Three Cups of Tea - or One Big Foot in My Mouth

I usually overeat at book club meetings – things like Kristen’s baklava are just too irresistible. For our next meeting, however, I won’t be eating any food because my foot has been firmly placed in my mouth. Why, you wonder? Because having only read (and then reread) the first 70 pages of Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin I made a total judgment of the entire book - I pretty much trashed it. But I couched my trashing with, “I love the message, I agree with what Mortenson was trying to do but I can’t stand the hero worship on the part of the author and the lack of responsibility Mortenson shows in the beginning.”

Well, I should have kept reading… and I’m so glad I did. I’m not sure if the writing style suddenly changed after the first 70 pages or if the enthusiasm and passion of my fellow book club members spurred me on… but when I got home from book club I picked up the book and started reading it again. Sure there are things that I, as an editor, would have taken out or done differently with the book, but overall I am heartened by this book in a way I haven’t been since March, 2003 when the US began Operation Iraqi Freedom. Maybe there is a way to make a difference in the lives of people – and it isn’t by forcing our values and way of life onto others – but to provide them with access to education that will help them see the good in others.

At the same time, we in America need to continue building understanding toward others. After watching a CNN feed of the bombing in Baghdad, Brigadier General Bashir Bas of Pakistan tells Mortenson, “You have to attack the source of your enemy’s strength. In America’s case, that’s not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever” (p. 310). Could we just try working on things that way for once? Please?!

So, if you promise to try to wade through the first 70 pages of Three Cups of Tea and then take the message to heart, I’ll try and swallow the foot I earlier placed in my mouth.

Looking for good children's books? Try here...

One of the most important items on Sophie's Christmas list was a "really, good thick book." I tried to find her one - thinking about what she'd been reading and looking at various websites for suggestions. I semi-succeeded in the pursuit of a good book but in fact, all I really should have done was talk to her friend Sophia. It seems as though Sophia and her older brother Lucas always have a good book around. Today, after talking with their mom, I found the secret to their success - a book-loving grandma, a store in Milwaukee called Harry W. Schwartz and a catalogue called Chinaberry. I checked out both websites (Grandma K. isn't available to me)and they look wonderful - easy to use, full of categories for choosing books, and nice reviews. So, even though I haven't ordered from either yet, I'm recommending the sites to all of you - especially all of you with kids or grandkids.

It's never too late to start enjoying fiction...

In the almost-twenty years Dave and I have been together I’ve never known him to read a fiction book; in fact I’ve only known him to read a few “business” books along with tons and tons of trade magazines. This isn’t an adult habit, I’m thinking he’s always been this way since the only children’s book he entered into this marriage with was Fabulous Facts about the 50 States. When I was teaching at the university I once started to use him as an example of aliteracy but suddenly realized (as I was talking) that he doesn’t fit the definition at all – it’s just that he reads totally different material than I do and in my biased world I was thinking I was the "better" (as in stereotypical) reader.

Still, imagine my surprise when he went to my office and picked out a fiction book to read, finished it within a few days, chose another one, and has kept going for the past month. In fact, when he recently traveled to Dublin for a business trip he packed his usual trade magazines AND a fiction book.

I don’t know what brought about this change in Dave, but I surmise it might have something to do with seeing how much the rest of his family love books. One night before he left for Dublin the five of us sat around in the family room for a half-hour – each of us with a book in our hands and me with a big smile on my face. It was wonderful – now if I can only get him to go on a Barnes and Noble “date” with me…yeah right, don’t think that’ll be happening anytime soon.

Favorite Book Series

Since first grade, Sophie has devoured the Geronimo Stilton books. They are the typical formulaic fiction that ultimately help kids take risks and become better readers - not unlike the Trixie Beldon books of my day. There's always the same constant set of characters that the reader comes to rely on; they provide a certain sense of predictability and stability that can be comforting to a reader. The Geronimo Stilton books are a bit different from other series novels because of their layout – they still have some pictures and the text font is, at times, colorful and whimsical.

Although Sophie is still sure to order a Geronimo Stilton book from any book order she’s more apt to dig through my baskets of children’s literature and pull something out from there to read. However, she’s begun sharing her love of Mr. Stilton with Lucy and John. For the past three nights they’ve cuddled up either in Lucy’s bed or by the fire as she’s read The Search for Sunken Treasure to them. Three kids cuddled by the fire, reading – what a wonderful sight.