Genii Weblog

Booknapping

Sat 15 Oct 2005, 04:37 PM



by Ben Langhinrichs
We have a serious problem in our family, but it sometimes leads to funny results.  My wife, two sons and a daughter and I all read a lot (OK, not by Duffbert's standards, but by normal people standards), but we all (except my daughter who is removed from temptation by being off at college) have a tendency to get interested in what the others are reading.  I'll start to page through my ten year old's Brian Jacques books, or my wife will pick up my fifteen year old's avante garde books on religion or science fiction, or any of them will pick up my latest book and I'll spend precious reading time searching and find it hidden on somebody's top bunk.

Well, today, my wife came home from her job, which happens to be upstairs from our public library, with a book that I had requested.  She put it on the table and my ten year old son picked it up and started reading it.  He may well be the only ten year old in America reading Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky.

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What has been said:


380.1. Duffbert (10/15/2005 06:26 PM)

Hey, who you calling "not normal"? :)


380.2. Richard Schwartz (10/15/2005 11:15 PM)

Have you considered the possibility that he may also be the only ten year old in American with a father who put in a request for this book? :-)


380.3. Ben Langhinrichs (10/16/2005 05:10 AM)

Duffbert - I dunno. It was something somebody who works here said.

Rich - Doesn't everybody read this book? Seriously, I grew up spending all summer every summer living on a small island in Nova Scotia where most of the other families on the island were fishing families, and I went out fishing with them frequently as I grew up. We caught (and salted) lots of cod, and when I waasn't out with them, my family would go out and catch cod because we didn't have much money and it was cheap. It is so hard for me to imagine that the cod (and most other fish) have been depleted from the area. Anyway, I have somewhat more reason to read the book than my ten year old, but if I find the book interesting, he figures it must be interesting. Given that I read virtually every book he brings in the house (and drive him crazy about it), I probably shouldn't complain.

But it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to.


380.4. Duffbert (10/16/2005 08:42 AM)

Crystal can hold a grudge longer than anyone I know...


380.5. Ben's Daughter (10/18/2005 07:08 AM)

oddly enough, I'm about to start reading that book for my american environmental history course....

so I do booknap, just in an entirely unique way :)


380.6. Ben Langhinrichs (10/18/2005 07:27 AM)

OK, that is just weird. As Duffbert might point out, we may well be the only family in the country where three of us are reading this book at the same time.

Anyway, isn't it good to know that when you get older and don't have to take courses like "American Environmental History", you can still read books like this? By choice!


380.7. Ben's Daughter (10/18/2005 07:06 PM)

dad, you used "our" instead of "are." maybe you should take the night off and get some rest?


380.8. Duffbert (10/19/2005 06:14 AM)

This exchange makes me glad that my kids can't be bothered to read my blog. :)


380.9. Ben Langhinrichs (10/19/2005 06:22 AM)

Duffbert - LOL

Daughter - Oops. Actually, you are correct about taking the night off. I have been running a fever and am a bit incoherent. The post I made last night would probably confirm that. I just re-read it and I can't help thinking, "What was I thinking?"