Occasionally at the Waukee Public Library, I have a parent ask me the best way to get their kids to read more. My answer? Read yourself.

Read with your children. Read aloud to your child and have your child read aloud to you. Set aside time to read together as a family several times a week, with each family member reading something he or she really wants to read. When your kids see you immersed in a novel or a magazine you enjoy, you are setting the best possible example, the example of reading as a pleasurable leisure activity.

I just finished two books that I’d like to share with you. The first is Charles Belfoure’s second novel, “House of Thieves”. Set in 1886 New York, this book drew me into the mystery of why one of the city’s preeminent architects would go to work for a gang of thieves. Combining historical fiction with mystery, it’s a real page-turner.

The second is “The Long Walk: a Story of War and the Life That Follows” by Brian Castner, who served three tours in the Middle East as part of an explosive ordinance disposal unit. His story contrasts the intensity of combat with the lonely inward battle he fights now that he has come home.

Whatever you’re reading, enjoy!

Learn more at http://www.waukee.org/291/Library