So I was shopping at
Walmart and I came to the discount book rack (my
Achilles heel. And if the jackets have good graphics, well I'm sunk. Hello,
ramen night!) and there, knocking me out with its artwork was "Catcher in the Rye". I, unlike most of America, had never read this book so I thought I 'd give it a whirl.
I'm telling you, all the way through the book I was thinking to myself, when is the story going to start??? I am unabashedly a story reader. I like books for the
story. If it's simply character sketches or
philosophical thoughts or a political commentary, its just not going to do it for me. Maybe that's a bit blue collar of me, but I'm
ok with that. Without us blue collars where would Slaughterhouse 5 or Journey or the Boss be?
So when I got done with the book I thought 'what a
colossal waste of controversy that was' and went to the computer to google 'Why is Catcher in the Rye worth reading?'
It told me:
blahblahblah 'catcher in the rye addresses teen angst' blah blah blah.
My brain did a mental firecracker- that was it exactly! J.D. Salinger somehow managed to capture teen angst perfectly. The irritation at '
phonys', the wandering looking for a direction, the inibility to deal with strong emotion, and what I think is one of the most fantastic things about teenagers..... well, I'll get to that.
So then last night I happened to watch a Disney teen movie called "Lemonade Mouth." I watched it mostly for the name and the fact it had 4 stars. I'm telling you, people like me keep graphic designers and ad execs in business. Good dust jacket? OK! Catchy name? I'll try it!
During the movie I was thinking typical old fart thoughts about teen movies: Why do they always portray teens as passionate intelligents and adults as stupid money grubbers? Adults always look
excessively moronic or corrupted by power or safety. and Teenagers have the sassiest mouths!
And then came the other mental firecracker- but that's what I think is so great about teenagers!
They want to change their world. And they have enough passion to maybe actually do it.Holden
Caulfield wants to save a field of little kids from falling off a cliff. Be the Catcher in the Rye. He wants to save the world. Or change it in an awesome way. Kids aren't really worse than they ever were. I mean,
texting probably
will bring about the end of the world, but in a general sense, they are the same. They want to change everything. To be heard. To find a platform. To know they are of cosmic importance.
I remember feeling that way so clearly at 18. And I guess at 31 I am
fulfilling that dream/desire/yearning. Not in the way I thought I would (I mean I seriously thought I would save the entire Mongol culture by becoming a far east circuit rider. I still think that idea has merit, by the way.) I AM changing my world. My 'world' is simply much smaller than I ever imagined.
I keep thinking about the book too. Today is my cleaning day, and was thinking about Holden and how the stupid guy wouldn't call up the girl who is really important to him. He just settles for stupid Sally. WHY?? Because he's afraid of really caring for someone? Being hurt if she doesn't like him back? It's just easier to settle for
Ok than to go for the best? (I think it's the last one.)
If I can't stop thinking about the book, it must be good-to stick with me that way. To irritate me just enough to consider why it is doing so. So here is my book report- what do you think about the book? And if you read it as a christian, I don't want to hear that Holden needs Jesus. That's a cop out. I mean, I KNOW that. You know, if he were a real person vs. a fictional character. I want to hear what you think about him and what he thinks about and the themes of the book.
And Lemonade Mouth had good music, by the way.
Next up is The Night Before Christmas by Tasha Tudor. This poem just never gets old. There are a ton of versions, and a lot of them with fantastic pictures (even a pirate version that I think I am going to buy next year!) but this is the tried and true version I read my boys because it was read to me. Tasha introduced the vignette to me, and the borders of her pictures are just as good as the pictures themselves!
The Cobweb Christmas is another new one and one I can't wait to get in the mail- I remember checking this out of the library over and over again. I just love the story and the illustrations are so great. This book made me want to have a built in bed more than anything. And when she walks in and sees what the spiders have done to her tree- magical.
I am going to try and get one or two new books a year and have them set out during the season. It's really a fun way to make the holiday special.
