Thursday, June 30, 2011

Four Books at a Time

 I have to admit, I'm reading four books now.  It sounds crazy, but it isn't. 

I have a book that I'm reading to Nickie every other night when it's my turn to take him in to bed.  Mike and I have been reading to him at bedtime his whole life and he still loves it.  We don't want to stop and we don't like missing every other chapter either, so we each read our own books to him.  My husband has read most of the Narnia series and 'The Hobbit' to Nickie. Right now, he's reading 'Eragon'  by Christopher Paolini and as usual, I'm sad I'm not listening in. If I were there, I'd only be a distraction to sleep.  They both like 'Eragon.'  I am jealous of this author because he wrote the first draft of it when he was only fifteen.  This kind of jealousy is good for me.  I see I have work to do.  To the critics that say Paolini's work is derivative, I'd like to say that all work is derivative.  I know I'll read it when I get a chance.  Two recommendations in the family is good enough for me.

On my nights with Nick, I'm reading 'Magyk,' the first in the series of Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage. I like it well enough, but I don't like losing the perspective of the characters I really like as the story switches each chapter.  This does move the story forward and tells me information that a single character wouldn't know, but I don't like all of these people or seeing through their eyes.  There are bright spots, though, that keep it moving, like when Jenna realizes who she really is, the boggart in his mud, and Boy 412 as he begins to learn magyk.  So we're going on reading it. I also like how the story is evolving into a wizard version of WWII in which the witches and wizards are treated much like Jews were treated in 1940's Germany.

In my kitchen, I'm listening to 'Thereby Hangs a Tail' by Spencer Quinn.  I like this cheerful detective story because it's told from the perspective of a dog.  There are funny twists of language.  What the dog does with an idiom is hysterical.  Plus, I like that he has his doggy sense of being, aware of facial expressions, knowing a bad guy when he smells him, adoration for his man, and that distractedness around tennis balls, cats, and his favorite foods. I clean my kitchen while listening to audio books, and it is a tribute to this story that my kitchen is very nearly clean and I've seasoned my Dutch ovens and frying pans. I hate seasoning my cast iron, so you know this is a fun book.

I used to try to bring the kitchen book to the car to listen to while I ran my errands, but too often, I found that I'd forgotten to retrieve the current disk from the machine and was stuck with disks out of sequence. So I've been making my errands more fun by leaving a box of CDs in the car. Right now, I'm listening to 'Raven's Gate' by Anthony Horowitz. I've had trouble turning this story off, so Nick has gotten drawn into it despite the gory deaths, the summoned dogs and pterodactyls, and the teenaged fear of being trapped. I'm excited that this is the first book in a series and wish I had more errands to run tomorrow so that I could finish that last disk.

The only book I'm having trouble with is the one by my bedside. I'm reading 'Extra Lives' by Tom Bissell. He is really good at moving through a video game and telling what he's seeing and how it makes him feel. The problem I have with his book is not a problem, really. See, Mike has been asking me to read to him as he's trying to fall asleep. I've been reading to him from this book and, frankly, the language is beyond me. When I'm reading silently, it goes pretty well because I gather the meaning of those words through the context, but when I'm reading out loud, there are so many words I just can't pronounce. Even with someone who loves me and just might be asleep, this is embarrassing. I'm hanging in there, because I figure it's good for me to stretch. The book also discusses the shame that is laid upon people who love video games, the growth of the art form (yes, he argues that it is indeed an art), and best of all, he describes how a nonviolent man can enjoy engaging in such a seemingly violent outlet. Seeing as how I'm not really into video games but have two men in my household who are very interested, it makes sense for me to figure out this need. So, I would recommend this book to any mothers who battle with husbands about whether or not Billy should be allowed to play.

It should be confusing, reading all of these books at once, but it isn't. Occasionally, I back up a bit to see where I've been, but the story comes back to me. I figure that since I don't have much time to sit and watch television, I'm entitled to my vices, don't you think?

Thank you for listening, jb


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