More Book Talk

Today I finished Bloomability, another charming book by Sharon Creech, and just in time, too, as The Rescue arrived in my mailbox this afternoon, neatly packaged by an Amazon.com marketplace seller. Tonight I hope to begin The Rescue, the remaining published book by Nicholas Sparks that I haven't yet read (unless I've mistakenly missed one). This one's sure to be a dud. Just kidding, of course! I wanted to see if you were paying attention, and hopefully made you laugh. I don't doubt that The Rescue will be as engrossing as all the rest of Sparks' books. Of course, you may not care for romances, but obviously I do. (Preferences in reading are so personal. I'm curious in this regard, perhaps even nosy, and like to to learn what other people read, and things related to reading, which is why I've had various surveys in this blog. If you've participated in these polls, including the current one, thank you. I appreciate your input and am open to ideas for future surveys, and of course general comments.) In late September, you know I 'll be on the lookout for Sparks' brand new book, The Lucky One.

Bloomability

Finally, I've started the book Lori lent me a couple of months ago, Bloomability, by Sharon Creech, the story of a young teen who's been "kidnapped" by an aunt and uncle and taken to Lugano, Switzerland, where she attends an American School. Although she is used to moving frequently--whenever and wherever her father finds his latest job opportunity--Domenica Santolina Doone, "Dinnie" for short, doesn't understand why her parents allowed her to be whisked away to a foreign country (although it is beautiful, and she has a view of Italy from her window). She longs to be back at home with her family, to meet her sister's new baby, even though Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max are terrific, even though she makes new friends from different cultures and has new experiences. As in Eat, Pray, Love, the beauty of the Italian language is emphasized in Bloomability, and Dinnie is complimented by a teacher who says she has an "Italian tongue" (meaning that her pronunciation is good). For children who've ever felt abandoned by their families, or were sent off to school, this book will ring true. As for me, I'm enjoying this book, and find much in it to keep me entertained, including enticing descriptions of Switzerland and Italy. The mark of a good children's book is that adults enjoy reading the book as much--if not more--as children do.