The good thing about being a book reviewer...

...is that it forces/allows you to read, a lot. The bad thing about being a book reviewer is the books are often bad. Extraordinarily bad.

Fortunately I enjoyed Primary Colors before diving into my most recent review assignments. (Next time I should plug my nose before taking the plunge!) The not-so-anonymously penned, not-quite-fictional description of an ultimately successful presidential campaign offered some wry laughs and a welcome escape from the current mess that passes for political discourse.

So - what are you reading? Whatever it is, it's gotta be better than the last thing I put down.

Back-to-School Reading Quizzes

These reading quizzes provide a fun challenge for students heading back to school, grownups bent on self-improvement, and anyone looking for a socially redeemable way to waste time on the computer. (e.g., if it's not Facebook or online gambling, it must be OK.)  Put on your thinking caps; good luck.


This one's hard!
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/quiz/reading1.htm

Fun reading comprehension practice
http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/samoset/mathlabplanets.htm

Lots here, including vocabulary quizzes, for K-8th graders.
http://www.quiz-tree.com/English_smain.html

Primary panic

Don't look now but it's AUGUST. The month of back-to-school and pool closings and all that nonsense. It's also the month I promised to read Primary Colors. I haven't started yet, but I will. Soon. Trust me. Is anyone with me? Come on, the election is edging closer - and I, for one, would really like to find some more humor in the whole thing. Join me for a wry laugh?

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September 19, 2012 update ~ I'm happy I read this oldie-but-goodie title. What a game we've made of our political system! Primary Colors paints a very colorful picture of the players, aka the scorps (press),  and in particular the "snuff specialists," whose job it is/was to wait for the candidate to blow up or break down. ("Get it on tape if he breaks down...loses his temper, or cries.") Of course the press knows what the candidates find out soon enough: "Losers spin. Winners grin."

Not only did it offer some levity in an election season that sorely needs it, it also reminded me that we've survived many a foible in  the political arena before. We're likely to survive a few more. My advice: keep reading!