I had a relaxing weekend at the Lake with family and friends. In between the boat rides, the swimming, the great food and the laughs, the talk was often about what we were reading, what we had read or what we would read if we didn’t have day jobs. When discussion turns to reading and books I’m generally in a good state of mind.
Ginger arrived Friday night with two magazines in hand. And what weekend at the Lake is complete without some magazines? A magazine worthy of a stay at the Lake will inspire lots of conversation and that’s just what the issue of People with Elin (Now Nordegren) Woods on the cover did. Ginger also had the latest issue of Rolling Stone with the stars of the vampire show on HBO on the cover. Why do all of the Rolling Stone covers have to feature naked people? This too generated some discussion and left me feeling a little old.
Jason spent a few good peaceful hours on the pontoon boat anchored at the dock reading Antsy Doesn’t Lie by Neal Schusterman. Having just completed a young adult literature class, (and receiving his Master’s in Library Science!) Jason is in a young adult literature immersion experience. Schusterman is hitting his stride with the teenaged crowd of late. I’ve yet to read one of his books.
Emily was reading Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks. This epic novel about the abolitionist John Brown earned Banks critical acclaim. I’ve read a few of Banks’ novels and enjoyed them immensely but Cloudsplitter is one of those dense tomes that take an enormous amount of time and energy so I doubt I’ll ever get it read.
Liz was reading What is What by Dave Eggers, a memoir in the form of a novel that is not about Eggers at all, but a young man who fled the upheavals in the Sudan and made his way to the United States. Liz had just finished Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by John Krakauer. This account of the death of Pat Tillman, the NFL football player who gave up his career to serve in the Military after 9/11 and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan has been on my list since its publication. Chances are I will read this book pretty soon since Liz left me her copy.
Mary Jane is making her way through The Twilight Saga and was currently reading Breaking Dawn. I feel like I should read these books just because they are so popular and I would like to be able to engage in the many discussions that pop up about them but I have never been attracted to the vampire literature. Neither had Mary Jane and is pretty much reading the books for the same reason. Lizzy was reading The Girl Who Played with Fire, the 2nd of the books in the Swedish trilogy, about the journalist and the computer hacker, that are currently taking this country by storm.
Oumar was reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I should add that he’s reading the book in French, which is his 2nd language. English is his 3rd language and I expect that soon enough he’ll be able to handle the Russian classics in English. Marcel was reading Bog Child by Irish novelist Siobhan Dowd, which takes place in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
And me? I’m reading way too many books at this time, something I don’t usually do. They are: One Day by David Nicholls, a book that spans 20 years, but is written in snapshots on the same day of each of those 20 years. It’s quite an interesting way to reveal a story. I’m also reading This Book is Overdue: how librarians and cybrarians can save us all, by Marilyn Johnson and Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro, the queen of the short story.
Who knew one week-end could generate such a list. But that’s what a week-end at the Lake will do for you.