Giselle is soaking up the books. And then resoaking them up if she doesn't get any new ones in her clutches. We picked up the full set of A Series of Unfortunate Events for her when we celebrated our Anniversary last January. eBay rules. Boy was she bug-eyed and excited when she opened that box up.
She was in the middle of re-reading Where the Red Fern Grows and The Two Towers when we headed to Oklahoma last week. While we were there, we hit the Elk City Denny's more than a couple times because we were on perpetual Arizona Dinner Time, and everything else closes at 9 PM in the semi-rural plains. Somehow or other, our waitress got into a conversation with Giselle about what she was reading, and they decided they were twins separated by ten years or so. She made a few reading suggestions for Giselle to hit next, including the Anne of [insert location here] series. I ran across the series at Bookman's a couple days ago and picked them up for her. She's deep into the first book (the Green Gables one) and according to Amanda has given it a hearty thumbs up. (She's into thumbs-up and head-nodding these days.) I also snagged The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn for a hint of Twain. And then Of Mice and Men because doggonnit, I'm going to get her to read some Steinbeck.
I should also note that she wants us to move to Oklahoma. The vast, teeming number of cousins, the outdoor escapes, the farm animals, the crystál méth...oh wait. She wasn't there long enough to develop that craving. But then she encountered the dilemma of what to do about being further away from her Phoenix cousins. So we'd have to move them out somehow. Then they could all form a militia. If properly chronicled, it might make a nice series.
"And then Of Mice and Men because doggonnit, I'm going to get her to read some Steinbeck"
I want to give you a man hug right now.
Denver!
Man, I have a lot of backlogged manhugs to dole out.
How's Atlanta?
Good question. Seeing as I'm still in Las Vegas I don't really keep up with the current events in Hotlanta :)
Re: Steinbeck--back in high school when I first read "Of Mice and Men" I was inspired to read all his work in one long sitting. Realizing that he had been deceased for awhile I rationed his books to one novel a year which would satisfy me well into adulthood. I missed a few years here and there as I was closing in on finishing the entire Steinbeck library, prolonging the Steinbeckian experience.
Not sure I was long-winded there but the point I am trying to get at is I treated myself to "The Moon is Down" this year. You would like it as so would Giselle when she's a little older to understand war themes and enemy occupation of another country.
Hah! When I checked your post, it listed Atlanta as the ISP location. I figured you must've moved and I had forgotten =)
I'm not nearly as well-Steinbecked as you, but apart from Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, and The Grapes of Wrath, I've enjoyed In Dubious Battle, Cannery Row, and Cup of Gold. I've wanted to read the others, but have never made the time for it. Now you've got me itching even more. Tortilla Flat is next!
East of Eden ranks high in the Steinbeck library.
His fiction is top notch but there's something about Travels With Charley that resonated more with me than the novels. Probably had something to do with reading it while I was on a solo roadtrip to Oregon.
I've been putting off East of Eden for awhile. Maybe next year :)