I woke early with Thing 1 this morning; Mr. Grass Oil had a meeting he had to prepare for so I took the bleary-eyed shift.

It’s the last few days before Christmas break. Thing 1 broke the silence in the kitchen. “We’re watching a movie today in English. You know, because break’s coming.”

“Oh yeah? Anything good? I hope it’s not a movie on book-binding.”

“What? No, it’s the movie of Of Mice and Men. I’m pretty pumped. I loved that book.”

“Oh yeah? I’m so glad; Steinbeck is a master. It’s very powerful; a classic.”

“Yes, it’s amazing. It’s the best book I’ve read in a really long time. I had to read the ending, like five more times over and over again because I couldn’t get my head around it; it was so unexpected.”

>Crickets.<

“You read the book, right? I mean, the ending is, just so … well, you do remember the ending, right?” he asked.

“Mmm-hmm.” I murmured. “Mmmmmwell, it’s been a while. I don’t recall…” as I busied myself and averted eye contact.

“Oh, well then I won’t spoil it for you; I just thought …”

“It’s 6:31. You better get ready. I will read it again. And then we can discuss.”

“Sure. Oh, yeah, it’s getting late. She’s been arriving earlier and earlier this week.”

“Well, yes, you better get going then. Here’s your backpack.”

“I love you.”

“Yeah. Me too. Bye mom…”

The sound of an incoming school bus hisses and then we see her in the distance, barreling through the pre-dawn dusk. He picks up his pace, I see our neighbor, Caroline, walk by with her long beautiful hair flapping, the light from our porch lanterns bouncing off her locks as she says, “Holy cow, is that her already?!”

“Have a good day guys. I love you.”

I better go see if I can get it on Netflix. There’s no way I can read that book before he comes home from school. Or maybe I can.

Rats… the cleaning ladies are coming today.

What do I read? Lots of random stuff. My favorite magazines are Vanity Fair and The Week. I have a brilliant stack of The New Yorkers to prove I have a subscription to it; but who has time to read them? Every article is four hours long. But they’re so good.

I just saw a plug for a book in The Week that sounded interesting. My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force and Jane Mount, is a photographic collection of photographs of famous authors’, artists’,  actors’ and other cultural celebrities’ bookshelves. In the spirit of full disclosure, here’s 1/2 of a shelf of just one of our 12 bookcases. Each of the boys have their own bookcase, jammed with Suess to Faulkner; from Ripley’s to Rowling.

I’ve read a lot of those books; and because I have a Kindle, there are several books I own and have read that you can’t see. That’s the problem with the e-readers: I love books. But I’m not a book freak. I’ve seen people on “Hoarders” who’ve collected them to the point of being a fire hazard. But… to quote Gloria Upsin in “Auntie Mame,” “they’re so decorative.”

I hereby promise to read as much of Of Mice and Men as I possibly can today. That would be the first time I’ve read it; I think. For Thing 1. And for integrity.

Thank you.

What’s on your bookshelf?