No time to read, but ...

I remember back when my oldest child was about nine or ten months old, I thought it was a little odd when women said they couldn't find time to do anything after they had children.

Back then, I remember working on concert pieces [I am a free-lance accompanist] while Rachael played on the floor nearby. I organized and labeled photos while she napped in the afternoon, and I did a Variety of Things after I put her to bed at night.

Then I had two kids.

And then three.

And now I don't have time to do anything either.

One thing I miss is reading. I was so proud of myself that I read I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb, a 900-page novel, when Rachael was a baby.

Since Rebecca (Number Two) was born over five years ago, I think I have read less than ten novels -- none of which are 900 pages long -- including:

The Curious Incident Involving the Dog in the Nighttime (or something like that). I forget the author.

A Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler

The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler

a few books by Elizabeth Berg ... one I liked, a couple I didn't.

Anyway. The point of all this is to say that, even though I don't get to read much on my own, I do at least get to read a lot with the oldest two, which is not quite the same, but still good in its own way.

I made a list of what we've read together since around August (basically, the "school year" so far) and was impressed at how much there was:


Ramona the Pest by Beverly Clearly

Mrs Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic by Betty MacDonald

Charlotte's Web by EB White

Mr. Popper's Penguins (can't remember the author)

The Chocolate Touch (can't remember the author)

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi Goes on Board by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi in the South Seas by Astrid Lindgren

Betsy's Winterhouse by Carolyn Haywood

C is for Cupcake by Carolyn Haywood



Right now we are in the middle of Seven-Day Magic by Edward Eager, which they are a little young for, but seem to be enjoying. Hopefully we'll read it again, or they'll read it themselves, again in a few years.

When we finish that, I'm hoping to read Here Comes the Bus by Carolyn Haywood.

I have read part of The Secret Garden with Rachael, which we both like a lot, but Rebecca is too young for it, and won't sit still for it, and it's hard for me to find regular time to read to just one kid. We had the same problem with the Little House books. (I will also confess -- and I had the same experience when I read them myself as a kid -- that the Little House books tend to put me to sleep.)

Becca particularly liked the Pippi books.