Between the Lines

Frederick the Poet

Honoré here: Frederick by Leo Lionni is one of my all-time favorite children's picture books.  In one of my first Twitter posts , I tweeted: " A pleasant break : Frederick by Leo Lionni on YouTube http://bit.ly/weIw6 ."   You can see - the You Tube video, that is. Since I don't have copy of the book (note to self: correct that!) in my personal library, I was delighted to find the 6:25 minutes video: an animated rendering of the picture book, true to the book, with music. And the narrator/storyteller was excellent. Everything I liked about Frederick was right there/here ; thus, I could refresh my memory and enjoy, again for the "first time", this delightful story.

As I basked in my memories, I started thinking about how great it is that there is an Internet and practically anything/everything that is the sum total of human -kind's experience and knowledge was pretty much available and globally accessible. And then, I started thinking about sharing Frederick with a young child and I shuddered. I just couldn't imagine a young child, sitting on an adult's lap, hearing  and sharing the story via a computer screen. There's something about that personal, tactile interaction of holding the book, turning pages, discussing the pictures,  that's just lost in the digital format [and you know, I'm a big supporter of most things digital]. I first read Frederick as an adult and have shared it many times with young children. Somehow, I just can't bring myself to making that first intro to this absolutely wonderful story via YouTube...loses the poetry.

What are your thoughts? I'll be interested in reading your comments.
Cheers~

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water...

Kathy here...did you hear that duh-dum...duh-dum musical entry from Jaws when you read the post title? Well, there is context for it. I was all set to talk to you today about my reading/learning turn onto a verdant path meandering between weathered split rail fences when I was blindsided.

A co-worker stuck his library copy of Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin into my mail box this morning. The juvenile book chronicles the thoughts, questions and bedevilments of 12-year-old Jason, a boy with autism. In it , he shares his life where "stuff happens...that's it," among the "neurotypicals." Jason doesn't talk in "their" language. He flaps his hands, rocks back and forth and crawls under desks in an effort to stay on the ground, to keep the pieces that are him from flying off in a hundred directions. I read the entire book at lunch. While this is fiction, I have read similar accounts in biographies of others with autism. Fascinating.

I have been researching and reading about autism for 18 years...since February 10th, 1991 when my youngest boy was diagnosed. Jason describes my Jon perfectly. How often I have imagined the very words that Ms. Baskin recorded as swirling around in his head. The Jaws reference? It refers to how, after all these years, I still get caught short when I run across words/works such as these; the pain still shoots straight to my heart and brings tears to my eyes. Clearly, this particular learning journey will never end for me or mine.

What search has been thrust upon you? Laura spoke of her exploration of Alzheimer's a few weeks back. How did you begin to reach out to learn/find the tools that helped you cope and move forward?

Next week, back to that verdant path...I've been kickin' up some dust through total immersion in Appalachian stories, history, music and video...stay tuned!

If I Want To________

Honoré here: I've been sort of "in between," with not much going on...perhaps I've hit a dry spell; don't know but it seems that I'm at loose ends. As with a labyrinth, I've hit a "no exit" wall many times over the past few weeks. I'm fresh out of new reading matter - though I've tons of samples on my Kindle and my forays to libraries and bookstores seemed also to be unproductive. Even my attempt to participate in the aggregator Kathy alluded to in her last post has failed to inspire me - and for some inexplicable reason I didn't  get my weekly update last Thursday. Curious...

Perhaps it's the weather or that I'm still feeling the effects of DST (daylight savings time). This morning I recalled that Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write was highly praised in  Garr Reynolds' Presentation Zen  (well, I've not completely not had any reading matter) and I just happened to have the book; have had it for several years and hadn't gotten around to reading it. So, I scoured my bookshelves, found and started the book.

If You Want to Write is a "book about Art, Independence and Spirit." The first  edition was published in 1938 and it's still viable today, nearly 75 years later---and I say that after having read only the first two chapters. I feel stirrings of returning to being inspired, of inspiring myself, of getting  my "creativity groove" back. Time will tell...and in the meantime, I think I'll also try to figure out why my aggregator isn't delivering.

To be continued...

Cheers~

STiLL LEARNiNG

Laura here: Before I left on a business trip in February my local library let me know a book I had requested was available. This non fiction story was about a grown daughter’s journey with her father after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Not the light reading I was looking for—I’d read it later. I decided it was too close to home right now as I have been caring more and more for my mom as her dementia takes more and more of her independence.

At the airport the next day still wanting a good read for the flight I picked up the first novel that ‘spoke’ to me from the shelf. Still Alice by Lisa Genova, the title was intriguing— there was so much said and unsaid in those two simple words. What would make her no longer Alice? I am also attracted to fonts and the design of the books and particularly liked the ‘play on words’ of the title printed in caps except for the small ‘i’ in each word: STiLL ALiCE. All these ‘green lights’ led me to read the inside flap to discover it was a story of a woman with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Yes, I got the message and bought it!

The author took a risk with this book as the main character tells her own story told from her faulty and undependable point of view instead of from her loved one’s points of view. This makes for a realistic, heart rending, wholly believable character and storyline. Fiction usually serves to entertain but a well written successful story can enlighten a reader in unexpected ways as happened to me as I read Alice’s journey. I was able to empathize with my mom’s struggles from the inside instead of as an observer. I experienced the fear and doubt that she does and was reminded that inside the elderly body I see is a young woman filled with dreams and passions.

Reading this book was a powerful awakening for me to be empathetic, more patient; I also listen closely now with my wise self instead of the ears of a dutiful daughter. I’m learning to be my mom’s friend and memory keeper—and feel honored to be entrusted with her treasures. Together we are finding the gift inside the tragedy; bless you Lisa for sharing Alice’s story.

Bird by Bird

Honoré here: It is  February 3, already the second month of the year ~ 34 days have gone by...imagine! I don't know about you but I, as a member of a league of zillions of people, have made v-e-r-y little, if any progress, on my 2009 goals (smile). But why should I fret and declare myself a loser, I still have 331 days and everyday is a new day - another smile. I have been thinking and imagining and gathering and ruminating and contemplating and reading and researching and wishing and  basically procrastinating! One of my goals is really not all that complicated and certainly not at all "no fun." The goal is simply to "play at art everyday." One wonders how difficult can that be? Simply a matter of letting the inner child out, sez she.

All of the above brought me to revisit one of my favorite books/authors:  Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. In my readings over the past 3-4 years, I kept bumping into Anne via other authors' words - she is/was a source of inspiration to them and so, I decided, I'd "meet her, too." And glad that I did. What a great conversation one can/does have with Anne. She's a keeper! This passage that I share from Bird by Bird  tells it all:

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table, close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder ,and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”p.18.

And having shared the above, guess I'd better get goin' on my own birds. Have you got any "birds" hanging 'roun?

Cheers~

"They must not speak until spoken to..."

Laura here: A friend sent this imaginative quote to me to share with Honoré who suggested I share with all of our readers:

"In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern boxes; and though they know us, and have been waiting two, ten, or twenty centuries for us,—some of them,—and are eager to give us a sign and unbosom themselves, it is the law of their limbo that they must not speak until spoken to; and as the enchanter has dressed them, like battalions of infantry, in coat and jacket of one cut, by the thousand and ten thousand, your chance of hitting on the right one is to be computed by the arithmetical rule of Permutation and Combination,—not a choice out of three caskets, but out of half a million caskets, all alike." 
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

The Pause That Refreshes ~ Part II

Kathy here: My tale of runaway reading last week was only part of the story. You remember that I was swept away with the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.

What you don't know is that Meyer Followers lined up to purchase the final book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, hours before the sales began at midnight on August 2, 2008, including my 26-year-old daughter. Book stores likened the frenzy to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter phenomenon. And, frenzy is the right word.

While I missed this round, I was a part of the Harry Potter rumpus.  Wandering Barnes & Noble at 11:30pm., waiting with hundreds of children, teen and adults from all walks of life...many dressed as their favorite character...for our turn to possess, to hold, to own the next installment in Harry's adventures. It was hard not to hug the person next to you.

What did this add my learning path? I recall that around Book 3, Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban, I pulled out my old "research" into the power of story, the need to write/tell/hear them; I even dug up my old copy of Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth.  I began to explore the topic anew.

Meanwhile along the way, an entirely new vein in the experience emerged when the Harry Potter titles moved to film. Attendees couldn't help dissecting the director's interpretation of the book, discussing what points were made, where sub-plots fell away. I witnessed the same with Peter Jackson's vision of the Lord of the Rings ; the chorus there was "It takes a true fan of the books to make the movies. And Peter is one." 

Now, Twilight has hit the big screen. Yes, I went to see it with my daughter. Yes, the theatre was full of 12+ females madly in love with the male lead. Yet, imagine my delight when I heard them give approval to the portrayal of the Cullens' home in the woods or to the completeness of the dialogue in the high school cafeteria.  This was still a strong group reading experience. 

And, the group reading experience is the rest of this story. Wouldn't it be great if an adult novel stimulated this sort of reaction? How about you? Any altering reading experiences you would like to share?

My Story of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Laura here: This summer my friend needed to buy a book for a mutual friend of ours as a birthday gift. I was in town and we were all getting together to celebrate the last couple of birthdays for our group. The recipient of this book was smart and had listed a specific title: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski on her wish list. As a book lover I was surprised I hadn’t heard of it, but sadly I hadn’t—odd title, unknown author.

My friend had made a purchase for me on her Macy’s card in addition to buying me a lovely birthday gift so I explained I would purchase the book so we’d be even. I assumed her silence was acceptance of my plan. Ha! This dear friend is not a bookstore browser like me—I can browse for hours. We found the book within five minutes and then spent fifteen minutes reading laugh out loud birthday cards before selecting one and going to the checkout.

At the moment I was passing the book to the cashier explaining I needed to pay for this my friend deftly lifted the book from my hand and told the clerk something about me being her guest, this was her town, and she needed to pay for the book. I, less deftly, reached for the book— friends don’t grab—but my friend was quick! I had my hands on one end of the book she had a vise like grip on most of the book and we were doing our darndest to wrestle the book away from the other! For a more helpful visual here you go: I’m 5’9’’ and my dear, sweet (strong) friend is 4’ 11”. In retrospect it IS funny isn’t it?

I came to my senses—I let go. It was a BOOK, we might damage it; horror of horrors! The book lover in me won out over the responsible friend part of me. And I find it interesting that my first experience with this particular book was a ‘struggle’, because as much as I loved this book once I read it, I am still struggling with it.

Since then I’ve purchased the book, selected the ideal time to read the book in as few a days as possible—I knew I’d be swept away. I discovered an exceptional storyteller in David Wroblewski and lifelong memorable characters in Edgar, Almondine and the other Sawtelle dogs.

I loved this book. I didn’t want it to end. Yes, I’m a dog person but I’ve never read an animal story as insightful and uniquely engaging as this one. The chapters written from Almondine’s point of view (Edgar’s canine soul mate) felt true and achingly real to me—as though we as readers have stepped into an alien yet familiar mind.

If you’ve read the book maybe you’ll understand my struggle with the end, and if not perhaps you’ll be intrigued enough to experience it for yourself. This truly is a book to be experienced and mulled over, then talked about, and talked about some more. I hope you’ll share your experience of Edgar’s story with us.

NOTE: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection and you can read more here. There is an excellent Q&A with David, but warning there are ‘spoilers’ here so if you haven’t read the book browse with care.

All Tattered, Torn, and Well-Loved

Honoré here: The other day I pulled out my Christmas decorations, among which are several of my favorite holiday books. One I've had for I bet close to twenty years is Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas. This is a book that my grand-nieces , now 22 , 16, and 7, along with others, have read and enjoyed, year in, year out. And it looks it: the dust jacket is in pieces and I keep thinking, what can I do to salvage it?

I've come up with several ideas from tape to collage to scanning the cover and then printing out on fabric - how clever is that? (Taking that route would also require another learning curve: editing the scan in a photo-editor software program, printing on fabric, etc.). And finally, I thought the easiest thing to do is to buy a new book. Besides, it's time my nieces had their own copy.

Well, a quick check on Amazon  tells me that plan doesn't work either; t'aint any copies available in English and those that are - collectibles- might cost $175!  Ummm...back to the drawing board. And for the time being, guess I'll just remove the dust jacket on my copy, make a photocopy of  what's left of it to use on a temporary basis until ... Sounds like a plan to me.

What are some of your favorite Christmas and holiday books? Please share them with us.

A week without reading!?

Honoré here: Last Sunday I was reading  the latest  (Dec/Jan) issue of "Quilting Arts Magazine". Award-winning art quilter, Katie Pasquini Masopust was featured and when asked about her process, she replied: "I am very focused and work/play at my art daily." (p.31). Well, bells went off in my head. What a profound thought and immediately, I decided that's just the formula I need to adopt . I decided to do a little more research on Katie and other quilters/artists' takes on how they practice, on a daily basis, their art - whatever the medium.

So, to the Internet I turned. In addition to books, I find blogs a great resource for discovering an artist's examination of her process. In reading one blog,  I was stunned: the blogger was reading Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way (TAW) and was at Week/Chapter 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity.  During this week, "the tasks, essays and exercises are designed to catapult you [the reader]  into productive introspection and integration of new self-awareness." One tool Julia Cameron warns us  not to skip is reading deprivation: no reading for a full week - count 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 days! "Say w-h-a-t?" ( in your best Hannah Montana voice).

I immediately scanned my bookshelves for my copy of TAW; found it; found the chapter and read all about Reading Deprivation, p.87 - 89). The blogger, understandably,  was beside herself. And I? Well, I decided I'd re-read TAW; after all, it has been several years...and so I am, along with a few other titles, several are by Katie Pasquini Masopust.

What will I do when I get to chapter 4? I'm steeling myself for that - not that I have to not read for a week - but I might just for the experience (horrors...and this coming from a librarian!). Reading is very much a part of my life; I begin each day reading, journaling, reflecting... I'll let you know when and if I do not read for a week and how it was. And if any of you want to read TAW, just click on the Delaware Library card logo to access the catalog and locate a copy in a library. Oh, and BTW, any one up to the challenge of not reading for a week?

Cheers~