The Joys of Reading and the Pains of Writing

I have two things I wanted to write about today. First, the books I ended up reading on our vacation to Kauai. 

Terry Pratchett Discworld books: I'm a very orderly person, so I started with Book 1. The prologue (not a huge fan of prologues) really seemed like a mess to me, and after reading a few pages I just couldn't get into it. SciFi can be a difficult genre. But then I decided to try book #2, which was a huge improvement. Then I got hooked, and have been gobbling up these very entertaining books. (Even went back to book #1! If he would just stop beginning his books with that darn turtle...) Great vacation reads. It helps to know that Pratchett is British--just in terms of getting the humor. 

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty-by Dan Ariely. Thought it was great, of course. It had some fascinating insights into religion and it's effects on honesty. 

Alexander McCall Smith: I took one of his books about a WWII orchestra. I like his books; however, I always feel like I'm reading something insightful, but by the end I can't remember exactly what insights I actually got. 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: -by Rachel Joyce. This book made me cry a few times. It was somehow not satisfying though. I can't quite put my finger on it. 

Come, Tell Me How You Live. -Agatha Christie. I really like Agatha Christie's novels-- they are great vacation reads--so it was fun to get to know her better through these humorous autobiographical sketches. It was also an interesting look at the Arab culture from the white British perspective. (Actually turned out not quite as racist as I was expecting.)    

Midnight Riot -by Ben Aaronovitch. This guy used to write for "Doctor Who," so expect something along those lines. I liked it, not as much as The Rook though, which has a similar setting.  

Cinder -by Marissa Meyer. This one disappointed. It was an okay vacation read, but not as awesome and original as I was hoping it would be. 

Which brings me to my next point: The Pains of Writing! I finally came up with a book idea which I like, so my strategy of starting to write even though I didn't have a great idea off the bat turned out to be a good one. Now that I have started writing this book, I feel very disinclined to criticize any book. I felt guilty just writing the criticism above about the books I read on vacation. Because you know what? At least these people wrote a book, and that deserves our admiration. I can't even write one book, (working on it though) so who am I to criticize? 

Anyway, I'm unsure as to if I should keep writing in my travel blog. I'd rather use that time for working on this book, and on this last trip it was kind of annoying having to remember to take pictures of things rather than just enjoy them. I'll think about it.  

 

"Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle"

When I'm not busy reading thrilling news stories about Kate Middleton's face on a jellybean, I like to pick up a Georgette Heyer novel. She writes smart, clean romances a la Jane Austin, set in the Regency Period. Yesterday Austin sent Sammy to get him some reading material for the bathroom, and she came back with "Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle." He started to read it, because really he had no other choice, and ended up "caught in a book." This is a phrase I use to describe what happens when you start reading a book and can't stop. You neglect your duties and ignore your significant others and stay up way too late to finish it. Austin stayed up until 3:30 when he most likely remembered that our children wake up at 6 a.m. and he was scheduled to leave for St. George in four hours. Poor guy. I know he wanted to finish the book last night--he'll probably be trying to read and drive at the same time.

I usually find Georgette Heyer books at thrift stores since many are old and out of print, but recently Harlequin has picked them up and started republishing them. I am grateful more people are starting to appreciate them--but let's be honest, the name Harlequin does give them a lurid air. Librarians have started moving them from the fiction section to the romance section in the library, which is kind of an embarassing section to be getting books from. Also, Harlequin has best-selling authors write forewords for Heyer's books, which consist of a recap of the whole book. Way to ruin the story! Don't read the forewords if you find newer editions of her books.

"The Grand Sophy" is still my favorite of her novels, but "Sylvester" is quite the hilarious read as well. If you get tired of reading about famous people's faces being found in weird places, brave the romance section and take a chance on Georgette Heyer.

Double Trouble: The Thrilling Saga Continues

Day 2: Sammy impresses by peeing 3 times in the toilet, with 0 accidents. The downside: she spends most of the day sitting on the potty with Mom (me) entertaining her. And she pooped right after she went to bed. The main reason I'm potty training is so I don't have to change gross adult-poop diapers from my 2 1/2 year old. The first day we were about ready to give up on Cousin Amari, but then she peed twice in the toilet on the morning of Day 2. Success! The day went downhill for her from there though, with 3 accidents and a newfound fear of pooping on the toilet.

This day reminds me of a journal entry from right after Sammy was born: "Being a mom means dealing with poop." I never thought that as an intelligent adult I would end up so involved in my child's bodily functions: cleaning up, planning for, talking about, etc. But the sad fact is, Sammy doesn't care about my English degree; she cares about how many books I read to her on the toilet.

"Parenting, Inc." by Pamela Paul

This is the book I'm in the middle of reading right now. The basic premise is that parenting has turned into an industry that is trying to sell us a lot of crap that we don't need and that we should just let our kids go back to playing with pots and pans. It's always nice to read a book that gives you a self-righteous glow of satisfaction that your own viewpoints have been validated.

I mean, it's really true that my kids don't need most of the stuff that's out there to buy. That laundry basket full of small toys that I gathered up from the living room this morning? I could throw all of them away and Sammy wouldn't even notice they were gone. And she has a lot less toys than some of her little friends. You know, maybe I could keep playing "Princess" with her in her favorite Sunday dress instead of buying (another) official Disney Princess dress. I could keep letting her play with her bucket and cup in the tub instead of buying her all those foam letters and numbers that have been on my Amazon wish list. I could keep checking out books from the library instead of buying her those great LeapFrog movies. But the average American kid gets 40 new toys a year. I don't want my child to fall behind! So I'm off to Target. Right after we watch this educational tv show that will teach her to love reading...