The last book I’m going to recommend is The 39 Clues. It’s by Rick Riordan and I have to tell you I’ve just started this book but I’m having the best time with it. It’s book No. 1 which is Maze Of Bones and I’ll just give you a little taste of what it is. It asks, “What would happen if one day you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful families in history? What if you were told that the source of the family’s power was hidden around the world in the form of 39 clues? What if you were given the choice to take $1 million and walk away or get the first clue and begin the search? That’s what this book is about. A couple of kids, Dan and Amy, are given the choice and they decide to give up the million bucks to go search for the clue, and immediately they are caught up in all kinds of wacky stuff going on. One of the reasons that I love this is when you get the book, they give you cards, clue cards. There is also a website you can interact with, the39clues.com, and it’s really, really well-thought-out and smartly written and I think that kids will really dig it! I’m loving it. I’ve just started and I’m really in it. I can’t believe I took time off to talk about it because I so love it.

And then for teenagers: I’m sure they’re already aware of the Twilight series with Bella and Edward Cullen, who is, in fact, a vampire. When you read the outside of the book it seems like a sexy novel for young people. It’s not very sexy; it’s actually quite banal, but it’s put together really well. I think that if you’re going to get your teen readers into something that is really going to grab them, this would be a great series to start with. I’m a big believer of series because I think kids will keep going, keep reading if it’s in a series. The author of Twilight is Stephenie Meyer. Stephenie Meyer has tapped into something that is quite extraordinary and fun and a little bit dangerous but not scary, and kind of like, “What if?” These characters are really well-drawn-out. Bella is a great character, she is the girl that first moves to the town and meets this guy, Edward Cullen, who turns out to be a vampire. As much as Bella wants to get close to him, she doesn’t really realize that she’s putting her entire family at risk with this. In a funny way, it’s what happens when you have your first boyfriend and you don’t know what it’s going to be like and you don’t know what you’re exposing your family to. The book is so beautifully written. I really love them and there is a series of them. They are now comparing Stephenie Meyer to J.K. Rowling, but it’s a good way to get teenagers to continue to read and maybe get them off the computer, to spend a little time in a book.

These are just some of the great books that I’ve had a good time with. What I’m going to do during the course of the next few months is just hip you to some books I’m reading — some of the kids’ books, some of the adult books that I’ve decided that I want to get into. One of the things that I’ve done is go onto Amazon — and I said I’d never do it – to get their reader, which is kind of fantastic in that you can carry so many books. It’s called the Amazon Kindle. I vowed I’d never do this because I love the smell of a bookstore but I have to tell you: Carrying around all of the books that I’m into and that I’m loving with my Kindle is spectacular. I walk in the bookstore now anyway because I miss the smell, but check out Amazon.com for the Kindle because, if you’re an avid reader, this is something you should really take a look at.