Is It Rude to Ask?

There are questions in this world that it is always safe to ask a children’s librarian about his or her children. Prominent amongst them: “So what are your kids reading these days?”

The “kids” in question here would be the librarian’s children. Yet I’ll admit that when I’m asked, there’s always that brief moment of confusion on my part where my brain tries to access the answer. I read her four books less than 12 hours ago so why can’t I recall any of their titles? Eventually I’m able to piece...