I've been reading the Roald Dahl books out loud to my kids.
Where have I been? Why didn't I know about these before? It's like discovering another color in the Crayon box that I never noticed. I called myself literate?
I have read to them The BFG, The Magic Finger, Danny The Champion of the World, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. We just started George's Marvelous Medicine, and I'm really hamming up the wicked Grandma.
Sheer delight. My favorite thing is that my two middle kids sit next to me on the couch when we read. During the suspenseful parts they scoot closer and closer until I'm sardined.
"Are you scared at this part?" I ask.
"No!" they shriek, "Just keep reading!"
Deal.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable Creatures
I first heard of Mary Anning on page 257 of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, one of my all-time favorites.
You can read about Mary Anning here:
She's real. She lived in the 1800's in England and she discovered the first ichthyosaur skeleton.
When I learned that Tracy Chevalier used Anning as a heroine for some historical fiction, I was dubious.
I'm sure it was because I didn't really care for Chavalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring, even though reading Chevalier's book was part of the impetus for me traipsing to Den Haag to see the painting in person. It wasn't Chevalier's writing that I didn't like: I just didn't like the plot line of young-impressionable-female-pines-after-married-man-she-can't-have. Doomed from the start, no way she was going to win, I just didn't like it. Give a sister a break, give her a plot line that can turn out well.
But I was willing to give Chevalier a second chance, and her book Remarkable Creatures was much better for my plot requirements. No pining after married men, that was a good start. About women of intelligence interested in science, that was another good start. Decent storyline, interesting characters, good research about the time period.
Altogether, a good read. Good enough that I finished it, and good enough I may just go on a Chevalier binge and read the rest of novels. Not sketchy, OK for a book club.
You can read about Mary Anning here:
She's real. She lived in the 1800's in England and she discovered the first ichthyosaur skeleton.
When I learned that Tracy Chevalier used Anning as a heroine for some historical fiction, I was dubious.
I'm sure it was because I didn't really care for Chavalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring, even though reading Chevalier's book was part of the impetus for me traipsing to Den Haag to see the painting in person. It wasn't Chevalier's writing that I didn't like: I just didn't like the plot line of young-impressionable-female-pines-after-married-man-she-can't-have. Doomed from the start, no way she was going to win, I just didn't like it. Give a sister a break, give her a plot line that can turn out well.
But I was willing to give Chevalier a second chance, and her book Remarkable Creatures was much better for my plot requirements. No pining after married men, that was a good start. About women of intelligence interested in science, that was another good start. Decent storyline, interesting characters, good research about the time period.
Altogether, a good read. Good enough that I finished it, and good enough I may just go on a Chevalier binge and read the rest of novels. Not sketchy, OK for a book club.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)