Lulu: Emma & Reed's reads

I don't know why, but trying to read Emma this month was painfully slow for me. I felt like I was wading in words, and sometimes I felt like a new reader. It's been a long time since I've read Jane Austen, and I forgot how complex her sentence structure can be. I made it through the first two volumes of Emma, and then felt so frustrated that I stopped right there. Call me lazy, but I was tired of Emma's dad, and I was tired of Miss Bates, and I was tired of not being close to the ending, the outcome of which I already knew.

Ah, well. I did read one classic this month--Fahrenheit 451. (I posted about that already HERE) I feel guilty for not finishing Emma, but also annoyed that I don't want to finish it.

Reed and I finished The Wind in the Willows. We loved it, most especially Reed. Some of the language was a little sophisticated for him, but we both laughed quite a bit through the whole thing, and the general story wasn't lost to him. Our copy had beautiful illustrations, too. After we finished, I found that I didn't have anything that age-appropriate on my shelves for our next read, but decided to tide us over with just a taste of A Wrinkle in Time. I am surprised to say Reed is actually very interested! We're halfway through, and I don't yet feel like I need to put it aside. I forgot how much I love that series, so it has been fun for me to revisit. Next we have Danny, the Champion of the World.

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.

Lynness: What have I missed?....

Well, we've been having phone problems- a buzz in the line that not
only makes it hard to hear talking, but evidently produces too much
interference to allow my caller ID to work, or to check voice mail, or
to connect to the internet. I've felt very deprived. The phone company
came out and fixed it today - yippee! I logged on, wondering what I've
missed. Turns out, not much. Oh, there were a few things I didn't hear
about that I might have if I had been online (since I rarely listen to
the radio, only watch PBS once a week - and that only recently because
of Jane Austen, and we don't get the paper). Anyway- I felt very
isolated between the lack of connection and the flu that we had a couple
of weeks ago. All in all, what would I do without my books? (Maybe I'd
clean my kitchen or work on some of my unfinished sewing/crafting
projects. Or maybe I'd finish the bathroom we started painting before
we got sick.) Isn't it nice to have a place to escape to, or a place
where you're not responsible, or a place to make contact with other
adults (even if they are fictional)!! No, really I do get out, but not
so much when it's cold and dreary and I'm sick. But that's finally
passing...and spring is nearly here.
This month I read "Mansfield Park" (Jane Austen) and "New Moon"
(Stephenie Meyer) for my romantic fiction picks. I thoroughly enjoyed
New Moon. Mansfield Park not so much. I thought I had at least started
it before, but nothing was familiar except in that I had just seen the
PBS movie before I read it, so maybe not. I felt like I was slogging
through it, waiting to get to the good part. I never really got there.
Even when the girl gets the guy, my main feeling was relief that I was
almost done with the book. It's just not as engaging a story as Emma or
S&S or P&P (my fav.). A few weeks later I read New Moon and did it in
about half a day- I just wanted to keep going. I love P&P- but it still
requires effort to read it. This requires no effort. Obviously, the
two are not even on the same plane, but sometimes a fun read is all you
want, and it satisfied me well.
If anyone is still looking for a "loverly" read that won't take too
much time, I have enjoyed Madeleine Brent's "Tregaron's Daughter" and
"Moonraker's Bride." My 8th grade English teacher recommended them
(starting with "Stranger at Wildings" which I enjoyed but not as much as
the previous 2). There are others by her- some ok, some I didn't like
at all. The best part is that these 2 are all clean- no "bodice
rippers" as I heard somebody call the men in romance novels once upon a
time.
As for my other reading, I read "Magical Moments," by Dr. somebody??
Terr, about psychotherapy changing children's lives. I don't know what
I thought (or think, still) about psychotherapy. I'd have to think
about it a lot and be sure that the therapist concurs with my beliefs
before I'd send my kid or go myself, for that matter, but there were
some pretty amazing changes made in the vignettes that the book
presented. It was interesting. In a good way.
I also browsed here and there in a book about how prosperity has
changed America and its politics (still trying to find stuff for
January!). All I could think of was the pride cycle in the Book of
Mormon and Brigham Young's quote about how he was afraid it wasn't
persecution and trials that was going to get to the Saints- it was
prosperity and how he was afraid we'd all kick ourselves out of the
Church and down to hell because of it.
Finally, I've been reading the scriptures. The Old Testament-
faster than I ever have before. I'm trying to keep ahead of what I'm
teaching every morning. So far I'm still ahead, but just barely, and
the pace is only going to get faster (until we get to Isaiah, and I
think I have 3 weeks for the whole book!) I think we have 2 days for
1st and 2nd Chronicles, a couple of days for Psalms and Proverbs (yeah,
they're short, but there's a lot of them!). Anyway...hopefully the fact
that nobody's posted much on February books means we're all enjoying a
good romance! Love, Lynness