Summer Reading

I just finished a book about adult ADHD, which I believe would be helpful to adults wondering if they have ADHD. I believe that any book written about ADHD for people with ADHD has to be short, to the point, entertaining, and characterize ADHD in a manner that will be instantly recognizable to the person reading it. Adult ADHD: What you need to know is that and much more. The author has managed to include pretty much all the frequently asked questions about Adult ADHD in a book that is short but comprehensive. Pick it up if you have a chance. It is a great resource for people who are unsure if they have ADHD and are wondering if their symptoms could be the symptoms of Adult ADHD.

I have been reading lots while I am at the beach. The boys are reading too. My youngest son is engrossed in the graphic cartoon novel series called the challengers return (or something like that). I read some of it the other day and now know why the bookstore lady told me to return it if it was not 'right' for my son. It is dotted here and there with words like damn and bitch. Not exactly appropriate for a 9 year old but this son is a reluctant reader and he likes this book so I told him that the obscenities were not to be repeated. He now uses the word obscenity like this, "I could call that wave that knocked me over an obscenity but I won't because I do not speak that way."

My eldest son has been thoroughly engrossed in the new Rick Riordan book called The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1). This is the beginning of the new series by the author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-3). My eldest son loved the Percy Jackson series. It is about a group of demigod kids, kids that are half human and half Gods. All the Gods in Percy Jackson and the Olympians have ADHD and Percy the lead character has ADHD as well. The author, Rick Riordan, wrote the books for his son with ADHD and I read an interview with him where he said that you can see how, if you were an Olympian, it may have been helpful to have ADHD.

I like to think about ADHD as a different ability as opposed to a disability. In the David Gurevich book that I mention above, Adult ADHD: What You Need to Know, the author tells us a story he heard about hunting and farming that also explains how ADHD is a different ability and not a disability. I think this is important. We need to remind ourselves and our children with ADHD to use the strengths of ADHD to our advantage and manage, as best we can, the weaknesses of ADHD.

Summer reading has been fun. So far I have read a book about the history of New Orleans, Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans. We took a great bike tour when we were there and I wanted to learn more about the cities history. I also just finished the Paula Deen autobiography that someone left behind at the beach house. I hope that you all are having a great summer.

Happy pails to you until we meet again. Happy pails to you, keep smiling until then....