Isn’t book talk fun?  When you meet someone new and you have a shared book in common, it’s as if there were a secret language that you both understand.  When I meet someone from a different country  my mind starts searching for memories of authors/books from that country.  In the recent past I met a woman from The Netherlands and we talked about Rien Poortvliet (one of my favorite author/illustrators) and Abraham Kuyper.  Not long after, I met a native of the former Soviet Republic — I think she was from Georgia.  There’s no end of Russian books — we hit the Gulag Archipelago, Anna K, War and Peace, the Brothers K.  Her husband often had to translate English idioms (and it was DELIGHTFUL to hear the Russian Q and A), but it was a wonderful conversation.

Here are some random thoughts about books and/or the Summer Reading Challenge:

Audio books: The pros are that you can convert working time to reading time.  I love to putz alone in the kitchen on a Saturday, baking bread, cleaning the fridge, filling canisters, wiping shelves with a book being read to me.  Since I live in a rural area books on tape are a great way to make those wide open spaces go by when driving.  Cons:  You can’t flip the pages back to be reminded who “Jack” is or why he is important.  There is no time to stop and ponder a turn of phrase or a profound thought.  I was working out and listening to “1776” in a gym this morning.  [David McCullough is rapidly becoming another favorite author] The prose was rich but it felt like all those nuggets fell through a hole in my sifter, that I couldn’t keep the precious bits to enjoy later. 

I want to be like her when I grow up:  I was in a home yesterday before a high school graduation.  The grandmothers arrived with an aunt and great-aunt in tow.  After hugs and initial visits the immediate family were involved with last minute tasks, preparing for a HUGE reception at the house later.  Older ladies assembled in the living room, conversing and trying to stay out of the way the next two hours.  Great Aunt Bonita picked up the  book “The Sign of the Beaver” and read through it.  Her hearing loss prevented her from participating in the lagging conversation, but she was contentedly reading away. Bonita is 83 years old. She genuinely enjoyed the book. I would love to be able to enjoy a good children’s book when I’m 83!

Every Living Thing – I am reminded of why I’ve always loved James Herriot.  The first chapter of this book was too wonderful.  This is a comfortable book and is feeding my thirst to travel to Great Britain.  I’m eager to learn more about Herriot – his son’s biography is added to my list.

1776 –   The writing draws me to this book almost as much or more than the story.  My interest has never flagged.  He doesn’t lionize Washington and writes straightforward account of mistakes that he made.  Nevertheless there is so much to admire in the General.  The quality of the writing of everyday soldiers quoted compel me to believe that there was something right in colonia education.  Washington’s appraisal of John Sullivan: ” a man touched with a tincture of vanity and too great a desire of being popular.”

Temperament – First chapter read (third time!) On a modern keyboard every note is equidistant from the notes before and after it.  It was not always this way.  So on early keyboard instruments a sequence played on one part of the keyboard sounded sweet but on another part, the same sequence was very sour.  What we take for granted: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do, was once considered revolutionary and dangerous AND heretical!  It’s difficult to imagine music being other than it is now.  That’s one of the challenges of this book.  I will soldier through, I will, I will!