Boring Books

I had a horrible reading habit as a child that consumed me for the better part of my early reading years until I was able to break myself of it mid-high school. Basically, if a book started to get dull in any way, shape, or form (and as I recall "dull" usually meant that I was reading a descriptive passage) I would skim and skim until I found something more interesting. In this way I "read" all of the "Dark is Rising" books, as well as "The Narnia Chronicles" and God knows what all. Needless to say, I didn't really read them at all (which "Dark is Rising" book has the long passage on properly pronouncing the Welsh language?) and later I had to go back and rediscover them as an adult to see what I missed.

So my heart was with one Martha Brockenbrough's piece, Are Kids' Books Boring? Silly title, of course. They may as well write "Are Adult Covers Green?" or "Are Teen Books in English?" for all that it makes grand sweeping statements. Still, I like the piece as a whole. It quotes our very own Liz Burns (whoop!) and I'm amused by the author's dislike of Ginger Pye. Admittedly, when I was doing my Read All the Newbery Books Challenge (making the odd choice to begin with oldest first) I never got to that particular Estes work. Still, the paperback flies off my library shelves with great regularity due in no small part, I'm certain, to illustrator Arthur Howard's covers.

Thanks to Tea Cozy for the link.