Sunday Salon

I'm writing my Sunday Salon on Saturday night so I can do it justice in sharing what I read today. Tomorrow will be another crazy Sunday with very little reading.

Having finished My Father's Paradise a couple days ago, I started The Adoration of Jenna Fox yesterday and continued it on the couch this morning while the rest of my family was still sleeping. This YA novel from my Mock Printz list is set in the future and has some interesting medical ethics issues going on. I'm not big into books set in the future, which is a strike against it, but the story managed to hook me anyway. The narrator is very stiff, which fits with her character but is a little odd in places.

Then my friend dropped off her 4 year old for the day, so the book went away with about 50 pages left to go. After lunch I decided to take my kids plus the 4 year old to the science museum. Since Jenna Fox is a hardcover, and so is The Gargoyle (next on my reading list) I didn't want to haul either of them through the science museum, so I picked up an ARC to bring with me: Where Am I Wearing. A nonfiction book by Kelsey Timmerman, a guy who decided to travel the world finding out where his clothes were made.

This was the perfect science museum read. Short chapters, no complicated storyline to worry about forgetting while you help blast off a bottle rocket or collect balls to shoot through the wind-powered tubes--but really readable, thought-provoking, and even funny.

And, yes, I did feel a little out of place perching in various locations throughout the science museum to read a book while all the other families were having their quality weekend time. Nobody could tell by looking that my kids and I are together close to 24/7. Our membership to the science museum allows for plenty of quality time there when it's not as crowded, today we were just there to play. My 11 year old got quite an education in child development as he followed the 4 year old around, keeping him focused and enjoying his cute goofiness. And I got 68 pages read.