Eulogy (or) This is why we read

Yoinked from Aphaeresis, as many of my more interesting topics often are. I think think this is especially appropriate given the recent cancellation of Reading Rainbow, a show that "teaches kids the why of reading, not the how." There was a short-lived rash of memes going around that were "Name 15 (books, movies, pieces of music, songs, etc.) that made a difference in your life." I don't think I ever bit and did one of those, because while they're always a little tempting, they're also very hard. Aphy (can I call you, Aphy?) points out that part of the problem is that we expect the book to change us, to make us better or smarter, rather than taking it for what it is, and letting it become a part of us. I think for the most part, she's talking about fiction and so am I. Nothing wrong with non-fiction, but I like to lose myself in book, and it's harder to do that with one that's reflecting the real world back at you. The meme Aphy completed is 15 books that have stayed with you, and, like her, I think that's a lot closer to the mark. At least as far as my own relationship with books is concerned. I fall in love with books. Happy endings and sad endings alike tend to make my eyes prickle, sometimes for the content, but often for the simple knowledge that my relationship with this story and these characters is ending. To Aphy's explanation of why this meme makes more sense, I would like to add only one thing. A meme that asks us to name books that have "made a difference" is making a complicated demand. Are these books we liked(whatever that means)? Books that we feel made us a better person(whatever that means)? Books that we feel we should have liked or should have made us better? Will people assume we've gone crazy if we admit that some piece of drivel by Anne Coulter made us think differently about an issue? How can we even be comfortable putting works of fiction on a list that has all that baggage? Can even something as epic as Lord of the Rings be said to have "made a difference"? Well, probably, but I think you get my point. So here are 15 books that have stuck with me. Many of them I read over and over. A couple of them keep cropping up in conversation. One of them changed the way I think about food, and that's the only non-fiction on my list. I'm still in love with Ender Wiggin. A couple of these books ravished me, leaving me exhausted and feeling as though I would never find another story so profound. And some of them made me think hard about the world we live in. I recommend them all, and welcome lists of your own, comments on my own list, or your thoughts on what books do to us.

(In no particular order)
1. Kushiel's Avatar- Jacqueline Carey
2. Kushiel's Dart- Jacqueline Carey
3. The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood
4. Lord of the Flies- William Golding
5. World War Z- Max Brooks
6. The Lord of the Rings- J.R.R.T.
7. In Defense of Food- Michael Pollan
8. Book of a Thousand Days- Shannon Hale
9-12. Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind- Orson Scott Card
13. Empire- Orson Scott Card
14. Christina Katerina and the Box- Patricia Lee Gauch
15. A Swiftly Tilting Planet- Madeline L'Engle

In My Ears

To the handful of you that actually read this, I'm sorry for the lack of posts. It's just been a pretty typical summer, so not much to write home about. Things will pick up soon, I'm sure. For now:

I settled in for some hardcore house cleaning this morning, in anticipation of the move on Tuesday, feeling a little unmotivated and reluctant. I like bringing order from chaos, but scrubbing toilets and sweeping up cat hair dust-bunnies buffaloes isn't really something I relish. But I grabbed my iPod, put it on shuffle, and hopped to. The little guy came up with a great cleaning playlist, and suddenly I feel much better about cleaning! Good job, iPod!

Everything in Its Right Place- Radiohead
Bats in the Belfry- Dispatch
Punch Up at a Wedding- Radiohead
Since U Been Gone- Kelly Clarkson (Yes, I like Kelly Clarkson. Deal with it.)
Walk Away- Franz Ferdinand
Comissioning a Symphony in C- Cake
So Happy Together- Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Annie Waits- Ben Folds
Wonderboy- Tenacious D
Feels So Good- Van Halen
Superheroes- Daft Punk
Drinking With You- Jonathan Coulton
Jigsaw Falling into Place- Radiohead
Flavor of the Weak- American Hi-Fi
Even- Dispatch
Change- Good Charlotte
All the Same- Queens of the Stoneage

This is almost enough to reillusion my disillusionment with Apple. Not quite. But we'll see if this keeps up.