RAE’S READS

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This year (2025) finds me with 53 years of teaching “under my belt.” I have taught all levels from pre-K “(library lady” or “book lady”–volunteer) to juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in my Advanced Writing class at the university where I have just completed 34 years. My first paying teaching job was junior high, and I spent 13 years with ages 12-13, the “difficult years.” I had some of the “funnest” experiences with this age group. When I was no longer the “young, fun teacher,” I taught in an elementary school setting before sixth graders went on to junior high, teaching language arts blocs, an assignment that was a “dream-fit” for me. After completing graduate school in my 40s, I went on to community college, then university teaching. This past fall I accepted a part-time teaching job at Apogee Gulf Coast Schools in its first year at the Alvin campus. After my Better Half died n 2022, I achieved a lifelong dream: opening a bookstore of my own, Rae’s Reads. A year later, I sold the house we had lived in for 47 years and moved into the bookstore. My goal is to circulate and repurpose books. Just as teaching is “in my blood,” so is a passion for reading, writing, libraries, and everything bookish. This blog will be open to anyone who loves books, promotes literacy and wants to “come out and play.”

  • URSULA K. LE GUIN on the INCONSEQUENCE OF THE AGED

    Rae Longest's avatarLiteracy and Me

    Famed Sci-fi writer and philosopher, Ursula LeGuin, who now in her 80s has written an excellent collection of essays, No Time To Spare, writes the following:

    “Since our betrayed public schools can no longer teach much history and reading, people may find everyone and everything before about 25 years ago unimaginably remote and incomprehendingly different from themselves. They defend their discomfort by dismissing people before their time as simple, quaint, naieve, etc. …something has indeed changed.”

    (p. 116 No Time to Spare, “Lying It All Away.”

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  • FRIDAY FIRST LINERS

    YESTERDAY’S (LOL) Friday First Liner is from A Woman of No Importance (subtitled The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II) by Sonia Purnell (2019).

    ” France was falling. Burned-out cars, once strapped high with treasured possessions, were nosed crazily into ditches.  Their beloved cargoes of dolls, clocks, and mirrors lay smashed around them and along mile upon mile of unfriendly road.”

    Who besides me is already intrigued?

  • MORNINGSTAR’S THOUGHTS ON READING

    Rae Longest's avatarLiteracy and Me

    Recently, upon reading Deb Nance’s “Readerbuzz,” or her Goodreads reviews, I came across a reminder of a book I’d read some time ago, and like Debbie, it had resonated with me strongly. The book is Ann Hood’s Morningstar, which describes her life-long relationship with books. The passage which follows is Hood’s take on reading:

    “This is why we all read, isn’t it? To know the world and ourselves better. To find our place in that world. Even if you did have access to readers and guidance on what to read, even if you grew up in a family that loved to read and owned shelves of books, still, still, one day a book falls into your hands–perhaps it’s Beloved, or A Wrinkle in Time, or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; perhaps it’s Great Expectations or Pride and Prejudice–whatever book it is, it falls into your hands at just the…

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  • SATURDAY MORNING FOR KIDS (On Sunday), Grownup edition

    A Celebration of Beatrix Potter looks like a children’s picture book, but indeed, appearances can be deceiving. The Stewards of Fredrick Warne & Co. have collected more than 30 of today’s favorite children’s book illustrators’ personal celebrations of Beatrix Potter, both in words and drawings to help observe the 150th anniversary of Potter’s birth. Acknowledging that “…Beatrix Potter changed the world of children’s literature forever,” and “…has influenced generations of authors and illustrators, intertwining her legacy into their own,” the editors have completed an amazing compilation of full-page images.

    Reminiscences of reading and “looking at” Potter’s tales as a child from such notable illustrators as Melissa Sweet, Peter H. Reynolds, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Brian Pinkney, Brenden Wenzel, E. B. Lewis, Betsy Lewin, Chris Haughton, David Ezra Stein, John Agee, Kelly Murphey, and Esther Krosoczka, which deal with The Tale of Peter Rabbit (published in 1902) alone, persuade the reader to recognize that many of our illustrators’ first desires to “draw” were formed by perusing the tiny details of Potter’s woodland creatures.  In this section, the masculine “take” on the evil farmer, Mr. Mc Gregor was enough to crack a chuckle from even the most serious-about-illustrations-and-art readers.

    Since I have never formally taught below sixth grade, many of the names above were not as familiar to me as they are to those of you who follow and enjoy children’s books in a professional capacity; however, even I recognized the kinds of drawings and names like Tomie Paola and others, whose picture books appeal to children and grownups alike.

    This is a fabulous read for one who likes “interesting details” about interesting artists and how they got their start, specifically the influence Beatrix Potter had on their art.

  • Mouse tales

  • FIRST LINE FRIDAYS

    The first lines of a book are often the “hook” that entice the reader to either continue reading or decide the book is not their cup ‘a tea. I am nearly finished with No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which chronicles Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s life on the home front during World War II. It contains 636 pages with some anecdotes and detailed narratives which give insights into the times of my mother and father.

    Chapter one begins with an illustration of headlines in the New York Times, “Nazis Invade Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg by Land and Air; Dikes Opened; Allies Rush Aid.” Underneath, are the first lines:

    “On nights filled with tension and concern, Franklin Roosevelt performed a ritual that helped him to fall asleep.  He would close his eyes and imagine himself at Hyde Park as a boy, standing with his sled in the snow atop the steep hill that stretched… far below.  As he accelerated down the hill, he maneuvered each familiar curve with perfect skill until he reached the bottom, whereupon pulling the sled behind him, he started slowly back up until he reached the top, where he would once again begin his descent.”

    This passage could be a metaphor for Roosevelt’s painstaking negotiations for the US in trying times of war, which he did with aplomb and statesmanship.

  • COFFEE AND A CHAT (Loosely based on Ritu Bhathal’s Chai and a Chat on “But I Smile Anyway”

    A blogger from the UK whom I have been following for a few years now is Ritu Bhathal of “But I Smile Anyway.”  Since our blogging friendship began, I have seen her, as a self-described “working mum of two” and an amateur blogger,  become the 2019 recipient of the Annual Blogger Bash award, a published poet (Her Poetic Rituals is a treasured collection of her poetry, reviewed earlier on PWR, that I refuse to part with.), and who is about to morph into a published novelist soon.

    Her friendly greeting, “Hey there peeps…” opens many of her posts. (I am embarrassed to admit I asked her what “peeps” were, thinking of those lovely pastel-colored “peeps” that adorned my Easter baskets as a child. She kindly informed me that was blog-speak, English-speak for “people.”) Not too long ago, she began the Monday post “Chai and a Chat” which is an amazingly creative catch-up on her fascinating life and what she has been up to.  It has photographs (a skill I am desperate to learn), colorful, attractive avatars, and a friendly style of addressing her “peeps” and followers. I especially look forward to “Chai and a Chat,” so today, since I did not nake a Sunday (Evening) Post, a la “Brainfluff,” I will offer this catch-up, “Coffee and a Chat” on a Wednesday as a one-time tribute to Ritu’s exceptional blog.

    “If we were sipping coffee together… (her standard opening, only “Chai” instead of “Coffee”–you know how the English love their tea!)

    “I would tell you…” this was a wacky wonderful week! Since last Sunday my life has turned around, my depression over retirement has lifted, and “Happy Days Are Here Again”!

    My friend, Sue’s BD was on the 30th, which gave me the occasion to make a birthday basket, something I love to do, and then Monday I visited her at her home to have her sign an article she had published in an inspirational magazine, which I found copies of at my church library while working with the 5th graders in the library area–we had a photoshoot, and it was professionally done by the two attendees with my iPad

    That Thursday, I traveled to the city of Pasadena, Texas, about thirty miles from Lil’ Ole” Alvin to meet one of my former students for lunch and explored the city I had last visited for their Strawberry Festival back in the ’60s. Talk about changes!  I had a wonderful time, and I got to see her spacious little rent house (old houses have big rooms!) and visit with Lilliann, her three-month-old daughter.

    Tuesday brought a trip to the ear doctor, where all the news was good, and Wednesday brought a much needed visit from my grandson, who gave me the “shove” I needed to hit “send” on an email asking for my job at the university back.  Yes, after one semester, I’m coming out of retirement, encouraged by my program chair’s reply that started with Five “Yesses” and many exclamation marks. I am so excited and happy I can hardly stand being in the same room with myself!

    July Fourth I held my own Readathon (see earlier post) and had a slow-paced, packed-full-of-reading-and-Netflix-viewing weekend.  The fifth brought visits to two friends to deliver BD cakes, and… (Have another cup a coffee! …

    When Sunday came again, another former student and her husband came from Seabrook, Texas (again 30 miles away) to have homestyle, slow-cooker pulled pork BBQ and/or beef BBQ (I have two slow cookers) and a light Cool-Whip, pudding, strawberries and graham crackers refrigerator dessert. Later I delivered some BBQ to Deb Nance of “Readerbuzz,” and we talked books, The Texas Book Festival coming up in October and all things “bookish” in her 1900s restored home. What a lovely visit!

    Monday, this week, I took care of two doctor’s tests and discovered a great reflexology studio that made my feet, shoulders, and neck feel re-born.  I shall definitely go back after school and its tension starts up again. Tuesday brought another doctor’s appointment, adventuring with My Better Half, and a visit from my friend Nazia and her son Anas and his Cousin Zeenia. The kids painted and autographed rocks and added them to my flower beds. J.D. and Barbara stopped by to pick up a casserole and to bring me chips to try with the batch of salsa I had made over the weekend. He will be 89 next birthday (He says he thinks he’ll skip 89 and go straight to 90; he’d get more attention that way; and Barbara (who shares a birthday month with me in November) says instead of being 86, she thinks she’ll start saying she’s 68, an idea I love because it would mean in November, I’d be turning 57!

    Today, Wednesday, I went early to a local church to make pb&j sandwiches for a local trailer park (They deliver sack lunches there every Wednesday, and leftovers go to hotels and homeless areas where people are grateful for a sandwich, chips, and cookies. Since there were plenty of volunteers (another church-camp group brought kids in to take over our duties), I met My Better Half at the R.A.T Pack (Reading All Together) at our Senior Center to discuss What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon. The discussion was as good as the chicken salad, and there were wonderful sugar cookies the discussion leader brought. After the meeting, I went across the street to the Alvin Museum where I meet an archivist I had subscribed to when her publication, “Beautiful Downtown Alvin” was a newsletter and has since become one of the benefits of membership in the Alvin Museum Society. She was a lovely woman and another “kindred spirit.”

    It has been a wacky, wonderful week and a half, and I am looking forward to more adventures, more interesting visits from interesting friends and more chances to catch up with my blogs.  You can be sure coffee will be involved in all these activities!

     

  • FOURTH OF JULY READ-A-THON REPORT

    I set the alarm for “early”, so I’d have time to shower and wash my hair before breakfast and my 7:00 am start time.  I barely made it, munching the last of my crunchy (added granola, walnuts, and raisins) oatmeal and swallowed it down with coffee, as the starting gun found me finishing the last fourth of Uncommon, a novel that will be reviewed on this blog shortly.

    Before the first hour was up, I was into where I’d left off (dozed off) on No Ordinary Time, a historical account of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt’s relationship/marriage on the Home Front in WWII. I found it engaging enough to continue for another hour and a half. I returned to this from time to time during my “Holiday of Reading,” and am currently on page 407 of 636 pages of text.

    After a break to “go outside before it gets too hot and pull weeds,” I tackled the R.A.T. Pack Book Club’s selection due by this coming Wednesday, What the Wind Knows.” This novel closely parallels the Netflix version of The Outlier, which I’m going on the second season of. Both involve romance by a woman who time travels and brings outside influence and knowledge to bear on history being made.  Although alike in many ways, they are two different stories, and so far, I haven’t confused them. I finished my break with a cup of coffee and some homemade cookies I’d baked the night before.

    Next, I read and took notes on You Can Do Anything, a non-fiction discussion on the definite value of a Liberal Arts Degree in today’s techie world. My students in the fall may want to read this, and if they are not willing to tackle a whole book, I hope to have sections and notes to guide them to the ideas that are contained between its covers.  This book is by far the best non-fiction read of my year.

    At about 12:30 we broke for lunch, once again prepared the night before in preparation for my Read-A-Thon, and since My Better Half agreed to clear the table and clean up, I was back to reading within 20 minutes.

    I swung back and forth between Eleanor’s (Roosevelt) plight and that of the heroine of What the Wind Knows for a full two hours and by then was thoroughly saturated with reading about women’s issues and interests, so I stopped and read The Houston Chronicle  for both Wednesday and Thursday, the Fourth, almost cover to cover.  While I was taking some time off from reading in print, I caught up on friends’blogs, commenting wherever I could, for, as a blogger, I know how encouraging comments can be.

    By then, it was time to start supper, and we kept it light, a huge chef salad. When we stopped working full time, we began whenever possible to eat our largest or heaviest meal at noon or thereabouts, and our digestions and sleep quality have been very thankful.

    After supper, I took the time to read articles and sections/chapters from books that will help me write and teach my new-focused Advanced Writing class in the fall. I read from You Can Do Anything, Writing with Power, Why They Can’t Write, as well as re-read Stephen King’s essay on what one needs to know about writing (which will take 10 minutes or less to read) and Kurt Vonnegut’s essay on Style. Calling a halt to “schoolwork,” I finished with “How to Write Nothing in 500 Words.” I found much I could incorporate into my course.

    I had promised to finish by 10 pm, a promise I only missed by 40 minutes. Unfortunately, Eleanor and FDR were at a crucial point, meeting and dealing with Winston Churchill, and the book that had lulled me to sleep the night before, left my light burning until after the bedtime I’d designated.

    In all, it was a successful, productive endeavor. I did not clear my TBR shelf, which has been a goal in other Read-A-Thons, but I did get two books ready to turn in to the library this afternoon, and two ready to review on PWR. I am way ahead on my course, and enjoying every minute of my reading time, so I would deem this Read-A-Thon a S*U*C*C*E*S*S* !

  • English major jocularity

  • Tuesday Teaser//Attn. PWR

    I first heard of the Tuesday Teaser meme from Sarah of “Brainfluff.” It is a post hosted by “The Purple Booker.”  Here is my first Tuesday Teaser from May 1, 2018:

    [The idea is]”… to tempt others to read the book participants are reading.  The instructions are to randomly open a book to a page, run a finger down the page and copy a couple  of sentences from where you are reading, being careful of spoiler alerts.  The reader must also give the title and author, and sometimes I include whether the book is from the library, a book I own (and might be willing to loan out when I finish) etc.

    If you write a blog, please include the address of your blog for us to find your Tuesday Teaser on.  THIS IS SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU (PWR on-line member, friend, first-time commenter) PARTICIPATE IN.  Just scroll down until you see the open [reply] box or click on comments on the left-hand side, read others’ comments, and scroll down until you find an open comment/reply box that you can type in.  After you have copied your Tuesday Teaser into the box, hit post comment. And, voila! You are either there, published or awaiting me to moderate which I will do asap, so your Teaser will be published for all to see.  Perhaps someone will be tempted to read your book! Who will be first to put down her/his Tuesday Teaser?

    Here is my Tuesday Teaser from The Thoughtful Dresser by Linda Grant.

    “There are nostalgic items I do not want but do not want to throw away, and there are things that don’t fit, and things that don’t suit me, and things that were always a mistake, and things I meant to wear but didn’t, and the workhorses of my collection…”  Then she gives some examples of these.  Has she been peeking into my closet?  Who knew there was a book about clothes and shopping for them?  It is at the Alvin Library (after me, please, I’m only halfway through.

    I have a wonderful idea PWR members! Let’s have a clothes exchange like the book exchange we do every so often when we get together. Anybody interested?”

    I still think a clothing exchange would be fun in summer,2019.