Read What You Like

Posted on 10/07/2013 by chick

According to this book post at The Guardian, many people claim to have read books that they haven’t. Here is the list of books that people most often pretend to have read.

  1. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
  2. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
  3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  4. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  5. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
  6. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
  7. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  8. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I used to pretend to read books in high school, but that was so I wouldn’t get in trouble with the teachers who had assigned the books. I wouldn’t dream of lying about my reading now. I suppose it helps that I’ve read 7 of the 10 in that list.

But go ahead and ask me about Infinite Jest, which was also mentioned in the post. I haven’t read that book, and I probably never will. Oh, yes, everyone says it’s so wonderful and that David Foster Wallace was such a genius. And maybe he was. But I tried a sample of it on my Kindle a few months ago, and the first page seemed to take forever. I couldn’t connect with the text, and I had to keep going back to try to figure out what I was missing. That’s not my idea of fun. I gave up.

But I have read hundreds of other books (over 300 since I started keeping track in 2007). Maybe they weren’t all long and complex, and maybe they weren’t all what one might call Profound. But they did all, in their own way, contain pieces of Truth and Beauty. Some of them made me laugh. Some of them made me cry. Some of them inspired me to be a better person. I am better for having read them, all of them.

So don’t lie about what you read. Just read. And to Hell with what other people think about your reading choices.

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Frog Story II

Posted on 10/06/2013 by chick

I know I already posted one of Marshall’s frog stories, but I can’t help but want to post this one, too. He gave me the crayons and asked me to write it down, after all. Plus it ends on a little piece of toddler wisdom. So here goes.

FROG STORY II

by Marshall

Once upon a time there was a frog named Shaggy-Sticky. Siggy-Socky (another frog) ate him. And then more frogs came, and there was a bunch of frogs. All of the frogs, they just ate people. And then a monster ate Siggy-Socky, and then spit him out.

Then the monster ate some fruit and vegetables. But the monster was still hungry, so he ate everything. He ate houses, and dogs, and mountains, and more houses. But no trees.

Now he’s a giant monster. So Superboy, he gets food out of the monster. The food comes out of the monster. The superhero puts the houses back, and grass and dirt. We need grass around our house, you know.

The End

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Late Summer Pictures

Posted on 10/05/2013 by chick

One of the nice things about spending time outdoors is that you start to really notice the change of seasons. Not just the big seasonal changes, like the difference between spring and winter, but the little changes, like the differences between early summer, mid summer, and late summer.

Late summer means the beginning of the end for the dragonflies. Midsummer was their time, and they were everywhere, little green, blue, brown, and red beauties, not to mention their larger white and black cousins. They zipped every which way, filling the skies, thrilling me with their escapades. Sometimes they landed on me when I hoped they would, and other times they scared me half to death because I wasn’t expecting such a large bug to alight on me! But they’re almost gone now. Late summer is the time of the hopping insects—crickets and grasshoppers. This year saw some of the fattest crickets ever!

Fat Cricket

Fat cricket sitting on Marshall’s arm.

And then their are the jumpers–warty toads and sleek frogs. They in turn feed the slitherers. In late summer and early autumn you can’t walk up the hill to the side yard without disturbing at least one garter snake, usually a young one. They’re adorable. I often chase after them until they disappear into a hole or thick tuft of grass, because I love to watch them move. I don’t worry about them biting me, even when my feet are bare, as they usually are. I have never been bitten by a garter snake in my life, not even the ones I harassed as a child. Alas, they do not stay still so that I can get good pictures of them.

Garter Snake

The bees are still working as hard as ever in late summer, but there is feeling of desperation in their industriousness. They know the season is coming to an end. The jewel weed is back, and the only thing more fun that popping the seed pods is watching bumblebees burrow into the flowers and then back themselves out again. Just as they did back in April when they were pollinating the violets, the bumblebees remind me of my black cat, Mojo, who is fat and always trying to get into spaces much too small for him.

Bee 1

Bee 2

Mushrooms grow fast and rank on old wood mulch, sprouting on and around trees, following the paths of old, decomposing tree roots.

Mushrooms 1

Mushroom 2

Mushrooms are no fun to walk through with bare feet. Yuck! And if we leave them in the yard, they eventually turn into an ugly black mush, so my husband usually removes them. So that is one of his late summer and early autumn tasks—shroom shoveling!

I took a walk in the woods during the late summer season, something I rarely do, so expect to see some more pictures soon!

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Chipping Away at the List

Posted on 10/04/2013 by chick

I’ve been chipping away at the list of Top 100 Children’s Books.

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Grade: B+

My Father’s Dragon is a cute story about a boy who rescues a dragon that is being exploited by other animals on a faraway island. I enjoyed the story, but I felt like it was over before I had a chance to really get into it.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Grade: A-

The title of this book made me think that it was going to be a story about Native Americans. The main character, Salamanca Tree Hiddle, does have some Native American ancestry, but the story is about love and loss and telling stories. Sal takes a road trip with her grandparents, telling stories to them to help pass the time. Along the way we learn all about her family and friends in a humorous way. I could tell as I was reading that some sad things were going to happen, and while you could say the story is predictable in that way, the storytelling is superb. Highly recommended.

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

Grade: A+

Gone-Away Lake always brings me back to my childhood. I never experienced anything like the adventures of Portia, her brother Foster, and her cousin Julian, but I would have loved to! The children discover a swamp that used to be a lake (which is why it’s called Gone-Away Lake). And living in the ramshackle remains of what were once grand vacation homes are the elderly Pindar and his sister Minnehaha, who invite the children into their lives, sharing their stories of the past and all the wonderful things that they have learned about the swamp. Also highly recommended.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Grade: B+

Stargirl is a teenager who refuses to fit in. In fact, she goes out of her way to be different, doing things like playing the ukulele at lunchtime and buying gifts for complete strangers. But the world expects conformity, and when Stargirl refuses to conform, well, people get a little mean.

I wrestled with my feelings while reading the book. I liked Stargirl, but I was also frustrated by her, and then I felt bad for being frustrated by her. And I felt manipulated by the author, because I knew that he was doing that on purpose, and I don’t like having my strings pulled that way.

The thing is, I think we need more Stargirls in this world. We need to invite them into our lives and encourage them in their “work.” So I applaud the book for that reason, but alas, it will never be a favorite.

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Replacements Needed

Posted on 10/01/2013 by chick

I have been slowly replacing the old paperbacks in my library. It’s a necessary task. Some of them have degraded to the point that they might not survive another reading.

The most decrepit of them all is C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian. Its back cover and last few pages are completely detached. The seven Narnia books have been in my library for as long as I can remember. They are 1978 paperback editions, so it’s not surprising that some are showing their age.

Narnia

It’s tough to choose replacement editions. Initially I was opposed to all of the modern editions because of they way the books are numbered. They are always numbered in chronological order, as opposed to the original publication order. However, I have decided that the cover numbers are irrelevant, because I can read them in any order I want.

Looking at my old set, it’s interesting how the condition varies from book to book. While Prince Caspian has reached the end of its days, The Horse and His Boy looks almost unread. If I were to judge by condition only, I’d say my childhood order of preference was…

  1. Prince Caspian
  2. The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader”
  3. The Last Battle
  4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
  5. The Silver Chair
  6. The Magician’s Nephew
  7. The Horse and His Boy

This order of preference sounds plausible to me. It’s close to how I’d order them now. The only major change I’d make would be to put The Last Battle last. I might also rearrange the top three from time to time, depending on my mood. My current order of preference is very close to the original publication order, which is my main argument for using the old numbering. Why start with one of the poorer entries of the series? Not that The Magician’s Nephew (first in chronological order) is horrible, but it’s not even close to the best. Kids who start with that one might not bother to continue with the series.

Well, the numbering is something over which I have no control, so there’s no sense in getting fired up about it. The important thing is to find editions that are attractive and comfortable to read. One problem with shopping for books online is that you can’t always tell exactly which edition you’re getting. And it’s impossible to judge the artwork or the font or the heft of the book without actually picking it up and looking at it. So I will be planning trips to the library and a bricks-and-mortar bookstore to do more research. And while I’m sad to have to replace my childhood books, I’m thrilled to have an excuse to go book hunting!

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The Worry Week

Posted on 09/30/2013 by chick

The Worry Week by Anne Lindbergh
Grade: B+

The Worry Week is a fun story about three sisters who are supposed to stay with an aunt for a week while their parents deal with some business, but instead they sneak off to their island vacation home in Maine. Their plan goes off without a hitch until they get to the cottage and find that most of the food has been removed by the cleaning lady, and they don’t have enough money to buy more. Rather than give up their week of freedom, they decide to try living off the land.

I enjoyed this story, but it’s one of those that I might have loved had I read it when I was younger. The combination of sneaking away from the parents, foraging for food, living on an island, and treasure hunting (a minor subplot) would have appealed very much to me then. So though I gave it only a B+, I’m going to keep it in my library for the kids. And who knows? Maybe I’ll read it again someday and enjoy it more.

A note on the author: Anne Lindbergh was the daughter of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. It is somewhat difficult to find information about her, because her web presence is overwhelmed by that of her very famous parents. However, I did find this 1993 obituary from The New York Times.

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Favorite Things: Bold Colors

Posted on 09/29/2013 by chick

Today my toenails are a dark shade of purple. I painted them that color while the kids were bathing yesterday, because what else is there to do while the kids are busy splashing each other? Before that my nails were a deep metallic blue, and before that they were a shocking candy-apple red. These colors are a far cry from my usual pearly whites and pinks.

Why the sudden change? It’s just my small way of trying to live more boldly. A small gesture to be sure, but it’s an inexpensive and innocuous way to have a little fun. The kids sure get a kick out of it. They always notice the color change right away, and they are happily mystified by it every time.

The only problem is that I’m finding these darker colors to be less forgiving all around. Mistakes are more noticeable. Chips are more noticeable. And when it comes time to change colors, you have to work extra hard to get every bit of the old polish off so that it won’t show through the new coat. It sure ain’t easy being bold!

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Waiting Game

Posted on 09/26/2013 by chick

The kids were in a hurry to eat dinner tonight. They kept asking why it was taking so long and when it would be ready. I told them repeatedly that it would be done soon, but they kept pestering me.  Finally I tried asking them for some patience. Here’s how that went.

Me: Can you guys please just wait?

Livia: We can’t wait all the time!

Marshall: We always wait all the time, Mommy.

Livia: I don’t want to wait all the time!

Marshall: We’re waiting now. When will it be ready?

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A Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Posted on 09/24/2013 by chick

Dear Marshall,

You lost your first tooth yesterday. It had been loose for weeks, and whatever you did to bloody it again yesterday was enough to sever its last major tie to your gum. You were really upset when you realized that it was going to fall out. So were we. We looked at it dangling thing, barely attached, and we thought how much we were going to miss your perfect little smile. You’re young to be losing teeth, and it might be years before your permanent tooth grows in to replace it.

But then we decided to embrace the inevitable. We encouraged you to push the tooth out with your tongue. We told you about the Tooth Fairy and how happy she’d be to get your tooth. I rummaged around until I found the special stuffed animal that your Auntie Jeanne had given us for this occasion. It has a zippered pouch. We put the tooth in the pouch and then tucked the animal gently under your pillow. At bedtime you and I held hands and chanted, “Tooth Fairy! Tooth Fairy! Wherever you may be, come and take this tooth, and leave a gift for me!” You smiled your gappy new smile.

You started hollering for me first thing this morning. I hurried to your room to see what was the matter, but there was nothing wrong. You just wanted to show me your gift from the Tooth Fairy. She gave you a Sacajawea dollar. I guess the Tooth Fairy knows that you don’t really understand the value of money yet and she just wanted to give you something you hadn’t seen before. I hope you will treasure it as much as she treasures your tooth.

Love,

Mom

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Posted on 09/09/2013 by chick

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