music, books and birthdays

...I gave Rhett some old cds that Seth and I never listen to anymore. They were just taking up precious space in the drawer (my mom can testify to that because she is the one who stuffed the drawer with cds and movies) so I thought maybe Rhett might like some of them. Well, he does. This morning before school he listened to REM's It's the End of the World over and over. At least 10 times. A few weeks ago he was on his country music kick, now REM. He is a funny kid.

Moving on...so I'm trying to read some classics. The last book I read make me realize I know little of the great books of the world. Last week at the library I decided to move past the breezy fiction and and picked up Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. First of all, you don't just "pick up" Jane Austen. I learned that fairly quickly. Second of all, I did not get past the first few pages! See, the last book I read, Literacy and Longing in LA, was about this woman who would go on book binges when things fell apart in her life. It was in this book that I learned what type of reader I am. She talked of four, I only remember my type. I am a skim reader. I read the dialog, skip past the long, detailed paragraphs and am finished within a day or two. I have only become this type of reader after becoming a mother. (Remember the mommy brain I referred to last blog? Well, it affects my concentration for books too). I don't mean to do it, I just do. When I began reading Austen, I knew that I couldn't skim this book. I was going to have to study each long sentence and it was going to take awhile. So I stopped.

I do still want to read some classics. I know that I am going to have to read all them slowly. I just can't start with that one. So, here is where I need help. I know several teachers (two of them English), an English major, many book lovers and all of you intelligent read this blog. You tell me your suggestions of what books I should read. I'll let you know if I can get through them! :)


One more thing...Today is my nephew Cameron's birthday! He turns 3 today. He is the happiest little boy I know and the pride and joy of my twin brother. I hope he has a fun day! Here is a layout I made for Casey about his cute little son. I am going to give it to him, framed, for his birthday (which is in a week--that means mine is in a week too! Yay!)