The Maze of Bones

I finished the first book in The 39 Clues series last night. The books are about a brother and sister, Dan and Amy, who are members of the most powerful family in the world. Their parents are dead, and the only person left who really cares about them (their grandmother) has died and left a mystery for the family to solve. Everyone wants to be the first to figure it out, so there are lots of backstabbing and chase scenes involved.

I'm reading it aloud to BW, but, we're still on chapter eight - about half-way through the book. I went ahead and finished it on my own for a few reasons....

1) It was taking too long to read aloud. BW can only manage one or two chapters a day at best, because
A) he often has the attention span of a gnat on crack, and
B) he really doesn't get sucked into a story - he can move on to other things without HAVING TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT.
2) I was bored, but didn't feel like starting one of the other Orson Scott Card books I have on hand, because
A) I like what I've read by him so far, but I have to really pay attention to it and I'm not in the mood right now.
B) I start school next Tuesday and I really want to spend this next week just chillaxin'.*
And last, but not least,
3) I HATE READING ALOUD. I know it's horrible to feel that way, especially as a home schooling parent, but,
A) I can read much faster on my own. Quite frankly, BW slows me down, and it annoys me.
B) I mess up words and insert words that aren't there when I read aloud, and it annoys me.
C) BW always stops me with questions completely unrelated to the book we're reading, and it annoys me.
D) I don't grasp the content as well when I read it aloud, and it annoys me.

So, while I hate reading aloud, I love to read. (If you haven't already grasped that in previous posts.) I really do believe you can do just about anything, learn just about anything, and entertain yourself just about anywhere at any time if you love to read.

It will KILL me if BW doesn't end up loving a good book. Therefor, we read aloud. A lot. Not as much as I'd like - sometimes we get distracted and caught up in other things, and we let it slide. But it's something we always come back to.

BW does like being read to. He can stop, go do other things, and then come back to a book a lot easier than I can. I feel like I have to finish it immediately. Nothing gets done when I'm in the middle of a good book. (Laundry? What laundry? Dinner? Order a pizza, I'm reading!) BW and I are not always on the same page with this, so to speak.


But back to today's topic. I finished the book on my own. And now BW's bugging me to JUST TELL HIM WHAT HAPPENED!!!!!!

But I won't. We will finish reading it aloud this week. It is a good book and I enjoyed it. It's no Harry Potter, but it's entertaining and fun. The characters don't suck you in, but they're likable and you want them to win. And now I can read it aloud without all the pressure of trying to enjoy it at the same time.

The online game that goes with it has really kept BW interested in the whole thing. There's a ton of reading to do with that, as well, but there are also games and puzzles. BW's been having fun with them. Some are easy enough for a seven year old to figure out, some are more complicated, but none are so hard that they're off putting.

Some of the tasks you have to complete online are easier for BW then for me. There's one where you fly a plane through hoops, and one where you steer a submarine. And there's a Mastermind type game that I cannot win to SAVE MY LIFE. For some reason, that game doesn't work for me. (You'll note I blame it on the game, right?) I never liked the game as a child, and I have no patience for it now. And for those of you who can solve the whole thing in seconds, keep that information to yourselves. I don't want to hear about it.

So, all in all, I give the whole concept four book lights.** I think I said pretty much the same thing in a previous post, but I thought I'd add some more detail now that we've done more with it, and now that I've finished the book.

*I think that's probably one of the silliest words ever made up, but I've been dying to work it into a post somewhere. Mission accomplished. I can assure you it will never be used again. You're welcome.

**My just thought up method for rating books. I'm sure it's original, because nobody else would ever think of something so clever.