This month, I’m into…
…awesome music adaptations.
I usually try to do at least one pop piece per concert with my fifth graders, and this year I have two that the kids and I both love. With one band, we’re doing Pirates of the Caribbean (The Medallion Calls/The Black Pearl) and with the other, a super-fun version of 25 or 6 to 4. (We even have a 4th grade teacher joining us on drum set for that performance.) It’s so much fun to do well-written, recognizable music with them, and I’m grateful that there are composers taking the time to write well for these young ages. It’s so important for keeping kids excited about performing music!
Also, I have both songs stuck in my head all the time, but I don’t mind.
I’m also into…
….Jo Malone perfume.
On Wednesday I went into the city to attend the 105th Triangle Fire memorial service (it was two days early, I assume because Good Friday fell on the actual anniversary of the fire). I also had the opportunity to meet and get coffee with Suzie, my agent, and her assistant Sara at New Leaf Literary! It was a great day, and to celebrate signing my official contract, I decided to buy myself a little present while waiting for my train at Grand Central Station. I ducked into Jo Malone and fell in love with all their scents. They’re so pure and clean; most are comprised of just two notes. I chose a bottle of English Pear and Freesia, and couldn’t stop sniffing my wrist all night.
And finally…
…re-reading books.
I’ve been on a kick of re-reading much of my bookshelf. It started with Little House on the Prairie, then progressed to Harry Potter, and now I’m listening to Gone With The Wind on Audible (fantastic performance; 48 hours long!) and grabbing old books off my shelves like a madwoman. There are several books that I re-read on a regular basis (Anne of Green Gables; Pride and Prejudice) but I’ve never gone through a time like this, where I only want to read something that isn’t new. Part of me hopes my craving will be satisfied soon, because I have so many great new books on my to-read list (and on my actual nightstand), but another part loves this experience and just wants to wallow in comfort reading awhile longer.
How about you? What are you into this month? Have you ever gone through a period of pure comfort reading?
I love perfume, so good choice on treating yourself! (My sister-in-law introduced me to Luckyscent.com, which has loads of lovely perfumes, and sells sample sizes for you to try–fun.)
I reread at least one Anne book a year, and I’m in the process of rereading the Little House books, which I don’t think I’ve read since childhood. It is comforting to reread, but like you I have such an enormous pile of new-to-me books I want to read that I almost feel guilty about rereading. Oh, I wish there were more hours in the day for just reading.
ooh, I have to try Luckyscent.com! Thanks for the tip!
I love the Pirates of the Caribbean score! That must be so much fun for your students to play. 🙂 Good luck with the upcoming concerts, too!
I don’t re-read books, mostly because I have so many books still left to read. But I do revisit certain scenes of books I love, just because. Or sometimes because I’m struggling with a particular kind of scene, and I want to see how other writers handled it technique-wise (never to copy what they did word for word, though).
Thanks, Sara!
That’s interesting that you don’t re-read. Don’t you sometimes miss the characters and want to see them again? Even though I know it keeps me from reading new books sometimes, I can’t resist diving back into a familiar world.
Hmmmmm… I do miss characters and settings after I read about them, yes. But I think the occasional dip into favorite scenes (which I mentioned in my previous comment) and talking about them from time to time on my blog help with that. Otherwise, I don’t ever feel a need to re-read stories. Not to mention I have so many unread ones on my bookshelves that when I finish a book, my next response is usually, “Hmmmmm…. What shall I pick next?”