Is this the shortest reading log I've ever published? Maybe! Blame youth camp, a family beach trip, a reading slump, and several long books (one of which I finished, two of which I'm still working on). Enjoy reading this, it won't take you long!
If there's one thing we value in the U.S. of A., it's work. From the pilgrims to the pioneers to today, America's citizens have long found meaning in our jobs, seeing them not merely as a means to get by but as a source of purpose.
So in 1974, writer and historian Studs Terkel shined a light on America's workers, from nurses to nuns, from steelworkers to stewardesses. Working is a voluminous series of interviews with worker of all stripes, primarily out of Chicago, where subjects explain what they do and why they do it. Some confess that their job is just a job, while others take tremendous pride in what they produce. Some are happy in their work, others can't wait for something else to come along. But to a person, everyone understands that work is necessary.
This book is looooong—nearly 650 pages, and with frustratingly small print—and it's a bit tedious when read for long stretches at a time. But taken in bite-sized chunks, it's an illuminating (if dated) look at the so-called "forgotten people" of our country, the working class folks who keep society functioning. I admit that I appreciated this book more than I enjoyed it, but I'm glad to have spent the month in its pages.
MYSTERY IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK by Aaron Johnson
This month, my kids' bedtime reading veered away from the works of Roald Dahl (we're essentially finished with everything he's written) and went in a totally different direction, courtesy of Andrew's teacher at Herfurth Elementary. Knowing that he's interested in America's national parks, over the summer she gifted him four books in an ongoing series set in the parks.
Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park establishes the series' premise: Jake, his cousin Wes, and their family friend Amber are on a scavenger hunt set up by Jake's late grandfather, one which will take them through multiple national parks and which has roots deep in our nation's past. But even as they solve the various clues, they must be mindful that a mysterious, sinister group of opponents is doing the same. Basically, National Treasure meets John Muir.
The series is pretty classic children's lit, seeking to educate and entertain simultaneously. And while for an adult it's a little transparent in its attempts to teach about conservation and outdoor safety, the kids were eating it up. I can't think of a night all month when they weren't begging me to read at least one chapter.
In September we'll continue with the second book in the planned 10-part series, this one set in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Thanks, Mrs. Posey!
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