As we lurch toward November 6th,
this Common Household Mom has many deep thoughts, but not a moment to write them
down. I have time to read, only because
it (sometimes) helps me fall asleep.
Here are the first lines of the books I
finished reading during September.
Book 1
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet
Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
Book 2
The gate was packed with weary travelers,
most of them standing and huddled along the walls because the meager allotment
of plastic chairs had long since been taken.
Book 3
Prologue
In early September 2017, in the eighth month
of the Trump presidency, Gary Cohn, the former president of Goldman Sachs and
the president’s top economic adviser in the White House, moved cautiously
toward the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
Book 4
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will
of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers and
sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Book 5
The Forethought
Herein lie buried many things which if read
with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here at the dawning
of the Twentieth Century. This meaning
is not without interest to you, Gentle Reader; for the problem of the Twentieth
Century is the problem of the color line.
The titles and authors revealed:
Book 1
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. © 1997
(or 1998 in US). Delightful to read
again. It was calming to spend time with
these well-known characters who face evil and adolescence all at the same time.
But in this case we know that they will eventually vanquish the evil and become functioning adults. I
am eagerly awaiting the library’s kindle copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I am 49th in line.
Book 2
Skipping Christmas: Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham. ©
2001
Either I was in a foul and desperate mood
when I read this, or Grisham dropped a brick on his foot during the writing of
this book, and he was in a foul
mood. It was supposed to be funny, but I
found it quite annoying. I don’t know
why, but I did finish it.
Book 3
Fear: Trump in the White House, by
Bob Woodward © 2018.
This was the first book I have ever bought in
advance of the release date. I wasn’t
interested in the other tell-all books about the Trump Administration, but this
one promised to be assiduously researched and truthful. Since Woodward is, in fact, a writer of
integrity, there are holes in the narrative where I wanted to understand better
just what was going on - if he couldn't say it with certainty, he's not going to conjecture. Filling in the missing info will have
to wait for the historians. But on the
whole, my reaction to the book is: Oh, my Lord, save us. This was a book I could not read at night
with any hope of peacefully falling asleep.
Book 4
Colossians (NRSV), by a follower of Paul,
or maybe Paul. ©~50 to 80 C.E.
After
reading the Woodward book, I needed something very holy to read. Colossians was a reasonably good antidote to
the subject matter of Woodward’s book. Set
your minds on things that are above, not on earthly things. These days, I’m finding it hard to do that.
Book 5
The Souls of Black Folk, by W.E.B.
Dubois © 1903
I started reading this book in March, and it
took me this long to finish it, not because it was a slog to read, but because
other more pressing reading kept coming up.
This is a book that is possible to read in spurts, the way I did. Even though it was written over 100 years
ago, much of it is still pertinent today, sadly. Du Bois has insights about humanity in general, and American society in particular. I recommend this book.
