A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle (Canon book group)

I first read this book back in 1978 or9, when I’d received it for Christmas. When our Canon book group chose this for our December read (because who wants to read something too complicated during such a busy month?), I came to find that my original copy could not be found. There’s a slim chance that there’s a box of unpacked books hiding somewhere, but I knew I couldn’t count on that. So, I picked up a copy from my local library and took a few hours to read it.

I know that most people treat this as a purely science fiction work, but I found many elements of fantasy throughout: the 3 entities who come across very witch-like, Meg’s coming-of-age choice at the end, the “waking” of Meg’s father, and so on. Of course, the scientific and religious elements were very important, but it was the “fairy tale” that stood out for me (and don’t forget the romance between Meg and Calvin).

I’m pretty certain I didn’t pick up on this when I first read Wrinkle, but L’Engle certainly referenced quite a few notable authors within the story; I can’t help but wonder if she was purposefully introducing these to young readers before the current education system ruined Einstein, Shakespeare and Euclid for them. I do wish that the slang weren’t so outdated.

Noteworthy quotes:

“There hasn’t been anybody, anybody, in the world I could talk to. Sure, I could function on the same level as everybody else, I can hold myself down, but it isn’t me.”

“The only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly.”

“... we can’t take credit for our talents. It’s how we use them that counts.”

“There will no longer be so many pleasant things to look at if responsible people do not do something about the unpleasant ones.”

“You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.”

[finished 12/16/07]

I Feel Bad About My Neck, Nora Ephron (audio)

Ephron touches on several topics in this collection of essays: physical and mental aging, housing in New York, death, gourmet cooking, and JFK are a few. Her brand of humor is of the depressive sort, and some of the topics probably don’t garner much empathy from less-privleged[sp?] For example, she has to have her roots and highlights dome every 4 weeks? Oy, cry me a river, says I, who hasn’t had scissors nor hair color touch my locks for over 2 years now. These essays show a descriptive slice of life of the moderately rich-and-famous, so it’s perfect for those who like their celebrities intellectual.

As this was an audio “read,” I wasn’t able to jot down any worthy or especially funny quotes. Maybe when I’m old enough to better appreciate her angst, I’ll find a hard copy and give it a re-read. I suppose this book would also be good for those who can read it and feel grateful for not being in Ephron’s stage of life.

[finished 12/11/07]

2007 Reading, 2008 goals-in-development

Well, I’d been shooting for 100, and I’d even had them all planned out on the calendar, but holiday preparations cut seriously into reading time. Here's the last 5:

67. Tears of the Giraffe (audio)
68. Cry of the Kalahari
69. Lion in the Valley (audio)
70. How to Eat Like a Hot Chick
71. Orlando (audio)


Total for the year: 71
7 Fantasy/Horror
17 Mystery
26 non-fiction
10 general fiction
1 science fiction
9 classics

The goal for this year is to read at least 50 books, which might be a hard one to manage given that I will be giving birth in August (again), and may have to resort to the slow reading time of audio books for a while.

I haven’t decided which challenges I’m going to try for this year, but I think I’d better go easy, and make them ones I can either finish quickly, or ones that are spread out over the year. Of course, 10-12 books of my overall reading will be for my book group.

Making a monthly schedule has really helped, with reading and with catch-up reviewing. Having this new baby will mean that I will be losing my office for a while (until we can buy/build another one), and many of my books will be in storage. Part of my organizing task will be to pack what I know I won't get to, and to figure out which I absolutely have to keep in the house (mostly reference material).

I won’t count books that are carrying over from 2007, nor rereads (unless it has been so long that I barely remember anything about the book—like from high school days).

I’ve started Murder on a Bad Hair Day, by Anne George, and might even finish it tonight.

#34--Bad Dog, by R.D. Rosen, et al

I found this at a garage sale last month, and hadn’t really planned to read it anytime soon, but last night, I had an itch that couldn’t be relieved with anything that I should be reading.

“278 outspoken, indecent, and overdressed dogs” grace these pages, and several of them made me laugh out loud. Some are in store-bought/ready-made costumes, others in adapted human-wear, and others are simply “in” whatever they got into (like toothpaste). Each dog’s hobby is also included; none of them seem to match their costume, and include:

admiring rock gardens
barking in tongues
designing rubber toys
Motown historian
belly dancing
scrimshaw

From the back cover:
“Mans best friend? Think again. Behind those loving eyes and wagging tail lurks a very different dog. A dog with a dark side. A bad dog.
Here, in all their glory, are hundreds of bad dogs, with bad tempers and bad breath.
Smart-asses, stoners, thugs, cranks, lechers, hellions… makes you wonder what your pet’s really burying in the backyard.”