cstehansen wrote: »

baconslave wrote: »

cstehansen wrote: »

baconslave wrote: »

cstehansen wrote: »

baconslave wrote: »

Please do not mention The-Place-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
Is bad juju.

Voldemort's lare? Sorry, my daughter is a HUGE Harry Potter fan - as in read the series 9 times now and she is only 11.

Well, I'm 37, what on earth is my excuse? Oh, I was a children's librarian at one time and my oldest daughter was obsessed for a time as well. I'm a complete fantasy nerd anyway. I have all 8 movies on Blu-Ray.

We have all 8 movies as well. Got most of them used from a Blockbuster when they went belly up. It irritated my daughter because starting with #4 most are rated PG-13 and we wouldn't let her watch them yet because she was only 9. At that point, she had already read them all about 4-5 times. We limit how often she is allowed to read the series now to once every few months to keep her from getting too obsessed.

Well, I wouldn't allow mine to read past the 4th book until she was 11 because as it goes on, there are topics better suited to children that age. I think she saw the movies when she was 12, maybe almost 13. Harry has to deal with death, then teenage hormones, angst and uses some language. So she got mad at me, but it's my job. Some kids are more sensitive to violence. But I felt at that age she could handle it even though she wasn't yet 13.

She's 14 now, and I just allowed her to read the Hunger Games finally.

It's hard to find reading material for teens. Some of it is just so inappropriate these days...

My daughter deals with the violence ok...in written form. Clearly not ready for Hunger Games, yet. That is a whole other level. I'm sure she will read eventually. Her problem is reading WAY above grade level and we have struggled finding books that challenge but are not inappropriate. Seems way too many want to go the way of Twilight and other more, uh, sensual type inappropriate which, IMO, is really not good for an adolescent who has enough hormones and confusion about that stuff going on as it is. Raising kids to be successful adults, as I have told her, is a parent's #1 job.

@cstehansen & @baconslave - if they haven't read Rick Riordan yet, I strongly recommend it. I'm a geeky nerd, too, and I positively loved the Percy Jackson (Greek/Roman) and the Kane siblings (Egyptian) books. The Norse series looks promising, too, but I've only read the first one so far - I think the second one might be out now. They do get borderline stuff towards relationships towards the end of the second series for Riordan, but they aren't even to the point of the latter HP books. They're quick reads, enjoyable for even adults, and they're very educational.

I also loved the Artemis Fowl series which is by Eoin Colfer, it's about a teen who becomes a mogul and goes kind of bonkers before maturing. The Pendragon series by DJ MacHale really get you thinking! Pretty much ANYTHING by Margaret Peterson Haddix - but the Shadow Children series really gets kids thinking about social action and not sitting by to let things happen. I'll share more if I think of them. These were all books/series that my daughter and I enjoyed reading and discussing together... She's 16 now, but this was more when she was in the 8-12 age range, but above reading level. Some touch on more mature content, but nothing that reading and discussing the books with your children can't address. There's worse content BY FAR on TV these days, even in kids shows.

Once they're older, they might enjoy the Scott Westerfeld series, with Uglies, Pretties, etc. It's dystopian future stuff, but more matures kiddos/middle teens would probably enjoy them.

I myself haven't read the Hunger Games stuff yet, mainly because I wanted to finish the movies so I wouldn't screw up my enjoyment of the books. LOL The Divergent Series is on my eventually list, too.

But I'd also suggest to them going somewhat old school, too. I loved Anne McCaffrey's Crystal Singer series and Dragonriders of Pern books. The Pegasus books start out similar to the concepts of the X-Men type stuff, too. Oh, and the Rowan books. I seriously need to go back and re-read these! Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is good, too - as well as all of the old Dragonlance series books they wrote. The MythAdventures Books by Robert Lee Asprin were good, but it's been too long for me to fully remember content...HS type reads...

The Incarnations of Immortality Series by Piers Anthony is good - but does deal with more adult concepts. Mercedes Lackey might be better saved for late teens, at least things like "The Last Herald-Mage" which deals with gender questions.... Xanth novels are on my future list, too.

My 13-year-old (boy) is obsessed with the Ranger's Apprentice series.

Stuff I remember reading around 9-10ish, or slightly older, so would probably all be age-appropriate for the most part:

• Little Women
• Little House on the Prairie (I think there's 8 books)
• Nancy Drew series (or Hardy Boys - I read some of both!) - I have, however, heard that they've altered some of the books to make her less assertive. WTH?!?
• Saddle Club series (for the horse-obsessed - apparently they've now made movies of it, had no idea)
• Misty of Chincoteague series (more for the horse-obsessed)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins
• A Wrinkle in Time (series)
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond (one of my all-time favorite books)
• Narnia books
• The Secret Garden
• Anne of Green Gables series
• My Side of the Mountain
• Johnny Tremain
• Ramona (series)
• There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (series)
• My Teacher is an Alien (series)
• The Wings of a Falcon (part of a series, another of my all-time favorites)
• Winter of Fire

Yeah, I was the kid reading while I was walking down the hall, why do you ask?

EbonyDahlia wrote: »

OKay fine, then I revise my story to say all of the above on some other unnamed and unrelated forum.

In that case, I'll see your "All of the Above" and raise you 3 "Low-Carbers are Heretics and Animal-haters."

cstehansen wrote: »

Thanks, @KnitOrMiss for the recommendations. I know my daughter loved Percy Jackson. She couldn't get into the Egyptian books. She loved the Artemis Fowl series but hated how it ended. She read the entire Divergent series last Christmas break in 4 days - one day per book. I took down the rest of these as I can't keep up with all the books she reads. She averages 3-4 a week during school year and close to 1 a day during breaks. She is besties with all the librarians in the teen room of the library who all know the guidelines we have set for what is appropriate. That is the nice thing about living in a smaller city. The down side is she has just about tapped out that library. My wife wasn't happy about me letting her read the Divergent series last year, but she has let her read it once or twice more since then.

@cstehansen - I can't remember if I read the last AF book - I remember getting frustrated at the path they were taking, too...

And my daughter was like that at that age - less so now, but still a voracious reader.

And you're absolutely right, that is one of the best things about the small towns. The Haddix books are nearly all great. I think my kiddo and I read about 15 of the different ones. Have her check into OverDrive. It's a free library app that generally her library can get her access to books online, and it can be set to age limits and such. Also, most small libraries have loan programs arranged with other larger libraries, too.

JessicaMcB wrote: »

Over my weight loss journey I've had people make the odd innocuous comment about LC after they've asked me to explain "what I'm doing" to them (I am hesitant to talk about it because I am aware of how low carb is generally perceived). Today, in a small group I'm in, a big IIFYM pushing female body builder I know posts this SCATHING article about low carb and essentially implies that LC is guaranteed to fail and leave you with terrible body comp.

...She knows I'm the only low carber in the group . I've lost 90lbs, I'm running marathon length, why the need to delegitimize what I've done? She used to be obese too! I know our fitness goals are miles apart but I've always tried to compliment her on her physique gains because I know how hard she works at it and how mean people can be to women who bulk.

Just lousy and I have no where low carb friendly to really share this

Sorry she got to you. But if she says anything else tell her you are following IIFYM, your macros are different from hers and it is working for both of you.

You just have a lower carb macro goal than her, after all protein and fats are as important as carbs.

Cadori wrote: »

I feel like you just described my childhood. I would also take books in the car and when it was dark, try to read using the headlights of the car behind us.

I did too, until I started getting carsick.

suzqtme wrote: »

And just to validate what you did, I had my cardiology yearly checkup yesterday. I've lost weight, my labs are looking pretty darn good and my cardiologist (who is chubby, hehehe), told me to "keep doing what you're doing. It's working". That from a cardiologist!

Although I did have to laugh when I picked up the printout they give you of your appt. One line said to "Follow a low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium, high fiber diet." I'm sure that auto prints, but it made me giggle. Especially the low sodium. I have to drink salt water to keep my electrolytes in line. Ha! Oh, and my bp was 110/70.

Whew. That's great. I didn't think any cardiologist ever believed the sky wasn't falling!

(He must not have taken sputum and earwax samples.....)