From Versailles to River Heights

I am still plodding through The History of Mankind and still having trouble imagining children - even the well-behaved children of yore - enjoying this book. I am actually finding it quite irritating. Mr. Van Loon seems to assume a fairly extensive depth of knowledge while using a narrative tone appropriate for a third-grader. I have also been somewhat taken aback by his apologies for some of the more repressive actions in history. He actually prefaces one statement with the phrase, "In all fairness to the Church, the clergy, and the Inquisition. . . " Perhaps I have seen one too many Monty Python sketches, but I thought the Inquisition was a bad thing (and not only because it was unexpected.)

I did enjoy the chapter on the French Revolution. We visited Versailles this past summer. In addition to the opulence of the place, I was particularly impressed by Le Petit Hameau, the mock farm where Marie Antoinette went to relax away from court. Like the gardens of Versailles, the little hamlet was beautiful. 

However, the idea that Marie Antoinette and her ladies were playing at being milkmaids and shepherdesses while the actual French peasants were starving and rioting for bread is pretty striking.

I still have a bit more to go in the Van Loon book, so let's pass the time by talking about my library. One thing that hubby and I have in common is our love of books. Even after we have read them, we remain attached to them, so much so that we looked around one day and realized that our books were everywhere. Luckily we didn't actually have to make a choice between books and our children because around that same time, our older daughter took her first little flight out of the nest and into her own apartment, opening up some room in the house. After a trip to IKEA and to Lazy Boy and some spirited discussions about theories of library organization and shelving (I'm not kidding), we had created my favorite room of the house. It is reserved for reading and relaxation. I do like the way the books look on the shelf, but our books are certainly not just for show. They are well-read and well-loved. It is an eclectic collection because although hubby and I have a love of books in common, our specific taste in reading material is somewhat different. Hubby reads science, math and science fiction and I love history (except apparently Mr. Van Loon's version), fiction and children's literature. You will also find another major difference between us. Hubby only puts books in the library once he has read them while my library additions are sometimes more aspirational. I know that I will get around to reading all of these books someday!

I do have many books I have already read including many nostalgic selections. 

This shelf contains a few books from a series called The Best in Children’s Books. They generally included short stories, fairy tales, and excerpts from longer books. I really enjoyed them as a kid, but have even more of an appreciation for them as an adult. Here is a fun blog post, including several examples of the cool illustrations. 

The other books on the shelf are Nancy Drew books. I cannot tell you how much I loved these books, featuring River Heights girl detective Nancy Drew. I devoured them (and wanted to devour the delicious-sounding food Nancy's housekeeper Hannah was always preparing.) I don't remember when I stopped reading them, but I do recall that it got to the point where I could read one in about half an hour. I also enjoyed the late 1970’s TV series that alternated between Nancy Drew mysteries and Hardy Boy mysteries, but that had less to do with Nancy Drew than with the fact that Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson were dreamy. 

Shaun, Parker and I will see you soon.