Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Reading Rampage

As I walked down the halls of the school I get to see a lot of things, usually the kids artwork and projects which is always cool. A school as small as ours allows me to get to know the kids so when I see their projects I know who made them and can see who has genuine talent, who tried really really hard, and who could care less about it (an attitude I had at times from what I remember). This week the poster for Reading Rampage went up. Reading Rampage is the reading competition we have each year where the kids read as many books as possible from a list and the event culminates in a big trivia quiz thingy at the end. Basically it is an attempt to make reading as exciting as football or hockey and for those who see reading as the best thing ever it totally succeeds. I love it because it get some kids reading who don't have the full passion for it yet and any excuse to read is a good one.

Candace and I read to Cordelia a fair bit, I buy her books all the time. Richard Scarry, Tiny Titans (a comic book for those learning to read), and pretty much anything that looks fun while teaching reading (Cowboy, Ninja, Bear was a fun find that modifies the whole Rock, Paper, Scissors game and gives it a cute legend). All the focus on reading lately has helped me to realize how negligent I have been of my own imagination through the written word. I love reading. I have always loved reading. In this modern world though I have a lot of distractions of the video variety. Games, TV shows, movies, you name it I was getting distracted by it. I have always been reading comic books but it isn't the same as reading an old fashioned wordy tome and letting your mind do the work of envisioning characters and defining words that you may not readily know. I didn't realize how much I had missed it until I started reading again.

It actually began as a way to be near Candace and Cordelia at bed time (for Cordy) in case Candace needed me or if I needed to give putting our daughter to sleep a shot (something we are fighting with her on right now) but now I read on after she is asleep and sometimes after Candace has gone to sleep beside me. I am feeling a little trepidatious as I type this because I want to keep it going but thus far I have only gotten through one book and just started another last night. The first book was huge though. I got two copies of Stephen King's "Under the Dome" for Christmas as a sort of omen that I needed to read this one which is an easy task as I absolutely loooove Stephen King. Say what you want about the world's most popular and most criticized novelist, the man knows how to weave a tale. At 1078 pages Dome weighs in as one of his longest books like The Stand or Needful Things but the guy is a master of large scale, huge cast books and I was eating it up. As I got back into reading my mind was like a dry sponge beginning to get its first taste of water in a while. My imagination was in overdrive and I simply couldn't put it down (unless I had to), every night I got to reading a little longer and a little longer. I enjoyed every page, even though the book was slightly anticlimactic and I had that sadness that comes every time I finish a book. Its tale has been spent, there is nothing left but to say goodbye and grieve my companions of the last few feverish nights. Ah, but then there is the next adventure.

I am finding myself in a bit of a conundrum though, I have started my next book and it is a tougher read and I am not sure whether to continue with it or put it down and grab another until I am sure I can handle it and stick with the reading. I feel like have gone from jogging around the block to the Grouse Grind. The book is by one of my favorite authors (Jasper Fforde) but it is clear his vision is more complete in his head than what has come out onto the page thus far. Entitled "Shades of Grey" it takes place in a world ruled by a colortocracy where people are placed into category based on the colors they see the best. Its like a caste system based on colour. I would love to explain it further but I seriously cant yet. At times it is like I have somehow forgotten how to speak English and I must reread a sentence. Fforde often expects a lot of his readers and dives into world that are fully formed without sharing it all with the reader, an aspect I generally like because that is exactly how we experience our world after all. But in this case? Oy! So the question is do I keep at it and pray I don't lose this regained passion, or put it down to return to it when I ready for something a little more advanced? I want to keep going with it, and I have decided two more nights with it for sure but we'll have to wait and see I guess. I don't want my Reading Rampage to end until all volumes of lore lay defeated at my feet its just some of these monsters may be a little mighty to slay right now.

No comments: