It’s late and I want nothing more than to go to bed. In honor of that — and of this being one of my favorite songs inspired by literature — I offer you this tardy song:

Kenny Loggins’ “Return to Pooh Corner” off the album of the same name is a reboot of his more cynical “The House at Pooh Corner” recorded when he was a young man. I fully admit I bought the album because I fell in love with the cover art, but I can also say there’s not a bad song on the cd, and it remains one of my two favorite lullaby albums.

This week’s Weekly Geek‘s assignment:

It’s still the first week of August, but many of you, like me, may be already in the back to school mode. For us, it’s only two weeks away! So I thought I’d do a back to school edition of Weekly Geeks and ask you these questions:

• What’s your favorite bookish school memory?

There was a year or so (I suppose it might just have been a summer; I’m a little foggy on that detail) when I was in early elementary school when our town library was closed in order to move from its old building to a brand-new, freshly built one. In order to encourage students to come get library cards, one of the librarians came to my elementary school for a couple of weeks in a row and read the start of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to us.

• Did your teacher read aloud to you? Do you remember what book it was?

I have vague recollections of sitting on the rug in kindergarten and being read to, but have no books associated with the memory. I also don’t recall being read to in first grade, although I’m sure we were. In second grade, however, we used to jam both classes together and have to share chairs when we’d go into Mrs. Young’s classroom to listen to her read Amelia Bedelia books to us. I’m sure my fondness for those who take things a little too literally began then.

• Do you remember what books you checked out at the school library?

In elementary school, I was particularly enamored with Snow White and Rose Red, a fairy tale I’d been unacquainted with until I encountered near the Beatrix Potter books on the windowsill near where we’d line up to go back to class. I know I checked it out several times, probably the only book in the library to merit such an honor.

I also read every Nancy Drew book on the shelf and all the Little House books, although some of that series was definitely borrowed from the public library.

There was also a series of biographies of famous people that focused heavily on their childhood days, and I definitely read every single one about women (including Julia Ward Howe, Annie Oakley, and Clara Barton), and some of the ones about men (FDR and Thomas Edison seem likely subjects).

In middle school, I remember Gone with the Wind (probably the first time I ever had to renew a book because I wasn’t done reading it yet), Pilgrim’s Progress, and A Nun’s Story. Also, the magazines Cat Fancy and Seventeen, but that’s a different story.

In high school, our library was dismal and I don’t remember taking anything out of it that wasn’t absolutely necessary.

In college, we had a children’s book section, and I read the Harper Hall trilogy associated with Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series. Also, the Bridge to Terabithia.

• What was one of the first book reports you did for school?

Hmmm… I don’t remember. I was and remain a reluctant report writer, so clearly I’ve blocked them from memory.

I do remember in fifth grade misunderstanding the line between fiction and biography and reading Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself as an autobiography. Clearly this was just a foresight on my part into the future of memoirs, when publishing houses would come to have an equal lack of insight.

• Do you have a favorite book or author that you first heard about from a teacher or school project?

My junior year English teacher loved Tolkein and made us read the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

• Do you have a not-so-pleasant bookish memory from your school days?

Not unless you count being assigned Moby Dick. That was probably the only book I was ever assigned in school I didn’t read. At least until I got to college…

However, I do have a pleasant memory of third grade where our reading group (maybe all the groups; I don’t remember) was doing a mythology section. To celebrate the end of that section, we had a party where Mrs. Caretta had us dress up as gods and goddesses.

Amanda does a post on Mondays that lists what she and her family did over a weekend. I thought I’d adapt it to share what I did this week:

Sleep until noon after Rudi leaves for a bike ride.

Then up for sock knitting and Beach Party on Netflix for a summer-themed afternoon.

A ball game in the evening with my favorite pairing — the Mets and the Nationals.

Our seats are in the full sun, so we stand on the concourse and watch the game from behind the pricey seats.

When the concession stand that serves veggie burgers turns out to be out of patties, the line cook offers to make me a patty-less burger and then gives it to me for free. It was delicious.

Our blueberry supplier still has blueberries — and a second crop of luscious strawberries.

Off to Georgetown to the National Pinball Museum. After an edifying trip through the museum portion, we spend an hour pulling plungers, flipping the ball toward targets, and aiming for high scores. Rudi is best at the Guns ‘n’ Roses game, while I excel on a Jurassic Park machine. We both struggle with the games from the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, which require a different set of skills than modern machines. [Note to locals: The museum is being booted out by new owners (who presumably are looking for higher-end clients) after Labor Day, so head over this month if you want to check it out.]

Time for nourishment! Cupcakes at an outdoor cafe table. Mine is called smurfette — lemon with blueberries. Slightly alarming name if thought about too long…

On to the garden! It hasn’t been watered in days… Long, grateful gulps of water. A few tomatoes to pick. A squash to watch. No beans yet.

Money back from Connecticut because my car lived there only one month out of 12 last year. Surprise money is the best kind. So are honest bureaucrats.

Fort Reno to listen to bands. And eat pie. But mostly to hear music. Loose Lips is the best of the three groups. Cooler air; cloud lightning.

A customer service plea finally gets the right answer. I am grateful.

Cooler weather lasts. Make time to sit outside for a few minutes to eat lunch.

Rain!

Lots of episodes of Numb3rs while I test knit a sock.

The second part of The Woman in White — finally! I didn’t think it was possible to read this slowly.

A blackberry and cream popsicle.

Jazz at the Sculpture Garden — and space on a bench to sit.

Home with the cats.

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The sign reads, “The boss is on vacation. Sunflowers: $1” I come home with a medium-sized, yellow-centered sunflower to cheer up the kitchen.

2. A rain shower finally helps break the heat that has gripped D.C. It feels good to have water cascading down from the sky. I sit outside for a while and then open the window when I get home.

3. A crowd of teenagers board the metro train with me. One boy is wearing sparkly green shamrock deely-boppers.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this week?

I try not to meld my work life and my real life, because, well, I’d rather not waste my time thinking about work when I don’t have to. However, every once in a while, I get to do something fun for work and then I like to share it.

Right now, I’m working on compiling some factoids that pertain to science. For instance, did you know that the 27 moons of Uranus are named after characters created by Shakespeare and Pope (Alexander, not The)? [Confidential to Karen: I said Venus earlier, but was not paying attention. Definitely not Venus, although Venutian makes a far superior word to … Uranian? Uranussian? Uranusian? Urani?]

Do you have a favorite science fact*? Care to share it in the comments? I can’t promise you fame or glory, but I can say that teachers and students will benefit from your knowledge. Or, at least that’s what I tell myself to get me through the day.

*Fact: A truth supported by testable evidence. Not something made up. But don’t worry if you don’t have a paper trail; I’m going to look it all up anyway, so include those Flying Spaghetti Monsters if you must.

The Warlock by Michael Scott (Book 5 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series)

From the jacket: “The twins of prophecy have been divided — the end has begun.”

My take: Honestly! I finished this book way back at the end of May and then couldn’t figure out a way to review the fifth of a six-book series without giving away key plot points.

Let’s just say that this mythology-driven series continues to be a strong one.

Twins Josh and Sophie, whose auras glow gold and silver respectively, turn out not to be the normal teenagers they’d always assumed they were, nor is anyone else quite what they seem. The elderly owners of the bookstore where Josh works turns out to have been Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, two gifted sorcerers. The Flamels’ yoga instructor friend is a vegetarian vampire who (along with her twin sister) was born in Atlantis before it fell. The aunt they have been staying with while their archaeologist parents are on a dig is thousands of years old — literally.

It’s only been a few weeks since the twins’ world started falling apart, but everything they thought that they knew, that they could trust, has disappeared. Is it any surprise that the one thing they’ve always leaned on to keep them out of trouble — their connection to one another — also is tested?

If you’ve read earlier parts of the series, you’ll know where the storyline is taking us. I admit I was surprised to learn author Michael Scott would be stopping at six books, as the traditional fantasy schema would dictate seven, and he’s got an awful lot of loose ends still to pull together.

I admit that about halfway through this novel, a plot device was introduced and I groaned because it was such an obvious out for where book six would go that I couldn’t believe Scott had availed himself of it. But then, on the last page, he pulled off a second twist that I totally didn’t see coming, which immediately required that I give him credit that he may yet pull a peacock out of his top hat instead of the expected rabbit. And I read it straight through, start to finish, in one sitting, which speaks worlds of any book these days.

If you haven’t read the series, start at the beginning, because it’s a very linear story chronologically, except that it’s not linear nor is it chronological. It is, however, a masterful work of storytelling, and Scott, whom I met when he read at Politics and Prose this spring, seems both genuinely nice and remarkably knowledgeable.

And if you’re a returning reader, know you’re in for a good yarn that will keep you turning the pages.

Pages: 380

This was my third book for this spring’s Once upon a Time Challenge. Also, I reviewed books three and four on the blog as part of last year’s challenge.