Reading: When I was coming up with my topics for each letter, the first "U" word I thought of was "underwriter", probably because that is my job title. But underwriting doesn't have anything to do with reading, eating, gardening or creating (well, actually there is a lot of reading, but it is 90% medical records which I will not and cannot blog about). And I have already blogged about underwriting in another post. So then I thought "Underwear!" Not the clothing - I don't knit my own underwear or even sew any - but the book. Underwear! by Mary Elise Monsell is a picture book and the fun story of Zachary the Zebra and Orfo the Orangutan, who love underwear, and Bismarck the Buffalo who does not. Zachary and Orfo love underwear so much that they wear multiple pairs at a time, sometimes on their heads, and have all different designs - spots and stripes and palm trees, even underwear with underwear on it! They attend the World's Greatest Grassland Underwear Fair to stock up on all their favorites and to see what's new in underwear. Bismarck, meanwhile, is so grumpy that even the bugs that live on his back fly away. So Zachary and Orfo challenge him to say "underwear" ten times without laughing - and you can imagine what happens. This is a fun book to read aloud to children ages 2-6. My mom does some awesome voices for each of the characters, too. And of course the giggles that launch into full out belly laughs are as much fun for the reader as for the listener. Check it out and see if you can say "underwear" ten times without laughing. One of the other great parts of this book is the pictures by illustrator Lynn Munsinger who has illustrated loads of other books including another of my favorites One Hungry Monster by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe. The details on the boxer shorts that Zachary and Orfo wear are hilarious and to see them with underwear on every limb and on their heads is laugh-inducing on its own.
Speaking of underwear... In my post on quilts I said that one of my grandmas was Quilt Grandma and my other grandma is Underpants Grandma. Now how does one get the nickname "Underpants Grandma", you may wonder. Well, if you start to buy underpants for your grandchildren, and every year either send new underwear for the first day of school, you too may someday be Underpants Grandma. She told us she liked us to have new undies because she was the youngest of eleven, born during the Great Depression, and didn't get new anything, not even underwear. I can't imagine wearing hand-me-down underwear. And thanks to Underpants Grandma, I didn't have to (though I am the oldest so I probably wouldn't have had to anyway). I'm a little sad that Granny doesn't buy me undies anymore, but then again, I don't have first days of school anymore either.
Until we read (or change our underwear?) again,
Hallie
P.S. I realize this is probably one of my more ridiculous posts, but really, what did you expect for a post about underwear?
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
T is for The Time Traveler's Wife
Reading: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was one of my favorite book club reads. It is the story of Henry, a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to inadvertently time travel, and Clare, the woman who marries him. From his point of view, Henry never met Clare until they were both in their 20s but at that meeting, she states she has known him almost all her life. Henry in his 40s has been time-travelling to Clare even as a child. Time-travel is dangerous for Henry, as he does not know when or where he will show up and since, for some reason, he usually arrives there naked. This could be kind of a creepy set up, with a 40-something naked guy appearing to a child in a meadow, but he is never creepy, and doesn't even know her, let alone love her, when they finally really meet in their 20s.
The premise of this novel sounds like sci-fi, a genre I typically really don't like, but I like time-travelling stories. I like to think about how it would work, how a person could mess up the future if they did too much changing of things in the past (like in "Back to the Future" when Marty's picture is fading away because he is inadvertently changing how his parents meet, for example). And this novel is also a love story as much as anything. For a first novel, this had to be such a challenging one to write! I thought she did an excellent job of keeping the reader aware of not only the time and place, but of what ages the characters are in each scene as well.
The Time Traveller's Wife was made into a movie as well, which was pretty well done, also, but as with most books and movies, the book was better. This isn't a book you can read without thinking about - your brain will be doing a bit of work here - but it is well worth the read. If you need brain candy, empty calories for your mind, try another book. This is another one of those meals that you eat slowly, take time to savor and digest.
Until we read again,
Hallie
The premise of this novel sounds like sci-fi, a genre I typically really don't like, but I like time-travelling stories. I like to think about how it would work, how a person could mess up the future if they did too much changing of things in the past (like in "Back to the Future" when Marty's picture is fading away because he is inadvertently changing how his parents meet, for example). And this novel is also a love story as much as anything. For a first novel, this had to be such a challenging one to write! I thought she did an excellent job of keeping the reader aware of not only the time and place, but of what ages the characters are in each scene as well.
The Time Traveller's Wife was made into a movie as well, which was pretty well done, also, but as with most books and movies, the book was better. This isn't a book you can read without thinking about - your brain will be doing a bit of work here - but it is well worth the read. If you need brain candy, empty calories for your mind, try another book. This is another one of those meals that you eat slowly, take time to savor and digest.
Until we read again,
Hallie
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