There are six more days left in my summer vacation. All you teachers out there know what I mean. Next Wednesday I go back to LeFlore High School, clean up my office, decorate the bulletin board of the Chorus Room, and scan the list of students signed up for my classes. I’m excited. Really.
But in those six days I’m going to clean my house one more time, wrap up a couple of projects I’ve been putting off, and finish up a book I checked out of the library. Makes me think of days of yore, when every Saturday I’d load up the basket of my bicycle (the big one I got for Christmas, way before banana seats and butterfly handlebars came into style) and pedal across town to the public library.
When I was really little, the library was located in the tallest building in Southaven, the Allodex (which I believe is now part of Northwest Community College). I remember the excitement of getting on the elevator in that huge building and my mom introducing me to the librarian (the assistant’s name was Debbie, and she often babysat me and my sisters while my parents went bowling). Then the library moved out to the basement of an auto parts store on Highway 51—dank, dark and kind of smelly. But the books were still there.
Not long after that, the library was given space in the property owned by the Jaycees. Don’t ask me what the Jaycees do, except house the library and the community swimming pool. The town’s water tower was located right behind the library; I remember riding my bike around it, sliding down a little dirt hill, and skidding into the parking lot, where we would leave our bikes and hope nobody from the apartment complex next door would steal it. Nowadays my mother would no more let one of us ride a bicycle two miles across all that traffic than she’d consider putting us up for auction—but back then it was pretty safe. And we really, really liked to read.
It used to be a sort of competition between me and Robin and Katie to see how many four leaf clovers (or whatever we were collecting at the time) we could have taped up on the library shelves with our names on them—one clover (or whatever) for each book you read. And then when you went back to school you would be required to write the obligatory book report on what you read over the summer. That was never a problem. I read everything written by Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Charles Dickens, Zane Grey, Georgette Heyer, and on and on. Book report? No problem. Just give me a pencil and piece of paper.
So here I am, some odd years later, getting ready to go back to school—this time as a teacher. Nobody’s making me write a book report, but I thought it would be fun to share what’s been going into my brain over the last two months. And you can share back with me, if you like.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: Honestly, I didn’t read the whole thing. Got a little over halfway through. I was intrigued from the beginning, thought the story concept was ingenious, the characters fun, loved the sly humor. Loved the chaste romance. The writing seemed to me by turns beautiful and lazy. Eventually I started thinking, if she tells me Edward is beautiful one more time I’m going to throw up. I can see why so many people love it. I just wasn’t particularly motivated to finish and go on with the series. This is neither a recommendation nor a pan. It is what it is.
Faith by Charles Colson: One of the most powerful, life-changing books I’ve read in a very long time. It’s a straightforward, well-illustrated, up-to-date apology for the gospel written by a brilliant man whose life demonstrates the power of God’s love and forgiveness. Can’t recommend it highly enough. Every Christian ought to read it.
A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson: Okay. This book was first published in 1981, and I can’t believe I’m just now finding it. It’s a romance set in England just after World War I, about a Russian countess who flees to England and finds employment as a maid in the house of an earl. There is absolutely no on-screen sex, which made it appealing to begin with, but it’s also very funny, with a dry, character-driven humor that made me laugh out loud again and again. And the characters themselves! I just wanted to take that kind-hearted, self-effacing, graceful, funny little heroine home with me, and the hero is just that—a true hero, in every sense of the word. They’re surrounded by quirky, one-of-a-kind secondaries who are all there for a purpose.
One of the most interesting aspects of this novel for me is that it is so life-affirming. I don’t know if Ms. Ibbotson intended it, but her consistent lampooning of the practice of eugenics (gene shaping, which in its harshest incarnation became Nazism) clearly illustrates the danger of putting the welfare of the strong above that of the weak. The point is made by showing the nasty villainess (who is a work of art in herself) treating imperfect secondary characters with less than humanity. A senile old woman whose penchant for tossing flower pots out of the window renders her “useless” and “dangerous.” A mentally handicapped young housemaid who is deemed “better off” in an institution, where she is mistreated and starved. A lame child whose defect disqualifies her from serving as a flower girl.
And this woman didn’t publish her first novel until she was fifty years old. There’s hope for us all.
Marrying the Captain by Carla Kelly: Ms. Kelly is still one of my favorite authors (One Good Turn rates on my top ten list), but she’s been including some on-screen sex scenes in her last couple of books for Harlequin. Unnecessary, in my opinion. And this particular story didn’t ring my bell, though her characters as usual are well-drawn, uber-real people. Go read her earlier works.
It by Craig Groeschel: I blogged about this book earlier. Funny, insightful book on church growth.
Crazy Love by Francis Chan: Another funny, gut-punching church growth and personal spiritual growth nonfiction title by the pastor of one of the fastest-growing churches in southern California. Highly recommended.
Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America by Dr. Joycelyn Elders and David Chanoff: You’re undoubtedly wondering if I’ve lost my mind. Wasn’t she the lady with foot-in-mouth disease who was drummed out of the Bill Clinton administration in disgrace, for suggesting we teach kindergarteners about condoms? Um, yes. But I have a young friend who claims Dr. Elders as her hero. And I looked her up and found little hard information except that which lampooned her from the Far Right. So, rather than arguing with my young friend from total ignorance, I decided to read her story in her own words.
Not finished yet, but I’ll have to say it’s a pretty fascinating tale, especially for a teacher who works in an all-black inner-city school. At this point I’d say Dr. Elders was unquestionably a brilliant scientist—you don’t get where she got by being the class dummy. But she was seriously screwed up as a sociologist and public policy maker. Mainly she was misinformed and naïve, not evil. Here’s a quote that stuck out to me:
The key to this [eliminating emergency hospitalizations for diabetics] was in the word “prevent.” All the resources you could put into prevention were repaid a thousand times over any way you wanted to figure it….[P]roblems tend to be systemic. They generally affect not just one isolated organ or function but a whole array of them…[and] diseases tend to be social….Finally, problems don’t just disappear because you think you’ve figured out a cure. Really taking care of the child means constant, long-term, determined action….I think it’s probably true that my politics developed along the vector of my profession (p 186).
This is a doctor misapplying scientific methods to treat social diseases. By following the trail to its natural conclusion, no wonder she wigged out.
If you’re still with me, you win the prize. Literally. I’m in the mood to give away a book. So everybody who leaves me a comment will be entered in a drawing for a copy of Crescent City Courtship. Check back on Friday to see if you’ve won.
I enjoyed reading about the Southaven of our childhood. I grew up there, too, and went to the library and the Jaycees pool there almost every day. You mentioned the Allodex building. Only old Southaven people like you and I would call it the Allodex…LOL. It was Northwest Community College Desoto Center for many years afterwards. I attended Northwest and took many classes in that building. Northwest moved to a new location some years ago, and now the Allodex is the Southaven City Hall. Thanks for taking me back to my childhood. 🙂
Hi, David, thanks for checking in. I knew I was dating myself….Ha! Southaven was a pretty nice place to grow up, wasn’t it?
I know what you mean about Ms. Ibbotson’s books! I discovered A Countess Below Stairs earlier this year and couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of her much sooner! I’m going to suggest that you read her book The Morning Gift too…I REALLY liked it as well. I haven’t read any of her other books yet but I’m sure they’re great and plant to get them soon!
Have a happy day!
-Renee
p.s. thanks for stopping by my blog, I really did enjoy Tour de Force and I hope to go pick up Controlling Interest soon!
I will definitely look for the other Ibbotson romances. The kids books look fun, too.
I really enjoyed your blog as well. Hope you’ll enjoy Controlling Interest!
i totally agree about throwing up about Edward being beautiful. I’ve read the first 3 books in the series, and while the story is ok, i just feel that it has potential to be unhealthy for teen girls with obsessive love for a guy that wants to kill you? that being said, i’m team jacob! lol
haha–I didn’t get far enough into the book to know much about Jacob. I may have to try it again!
thanks for giving us your book report. I always like to read what you authors like or don’t like. I would love a free book. Thanks for writing and sharing your work.
Janis
I’ll put your name in the hopper, Janis. Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you have a great year. The book by Charles Colson really looks interesting.
I’ll bring it so you can borrow it when we get together next. Hope you’re feeling better!
I agree about Edward. Jessie is absolutely Twighlighted. I’m probably too jealous of Ms. Meyer to be able to read the book objectively. She found “the next big thing” and wrote it right before it was the next big thing.
By the way, have you heard about the Christian vampire series? It was in the Sunday Sun Herald in a story about Christian lit gaining in popularity, specifically Amish romances.
Hugs,
Donna
I have read Eric Wilson’s vampire book, Field of Blood. It is VERY good! I’d like to read the others in the series on my next vacation.