I just finished listening to the book,
Tex, by S.E. Hinton.
I will admit I totally enjoyed it.
Lately I have been trying to ramp myself up on the "classics".
I am curious as to how I missed (or avoided) all these
books while I was personally in school.
I am very interested in what our kids are being fed,
and reading these days.
I want to stay in the know and on top
of the good, and other possibilities that may
come their way,
if for no other reason then to be able to have a
half-way-decent
conversation about what they are reading
and doing in school.
I have always heard the book title,
The Catcher in the Rye,
thrown around by everyone, who has ever read anything,
of any consequence.
So I thought I may as well tackle that title first.
Plus I knew that E had read it last year.
Check mark. Done.
Pretty easy read.
It was decent, Ethan said he didn't enjoy it at all.
That all the main character ever said in it, over and over, was how phony
everyone was.
Well, that was true.....
E tried to find his essay for me to read that he had written the
previous year, I would have enjoyed reading that,
but in the end
he couldn't locate it.
The main thing that I was surprised at was
where the title had come from,
and
what part it played in the book.
I really don't want to spoil it for you.....just in case you want to read it.
But I was like, huh.
That's interesting to.
The book was short, I laughed a bit, cried a bit,
it kept my attention.
I believe there was some value to take away.
Soon after
I tried to read one of Ethan's AP novels as well.
I was like, I'm going to read right along with you son.
You can't stop me.
He was in the middle of Moby Dick, and on his way
toward One Hundred Years of Solitude......(yawnsville!)
Watt was the third on the list....I had some time.
Not a terribly long book.
I felt pretty smug, (whatever that means, seems to fit here)
as I began to read.
E was like, mom, what are you doing?
You are not going to enjoy that book.
You are not going to finish it,
it will be way over your head.
Excuse me sir?
Um, you may be surprised dear boy.
I think I can muster my way though it hon.
The hours crawled by.
The pages were very slow to turn.
The writer never indented!!
There were no breaks in the page....just solid rectangles.
The drivel would never stop.
I am not one to get headaches, but this CRAP
was weighing me down.
I was not getting one ounce of anything out of reading this
garbage, (IMO).
I had to go went to the kids school open houses last week.
I was interested in E's AP Literature teacher.
Who was this mad man?
By the end of his presentation I kinda liked him as a teacher,
and felt like Ethan will, in all actuality, benefit from being in his class.
I raised my hand at the end,
and asked if he would mind summarizing the
book Watt.....seems like a huge amount of crap to me,
and there was no way possible I was going to be able to
wallow through it.
Yet, I was still curious as to what the
point of, and story line was for the book.
He got his copy out of his desk drawer and showed it.
It was marked, tagged, ragged, haggard, broken spine,
and barely hanging together.....
I was like, whoops, now I've insulted this guy about
his favorite book of all times.
He said you know what I did the first time I tried reading
Watt?
no.
I threw it against the wall and broke the spine.
phew. redeemed.
Since that time he has read it numerous times and fallen in love with
it, but it had been a rough start.
He never did summarize it.
Guess I will have to google at some point if I really want to know.
I guess E was right.
He said mom, don't bother, just read the books you enjoy.
I do love reading and learning.
I love to see our kids reading.
Why don't schools do READATHONS anymore?
Didn't you used to love those so much?
Sitting around with pillows and blankets in jammies,
eating and sharing all our favorite treats.
Those were the best of times.
I wish I could stay awake longer when I read.
Even with books I am very interested in....
I still need many
walking, standing, resting my eyes breaks that I wish I didn't.
Kids are so lucky....but they don't know it until it is too late and
they are looking back.
I know it is the same for all of us.
We can't tell them anything they don't already know.
Listen to me.
Am I middle aged?
Seriously, am I?
I have become the mother of three teenagers....
and one more on the way.
Here is the reason I felt like writing this post:
I just finished listening to the book Tex like I said before.
I love to listen while I fold clothes, clean the kitchen, cook,
what not.....
as I was listening,
and feeling so involved in these two brothers lives,
I was listening to their story from their Mother's point of view.
!
They were seventeen and fourteen years of age.
I have one of each.
That was kind of surreal for me.
I am usually the girlfriend, the wife, the friend, the hot neighbor,
or the main character.
My position in life has shifted.....
maybe that is too dramatic, but dang if it did not surprise me.
I was proud of those brothers.
I was disappointed, worried, and very interested in their
well being.
I'm excited to see the movie now.....it is Disney,
maybe it will be appropriate and enjoyable for the whole
family.
I just put a hold on it at the library.
Ok, I think I know what Watt is about....
I believe the author is trying to get you to experience
what it is like to be inside an insane person's mind,
and follow their thought process.
Done-zo.
and still no thank yee.
This is my best guess.
See if you can handle it!!
ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH?
Do you have the gut, and grit to go in the mind of madness??
