Great books

I belong to a book group, although that's not to say that I read the books and go to the book club get-togethers. I'd like to, but I rarely find the time to immerse myself in great literature. The real reason I belong to the book group -- in addition to perpetuating a fantasy that my life allows me to savor the moment and beloved pastimes -- is I love to see what books the group is choosing. Every once in a while, when a vacation comes around, I select a book and treat myself to a luxurious read. If you're like me, you may appreciate the list widget I've posted here, "Monica's Book Group Picks".

I am a bit more diligent when it comes to seeking out books for my kids. After all, their lives should permit routine downtime with a good book, not to mention it's required by their teachers! I don't have book clubs for them, but I have discovered two great list widgets from Blistful users, "Favorite Kids' Books" from Keith Raffel and "40+ Books for 2nd and 3rd Graders" from Veronique Chesnais Christensen.

Keith is a popular author in Silicon Valley. His first book, Dot.Dead: A Silicon Valley Mystery was a thrilling read. As a father and avid fan of literature, Keith created a list of recommended books he enjoyed as a boy. If you want to see more musings from Keith, check out his Dot Dead Diary blog.

Veronique blogs on crafts for kids on her Little Elephants blog. One of her children attended a class where a mom in the class offered to host a book club for the kids. The kids were so enthused with the book selections that they decided to publish their favorite reads so their classmates could also discover new books, specifically recommended by kids. When my friends saw this great list, routinely they asked, "Does Veronique also have recommended lists for 4th and 5th graders?" We hope you're working on that list, too, Veronique.

Take any of these list widgets into Facebook and get live updates by clicking on the "Facebook" link at the bottom of the widget you want. Or, if you're inspired to share recommendations among your friends, get onto Blistful to start your lists. By the way, send us any lists you'd like to share with everyone and we'll post them here. We'd love to benefit from your recommendations!