- Two weeks ago, I highlighted that Michele Norris was soliciting questions for her interview with Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney on All Things Considered. The actual interview was fun to listen to, albeit much shorter than we had hoped it would be. I have to admit that I haven't read any of these books myself, other than a few cursory readings of bits and pieces. I have though seen Jeff Kinney talk (at the National Book Festival this fall), and I'm highly entertained by him and adore the sense of humor that he emanates. But, I have heard the parental concerns about the characteristics of the kids in these books, the 'snarkiness' that they refer to in the interview. I have mixed feelings about it all, but we have given all the books to JAM anyway, and the most recent one, Dog Days, was excitedly consumed in one afternoon-evening span. It's not classic literature, but it's not a dime novel either, so at the end of the day, I'm just happy that he's a 9 year old boy who loves to read. (And, I'm sad to report that JAM's emailed question, among the hundreds that were submitted, was not selected. Maybe next time!)
- Just the other day, I was sitting at the base of Mt. Laundry on my bedroom floor when the opening notes for the Diane Rehm Show came streaming out of my clock radio. When I heard that the focus for the hour would be an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, I was thrilled by the fact that I would be sorting for at least 15 minutes, giving me something to listen to other than the sounds of the kids playing in the next room. When the phone rang a moment later, I knew that someone out there loved me. (Thanks, B for checking if I had my radio on!) My absolute adoration of The Time Traveler's Wife has been well established, and I posted my review for her newest book, Her Fearful Symmetry on here as well. I'm so glad that I was able to catch this interview, which has AN giving some background on the new novel and simply being her interesting self-- I think she's quite unique and I really enjoy listening to her talk about her work.
- This short news story about protests in Iran caught my attention just this morning on Morning Edition. I'm in the middle of Haleh Esfandiari's amazing and harrowing memoir My Prison, My Home about her detention in Iran at the very end of 2006, and she provides a clear and concise history of Iran's political atmosphere over the last few decades, most of which I had no solid understanding of before. It's interesting to see the waves of support and dissent that have rolled through the Iranian public in the recent past through the book, and then hearing this current news piece highlighted for me how the change is seemingly always ongoing.
With cheers for reading and radio,
**How am I doing on my gratitude challenge?? Come check up on me here since I'll be adding new entries each day!**
I'm sure that hearing about Audrey N. would have been quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnd I DO agree that having a child who loves to read is SO much more important than what they are reading. I don't know what's in store for my up and coming soon-to-be independent reader son, but I want him to find books that he loves and want to dig in.