What I read in May

"As I Lay Dying" recommended to: fans of Faulkner, seems like you either love him or hate him, people who have never read Faulkner and want to start with one of his less daunting novels.






"Out of the Dust" recommended to: people looking for a completely authentic voice spoken in beautiful poetic simplicity. Unforgettable. (I agree with a friend of mine, the cover is awful. Try to ignore it, I know it's hard, but try.)




"The Moon Spinners" recommended to: readers who aren't looking for anything too deep and like a little romance mixed in with their action/suspense.






"The 39 Steps" recommended to: seekers after non-stop action in a very circa 1930 England way. If you're looking for mystery look somewhere else this, as I said, is more action/evasion.






"We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families" recommended to: people with strong stomachs who want to know everything their is to know about the Rwandan Holocaust (I'm not kidding, this book is VERY comprehensive) short of living through it.





"Mitten Strings For God" recommended to: those who don't tend to jealousy and don't have issues with Stepford wives. Moms who want less TV and more REAL life. This is a wonderful book chock-full of good advice if you can get past the author's know-it-all-ativeness. I bought it.





"The Peacegiver" recommended to: anyone who is unhappy and blames it on everyone around them. Anyone who thinks that their life is going pretty well and can't figure out why their family is falling apart.





"Don't Throw Rocks At His Window" recommended to: Single young ladies. Anyone who has a young woman in their life who wants to remember what it was like, take a stroll down memory lane and possibly get a laugh or two along the way.





"The Five Love Languages of Children" recommended to: Those who have read "The Five Love Languages" who want a refresher or to look at it from a different angle.







"The Penderwicks" recommended to: anyone looking for a quick, light and fun read. People who want to start a new series when all of the volumes have not been released yet a.k.a. people who like having something to look forward to. To clarify: you won't be waiting anxiously as with a certain popular series of a few years back but it will be something NICE to look forward to.

May Author of the month: Robert McCloskey

Robert McCloskey is one of my favorite authors. I have fond memories of "Burt Dow Deep Water Man", "Blueberries for Sal" and "Make Way For Ducklings". These books are spring and summer for me. "Burt Dow" is the definite favorite of my kids. Ginny often sleeps with it. If it were just a bit shorter! I often sigh a deep sigh when asked to read it, knowing what lies ahead, but then I get caught up in the story and the language and I forget to be annoyed any longer.

What might feel like spring everywhere else feels like summer on the New England Coast. These books are my childhood and I LOVE sharing them with my children. I should have saved this author for June. I know that I am going to be too anxious to get home and start searching for small creatures in tide pools. Every place has a feeling to it and when I pull out a book by Robert McCloskey (especially the Maine ones) I can't help but be transported by them.