Monday, January 17, 2011

News getting you down? Let these stories lift you back up!


I, Herman Melville, am addicted to the news.  I read The New York Times, my local paper, and often check other news websites each day for the latest tidbits.  I post articles that truly intrigue me on Facebook and that’s nearly a daily occurrence.  I read Time Magazine every week and find myself watching the evening news, even when their top story consists of viewer submitted photos of the latest snow storm.  Although I can’t say I’ve read every front page article in the last year by any means, I am deeply attracted to what makes a story – what others find interesting or trendy or newsworthy.  Many of these human-interest stories often wind up in some form in my own writing – sometimes in obvious ways or even just in the mind-set I’ve adopted after reading a feature article. 

But I’ve found that lately, I’m burnt out on the news.  I don’t want to know who wore what to the Golden Globes or what new technology will change my life forever or the 50 places I need to go in 2011.  I especially don’t want to read the front page articles highlighting all the sorrow that’s happening in our world today.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s hugely important to stay informed, but I’ve reached information overload.  I don’t want to hear another stat or fact or expert telling us that the world is falling apart.  It’s not that I care any less; it’s that I care too much.  Sometimes I just need to read something good and without a thick layer of sarcasm or bias to break through.

I’ve found my antidote, however, in my recent pleasure reading.  (Note to self: Never read about environmental catastrophe again before going to bed!)  Two series in the last few months have been a soothing escape from the questions too large for us to answer in compartmentalized reporting.  When you need that time-out, here are the series for you:

-- The Penderwicks Series by Jeanne Birdsall.  While there are only two books in the series thus far, they are delightful.  The plot follows the adventures of four sisters, their friends, and their mischievous pets.  As a sort of update of Little Women, these four sisters slowly grow up under the not-so-careful watch of their absent-minded Professor/Father.  I was already charmed on page 1.  While you can see every plot development coming a mile away and the girls each embody their own “classic” female stereotype (the wanna-be writer, the dramatic/angsty one, the clever but young one, and the macho girl who finds her feminine side), I didn’t mind.  Instead, I was rooting on the happy ending and for the girls to continue to live in their world of rambunctious, innocent fun.

-- The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley.  I’ve recommended these books to just about everyone I’ve met over the last few weeks.  I got started on the series during my students’ finals and have already gotten through Book 7 (of 9 planned I believe).  The plot -- a fantasy world where fairy tale characters (and Shakespeare’s Puck) are real, immortal, and bent on committing petty crimes in the small town of Ferryport, New Jersey while being investigated by various members of the Grimm family -- is even loonier than it sounds.  Fast-paced, clever, and not afraid to tackle the real feelings of teens, I’ve literally laughed out loud at their capers.  It doesn’t hurt that Buckley takes none of those fairy tale plots too seriously and can mix them with aplomb for intriguing results.

Now, I’m not suggesting that these books will change your life forever, but they will certainly still please you for a few days after your reading.  In fact, the plots in their series can seem interchangeable and I had to confirm on Wikipedia to make sure I’m not checking out the same book again from the library.  Can I read these books forever?  Hardly.  But they are helpful when you need some perspective to realize that the sky isn’t quite going to fall today so you might as well enjoy a few quiet moments before entering back into the fray.

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