One of the bestselling preschool books of recent times was
Walter the Farting Dog. This year the
American Library Association named as one of its best books
Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, a book in which Mr. Rosen talks about his despair over the death of his son. I believe that, for most of us, what we want lies somewhere between a flatulent canine and overwhelming grief.
Similarly, a 2002 bestseller — widely touted as a “good book” — was
The Lovely Bones. This book was
awful, preying on our worst fears and lurid fascination with rape, murder, and revenge. In the same year, we heard about
Atonement, by Ian McEwan. Now, I am sure this is a great book. But if I, a dedicated and in-practice reader, can’t get through the first twenty pages, then what hope is there for everyone else? How do we find out about the books for
us?
We are smart people, but are too tired from our busy lives to tackle heavy books. We don’t want to read something that is depressing to prove it is “worthy literature”; we want to be entertained and enlightened. We want good suggestions for our children, but we don’t always want to go back to the “classics.” We just want to
read again, like we used to do.
Welcome. I hope I can help.
Who are you to write this?I am a mother of two girls, ages
six eight and
nine eleven. For
five seven years, I have had a part-time job as a children’s library assistant (a children’s librarian without the master’s degree or chance of promotion). In my job, I process the new children’s books, seeing all that our large public library gets. For adult books, I read a
lot, pulling my choices from
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,
The Washington Post’s “Book World,” library patron suggestions, and books I just happen to see.
What do you like to read?I gravitate toward books about real life, other cultures, and history. But I get ideas from
so many sources. I am
thrilled when I find a truly funny book. I don’t read much science fiction, mystery, or nonfiction — though I never write any of these categories off. If our sensibilities fit, I’ll have some good suggestions. If not, maybe the children’s books will resonate with you.
How do you find the time to read?Nobody
finds the time to read — they
make the time to read. I do have a couple of factors in my favor, though. One, I read very quickly. I’m not talking about “speed-reading,” though I can do that also. I just read faster than most people. I have been known to read so fast I make myself a little sick. Two, I have a high tolerance for undone housework. My house can be very messy. I am not proud of that; in fact, just the opposite. But if the kids have been fed, the kitchen is clean, and we have clothes to wear, I find it hard to do the tidying and cleaning up that eats into everyone’s time. I’d rather read. Sorry, Mom, but there it is. Three, I see new books all the time, so I can’t help but read them. I work with books in front of me. Like a kid in a candy store. How can I turn away?
Why would a man visit this blog?Many of the books I read are of interest to men
or women. But I’ll make you a deal: If the entry title starts with “Guys,” you have my assurance that it’ll be okay for men. (It will be our little secret.) If you’re a dad, you may want to read something else to your kid besides
Clifford the Big Red Dog... for the
eleventh time. (“Get it? He’s big! And he’s red!”) Since you’re going to spend this time with your child — and you
are, aren’t you? — you might as well have fun.
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal is an adaptation of his stage play of the same name. It’s a biography more of his family than of the actor himself. He talks about growing up in the Bronx, and about losing his father. And I say talks rather than writes because you can almost hear his voice as you read this book. There’s lots of humor, but it’s not all funny — I mean, the man lost his father. Overall, an enjoyable and quick read.
Skip this entry if you like George W. Bush. Are they gone? Okay, here’s a book that says everything you liberal left-leaners wanted to say about the state of our nation now, but just weren’t clever enough to. After all, you’re no Kurt Vonnegut. In A Man Without a Country, you’ll read everything you thought and some things you didn’t come up with yet, but so cleverly written you’ll want to turn back to the beginning of the book and read it all over again.
Welcome back. Now, my husband and I disagree about Harry Frankfort’s book On Bullshit. He thinks it is an intriguing philosophical discussion about what bullshit really entails. I think that the book is itself an exercise in bullshit, thus validating its own existence. At 80 pages long, you can join the discussion and say to your friends, “I just finished this book in line at the DMV.”
Now, Steve Martin may be a wild and crazy guy, but you wouldn’t know it reading Shopgirl. Almost nothing happens in this story, which is what makes it interesting to me. In real life you don’t meet someone because you’re driving a bus that will explode if it goes below 55 mph, and there’s this guy, and he’s really cute, and he happens to be helping you survive and save the lives of all of the other passengers. No, you meet someone, maybe it works out, maybe not. This could be called a chick book, but I won’t categorize it that way for two reasons. One, Steve Martin wrote it, and he is a man. Two, at 130 pages, you men will get incredible insight into women at a minimal reading investment. Case in point: Where the older man explains to the young girl that he is not looking for a relationship, but she interprets his statements in her own way. Explains a lot for me.
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