But I'm invested in children reading books that they can understand, and building their reading skills.
Eh. Depends on the kid, I guess. I read lots of books I didn't completely understand when I was a kid. I continue to do so now. I find that part of the fun, really. But not all kids are me. Just as well, really.
As for Gabaldon, I got through to the one where there's a whole mistaken-identity thing and
the daughter's boyfriend gets handed off to the Indians,
and it all just became too much for me. I won't read any more, although I enjoyed the first two, and the way that
Claire came back.
But really, there's far too much sturm and drang for me. (And yes, I know that's hypocritical coming from a Farscape fan.)
Alicia, smonster said she just found an Outlander synopsis that seems pretty comprehensive, here: [link]
She said to pop by her lj or her profile address is good (she said to say she'd posted in Minearverse recently) if you have any questions.
That one kind of lost me. But I loved the first book, and Claire's return, and Jamie and Claire are still some of my favorite fictional characters.
FWIW, I read the Outlander series all out of order and with big gaps in between them and never really felt the lack. I probably missed some subtleties, but there was certainly enough non-subtle stuff going on to keep me from wondering what I'd missed.
Porn and fighting and kilts, oh my!
But I'm invested in children reading books that they can understand, and building their reading skills.
OK - you've backed off on this - but just to add to your Lord of the Rings example. I read Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court at that age along with Heartbreak House. I missed a lot of the points of the former, and I'm sure almost 100% of the latter - but still enjoyed what I got out of it. What is more being exposed to such things at an early age helped make me the sensible well grounded person I am today. Hold on; I'm not helping my case, am I?
They didn't actually understand what happened in the story, or what was implied. And this is disheartening for me, because I really want them to be engaged and curious and reading something that's manageable, that's going to get them thinking and turning over the pages and wanting to talk about it. I guess that this Pokemon-level interest in HP isn't a bad thing, as such. I just find it depressing.
Fay! There are kids, right there on your lawn! You should do something about that.
'Scuse the jumping in suddenly; I don't usually post here, but I wanted to comment on Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. It's worth the effort to get through, as it's a rather remarkable detailing of the rise of modern society - currency systems and trading, the adoption of scientific method, European introductions to the rest of the world, and of course the amazingly complex set of wars that engulfed Europe in one way or another through the second half of the 17th century and the opening of the 18th.
Another excellent book of this sort is "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind [et cetera]" by Diana and Michael Preston. It details the life of William Dampier, who is a name sadly overlooked in most scientific histories; he was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe 3x, and more, and his story is engaging.
And now back to lurkage.
