I sometimes fail miserably at popular culture. When B was little, he would be frustrated when I would confuse Batman and Spidey, the four indistinguishable (to me) Turtles with the PowerRangers. There were always clues as to who were the bad guys, but I couldn't have told you that Spidey's arch-nemesis was the Green Goblin or that the SandMan was not part of the Fantastic
But, I did like watching cartoons on TV and learned not to ask the "stupid" questions regarding who was who. In the end, it didn't matter what their names were or what the genesis of their mutant power was. Let's face it: cartoons do not well-developed plots. They have stereotypical characters. Is it any wonder that some of the superheros and their villains seem interchangeable? The outcomes are predictable. The message is always that the good, while challenged by evil, will triumph in the end. That is what we expect.
B and I went to see Spider-Man 3 over the weekend. I'd heard some buzz: that the most expensive movie ever made was a disappointment, great with special effects, but weak on plot. I wouldn't have gone on my own, but B suggested it. We sat on the second tier of seats, but still way too close to the screen. I started immediately to ask questions: who is that character? How was Uncle Ben killed? A few teenage glares quickly quashed the questions.
The movie was a little long. The special effects were amazing (although seeing people in peril of falling out of a NY skyscrapper was too realistic, even though I knew Spidey would come to the rescue). It's easy to see why this is one of the most expensive movies ever made -- there are special effects in almost every scene. The dialog? A bit forced. The plot? Thin and predictable. The characters? Stereotypes. The acting is not going to win awards, although Topher Grace and JK Simmons do a good job with acting over-the-top, emphasizing the one-dimensional comic book natures of their characters. There are a few laughs along the way. In short, what you would expect from a cartoon. What I liked about the movie though was that the message was not as simple as "Good triumphs over Evil", although, of course, that is what happens.
Spidey's dark side takes over during the movie, with the help of an alien substance, in true comic-book plotting. He is arrogant, self-centered, angry, vengeful. These traits hurt those he loves, and ultimately, himself. Of course, since this is SpiderMan, he realizes the problem before it consumes him and he sets out to make things right. Just as in real life, this isn't easy and his initial attempts are rebuked by those he has hurt.
But, in the end, there is a strong message about forgiveness. Spidey forgives, and so do the others in the movie. Those that do not, hardened by their hurts, are destroyed by their inability to forgive and accept forgiveness.
The plot is thin. There are scenes that don't make much sense. Some of the humor falls flat, but it's a comic book movie: you don't expect the plot to be elaborate and complex. Fans may not expect -- or like -- to see their favorite superhero battling his "dark" side, especially if that dark side is portrayed more as an unlikely alien possession rather than an obsession.
Yet, there is a truthfulness to SpiderMan 3. There is a dichotomy in everyone: we all are capable of doing good or doing bad things. Everyone struggles, to varying degrees, with the darker side of our beings -- anger, jealousy, self-absorption, hatred, revenge. And these undesirable traits can possess us if we choose to let them, or we can choose to set things right, not let them overtake our lives, and forgive those, especially those most difficult to forgive, for the hurts they have caused us.
A comic-book message? Yes. Good does triumph over Evil, in Spidey's world, and it can in ours too.
09 May 2007
02 May 2007
Choosy Books
JenClair and Danielle both asked recently how one chooses books: book store recommendations? newspaper reviews? blogs? friends? book groups? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Add in an occasional rummage sale, an impulse buy at a non-book store like the grocery, and, what is the least logical, somewhat difficult to define, but most fulfilling means: book serendipity.
Yes, I think books choose me as frequently as I choose them -- and maybe even more often. And when that happens, it truly seems like a happenstance; a rare lucky break, pure coincidence. Sometimes a book almost jumps off the shelf and into my hands. It may be its location in the store or library that catches my eye. It might be an intriguing cover, or great notes on the dust jacket. An unusual title might pique my interest. Sometimes it is on the remainders table, a fancy generic label slapped on the front to indicate the deeply discounted price. I have frequently picked up books by authors I have never heard of (some of whom I will never hear of again) simply because the book was discounted; in return I have been rewarded many times over with the discovery of an unknown bounty comprised of real literary gems.
Mix the books from all of the sources together and it's easy to see why I have so many books "in progress", or on my nightstand, or flowing off the shelves of my bookcases.
Yes, I think books choose me as frequently as I choose them -- and maybe even more often. And when that happens, it truly seems like a happenstance; a rare lucky break, pure coincidence. Sometimes a book almost jumps off the shelf and into my hands. It may be its location in the store or library that catches my eye. It might be an intriguing cover, or great notes on the dust jacket. An unusual title might pique my interest. Sometimes it is on the remainders table, a fancy generic label slapped on the front to indicate the deeply discounted price. I have frequently picked up books by authors I have never heard of (some of whom I will never hear of again) simply because the book was discounted; in return I have been rewarded many times over with the discovery of an unknown bounty comprised of real literary gems.
Mix the books from all of the sources together and it's easy to see why I have so many books "in progress", or on my nightstand, or flowing off the shelves of my bookcases.
01 May 2007
It's May!
I love May. Here is a picture taken in May a few years ago, in Monet's Garden at Giverney. 
Have a lovely May Day!
Have a lovely May Day!
29 April 2007
Batter a paradox
A few weeks ago, I came across a quote from John Donne, and had to look up the source. In doing so, I took the time to read through The Holy Sonnets, a collection of 17 sonnets Donne wrote in his later life, after the death of his beloved wife. Of these 17, I had previously only been familiar with two of them: Sonnet X, Death, be not proud and Sonnet XIV, Batter my heart, three-person'd God.
Holy Sonnet XIV is a poem that vexes me. And, yet, it is a poem that I love. It is fitting to have these contrary reactions to Holy Sonnet 14, given that the poem's beauty and truthfulness lies in understanding the paradoxes in Donne's sonnet.
The images of violence in this poem are overwhelming. The speaker asks his loving God to set aside his gentle, healing ways ("for you/As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend;) replacing them with force. The speaker compares himself to a town in battle that will lose to the enemy; the speaker traitorously abandoning his threshold despite reason. (Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,/But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.) Lastly, Donne compares the speaker to an unfaithful bride, loving God, but betrothed to his enemy. (Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,) To be released from this agony, the speaker asks God to batter him, imprison him as his only salvation. And this is where the poem gets really tricky, or perhaps even icky: the speaker asks to be ravished -- the Elizabethan word meaning rape -- in order to be purified, to be defiled in order to be made chaste.
To my modern sensibilities, this conceit is wrong. A God of love and mercy should not be compared with acts of violence, especially rape, a violent act of power and control. To suggest it seems not just inappropriate, but sacrilegious. It is so contrary to what I hold as true, that it is jarring, shocking, even revolting.
And yet...maybe that is exactly Donne's point. By using such brutal and shocking metaphors he makes the point that the easier way is that of the world -- the earthly, and the carnal. In our imperfections we choose things of this world, rather than those of a heavenly one in the guise of freedom. I believe that the spiritual path is one to be found here, not only in some dreamy, cloud like conceit of a heavenly afterlife, but it is only found by abandoning the trappings of this world that likewise enslave us. The speaker in Donne's poem knows which master he should serve, but begs to be bullied into servitude to the more difficult path. As Bob Dylan once penned, (in what had to be one of his worst songwriting phases), "...It may be the devil or it may be the Lord/But you're gonna have to serve somebody".
And so, I love Donne's poem for the form, the meter, the lyrical way the words play in my head and on my ear, (go read the poem aloud, immersing yourself in its language) and even for its ultimate meaning, but the explicitly violent images distress me. My feelings a paradox, just like Donne's poem.
I prefer the prayer/poem of Rabi'ah al-Adawiyya (an 8th century woman from Basra, Persia) which presents the same paradox. While her images are not of battery, rape and sexual torture, they are no less frightning:
Holy Sonnet XIV is a poem that vexes me. And, yet, it is a poem that I love. It is fitting to have these contrary reactions to Holy Sonnet 14, given that the poem's beauty and truthfulness lies in understanding the paradoxes in Donne's sonnet.
Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
The images of violence in this poem are overwhelming. The speaker asks his loving God to set aside his gentle, healing ways ("for you/As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend;) replacing them with force. The speaker compares himself to a town in battle that will lose to the enemy; the speaker traitorously abandoning his threshold despite reason. (Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,/But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.) Lastly, Donne compares the speaker to an unfaithful bride, loving God, but betrothed to his enemy. (Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,) To be released from this agony, the speaker asks God to batter him, imprison him as his only salvation. And this is where the poem gets really tricky, or perhaps even icky: the speaker asks to be ravished -- the Elizabethan word meaning rape -- in order to be purified, to be defiled in order to be made chaste.
To my modern sensibilities, this conceit is wrong. A God of love and mercy should not be compared with acts of violence, especially rape, a violent act of power and control. To suggest it seems not just inappropriate, but sacrilegious. It is so contrary to what I hold as true, that it is jarring, shocking, even revolting.
And yet...maybe that is exactly Donne's point. By using such brutal and shocking metaphors he makes the point that the easier way is that of the world -- the earthly, and the carnal. In our imperfections we choose things of this world, rather than those of a heavenly one in the guise of freedom. I believe that the spiritual path is one to be found here, not only in some dreamy, cloud like conceit of a heavenly afterlife, but it is only found by abandoning the trappings of this world that likewise enslave us. The speaker in Donne's poem knows which master he should serve, but begs to be bullied into servitude to the more difficult path. As Bob Dylan once penned, (in what had to be one of his worst songwriting phases), "...It may be the devil or it may be the Lord/But you're gonna have to serve somebody".
And so, I love Donne's poem for the form, the meter, the lyrical way the words play in my head and on my ear, (go read the poem aloud, immersing yourself in its language) and even for its ultimate meaning, but the explicitly violent images distress me. My feelings a paradox, just like Donne's poem.
I prefer the prayer/poem of Rabi'ah al-Adawiyya (an 8th century woman from Basra, Persia) which presents the same paradox. While her images are not of battery, rape and sexual torture, they are no less frightning:
Oh God, If I worship Thee for fear of Hell,
Burn me in Hell.
If I worship Thee for in hopes of Paradise,
Exclude me from it.
But, if I worship Thee for Thy own sake,
Do not keep Thy Everlasting Beauty from me.
25 April 2007
A few things I've been reading
I was thinking about all of the books I've started this year but have yet to finish. Boy, is it a list! No wonder I haven't finished many books; I've started so many.
Related to food: 2 books on wine received during the holidays: Jay McInerney's A Hedonist in the Cellar, and Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Italian Wine, Julia Child's memoir My Life in France and Julie Powell's Julie and Julia. Received a review copy of Patricia Wells' latest, Vegetables at the Center of the Plate. It's the only food-related book I've finished this year. It isn't a vegetarian cookbook, but a vegetable cookbook, with recipes using fresh veggies and herbs. Some of the dishes are scant on vegetables, but it is a nice collection of recipes that are surprising both in taste profile and ease of preparation. Many of the recipes include snippets of folklore, suggestions for wine pairings, or French cooking idioms, which makes it a interesting cookbook to peruse.
Essays: I've started a few collections so far this year. I like reading essays, but I rarely read an entire book at one time. Rather, I like dipping in, reading an essay here and there, especially with collections authored by various writers. Even if there is a central theme, I find it best to read different essays separately, allowing each to stand on it's own. The Best American Spiritual Writings 2006 (edited by P. Zaleski), and The Best American Essays 2006 (edited by Lauren Slater) are two volumes I've been reading recently. I've also been perusing a book titled Spiritual Men: Story, Soul and Substance, by Brian Doyle, that I originally picked up because I was intrigued by a book that contained essays about Van Morrison and William Blake. A fourth book of essays that I've started is Bookmark Now: Writing in the Age of Information Overload, edited by Kevin Smokler. The dust jacket claims that this book is Smokler's reaction to NEA's "Reading at Risk" report that claimed that literary reading was dropping among all age groups. To briefly quote Smokler: "The sky is not caving in on American Literature. Instead, it is opening above us, and in that unknown lie infinite possibilities". I've only read the introduction, so I can't make a judgement of whether this collection lives up to the dust jacket hype, but it looks promising. If that wasn't enough, waiting for me to begin next, after I complete or tire of these collections is Ayun Halliday's No Touch Monkey, a collection of travel writing that looks hilarious.
Novels: One of my book groups read Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon a few months ago. I started the book but didn't have time to finish it before the group met. I had read this book when I was in Jr. High and had seen the movie. Re-reading this, I was intrigued by how skillfully Keyes adapted the first person narration to match the increasing, and subsequently decreasing mental ability of Charlie. I'm not in a hurry to return to this, but I would like to finish it since I started it. Another book I've started, but then set aside is Russel Banks' The Sweet Hereafter. I bought this book at a bargain sale about 3 years ago and it has sat on the bookcase shelf since then. I don't know what possessed me a few weeks ago to pull this off the shelf well after midnight. I had difficulty putting it down but at 2am, I knew I had to stop and get some sleep. Besides, I didn't think I could take any more sadness that evening. One thing that struck me is, like Flowers for Algernon this book handles changes in first person narration very well, with each chapter told from another character's viewpoint. Last month this group read Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, a collection of short stories by Alice Munro. I really like Munro's stories. Sitting on the bookshelf is an issue of the VQR from last year that focused on Munro. I'd like to read that too. And, since I was the only one in my book group that liked Munro, one of the participants gave me a copy of Lives of Girls and Women, Munro's only novel. Before I start that, I should start reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter. It is the May selection for my reading group and I'd like to have it finished by the time we meet in a few weeks.
Non-fiction: I've started reading Bait and Switched, by Barbara Ehrenreich. I was to post on this at the beginning of April when Emily did (and (Un)RelaxedDad). I've been remiss in doing so. I did see Ehrenreich at a panel discussion at CUNY a few weeks ago. She wasn't talking about this book specifically, although she did talk about issues of fair and equitable pay. I picked up a copy of her latest book, Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy, Maybe I'll post more about this soon. I have three review copies to finish: Crazy 8, by Cait Murphy, about the 1908 baseball season, 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania (the longest title in this list I think!), by Matthew Chapman, and Louis Theroux's The Call of the Weird.
Non-fiction/theological/spiritual theme:I just finished NT Wright's Evil and the Justice of God, a book that I both enjoyed reading and detested parts of. Wright is very readable and is adept at distilling complex theological arguments into readable prose; yet sometimes he throws out ideas without fully supporting his argument. This drives me crazy, even when I agree with him. For example, in this book he criticizes the US response to the 9/11 attacks as being premature and immature. In the aftermath of our flawed policies in the Middle East, it is too easy -- especially for a European -- to blame the US and the Bush administration; but Wright doesn't offer an alternative for what should have been done. Likewise, I think his discussion of the concept of "natural evil" is weak in this book. As someone who thinks that this particular theological concept is unfounded, superstitious, and bizarre, I would like to read a good theological explanation of it. Maybe I just don't get it, but I don't see scientific phenomena like earthquakes and hurricanes as being evil. Wright mentions it, but didn't define or defend it adequately for me.
I'm also in the middle of reading Michael Mayne's The Enduring Melody. I haven't read very far in this book, but in reading the journal entries from when Mayne was first diagnosed with cancer, I was struck by his courage in facing such horrible and painful circumstances. It's especially difficult reading knowing the Mayne died shortly after the book was published. I'm sure I'll post more about this book after I finish it.
Last fall, I read Francis Collins' book The Language of God and I re-read it in January for a discussion group. Based on that discussion, I promised an acquaintance I would read Dawkins The God Delusion. I plan to write about both of these books when I finish Dawkins. What I will say now is that after reading Collins (head of the Genome Project) and having heard him lecture, I think that he is fair, balanced, and respectful in his criticism of those with whom he disagrees. He approaches the discussion of science and faith (which he sees as complimentary, not contradictory) as a scientist, particularly when it comes to debunking errant ideas that try to pass as science (e.g., Intelligent Design). My opinion of Dawkins is not as positive. I haven't read The God Delusion yet, but in reading excerpts and interviews he seems to have an almost zealous, religious fervor in his approach to disproving that there is a god. Such zealotry is something that I don't like -- whether it is a believer in God, or a believer in atheism. Nevertheless, I will try to keep an open mind in reading his book.
I think the above lists 24 books, of which I have only finished 3, 4 I haven't yet started. And I haven't mentioned the several books I'm been reading (both completed and in process) about Africa, particulary about extreme poverty and the AIDS epidemic, and efforts to achieve the UN Millenium Development Goals -- a topic that I have been immersed in for the last 3 months since reading Jeffry Sach's The End of Poverty. I will post on these separately. If you don't know about the MDG's, read this from the UN or the Make Poverty History website or the One Campaign website. I'm not an American Idol fan (in fact, I've never seen the show), but I understand that they are focusing on the issue of Extreme Poverty on the shows this week, and that Bono will make an appeal on the show tomorrow. But, do not think that this is a celebrity fad; this is the clarion call to action for those of us in a position to do something.
I think I have plenty to keep me busy for awhile.
Related to food: 2 books on wine received during the holidays: Jay McInerney's A Hedonist in the Cellar, and Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Italian Wine, Julia Child's memoir My Life in France and Julie Powell's Julie and Julia. Received a review copy of Patricia Wells' latest, Vegetables at the Center of the Plate. It's the only food-related book I've finished this year. It isn't a vegetarian cookbook, but a vegetable cookbook, with recipes using fresh veggies and herbs. Some of the dishes are scant on vegetables, but it is a nice collection of recipes that are surprising both in taste profile and ease of preparation. Many of the recipes include snippets of folklore, suggestions for wine pairings, or French cooking idioms, which makes it a interesting cookbook to peruse.
Essays: I've started a few collections so far this year. I like reading essays, but I rarely read an entire book at one time. Rather, I like dipping in, reading an essay here and there, especially with collections authored by various writers. Even if there is a central theme, I find it best to read different essays separately, allowing each to stand on it's own. The Best American Spiritual Writings 2006 (edited by P. Zaleski), and The Best American Essays 2006 (edited by Lauren Slater) are two volumes I've been reading recently. I've also been perusing a book titled Spiritual Men: Story, Soul and Substance, by Brian Doyle, that I originally picked up because I was intrigued by a book that contained essays about Van Morrison and William Blake. A fourth book of essays that I've started is Bookmark Now: Writing in the Age of Information Overload, edited by Kevin Smokler. The dust jacket claims that this book is Smokler's reaction to NEA's "Reading at Risk" report that claimed that literary reading was dropping among all age groups. To briefly quote Smokler: "The sky is not caving in on American Literature. Instead, it is opening above us, and in that unknown lie infinite possibilities". I've only read the introduction, so I can't make a judgement of whether this collection lives up to the dust jacket hype, but it looks promising. If that wasn't enough, waiting for me to begin next, after I complete or tire of these collections is Ayun Halliday's No Touch Monkey, a collection of travel writing that looks hilarious.
Novels: One of my book groups read Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon a few months ago. I started the book but didn't have time to finish it before the group met. I had read this book when I was in Jr. High and had seen the movie. Re-reading this, I was intrigued by how skillfully Keyes adapted the first person narration to match the increasing, and subsequently decreasing mental ability of Charlie. I'm not in a hurry to return to this, but I would like to finish it since I started it. Another book I've started, but then set aside is Russel Banks' The Sweet Hereafter. I bought this book at a bargain sale about 3 years ago and it has sat on the bookcase shelf since then. I don't know what possessed me a few weeks ago to pull this off the shelf well after midnight. I had difficulty putting it down but at 2am, I knew I had to stop and get some sleep. Besides, I didn't think I could take any more sadness that evening. One thing that struck me is, like Flowers for Algernon this book handles changes in first person narration very well, with each chapter told from another character's viewpoint. Last month this group read Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, a collection of short stories by Alice Munro. I really like Munro's stories. Sitting on the bookshelf is an issue of the VQR from last year that focused on Munro. I'd like to read that too. And, since I was the only one in my book group that liked Munro, one of the participants gave me a copy of Lives of Girls and Women, Munro's only novel. Before I start that, I should start reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter. It is the May selection for my reading group and I'd like to have it finished by the time we meet in a few weeks.
Non-fiction: I've started reading Bait and Switched, by Barbara Ehrenreich. I was to post on this at the beginning of April when Emily did (and (Un)RelaxedDad). I've been remiss in doing so. I did see Ehrenreich at a panel discussion at CUNY a few weeks ago. She wasn't talking about this book specifically, although she did talk about issues of fair and equitable pay. I picked up a copy of her latest book, Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy, Maybe I'll post more about this soon. I have three review copies to finish: Crazy 8, by Cait Murphy, about the 1908 baseball season, 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania (the longest title in this list I think!), by Matthew Chapman, and Louis Theroux's The Call of the Weird.
Non-fiction/theological/spiritual theme:I just finished NT Wright's Evil and the Justice of God, a book that I both enjoyed reading and detested parts of. Wright is very readable and is adept at distilling complex theological arguments into readable prose; yet sometimes he throws out ideas without fully supporting his argument. This drives me crazy, even when I agree with him. For example, in this book he criticizes the US response to the 9/11 attacks as being premature and immature. In the aftermath of our flawed policies in the Middle East, it is too easy -- especially for a European -- to blame the US and the Bush administration; but Wright doesn't offer an alternative for what should have been done. Likewise, I think his discussion of the concept of "natural evil" is weak in this book. As someone who thinks that this particular theological concept is unfounded, superstitious, and bizarre, I would like to read a good theological explanation of it. Maybe I just don't get it, but I don't see scientific phenomena like earthquakes and hurricanes as being evil. Wright mentions it, but didn't define or defend it adequately for me.
I'm also in the middle of reading Michael Mayne's The Enduring Melody. I haven't read very far in this book, but in reading the journal entries from when Mayne was first diagnosed with cancer, I was struck by his courage in facing such horrible and painful circumstances. It's especially difficult reading knowing the Mayne died shortly after the book was published. I'm sure I'll post more about this book after I finish it.
Last fall, I read Francis Collins' book The Language of God and I re-read it in January for a discussion group. Based on that discussion, I promised an acquaintance I would read Dawkins The God Delusion. I plan to write about both of these books when I finish Dawkins. What I will say now is that after reading Collins (head of the Genome Project) and having heard him lecture, I think that he is fair, balanced, and respectful in his criticism of those with whom he disagrees. He approaches the discussion of science and faith (which he sees as complimentary, not contradictory) as a scientist, particularly when it comes to debunking errant ideas that try to pass as science (e.g., Intelligent Design). My opinion of Dawkins is not as positive. I haven't read The God Delusion yet, but in reading excerpts and interviews he seems to have an almost zealous, religious fervor in his approach to disproving that there is a god. Such zealotry is something that I don't like -- whether it is a believer in God, or a believer in atheism. Nevertheless, I will try to keep an open mind in reading his book.
I think the above lists 24 books, of which I have only finished 3, 4 I haven't yet started. And I haven't mentioned the several books I'm been reading (both completed and in process) about Africa, particulary about extreme poverty and the AIDS epidemic, and efforts to achieve the UN Millenium Development Goals -- a topic that I have been immersed in for the last 3 months since reading Jeffry Sach's The End of Poverty. I will post on these separately. If you don't know about the MDG's, read this from the UN or the Make Poverty History website or the One Campaign website. I'm not an American Idol fan (in fact, I've never seen the show), but I understand that they are focusing on the issue of Extreme Poverty on the shows this week, and that Bono will make an appeal on the show tomorrow. But, do not think that this is a celebrity fad; this is the clarion call to action for those of us in a position to do something.
I think I have plenty to keep me busy for awhile.
21 April 2007
What books would you give?
I want to donate books to a project that is aiming to provide every child in a local elementary school with 2 books at the end of the school year. Children's books are not my area of expertise, so I need your suggestions. If you were to buy two books for a child, Pre-K to Grade 6, what two books would you buy? Leave your suggestions in the comments and please indicate grade and/or reading level.
I challenge you to find a way to do something like this in your own community. How cool would it be to receive books for summer reading, especially if you live in a home where reading isn't a common activity or where books are an expense that can't fit into the family budget.
Thanks for your suggestions.
I challenge you to find a way to do something like this in your own community. How cool would it be to receive books for summer reading, especially if you live in a home where reading isn't a common activity or where books are an expense that can't fit into the family budget.
Thanks for your suggestions.
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