But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on the bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.
This (extremely) short guide to a happy life by Anna Quindlen is a very quick read with quite a few nuggets of wisdom. Encouraged to get a ‘real’ life that we can enjoy in addition to our obligations, we are also treated to some outstanding photos of people doing just that. The book is so short that I’ll keep my review short as well.
Recommended for Quindlen fans and those needing a ‘Q’ author or a short non-fiction title for reading challenges.
“We just don’t like to read as much as you do, Mom.”
I’ve heard this several times (even recently) from both of my sons, particularly my youngest. However, I know differently, and I’m thankful this statement isn’t true.
Both of my sons blow away everyone at school on their AR points — it’s not even close. They are more well-read than I was at their age. They know more about history. They know more about science. Over the years they have read and/or listened to (and I know I’ll miss some important ones):
the complete Chronicles of Narnia
at least 5 or 6 Redwall titles
the complete Harry Potter series
the complete Chronicles of Prydain
the complete Artemis Fowl series
the complete Dark Is Rising series
the Bartimaeus trilogy
the Eragon trilogy
the Inkheart trilogy
several Newberys (more than I have read)
all of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (2 more than their mother)
and numerous other titles
So, I’ve often wondered, ‘Why do they say they’re not readers?’ The only reason I can come up with is that it’s ‘uncool’ nowadays to be a reader — especially for boys. They have plenty of other hobbies. One of my sons is into sports and both of them enjoy video games. We’re into sci-fi tv and movies as a family. But, they don’t want to admit that they’re readers. No matter. I know the truth, and I consider reading to be one of the best values we’ve instilled into our children. As far as I know, there is no magical formula to turn kids into readers. And though it won’t be practical for most, the following is what we did to help that goal along.
When we made the decision to homeschool, I also made the decision to try to turn my sons onto reading. They had always enjoyed my husband or I reading to them, but they hadn’t really picked up the habit on their own. So, I ‘encouraged’ (forced) them to read for 1.5 hours per day. Sound unreasonable? Not really. One half hour was for reading fiction, another half hour for history written in a fictional style (thank you H.A. Guerber and Christine Miller), and another half hour was for reading about science (thank you Jeannie Fulbright). It wasn’t all at once, unless they preferred it, and oftentimes they would extend the time of one or all sessions by their own choosing.
We don’t homeschool anymore (though I am wistful of those precious days), and my kids go to public school now, but despite what they say, they ARE readers, even if it’s uncool to admit it. And I’m thankful. So thankful.
Winner of the 2003 Orange Prize, Property by Valerie Martin is an extremely readable story set in the South and is, obviously, about slavery and what it means to be free.
Manon is the wife of a cruel slaveowner and is miserable in her marriage. She idealizes her father, who was kind (relatively speaking) to his slaves, and hates her husband, but really, she is not that kind to her slaves herself. Manon is not a likable character at all, though we do feel a little sympathetic toward her situation. Her attitudes toward slavery were probably typical of the time — in other words, deplorable.
It is ironic that Manon really is ‘property’ to her husband as well. I believe that is the thrust of the novel. There is a parallel story between her and her slave Sarah. Both desperately want freedom, but Manon cannot understand why Sarah won’t accept her position as slave. There is a certain scene between Manon and Sarah that I *did not* care for, but it illustrated Manon’s attitudes perfectly. She was enforcing her ‘ownership’ of Sarah just as her husband did.
I thought the story was leading up to a certain conclusion in the end, but it didn’t happen, and the book ends a bit abruptly. Though I wanted more, the book definitely is thought-provoking. It is a quick read — I read it in a single day, and I do recommend it if you’re interested in the time period or Orange Prize winners.
Valerie Martin is a native of New Orleans so I am also counting this for the Southern Reading Challenge.
A group of us are participating in Orange July, and I haven’t posted my intention to participate yet — after we’re almost halfway through the month! I have been reading winners and shortlist and longlist titles, which all qualify.
Books so far:
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2005 new writers’ shortlist)
This past week my family and I have been doing a lot of work on my house in Kentucky so we can put it up for sale again. Painting ceilings, shutters, and walls. Pressure washing the siding and deck. Trying to fit in time for family and old friends. Enjoying the pool and our backyard. We still have a lot to do, but it’s coming along.
I really haven’t had time at all for being on the internet, but not having access to it is VERY difficult! I’ve been going to the library to get caught up on emails, etc. I have also been listening to audio CDs so I’ve actually gotten quite a few books in as well. This past week I finished up The Optimist’s Daughter, Shanghai Girls, A Summons to Memphis, and Intuition. All but the first were audios. It feels good to get a couple of Pulitzers knocked out. Neither of them will make my ‘best of’ Pulitzer list, though. I really didn’t care that much for them, but they still have that ‘literary’ feel to them. I often wonder if books that are prize winners would have that ‘feel’ to them if they hadn’t won.
I really loved Shanghai Girls but the conclusion of the book was very open-ended. I don’t always have to have a story wrap up neatly for me to enjoy it, but this one seemed a bit abrupt. Intuition by Allegra Goodman really surprised me. I enjoyed this very science-oriented book immensely. It has quite a bit of scientific detail in it, but the characters are very well portrayed. I was struck by how well Goodman showed both their faults and their positive attributes so well. I will definitely be reading more of her work.
I have SO MANY reviews to write. Hopefully I’ll be able to get to those soon.
I felt that Father’s altogether human blindness could not be held against him. The dangerous ramifications that existed for his wife and children when he undertook to extricate himself from his embarrassing and humiliating situation in Nashville he could not have been expected to foresee.
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor won the Pulitzer Prize in 1987.
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. On the one hand it has a real ‘sense of place’ for the South; on the other hand, it can leave you wondering what all the fuss is about. Set in Tennessee, it is basically a story about how a domineering father and a move from Nashville to Memphis affected a family.
But again, I ask — why all the fuss? Why would a move leave everyone in the family so altered? What if they had moved to California instead of another southern city in the same state? What if they had had to move every year as some families do? What if they had had to endure much more painful occurrences such as divorce, death, sickness, or violence? So what if the father thwarted some of their plans? Move away. Act like a grown up and make your own decisions instead of acting like a child for the rest of your life.
Or perhaps that was Peter Taylor’s point. After living in the South for over 15 years, I’ve seen some maneuvering behind the pleasantries, some manipulation behind the politeness. No one saying what they really mean or feel. The exaggeration of small problems into a lifelong battle. Not being able to get away from family, on both the parents’ and the adult children’s side. This novel has all of the above. In that sense and in the descriptions of both cities, I do feel the book conveys a strong sense of the South, but some readers may be bored by the relatively small problems faced by the family in this book. In addition, there were quite a few instances in the story where Taylor seems to repeat himself and I found myself asking, ‘Didn’t he just say that?’ Very strange.
Recommended for those interested in Southern literature or Pulitzer winners.
"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." (John 6:27, ESV)
But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on the bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.
Winner of the 2003 Orange Prize, Property by Valerie Martin is an extremely readable story set in the South and is, obviously, about slavery and what it means to be free.
A group of us are participating in 
