To Finish A Book

I haven't written about what I've been reading lately because I'm trying to finish a book.

Three to be exact.

For the past few months I've been slowly making my way through the collection of "The Short Stories" of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I get the most reading done when Mattie goes down for a nap. Something about these stories put her right to sleep. I'll often linger for a few minutes after she falls asleep to get in a page or two more. I can't go beyond that because her nap times are when I work one-on-one with Jack and/or try to catch up on e-mail.

About a hundred pages into that book I also started reading Ann Voskamp's "One Thousand Gifts."

The book isn't an easy read. It's deeply personal and full of many questions and doubts, which makes the reader trek slowly and carefully over the words and through the passages.

Voskamp's quest for joy in a life filled with strife and suffering resonates loud and clear.

With the children I've been reading the usual: poems, the Bible and story books. Additionally, we started Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" last month.

Anyone familiar with the Disney version of Kipling's story will be surprised to find that the book goes beyond the story of Mowgli and his hunt for Shere Khan into other interesting tales.