Monday Fun: A Quick Bookish Survey!

To beat the Monday Blahs, The Broke and The Bookish posted A Quick Bookish Survey!  Head over to their site to see their answers.  Mine are:

1. The book I’m currently reading:  Matchless, by Gregory Maguire - A retelling of The Little Match Girl.

2. The last book I finished:  Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley - An amazing classic.  See my review here.

3. The next book I want to read:  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis - I'm so excited and sad to be finishing the series.

4. The last book I bought:  The Phizz Whizzing Collection, by Roald Dahl - So many good books, for such a small amount of money.  I couldn't resist.

5. The last book I was given:  There are four that I was given while book swapping with a couple friends:
A Handbook to Literature, by Hugh C. Holman
Love Stories in This Town, by Amanda Eyre Ward
The Bird Woman: A Novel, by Kerry Hardie
The Impostor's Daughter: A True Memoir, by Laurie Sandell
- I don't really know anything about any of them, but they all seemed interesting and I hope to read them eventually.

Rhyme Stew

Rhyme Stew is a great little book of satirical poetry by Roald Dahl. It was given to me with a few other books for my daughter. Like I do with other books, before reading this to my child, I read it for myself. I’m glad I did. The cover of Rhyme Stew has the recognizable Quentin Blake illustrations. On the side of the cauldron it says, “WARNING Unsuitable for Small People.” It really is. For example, the short poem, St Ives:

As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Said he, “I think it’s much more fun
Than getting stuck with only one.”

I thought it was hilarious, but would I read it (then have to explain it) to a small child? Not likely. This isn’t even the most inappropriate one. There’s nudity, a vicar feeling the thigh of a woman, cat kicking and thievery. This book should be rated at least PG-13. I was quite surprised by the content. Though I enjoyed it, I think it’ll be a while before I let my daughter read it.