The Blogging Refugee Moves On

This is my third attempt to find a place my musings can rest. The original site for my blog is undergoing some changes to make it more like MySpace - not what I'm interested in, so I packed up my musings and left. Not being a very sophisticated traveler in cyberspace, I set myself down at Live Journal. But after a couple of weeks there and facing the pressure to make "friends," I think I'm ready to move on. I guess what I want is a diary -- you know, I pour my thoughts into it, and it doesn't expect anything in return. Why not keep one on paper? Laziness, I guess. I type just about everything now - can't seem to be as creative without the convenience of the "backspace" key (those scribbled-out spots on paper taunt me). Also, the last thing I need in my writing space is another notebook. It's nice to have a storage spot for my musings that doesn't collect dust!

A brief introduction to these musings: When it was time to make a New Year's Resolution, I decided mine for the year would be to read at least one book for pleasure each month. I've always loved to read, but lately it seems the only things I have time to read are textbooks I scan to prepare for classes or student papers I'm grading. I decided whatever I read couldn't be anything connected to work -- it had to be simply for the joy of reading. And for me, part of the pleasure of reading something is talking about it, even if I'm talking to myself. So the blog began as a way to keep a record of what I'd read during the year and the things I thought about and learned from my reading.

Anyone looking through the refugee posts will notice that mostly what I've read this year are children's or young adult's books. While I was doing last year's Christmas shopping for my kids, I went sort of book-crazy. I kept seeing good books I remembered from my childhood, or books that had good reviews, or Newberry winners. I must have bought 15 books for two kids! As I was wrapping the books, I sort of wistfully flipped through the first few pages of a couple of them, and the resolution was born. I chose to read children's books for a couple of different reasons. First, I would like to read some of the things my kids are reading so we can talk about them. Second, I just don't like reading about murder or explicit sex -- or kinky, explicit sex that leads to murder -- or celebrities, or, actually, most of the topics current, popular books for adults seem to be about. Finally just because a book is written for young people doesn't mean it doesn't hit on some very important ideas.

Over the next couple of days, I'll be unpacking my refugee posts here. I hope I've found a home.