Janie, one of my heroes, introduced me to reading challenges. She persuaded me to make a plan. And my reading has been strongly influenced by her recommendations. With great interest I’ve watched her transition from homeschool mom to full-time teacher.
I can commiserate with Janie more now that I’m also working full-time. I cannot “not read”. Unthinkable. Right now, though, I cannot read my daily quota of 50 pages before I’m drooling and nodding and waking with a jolt.
I had thought this would be my Summer of Southern Literature. It sounds grand and glorious–like something Scarlett would say–, but I think I need to wait until the season of staying home returns when I can sit in an Adirondack chair and sip iced tea on my yet-to-be-built patio.
Since I’ve joined 
I’ve filled my Wish List to the maximum 200 books and get a new book or two every month. But I have too many books in my house right now! How I hate to admit this (I am my father’s daughter), but…..I’m double shelving.
So my first rule for the Summer Reading Challenge 2009 is:
and 
are due to arrive next week. And our dear friend sent us
and 
But I’m willing to live within the ratio of 2 finishes to 1 new. Currently I am reading D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climatic Battle of World War II
A Living Pencil 
Carol, I read and really enjoyed Lavinia. I think LeGuin has done a remarkable job of understanding the mind and life of an ancient woman. I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it. I’ve been waiting for The Art of Civilized Conversation from the library. It’s on my summer reading list.Under His mercy,LaJuana
Thanks for the list, Carol, and I’ve updated the Summer Reading Challenge post. I love your rules and need some of your restraint! Yeah, those working days do interfere with our pursuit of the good life, don’t they? I didn’t realize you had already gone back to work full time. That so changes our habits. Happy reading,Janie
What?! No Federal Registers, Centers for Medicare/Medicaid regulatory updates, and/or State Pharmacy Board position papers. That’s what I imagine that you’re reading now :)At any rate, I can attest to only one of the authors on your list – Donna Crow’s. I read her The Banks of the Boyne a few years back and really enjoyed it. Right now, I’m looking into The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. After watching Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, I became interested in the Hmongs.
I also love your rules and need to put myself under the law. I keep getting books from PPS and starting them and then moving on. I am feeling fragmented and I can’t decide which book to pick up next.
I’m glad to see Janie is back again and has revived the Summer Reading Challenge. I’m taking a break from challenges, but I love looking through others! Enjoyed your choices (especially Buechner – that is a fun book). Unfortunately, I couldn’t read the title for the 2nd book on your list.
@LaJuana – Thanks for your thoughts. The story of The Aeneid from the king’s daughter’s perspective does sound intriguing. From what I’ve read, Le Guin is up to the challenge. I’m so eager to talk about it with my Latin teacher and see what he thinks.@godsfarmgirl – Janie, I’m managing the internal operations of the pharmacy where I’ve worked one day a week doing accounting for years. I’ve committed for two years, after which time we’ll have paid our mortgage. @hiddenart – I read a lot of that stuff during the day. HIPAA, DHS, SIGIS, DMEPOS, FSA are all foreign concepts I’m now conversant in. We installed a new Point of Sale (POS) the second day I was on my own. Read chaos and confusion. It recognizes items which are eligible for Flexible Spending Accounts and marks them with an F on the receipt. It’s the law. Once again, Dana, you’ve given me some good stuff to add to my list. Gran Tornino on Netflix and The Latehomecomer. I have The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, a book that took Anne Fadiman ten years to write. Subtitle – A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures.@Cindy – Fragmented is the word that went through my mind when I was writing this. It is the same idea that you’ve written about regarding online friendships. The sheer number of connections makes it harder to be a friend in the usual sense of the word. With PBS, a resource I love, I have soooo many good books waiting for attention, like so many of my online friends. Waiting for attention.@DebD – The second book is Speaking of Beauty by Denis Donoghue. The Buechner book is demanding me to read it asap.
I have my first book finding it’s way to me via Paperback swap. I’ve sent two out…I’m enjoying this fun adventure you sent me on. Thanks for telling me about it!
So as long as two of you have mentioned books about the Vietnamese, I should add a book that I recently had to read for class, “Catfish and Mandala.” It’s by a man who was one of the Vietnamese boat people who survived at a young age, came to America, and decided at age 34 to bike from South Vietnam all the way thru North Vietnam. Very interesting and insightful.
What??? Double Shelving?? An outrage I say… or not!La Bella read me Fidelity, a short story by Wendell Berry. Very excellent. I must admit that I read far too many blogs and web pages than books. Sigh.bro danny. did you see that hawk that used our birdbath?? Check it out…
“Finish two partially-read books for every new book I read.” Now that is a rule I need to live by!Best wishes on your transition to full time work. In my working days, I let mye reading lapse for a long while and it made me miserable. Then I started using my two 15 min. breaks + my lunch hour to read. It was amazing how many books I was able to make it through with just that little bit of discipline. Best, it got me back on track w/ my reading. I think a lot of young adults just out of college stop reading at this juncture, always intending to get back into it but the busyness of life keeps it on the back burner. Of course, I realize you are at a different place & your habits of reading are already well established! I’m just plain chatty this a.m.!