Don't Donate That Book!

Last week, I mentioned that Roland and I have been volunteering at a summer reading program held at Ascension Lutheran Christian School in Gary, Indiana. When the school put out a call for new and used books, it was flooded with contributions. I was reading one of them during a break and realized that not every book is a good candidate for donation. This isn’t a matter of censorship. I’m a big supporter of the First Amendment and would never advocate banning books. But I do believe in using good judgment.

The problem isn’t what you might think. There is nothing in the book that is insensitive. It doesn’t contain bad language, sex, or violence. It is simply out-of-date.

In the book, the protagonist’s father is a photographer who uses film and develops his own pictures in a darkroom at home. The process spills over into the kitchen, with chemicals and other equipment spread out everywhere. Then there is the typewriter the neighbor buys because everyone else in her class has one and the test the protagonist had trouble reading because the purple ink from the mimeograph is too light.

So why is this an issue? Because donated books often go to children who aren’t good readers or need to be motivated. If they come across outdated technology that they don’t understand, they may become frustrated and give up. (For simplicity, I’ll continue referring to technology although the same applies to outdated customs, modes of dress, and anything that might become a passing fad.)

When I mentioned the book to Roland, he said that children need to learn about how things were in the past. I agree, and if they were reading these books with parents who could explain them, I’d be all for it. But I don’t think that’s the situation for most of the recipients.

In this particular book, the chemicals for developing film are important to the story, but the mimeograph and the typewriter aren’t. The story was appropriate in its time and might still be a good read in the proper circumstances, but it isn’t a good book to donate.

This doesn’t mean that I’m ruling out all books that were written before the current technological age. On the contrary. Many books that were placed in a contemporary setting many years ago are still easy reads. Louisa May Alcott set Little Women in her own time, and E.B. White did the same with Charlotte’s Web. But they avoided getting too specific about the technology of their day. To use the donated book as an example, the mimeographed test would have worked equally well if the text merely mentioned “ink” or “print,” and the story would have had a longer life. 

Historical novels are a better way to help children learn about the past. The well-written ones don’t frustrate the reader because the author places the story at a clear time and uses context to explain the technology, customs, and other now outdated matters. Although many do include references to the pop culture of the time, they make it self-explanatory.

I’m not trying to discourage writers from using I-Phones and Twitter and the fad of the moment in their stories if they don’t care about longevity. But I am saying that these are not good books to donate after the technology becomes outdated. 

Just because something is old doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be donated. But books that assume the reader understands the technology don’t wear well, and volunteers and staff may not have the time to weed them out. That means the person donating the book should be the first reviewer.

So if you want children to catch your love for reading, don’t donate books that will frustrate them instead.

"I Don't Like to Read"

Roland and I have been volunteering at a summer reading program held at Ascension Lutheran Christian School in Gary, Indiana. The first day we were there, I overheard one girl say “I don’t like to read.” My immediate response was, “Oh, but reading books will teach you . . .”

Then I stopped. Children don’t want to be told what they can learn. What I was about to say could actually be a disincentive. So I changed it to, “Books take you to new places and let you meet new people.” And I probably should have added something about going on new adventures.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t convinced.

By the time my children were that age (going into second grade), Caroline loved to read. John didn’t spend as much time at it as she did, but he enjoyed a good story when he read one.

So how do we instill a love for reading in our children?

The best way is to set a good example. This means reading to them and making frequent visits to the library. But it also means letting them see us reading.

Programs like the one at Ascension help, too.  The free program meets twice a week through most of June and July, with volunteers staffing stations for various language arts activities.* 

At the end of the Thursday session, children pick several books from a pile of donations. (See the photo below.) Book ownership will help encourage them to read, especially when they have made their own choices. That’s the idea, anyway.

Most children can’t get to the library or a summer reading program unless a parent or guardian takes them. If you aren’t motivated to read yourself and to take your children or grandchildren or neighbors to age-appropriate reading activities, they aren’t likely to be motivated, either. And before you know it, you’ll hear them say, “I don’t like to read.”

Fortunately, it isn’t an incurable disease. That girl who doesn't like to read has been at Ascension for most sessions, so maybe the program will change her mind.

I hope so.

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* Although the billboard mentions scholarships available, that is for the regular school year.                                                    

Rome: Appreciating Art

Like Florence, Rome is a city filled with art. Actually, some of it is in the Vatican, which isn’t technically part of Rome. But in both cases, much of it is Michelangelo’s work.

The first picture is Michelangelo’s “Pietà” located in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good photo that didn’t include that line. The crowds kept me from finding a better angle, but the biggest problem was that the statue is protected by a glass box. That’s because it was vandalized in 1972, when someone attacked it with a hammer and broke off Mary’s left arm and hand. “Pietà” has since been restored, but it is still a reminder that not everyone values good art. And that’s a shame.

Vatican City also contains some of Michelangelo’s paintings, with the most famous ones being in the Sistine Chapel. I’m not going to talk about the “Creation of Adam” or any of the other frescoes on the ceiling because I think “Last Judgment,” which is on the wall behind the altar, is more interesting.

Photos were not allowed in the Sistine Chapel. Talking wasn’t, either, so the tour guide couldn’t explain anything while we were inside. The Vatican must understand the importance of tour groups, however, because the plaza had a number of identical stations with photos from the Chapel that helped guides explain the art to their groups.

Study the next photo carefully, and look especially at the naked man in the lower right-hand corner with the snake around his body. Then I’ll tell you what our guide told us.

Actually, most of the bodies are naked, and that caused a problem. Michelangelo felt that we should celebrate the bodies God gave us, but not everyone agreed. Biagio da Cesena, who was Pope Paul III’s Papal Master of Ceremonies, made scathing remarks about the painting. Michelangelo got his revenge by painting da Cesena in hell with a snake around his body. When da Cesena saw it, he complained to Pope Paul III, who said that Hell was out of his jurisdiction and the painting would remain as it was.

Michelangelo also sculpted elaborate pieces for grave markers. His “Moses” (shown below) was commissioned by Pope Julius II for his tomb. The tomb was never built, and Moses and some surrounding sculptures (not by Michelangelo) now reside in the San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter-in-Chains) church in Rome proper.

Most Romans couldn’t afford such elaborate art to mark their graves, however. The catacombs, which were Christian underground cemeteries, not hiding places, are filled with grave markers like the one below that used simple religious symbols. But whether elaborate or simple, art should be appreciated, not vandalized.

This is the last post about my trip to Italy. We went many other places and saw many other sites while we were there, but I just can’t cover it all.

Next week I’ll return to a subject more directly related to writing.

Rome: The Value of Preserving History

When the popes got control of Rome, they tried to eliminate all reminders of it’s pagan past. This happened after Constantine, whose arch stands near the crumbling colosseum. (That’s his arch in the photo below.) It was the Roman Catholic Church that encouraged the destruction of pagan sites. 

If you look at the first picture and the one below, you will see that the top and outside walls of the colosseum have crumbled and fallen. According to our local guide, the popes allowed or even encouraged people to recycle the building materials—primarily the marble blocks and the iron rods that held the walls together and strengthened the entire structure. (If you look closely at the photo below, you will notice the many holes in the façade where the iron rods were removed.) Without these supports, the walls couldn’t withstand earthquakes and the many natural eroding effects of time.

The popes eventually realized the value of remembering the past and began protecting and even restoring sites like this. But much of the damage had already been done.

Fortunately, much of the colosseum’s history was preserved by writers for whom it was their present.* And we can do the same for subsequent generations by recording what is happening right now. It’s our turn to preserve history.

I can’t resist leaving you with a photo of Roland and me standing in front of the colosseum. But I’m not leaving Rome yet. I’ll have more about it in next week’s post.

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* These writers include Dio Cassius and Tertullian. I haven’t read them, but you can try if you want.

Pompeii: Let It Rain

Let it rain water, that is. Not ash.

We almost didn’t get to see Pompeii because it was raining and the people who administer the site close the ruins when the rain makes walking too treacherous. Fortunately for us, they decided to keep the ancient city open that day. It wasn’t the best weather for exploring the ruins or taking pictures, but we had a good local guide and learned a lot. The rain even created some advantages. The guide told us that the crowds would have been heavy and the lines much longer if the weather had been good.

The first photo shows the Greek amphitheater. You can tell it is Greek rather than Roman because it is open on the stage side. The next photo shows how the original residents handled the wet streets. Actually, it wasn’t the rain they worried about. The streets were washed daily by sending a stream of water down them, and anyone who was out at that time used the stepping stones to keep their feet dry. (I stepped on them once for the experience but walked in the street.)

The final photo serves as a reminder of how Pompeii came to its end. Most residents escaped when Mount Vesuvius erupted, but some ignored the warnings and died from suffocation as they were buried by the ash from the volcano. Over time, the bodies rotted away and left cavities in the soft rock. Archeologists poured plaster into the holes and then chipped the soil away, preserving the form of the bodies that had been there.

As I said, Pompeii wasn’t at its best when we saw it, but it was still impressive. And because the rain kept many of the tourists away, we got a better view of it than we would have otherwise.

So of course I thought of a writing analogy. Sometimes we experience serious personal crises that require us to take time away from writing, just as the people who administer Pompeii need to close it when the weather gets too bad. We get sick, or a loved one dies, or something else demands our time, and we need to take a break from writing to handle the situation. But in many cases the rain is an excuse rather than a necessity. That’s when it’s important to write through the rain.

And who knows. It may also be when we achieve our most impressive results.