BOTNS #354: The family that reads together…

Great news for a formerly-banned book; Bookclubs for grownups and children together; new books from Adam Makos and Mary Gaitskill

Unbanned (00:40)

Good news this week for Into The River, the novel by Ted Dawes that had been banned in New Zealand. The ban has been lifted, (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11529170) and will be made available immediately with a parental warning on the cover to help guide parents. Also, rights to publish the novel in the US and Canda have been acquired by Polis Books (http://www.polisbooks.com/blog/polis-publish-banned-award-winning-novel-into-river-by-ted-dawe/), so look for Into the River here in June 2016.

(http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/audiobooks.jpg)Audiobook of the week (02:20)

(http://covers.audiobooks.com/images/covers/full/9781427264794.jpg)    Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things written and narrated by Jenny Lawson, is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week.

Special thanks to Audiobooks.com (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook) for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand.

Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook)

The family that reads together (08:51)

One of our listeners asked us to talk about parent/child reading groups (for "parent," feel free to substitute aunt, uncle, grandparent, teacher, babysitter, or any other adult that you trust with your child). Michael recently heard Gretchen Rubin talk about this on a recent Happier (http://gretchenrubin.com/podcast/) podcast (can someone help with the specific episode?), and we thought it was a great topic.

There are so many options on how to organize a grownup/child bookclub: it can be just one grownup/one child, groups of children and grownups, or anything in between. Experts recommend grouping by age so that they are all at about the same reading level, but that depends on the age level. Other people recommend keeping it gender specific, but Michael and I agree that that is not necessary or maybe even preferred. Integrating an activity related to the book seems to be a popular choice, with the specific activity dependent on age of the kids in the group. Crafts, baking, even seeing a movie can all be tied into the book in a fun way.

It's difficult to recommend specific books, because the choice will vary with age, but some of the books that came to us right away are:

Wonder (https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=wonder) by RJ Palacio

When You Reach Me (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5310515-when-you-reach-me?from_search=true&search_version=service) by Rebecca Stead

The Book Thief (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief?from_search=true&search_version=service) by Markus Zusak

Harry Potter (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone?ac=1) series by JK Rowling

The Witches (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6327.The_Witches?from_search=true&search_version=service) by Roald Dahl

The BFG (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6319.The_BFG?from_search=true&search_version=service) by Roald Dahl

The Boys in the Boat (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16158542-the-boys-in-the-boat?from_search=true&search_version=service) by Daniel James Brown and the young reader's edition (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24611866-the-boys-in-the-boat?from_search=true&search_version=service)

Unbroken (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8664353-unbroken?from_search=true&search_version=service) by Laura Hillenbrand, and the young adult version (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21965110-unbroken)

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