Lazy book reviews :)

I thought I'd briefly mention a few books I've read lately. The first is Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Honestly I had a hard time getting into this one. I loved it, and I love the stories- but it didn't keep me in it. So I took a break and read Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, and something else...but, being the queen of the worst memory ever...I can't remember the other book I read in between...Any who, I also read I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (but I'll review that next). So some of you might be saying, Cheaper by the Dozen must have been a crap book- but despite taking a break in the middle of it, I really liked it. The stories were full of wisdom and wit, and they were all around funny and entertaining.

 I loved it when they talked about baby talk and how their father thought baby talk was dumb (he said it but didn't believe it I suppose, because he was caught baby talking when he thought no one could hear him.) I suppose I like this bit because I abhor baby talk. I might, MIGHT, baby talk to a dog, but most certainly not to a human at any age. So here's a clip about baby talk:

"Dad had long held theories about babies and, with the arrival of Anne, he was anxious to put them to a test. He believed that children, like little monkeys, were born with certain instincts of self-preservation but that the

instincts vanished because babies were kept cooped up in a crib. He was convinced that babies stated learning things from the very minute they were born, and that it was wrong to keep them in a nursery. He always forbade baby talk in the presence of Anne or any of his subsequent offspring. “The only reason a baby talks baby talk,” he said, “is because that’s all he's heard from grownups. Some children are almost full grown before they learn that the whole world doesn't speak baby talk.”"Dad" wouldn't allow baby talk  and he would talk to the babies in an intelligent way. 

The nurse (or nanny) thought it was foolish and said this: The German nurse whom Dad had employed was scornful. “Why she can't understand a thing you say,” the nurse told Dad. “How do you know?” Dad demanded. "I like "Dad's" response because I think babies understand a lot more than people think. So overall, I'd rate the book a 6 out of ten. It was smart and fun. It was interesting, but it didn't suck me in and keep me in.

Next I'll mention I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I read this book because I was talking to my friend Rouchelle about skinny dipping and streaking. It was from there that Rouchelle was reminded of how the main character's (Cassandra Mortmain) step mother (Topaz) would commune with nature (aka streak), and more importantly how at one point in the story Cassandra lays out in the sun nude. Here is an excerpt:

"While I was hanging my bathing-suit out of the bedroom window, I had a sudden longing to lie in the sun with nothing on. I never felt it before--Topaz has always had a monopoly of nudity in our household- but the more I thought of it, the more I fancied it. And I had the brilliant idea of doing my sunbathing where nobody working in the fields or wandering up our lane could possibly see me. It felt most peculiar crawling naked up the cold, rough stone steps-exciting in some mysterious way I couldn't explain to myself. Coming out at the top was glorious, warmth and light fell round me like a great cape. The leads were so hot that they almost burnt the soles of my feet; I was glad I had thought of bringing up a blanket to spread. on the top of the bedroom tower, It was beautifully private. That tower is the best-preserved of them all; the circle of battlements is complete, though there are a few deep cracks--a marigold had seeded in one of them. Once I lay down flat I couldn't even see the battlements without turning my head. There was nothing left but the sun-filled dome of the cloudless sky. What a difference there is between wearing even the skimpiest bathing-suit and wearing nothing! After a few minutes I seemed to live in every inch of my body as fully as I usually do in my head and my hands and my heart. I had the fascinating feeling that I could think as easily with my limbs as with my brain--and suddenly the whole of me thought that Topaz's nonsense about communing with nature isn't nonsense at all. The warmth of the sun felt like enormous hands pressing gently on me, the flutter of the air was like delicate fingers. My kind of nature-worship has always had to do with magic and folklore, though sometimes it turned a bit holy. This was nothing like that. I expect it was what Topaz means by "pagan." Anyway, it was thrilling."

  Sorry, I realize it's rather long, but that's some sweet self awareness/discovery right thuuurr! In a way I feel like that except sums up the whole story. That's not to say that it's a nude romp of a story, but rather a coming of age story that takes us along for some of Cassandra's life lessons and the changes that take place in her family. I REALLY enjoyed it because self awareness and meta-cognition have been a big part of my life this year, and I think this book illustrates a version of those things beautifully. It's not a happy ending/love story necessarily, but I think it's perfect just as it is. I don't recommend the movie, which is R rated for nudity (communing with nature), because it takes out the best bits about social tact and Cassandra's thoughts. And the movie totally screws up the last conversation Cassandra has with her love interest. Boo you whore to the movie. But Gruel to the book!

Other than that I read Nine Days A Queen: The Short Life and Reign of Lady Jane Grey by Ann Rinaldi. It was okay. I liked learning about the chronology of royalty after Henry the 8th and before Elizabeth, but it was just okay. I mean really...I have nothing more to say about it.

So that's what I've read recently...oh and I listened to The Life and Teachings of The Prophet Joseph Smith by Truman G. Madsen. I recommend that book a million times over! I learned so much from it. SERIOUSLY. A million times over!!!

 

Nest on the docket, Matilda by Roald Dahl and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens