What I learned this week (Numero 1)
This week I’ve been reading books about books, a travelogue, and a sci-fi book with a father-son relationship that made me reconsider my parenting style. I also watched a movie sequel/reboot that I must passionately and vehemently steer you away from. Let’s get into it!
Something I’m obsessed with at the moment are book lists and reading to my kids (boys, 4 and 2). I recently found the Read Aloud Revival led by Sarah Mackenzie and subscribed to her letter and podcast. I checked out her book from the library and briefly perused her list to see what we had read already. As it turns out, many were brand new. We have read maybe 1 in 20 from each of her lists and I didn’t recognize 50% of the titles or authors. This excites me.
There’s also a book called Honey for the Child’s Heart that has great lists of books for kids up to teens. I discovered this one a couple years ago while staying at a friend’s house. I stayed up all night reading it because, aside from the lists in the book, Ms. Hunt speaks directly to my soul. As a dad, I feel this thrilling responsibility to foster my children’s imagination. Several aspects of parenting stress me out; this is not one of them.
On the adult front, James Mustich wrote a book called 1,000 books to read before you die. I have it at home and I love just being near it. He has a way of making me interested in everything on his list with his brief but rich descriptions of what makes a particular book worth reading.
Brief aside: One reason I love parenting so much is I have a captive audience that hangs on every word of a new story. The stories may be old to me, but my 4 year old is hearing it all for the first time and I love watching his face as he experiences things. I try to build suspense or create a surprising moment or even create a tinge of fear as I read to him or tell him a story. His little face is instant feedback that something is or isn’t working with how I’m telling it. Lately I’ve been leaving him with cliffhangers, which could be viewed as child mistreatment, but I get a kick out of it. “The kids opened the door, burst outside, and saw……I’ll tell you tomorrow!” Ah, the power.
Other titles I’m working on:
Microadventures by Alastair Humphreys. While the entire book would be more relatable if I were living in the UK, the spirit of adventure that this book promotes can be applied anywhere. ANYWHERE. Even a dense, sprawling city. The philosophy of the microadventure is quite simple: Find a wild space and do something slightly outside your comfort zone. Explore the nature and wild spaces around where you live. He says “Sure, it isn’t climbing K2 – but it is something. It is an adventure, which is better than the alternative: No adventure.” He describes sleeping on a hill as an almost addictive experience. I’m trying to find a hill in my area that I can sleep on, but I could even start with the backyard. It all counts. “Microadventures are about accepting whatever compromises are necessary in order to squeeze as much adventure as you can into your own particular circumstance.”
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert Heinlein. I almost put this down after a critical plot point happened that involved departing earth and leaving the main character’s dear dad behind. I’m glad I didn’t. Heinlein has made some excellent characters that I want to spend more time with. I’ll go into more on why I like the dad so much in my next letter.
To wrap things up, I’ll send you off with a warning: If you have any affection for Mary Poppins, do not watch Mary Poppins Returns. The original was a foundational movie in my life that I watched a lot as a kid. I loved the poise and gravitas that Julie Andrews brought to that role. I was intimidated by her, but wanted to give her a huge hug at the same time. I adored her singing voice, the dancing, and even Dick Van Dyke’s cockney accent. The movie taught me about discipline, obeying wise adults, and cherishing family relationships. It also showed me that even though the world can be dark and scary and adults stiff and stingy, never stop believing in whimsy. There really can be an “element of fun in every job that must be done.”
Mary Poppins returns felt messy, tonally dissident, and didn’t spark an iota of the original magic for me. If you’re thinking “Well, you’re all grown up now” then you may not know me very well – Saving Mr. Banks made me bawl in 2013.
K, that’s it! I’d love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.
Kyle