Last weekend's doings, bookish and otherwise

Todd and I saw Les Miserables live for the first time last Friday. It was wonderful performance, amazing singing, staging, etc. It would have been a magical night, except for our seats. We were high up on the extreme right and the conductor had a light that turned upward. I think the purpose of the light was to make his arms visible on the TV monitor that the actors use. But where we were, it glared in our eyes for the entire performance, flashing as the conductor waved his arms, resulting in a disco-ball effect. We finally figured out how to hunker down in our seats enough to reduce the blinding glare (which was harder for Todd because he's tall), but then of course we had to bob and weave our heads around the heads of the people in front of us in order to see what was going on. Can I just say, Javert's suicide scene Blew.Me.Away. That scene was so amazingly clever. And now I really want to read the book.

Todd's mom came from Nashville to watch the girls for our night on the town. She came bearing the gift of books for the girls: the most coveted 7th Ivy and Bean book, and some Magic Treehouse books that my girls have just started getting in to. The girls had a blast with their Gammy. She also brought bubbles and a huge plethora of bubble wands. And even 8 year old Olivia, who is starting to express scorn for "baby" activities (as she calls them), cheerfully abandoned her jaded attitude for the magic of bubble play.

On Saturday we got up planning to go to the Airshow in Millington, TN. But after inching along three tenths of a mile in one hour (I'm not kidding) toward the exit, with another 3 miles to go to the airbase, we abandoned the idea and went to lunch followed by book store browsing at Hastings (where they sell new and new-to-you books), which resulted in the following very inexpensive and thrilling purchases:

• A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. I borrowed this from the library the first time I read it. I really liked this fictional account of the life of an immigrant Polish girl who becomes a coal miner's wife in 1896. I love Bartoletti's work. She writes very compelling, thoroughly researched non-fiction and historical fiction (and some picture books, too). It's hard to believe I only discovered her books this year.
• Mistwood by Leah Cypess. I read this book for the first time last September and really liked it. (See here for my brief synopsis.) I'm sending this copy to my mom.
• Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet. This one sounds fascinating to me. I was just introduced to his work through Cloud Tea Monkeys, so I'm eager to read this YA novel about a WWII Resistance fighter in Holland.
• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I read this book before it won the John Newbery Medal, and was very happy when I heard it won. So well-written, gripping, and mind-spinning, and features a protagonist who LOVES one of my favorite-ist books ever: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. (One might say that the entire concept of the book is a loving homage to A Wrinkle in Time.)
• Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers. The first book in the Theodosia series. I've been wanting to read this series for a while. I like books that feature clever girls solving problems. One of the things I lamented while I was growing up was the lack of adventure stories featuring girls. I'm glad to see that there are authors rectifying that now. I'm hoping Olivia will get interested in this book.
• The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (An Enola Holmes Mystery) by Nancy Springer. Another fascinating sounding series featuring a clever girl, the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes. This book is actually number 4 in the series. No, I don't have any of the others. But I couldn't pass up such a good price. I'll have to get the others from the library.
• A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. A new-to-me author. But I've heard good things around the web about this book.

Sunday morning, we got up early and drove to the Airshow, with no traffic problems. We spent the day walking through the aircraft static displays, before hunkering down to watch the aerial displays and eat lunch. The girls did amazingly well. I was sure the day would be full of groans and complaining, but they were troopers. We found a great spot on the grass to watch the airshow. Whenever they got tired of sitting, either Todd or I would go walking with them for about 10 minutes, and then they'd happily settle down to an hour more of watching the flying stunts. The highlight of the day came at 1530 (3:30 pm), when the Blue Angels flew. Then home, supper, playing and bedtime.
After that full day, bedtime was a cinch. In fact, they asked to go to bed. Glory, glory halleluiah!

A Book Lover's Survey: Caution, Strong Passions Ahead!

Rachel Held Evans featured four intriguing questions on a blog post that I'm going to steal for my own post (Thanks, Rachel!), because as soon as I read them, I could immediately answer the questions. That doesn't happen to me very often.


Can you name...

1. A book you threw across the room in anger?
2. A book in which you underlined nearly every sentence?
3. A book you were surprised to love?
4. A book you're looking forward to reading?

1. A book I threw across the room in anger:
 On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo

Not only did I throw this book across the room several times during the reading of it, when I was finished I threw it in the trash. I have only done that (the throwing and the throwing away) once in my life: with this book.

This book was recommended to me by another mother when my first daughter, Olivia, was a couple months old. I'd never heard of the book or the man before. I read the book, my mouth dropping open more and more in horror and disbelief.

I cannot say anything good about this vile book. It is the worst parenting book I have ever come across. And dangerous to the psychological and physical safety of children. Ezzo presents pseudo-scientific "facts" all throughout his book, (e.g. there is no such thing as a mother's intuition; wearing your baby in a sling puts you on a social scale with animals; don't demand-feed your newborn, make her know who's boss and stick strictly to a feeding schedule; infants should bend around your schedule not you around theirs; from the time they're born you babies and children should learn that your husband is your TOP priority, and your time together takes precedence over them, etc.) that fly in the face of commonsense and recommendations by the AAP. If you are a breastfeeding mother, and follow Ezzo's advice and schedule for feeding your baby, I guarantee you will very quickly lose your milk supply, and your baby will always be hungry. But the worst thing is his completely callous, completely detached parenting style he pushes. His attitude toward babies and young children is appalling. Following his advice could be dangerous, and could lead to a baby who suffers Attachment Disorder, resulting from emotional neglect.
The overall impression I got from reading this book -and yes, I read the vile thing all the way through- is that this man hates children and hates women. I can't believe this man has a following...well, yes I can, because he advocates parental selfishness, which obviously is very appealing to certain people. (If you don't want to take on the care of helpless little beings that depend on you for their every need, DON'T HAVE CHILDREN!!! 'Cause once you have them, it's not all about you anymore.)
Awful, awful book.

*Robert Bucknam's name is apparently just on there to throw his M.D. weight behind the claptrap that Ezzo espouses, giving the book "credibility." And shame on him for doing so.

2. A book in which I underlined nearly every sentence:

 A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle

First written in 1971, this book is the first of L'Engle's Crosswicks Journals (there are four). I read it the first time as a Junior at university. (On my own, not as a class required reading.) I am not an underliner of books, but I did take copious notes in my journal as I read it. In the pages of this book, L'Engle ponders deeply on many subjects: art, writing, good and evil, spirituality, the whole creative process, one's sense of self, etc. I loved the way she worded her thoughts. And it resonated with that youthful me in many ways. By turns sure and questioning, the philosophical and religious self-examination was appealing to the young woman trying-to-find-her-way-in-life that I was then. It made me think of my concept of "self" in a new way, something my philosophy classes had not succeeded in doing.

I have since left religion and religious belief behind me, and don't know if I'd feel the same way about this book today as I once did. But once upon a time it touched me deeply enough to overcome my scruples and write in the book.

3. A book I was surprised to love:
 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

I read this for the first time when I was 17 years old, at my mom's suggestion. It didn't sound like it would appeal to me at all AND it was freaking LONG, so I only started reading it out of respect for my mom, telling myself that I could stop if it was too boring. But I very quickly got swallowed up in the story of Edmond Dantes, a young man in love who is betrayed by his best friend and sent to the Chateau d'If, an impregnable island prison, for treason. Years later, he finally manages a daring escape and returns to France after amassing a fortune and travelling abroad, to meticulously exact his revenge on the man who was once his best friend and everyone responsible for sending him to prison.

I haven't read this book since then, and I need to, just to see if I'll feel the same way about it.


4. A book I can't wait to read:

Oh my, how do I choose? For right now, I'll say all the ones from my recent library trip. 
I also have an Excel spreadsheet with over 400 entries and growing everyday, of books waiting to be read.