Benold Book Blog

When I was a kid there used to ba a TV program called “This Is Your LIFE!” Clues were given and identities revealed. Sometimes the guests were celebrities, sometimes members of families were united. All the participants had unique moments and shared memories that helped form the person that they had become. Everybody’s life has those little quirks and serendipities that make us different and special.

I read a couple of books just lately that reminded me of this. Trudy by Jessica Lee Anderson (an Austin Author by the by) is the story of a middle school girl whose parents are old enough to be her grandparents. Her mother was in her late fifties and her father many years older than that when Trudy was born. She loves them and the special traditions and family lore that are theirs alone. However, sometimes it is just plain hard to have parents that cannot do what your friends’ parents can. It is even harder when you find out that your dad has Altzheimer’s disease. This book has quite short chapters that make it an easy book to navigate.

The Very Ordered Existence Of Merilee Marvelous by Suzanne Crowley is the story of thirteen-year-old Merilee whose self-imposed regime includes a pb and j with a pickle daily, and a trip to recycling once weekly on Fridays. Merilee has Asperger’s syndrome. Extraordinarily bright, she needs her routines to hold her world together. Biswick, the young boy who moves into her neighborhood, does not understand that  kind of order. Biswick too is special and he insinuates himself into Merilee’s life, disrupting her precise schedules. It takes some getting used to but each helps the other grow.

A couple of other titles about kids with ADHD come to mind. There are all of the Joey Pigza books by Jack Gantos, funny but with an emotional tug. I also read The Middle of Somewhere by  J. B. Cheaney.

Have you read a book about someone with a special need? How can these kinds of books help the reader to change and grow? Maybe you can tell me about a book that has helped you to understand someone else’s point of view, life style, or disability.

I cannot rewire my brain. I learned to love reading when I finally got the hang of phonics in the first grade. My dad restricted TV to one hour of cartoons on Saturday morning and weekly episodes of Lassie and later the Flintstones. Yes, I played catch and shot hoops with my brother but reading was the best.

Books let me visit places and meet people and experience times past and future. For me these “trips” are vivid in my own imagination. I do not need the addition of graphics and sound effects to engage me. Currently I am reading Rick Riordan’s The Battle of the Labyrinth and Kate Thompson’s The Last of the High Kings. Both have sword scenes at the beginning. One finishes off a mythical creature masquerading as a cheerleader. The other demands the life of a son to maintain honor and to guard the sacred places for eternity.

I can see them both becoming successful movies but I prefer the freedom to create my own images first, to linger if I choose rather than rush through. If things are too intense, I can take a break. The author creates but once the words are published, they become mine to tickle my imagination, allowing me to fit myself into the story wherever I choose.

What are your feelings about books and reading? Do you find it slow or absorbing? What makes a book work for you? Do you like to hear it read aloud? Are books going to go away?