This week is one of my favorite weeks at George's school. We love the Book Fair, and I have humbly chaired this event for the last five years or so, and I have been volunteering for this event for seven years. I just love it!
As a sidebar, George's school library got a complete makeover this past summer, and everyone is soooo excited about it!
George shopped each and every day, but he is an avid reader so we don't mind making an investment in books. He was visited by Skip's parents for Thanksgiving lunch, and he showed them the book fair as well. They were kind enough to sponsor a book for his personal library, and he can't wait to read all of his new books!
Since we are now one month away from school starting, the duo decided to begin their summer reading assignment ("I am Malala). Things are starting to get serious around here, and we are definitely not ready read to give up our long, lazy days.
A well-known fact about George is that he rightfully considers himself to be as smart and hardworking as Lauren and Grace. Also, he wants to be their peer... so whatever work they are doing, he wants to do as well. George started reading Harry Potter at the end of first grade, right as Lauren was wrapping up the last book. George quickly read through the first, second and third books. Then he started tackling the next three books, of approximately 500-800 pages each. Finally, he arrived at the last book, and he was so serious about getting through it. Getting to the 2500th page of the Harry Potter series is a momentous occasion, and we encouraged him to sit in a comfy spot, enjoy the conclusion, and then heave a big sign of relief.
George was super excited for Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Week. On Hat Day, George had a school field trip to the symphony, but sported his support of the Tide with his hat.
Cat in the Hat Day: Wear your own hat!
Fox in Socks Day: Wear crazy socks!
Crazy socks!
Wacky Wednesday
Dress as your favorite character
I am not going to get up today! Pajama Day
George loved celebrating reading this week, and we are never too old to celebrate Dr. Seuss.
We have spent the last several years celebrating Read Across America and Dr. Seuss's birthday by reading books, dressing up and just generally having fun while also celebrating the gift of books and encouraging reading.
This year at George's school we have a new principal. She's great, and she has brought a lot of new fun things with her (50th day of school, dressing up for spirit week and Global Play Day -- all AWESOME things), but Read Across America did not make it on the calendar. We have missed this terribly. For big readers like us, it has felt like skipping Christmas.
In honor of Read Across America and to motivate me to bring the celebration in house, at the family level, here's a look at Read Across America Past:
Hat Day
Hat Day + Pic day for George
Dressing up as his favorite character
Dr. Seuss colors
Cat in the Hat
Winning an award for most Dr. Seuss books read
Hat Day
Crazy sock day
Hooray for Diffendoofer - school spirit
Wacky Wednesday + Pic Day
The Lorax
We are celebrating by reading, and I may or may not be creating a Dr. Seuss-themed Pinterest board for snacks.
Enjoy a good book this week, and remember... you're never too old for Dr. Seuss.
Updated on 03-01-19: Read Across America week is back (albeit late) by popular demand. Stay tuned!
We had such a fun week at George's school this week. Book Fair is one of my favorite events at school... after all, I am the Book Fair Chairperson. I look forward to helping to organize the book fair each year, love seeing everyone's excitement about reading, and even take some pride into talking shoppers out of "toys" and other junk and into books. This year a girl came up to my register with $20 worth of trinkets along with a diary and a stationery set. I very kindly asked her to consider purchasing a couple of books (and one junk item with her change), and she was so happy and proud when she returned later in the week and told how much she loved the book she was reading.
Our personal rule is books first. You can bet the trio have come home with some toys over the years, but we absolutely have a policy of books first. George and his best bud raided the book store each day, and we got to have the "books first" talk many times. His friend's mom is the librarian so those two really had no choice but to purchase books.
Fortuitously, the girls' middle school book fair was held the same week. Otherwise, I think they would have rebelled against middle school altogether. They were able to do some shopping a couple of mornings before school.
We also celebrated the 50th day of school today! George and his friends are having so much fun, and I have loved seeing him at school.
George began reading Harry Potter at the end of summer, and has progressed to The Prisoner of Azkaban. We are so jealous that he is getting to read them for the first time.
We are pausing our regular schedule to take a break for some summer reading assignments. Fortunately, The Westing Game is entertaining, making summer reading fun.
Back at the beginning of the month the trio's school celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday with "Read Across America" week. Monday was "hat day". Tuesday was "wacky Wednesday," get it? The girls had "Who's Who" (most studious + most courteous) and club pics that day so they did not get to really be wacky.
Wednesday was crazy sock day.
Business on top, but party on the bottom.
Thursday was mustache day. Since The Lorax is a favorite, they enjoyed striking a pose for that one.
We speak for the trees.
Friday was school pride day (Hooray for Diffendoofer!)
George also had a field trip (meet-the-artist) to see a percussion group.
They had a great week, although the girls are a little bummed that this is their last Dr. Seuss week.
I think the universe owes them a final wacky Wednesday.
One of my summer reads included Billion Dollar Ball, kind of a literary expose on the money involved in college football. Because we live in a state with one of the most prestigious football programs in the country, the economics of said programs are fascinating to me. We also happen to have a football program that was recently dismantled, became the subject of much controversy/debate and is slated to return in the future. Pulitzer Price winner Gilbert Gaul explores the economic realities of both the underperforming programs as well as the powerhouse, elite programs.
In addition to just the sheer amount of money made and reinvested in the athletics department, Gaul explores how all of the profits remain tax-free. The tax policies were put into place decades ago, when very little money was involved. Since then, television deals have been made, merchandising has exploded and stadiums have expanded, commanding four digit donations for the honor of being placed on a waitlist. These policies are not likely to change any time soon. If you think about it, how popular would elected lawmakers be if they challenged the system and suggested that athletic departments pay taxes on their profits... say in Texas, Oregon or Alabama?
Speaking of waitlists, get your donations in early.
For my friends who are on the waitlist for season tickets for the Alabama Crimson Tide? There is a wait list of 26,000, and only 40 tickets become available each year.
I talked with Besanceney [who oversees the season-ticket plan at the University of Alabama] in 2013. That season just forty football tickets turned over at Alabama, usually after someone died or moved away. Forty works out to 0.0004 percent of all the seats in 101,000-seat Bryant-Denny stadium. "To put it in perspective," Besanceney explained, "we have a waiting list of 26,000. Those are the fans waiting to get a season ticket at Bryant-Denny."
Be patient, friends.
In recent months, there have been murmurings about the return of print books. I mentioned it briefly when I observed a majority of readers holding print books during some recent trips. Sales figures, as noted by the NYT, are citing the hard facts... ebook sales have slipped, while print book sales have increased.
As someone who was very slow to convert, returning to print books is not an easy transition. I am now accustomed to reading on an iPad and enjoy dropping the one-pound device in my purse, as opposed to cramming a 500+ page tome into my delicate bag. Also, I enjoy having the lit screen and eliminating the need for a hot, beacon lamp.
Recently, my mom and I shared the story of our attending the last Iron Bowl at Legion Field. While we have always been Crimson Tide fans, my ability to follow football has waned at times, and this particular game occurred during one of my less interested times. But, I had been gifted with some free tickets at work, and since it was the last Iron Bowl at the fabled stadium, my mom and I prepared to go. Anticipating some downtime because we arrived early, I took a book to the game. Since I was about 75% of the way through the book, I was anxious to read the conclusion, i.e., this was at the can't-put-it-down, sweet-spot of the book. As I quietly slid the book out of my purse, my mom looked askance and immediately asked, "Are you reading War and Peace at a football game???!!!" Obviously, when your own mother implies that your actions are nerdy, it's time to slip the book away and enjoy some people watching before the game commences.
Obviously, had there been e-readers in the late 90's, that would have never occurred. For one, people would have assumed I was updating my status on social media or possibly playing a riveting game of Candy Crush. If text had been detected on the screen, I could have said I was reading the Tide's message boards to get a sense of the soon-to-start game. Tolstoy would have been my little secret. That's the thing about books... often what one is reading doesn't completely complement the setting, i.e., Tolstoy at a football game, or -- the opposite -- Rob Lowe's books in a more literary setting. Also, carrying around a book is a lot like having a bumper sticker on your car. While I am never secretive about what I am reading (see the "What We're Reading Section" in the right upper corner of the blog), it's never intended to be defining either.
As a family, we are shifting toward digital books, although I continue to be somewhat conflicted. The trio still enjoy physical books, and as a frequent patron of the library, I must accept the limited number of titles available in e-format. Even with such a strong predilection for the electronic format, I remain romantic about book stores. Skip is ready to write them off entirely, but I still like the idea of going through a very well organized and managed Barnes & Noble. I long for the Books-A-Million's upscale Books & Company that was here in the 2000's. With shifting sales figures, we are probably not alone in being indecisive about format.
What is your current preference? Are you remaining steadfastly pro-book, or did you adopt early and never look back?
This summer has been an auspicious time for readers -- a real treasure trove, timed perfectly for some summer reading. First and foremost, we were given Harper Lee's second novel, and although controversial, I enjoyed the book immensely. I was careful not to read any reviews in order not to prejudice myself (no pun intended), and the only post-novel reading I have done is to explore briefly the state of Harper Lee's affairs, a topic that is so alarming I won't pursue it further. At any rate, Go Set a Watchman is to literature what a sequel to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band would be to music.
Next, we were given the unbelievable gift of The End of the Tour, a movie based on the interview of David Foster Wallace at the end of his press tour for Infinite Jest. Although this movie has not been released in my city (Yet? Is it going to be? I'm becoming impatient.), I immediately shut down any chatter about the reviews to avoid forming preconceived ideas about the movie.
At over 1,000 pages, Infinite Jest is bulky. I read it in the late 90's, and with the exception of work, I read almost exclusively for three weeks to complete it. And, it's not just the volume that is challenging... it's pages on end without paragraph breaks... and a couple of hundred pages of footnotes... and footnotes within the footnotes. The content itself is behemoth. Since he is my favorite author, I have consumed his entire published catalog, even the out-of-print Broom of the System that he completed for his MFA. Importantly, being familiar (and actually pretty well-versed) with his work doesn't make me qualified to deconstruct DFW, the person, and rate his sincerity, humility and genius, and that's what the couple of reviews I began attempted to do. So while I very much want to talk about this movie... this movie I have not seen and refuse to read about and/or watch/listen to reviews... I cannot, until it makes its way to my city. But when it does... oh, it will be wonderful.
While I love Jesse Eisenberg, I was very skeptical of Jason Segel's performance (like Ashton Kutcher's attempted portrayal of Steve Jobs - yikes!), until I watched this interview, in which he seems to be continuing to channel DFW. After watching the interview, I'm keeping an open mind.
Here is the trailer:
Finally, Franzen's Purity was released last week. Although he is not one of my top-five favorites, I am very much looking forward to plowing through this new gem. So far, I find the characters unlikable, and the cover is so bad (I know, don't judge) that it seems designed to repel the reader. There is a significant difference between flawed characters and unlikable characters, and this lack of distinction is why Franzen is less than a favorite. Still, it isn't every year that we have one of his new novels, and I particularly liked Freedom so I will stay with it.
