Summer seems to be the only season I take the time to read books for pleasure. I’m pretty selective about what I pick up, since I only have those few weeks to get my annual page count read, so I only read what’s tried and true – and highly recommended by people I respect. I thought I’d share with you some of the books I’ve enjoyed the most in the past few summers. Most are not new releases, since I generally find them at garage sales. Some are VERY old classics. Enjoy!

NON-FICTION

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, by Elizabeth Gilbert – I’m in the process of reading this right now. It’s a brilliant read about a woman’s search for self as she travels for a year across Italy, India and Indonesia.

French Women Don’t Get Fat – Awesome discussion about the French culture, which explains why the title is absolutely true. Rather than offering a “recipe” for weight-loss, the author describes the French philosophy to life, which celebrates food – but everything in moderation. Clearly I need to reread this book every year;)

The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch – By now, everyone knows this book. It’s another one I should read annually, as a reminder about what’s important in life.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Oprah’s Book Club, Selection 61), by Eckart Tolle – Interesting, spiritual discussion about how to approach life — living in the “present”.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment – the prequel to A New Earth.

FICTION

The Time Traveler’s Wife – Awesome, beautifully written, science fiction for the “romantic realist”. I’ve heard this story will be released as a movie in 2009. I hope the movie does it justice (hard to imagine!)

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – Another beautiful story set partially in the 60’s, which is such an interesting backdrop. It’s about love, lies, and a child with Down’s Syndrome.

The Da Vinci Code — I love the mystery and the code-breaking, as well as the discussions necessarily generated about religion. I may read Angels and Demons this summer, as well.

All Things Grisham;)

CLASSICS

Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes – Heartwrenching and unique story about a low-IQ man who undergoes experimental treatment to increase his intelligence.

A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics), by Charles Dickens – How I never read this one in high school or college, I don’t know. It’s an amazing story, after you acclimate to the 1800’s language. The two cities are London and Paris, set during the French Revolution. Similar themes to my other favorite modern novels. Fantastic.

The House of the Seven Gables (Enriched Classics), by Nathaniel Hawthorne – I purchased this book in Salem, MA, when we visited the House of Seven Gables a few years ago. Also written in the mid-1800’s, this book is even harder to get through than A Tale of Two Cities, but it’s a masterful, mysterious tale. I also have the Scarlet Letter, and hope to reread it this summer.

Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics), by Milton - I have reserved this at the library, and hope to muddle through the poem to find the parallels to the TV series LOST. This classic may be a very difficult read, though.

What are your favorite summer reads?

This is the second part of our LOST homeschool curriculum – an ongoing discussion about character development and arc (PART I – THEMES is here.) We’re keeping notes (a very large chart) on the main characters and how they develop and how our feelings change about them as we watch the series.

NOTE: If you watch the series, this will all make sense to you. If you don’t watch the series, I highly recommend it, but you have to watch it from the beginning – we purchased the first 4 seasons on DVD. You can’t just watch a couple episodes and have any understanding at all. My series here includes only the simplest of the discussion points. For in depth LOST analysis, please visit the message boards or Lostpedia.

We’re charting the development on these major characters. If you’ve watched the show, you know we’ll continue to add a LOT as we continue through the series. Currently we’re watching season 2.

Jack – Hero, determined, leader, doctor, believer in free-will and science.
He’s one of the more apparently honest characters, although you never know in LOST. We will learn about his personal demons as we go through the series. With the best of intentions, he often makes promises he can’t keep. Possible character arc throughout the series — a move toward faith.

John Locke — Weak/strong, blind-faith/abandoned-faith, confident/frustrated, Yoda/whiner, “special”/not “special”
Conflicted character who seems to be given a new lease on life on the island. The opposite of Jack, Locke believes everything is predestined, and he’s carrying out his purpose. Locke’s character is apparently confident and in-charge one minute, and whiny and desperate the next. His manic flip-flopping makes one wonder if he’s actually two people. Character arc — a move from his pathetic off-island self to the powerful, purposeful Locke we see on the island. But there’s much more to Locke than we even understand by season five.

Kate — Fugitive, murderer, liar, impulsive – acts without considering consequences.
Kate is misguided – acting sometimes with the best intentions, but with disastrous results for the people she loves. Her impulsivity causes her to tend to do the exact opposite of what her allies wanted her to do, thinking it’s her best course of action. She is often caught in a decision about who to follow. We recognize a good side to Kate, that doesn’t seem masked. We witness Kate seeming sure of herself, and then distraught when she discovers she’s completely wrong about something. She’s loyal, a good listener and seems genuinely concerned about others. Character arc — remains to be seen. Possibly progress toward better decision-making?

Sawyer — Con-man, tortured soul, orphan, guarded.
Sawyer seems to do everything in his power to make people hate him – and he’s succeeding. When his guard is down, though, we see that he’s ashamed of his “bad” past, but doesn’t feel there’s anything he can do about it. He resigns himself to the role he’s chosen. (Character arc — showing the good that’s been in him all along — free will can impact destiny.)

Sayid — Soldier, torturer, murderer, tech-wiz, lie-detector
One of the more honest and predictable characters, it’s easy to like Sayid despite the fact that he consistently does horrible things to people. His moral compass is different than mine, but I think he usually does things with the best of intentions – sometimes regretting his actions afterward, other times not. Character arc — continual progression toward becoming a non-murderer, with continual regression to the role he knows so well.

Jin – Husband, hit-man, poor-fisherman-turned-hig-society, outsider
Sun – Dissatisfied wife, secret-keeper, envious of Americans
These two characters develop in unison, even when they’re not together. We see Sun prepared to leave Jin for doing horrible things, supposedly in the name of their marriage. Although both seem to want to be rescued, as time passes it almost seems like crashing on the island was a blessing to them both. Character arc — rediscovering the true love they had for each other when they married.

I would love to read your own LOST character arc comments – please share!

LOST Homeschool Lessons Series:
Themes
Character Arc
Symbols
Games!
History/Literature

My sister-in-law is planning a trip to DC with her family this summer, and I shared some of the tips that worked for us when we visited last year. I thought you might enjoy my “Top 10″ list as well.

1. Do stay at the Hotel Harrington - it’s affordable, historic and close to everything.

2. Don’t rent a vehicle – just hoof it, use the metro and the bus. One bus goes around the loop all day long and only costs $1 per trip.

3. Do visit the treasury, National Archives and sculpture gardens. We would have loved the American History museum also, but it was closed for renovation last summer.

4. Do visit Mt. Vernon - just take the metro and then a bus for very cheap and efficient transportation. Mt Vernon is often open when other museums are closed. But get there early and tour the mansion right away, or you’ll end up waiting in line for 2 hours.

5. Do visit the Holocaust museum. The “Daniel’s Story” exhibit is excellent for adults and kids alike – and much less horrific, while still telling the story.

6. Don’t plan on viewing most of the rest of the museum with kids.

7. Do eat at the cafeteria in the Agriculture Building near the mall. It’s an inexpensive place to eat normal food at normal prices. Few know about it because it’s where the government workers eat, so you need to ask around to find it.

8. Do rent bikes right away, to visit the mall monuments without having to walk so much.

9. Don’t rent a tandem bike with your spouse.

10. Do find out which monuments offer timed-entry tickets. I waited in line by myself at 8 AM for the Washington Monument, and got 4 tickets for our family to go that afternoon.

BONUS: Do see the monuments at night. We were always too tired to go out after dark, but we heard so many people say the evening tours were wonderful

Washington DC series:
View from Washington Monument
Mount Vernon
National Archives – Declaration of Independence
Sculpture Gardens
Arlington Cemetery – Unknown Soldier
Washington DC Subway – Metro
Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial

We’re doing some summer homeschooling (plan is here) and a large part of it centers around the analysis of the TV series, LOST.

NOTE: If you watch the series, this will all make sense to you. If you don’t watch the series, I highly recommend it, but you have to watch it from the beginning – we purchased the first 4 seasons on DVD. You can’t just watch a couple episodes and have any understanding at all. My series here includes only the simplest of the discussion points. For in depth LOST analysis, please visit the message boards or Lostpedia.

These are the discussions we’re having as a family, with regards to the show. We’re currently watching Season 2.

Free Will/Choice - the “Losties” are constantly faced with decisions, and their choices usually have consequences.

Destiny/Fate – certain characters use these words often, and some seem resigned to a predestined journey, while others believe life’s what they make it.

Faith - often confused with the “destiny/fate” discussion, but “faith” is it’s own theme in the show. Faith in a higher power, faith in other characters, faith in self.

Good/Evil – a much easier explanation for much of what happens on the island, but doubtful it will be that simple in the end.

Purpose - ties in with the destiny/fate discussion, but also free-will. Sometimes we discover our true purpose when something happens to us. Sometimes it’s when we make a choice.

I would love your comments about the themes in LOST. I’ll continue the LOST curriculum series throughout the summer as we explore all the writing components in this outstanding show. Next in my series will be Character Development/Arc

LOST Homeschool Lessons Series:
Themes
Character Arc
Symbols
Games!
History/Literature

This month’s Positively Speaking column has been published, and I explore summer youth programming. Please click over to 5 Minutes for Mom to read some tips on ways your kids can benefit from summer programs, without running you ragged.

You may also be interested in these recent posts on Pass the Torch:
Our Summer Homeschool Plan — What? We’re still homeschooling??
Lopping off Her Locks of Love — A philanthropic right of passage.
Family Travel in Utah — This is the first in a series.

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