Hitting the Books

Top 10 Lists, that is.

Here’s my contribution to the unending supply of lists.

Children’s/YA Books that You Should Keep Reading as an Adult.

In no particular order:

(And before someone gets huffy, I’ll tell you that I’m purposely not putting Tolkien on this list because I don’t consider him a children’s/YA author.)

1. The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Susan Cooper. My college buddies and I loved this series so much that we based our only (pout) trip to the British Isles on the locations in these books (mainly Mevagissey/Trewissick and Cader Idris). And I bought a really cool all-in-one version in Oxford

2. Little House books, Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read these probably once a year at least, and unlike the folks over here, I never thought Laura treated Almanzo badly. I just figured she didn’t have clue how to act. But Farmer Boy is definitely my favorite. Probably all that food.

3. The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis. No need for explanation. My dad read these to me long before I could read them myself–they’re probably the #1 reason I love fantasy so much.

4. The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and Curdie, George MacDonald. Lewis considered MacDonald one of his biggest influences. I just think the stories are cute.

5. Watership Down, Richard Adams. Didn’t much care for Fiver, or Hazel really. But Bigwig is top bunny in my book

6. A Wrinkle in Time/A Wind in the Door/A Swiftly Tilting Planet/Many Waters, Madeline L’Engle. The first two mainly because I heart Calvin (I have a thing for red-headed heroes–comes from my Trixie Belden days), and I was so Meg growing up (minus the braces and the math–for me it was English and history). Waters is an interesting take on Noah and the Flood.

7. The Ordinary Princess, M.M. Kaye. Wonderful story, great illustrations. It was only recently that I realized Kaye was the same author who wrote The Far Pavillions and Shadow of the Moon (which is one of the most gruesome “romances” I’ve read)

8. Anything by Marguerite Henry. Especially The Album of Horses. I can remember checking and rechecking and rerechecking that one from my elementary school library. Found it at a library booksale last year. The Punkin likes looking at the “doggies” already

9. Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell. I love survival stories, and this is one of the best, though a sad one.

10. Ramona series, Beverly Cleary. I’m not real big into Beverly Cleary’s other books, but I can read and reread Ramona. Don’t know why. Perhaps it’s that imagination of hers that just won’t stop…

And because I just couldn’t leave it out…

1. Night of the Twisters, Ivy Ruckman. This one has an emotional attachment. The Sequoyah award is Oklahoma’s version of the Newbery. Because I read all 12ish books on the nominee list in ‘84-’85, I got to go see the winning author, Ivy Ruckman, and got an autographed copy of this book. Beyond that, it’s just a really good story.

So, which childhood favorites do you still read?

You’d think that with my prolonged absence from the blogosphere I’d have some great excuse, like I’ve actually been writing for once, or the Punkin decided that she would only eat striped foods, or the American Punkin clothing line got bought out by Babies-R-Us already.

No such excuse.

Why the long silence?

I read a book. It was my hubbie’s fault (well, actually, it was my uncle’s fault originally–he told DH to read it).

The Long Emergency, by James Kunstler.

Basic premise: We’ve passed peak oil output, there are no alternative fuel sources strong enough to take over from oil, so it’s all downhill from here.

Kunstler is very doom and gloom, going on about no oil, no cars, no electricity, no suburbia.

His solution? Prepare to move back into small towns (like in New England) and farms, and back into agriculture and handicrafts.

Now I’m not an end-of-the-world type person, and I’m still not so sure about Kunstler’s credentials (he was an editor. Of Rolling Stone no less.). But I have a background in International Affairs (no, not the kind James Bond has) and a lot of what he says resonates true.

I’ve always liked to imagine what I would do if thrust back into a non-tech world like Swiss Family Robinson (okay, so how many of you just loved that treehouse?). So the past few weeks I’ve been letting my imagination go nuts with this scenario.

If nothing else, it’s finally gotten the DH to agree to look into buying land. And building a nice “green” house. And I can consider all this reading research for some future novel.

Anyone out there have any thoughts they’d like to chime in with?

Well, here I am back in my usual Sunday afternoon spot–sitting in the car in the church parking lot whilst the Punkin sleeps in the back seat. My hubbie is inside chatting with friends and eating (it’s a potluck dinner day). I’m barefoot in the front seat, laptop on lap (a good place for it, I guess), WIP open and ready to continue. I want to be writing. I should be writing. So why aren’t I writing?

Because I happened to pick up a wireless network from where I’m sitting. Suddenly I have Internet access in the parking lot, and the temptation is too great to resist (and on Sunday too.)

I shall be good girl now, and post this, then log off the Net and put my fingers to the keys in a more productive cause.

Had a little fun with this quiz (link found courtesy of Susan):

Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!!
created with QuizFarm.com

Actually, I really don’t remember Emma much. Read it back in 12th grade, and didn’t like it enough to read again. And no, I didn’t see the movie, which might be a good thing. Perhaps I should remedy that soon (in my copious amounts of spare time).

Elinor is actually my favorite character. Okay, maybe a more accurate statement would be Emma Thompson’s Elinor is my favorite character (Sense and Sensibility one of the few chick flicks I’ll watch), but I know I’m not near as logic-ruled as she is.

However, since she and Emma tied for #1, I guess I can be satisfied with that

Well, we just got back from the allergist. They tested the Punkin for 56 different allergens (poor thing looked like a swarm of mathematical mosquitoes had mauled her back.). And it turns out that she is allergic to (drumroll please):

Cow’s Milk (butter, cheese, cream, whey, yogurt, caseinates, hydrolysates, etc) Eggs (whites, yolks, globulin, mayonnaise, meringue, etc.) Peanuts (peanut butter, oil, hydrolyzed plant protein, etc.) Tree Nuts (cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds, nut oils and butters, pecans–that was her biggest allergen) Oats

Those are the 5 that we have to avoid completely until they test her again next year. That doesn’t count the ones we have to avoid for a week or so, then add in one at a time to see if there’s a reaction. Those are corn (do you know just how many things have corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup in them?!), apples, pears, beef, turkey, chicken, and tomatoes.

Now we get to carry an Epi-Pen, just in case. Her allergies seem to be only skin-related, but the allergist wanted us to be prepared if one day her body decided anaphylaxis would be a fun thing to experience.

The good news is:

1. These are somewhat common childhood allergies, and the Punkin will most likely outgrow most of them in the next year or so.
2. She is also just peachy with wheat and soy. Between those two and all the fruits and veggies she can have we should still be able to give her a nice varied diet. Thank goodness for the Internet and all those free recipes!
3. She’s not allergic to her beloved doggies.

Thanks to those of you who sent well-wishes. I really appreciate them