

Book Worm development early childhood development

The irony of the Sound of Silence

February 11, 2016 Zoe

Growing up in New York City, I never had an issue with noise. In fact, an oft cited story about me while growing up was the fact that I fell asleep in a bowling alley as a child. I don’t need quiet or darkness to sleep, although obviously it is preferable, and in general I’m used to having sounds around me without getting distracted. As a result, I never really appreciated the sound of silence until I procreated.

Harley makes noise. Not a little bit, a lot of noise. Pretty much if she’s awake, there’s a sound. It’s not just cries and screams, sometimes it’s gurgles and moans, although those can become screams if she doesn’t get the attention she needs fast enough. It means that I adore the times when she’s asleep – I can gain use of both my hands, I can go to the bathroom or grab food, or I can just enjoy a quiet moment in my own thoughts (like right now). Continue Reading

7 Comments Parenting, Rambling

Book Worm dancing Gamer

How do you raise a book worm?

August 14, 2015 Zoe

I learned how to read at a rather young age, and I still consider myself an absolute book worm. In those rare moments when I don’t have a book to read, I feel adrift and lost, even if I barely have time to read and only manage a couple pages (or sentences) a night sometimes. But I’ve always loved reading, and it’s a gift that I want to pass on to my kid.

I read an article about why reading is so good, and basically the reason is… all the reasons. Reading is good for building empathy, improving social skills, lowering older people’s risk of dementia; the list seems to just go on and on. I love to read, and I read books across a range of genres. But how do I pass that on?

My first way is quite obvious – I will definitely read to the kid every night. I have grand plans for all the books that I want to read to the little munchkin, from large scale works to adorable bedtime stories. But is that enough? That might make bedtime more fun, and teach the kid that being read to is loving, but how do they make that leap to wanting to read by themselves, and continue to enjoy it?

I remember reading a comment from Neil Gaiman about that moment when his youngest kid was no longer interested in reading with him. She wanted to finish The Lord of the Rings by herself instead of reading it together. He was both incredibly saddened by the fact that he wouldn’t get to read the book to the end with her, but also so proud that she was ready to read it by herself, and wanted to do so.

I suppose that’s what I want one day, and I just need to figure out how to achieve it. I’m sure reading together is a big part of it, but will it matter that I’m the only one who reads for pleasure while my husband doesn’t? Does it matter whether we encourage reading in digital or physical format? There are still so many years to go, and I’m sure even more awesome kids books will be on the market by then, but I suppose it’s all part of the teaching that this poor little one will be subjected to. Geez, between all the games I want him/her to play, and all the Disney movies Dean wants to watch with him/her, I’m definitely going to need to carve out a chunk of the day for books. And, you know, all the other activities kids will need and want to do.

8 Comments Geek, Parenting

Book Worm Parenting