Book Chatter

1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read?

2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines?

It’s been a long time since I participated in a BTT post but this one caught my eye. Mainly because I haven’t had any quality reading time at all. Do I get to read as much as I want? Never. No matter how much time I get, I always want more. I think the ideal job would involve reading all day long and getting to talk about it. Now why can’t I have that life? Oh yeah… the mortgage. Sheesh.

I tend to lean towards literary fiction but if I had all the time in the world to read, then I would read a lot more non-fiction. Travel narratives used to be a guilty pleasure of mine but I can’t seem to fit them in when there are so many other books I want to read and so little time to do so. However, I take what I can get so if only 20 minutes here and there, I usually speed read through my current pick or go for a magazine article that I can finish in one sitting.

How ’bout you?

My five-year-old collects paper. She also collects envelopes and sticky notes. She LOVES paper. Now imagine what a five-year-old would do with mail that happens to be addressed to her. Are you imagining? No? Okay, well imagine this.

While cleaning out my daughter’s backpack, I noticed a return envelope with the name “Emily” written on the front of the envelope in my daughter’s hand. The envelope was from the “Blank Blank Blank Pregnancy Center”. It was sealed. I opened the envelope and inside was a small card about pregnancy options which included abortion, adoption, etc. I immediately called my daughter over to me so I could ask her about it.

She went to her craft drawer and pulled out the original letter. The “Blank Blank Blank Pregnancy Center” sent my five-year-old pro-choice literature. Yep, my five-year-old. Now, it could be that their mailing database has her birth date out of whack and they don’t realize that she is a mere child, but do you have any idea what would have happened had she given that letter to her friend Emily?

Emily’s mom would have been appalled and my kid would have gotten suspended and I for sure would have gotten the “bonehead” award for allowing my kid to come to school with pro-choice literature. I’m guessing she spotted it when she brought the mail in yesterday.

The first thing I did this morning was send them an email. I also left a message but this place has no brick and mortar address and you cannot speak to a live person. Let’s see if I get a response. Regardless of my beliefs, this type of material should not be going to a young child. Educate them early but come on!

Chatting with friends about books and life…