A book is a literary compass that has the potential to direct our thoughts and actions:
"Everything we read stimulates our mind to think, and what we think determines what we desire, and desires are the seedbed of our actions. Given this iron law of human nature--from reading to thinking, to desiring, to acting--we are shaping our destiny by the ideas we choose to have enter our minds through print." - Fr. John Hardon, S.J.,
The Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan
Welcome to my own personal exploration of life through reading the great books of the world.
If you haven't been keeping up with That Catholic Show, then you've missed some great content. Greg and Jennifer Willits have a real online hit on their hands. That Catholic Show is perfect for new members of the Catholic Church, young members of the Catholic Church, or anyone wanting to increase their knowledge and faith.
I'm about a quarter of the way into Storm Front, book one of the Harry Dresden Files, and I wanted to answer a question posed by Maureen, who wants to know about its suitability for junior high/high school readers.
It didn't take long to get the answer to that question. Keep in mind that I believe in each parent deciding what their kids can read or watch, so don't take my comments as gospel truth on this. Here we go:
I'm really enjoying the book so far as a light, entertaining read. But I wouldn't be able to read this book to my eighth grade class because of some pretty graphic crime scene details that occur early in the book. It's graphic not only in its description of the state of the murder victims, but also in what the victims were doing when they died. In other words, if this book were made into a movie, this crime scene alone would give the movie an "R" rating.
That doesn't mean teens shouldn't read it. I think the story is just the kind of thing a teenager would enjoy. But a parent should probably read it first to see if their teen could handle it. I'm not going to give it to my seventh grade boy to read, and I'm not even sure if I would give to my freshman. I have to wait until I get finished with the book to know for sure.
Sometimes a book has a such a great message and is so deep that graphic violence or sexual content can be tolerated, if it's an integral part of the story. Storm Front doesn't strike me as that kind of book yet, but as I said earlier, I'm only a fourth of the way through it.
There's a bit of rough language, but so far nothing you wouldn't hear in a PG-13 movie, and the plot is engaging. Storm Front has been described as Philip Marlowe meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I think of it more as Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell meets The X-Files. And maybe that's a good comparison for its suitability for teens: if you let your teens watch The X-Files, you would probably be ok with them reading Storm Front.
I'll write more about Harry after I've finished the book.
My wife and I celebrated our seventeenth anniversary two nights ago by attending the Spokane Civic Theater's performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music. The show was fantastic--elaborate sets, wonderful singing--a real treat. There were even a couple of songs that we had never heard before. It was also very special to see one of my former students in the role of Louisa Von Trapp.
My wife loves The Sound of Music, so one Christmas I bought her the movie, the soundtrack and the original book. Now I see that there's a cd of music by the Original Trapp Family Singers available, as well as a book about the making of The Sound of Music. The Sound of Music is great family entertainment, and for Catholic families there's the added bonus of being able to use the movie to talk about our faith.
As much as I enjoyed the performance on Saturday, I was more excited by the news that the Spokane Civic Theater was going to be staging a performance of Man of La Mancha next year! If you're a regular reader of Literary Compass, you know how much I love Don Quixote, so this is great news for me. I've already put it on my calendar for May 2008. My wife and I are almost done listening to the audiobook of Don Quixote, and we plan to watch the film version of Man of La Manchawhen we finish, even though we've been told it's a subpar movie. I've never seen it and I'm curious.
Musical theater, The Sound of Music and Don Quixote: these are a few of my favorite things.
5 Great Books to Read Aloud at the Family Dinner Table
One of my favorite things to do is share stories with my family at the dinner table. A few years ago when I was reading Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series my boys asked me each night at dinner to tell them what had happened to Captain Aubrey and his friend Stephen Maturin. It gave me a chance to share the joys of reading with my sons, and it also encouraged me to keep reading.
Another great way to encourage reading in your kids is to read to them at the beginning of dinner. Reading to your family at dinner has several benefits:
Everyone has to be quiet while you read.
The stories give you something to talk about as a family.
You get the chance to model good reading skills.
You create family memories that last a lifetime.
Reading at the dinner table should be brief, for three reasons: (1) kids have short attention spans; (2) you need time to talk about what you've read; and (3) you need to eat.
Here are several titles that contain short readings that are perfect for reading aloud at the dinner table (Be sure to preview each story before reading it to your kids--some of these books contain stories that would launch the kind of discussion you may not be ready for, if you know what I mean):
The World's Shortest Stories - All the stories in this book are 55 words or less. The hard part is not giving in to the temptation to read more than one.
Two-Minute Mysteries - Fun little brain exercises for kids between the ages of 9 and 15.
3 Minutes or Less: Life Lessons from America's Greatest Writers - Reading aloud is not just for kids. Adults can read to each other, too. This book is more sophisticated than the others and may be more appealing to couples or empty-nesters; older teenagers may enjoy it too.
You can also read from your favorite saint book, Aesop's fables, or chapters from books like the Magic Treehouse series.
Stefanie at So Many Books has just posted a review of ROMAN Reading and it's generating some great comments about marking in books. Here's one by Whatladder that I particularly like:
My husband claims that his favourite book ever is the copy of the Norton Anthology of Poetry I gave him that had all my pencilled notes in it.
What a terrific reminder of the value of marking in books. Besides helping you engage in the text, writing in a book also leaves a visible sign of your presence. When Whatladder's husband reads her marked up book of poetry, he's not just coming into contact with great writers, he's getting to know his wife more intimately. She's there in those pages--her ideas, her reactions, her spirit. I think it's beautifully romantic that her husband has recognized that.
Can you imagine a more meaningful and personal family heirloom than a library of books full of our own thoughts, comments and insights? Think of our children and grandchildren reading through them, getting to know their ancestors. I would love to have a set of books written in by my grandparents. We only get to know our parents and grandparents when they're older; what if we could read their minds when they were our age? What if I could know what my own father thought about life when he was twenty or thirty or forty? Leaving comments in books gives us that chance.
Let's take it a step further: What if your grandmother wrote comments in her copy of Pride and Prejudice, for example. And what if your mother inherited it and added her comments to her mother's? And now the book is yours. Not only do you have a treasured physical possession, you also have something far more valuable: your mother's and grandmother's intimate thoughts and emotions captured for a brief moment on paper. But there's more: Now you have the chance to add your own reflections, insights and reactions to the book for your daughter to read.
Here's an idea: Buy a book with one of your children or grandchildren in mind and read it, marking it up as you go. You can direct the comments directly to them, or you can simply mark it up as you would any piece of literature. After you've finished the book, wrap it up and give it to them as a present. Save it for graduation, or their wedding, or a significant birthday. Maybe give it to them on their confirmation or bar mitzvah, or at a baby shower.
