Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Feb. 25, Wed: Yup, Snow Day #6

Funny GirlFunny Girl by Nick Hornby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sharp and funny, but drags a bit in the middle. There are some great lines, and Hornby does a really nice job of describing the feeling of working with inspirational people. Barbara/Sophie is a sympathetic character, but there are a few clunkers thrown in to keep it all moving. Hornby's insights on social change in the 60's and on the effects of getting older ("It was absurd that they were getting old, Sophie thought--absurd and wrong. Old people had black-and-white memories of wars, music halls, wretched diseases, candlelight. Her memories were in color, and they involved loud music, and discos. . " (435), for example) are well-worded and astute. I liked it a lot (as did my husband), despite a slightly draggy middle.

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Well, despite all our hopes, when I raised my head from a lap at 6:15 am this morning, Margaret the faithful lifeguard told me that we had no school. Heavy snow started at about 5:15, and by the time Andy and I headed out to breakfast at 9 we had a good 6", and it hasn't really stopped yet, even though the sun keeps trying to break through. So we're here, and Maine schools' quest to find out how to make up for these days just gets trickier. I, personally, think there should be a cap: 5 snow days need to be made up, but after that, we're done. There's only so much shifting one can do. End of story--but then I don't believe in standardized testing, either, so clearly I'm not on the wavelength of the DOE or the powers that be in the first place.

Reading, about to take a nap, and remembering my resolution, so I'm enjoying the day.

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