New York State of Mind

My general goal with this "blog" (I hate that word almost as much as the word "disconnect"--William Safire told me to never noun a verb) is to help parents discern quality reading material for their kids. I know this has been done before, and I'm sure it's been done better. Nevertheless, this is the mission I've accepted.

So, for that reason, my next entry will be entitled "Why We Need Winnie-the-Pooh."

In the meantime, another literary crisis has crossed my nightstand and I want help others navigate these stormy waters.

I like to read for information and I like to read for entertainment. but I tend to read everything a bit late. So if you're the cutting edge, New York Best Sellers, pre-order the next Janet Evanovich-type, my blog won't be of much use to you. However, if you have a couple kids, run a household, work occasionally, finish your kids' science projects for them and clean up cat vomit at 11:30 at night, I may be able to simplify some of your reading decisions.

I found a fun little book to suit both my drive for information and humor titled The Know-It-All:  One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs. This is copyrighted 2004.  I saw it on vacation in 2008 and finally bought it a month ago with my birthday money. (Because I'm frugal and rarely spend money on new books I could check out at the library.) A.J.'s project is to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica from a to z. This he attempts because since college he feels he's gradually lost more and more intelligence. This can happen when one lives in New York and works for Entertainment Tonight. Or, if you have spent any time changing diapers, watching Sesame Street, or playing Uno without Skip, Reverse, Draw 2 or Wild Draw 4 cards. Somehow I felt I could relate to A.J.

I really quite enjoyed the book because A.J. is clearly bright yet self-deprecating, never makes his audience feel dumb. This is a lesson for most of us that should not be wasted. Particularly, his intellectual skirmishes with his genius brother-in-law end with lol results. And he peppers his journey with relational stories from his East Coast family. A.J. is vulnerable enough to share his insecurities with his readers and we all feel more comfortable because of it. See, I even call him A.J. instead of "Jacobs."

This book is a good read for someone who wants to pick up some trivia and laugh a bit on the way to bed. My only caveat is that about 1/4 of the way through, almost as some after-thought to appeal to an edgier generation, A.J. begins to occasionally drop an "f" bomb, or allude to some illegal collegiate drug use. As usual, these tactics do nothing to further the story, enhance humor or engender warm fuzzy feelings on the part of the reader. I'm always baffled when the intelligent and even the pseudo-intellectuals among us stoop to this sort of low-brow dialect. Yes, i'm old-fashioned, but words mean something and the words we choose to use tell the world something about us as people. At least, that is what I tell my children.

Now, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Because then, on a whim, I decided to pick up Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. My sister and my mom really loved the movie. And since I always read the book before I see the movie (yes, 2 years late, on dvd) I grabbed it off the 14-day loan table from the library.  The nice coincidence was, I thought it could help me with this blog idea. "Wow, some people get rich doing this!"

We all know by now Powell decides to cook through all of Julia Child's recipes in a year and write about it. Well, about 5 pages in Powell begins to drop the "f" bomb with increasing regularity. Then there's the drinking, the hangovers, the 11 year-old reading her parents Joy of Sex, the conversations with friends about serial partners and explosive sex. (Okay, that just sounds dangerous.)

I'm aware I'm sounding more Puritanical by the minute. So let me clarify: I do have experience with some of those experiences. But that book was already at the house where i was babysitting-not at my parents' home! Also, i occasionally say "dammit" for dramatic effect.

Powell is a good writer. She's humorous; she's descriptive; she's clever. One of the endorsing reviews came from a favorite of mine, Lauren Winner (reformedJjewish bad girl turned Christian writer/purity crusader). My point is, if you have all that talent, why bother with the R-rated material? She even warns us about her sailor's mouth. Hey, admitting is the first of 12 steps, Julie!

I appreciate her monogomy with her husband. (So does she, she makes clear.) I appreciate her love for cats. I appreciate her juxtaposition between the real world (her hometown Austin, Texas) and New York City. I just want to warn my friends and family: you may not appreciate this book if the movie was PG-13 and the book is R. Very R. Not just a little R.

Our American culture is very nearly dominated by two crushing, converging forces:  one from New York and one from Los Angeles! What to do?! Read, watch, and blog with discerment.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, more thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you. but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." I Cor. 6:9-11.

What are we to do? We can't pretend to be perfect. We understand God views all sin as equally depraved. Can we not watch a current movie or read a current book? Paul continues to provide us an answer:

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." I Cor. 6:12 (read to verse 20!)

I have some friends who can read these books (The Know-It-All, Julie and Julia) for entertainment, for insight into life in the "real" world, for conversation starters with coworkers. I have other friends who will be glad for the forewarning. each of us has only so much time and we need to prioritize our commitments. If you can read this blog and glean some insight and some foresight, my time will be well-spent.

For those of you who would like an alternative to Julie and Julia, please consider lauren winner's memoir Girl meets God, as well as it's sequel (something or other about coffee and Tuesday mornings?  Mudhouse Sabbath?), and her book on chastity: Real Sex. she's witty, intelligent, transparent, Jewish and also lived in New York.

Hope to see you here next week for possibly a lighter topic: "Winnie-the-Pooh, and Beatrix Potter, too."