some things just keep getting better

So, before you start in with "Emily! This is a poor way to start if you're trying to be more organized and timely!" le'me esplain.

There is a holiday on the 24th of July known as Pioneer Day. Never heard of it? That's probably because it's something only really celebrated in Utah but who am I to argue with a day off of work? So Tim and I decided to head down to his parents' house Monday night and we spent a delightful day full of relaxing, chatting, computer "I spy" games, particularly rousing games of battle dome and hungry hungry hippos with his sister and her husband, and two toad rescue maneuvers completed by yours truly. We didn't get home until after midnight and by then could barely keep our eyes open to find the bed, hence my delayed post.

This past weekend I found myself at a new level of I'm-not-going-to-make-any-sense-dom [someone should come up with a word for that]. As I mentioned last week, I am currently in possession of my library's copy of Tesla: Man out of time. What I didn't mention was that I also have The Handmaid's Tale and now Mrs. Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children checked out to me. Now, with a weekend ahead of you and relatively few tasks to complete during that time, one might reasonably think that I would apply myself to the reading, if not the completion of at least one of those books. So what did I do? I started reading my personal copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire of course. [By the way, if any of you have to click that link because you don't know what that book is I will stare dolefully at you until you have repented and read the entire series. Shame on you.] While this demonstrates something less than exemplary about my personal character, I'm sure [that I would ignore 3 books I've borrowed in favor of one I own and have already read, not that I would stare dolefully at you, I stand by that], it does validity the theory that you can have book cravings.

For anyone who may unfortunately be suffering under the impression that, once read, a book has no more to offer a reader [are there people who think that?] I would like to clear up that misconception now. I have read each of the books in the Harry Potter series at least two times, verging on four or five for certain volumes and I can honestly say that these are some of the books that just keep on giving. Tim bought me the whole set for my last birthday [bless him] so I've been going through them once again, periodically picking up different volumes over the past months, and I keep running into the same impression that I had last fall when Tim and I went to see the last movie installment - no matter how much people may criticize her, J.K. Rowling can write. Like really write. Every time I come in contact with these books I am struck by the skill involved in creating a seven volume series with balanced, well-rounded, and incredibly deep characters as well as plot line. For a story to survive seven volumes the characters have to be rock solid and dynamic and I'm always filled with a mix of awe and hopelessness when I look at those characters.

I understand that Harry Potter will probably never be placed among the literary classics but I know that it's something that will always have a place in my personal library. I think it's important for everyone to have books that they can keep going back to for inspiration, examples of great writing, and even just for stories that make you laugh and cry over and over again. To me, a book is truly impressive when it still makes me laugh and/or tear up even when I already know exactly what's going to happen. That's emotion. That's pulling your reader into the story. That is good writing.

In other news, I'm super psyched for this week's writing challenge. The prompt we chose goes like this: 3 children are sitting on a log near a stream. One of them looks up at the sky and says....
So many possibilities! I'm generally not inclined to write young characters but I've already seen the playful potential in this prompt and I'm excited to explore it. As always, our responses will be posted on Saturday and if you care to join us, feel free! The word limit this week is 500 words so you should have lots of room to play around and we'd love to read what you come up with!