Cyndie Hays has said for a long time that she enjoyed reading these pages, but she never got around to writing about her own reading. Well, now she's gone off to be a principal and her husband John has earned them an asterisk. I did meet John once at an outdoor folk music festival, but he signed the e-mail, Mr. Cyndie Hays, so I'd know who he was. Cyndie might like to know that there's another principal--in Canton, New York--on this mailing list, but she got there by marriage recently. (So, Laurie, we're looking forward to your contribution too.)

John wrote for the household,

"I look forward to actually reading these great collections of opinions and reviews from now on. Hope you can use this without much trouble. [I think John believed I would heavily edit his contribution. John, I only edit enough to make the possibility of embarrassment as slight as possibleãyou know, flagrant misspellings and such. Otherwise, it's your voice.]

"Readers: It is on behalf of my wife and with sincere humility that I submit this request for an asterisk. I am more than happy, eager even, to share the experience of my reading, and love the concept of this review. My humble trepidation is a result of actually having read only the most recent edition and thus having no knowledge of topics and opinions already hashed over.

"Cyndie is the more prolific reader of the two of us but I claim the position of being the more prolific writer. We both will be represented.

"With regard to Dan Conrad's suggestion that we say something about the first book to make a big impression, I frequently recall the general event even though not the actual book. I was in fifth grade and probably had above average reading skill but had never read more than what was assigned and what that offered was far from engaging. Against my best adolescent bravado and complaints of not liking to read, Miss Joseph coerced me; gently at first, and then by wielding her authority even while taming it with a guarantee of eventual pleasure. The book was a Zane Grey western and boy, was I amazed. She opened up the reading world for me.

"Summer reading is almost behind us. I complained recently that it seemed all the mysteries reviewed involved murder and violence and I was looking down on that as less than noble.

"So, what have I been immersed in? Violence and murder. I innocently stumbled into two in a row that involved the electric chair. The first being The Weatherman by Steve Thayer, interesting for all the Twin Cities references. The other is Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Daniels Cornwell. It seemed to pick up where the first one left off. I can't recommend The Weatherman without some criticism about the way it flows. It is divided into three different parts and the changes in focus left me wanting something more, but it is a quick read and enjoyable enough due to the local setting for those of you from around this part of the north country.

"I'm a fan of autobiographies and heartily recommend Where White Men Fear to Tread by Russell Means. He was an influence on a greater part of history, in terms of time span, than I realized. It was entertaining and informative reading. Linking with the subject of Native Americans, but continuing far beyond, another book that really enthralled me is Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn which Cyndie brought home from the school library. That should be a must read on anyone's list for any number of reasons, but especially for his interpretations and applications of being human. It brought out insights like Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance did for me.

"With a nod toward Ken's task of editing this I will close with a testimonial for a little book that caught my eye on a discount shelf and turned out to be a real treat. The One-Room Schoolhouse by Jim Heynen is subtitled 'stories about the boys' and consists of many short (one to two pages) chapters that each describe an incident from the lives of several unnamed Iowa farm boys. It's a journey to a time of life that I remember even though I wasn't on a farm or in Iowa. It may appeal more to boys than girls, I can't judge.

"Read On!!"

Thanks, John and Cyndie. Asterisks are easy to come by. I wonder if The One-Room Schoolhouse is.

Another review of Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn from MenWeb.

Jim Heynen's home page at St. Olaf College.