Yesterday being the kids’ last day of school, and a half-day at that, we kicked off our summer vacation with — what else? — a trip to the library. We signed up for the summer reading program. Joey, my oldest, is officially a middle-schooler now, which meant that he qualified for the teen program. (“But he’s only 11,” I wailed. The librarian shook her head sympathetically, but insisted that for summer reading program purposes my son was now a teen.)
Anyway, Lena, my second third grader, was in desperate need of Oz books. While she browsed among the Baums I moseyed a little farther down the aisle and happened upon the Babbits, the Natalie Babbits, and among them was The Search for Delicious. I immediately snatched it off the shelf and slipped it in the middle of Lena’s stack. My plan was just to leave it there for her to find and read on her own but as soon as we got home I succumbed to temptation. I sat Daniel down in front of the latest PMK video (remember his obsession?), retrieved the book from Lena’s stack, and finished it in time for dinner.
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do I need another reading project.
Penguin Classics seemed like such a good idea, but frankly I’m a little intimidated by the next one on the list. It’s La Regenta by Leopoldo Alas, a big fat obscure 19th century Spanish novel. Interlibrary loan only allowed me to have it for, like, ten days — as though anyone could read that thing in ten days. So I went and bought me a copy, and it’s been sitting unopened on my shelf (not even on my bedside table, notice) for a couple of months. And I’ve completely lost my head of steam on Brothers K, too.
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Well, when Melissa blogged about the new book by Susan Cooper I was intrigued, despite her lukewarm review. I mean, not only is it Susan Cooper, but — hoo boy! — it’s a historical novel about the Battle of Trafalgar! The title of the book, Victory, refers to Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship. :D
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Golly gee, where does the time go? It’s been more than a month since I last blogged or visited others. A busy month with lots of work, assorted stomach and upper respiratory ailments, and the holiday fest that includes Hanukah, Christmas, and a bunch of birthdays. Including mine. Lordy, Lordy, now I’m, uh, thirty-nine and four quarters. :)
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Notice (on the sidebar) that Lena and I now have the same book on our separate bedside tables. That’s because my bookworm side trumped my mom side and I just couldn’t wait for her to finish Little Town on the Prairie before starting it myself. So we’re going back and forth (“it’s my turn now” “no, you had it all morning, it’s my turn now” “oh come on, can’t you read something else for a while?” “just let me finish this chapter” “mo-o-o-om!”). I can’t believe I didn’t like these books more when I was a kid. Sure, I read ‘em, but (as I recall) more from a feeling of duty and mild curiosity than any great love. One thing that really fascinates me is the way Laura acts as Mary’s eyes. She has to describe everything, and perhaps that’s the root of her becoming a writer? Even more fascinating, too, is the way Mary is always scolding her for not telling the truth when Laura gets poetic and metaphorical in her descriptions.
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Wow, it’s been a busy week. A LOT going on . . .
1. I had the theater experience of a lifetime. God bless the University Musical Society, for bringing the Royal Shakespeare Society to Ann Arbor, Mich. They didn’t just come and do a couple of shows, either. They were in residence for three weeks, giving talks and lectures and demonstrations and so forth. And we saw Julius Caesar and The Tempest. In the car on the way to The Tempest, I must admit Steve and I giggled over the fact that while we would be watching Patrick Stewart (as Prospero) in the flesh, our kids would be back home with the babysitter watching him in X-Men 3. And The Tempest was, well, I can’t even come up with an adjective. All I can say is, at the end, during the applause, people were shouting not Bravo but Thank you to the actors. And Steve and I were quite literally trembling as we left the theater.
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I almost forgot about Banned Books Week! Boy, it sure doesn’t feel like a whole year ago that I read Catcher in the Rye.
Okay, looking at ALA’s list of the top ten most challenged books of the year, well, gee. The only one we have in the house (besides Catcher and I am NOT reading that again) is one from the Captain Underpants series. To be precise, Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets.
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