Already July

July already. While the summer temps have been cooler than normal, you'll get no complaining from me. We have had "San Diego" weather for much of the summer -- 70's, little humidity, breezy, sunny. It hasn't rained for a few weeks which means my lawn is slowly turning a crispy brown which is just how I like it. Translation: no having to mow the grass! Oh, the weeds are hearty and growing like, well, weeds but so be it.

I can't seem to focus too long on one topic which is why there have been no coherently written blogs. Oh, I've written my articles for Examiner.com and all but haven't felt a burning desire to communicate any profound thoughts here. Even some of the recent political hilarities provided by prominant Republicans hasn't spurred me to write. The Mark Sanfords and Sarah Palins can implode well enough without me.

How have I been spending the time?

1. Visiting shops and writing articles on them. I have met delightful shop owners, assistants, found bargains, and promoted these places on the website.

2. I have spent time with both children. Patrick is now in Ireland for three weeks and from what we hear, he is having a grand time! Learning Celtic (and the boy thought they spoke English there), dancing (I want a demonstration upon his return), drinking Guiness, and eating new food combinations.

Ann has been back and forth and is in the midst of packing up her apartment to make her move to Milwaukee. I spent an afternoon with her while she got a new tattoo and we had much fun. I cannot wait to have her closer so we can spend more time together.

3. My social life has been busy. Between graduation parties, a bridal shower (please, don't invite me), the 4th of July, and meeting neighbors I have spent more time with people than usual. It has been fun and an upcoming wedding this Saturday should be the icing on the cake.

4. Watson and I have discovered a dog park a few miles away. I know he enjoys the great scents and I love seeing all the breeds of dogs. Yesterday we met a shitzu mix sporting a mowhawk.

5. I have been reading a great deal. Finished two Steve Martini novels--Double Tap and Shadow of Power. Double Tap was good but in Shadow of Power I felt that Martini was lecturing me on his political and social views. Not that authors don't do that but usually are not so overt.

Beverly Hills Dead and Hot Mahogany were the two Stuart Woods novels read. Beverly Hills Dead was set in the heyday of movie studio rule in Hollywood and interesting enough. Hot Mahogany is a Stone Barrington novel and these novels are lightweight Stuart Woods. Predictable but still a comfortable read. The trouble with reading Stuart Woods is he will never top his novel Chiefs, the first book I read by him. Great ending.

Right now I am 3/4 through The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood and it is one of the few non-fiction books I've read recently. The book explores why and how some people survive events and others don't. It is a fascinating book and believe me, the next time I fly I'm going to reread certain sections!

6. Tomorrow is shopping and craft day with three teenage girls. Before you shudder at the thought of spending time with that gender and age group, let me assure you I enjoy these three....helps that that aren't mine! For now, these are like my psuedo-grandchildren!

Well, that is my life right now. Yes, it is a bit mundane but it is summer and that is enough.

Banned Books

The Golden Compass has raised the ire of some people due to its alleged promotion of atheism. Now, I have not read the book, but my philosophy on reading has always been that people should be free to read whatever the want. Children are included in "people."

My parents never denied me a book and while once in awhile they cautioned me about the mature nature of the book (I read Brave New World in junior high and my father offered that it might cover some issues advanced for my age) but I was never told not to read a book. Once while I was walking to a babysitting job and was carrying Valley of the Dolls. A conservative neighbor man passed me and asked if my parents knew I was reading such a book. I was proud to announce that yes, they were aware of my reading selection. A more alarming issue was when, as a ninth grader, I went to the public library to check out In Cold Blood and was denied the book by the librarian due to the content of the book. A phone call to my parents assured the librarian that I was allowed to read the book.

When I became an English teacher I foolishly required my 7th graders to write book reports. I never limited the book selection unless it was ridiculously below the student's reading level. I may not have liked some selections (Flowers in the Attic was a popular series, and I would tell students how much I disliked those books) I never told them not to read it. I was happy they were reading.) What I have found over the years is that the quickest way to get a child to read a book is to tell them they can't. Forbidden fruit is always more appealing because people want to find out what they are missing.

While parents have a right to direct their own children's reading, I am amazed when people want a book removed from a school library! Just because people don't want their children to read a book does not mean they have a right to dictate to everyone else's children. What scares me about such people is their need to have others believe/think what they think/believe.

Of even greater interest to me are the people who don't want their children or themselves to read a book that doesn't agree with their religious beliefs. Are people so insecure that they can't be exposed to alternative ideas? Do they not want to question their beliefs as a healthy way to keep their beliefs viable? I was entranced by the people who found Harry Potter promoting the occult. I am equally enthralled by the hullabaloo over The Golden Compass. It isn't as though an evil creature is going to cast a magical spell over a child and brainwash them into becoming an atheist. Wouldn't it be a wonderful opportunity for a child to read the book and then ask questions of the parents thus possibly enhancing the family's religious beliefs?

This website is from the American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm. On the list of 100 banned books 1990 - 2000 I have read 30 of the books. I was disappointed it was only thirty. In the "Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century" I have read only 28.

Adolf Hitler burned books that were determined to be in conflict with his regime. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell's 1984 tackle the issue. While asking to ban books is hardly book burning it is important to heed the past and read the warnings in both Bradbury's and Orwell's books. A society that is afraid of new ideas and a government that wants to limit citizen's access to written material are dangerous. A look at North Korea is enough to scare me to the core.

In the spirit of reading, keeping an open mind, and questioning, I am off to buy the Golden Compass series!