My son has at least 5 books that are on his 9th grade reading list this summer, and the first (and easiest I might add) one we are going to tackle is "Call of the Wild" by Jack London. I don't remember what grade I was in when I originally read the book, and I damn sure don't remember any important details about the plot, but I do remember my father buying it for me some time in the 80s--which means I am absolutely no help to my son in terms of recalling details.

So I gave my son a writing assignment based on the first 50 pages he's read that is due on Wednesday, and I realized that I had to be a bit more hands on than just reading his work. I have decided to put aside the three other books I'm trying to read right now, and tackle "Call of the Wild" all over again. This left me with an interesting, but minor dilemma. In order to obtain the book I could:

1)Buy the book (which I realistically would only do at a used bookstore, because after I read it again, I really have no desire to keep it around).

2) Go to the library and check it out (not only do I not have a valid library card, but I have not set foot in a library since January 9, 2007. How do I know remember the date? I wrote a blog entry from the library that day, and in that entry I made the ill-advised decision to split up with the girl I was dating to go back to my ex, who I ended up leaving a couple of months later. It was just one of the many examples of the dumb things I did before I got married. But the bigger point is, the library and I aren't compatible--which is kind of sad

3)Read the book online (I've never read a book via google books or anything else, because I think books are sacred and should be bought, not read on Kindle, an iPad, or listened to while driving..)


Any suggestions here? And yes I'm making this more difficult than it has to be, but a decision has to be made before Wednesday, when my son sends me his assignment.