Remember when you didn't have children, but you knew what every parent was doing wrong? Well, we all learned not to judge after we had our own.
I learned another lesson about judging this past week. Years ago when the first Harry Potter book came out, my mom read it and dismissed it as a "children's" book, and wouldn't read any of the series. I tried to convince her they were wonderful, but she had made up her mind.
I did the same thing this summer. When Tricia recommended Twilight, I bought it but I couldn't quite bring myself to read a book about teenaged vampire angst. It sat on the floor for a couple of months. Last week in San Bruno I decided to try it (because Eclipse had knocked Harry Potter off the top of the NYT best seller--ok, I am a snob, but I can repent). Unfortunately, my copy of the first was at home, and I certainly couldn't start with book 3. So Ed took me to Barnes and Noble, and I bought all three (and he never said, "Don't you already have this?" I love him.).
I read all three in 4 days! That's possible when you have nothing else to do. I have one fault when I read a book. After I have become invested in the story and committed to certain of the characters, I ALWAYS read the very last page (only!) to see if those names are still there. If not, I don't read the book--I am not going to waste energy on a bad end. So, I have to admit to the same thing with Eclipse. I was freaked out!! I had to put an emergency call into Lynn to find out if it was going to be okay. I didn't want to know the end, just that it would be okay. She wasn't home, but Eric assured me she had loved the book. She called soon to reassure me that I was going to love the book, too, but that the last page was from the Epilogue and had a different first person narrator. Thank you, Lynn, for understanding your crazy mother. And thank you, Tricia, for staying up on lots of books.
Jen and I talked on Friday, and I agree with her that it is hard to read another book after being so invested in a wonderful tale.
I have one for you, now. I just loaned it to Jen this weekend. The title is Molokai, and I cried a lot through this "based on historical fact" account of the leper colony in Hawaii. I am not a tearful person, but this story just grabs your heart and squeezes.
Thanks for sharing a few minutes with me. I am home alone today, and it feels wonderful to have my home and life to myself.
5 comments:
I HAVE A QUESTION......Did you read the last Harry Potter Novel? I did not,,,because I knew the author was going to kill everyone to make the end a finality
It is also possible to read all three in three days. It requires all but total neglect of all other responsibilities, letting the kids watch as many movies as they want and eating (slightly) late, sad dinners.
Thanks for the recommendation...would you recommend it for a book club?
We have Tricia to thank for a lot of good books! What would we do without her?
i'm just keeping a list until i can raise my head from the middle ages...but incidentally, The Dream of the Rood is great (and short, just a 7-8th cen. poem).
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