Reading

So, I've been reading. A lot. It's been my favorite activity this summer, sitting by the pool, reading a book as my children play. I love that they are all now excellent swimmers. So much less stress.

Anywho, I started the summer with the biographies of Corrie ten Boom (mentioned in the last post), kept trying to read the two headier books listed at the right, and then read the memoir of a surgeon who started a hospital in Ethiopia to fix fistulas. The book is called, The Hospital by the River. It was a fascinating (and sometimes horrifying) book that both showed life in this troubled and impoverished country and explained in graphic detail the horrors of obstructed child birth in 3rd world countries. I don't want to go into detail explaining what a fistula is, lets just say it is not good, and this Catherine Hamlin is a saint. On the book jacket, they compared her to Mother Teresa, but I think M.T. is rather like the all-star of the faith whose jersey is retired. There is no comparison.

But this woman did a world of good, and as far as I know, continues to do much good for the people, and especially women of Ethiopia that she loves so much.

As inspiring as she is, Joel recommended that I stop reading such depressing books this summer. So, in search of lighter fair, I stumbled upon some ridiculous teen romance. Not quite the beloved "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," but fun none the less.

It's taken me back to my reading roots - young adult romance. I fell in love with stories when I was in first grade and Miss Carstensen read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to us. I ran home every day and told my mom every detail of the latest chapter. (The movies have never lived up to the magic in my 7 year old brain). Julie of the Wolves I read soon after and was the first book that made me cry. I'm still heartbroken by the horrific ending. And then Where the Red Fern Grows, which, I finished in my 7th grade homeroom class, made me cry - publicly. There is nothing sadder in literature than a dog dying. Seriously.

But, according to my teachers, I had good reading comprehension, but was a slow reader. I now realize that this is because I love the detail. I love picturing every color of the sun as it sets, every crinkle of the grandpa's brow, every whisper of the boyfriend's voice in her ear. I like to let it linger in my head, swirl around a bit and then move on with the story when I'm ready.

My mom on the other hand, was eager to make me a more efficient reader and therefore borrowed dozens of books from a friend's daughter. Every one of them had a picture of a teenage girl on the cover with a handsome teenage boy just behind her. The stories were all the the same- girl meets boy, sparks fly, something comes between them, they end up together in the end. To Kill a Mocking Bird, these were not, but I devoured every last one of them by summer's end and I was hooked. Few things get the blood pumping like teenage romance.

And so here I am, reading the likes of Sarah Dessen, whose characters are decidedly less picture perfect (one is abandoned by her mother, another nearly raped), but the formula is still the same - boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl pushes boy away due to her issues, then realizes the error of her ways and kisses him in the end. And I am hooked yet again. I've read three of these ridiculous books in the last two weeks and have two more on hold at the library.

I keep wondering if I should read something a little more literary, but it is summer after all, the perfect time for teen romance.


***Forgot to mention - I did read Water for Elephants as well - love it! 4 stars, two enthusiastic thumbs up. Can't wait for the Reese Witherspoon/Robert Pattinson movie to come out!