The World According to Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers

I picked up this little gem on a walk around the library.  I thought it would be memoir-like, but instead I was happily surprised with a colleciton of quotes and excerpts from Mister Rogers writings.

"A timeless collection of wisdom on love, friendship, respect, individuality, and honesty from teh man who has been a friend and neighbor to generations of Americans"

Here's a taste from each section of the book:

• The Courage to Be Yourself - "The values we care about the deepest, and the movements within society that support those values, command our love.  When those things that we care about so deeply become endangered, we become enraged.  And what a healthy thing that is!  Without it, we would never stand up and speak out for what we believe."
• Understanding Love - "In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers."
• The Challenges of Inner Discipline - "I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said "yes," when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to someone else."
• We Are All Neighbors - "The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings.  Some people have many blessings and hoard them.  Some have few and give everything away."  Bonus: "'L'essential est invisible pour les yeux.' (What is essential is invisible to the eyes.) The closer we get to know the truth of that sentence, the closer I feel we get to wisdom."

I grew up watching Mister Rogers Neighborhood, and this kindhearted man is one of my heroes.  With every page turn, I could almost hear his voice, and picture him in his foyer dolling out his final thought of the day while donning his outdoor coat.  

When I was doing a lot of paper-writing in college, I collected books like these to augment and inspire my writing.  I'll be adding this one my little shelf of treasures.  It's not one that you read cover to cover, but one that you come back to when you need encouragement or a little reminder about what's really important.

The Boys are Back by Simon Carr

I'm discovering a love for memoirs.  Well, cleverly written ones anyway.  This one certainly fits the bill.   

This is what Amazon had to say:   

"So there we are, a father and two sons in a household without role models, males together in a home different from anything I'd known--an idyllic Lost Boys' world with a house full of children and as few rules as possible."

When Simon Carr's wife Susie lost her battle to cancer, Carr was left to raise his 5-year old son, Alexander, on his own. Soon after, Hugo, his 11-year old son from a previous marriage comes to live with them. Now, this motley crew of boys have to learn how to be a family. Along the way, Carr reveals some illuminating truths about parenting and the differences between mothers and fathers. His messy household bears no similarity to the immaculate home his wife kept; his response to mothers on the playground fretting about his son's safety on the handlebars is, "If he falls, at least he'll know not to do it again." Emotionally honest and sharply witty, Carr's story is at once heartbreaking and wonderfully life-affirming.

One thing I'll readily admit:  There were some parts of the book I just didn't get.  But I won't blame that on the writing.  I'll blame it on the differences between men and women.  I think it would be interesting to discuss some of my "huh?" moments -- whether it was a joke I didn't get or an anecdote that didn't quite resolve -- with a bookworm of the male persuasion. 

One thing I really liked:  I discovered this book because I watched the movie "The Boys are Back" starring Clive Owen as Simon Carr.  And moments I loved most in the movie were taken word for word from Carr's original. I love that.  Now granted, Carr is a writer by trade.  So he's used to expressing himself through words.  But I still adore that Hollywood chose to stick with him. Not all details of Carr's life remain the same.  But I bet you that the lines that will get quoted from the movie are straight from the inspired pen of Simon Carr.

This memoir is full of clever lines and touching moments.  "Death by tetanus would have had disastrous political consequences on my theory of hygiene."  "I found myself sobbing too -- not exactly because I was unhappy, but to make him hear me up three flights of stairs, to show him he wasn't alone."  Totally worth picking up and devouring.

And I quote...

The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long gone. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.

~ The History Boys.

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins

I'm in grad school, so I have to do a lot of reading on the specific topic of organizational and leadership theory. I like my chosen field. Don't get me wrong. But sometimes, the required reading is...less than exciting.

I read Hunger Games earlier this year and absolutely adored it. Suzanne Collins is a very visual author. Not once did I feel lost in any of the action scenes. I felt as if I was there. I could totally emerse myself in her fictional world. It was also the kind of book that you can't put down. Once you begin, you're strapped in for the ride. It was a unique book with a great cast of characters and an engrossing (yet unfinished) story.

In short, I was counting the days until the sequel.

Catching Fire did not let me down. After impulse buying it from Amazon, I forced myself not to read it as soon as it arrived (since I'm being such a diligent student). But last week I decided to take a brain break from my organizational theory and just read a chapter. Two chapters. 100 pages. Just 15 more minutes. Half the book. Well, since I'm halfway, I might was well keep going.... Yep, I read the whole thing it in a few hours without putting it down and LOVED every bit of it. (Sorry school work! I tried to resist, I really did!)

Some twists I saw coming. Others I did not. But I truly enjoyed watching these characters navigate the challenges presented to them. Stephanie Collins doesn't back away from complication. She dives in headfirst; which makes for an adventure story that's relatable and relevant, even while it's larger than life.

In short: at the end of my second helping, I'm eagerly looking forward to a third.

(I'm also wondering if I can find a real-life Cinna. I love him. And when he said "Don't worry. I alway channel my emotions into my work. That way I don't hurt anyone but myself," he immediately made me think of the quote "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence." What a wonderful little nugget of truth from a fantastic character! ...I want more!)

And I quote...

Of all the diversions of life, there is none so proper to fill up its empty spaces as the reading of useful and entertaining authors.~ Joseph Addison ~

She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain. (1873) ~ Louisa May Alcott ~

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to bechewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts,others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly,and with diligence and attention.~ Francis Bacon ~