In the beginning...

...there were The Flyaways, a family who traveled in their miraculous flying machine having daring adventures with Goldilocks and Cinderella. The first in the 3-book series by Alice Dale Hardy was published by Grosset and Dunlap in 1925 and copies are almost extinct. Few people remember Ma and Pa, Tommy and Susie Flyaway now.

I became acquainted with them on my grandfather's lap, my dear Grandpa Baker who read and read and read to me every evening for as many years as I can remember. I would hold my breath as each chapter ending neared, hoping he would not stop. I would keep begging for "just one more" chapter until his voice got so hoarse I would have to run to his room to get his throat lozenges.

Over the years we covered all of Uncle Wiggly and Honey Bunch, the Bobbsey Twins, the Five Little Peppers, the Wind in the Willow series, some of them more than once. He read to me until long after I could read everything for myself, until I was into Beverly Gray, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. I was safe and happy snuggled up on the couch with him and that feeling has never left me. I still read and read and read, and it still makes me feel safe and happy.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Hunter Thompson

I've been really bad about blogging my reads. Busy, busy, but no excuse. It's been so long, I've forgotten half of what I've been reading. I did another Chelsea Cain, Evil at Heart, continuing Gretched Lowell's wicked pursuit of poor Archie, who is in a mental health facility recovering from more torture. And it goes on. My good book for today is Hell's Angels by Hunter Thompson, which I tracked down following the Gonzo movie. All you ever wanted to know about the group circa the 60's when Thompson spent a year in their midst. Lots of interesting stuff, both confirming and refuting the wild tales that have circulated about them. My daughter spent last weekend at a motorcycle convention in the Catskills and told me some good stories, piqued my curiosity. I now want to find an update, wondering how the group has changed in the new century.