Comments on: Keeping Busy

By: oniana

oniana — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 06:13:14 +0000

my mother had a rare chronic illness (mysthenia gravis) and never knew when her muscles would work or fail… and reading your blog just sort of gives me an insight into where a lot of her anger came from… she wanted to be a better mother to her five children, but the physical limitations of her illness and the resentment at her lot in life and the fact that people couldn’t understand what she was going through got turned into anger. i remember her as angry. she remembers herself as overwhelmed. i think ari will remember you as engaged and loving. you are a good father.

By: nicfromtexas

nicfromtexas — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:42:33 +0000

The “Abhorsen” trilogy by Garth Nix is AMAZING fantasy that should keep her in the vein of Harry Potter. It’s got a strong female lead with no sex and creative violence. Should be spooky and fun.

Orson Scott Card is the obvious safe bet. Also, Jim Butcher’s “Furies of Calderon” is action packed, with fun plot lines and solid female presence.

In a few years you can get her into Frank Herbert.

By: Pademelon

Pademelon — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:01:44 +0000

Thinking about it…Piers Anthony can be a bit pervy, depending on the series. I mean I can’t remember anything inappropriate in the Incarnations of Immortality series but there was definitely sexual content in the Apprentice Adept series and he did write a book called Pornucopia. She might enjoy the Incarnations series when she’s older, but yeah sorry for the bad suggestion!

By: lilish

lilish — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:11:04 +0000

I also love the Ender’s game series. Read it first though to make sure it is appropriate. It is a quick read. I always thought of it as a middle school book. There is some language (most of it takes place in battle school, so you get some name-calling/swearing). Additionally it is basically about kids who never get to be kids, they have to grow up quickly with the weight of the world on their shoulders. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that there are some bullies and with that of course comes some violence. Great series and well-written. I also like Alvin Maker. It is historical fantasy/fiction, so you may want to make sure she knows it is not what really happened even though there are real people and events featured in the series. Red Prophet (the second book in that series) is a bit violent and may upset her, so again read before you read to her so you can judge.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:27:24 +0000

I remember really enjoying Ursula LeGuin’s books (the Earthsea ones?) when I was younger. More fantasy than sci-fi as well though.

By: RSNGSTR

RSNGSTR — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:02:04 +0000

I would suggest “This Perfect Day” by Ira Levin(Rosemary’s Baby). I read it when I was 9-10 as I remember. I think of it as 1984 “light”. It’s been awhile since I read it, but I don’t think there is any sexual content. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I read it as a kid.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:42:28 +0000

I gave my 7 year old nephew the Artemis Fowl series for Christmas and he loves them already, so they’d probably be good for Ari.
And I immediately thought of Madeline L’Engle like everyone else, so her books are probably a good bet.

By: maggie

maggie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:35:12 +0000

How about the Wrinkle in Time series by Madeline L’Engle? One of my childhood favorites and probably not too advanced for smart Ari.

By: talby

talby — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:14:35 +0000

Also- Hitchhiker’s Guide is excellent- but I’d save it until her 16th birthday- it’s difficult to appreciate the true brilliance of Adams’ humour until you’ve stood in line at the DMV at least once in your life!

By: talby

talby — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:10:01 +0000

Not to be a wet blanket, but from what I remember of Piers Anthony- he’s kind of an old perv. I know it wasn’t in all of his books- but some of them were kind of icky (I promise- I’m not some kind of uptight church lady, and I think violence is a waaaaaay worse influence on young minds than sexual content- but some of his books struck me as outright creepy.) If you’re looking for fantasy, I think Robert Asprin’s myth-adventure books were distinctly hilarious and full of jokes and visuals that went over well with me when i read them as a kid.

I also remember that my mom read White Fang to me when I was about Ari’s age, and I LOVED it. (Though she also read Where the red fern grows and Old yeller so I cant remember if White fang was free from all the traumatic animal deaths, or only comparatively so when put up against those other ones.)

Do you feel like she’s too young for Tolkien? I know it’s some pretty tragic, heartbreaking stuff, but I feel like it runs circles around Pullman or Orson Scott Card in terms of truly three dimensional characters who you love and empathize with. I know he’s most well known for being a theist, but I don’t feel like the religious undertones are explicit in the least (and I remember the first time I read the books as an adult- they struck me as explicitly humanistic.)

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:20:37 +0000

Definitely A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle (and the subsequent books, A Wind At The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and Many Waters). I have fond memories of my mother reading them to me as a child and eventually me reading parts back to her. Those books inspired my love of reading and the pseudo-science in A Wind At The Door is quite fun.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:45:08 +0000

I came back to see what other people have posted and I think I’m going to have to indulge my inner child and reread all these great books. I’m so excited for her to experience all these for the first time. Happy travels!

By: Jessie

Jessie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:34:31 +0000

The Bromeliad Trilogy: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings by Terry Pratchett!

By: Allison

Allison — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:15:58 +0000

Seriously, Ender’s Game (and the entire series). I am so disappointed that I was not introduced to these books until I was in my teens; they’re fantastic!

My brother speaks highly of the Hitchhiker’s Guide, and read it at a very early age.

By: Phil Moore

Phil Moore — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:43:09 +0000

I know it isn’t a book, but you might want to “indulge” you and Ari’s tv craving with a bit of Doctor Who. I’m not talking the new flashy stuff, I’m talking about afros’ and loud scarves. I enjoyed the series very much as a child. My father used to let us (my younger brother and I) borrow the old 13″ tv with an antenna (to learn to tune in pbs of course) and let us camp out downstairs. I can’t even beging to recall the number of times he would storm down the stairs at midnight threatening all sorts of bizzare punishment if we did not become quiet. I now have figured out why Doctor Who was important to him (and mom), we were horrible kids, they needed time alone. HAHAHAHAHAA

By: Lou

Lou — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:37:54 +0000

Maybe try the Artemis Fowl or Septimus Heap series? They’re aimed more at kids than most of the other series listed above, but they’re enjoyable for adults too. Fun, engaging, age appropriate, and not at all scary.

By: Pademelon

Pademelon — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:04:28 +0000

Meant to include that the Incarnations series is probably a bit more fantasy than sci-fi. Oh and the first 3 books in the series are the best and then they trail off a bit. I read the 4th and 5th, which were enjoyable just no as much as the first 3, and stopped there.

By: Pademelon

Pademelon — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:59:46 +0000

I was going to recommend Clive Barker’s Abarat but I’ve been beaten to it. It’s a bit scary though, so be warned. I’ll second Card’s Maker series as well.

I’d also highly recommend Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series. They’re wonderful. The series is based on the roles of Death, Father Time, Mother Earth, the Three Fates, the God of War and Evil being offices that are gained by normal people in different ways relevant to the office and the stories behind the people in those offices. There is a some focus on the struggle between God and Satan but it’s mostly a good vs. evil thing that’s only relevant because it’s sort of an extension of the Incarnations jobs to keep balance and figure out how to use their office to the world’s best advantage without abusing it, rather than being at all religious or preachy. The whole thing takes place in a universe that has both advanced technology and magic. Each of the books is really linked to the others and, due to the magic involved, the timeline is really non-linear.

By: enduremyworld

enduremyworld — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:54:36 +0000

I also suggest the Ender series. My favorite would be Ender’s Shadow.
Also the Alvin Maker series also by Orson Scott Card is fantastic. Card is a Mormon and religion does strongly factor in this series. However, I am Agnostic and I probably love the Alvin Maker series more than the Ender series. Card is wonderful story teller, very vivid descriptions and he does send you on a roller coaster of emotion as you follow Alvin on the journey he has to make.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:14:39 +0000

Oh! I was going to suggest a Wrinkle in Time and other Madeline L’Engle books as well. I really enjoyed them as a kid.