It Truly Saddens Me to Say This

I was watching ABC World News tonight and they aired a 15 second news blurb that truly saddened me. The Associated Press-Ipsos recently conducted a survey regarding the reading habits of adults and found that 27% of those surveyed had not read a book in the last year.

That's right, 1 in 4 respondents reported they had not read a book in the previous 12 months - NOT A ONE!!!

Now I realize this also means that 73% are reading at least one book a year, but it still just blows my mind that so many adults aren't reading books. Do they know what they're missing? Because they are missing so much.

The publishing industry did report a small (less than 1 percent) jump in the number of books sold from last year totalling 3.1 billion books. That's a lot of books, but I just wish those were spread over a larger number of people.

There is some good news to report. The survey also found that Democrats and those who classified themselves as liberals reported reading "slightly more books" than Republicans and conservatives ;)

Shadowtails, Ferishers & Graylings - Oh My!

I finished a wonderful book today. Really. I may become a fantasy genre reader yet.

It's called, "Summerland," and it's written by Michael Chabon. (He won a Pulitzer for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which I have not read, but I did read Wonder Boys quite a few years back and enjoyed that.) Once again, I found myself in the realm of "Children's Literature," and again found myself so presently surprised to have enjoyed it as much as I did.

I mean, Harry Potter certainly has gotten me on a a series of new paths in reading. First of all, I never thought I would enjoy children's literature so much as an adult. I love the imagination of it all. The characters who are so often untouched by the grizzled old hands of "real life" and their ability to have hope against all odds because they haven't been disappointed as many times as we adults.

And then there's the science fiction/fantasy genre itself. I mean, I NEVER as a child read this kind of stuff. I never read The Chronicles of Narnia and I found myself bored to sleep, literally, by "The Hobbit," and there were a few books my dad had suggested to me (he's a big Sci-Fi guy) which I read, but have long forgotten having made no real impression on me. But this - this is GOOD stuff.

I love Chabon's use of language when he uses words we know, but gives them a twist - scampering to mean moving between worlds or quite possible my favorite two words in the book: careful abandon. I also love the names of the characters and the words he simply makes up - ferishers, graylings, skrikers, Cinquefoil, Cutbelly, Skidbladnire, Applelawn, Spider-Rose . . . I could go on for days.

Then there is the story itself. One filled with all kinds of Native American folklore, a central baseball theme (that you don't have to be a player to enjoy, but if you are or ever were it will tug at your heartstrings and you will truly be able to smell that fresh cut outfield grass once again), a story about loss, about growing up but not so much that one forgets to be a child, it's about hope and imagination, good versus evil and most of all it's about Believing.

I highly recommend this book. I got off to a slow start with it, but once I read a few chapters in I found it hard to put down night after night. It's not so much a page turner as it is an adventure that involves characters I really grew to care about. I wanted to see where each new day was taking them. I would suggest it to anyone in the "tween" to early teen set as well.

So now I get to do my second favorite thing after reading a book. I'm going to pass it on to someone else. It was passed to me after two of my friends read it and enjoyed it and now I will be passing it onto another who I'm quite sure will enjoy it as well. (He reads my blog from time to time so I didn't want to give too much away :)

Sharing a book is one of the great things we get to do in this life. It's one of those things that separates us from other animals. And while I like writing little reviews in order to spark the interest of others, there's nothing like receiving/giving a physical copy of a book as it travels among friends.

Good night, all, and happy reading.

D.E.A.R.

Today is national Drop Everything and Read Day (D.E.A.R.).

(Now personally, I don't need an excuse to pick up a book, but it's always nice to have one :)

D.E.A.R. officially began in 2006 and is a national celebration to remind people, especially children and families, to take time out each day to read. D.E.A.R. is celebrated on April 12th to honor one of the best children's authors around - Beverly Cleary - on her birthday. (If you don't know who Ramona Quimby is, get thee to the library immediately.)

Apparently there are activities planned in schools, libraries and bookstores across the country, but the most important thing for you to do is take some time out of your busy day, find a quiet place and read for at least 30 minutes. (If you have children, read an extra book at bed time or make reading a special activity in the afternoon; have your children read to you, etc.) And then make reading part of your daily life.

It could be that I'm just getting old and grumpy, but sometimes I feel like books are losing out to things like the internet and video game systems; there's just so much visual stimulation out there kids don't get to use their imaginations very much anymore. Yet, it's the imagination that makes everything possible.

And reading a book is the greatest way to stimulate those brain cells (not to mention spark your curiosity, improve your vocabulary, teach you about other people and cultures, whisk you away to foreign lands, create such vivid colors and pictures in your mind's eye that no artist has ever been able to capture before . . .

I guess what I'm trying to say is - Drop Everything and Read today!!!

Overwhelmed and Yet . . .

I've been (once again) trying to catch up on my magazine reading - mostly political in nature - and I've been trying to keep up with the many email lists I am subscribed to - again mostly political in nature - and I've become, well, disenchanted.

I used to think that by "getting involved" I could make a difference, have an impact, help move along real change. And while I still believe that I'm getting frustrated with the enormity of the situation. That is, I try to stay on top of so many issues, and the mere fact that there are SO many issues to keep up with, that I'm overwhelmed by all that needs to be done.

It's like when I was a kid and my mother would tell me to clean up my room. Usually she didn't bother making me clean it up until it was a disaster area, so when I went into my room I would suddenly be struck with a terrible feeling of dread, of hopelessness. How would I ever be able to clean this WHOLE room all by myself? It just wasn't possible! And so, usually, for the first 20 minutes (or maybe it was an hour - Time has no meaning for a child) I would simply fall onto the floor and cry.

Well, that's kind of where I'm at right now. I just want to fall on the floor and cry because I just don't see where I fit in. I don't see where I can help because the need is so great and I don't know where to start. I want to do it all and yet, right now, I'm really doing very little.

It's like my booklist. I have this list of books that no matter how many books I read off of it the list never seems to get shorter. Well, sometimes I get really excited about a book or two that I've found and I add it to the list of "to read" but I feel like I can't wait and I toy with the idea of reading several books at once. But I know that I can't do that because I'd be short-changing myself by trying to keep up with the plots or arguments of several books at once. I'd get confused, then frustrated and wouldn't enjoy any of them. Instead, I finish reading my current selection and then move onto the next title. I don't find myself wishing for fewer great books to read, just more time to devote to reading them.

So I think the answer is to go local and to pick something or someone I want to give some of my time to. And then, I think maybe it's time for me to figure out what one or two "causes" I really and truly care about, the ones I feel most passionate about and think I will have the most impact on - those are the one or two things I should focus on. While I don't want to become ignorant with regard to all things political - there is after all a VERY IMPORTANT election coming up in 2008 - I think I need to take a step back and stop getting so worked up over it.

Yes, I think that's the answer, at least for now. Going local. Going small. More is not always better. While my intentions are honorable, they are ineffectual because I they have no focus and I feel scattered, as if I know a little about a lot of things and not a lot about anything.

So I'm going to go read now. I'm reading an amazing novel, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, about a very scary future that isn't really that far-fetched. Kind of Orwell, 1984-esque but in a different world, a world where women have become nothing but vessels for procreation or beings well-suited for domestic work. It's a frightening and intriguing tale and I'm going to go back to it.

Because while I've been going a bit crazy doing so many other things, I haven't been reading enough - I haven't been doing what I want to do enough.

Day Twenty One: Nothing Like a Good Book

A couple of my avid reader friends recently reread Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and I was so intrigued by their reactions that I picked it up the other day myself. Now, I hadn't read the book since my freshman year in high school some 15 years or so ago. I remembered it being a science fiction novel where in the future firmen don't put out fires, they set fire to books. Seemed pretty simple back then, and yet when I started to read it again at the age of 31 it was so much more.

I won't go too much into it except to say that it's one of those books that frightens you if you're willing to open up your eyes to our current reality. Bradbury discusses the problems of immediate gratification, human isolation in return for techonolgical advances, the always in a hurry, not enough hours in the day attitude of modern society and of course, the dangers of book burning. I was literally shocked by Bradbury's ability to predict the future - although we are not yet paying fire fighters to burn books, the themes of this book cannot be denied in their existence in 2006 - while writing the novel in 1953. It's a dark and scary tale and one that makes you think about things you might not want to or simply haven't devoted the time to thinking about. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a powerful, thought provoking tale that will also be a quick read, but will leave your mind reeling for days after you put the book down.

Then last night when I was at the movies I saw a preview for a movie based on a novel I read when I was probably in the fifth or sixth grade. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a dramatic tale filled with strong emotions like the power of friendship, as well as the power of the imagination. It's the story of the relationship between a young girl and a young boy and their adventures together when they venture into the forest to escape the realities of their own lives. Suffice it to say it's a great read, one that had tremendous impact on me so much so that when I saw the opening scenes of the trailer last night for the movie I knew immediately what the title of the movie would be.

Which got me thinking about some of the books I remember from my childhood. So in honor of reading, for which I am VERY grateful for, I would like to give you a list of my 10 favorite (at least the top ten tonight) books from adolescence:

• 1. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - for reasons already mentioned above. You won't be disappointed if you pick this one up. It will really bring you back to the innocence and wonder of your preteen years.



• 2. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell - My fourth grade teacher was the one to introduce me to this classic when she read a chapter a day to us during English class. The writing was melodious and I felt like I was in a trance while I listened to each and every word. I read it again myself the following year and enjoyed the story of Karana even more. Basically, it's the story of a young girl who lives out the premise of "Survivor" without all of the silly competitions and the Hollywood/celebrity crap.



• 3. Fade by Robert Cormier - I think this one was a summer reading list book and I would have never picked it up otherwise. It's a science fiction tale about an adolescent boy who finds out that he can make himself invisible, but then has to deal with the things he sees when no one knows he is there. Truly a story about growing up and facing what we don't want to.



• 4. A Separate Peace by John Knowles - Another coming of age story where a young man must find his own way at a prep school for boys. Gene meets up with Phineas and the two bond very quickly, but their relationship is volatile and changes the quiet New England landscape of the school forever.



• 5. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier - Another summer reading book and another classic by Cormier. This is a great book about going against the grain, standing up for what you believe in and about facing the consequences of doing so. The main character, Jerry Renault, refuses to take part in the annual school fundraiser and sets into motion complete chaos. To some he is a hero and to others he is the object of great hatred. This book can be summed up by a poster Jerry hangs in his locker, "Do I dare to disturb the universe?"



• 6. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - A classic and there are probably very few who haven't heard about the journey of Holden Caufield. I have read this book several times and when I read it as a teenager it really taps into the feelings of alienation and confusion that many teens experience. Holden is such a cynical character and yet you can't help rooting for him.



• 7. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin - This is a true story based on the experiences of a white man who chemically colored his skin in order to live the life of an African American in the South in 1959. This book was illuminating and opened up my eyes to a whole world I had never known about before. I was in the 11th grade when I read this book and it truly changed the way I looked at the world including the very hallways of my own high school.



• 8. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley - While this was not assigned reading for me in high school I believe I picked it up after reading "Black Like Me." I knew nothing about Malcolm X before reading this book and after finishing it I was in awe and had great respect for the life he lived. Truly an amazing book.



• 9. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - I think I talk enough about my love for the Thoreau and Emerson, but this is a great introduction to the philosophies of the transcendentalists. Also an 11th grade read. The highlight with this one was taking a field trip to the Concord River in the spring to go on a canoe trip. I felt like I might see Thoreau or Emerson walking by the water around any bend. It was magic.



• 10. Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson - See number 9, but insert Emerson where Thoreau appears :)

So I guess what I've realized in writing this is that not only am I grateful for books, but grateful to my teachers and the public schools I attended because without them I may have missed quite a few of these gems.

I'd love to know what books had the greatest impact on you during your adolescence. It's such a strange and wonderful time . . . and without books so much would have been missing from it.