As I’m typing this, Pippa is trying to jump into my lap – not noticing that there is already a laptop in my lap.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 So do forgive any typos.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll be purely cat-produced.<\/p>\n
The summer is going well.\u00c2\u00a0 Very well.\u00c2\u00a0 Predictably, I’m exhausted, but that’s really my own fault: if I were less of a perfectionist my life would be simpler.\u00c2\u00a0 But the summer really isn’t about me and how tired I am, it’s about how much fun the kids in town are having at the library, and how much they’re enjoying their summer reading.\u00c2\u00a0 There have been so many happy kids coming in to collect prizes, enter raffles, and grin when I tell them that surely they’ll earn a bookplate this year (you have to read at least thirty hours to earn a bookplate in a library book).\u00c2\u00a0 And lots and lots of happy kids and parents at library events.<\/p>\n
Last Thursday night we had another family movie night, with Happy Feet <\/em>as our feature presentation.\u00c2\u00a0 94 people were signed up (!), and 72 actually showed.\u00c2\u00a0 Incredible.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the whole movie, since the children’s room was unstaffed, and Roy was covering the movie staffing, but the bit that I stayed for was so much fun.\u00c2\u00a0 These movie nights are a true community event, with dozens of kids clustered on carpet squares on the floor at the front of the room (by request – the kids prefer the floor to the chairs) and parents sitting in sociable groups in the comfortable chairs at the back of the room.\u00c2\u00a0 No one\u00c2\u00a0stays truly quiet for these movies, which makes them a million times more\u00c2\u00a0enjoyable than watching a DVD with just a few people in your living room.\u00c2\u00a0 The kids roar in abundant group laughter at the sight gags, and the parents gossip quietly and enjoy each other’s company while they delight in the fun that their children are having.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Today was the July meeting of the teen book group, and our discussion centered on Monsoon Summer <\/em>by Mitali Perkins.\u00c2\u00a0 We had a really productive discussion, and decided as a group that there are parts of the book that we all really liked, namely the portrayal of Indian culture, but those bits are negatively counter-balanced by the weaker aspects of the book, including the predictable plot and the lack of careful editing.\u00c2\u00a0 The girls in the group noticed many instances where the book disagrees with itself,\u00c2\u00a0which made us all feel that the author didn’t take enough care to check her own work.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Personally, I feel that Mitali Perkins has an admirable goal in her writing – to address young readers who are “between cultures” – but that the goal does not a great book make.\u00c2\u00a0 On\u00c2\u00a0her website\u00c2\u00a0and in interviews she comes across as erudite and lucid, but I just didn’t really enjoy the actual book.\u00c2\u00a0 If I were to rank it on a scale of 1 to 5, I would give it a 3.\u00c2\u00a0 And I think the teen book group members would probably agree with that ranking.\u00c2\u00a0 For our next book, I chose one of my absolute favorite newish books, Elsewhere <\/em>by Gabrielle Zevin.\u00c2\u00a0 I hope the group loves it as much as I do, but if they don’t, I’ll be very interested to hear their opinions.<\/p>\n And that’s the news for now.\u00c2\u00a0 Poor Jim just arrived home and showed me his battle scars from a nasty bike spill that he took on his way home from work tonight.\u00c2\u00a0 Major wipe-out, major need for some TLC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As I’m typing this, Pippa is trying to jump into my lap – not noticing that there is already a laptop in my lap.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 So do forgive any typos.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll be purely cat-produced. The summer is going well.\u00c2\u00a0 Very well.\u00c2\u00a0 Predictably, I’m exhausted, but that’s really my own fault: if I were less of a … Continue reading Summer update<\/span>