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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Summer reading

No summer vacation could be complete (or sadly come to an end) without
the requisite, "Summer Reading."
Back in the late 70s the people at RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) began
a propaganda campaign to convince parents that there children's brains
will deteriorate if they don't read at least seven books every three
months. This summer, all of my kids have been feverishly reading all
summer... Again. I know their misery, as I did 13 years of forced
reading during my most crucial formative years.
Jacob, who somehow seems to prefer playing over reading (and more than
willing to risk brain deterioration)... Has been the last of our
children to complete his reading regimen. In fact, we were laying down
the law last night that he had to do 2-hours of reading to catch up...
45 minutes in, Barb asks Jacob how much he liked the book she got for
him at the library off the book list...
"I don't like it very much." Jacob exclaimed. Why Barb asks
innocently? "Well, it's all about dresses and girls... It's going to
take me forever to finish this book..."
I don't think even women like books about dresses and girls...