Thursday, May 15, 2014

Home again.

Remember that one time that I completely neglected my blog for two whole months, neither writing new posts nor even responding to comments?

Yeah, okay. That happened just now.

But I'm back, friends. I'm back and I'm so glad.

I don't really have a good reason to be gone, but I do have reasons. The short answer is that life happened. The long answer is that I was finishing out my school semester and things got busy, and I not only neglected my blog but I also neglected most other important parts of my life including reading for pleasure, writing, spending time with friends, cooking for fun, and everything else I genuinely like to do and spent all my free time watching inane television; and then I was out of town; and then I spent all my time watching some more inane television. I'm not very proud of these last two months.

But I've finally come to my senses. Mainly because I went to the library today. There's really nothing that can bring you to your senses better than a good, long visit to the library.



And now I have the whole summer completely free. My plans are as follows:

  • Read
  • Blog
  • Write (the non-blogging kind of writing)
  • Make bread
  • Read some more
  • Make cheese
  • Grow basil and tomatoes on my balcony
  • Maybe watch a very, very small amount of inane television, and 
  • Read a lot more. 
Yeah, I know. It sounds amazing. 

Anyway, how about something a little more relevant... Here's what's happening on the reading front these days. 

My mom gave me three books for my birthday earlier this year which I've hardly had a chance to read until now, so I'm working through them right now. I'm in the middle of The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert and The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. After those I'll be reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. 

But like I said, I went to the library today. So I got a bunch of other books. 

If you've been around here much, you might have noticed that children's literature is not really my thing. Every once in a while I'll revisit an old childhood favorite, but I generally stay away from the genre in general. 

Well, the last few days I've been itching to read kid lit for some reason. I remember the wonder and awe I used to feel reading books like The Secret Garden and Half Magic. I remember being delighted and even jealous of the girls in Anne of Green Gables, Pippi Longstocking, and Little House on the Prairie. 

But there are also books that I seriously missed out on as a kid, like the E. Nesbit books (still have never read a single one) and the Diana Wynne Jones books (I think I've only read one, and I read it when I was older). I want to read those, too, so I can have them on hand when I have older kids. (Yeah, okay, I don't have kids yet, but you can never be too prepared, right?) 

I just miss the good ol' days, when reading books was more of a magical adventure into a place I wish I could go, a time I wish I could live in, or a person I wish I could be. And I want to experience that again. 

So today I got some books out of the library to start my foray back into the wilderness of kid lit (and some classic YA lit as well). I started reading Little House in the Big Woods and I still love it just as much as I did as a kid. I also perused a few Beatrix Potter tales (I never read them as a child but I've recently become fascinated by Potter), and I checked out Half Magic, an E. Nesbit book, and Pippi Longstocking. (I really wanted Anne of Green Gables too, but all the library's 4 copies were checked out. I'm so proud of the kids around here.) So we'll see how many I get through before they're due. 

Well, if you've gotten this far, thanks for reading my ramblings. Coming back to my blog feels like coming back home. I've missed you all. (And I'm coming back to your blogs, too!) 

12 comments:

  1. I wondered where you were! Well, I figured the semester had taken over your life. Glad you're back! Sounds like you have a fantastic summer ahead of you. I am discovering that having a newly-minted 14yo is going to make for a very BUSY summer. EFY, camp, youth conference, first dances...eep! But look--that means I am headed to Provo! I shall check out the library, I've never seen it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds busy! When I was a teenager my summers were always completely packed, too...
      The "library" part of the library isn't huge exactly, but I think the library is still cool because it's in the old Brigham Young Academy building, so it's historic. And it's still a lot bigger than the public library in my home town. And it's always busy, which I love.

      Delete
  2. Welcome back, Emily! Your children's lit "project" sounds like fun! I'm trying to find some time to read some children's books too, but it just hasn't happened yet.

    I've always wanted to make cheese but it sounds so intimidating. I'd be interested in hearing about your cheese making experience when it happens!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's fun so far; I'm kind of wondering how long it will last, hah. It's made me miss being a kid in some ways.

      That's how I feel, too! I would be so disappointed if I spent all kinds of time on it and it didn't turn out. Also I have to order a bunch of stuff online so I've been kind of putting it off. But I finally have tons of time to do it, so I figure I should get cracking!

      Delete
  3. I never read children's literature as a child, except a couple E.B. Whites and a C.S. Lewis. I hope you enjoy your summer reading! I just started my summer after a crazy semester, and I craved some Louisa May Alcott. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I love Little Women (maybe I need to read some more Alcott, too...) There's nothing like the fun, cheerful reads after a busy few months of school.

      Delete
  4. I don't think I ever read the Little House on the Prairie books. Now I want to! I sometimes feel kind of guilty reading children's books, as though they're not okay now that I'm an adult. I'm looking forward to having kids old enough to read children's books with (the good kind of children's books, not "A is for Apple" types)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel that way, too, sometimes...but they're so much fun! And you totally have an excuse now, because you can "prepare a list of wholesome books for Summer." ;) And Little House in the Big Woods was wonderful to me this time around, although I'm not so sure that it would be quite so exciting to someone who hadn't read it as a kid. It was really nostalgic for me, so that might be why I liked it so much. There isn't much by way of plot...it's mostly just about a 19th-century American family living their everyday lives. But they do cool stuff like smoke bear meat in a tree and make their own maple sugar. Haha. Well, it's worth a try since it's so short anyway!

      Delete
  5. Aren't the Little House books wonderful. Even in Australia we grew up with the TV series which is how I discovered the books as a kid.
    Have you ever read Bridge to Terebithia, The Silver Sword, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit or A Winkle in Time? I have very fond memories of all of these :-)

    Enjoy your summer break - lucky you - we're heading into winter (although enjoying a glorious autumn at the moment).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read A Wrinkle in Time as a kid, but not the others (although I did see the movie of Bridge to Terebithia...not as good as the book, I'm sure). I might need to read Wrinkle in Time again because I didn't like it very much as a kid. I think I was the only child in existence who didn't like it, hah.

      Winter is my favorite season! So I might be a tiny bit jealous...heh. But I'm really enjoying the spring right now. (The summer is my least favorite..it gets so hot here!)

      Delete
  6. You're going to make cheese? Do share how that goes!

    I'm making jam for the first time later today, and I'm both excited and scared.

    In other news, I'm like 2 weeks behind reading blogs, so... you're not alone! Life happens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will do! I really hope it works out. I've been intimidated by it for a long time. I hope your jam turns out well!

      Delete