Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Free Bird!

No, I'm not warming up for a concert. I'm self-identifying. Three students are finishing up my last exam of the semester, and I can actually see the end in sight. On one of her CDs, Allison Brown plays an instrumental piece called "The Sound of Summer Running." Even without words, the song has that melancholy feeling associated with the end of summer.

I would love a soundtrack for this time of year. It's the same feeling I have every Friday--only multiplied: all the promise of time lying before me. I don't experience a direct correlation, though, between August and Sunday evenings. Ask any school teacher and you'll find that Sunday evenings are full of dread and self-recrimination for procrastination.

By August, however, I feel an anticipation of the new year. I still have the urge to go out and buy notebooks and the big 64-pack of Crayolas.

For now, though, I look forward to sleeping past six, to sitting down in the evening without the ubiquitous sack of essays at my side, to visits with the grandbabies. Summer renews my spirit. I'm already circling book titles in my lates QPB order booklet.

For now, I'm going to finish Follett's World Without End, then I'll read Tony Earley's sequel to Jim the Boy (the name of which I keep forgetting. The word "star" is in there somewhere.) For
bookclub, I'm reading Jodi Piccoult's My Sister's Keeper, Sarah A. Allen's Garden Spells, and Kris Hollaway's Monique and the Mango Rains.

And that's just the beginning.
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4 comments:

Zellish said...

How did you hear about the fabulous Monique and the Mango Rains?

Nancy said...

That's on our list for this summer. What do you know about it?

Nancy said...

I hit submit too soon. Claudia heard about it on NPR.

Zellish said...

I'm the editorial director of the Literary Foundation that has provided support to Monique and the Mango Rains. I'm delighted that you are planning to read it. It's a life-altering book!