It's cloudy and cool, with a forecast of rain today. You know what that means. Where is that stack of books? I want to make every day constructive so I plan on 10 or 15 minutes of house work followed by five or six hours of reading. The dogs won't let me sit forever. I will have to stand up and move around but before too long, whatever book I am reading will begin the siren song and I will find my way back.
I am an eclectic reader from way back. I just finished 'The Sisters Brothers' by Patrick de Witt. It's a western where horses fall off cliffs and men shoot each other without much thought. Who would have thought? Even the cover is sinister but deWitt is a clever and engaging writer and I never once thought of giving it up. I went from that to 'R My Name Is Rachel' by Patricia Reilly Giff. It's the kind of book I would have loved as a kid. Set in the depression, it tells of a family pulling together against long odds. Who can resist those scrappy little heroines? They just pull up their knee socks and soldier on.
There is so much talk lately about what kids should read and about how the YA literature is too dark.. I say just let them read. Let them read anything and everything. How will they know the good from the bad without something to compare it to? Let them be passionate about literature and their favorite authors. That's a topic for another day. Right now I feel a book calling to me. Even Ernie is classy enough to snooze by the bookcase.
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