Grab My Blog Button
The Sunday Salon ~ October Frenzy
My kids are driving me to drink this weekend!
Emma had a sleep over Friday night with one of her after school friends. Danny and I were sure to do something special with Allison because she cried so hard when she realized that she was not invited. Allison enjoyed her solo trip with Mom and Dad to the pet store and to Famous Anthony’s – a local family restaurant. We topped off Friday night with a “camp out” in the basement. She really loved that, but woke up at one point crying because she missed Emma. When we picked Emma up, we spent some time at Heidi’s house. From the moment we arrived, Emma made sure that Allison was not included in the play. Apparently the older girls were going into Heidi’s room and locking Allison out. Heidi’s older brother thought it was so wrong that he locked Heidi’s door so no one could go in. Allison had a hero and didn’t even know it. LOL! The rest of Saturday was spent listening to whining, bickering, fighting, and crying. There was a short respite from that when we forced Emma to take her first nap in probably 2 years. Today hasn’t started out much better. [Note - in fact it got much worse since I started writing this post. Could it be the weather? The excitement about Grandma and Grandpa coming? Their birthdays?] I am indulging in some adult beverages tonight.
My parents are arriving early this week and I’m looking forward to their visit even though it meant I had to miss out on a Blacksburg get together with Kathy, Jaime, and Miriam from Hatchette Book Group yesterday. In the midst of all the drama, it’s shopping and cleaning in preparation for their arrival. This then begins the girl’s birthday week. Allison turns 5 on Thursday and Emma turns 7 on Friday. The party is at Chuck E. Cheese on Sunday. Yeah, this is going to be quite some week.
On to bookish news…
I am very sorry that I haven’t been on the blogs much this month. October is busy both at work and at home. I’m hoping that will clear up after this week. I would like to take a moment to congratulate Meghan from Medieval Bookworm on her wedding. Stop over her way and congratulate her (although I really think her new husband is the real winner…).
I did read two books this week:
This novel was sent to me by the author in February. I’ve been meaning to read it and have tried to several times before. I put it on my must-read list for October because I’ve had it for so long. Also, although their is no tie in to Halloween or this time of year, I thought the cover, which I love, was a good fit.
It took me a while to get into it and read slowly for me because the pacing and the dialect and pacing of the language was very British. For example, there was no “the” in front of hospital (I’m going to hospital instead of I’m going to the hospital). I kept tripping over that and other word choices. I am happy to have finally read it. I feel that I’ve stretched my horizons and, when I make it over to England myself, I’ll know to ask for veg at tea. It’s a nice story about two single parents struggling to keep their children happy and safe. I liked the premise and thought that Mina and Peter were sympathetic and honest characters.
![Cover of Perks of Being a Wallflower]](http://literatehousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Cover-of-Perks-of-Being-a-Wallflower.jpg "Cover of Perks of Being a Wallflower]")
As I posted Friday, a parent at a local high school became upset when his son came upon a copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky at school. Because he pitched a fit, the school took both of their copies off the shelf.
I cannot believe that one parent feels that his objections about a book should dictate school policy. I further can’t believe that the school would cave to this single parent. So, I decided right then and there that I would read this book and encourage as many other people to read it as I can. I can’t say that I’ve ever even heard of this book before this incident. It definitely was not on my radar and, prior to this bruhaha, I’m not sure I would have thought twice about it after seeing its association with MTV (I had no idea that they published or at least used to publish books). I’m happy to say that I am one person turned on this book because of this parent. Well, I started reading it Saturday morning. I finished it before I went to sleep. Yes, I enjoyed it that much. No, I cannot say I could understand someone who has read this book wanting it removed from school property. The rest I’ll leave for my discussion in the Facebook book club I have set up specifically for this book and my review.
This week I’m reading…
I am serving as Victoria Hislop’s book tour host on Tuesday for her TLC book tour for her second novel, The Return. I haven’t read her first novel, The Island, but after reading the first section of The Return, I’ll planning on it. What’s even better is that I know I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. I’ll be getting back into this novel as soon as I finish this post.
My best friend gave me The Shack for my birthday (shh, last year, please don’t say anything). This past spring, my dad asked me if I’d read it. I told him that I had a copy but just don’t often read Christian fiction, so I don’t think to pick it up. When I went home this summer, he asked me if he gave me a copy of the book on audio if I would listen to it. So, in honor of the fact that my best friend sent it to me (wh and that my father really wants me to read it, I’m going to read this while he’s in town. That way, we can talk about it, too.
Related articles by Zemanta
- I Challenge You to Read a Challenged Book (literatehousewife.com)
- Banned Books Week (huffingtonpost.com)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=2c170936-a4b4-4c94-8a6d-25223563d8e8)
October 18, 2009 | Filed Under Books, LIfe, The Sunday Salon
Comments
19 Responses to “The Sunday Salon ~ October Frenzy”
-
Jen - Devourer of Books
Posted: Oct 18th, 2009 at 10:35 pm1Reply to this comment.After all of the fantastic things I’ve been reading about Victoria Hislop on this book tour, I mooched “The Island,” and I’m quite excited about it.
-
rhapsodyinbooks
Posted: Oct 18th, 2009 at 10:35 pm2Reply to this comment.What a horrible kid situation – reminds me of how me and my sister used to be, and we too drove our parents insane! I don’t blame you for selecting some adult beverages!! :–)
I agree with you that the language in Crossed Wires was quite challenging! I know when I watch British movies, I feel like I need them to be subtitled!!! I wonder if they feel the same way about American English?!!!
-
softdrink
Posted: Oct 18th, 2009 at 10:38 pm3Reply to this comment.Thank goodness for adult beverages! I hope your week settles down and goes smoothly!
-
A Bookshelf Monstrosity
Posted: Oct 18th, 2009 at 10:39 pm4Reply to this comment.Harumph…Thank you for promptly picking up Perks after small-minded ninny picks a fight over one of my favorite pieces of literature. That parent just doesn’t understand some things and is probably missing out on a world of great novels. Good for you!
-
Sandy
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 6:11 am5Reply to this comment.I think I told you on FB how I feel about sleepovers. Nothing good comes from them…EVER. Crying siblings, angered siblings, hurt feelings, feuds between the sleepover participants, and no sleep make mommy a very thirsty girl. Ugh.
Don’t feel bad, I’ve had Crossed Wires about that long too. I’ve tried to start it several times and couldn’t get in the groove. But I know that I need to read it. Rosy sent it to me all the way over the pond!
-
Kathy
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 8:30 am6Reply to this comment.We sure did miss you and think about you Saturday. It sounds like you’ve been super busy. I hope to be back soon, and we’ll have to get together then.
-
Stephanie
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 9:34 am7Reply to this comment.I’ll be interested to see how you like The Shack and The Return. I haven’t read either but I’ve heard a lot about the former and I’ve been wanting to read the latter.
I have The Perks of Being a Wallflower on my TBR list but haven’t gotten to it yet. I agree with you that it is ludicrous that the school would remove the books because of the complaints of one parent.
-
Heidi
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 10:13 am8Reply to this comment.You’re a good sport to read The Shack. My 2 cents: it’s horribly written, no two ways about it (I don’t do Christian fiction, either). I read it because a friend begged me to, but I wanted to throw it across the room the whole time. What it does do well is spark conversation and really heavy theological conversations at that. I took the route of marking up the book with my complaints and that made me feel better and able to get through it. I’m guessing you’ve already figured out that your Dad is interested in discussing the theological topics it introduces. I hope that is good conversation.
-
Angela
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 1:03 pm9Reply to this comment.Wow, it sounds like you have a lot going on these days.
I cannot believe the school removed that book based on one parent’s objection. The school library (or media center or whatever they call it these days) is really supposed to have a formal process in place for situations just like this. Many (if not most) times the person doing the objecting hasn’t even fully read the book they are questioning. Good for you for picking it up and encouraging others to do the same! (oh boy, can you tell that I’m a librarian strongly in favor of allowing access to information?!)
Other than The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which I have actually not read) I hadn’t heard about any of the books you mentioned this week. Thanks for giving me a few more titles to investigate.
-
Tracie Yule
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 2:18 pm10Reply to this comment.You’re a good sport to read The Shack. My 2 cents: it’s horribly written, no two ways about it (I don’t do Christian fiction, either). I read it because a friend begged me to, but I wanted to throw it across the room the whole time. What it does do well is spark conversation and really heavy theological conversations at that. I took the route of marking up the book with my complaints and that made me feel better and able to get through it. I’m guessing you’ve already figured out that your Dad is interested in discussing the theological topics it introduces. I hope that is good conversation.
I feel the exact same way! I heard so much about the book, so I was very curious to read The Shack and then just disappointed because the writing was so shabby.
-
Carol
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 4:21 pm11Reply to this comment.You certainly do have a lot going on.
I’ve been told by several people that I should read The Shack but I just can’t bring myself to doing it.
-
Ti
Posted: Oct 19th, 2009 at 6:29 pm12Reply to this comment.My kids drove me nuts this weekend too! My son mainly! He created some suspect email account and joined a social networking site! He is 11 and his mom works in Information Technology but somehow he thought he could get away with it! Ha! He was caught and after all my yelling my voice is shot.
So I hear ya! And if I had had an adult beverage in the house I would have gulped it down with relish.
-
Meghan
Posted: Oct 20th, 2009 at 5:25 am13Reply to this comment.Thank you, Jennifer! I hope your daughters have calmed down a bit now. I remember causing that sort of trouble for my parents and I feel bad about it now. I think I would be indulging too! I hope the week improves.
-
Kim
Posted: Oct 20th, 2009 at 10:14 am14Reply to this comment.I read The Shack as a bookclub choice or I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. The value of the book comes with the start of the garden scene, so don’t stop before you get there. It’s not on my WooHoo list, but if you want to you can find some good things to think about.
-
Michelle
Posted: Oct 21st, 2009 at 6:55 am15Reply to this comment.You have some serious patience my dear!
That and alcohol….I imagine that helps a lot, LOL
It sounds like all ended well ultimately. I have to say it’s super cute that the youngest already has the boys looking out for her
Hope the birthdays went well!
-
Serena (Savvy Verse & Wit)
Posted: Oct 22nd, 2009 at 12:33 pm16Reply to this comment.I’m glad you enjoyed the wallflower book.
-
Andi
Posted: Oct 24th, 2009 at 12:14 am17Reply to this comment.Wow! I’m shocked that the school would cave so easily, too! Especially with such a popular book and one that’s quickly becoming a new classic. Crazy! I’m glad you read it and are spreading the word. I read it several years ago and enjoyed it a lot. I still have quotes written in my journal.
-
pingback:
Posted: Oct 27th, 2009 at 10:51 pm18Back in the Land of the Blogging : literatehousewife.comReply to this comment.[...] my last Sunday Salon post, things got much, much worse. Let me just say that I do love my children very much. This [...]
-
Margaret
Posted: Nov 9th, 2009 at 10:05 pm19Reply to this comment.What’s funny to me is how kids are generally nicer to other friends’ younger brothers/sisters, but not their own. Unless they’re Eddie Haskell.
Good job on the Chbosky. It’s crazy that the school would instantly ban a book.
Got something to say?
Book Blogger Con
Have you heard about the 1st Annual Book Blogger Convention that will be held in NYC during the BEA? You should check it out. I know it will be a fantastic experience. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend due to family obligations, but I'll be trolling blogs for up to the minute news.
WE Magazine’s A Woman Blogger to Watch
Literate Challenges
What's in a Name? 3
Random Reading Challenge
