Reading Rainbow:

A quality TV show.

Photo- A neighbor came over to my house to do some English homework. The moth-burning candle was much more interesting than the homework, especially when enough moths built up to cause the wax to melt away and put the flame out.

Epilogue: He finished his homework with my extra flashlight since he doesn't have his own.

During the dry season I haven’t been reading nearly as much because there is almost always something going on. Also there are an average of 4 kids on my front porch at all times equipped with all sorts of wisdom. Now that it’s raining again, I hope to be able to read more, but I may have to hide in my house (as I am doing right now on my computer) in order to do so.

Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro – A very strange book about human clones falling in love with other clones. I’m not sure how I feel about it.

The Ponds of Kalambayi, Michael Tidewell – Written by a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Zaire in the 1980s, building fish ponds. I learned a lot about Zaire but in my opinion the author was a bit of a “Debby Downer” about working with poor people.

The Uncommon Reader, Alan Bennett – A quick read about a queen of England who turns into a reading and writing addict and realizes how shallow her life had been previously.

What is the What, Dave Eggers – Artfully narrated by a Lost Boy from Southern Sudan who was relocated to the United States. The author smoothly transitions between Achak’s difficult readjustment to the United States and flashbacks to his childhood growing up in refugee camps in Ethiopia. I learned a lot about Sudan and the conflict between the North and South, the Muslims and the Christians.

Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, David McCullough – This book was a long haul (622 full pages), but when I went to see the Panama Canal locks with my family it was definitely worth it to understand all of the history and technical details. Did you know that the Panama Canal was a failed and forgotten project by the French, until the US bought it? That it came down to a few votes for the US to decide whether to finish the canal in Panama or start afresh in Nicaragua?

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen – I always enjoyed books by the Bronte sisters and Henry James but I have never read anything by Jane Austen until now, surprisingly. I really enjoyed the novel, although it is a bit strange reading about such decadent 18th century living that is much more advanced than my current living standards. We have horses here but I haven’t seen any carriages yet!

I am reading Emma by Austen now.