Yes, there is a question this week, please read on...
As lame as this sounds, I tend to not read books during the school year. When I was single, even though I'd come home exhausted, I would read and then I would wind up getting so engrossed in a book I'd be up until one or two reading it (finishing it), and then I'd regret it in the morning. Some people party and stay out too late when they shouldn't; I'd get hooked on a book. The idea of reading myself to sleep? It never happened. I'd read my way to dawn sometimes.
Not a good idea. I was often too tired to think straight with the kiddoes. Makes for a bad teacher. So, don't tell them, I kind of gave up reading for fun during the school year. (I did continue to read kid books and professional books, much more of the former than the latter, thankfully!)
But lately, I've been watching way too much stupid TV or spending too much time right here. So I've been hitting the library and reading for fun again. And last week, I actually purchased books (being green and being thrifty, I don't usually buy books), from Amazon. One for Brad, his early birthday present, and two for me, all non-fiction.
Two things kept me from reading them until dawn, 1) Brad--in a good way he reminds me how tired I am, 2) my brain--in an annoying way it reminds me how tired I am. Now, I do read myself to sleep, and Brad does move my glasses and book to the bedside table and turns off the light. Usually around 10 p.m. Wild woman, eh?
So here's what I bought...
Columbine by Dave Cullen
(This would be the perfect time to point out that Dave went to my HS, but since I cannot remember him and I don't think he would remember me, that would be errant name dropping.)
Anyway, I finished it on Saturday (read it in a week which is amazing since I am so tired so often--have I mentioned that?) It was incredible, well-researched, well-written, and a compelling read.
Here is what I took from it (literally took from it, this is excerpted):
"We remember Columbine as a pair of outcast Goths from the Trench Coat Mafia snapping and tearing through their high school hunting down jocks to settle a long running feud. Almost none of that happened. no Goths, no outcasts, nobody snapping. No targets, no feud, and no Trench Coat Mafia...The lesser myths are equally unsupported: no connection to Marilyn Manson, Hitler's birthday, minorities, or Christians."
It is a book that tells the truth and refutes all the pervasive folklore about the massacre.
My thoughts beyond that, Cassie Bernall was a believer and a victim, not a martyr and it's wrong of the church to continue to perpetuate a story that does not belong to her, Patrick (the boy who went out the window) is a witness to true forgiveness in a way that is amazing, sadly law enforcement was out of its element that day, and the media didn't collectively do its job well until this book.
I cried at times, I was scared at times, it made me angry often, but it's a story that deserves much reflection.
So different than Columbine, is the second book I bought, Susanna Foth Aughtmon's
All I Need is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans. This is a book I could have written if I were at all gifted. It's hilarious and thoughtful, and it's about being Christ-centered when so much else seems to get in the way. As a Christ Follower, I want my friends to read it because it's so normal. It shows us as people who do struggle to not care about stupid stuff while hoping instead to find focus on the BIG stuff.
I started it last Saturday, switched out for Columbine, and now I'm back with it, almost done. I went over what I've read to this point, and I just couldn't select one portion to share here, it's all good, sweet, and important. It is chick-affirming, though she doesn't use chick, she uses "tired supergirl." Hm, wonder why it appeals to me?
So, my question(s) of the week because I'm curious about you and because I'm starting my summer reading list:
What are you reading right now?
Or, if you could suggest one book to many people, what would that book be?
(The Bible counts, but not for this answer, though I should spend more time reading it...)
12 comments:
Over Spring Break I read, and enjoyed, a book you recently quoted, "Junk Drawer, Corner Store, Front Porch Blues". I too am always looking for suggestions of good reads. I'll stay tuned to these comments. Don't think I will ever read the last book you let me borrow, so maybe I can swap out that one for the Jesus/Jeans book when you're finished!
What book did I loan you last?
Junk Drawer is a good read!
I'm re-reading "Her" by Laura Zigman, a very funny book about a woman who can't shake the feeling that she's not good enough for her fiance. (The "Her" of the title refers to her fiance's ex-fiancee.) This book is both bittersweet and sharply comic. It's told in the first person, so we never really know what the heroine looks like--for all we know, she looks like a Victoria's Secret model, but in her mind she's never quite good enough. A good portrait of how women often beat themselves up over nothing. Some really wonderful dialogue between our heroine and her sweet but rather clueless fiance, who can't understand why she worries so much.
I'm currently reading Columbine. I finally started it last night, and I was up longer than I should have been, too. Your husband is far more cooperative than mine however, I have to take off my glasses, close the book (marked appropriately) and turn off the light myself, however. ;-)
Reading is always something I WANT to do, but for the reasons you've already presented, it's hard to do regularly anymore. My girls keep me so busy some days...I spend more time being sure THEY read, than actually participating, myself.
I recently was invited into a neighborhood book club, and so far, I've not been able to keep up. But the parties are supposed to be great fun--maybe I'll find time as spring turns to summer?
Oh! Oh! I'm reading the best book! It's called Twenty Chickens for a Saddle and it's by Robyn Scott. I picked it up at Costco on Friday and I can't put it down. It's the memoir of a girl who was raised in Botswana. It's a fascinating insight into both homeschooling and living in a very, very foreign land! Add to that the fact that it's fantastically written and you have a real winner!
I'm very much like you, I can't go to bed without reading myself to sleep. And I most definitely used to pull all nighters - to finish books!
I just finished reading Much to your Chagrin by Suzanne Guillette, which was interesting, though not really my usual style. It's also a memoir, which is weird, because I'm usually much more of a fiction loving gal!
I used to belong to a Book Club -- until life kicked me in the pants and I had to get a full-time job. I read some really, really good books that I might pick up again for reading. Probably everyone's read "The Red Tent" by Deborah or Dena Something. Nothing like reading about biblical women and their periods, but it helped me get some of the folks in the Bible straight. I was just talking to my boyfriend's daughter about a book I read (forgot the name AND the title) about a girl who had a hard time of it in high school, had an eating disorder on top of that, so she ran away and joined the circus. The author researched circus life and interviewed carnies and other employed circus folk -- it was almost a believable story. Actually, I thought it WAS a true story until I read up on the author. The one book I know I will be reading this summer is the new one by Wally Lamb (OMG, I remembered a name). He wrote "She's Come Undone" and "This Much I Know Is True", both were amazing stories. I am hoping that this one will be just as good.
"A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain" by Robert Olen Butler is my non-school reading book : ) It is short stories, which I know many people don't care for. But they are incredible stories. It won a Pulitzer and was first published in 1992 - the year of Elle's birth! She'll be 17 on April 22! Amazing to me to think it was that long ago she was born. I get super nostalgic at their birthdays. It is great because I can read a chapter and have the complete story and move on to the next. Incredibly well written. The cover says it is written in soaring prose, and I agree.
Thanks for your post. I linked to in my post about Columbine. I have heard good things about Cullen's book but haven't read it myself.
I think they was you worded the way Cassie Bernal's life has been given meaning that wasn't hers is really interesting, and I think you're right.
Thanks for sharing, it was a pleasure to link to you and discover your blog.
Last night we had an extended family gathering for Mom's b-day and I asked some of my nieces and nephews what they were reading....then one of them asked me what I was reading.
My answer was the same that you said yours used to be(?)...nothing...except novels my students are reading and education magazines.
Lame-0.
I just lent the Story of Edgar Sawtelle to a nephew because I knew I wouldn't read it before June.
What I really like are books that teach about cultures...I've loved the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I find myself mostly restricted to reading while back home in Batavia, and most often, to whatever books my brother has available. He is an avid reader, like myself (thanks to a shared 5th grade experience I'm sure!) I like to think I'm a pretty open-minded reader, in that I'll read just about anything. My brother tends to enjoy historical and sci-fi books so I've read a fair share of those, but two stand out in particular...
1) Children of Men (made into a movie not to long ago, with Clive Owen): I liked the book far more than the movie. The story is different between the two, and I think the book develops a much better/more interesting relationship between characters. The book takes place in a not-so-distant future, as the human race is slowly dying out. This is because, for an unknown reason, women can no longer get pregnant. It's a super interesting story that poses all sorts of questions about society, our motivators, and what keeps us human.
2)World War Z- By the same author of the "The Zombie Survival Guide. Max Brooks [yes, that is the son of Mel Brooks]" First off, I hate zombie movies. They are scare the living bajeezus out of me. But for whatever reason, this book intrigued me. Essentially it tells the story of a virus that overtakes the world, turning people into zombies, but from the perspective of the survivors, some 10 years later. Ridiculous? Maybe, but I've had friends who've had to read this novel for different humanities courses. Once again, it's an interesting take on our humanity and how people can come together in the face of extreme odds.
Funny you should ask about my summer reading list, I've made a goal, to get going on this...
http://www.listsofbests.com/list/11632
I've read probably about 20 so far (thanks High School!) so we'll see what happens. I've given a few of them a shot over the years, and decided a select few can just be skipped (**ahem** Moby Dick **ahem**)
Okay - I'm going to join in now that I had a chance to think about it. The book I finished recently and loved was "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, the author of "The Kite Runner". I loved the main characters and learned a lot about Afghanistan, as well.
One of my other favorite books of all time is "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See. If you liked "Memoirs of a Geisha" you will love this book.
I also just finished reading "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane" to my class. It is such a beautiful story - watch out, or you will be crying in front of your class!
Pam C.
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
Israel, My Beloved by Kay Arthur.
You won't be sorry!!
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