What we're reading: Bookshelf rotation edition

This edition of "What we're reading" could more accurately be called "What we're finished reading and what our options might be for The Next Thing," but that's rather clumsy as a post title.

Since I shared about our biography addiction, we've finished several books as a family.

• The Neil Armstrong biography in the Sterling Biographies series
• Life of Fred: Edgewood
• Life of Fred: Farming
• Let's Find Out about the Moon (a 1965 hardcover written BEFORE we landed there, which made for a neat compare/contrast conversation)

I also finished two books I was reading on my own - Buzz Aldrin's autobiography, "Magnificent Desolation," and the autobiography of hacker Kevin Mitnick, "Ghost in the Wires."


We tend to do this fairly often - finish a bunch of things at once. The thing is, unless we're midway through a series, it often takes a little while before we start something new!

So what's next?

My tried-and-true trick to help us find something interesting usually goes like this:

• Attend used-book sale. Buy stuff.

• Bring home finds from used book sale. Pile them in stacks around various rooms. Wince when you knock them over while vacuuming.
• Look at all available family bookshelves. Wince again when stuff starts falling off as you browse.
• Try to motivate family members to part with no-longer-loved books (or at least store them away) using phrases like, "Hey! Do you guys want to go play Sort the Books?"
• Eventually get family members to take pity on you. Sort books using a multi-hour process that is as much family reading time as anything.
• End up with new book possibilities on everyone's bedside shelves!

Just did that over the weekend, to great results. We parted ways with many books, packed away a few boxes of Sarah's still-loved-but-not-currently-being-read collection, and now have some solid leads on possible next books (in addition to Life of Fred: Goldfish, which we started two nights ago!)

What's your family reading? I had previously run a family reading roundup link-up, but I'm pleased to say that the lovely ladies over at Christian Unschooling are doing one each month that I'm proud to support instead!

So if you have a post about what you've been reading, please go share it!