Lulu: June

Today I decided to get a jump on my June books and spent a blissful two hours in Barnes & Noble, absurdly indecisive. I was also looking for a new read for me and Reed. :)

Ultimately, I've chosen for myself Emma and Fahrenheit 451. I really haven't read either of them! Makes me blush to say it. The cashier had great things to say about Fahrenheit 451. He said one way that Ray Bradbury's science fiction is better than others is that it causes us to question the direction of mankind. Humanity's morals, that sort of thing. I was just excited to get it because the story line intrigues me, Abby loved it, and it's something I've always felt like I needed to read. I'm excited about Emma because I love Jane Austen.

I finished The Kite Runner. I didn't know very much about Afghanistan, almost nothing at all, and it was very much an eye-opening read. I blubbered my way through quite a bit of it, but couldn't let go of it until I was done. And actually, even then I couldn't let go of it. I had to talk about it. And I had to sort some things out in my mind, things that make me feel like ignorance is bliss. But I need to know these things, and overall I'm really happy to have read it. It was hard for Phill to hear me talk about it; I stopped reading it to him a few chapters in because I wanted to read faster than we had nights to sit down together. It's probably a good thing. His unit will probably head to Afghanistan in 2011, and he already knew tons more than me about the atrocities I had just learned about. I marvel that he can carry so much heaviness sometimes and not just....fall apart. I had a long, cathartic cry once I finished.

On to lighter things: The book I've chosen for Reed and I is The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Graham). I've heard so many good things about it from Abby and my mom and Rae; I figure it's a good time. We did read a little excerpt of it from a Six-Year-Old Boys Treasury something-or-other that we have here at home, and Reed was really attentive and smiley. (I finally chose this book after picking up and putting down Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Farmer Boy, The Wizard of Oz, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. All of which are still viable for future options.)

Obviously I didn't choose a book for May. I didn't search very hard for a title, and didn't feel very motivated. I did choose a Mary Higgins Clark book that was totally unsatisfying and made me remember why I quit being interested in them a few years ago. I think I just wanted something really easy (translate: effortless) and suspenseful enough to keep me reading. But it was just empty, and so was I when I finished. Little ghost of a book.