Current Reads

In our neck of the woods the schools are out for fall break but autumn seems to be anything but taking a break. The more resilient leaves are still shimmering red and orange while underneath their former friends roll out a carpet of gold. It’s inspiring how fall never gets old even though it occurs every year. It must be magic.

After a very concentrated week of writing I’m taking a break with my kids to focus on what’s important: namely family and books.

Greed is a heinous offense but in my mind does not apply to books. I always leave the library with more books than I’ll ever find time for but I like to have options of reading material based on my mood. Here is my current reading list:

1. The Stolen Lake by Joan Aiken. The fourth installment of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase series. I love to read but I think I love to reread books even more. If it’s a good book, it’s always a good book. Dido Twite, one of my favorite characters, is too irresistibly funny and original to not regularly revisit. Plus, she goes on the most wild adventures.

2. The Gunning of America by Pamela Haag. In the aftermath of the tragic Las Vegas shooting I came across an interview where Haag, the author and historian, shared a fresh and non-partisan take on the gun culture of America. Her book presents a new perspective: the history of the gun business in the US. The business of gun manufacturing and distributing has been a far more important and seriously overlooked factor needed in the important conversation of gun control. We Americans should do our homework so we can thoughtfully contribute to the critical debate about our rights and safety in regards to the Second Amendment. Fascinating read so far.

3. Pierre by Maurice Sendak. My children giggled the entire way through this short book. A rather contrary boy, Pierre says "I don't care!" to everyone, including a hungry lion. I don't think I'll spoil the book by sharing the lesson is simply to "care!'

4. The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids by the Brothers Grimm. You can never go wrong with the Brothers Grimm. The tone is dark and intense as fairytales often are. I was momentarily worried the swift use of death would scare my children but I underestimated them. They seemed to gather the urgency in important decision making concerning right and wrong. When it comes to those sort of choices, it is a matter of life and death (spiritually and mortally). These real world consequences shuffled in a magical setting taught me kids much more effectively than a soft, sugar coated lecture could do. My kids even seemed to appreciate the lack of dumbing down in the story. I guess that's why fairytales have lasted so long.

5. The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria. This lovely children's book is intended to show children how the blind experience the world with their other senses. The book provoked an excellent conversation with my kids about getting outside ourselves to experience life through someone else's eyes, or in this case, hands and ears. A great way to teach empathy.

6. This New York Times article by Marilynne Robinson. An excellent read for writers. My favorite quote from it:

"There’s nothing more interesting than language and the problem of trying to bend it to your will, which you can never quite do. You can only find what it contains, which is always a surprise."

7. Book of Mosiah, Book of Mormon. I read scriptures daily, usually on my phone. Right now I'm reading the book of Mosiah in the Mormon scriptures, the Book of Mormon. It just so happens to be one of my favorite scriptures. I am constantly needing to be reminded how aware God is of me. So much so that He is lending me breath from "moment to moment". You can read it here.

What are you reading? I'd love to hear.

Happy Reading!

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