A Happy and frosty cold first of December to you, people! November in Glasgow ended on a self-congratulatory note, as the temperature dropped to its coldest in November since 1985. Yes, round of applause, please. Being from a warm westerly place, I’d never before seen an ice mist. I have seen one now. It is not nice, though the air does rather sparkle!
Ah, another well-meaning person is talking about young adult literature! Hie thee onward to Miss Rumphius’ blog, and log in on the great debate: why do you read?
This conversation was sparked by the very well-meaning Caitlin Flanagan and her piece in The Atlantic titled, What Girls Want. As soon as I a.) read the title, and b.) realized that most of the article was a long run-up to a highly positive critique of the Twilight series, I realized we have some deeply fundamental differences on men and women — but I read it anyway.
The gist of her article is that young women are the best readers out there, because they need fiction to escape into — to ignore the world whilst they work out Those Big Questions. During their “sulks and silences” they’re thinking.
Obviously, a.) boys don’t think, b.) boys have no inner lives, c.) she’s just wrong.
This was a stunning piece — as in, I’m stunned and, like Miss R., not quite sure how to respond…
Meantime, I’m in search of opinions — I’m looking for books again — for babies, which is totally beyond my frame of reference. What’s the happening one and a half year old man reading these days?