Delighted, I'm Sure

As you may have guessed from my title, I am delighted that such a blog has been started, and I do hope to hear from many of you. Besides, I am competitive by nature and I would like to do what I can to one up the other disciplines (written with a smile). And of course it is only fitting that we should be writing to each other. I have already gathered some book recommendations from the postings, and so I thought I would offer you a preview of my summer reading plans. First and foremost, I will be performing repeated readings of P.D. Eastman's Are You My Mother to my daughter, Meg. My longing for stage stardom is somewhat pacified by the rapt attention of my son and daughter. I wish you could hear how I make that baby birdie cry, "I want my mother!" In addition to a plethora of Bernstein Bear books (in spite of their matriarchal fanfare), I completed reading Cry, the Beloved Country several weeks ago while riding on my recumbent bike. Any words I use to try and describe that work will sound cliche. Read it. I am now reading Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, and for some reason every time I say the title I want to say "Crisco." Perhaps this tendency is some Freudian slip for my belief in the richness of this book. No - more then likely it is due to my obsession with baked goods. Anyway, I believe The Count of Monte Cristo to be the perfect summer read; the setting alone takes you to salty air, sunshine, and adventure. What captivates me most is really the story. Quite frankly, I am longing for a good story so that I can read without a furrowed brow and remember that good really does prevail, or rather, good has prevailed. And I am sorry to end by breaking one of my pet peeves of writing: do not overuse a word and avoid using words that are vague, like "good." My excuse is summer, the honeysuckled air, and the indulgence of it all.
C. Gleason