Memorial Day Weekend Reads

These are the three books I've plowed through recently. Two of them I felt a bit rushed on as I had an express 7 day check out from Herrick Library. I had been itching to read them though. I always feel like I've hit the jackpot when I come across a book I'd love to buy on that 7 day check out rack! "The Catcher in the Rye" speaks for itself. It showed up on my 15 year old daughter's summer reading list, so I dug a copy out of my stash and absorbed myself in the world of Holden Cualfield once again. The internet has made all reading so much fun! After reading "The Catcher in the Rye", I spent time looking and wondering what J.D. Salinger, the noted recluse, has been up to. I had forgotten that "The Catcher in the Rye" had played such a role in the shooting of John Lennon. From my limited research J.D. is still held up at 90 years old in New Hampshire. As my teenager watched the fervor of googling, she said I was an internet stalker! I'm just amazed how fast we can get information now--it doesn't mean I'll ever act on it. I just love asking questions that lead to more questions and seeing if my computer can take me there. I did have to tease her that perhaps on a planned vacation east this summer we should drive through J.D.'s New Hampsire town and see what's up? She thought that was a little creepy and I was only kidding. It was nice to visit with Holden Cualfield again. My perspective is so different as a mother not an adolescent. I found myself wondering at the parental philosophy that ships kids off to boarding school. I was obviously thankful that Holden still had his younger sibling Phoebe in his life. Siblings are so important as I hope my children some day realize.

It is kind of ironic that the other two books I read this weekend also have strong sibling connotations. "Run" deals with adoptions and sibling issues and "The Last Lecture" talks about childhood dreams. "Run" is fiction; "The Last Lecture" is a book about a Carnegie Mellon Professor who is dying and the lessons he wishes to leave to his three children.

I managed to make a trip on Memorial Day to visit my own two siblings. What a weekend!