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It was a wet and chilly day today, even though it warmed up to 10C!!! by this afternoon.  It didn’t feel quite that warm.  I was out with my friend for an afternoon coffee, and we walked a bit outside.  It was almost warm enough to just wear a sweater or light jacket in the sun (which didn’t put in an appearance) and out of the wind (which was persistent in its appearance!) I was glad for my shawl over the light down coat.  Jerry was not at all happy that I left him home with Don while I went out, and much less happy that I didn’t return home with treats. I’m pleased to see that Don is more active, and he’s eating more, so that makes me less tense.  I ordered Wendy’s chicken sandwich (for me) and chilli and chicken nuggets for Don.  My sandwich was lunch and dinner, so that’s good, right?  

My niece and I were having another conversation on books today; interestingly, I also got quite a bit of email from you guys on the same topic, so I thought I’d talk more about that today.  So, as a child, I read voraciously.  Still do, as much as I can!  My late aunt used to buy me a book every week as a treat.  I looked forward to Friday afternoons when she came home from work and presented me with my latest treasure (that I would, all too often, finish reading before bedtime that night.). Then someone pointed out that it wasn’t fair for me to be getting books while my siblings didn’t, so she rotated so that each week she would bring a book for one of the three of us (my youngest sister hadn’t been born yet.). My brother and sister didn’t enjoy reading — it was a “chore” for them.  It took me maybe 2 weeks before I figured out that I could read their books before they went to bed, and I’d be in the clear long before they looked for their books.  She passed away when my youngest sister was almost 4, so she never profited from the book a week program.  Then I learned about libraries, and it was a magical experience for me!  Unfortunately the nearest library required that I get driven there and back, and there weren’t enough interested chauffeurs in the family for a regular trip.  The thing I most liked about the end of the August vacation was all the new books for school that I could read before I had to analyze them for literature class.  I was always surprised at the selections for literature classes — some of the books were mind-numbing.  Some were really amazing.  There was one book, The Old Man and the Sea which I read twice when I was 14, but was able to write a decent essay about it when I was 16, after never opening it again.  I did the same with The Pearl, and I have no real memory of the story any longer.  But I voluntarily reread Miguel Street a few times, To Kill A Mockingbird and Things Fall Apart.  I read the literature books for my siblings as well, and for a couple of my friends.  That was a mixed experience, as there were some that I enjoyed a lot, and others that I didn’t.  It was an interesting experience reading Spanish poetry and French texts untranslated.  I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of Camus or Neruda… 

I’m always wondering what people do when they don’t read.  My brother is probably the first person I knew who didn’t enjoy reading, and as a boy, he would practice with nunchucks or occasionally with a skateboard.  I do remember him reading comics which (IMO) cancels his claim to not read!!  I think that kids should not be discouraged from reading comics, because anything that gets them reading and using their imagination is good!  I agree with CS Lewis that reading fairy tales at 50 is a good practice!  (I encourage you to look up the actual quote) Reading only news and facts leads to confusion as their contents soon become stale and outdated.  But fairy tales remain evergreen.  I’ll interject that sometimes the content can fall into disfavour (women being rescued by men; men randomly kissing women, etc.  We can have a discussion on consent and the impact on children, but not now.). This, though, is one of the reasons that I would like my niece to read Brothers Grimm and Hans Andersen in the original.  The stories are more serious, darker and have more depth than the Disney movies.  Similarly with Peter Pan — minus that creepy scene in the cartoon — it’s more touching and scary.  Anyway, this is a point that I’ve made a few times, that the original tales should be read to get a good sense of the writing and to understand the cultural environment of when they were written.  

I’ll freely admit that some of the classics that are recommended for students are challenging.  The stories might be brilliant, and reinterpreted multiple times, but sometimes the language is difficult (*cough* Shakespeare *cough*) But the classics provide a shortcut to understanding humanity.  I mean, simply referring to the golden rule brings to mind Matthew 7:12, without needing to be a biblical scholar, or even a Christian.  Or using the phrase, beware the ides of March is a quote from Shakespeare’s Julis Caesar— both are well-understood expressions that convey a wealth of meaning.  Great literature manages to be long-lived, and touches many lives, despite challenges of language (or overcoming boredom!). I encourage reading widely (as you might guess) and challenging myself with language.  (Although Chaucer’s original writing is too difficult for me, so I need a translation for it!  Shakespeare isn’t quite that bad yet). My niece did read a children’s collection of stories from Shakespeare a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it… until she tried reading the original Merchant of Venice and hit a wall fairly quickly.  Anyway, the key point is that we enjoy reading and it’s a shared activity that we don’t get to do together as often as we’d like.  OK, I’m diving back into my current book, and we’ll have other conversations next time, the Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise! (Look up the quote 😂). Good night!