We have been reading these books one after the other since May. If you are looking for adventure and thoughtfully, well developed characters this series may be for you or your kids. It's perfect for boys, but there are also strong female characters that would be appealing to young girls as well. There are no damsels in distress here. There is good against evil, quiet contemplation, personal challenges and intrigue.
Alexander Gordon Smith. This is the kind of book that seems pervasive right now in young adult literature. Dystopian society with the young adults and children both victims and the heroes. Coleman spent many a late night reading these books. He was genuinely excited about them. I haven't read these books myself, but when Coleman finished the last book he told me he was almost moved to tears by the final pages of the final book, I figured it must have been at least well written. We just pre-ordered Alexander Gordon Smith's newest book The Fury, a post apocalyptic zombie thriller!
As for me, I'm reading Ordinarily Sacred by Lynda Sexson. I've only just begun, but I'm enjoying her take on sacred objects. I learned about the book from the lecture I went to a couple weeks ago, given by Ken Bova. He mentioned it and it's also on his website. I bought it for a penny on amazon.com. I am intrigued by the notion that we begin creating our sacred images early and without influence from religion. With just our surroundings and nature and what we perceive as precious. That notion is what I think informs Ken Bova's work. It's also something I observe in my own boys and even myself. I can look at the shelves in my own studio and see containers of objects I've been collecting for years that are precious to me and all with the purpose of one day finding a place for them in some piece of art or jewelry or sacred spot in my home.
How to be Perfect by Ron Padgett is a book of poems. I haven't spent time with poetry since college. That's a long while. Intrigued by the title which is also the title of a poem in this collection, I was not disappointed. I guess I'm in the mood for being outside my own small world and my mind needs a rest from my own thoughts. These poems are very accessible and enjoyable. I hope you will have a chance to read some of them.
Here's a small excerpt from
"How to Be Perfect" by Ron Padgett - (I've highlighted the things that made me pause.)
Get some sleep.
Don't give advice.
Take care of your teeth and gums.
Don't be afraid of anything beyond your control. Don't be afraid, for instance, that the building will collapse as you sleep, or that someone you love will suddenly drop dead.
Eat an orange every morning.
Be friendly. It will help make you happy.
Hope for everything. Expect nothing.
Take care of things close to home first. Straighten up your room before you save the world. Then save the world.
Know that the desire to be perfect is probably the veiled expression of another desire- to be loved, perhaps, or not to die.
Make eye contact with a tree.
Be skeptical about all opinions, but try to see some value in each of them.
Dress in a way that pleases both you and those around you.
Do not speak quickly.
Learn something every day. (Dzien dobre!)
Be nice to people before they have a chance to behave badly.
Don't stay angry about anything for more than a week, but don't forget what made you angry. Hold your anger out at arm's length and look at it, as if it were a glass ball. Then add it to your glass ball collection.
Be loyal.
Wear comfortable shoes.
Design your activities so that they show a pleasing balance and variety.
Be kind to old people, even when they are obnoxious. When you become old, be kind to young people. Do not throw your cane at them when they call you grandpa. They are your grandchildren!
Live with an animal.
Do not spend too much time with large groups of people.
If you need help, ask for it.
Cultivate good posture until it becomes natural.
If someone murders your child, get a shotgun and blow his head off.
Plan your day so you never have to rush.
Show your appreciation to people who do things for you, even if you have paid them, even if they do favors you don't want.
Do not waste money you could be giving to those who need it.
Expect society to be defective. Then weep when you find that it is far more defective than you imagined.
When you borrow something, return it in an even better condition.
As much as possible, use wooden objects instead of plastic or metal ones.
Look at that bird over there.
After dinner, wash the dishes.
Calm down.
Visit foreign countries, except those whose inhabitants have expressed a desire to kill you.
Don't expect you children to love you, so they can, if they want to.
Meditate on the spiritual. Then go a little further, if you feel like it. What is out (in) there?
Sing, every once in a while.
Be on time, but if you are late do not give a detailed and lengthy excuse.
Don't be too self-critical or too self-congratulatory.
Don't think that progress exists. It doesn't.
Walk upstairs.
... There are two more pages of this poem, you should read it. It's lovely.
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