Jane Eyre: 63%

I guess I spoke a couple chapters too soon. This book is getting better. Since last entry, Jane and Rochester have become romantically involved, been engaged, and I am just now to the part where she is refusing him after finding out about the insane wife in the attic. Ridiculous, Charlotte Bronte, but exciting nonetheless. I'm not sure I would have come up with crazy lady in the attic as part of any plot but perhaps I am just not that creative. In any case, this book is much better now and has captured my interest.

I just thought I'd update to take back what I said before, but as I still have 175 pages to go, and I'm determined to finish before tomorrow at noon (when I leave for new years festivities) I'm off to attempt to finish.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

Jane Eyre: 29%

Honestly, I'm a little disappointed by this book so far.

All the things I've heard about Jane Eyre, the number of people who actually like it because they have read it and not just seen the movie (did somebody say Pride and Prejudice?) I really expected to like this book by now.

To be fair, it's not an extremely difficult read, and I have read up to this point before. (The book was assigned to me in high school and I read about this far before getting too busy to continue). I remember liking the book when I read it before. However, I would have expected some sort of plot to develop by now.

Normally, I am the kind of reader and movie-watcher who loves a whole lot of nothing. For example, my favorite movie of all time is It's A Wonderful Life. Now, many people have seen this movie and probably if you haven't see the whole thing, you've seen the end. For me the real end is the last 10 minutes, but the end portion, the part with Clarence the angel, lasts about 40 minutes or so. In this part, Clarence shows George what the world would be like without him. This really is the only part of the movie with a plot. The rest of the movie (the 1+ hours) chronicles George's life from a young boy to a middle aged married man, including his marriage and his career. However, watching that part of the movie is like watching someone's life pass before your eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love the whole thing because you really need the beginning to appreciate the end. In general, movies like this are really the kind that I like. Others include Big Fish and Forrest Gump.

The beginning section of this book is reminding me of the beginning of It's A Wonderful Life, except that I am not sure what the point of the beginning is. There were many chapters documenting Jane's years at Lowood that were not all that influential as of yet. I'm hoping things pick up since I know that this story eventually becomes a love story between Jane and Rochester, but seeing as how Jane just met Rochester that obviously hasn't happened yet. I'll keep going though and see how things turn out in the next few chapters.

And hopefully I can finish today or tomorrow and bring my 2010 total up to 10!

Update

December 26: 5 days until the new year, with hopefully another book to squeeze in before the year comes to a close.

A couple days before Christmas I started Jane Eyre. I'm currently on chapter 5, which is really not too far, but if I play my cards right I will have lots and lots of reading time this week. It's good so far. I read about a third of it when assigned in high school and I remember liking it, but just not having time for it. Hopefully I'll have time for it this time around seeing as it's pretty much a staple in literature.

For Christmas I got several books on my list:








...and one that wasn't (because I have heard good things about it and need to read it to keep up with today, haha)


So, basically I have my work cut out for me! I've got these 5 books, plus the 7 others that I ordered previously (AND Oliver Twist that needs to be finished so I can check it off already!) which is approximately how many books I've finished this year. I'm doing my best but I have a feeling this spring will be a little sparse, seeing as I am taking more classes than I usually do, but I'm hoping it will be ok. I'll just have to pick an interesting short one to read during that time, or one with shorter sections (Sherlock Holmes maybe?). I'll be back with a post of whichever book I choose to finish before new years and a cumulative update of which books I've read so far this year and prior to this year. See you around New Years!

A Christmas Carol

Here's what happened with Oliver Twist. I got it out of the library, I was making zip-o progress on it, and after 3 renewals (aka 9 weeks) of hardly reading it, I was not allowed to renew again and so I returned it. This is unfortunate. This is book #2 (second to Lord of the Rings) that I've stopped midway through. I do plan to finish the book at some point.

On the plus side, I did read A Christmas Carol. I have been looking for a nice copy of the book, preferably hard cover with some illustrations, but Amazon, Borders, AND Barnes and Noble left me disappointed. What I found were tiny books with tiny words, paperbacks with meaningless pictures on the front, or hardcover volumes containing about 10 stores several hundred pages long, and A Christmas Carol only took up about 100. So, I had given up hope. Then, while Christmas Shopping in Hallmark, I came across one of the most beautiful copies of any book I've ever seen. It was in the middle of the Dept 56 Christmas Dickens Village things. It's hardcover and has beautiful color illustrations by P.J. Lynch and is unabridged. It was a little pricey and more than I would normally pay for a book, especially of that size, but it was so nice that I couldn't resist.

So, I read it in about a day. It's December 21st and what is more Christmas-y than Dickens' classic story. I'm sure everyone knows it, so I won't summarize. Having read an abridged version out of an anthology in seventh grade (and being forced to read it and not understanding a thing) I didn't feel like I had a complete grasp on the written version. It was really a good story and not entirely as dry or drawn out as Oliver Twist was. So, that's another one off my list!

I'm hoping to be able to finish another book by the new year. (Something tells me I'll be getting some books for Christmas this year!). Which one it is is yet to be determined. Maybe I'll be able to plug away at Lord of the Rings again. Other choices include Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden, or whatever appears under the tree Christmas morning!

Merry Christmas!

Oliver: 24.5%

SO CLOSE to being 1/4 done!

Surprisingly, this book is actually getting BETTER! Maybe the reason that I hate Dickens is because I never got far enough into the books to start enjoying it. I'll openly admit that if I were assigned Oliver Twist for school (one of the few of Dickens that I was not) I would have stopped about 30 pages in when Oliver was at the funeral parlor. (Then I probably would have watched the movie and selected very specific passages to talk about in class so it would look like I knew what I was talking about...that is the way I survived English class). Regardless, Oliver Twist is getting exciting.

Currently, Oliver has just been found by Nancy on his way to deliver some books for the wealthy man. I'm pretty sure he's going to be taken back to Fagin even though he probably wants to stay with the man and find out whose picture was hanging above his bed. This guy is probably his grandfather. I think that is how Dickens works.

In the movie Bill Sikes is way creepier. Maybe I just have not yet discovered his creepiness. We'll see. I'm not a huge fan of shady characters, and am usually not too concerned when people are not shady, but I've seen Oliver! the musical several times and I'm pretty sure Sikes is a bad guy, and that he's made bad by more than just being friends with Fagin, who encourages stealing. We'll see. I still have 75% of the book to go....this is gong to be interesting.

Just Kidding!

Just kidding, everyone! I AM in fact making a little progress on Oliver Twist despite the insane amount of work I have due this week. Basically, it is a far more appealing choice than any of the reading for class that I have to do, as sad as that is. I am now 50 pages in instead of 28 or wherever I was before, and already Oliver has met the Artful Dodger (who has an actual real name that I've already forgotten, but nonetheless, I was shocked!) and Fagin and seen the dirty room where they all live. Fagin has not yet taught them how to pick a pocket (or two) but I'm sure that's coming up soon. I'm surprised how quickly the story picked up after Oliver got out of the funeral parlor. Hopefully the 20 pages I just read are not the most exciting part of the whole book. We'll have to see, I guess.

On a different topic, I tried to look for a copy of A Christmas Carol that I liked today and I couldn't find one :( Either they are paperback and super small, or paperback with a strange picture on the front, or hardcover and containing a bunch of other stories that I'm not interested in, or itty bitty hardcover for an absurd amount of money for a story that is less than 100 pages long. Half the price of Gone With The Wind, which is over 1000. What's up with that? So, I'm debating and trying to figure out which one I dislike least. Oh well...

So that's it for now! Hopefully I'll get a little farther in Oliver later

Hiatus #3

We are on hiatus once again...surprise surprise...and this time once again for grad school getting in the way of my good time. This time I have to type things that are already in books and assemble them into a binder. Oh, joy. Hopefully all this pointless work gets done asap so that I can get back to reading as well as the holiday season and be able to read A Christmas Carol in December instead of January. We can only hope...

(The hiatus would probably be much improved if Oliver Twist was at a good part, which it is not...in fact, it's at the same part as it was 2 weeks ago)

Until we meet again...

Oliver Twist

Let me start off by saying that the only things I can think about right now are quilts, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 movie, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. However, I have been keeping true to this project and am attempting to read Oliver Twist, however dull it may be.

I chose to go with Oliver Twist next because I want to read A Christmas Carol in December to prepare for Christmas. However, I wanted to get into a Dickens mood first, so I picked a story with which I was familiar, mostly from the Broadway version "Oliver!" which is a little different so far but not much. So far we have seen Oliver born and growing up in a workhouse, asking the obvious "Please Sir, I want some more," and then getting shipped off to the funeral parlor. That's as far as I've gotten what with so many other things going on. I'm determined to get through this one and then A Christmas Carol, which I'm pretty sure I've read at least parts of before back in seventh grade...like I was able to figure out what it was saying then, HA! (Why is it English teachers always pick books that kids don't really care about and can hardly decipher anyway? says the future English teacher).

With all the homework and Thanksgiving preparations I have ahead of me in the next two weeks, I am not sure at what pace I'll be reading Oliver Twist, but I hope to make at least some progress on it. I'm currently on page 29 out of 419, so I have not even made a dent yet. I plan to get to at least 100 before I write again and make any judgments on the book. Still trying to keep an open mind...trying being the key word. Ah well. Maybe something a little more substantial and interesting next time.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I am now 66% into the last of the Harry Potter books, a mere 260 pages from the end of this extraordinarily long and complicated series. It has been extremely exciting so far, and I can't wait to finish the book, possibly tonight or tomorrow if all goes well. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have found and destroyed the locket and are trying to locate other horcruxes. They have also heard from Luna's father about the deathly hallows and have tried to figure out if it is a true story or merely a fairy tale. Additionally, they have broken into the ministry and been taken to the Malfoys' house, but are not at Bill and Fleur's cottage on the sea. So far Hedwig, Mad-eye, and Dobby (*tear*) have died. Depressing, but very involved. Their most recent plan is to break into the Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. Should be interesting...

Not many more pages to go, but still a lot of story to get through. I'm 94% done with the series at this point. This is going to be quite the accomplishment once I finish. On the other hand, there are still 78 books on the list left for me to read, including more intense and lengthy series like this one. Bring it on!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I'm now about 25% into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, book #6. This one is going much quicker than the last one. For some reason this one seems to be more popular with Harry Potter fans.

Overall I'm getting a little Harry Potter-ed out. However, I need to make it through the seventh book before the movie comes out. Book 6, though, should go quickly since it's more exciting and thought provoking than the previous ones. Also, with the end in sight and being more than halfway done, the motivation is there. As long as I continue plugging along, all should go well.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Now I am 45% done with the Harry Potter series. I've finished the first four books and the first chapter of the fifth book. (Did anyone else notice how in the fifth book the print gets smaller?) I feel like I've been reading so long and I haven't even reached the midway point of this series. That is absolutely ridiculous but also fantastic because that means that there is still so much more story to go!

Originally, the beginning of this book scared me. The part where Harry gets taken to Sirius' house was particularly stressful for me and I did not want to continue reading. I haven't gotten to that part yet but now that I know what happens I'm sure it will be easier on my nerves. The first time I read this book I read a lot of it in one day because I couldn't wait to find out what happened. I'm guessing (since it's so long) that many things were cut from this book too, just like in Goblet of Fire. Therefore, it won't be a complete repeat of the book. Additionally, the halfway mark of this book occurs later than the halfway point for the series. I'm excited to continue the journey through the world of Harry Potter.

I'm also continuing to keep ahead of schedule, which is nice. Last week I came a little close to falling behind but my 200ish pages last night made up for that. I'm probably feeling a little more optimistic than I should. I feel like I'm nearing the end and that I'm almost finished, but I have not even reached the halfway point. Maybe it's that I'm onto the fifth book out of seven, which means I'm more than halfway through the books but not the pages. It's still going to take a long time but it will turn out OK, I hope.

Yay Harry Potter!!!!!
ps. today I am going to a corn maze and all I can think about is the third task of the Triwizard Tournament and hoping I don't find any creepy things inside!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I am now one third done with the entire series of Harry Potter, which puts me about 40% into the fourth book. I tend to like the parts where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are at Hogwarts best, so for me this one had a bit of a slow start too (as in, it took them 160 pages to get onto the Hogwarts Express, but definitely not that long for some action to start). Even though things were happening I wanted the meat of the story to start. That just happened where I left off. I ended just after the Goblet of Fire spits out Harry's name on page two hundred seventy something.

I'm starting to get into some of the events that were cut out of the movie (as so much was in this book because it's so much longer and more complicated than the others). I remember some of the action but not the character development or subtle plot points. There is also a lot of foreshadowing that I've picked up on now going through the books for the second time. (While it is my second time reading this book, and will be my second time for books 5 and 7, it will be my third time through 6 and my umpteenth through books 1-3). I also had read somewhere a long time ago that all the things that Harry and Ron make up when they're doing their Divination homework actually come true, so I'm on the lookout for that as well.

While this project is starting to become more and more daunting even as I get closer to the end, I'm still enjoying it. I think the thing that has changed is the amount of other things I have to do besides read Harry Potter. Therefore, I'm trying to get ahead in case this week decimates me. There are just so many things to do that getting Harry potter finished before the movie comes out is just one more thing that has to get done this fall. Add it to the list. There are like 100 things already on it.

At least I'm determined and interested in finishing this project, unlike my homework.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I'm now a little more than halfway through the third book in the series. I'm making good time, if I do say so myself. I'm three and a half days ahead of schedule, which means on the schedule I should be finishing up the second book today. Something tells me things are going to slow down in books 4-6. We'll see. Here's the cover.

This book is better than I expected. I remembered not liking it very much when I read it initially. I also remember really liking Chamber of Secrets, which this time I thought was just so-so. Prisoner of Azkaban is more exciting than the other two so far without being too dark. And the fact that there is a movie will definitely understand the ending. Reading it when I was younger, I had no idea what happened in the end and how any of it was possible (the parts where Scabbers turns into Pettigrew, the time travel part, etc) but having seen it I can now picture what happens much better.

I just got out the fourth book from the library. I'm kind of dreading reading it because of how dark the movie is, but somehow I think the books are a little more uplifting, especially since a lot of the comic relief (minus Ron, of course) are cut out of the movies for time's sake. It probably also has to do with the book being almost pea soup green, which makes me not want to read it much, but oh well. Probably will finish book 3 in the next 2-3 days and then begin number 4 this weekend. I've been on this Harry Potter mission for a week. I'm impressed. 918 pages down, 3,182 to go! 22% done with the series.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I'm now into the second Harry Potter book on page 140, which is currently ahead of schedule. This book actually isn't as exciting so far as the first one, which surprised me. I remember reading it all in one day in seventh grade for a book report because I was so excited about what was going to happen next. Still good, and still part of the series. I'm already 40% done with it and I just started it yesterday.

So not only is this series absolutely wonderful and attention-grabbing, it also reminds me of my younger days in middle and high school. I read the first three books before there were any movies made, so the way I pictured the places in the book were nothing like the movie. It's interesting to see how my mind has changed. Instead of always picturing the movie set, or always picturing my own image, I imagine a sort of hybrid. However, parts the did not make it into the movie ever, for example, Nick's Deathday party, are still the way I imagined them when I was 12. Weird, huh? It's funny how my mental pictures come back just how they were before even though I haven't read the book since then and haven't really thought about these images. The mind is a strange thing...

Anyway, I'm not as far ahead of the schedule as I thought, so I'd better keep ahead before next week puts me behind!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I haven't been keeping to the plan. So sue me.

In light of the new Harry Potter movie coming out on November, I've decided to switch to Harry Potter mode. I thought they were worth a reread because a) they're fabulous, and b) I remember absolutely nothing about them except what was in the movies. Last summer (as in, the summer before this blog came about) I read the sixth book in preparation for that movie, but I was still unclear what had happened before or after it. It was a mess to read those books out of sequence. Therefore, I'm starting at the beginning.



People say that the books get better as Harry gets older, but I'm not convinced this is the case. I'm pretty interested in what is happening to Harry, so much so, in fact, that I read 130 pages last night before bed. It brought back all the memories of when I read it the first time, when I was just turning eleven and upset that my Hogwarts letter didn't come too. So, I am not convinced yet that this book is boring, uninteresting, etc. because, quite frankly, it's been a while since I've read 130 pages all at once (and in less than 2 hours). Granted, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone moves along at a rapid pace, and is generally at a lower reading level than the other books on the list. I'm currently on page 154, which is a page away from being halfway through. I tried to read more this morning and then fell back asleep for three hours. It's a rough life, sleeping and reading Harry Potter...

I figured it all out. The Harry Potter Series is 4,167 pages long. To finish the series on or before November 19th, when Part I of Deathly Hallows comes out, I will have to read at least 81 pages per day. Currently I am 3.7% through the entire series. RIDICULOUS!! This is going to be an intense project WITHIN an even more intense project. Therefore, this book should take less than 4 days to complete. It took me about an hour to read the 81 pages last night, so if that keeps up, I can just read an hour before bed every night and I'll be golden. I can also over-read on the weekends to catch up or get ahead. I'm also considering buying the books except that I have no room for them as well as no money. Oh well....

Anyway, thumbs up for Harry Potter 1! Maybe I'll finish that one today and move on to Chamber of Secrets!

Book-Buying Frenzy!

I've spent the past 24 hours in a book-buying frenzy as a result of a Barnes and Noble sale on classics. Here is a list of my most recent additions:

-The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (and other stories)
-The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I
-The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II
-Middlemarch
-Treasure Island
-The Secret Garden
-Film: Gone With The Wind
-Film: Casablanca

Yup, lots of classics. I realize that these purchases will only cover 3 books on the list (Middlemarch, Sherlock Holmes, and The Secret Garden), but the others will cover the books to be added to the list when the first is done, along with Don Quixote and others that didn't make the top 100. Unfortunately, I am only in possession of the first 3 books on the list as the rest are coming from an online order. Now we can play a game of how long is it going to take me to read these books since I still have ones from before (LOTR, War and Peace) that I haven't read yet. Oh well, I'll get around to them all eventually. This project is going to succeed if it's the last thing I do!

(It's also going to last for several years) haha

The Magician's Nephew

"Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed."



I just finished The Magician's Nephew. I listened to the entire book on book on tape, which was an interesting experience for me, because I generally tend to zone out when listening for extended periods of time, especially if I'm not taking notes. I liked the story, although it was a little tedious at times. I'm not sure how reading the entire series is going to work out, although I'm anticipating it being easier than Lord of the Rings.

I am familiar with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, but I did not know The Magician's Nephew. I have a feeling it was read to me in fourth grade, but I can't remember if it was this book or Castle in the Attic (or maybe both). It was interesting at the end to find out how this book ties in with that one, which is the next in the series. Additionally, I had never thought of the beginning of Narnia, or knew that there were other worlds besides that one. And having just found out that this book was not the first written in the series, I enjoyed how C. S. Lewis worked with his previous innovation to make the prequel make sense.

One thing I did not enjoy were the Biblical references. I'm sure I did not get them ALL because I am not well versed in Bible stories. However, this means that if I could pick them out, they must have been pretty obvious. The part with Digory picking the apple in the garden and the witch trying to tempt him to take it for himself...DUH! How much more blatant could you possibly be? There were also references to Noah's Ark as well as Aslan as God creating Narnia, etc. There were probably a lot of others that I missed, but many well known ones made it in. I'm wondering if this will continue throughout the series. I have heard about the Aslan as Jesus in the second book, but throughout the other 5 I wonder if it will be the same level of allusions.

I'll end with another quote I enjoyed.

"When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time, but when things once start going right, they often go on getting better and better."

First Steps into Narnia

I've finally done something productive! I've started The Magician's Nephew, which is book 1 in the Narnia series. For whatever reason, I decided today that I was sick of music and decided to listen to the book on tape that I've had for a month or two but haven't listened to. Surprisingly, it put me in a good mood, which was a breath of fresh air after my period of woe-is-me I'm unemployed BS.

It's an interesting story. So far, Polly and Digory have met and started exploring, and then Polly was offered a ring by Digory's uncle, touched it, and then vanished. In the second chapter, Digory's uncle explained to him his personal history and introduced him to the idea of Narnia. And that's where I ended.

So, not a TON has happened so far but it was very enjoyable nonetheless and definitely helpful for escaping a life of woe-is-me-I-need-a-job. Maybe a few more chapters later or tomorrow (but with any luck I won't have time because I'll be subbing).

Woe is me, but Narnia is distracting me from it.

End of Hiatus II

The Hiatus is over!

I've finished Mockingjay, come back home, and now have ample time to read now that I am once again unemployed....especially since reading seems to distract from my many moments of insecurity regarding this issue....

I guess next is The Two Towers. Hopefully it goes quickly. I'm really not in the mood to read more Lord of the Rings but I need to finish them up so that I can move on with my life. So, up next, The Two Towers, regrettably.

Hiatus....again....

So, after a fairly successful summer and definitely productive last 2 weeks, I'm going on hiatus from this project again because....
a) I lack the motivation to read The Two Towers
b) I am in the middle of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and I need to finish that before anything else. (It's fantastic...a little slower to start than The Hunger Games or Catching Fire, but great nonetheless...if you haven't read those, YOU NEED TO!!)
c) This weekend I'm going out of town for a few days
d) School is starting again soon...blah

As a heads up, though, this fall I'm definitely going to read The Two Towers, and hopefully Return of the King, if there's time. Then I'm going to have a winter of Dickens to hopefully get a good chunk of that out of the way. I'm starting in November with Oliver Twist (because I know that story) and then A Christmas Carol in December. I'll spend January on Dickens too. In February (because of Valentine's Day, mostly, even though I am not a huge fan of that holiday) I'm going to read some Austen. I'll definitely read Pride and Prejudice and maybe Emma too. I'm hoping to get a chunk of that out of the way as well. Then next spring I can pick some that I think sound interesting, maybe get some that I've never heard of before. In the meantime, I'm going on hiatus until...
a) I finish Mockingjay
b) I feel motivated to read The Two Towers
c) I get back from my mini road trip
d) Life calms down and I have a "real" schedule and/or "real" free time
The end. This project is definitely more involved than I thought it would be when I started 6 months ago, but it's a good challenge, and a perfect opportunity to broaden the mind and fill up my bookshelf with impressive volumes.

Until next time....

Four Legs Good, This Book Bad!

I just finished Animal Farm. Not my favorite. I didn't like it any more than I did the summer before 9th grade when I had to read it for school (which explains why I own it, haha).



I am going to skip all talk of allegories to Communist Russia because I feel like it's been beaten to death by common knowledge, sparknotes, and my 9th grade English teacher. So, what is left to talk about? In my opinion, not much. I'm exhausted and this book did not interest me in the slightest, so I'll keep it brief.

1) Title: Animal Farm: A Fairy Story. WHAT? A fairy story? I'm guessing Orwell meant fable or folk tale or something because there was no fairies, magic spells, etc. Some fairy tales are indeed gruesome, but I'd rather read my (nonexistent) children those than Animal Farm.

2) I did appreciate the last chapter, when after many years none of the new animals understood the procession by the boar's skull and had no idea about what the purposes of the old rituals were. So often histories get lost so that the original meaning is no longer understood. I think that's somewhat of a universal. After many years, it's to be expected that meanings get transposed and altered.

3) There is a creepy Animal Farm animated movie that I found on youtube while I was looking for the picture of the book shown above. I watched 10 minutes of it and was extremely creeped out. The fact that an animated movie exists for this, though, means two things: a) that people are willing to subject themselves to this story in their spare time, and b) children are probably watching it because it's animated. AHHHH!!!! (The part where they're supposed to be singing "Beasts of England" is extremely weird...everyone just starts making noise in strange rhythms).

So...not my first choice. Definitely toward the bottom of my list. Would not recommend, etc. Next up: The Two Towers (unless this weekend involves a lot of driving, which it very well might, in which case it might be the first in the Narnia series, the Magician's Nephew). Cheers!

Charlotte's Web

"How about 'Pig Supreme'?" asked one of the lambs.
"No good," said Charlotte. "It sounds like a rich dessert."
"How about 'Terrific, terrific, terrific'?" asked the goose.
"Cut that down to one 'terrific' and it will do very nicely," said Charlotte. "I think 'terrific' might impress Zuckerman.
"But Charlotte," said Wilbur, "I'm not terrific."
"That doesn't make a particle of difference," replied Charlotte. "Not a particle. People believe almost anything they see in print."
p.87-89

Templeton was down there now, rummaging around. When he returned to the barn, he carried in his mouth an advertisement he had torn from a crumpled magazine
"How's this?" he asked, showing the ad to Charlotte. "It says 'Crunchy.' 'Crunchy' would be a good word to write in your web."

"Just the wrong idea," replied Charlotte. "Couldn't be worse. We don't want Zuckerman to think Wilbur is crunchy. He might start thinking about crisp, crunchy bacon and tasty ham. That would put ideas into his head. We must advertise Wilbur's noble qualities, not his tastiness. Go get another word, please, Templeton."

The rat looked disgusted. But he sneaked away to the dump and was back in a while with a strip of cotton cloth. "How's this?" he asked. "It's a label off an old shirt."

Charlotte examined the label. It said PRE-SHRUNK.

"I'm sorry, Templeton," she said, "but 'Pre-shrunk' is out of the question. We want Zuckerman to think Wilbur is nicely filled out, not all shrunk up. I'll have to ask you to try again."

"What do you think I am, a messenger boy?" grumbled the rat. "I'm not going to spend all my time chasing down to the dump after advertising material."

"Just once more--please!" said Charlotte.

...When he came back he had a strip of blue-and-white cardboard in his teeth.

"There!" he said, triumphantly. "How's that?"

Charlotte read the words: "With New Radiant Action."

"What does it mean?" asked Charlotte, who had never used any soap flakes in her life.

"How should I know?" said Templeton. "You asked for words and I brought them. I suppose the next thing you'll want me to fetch is a dictionary."

Charlotte's Web, published by E. B. White in 1952, is one of the most beloved children's stories of all time. I myself, being an avid reader in childhood as well as a teacher of elementary children, had never actually read it until today. I loved the animated movie as a child and I liked the Dakota Fanning version. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to read it. I do remember starting it, reading part of the way through, and abandoning the book because I didn't like it. Compared to other children's books I've read, many of them published more recently, E. B. White is wordy, and some of the larger themes are not easily grasped by children.

In the beginning of this book, I was not too impressed. I knew the story, but I was not really sure why this particular story resonated with readers more than other ones (Because of Winn Dixie, for example, which is my personal favorite). Toward the end of the book (which took me less than a day to complete), I realized that it wasn't the plot of the story itself, but the message it sends. The book bursting with second chances, friendship, loyalty, miracles, life and death, and new beginnings. It certainly wouldn't be an easy book to teach, but it would be worth it simply for the messages. It also has innocence everywhere, no thwarting of plans, betrayals, just a simple story full of good morals.



I love all the characters in the book; Charlotte and Wilbur have a special place in my heart, but my favorite character is Templeton the rat. Now, I have not special affliction toward rats, I don't think they're cute, I would be horrified to find one living in my house. However, Templeton, for his rough exterior, is really kindhearted and good. Sure, Charlotte, Wilbur, and the gander have to bribe him with food to get him to do anything, but I'd bet he would have done it anyway. I think he prefers to act put out by any request they have. However, in the end he has a breakdown moment where he feels unappreciated. Clearly he's not in a good place here; his speech reeks of self pity, but I don't blame him after the treatment he got. It's not that the other characters are particularly mean to him, but they have been bribing him rather than thanking him. In the end, whether he meant to or not, he saved Wilbur's life many times over.

"So!" he said, in disgust. "So it's old Templeton to the rescue again, is it? Templeton do this, Templeton do that, Temple please run down to the dump to get me a magazine clipping, Templeton please lend me a piece of string so I can spin a web...Ho, ho. And what thanks do I ever get for these services, I would like to know? Never a kind word for old Templeton, only abuse and wisecracks and side remarks. Never a kind word for a rat...My, my! I notice that it's always me you come to when in trouble. But I've never heard of anyone's heart breaking on my account. Oh, no. Who cares anything about old Templeton?...Who made trip after trip to the dump?" he asked. "Why, it was old Templeton! Who saved Charlotte's life by scaring that Arable boy away with a rotten goose egg? Bless my soul, I believe it was old Templeton. Who bit your tail and got you back on your feet this morning after you fainted in front of the crowd? Old Templeton. Has it ever occurred to you that I'm sick of running errands and doing favors? Who do you think I am, anyway, a rat-of-all-work?"

Lots of quotes today. Mostly ones that I liked; things that were funny, things that were full of emotion, things that were absolutely true, things that were just adorable. Regardless of this being a children's book, it's worth a read no matter what your age. I'll leave you with a couple more quotes I enjoyed.

"What do people catch on the Queensborough Bridge--bugs?" asked Wilbur.
"No," said Charlotte. "They don't catch anything. They just keep trotting back and forth across the bridge thinking there is something better on the other side. If they'd hang head-down at the top of the thing and wait quietly, maybe something good would come along. But no--with men it's rush, rush, rush, every minute. I'm glad I'm a sedentary spider."
p.60

"What a gamble friendship is!"
p.41

Life of Pi: CHECK!

Just finished Life of Pi. Unfortunately, this book was kind of a let down. It was claimed "A story to make you believe in God" but I am not convinced. It's possible that I read it with an overly critical eye (I can do that when it comes to religion), but for me it was just another story of a teenage boy surviving in the wild. It also reeked of The Old Man and the Sea, which I read in high school and HATED. The middle got tedious...there are only so many ways you can describe fishing and butchering fish.

A few quotes I enjoyed:

"I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live. It's not something evident in my experience. Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still others--and I am one of those--never give up. We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight to the very end. It's not a question of courage. It's something constitution, and inability to let go. It may be nothing more than life-hungry stupidity."
p. 148

"The worst pair of opposites are boredom and terror."
p. 217

"What a terrible thing it is to botch a farewell...It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse."
p. 285


So, overall, disappointing, but it held my attention for the most part. The beginning section was my favorite. I think I am beginning to become very interested in India. According to the man at the bookstore the other day, Midnight's Children also deals with India so I may be reading that one soon. Immediately next up: The Magician's Nephew (first of the Narnia books, #33). That one I have as a book on tape, so I'll be listening to it as I run. In print form, maybe Charlotte's Web. I need something light and uplifting.

Life of Pi: halfway done

I am almost halfway through Life of Pi. Where I have stopped, Pi has just listed all the things that he has found in the lifeboat. I've never been a person who is into survival, camping, anything in that realm, and so I skimmed the list and moved on. I can always reference it later.

My biggest problem in this section, Pi in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a hyena and a tiger that he just discovered, is HOW DID HE NOT KNOW THE TIGER WAS IN THE BOAT!?!? I mean, maybe his lifeboat is larger than I am picturing it, but still, I feel like it would be impossible NOT to know there was a tiger in there. Pi says his boat is about 100 square feet, which is approximately the size of the room I am in. I can say with absolute certainty that if there was a 450 pound Bengal tiger in here, I would know it.

Additionally, I am having a hard time trying to picture what the lifeboat looks like. I can understand the size and shape of the boat, and that it has seats across similar to a row boat, except one was broken by the zebra. It seems like there is a tarp that is going across the top of the boat, or maybe under the seats, and the tiger is under the tarp, but then wouldn't you know that the tiger was under there? You would either see a large lump, or you could peek under and see a tiger. I just don't get it.

And whatever happened to this being a story about believing in God? I think I admitted in the last post that I am not particularly religious or spiritual, but I am extremely interested in that topic in general. I usually only can see the bad in religion (politics, intolerance, hypocrisy) but if there arguments for its good, I like to hear them. This story especially seemed like it would be one of those arguments, but not in an overbearing way. Episodes about why Pi chose to convert to several religions at once, and the conversation between the three holy men were interesting and something that was new to me. However, Pi vs. a hyena and a tiger does not seem so very close to that story. I'm sure it will come together. This story has had quite a bit of foreshadowing already so I'm sure the religious piece will come full circle. Pi's lesson about how animals are vicious, and that omega animals perform for trainers because they have nothing to lose, are already beginning to relate to the tiger, Richard Parker, haha. Thirsty None Given, haha.

I hope the survival part of the book, which lasts for 140 more pages either goes quickly or gets more interesting. Me and intense survival books generally do not get along.

Life of Pi: First Impressions

I decided to go with Life of Pi because for whatever reasons I am still procrastinating LOTR. I have read the first seven chapters, which takes me approximately 8% through the book. So far this book is about an Indian boy who was named after a pool and enjoys swimming. Thrown in there as well is a defense of zoos, which I found very interesting.

Pi's father runs a zoo, so he takes a few pages telling his reader why zoos are not as inhumane as people believe them to be. He starts by saying that zoo enclosures are to animals what houses are to people; a condensed environment that has everything necessary all in one location. Both bring security to its inhabitants. While Pi recognizes that people think animals should be out running free, he believes that the animals have everything they need in the zoo, including abundant food and lack of predators. He also cited examples where animals who had escaped their enclosures eventually returned to them because that was their home. In the wild, Pi notes that predators are around, animals are always fighting over turf, and food is scarce. The zoo solves all of those problems for animals. He also says that the animals have rituals that they do daily, and noticing a change in the pattern and timing can help alert a zookeeper that an animal is feeling ill or that something is wrong. It was a very interesting and compelling argument, and while I agree with much of what Pi argues about zoos, I also believe that most animals belong in the wild.

Some quotes I especially liked:

p. 6 "I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful."

WORKAHOLICS BEWARE!!

p. 19 "The Pondicherry Zoo doesn't exist any more. Its pits are filled in, the cages torn down. I explore it now in the only place left for it, my memory."

Connection to my life: I attended a high school that was in pretty rough shape, and although it was not the best conditions for learning (windows that were welded open so the snow could come in, the smallest gym and auditorium in the county, cafeteria not able to fit all the students assigned to lunch at that time, no track, trailers outside for extra classroom space, etc.) it holds a special place in my heart because despite its flaws it had character. Sure, I got snowed on almost daily for a few months during English class, but eventually such frustrations became jokes. It did not have the facilities to compare with the other area high schools, but it was my school. In my senior year, the district started a fairly intense renovation project that began to change the look and layout of the school. The floors and ceilings were stripped, sections of the school became forbidden due to men in haz-mat suits getting rid of asbestos, and lights were dangling from wires giving the look of a mine shaft. This too, became more character for the school. They ripped up the parking lot, the fields, the hallways. There were construction vehicles all over the place. Our homecoming game was a home game an hour away because we didn't have a football field. My sports team played at an elementary school instead of the field normally used. For graduation, we wanted to wear hard hats. Anyway, you get the picture. The last memories of me at my high school included this construction vehicle, mine shaft, dust and gravel picture in my head.

The picture in my head does not exist anymore. My freshman year of college, the rebuilding of the school began. A wing was added, the gym was changed, the library moved into the auditorium, the auditorium moved into the old gym, there was a new gym wing built out the back, the bus loop changed from the front of the building to the side, and the old back of the school was now the front. There is a state of the art track with a football field inside and new bleachers and a circular amphitheater in front. The old trees and ivy covered brick is gone and was replaced by a monster that has no resemblance to the old school and does not fit the location anymore (in a historic village). For this reason, I do not go in the school and prefer to remember it as it was. My younger sister attended this school too, but the updated version. If I was forced to attend something at the school, a concert or game, perhaps, I had to force myself to pretend that she was going to a different school, and that this school was not mine. For some reason this made me feel better, even though I know it is irrational and it's the same school only renovated with none of the charm of the old building. So, from this very long digression, I can understand what Pi is going through with his zoo from his childhood gone. And although this quote, very short and at the end of the chapter, hardly amounts to much, I am made to believe that it causes him great pain.

So, that was a longer and way more involved entry than I meant to write, but from this I think it's clear that Life of Pi is going to be a very thought provoking book. The Author's Note claimed that it was a story to make you believe in God. (I'll be honest, I don't really know what I believe. I know that organized religion is not for me, that praying seems irrational, and that you have to work hard and not take for granted that someone will help you out. However, I'm convinced that coincidences don't exist and that ghosts are real.) So, this book is clearly going to take on religion as a topic, which will be interesting given that Pi studies religion as well as zoology at university. Religion discussed with science will be something interesting and new for me, and it will be interesting how Pi will be able to balance these two partially opposing ideas.

Anyway, that's the beginning of Life of Pi. I'm anxious to keep reading. It'll be dense and thought provoking but I hope enjoyable at the same time.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I just finished reading 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.' This book, besides being a fabulous vacation book (defined as interesting, small, and not a page turner that has you reading all of vacation when you are supposed to be out and doing things), was a really interesting book that had a lot of new perspectives on many different things. I realize that is vague, so I'll go into a little more detail. Essentially, this is the story of a teenage boy who sets out to figure out who has stabbed his neighbors dog. In the process, his story becomes one of family and truth and independence. I'm sure there are a lot of stories like this. However, this book is told in the first person by a teenage male speaker with autism. I think the fact that I am a special ed teacher drew me into the book, but you do not have to have any background in autism to appreciate the book. The speaker, Christopher, tells his story of his investigation into who killed his neighbor's dog. However, about half the chapters have nothing to do with his story. Instead, they are about math problems, his beliefs about various subjects like science and math, and his past. Christopher is an extremely logical person who does not dwell on sadness and has very unique and not always acceptable ways of dealing with his problems. Here are three quotes I especially liked:

"All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I'm not meant to call them stupid, even though that is what they are. I'm meant to say that they have learning difficulties or that they have special needs. But this is stupid because everyone has learning difficulties because learning to speak French or understanding relativity is difficult and also everyone has special needs, like Father, who has to carry a little packet of artificial sweetening tablets around with him to put in his coffee to stop him from getting fat, or Mrs. Peters, who wears a beige-colored hearing aid, or Siobhan, who has glasses so thick they give you a headache if you borrow them, and none of these people are Special Needs, even if they have special needs" p. 42=43

"Mr. Jeavons said that I liked maths because it was safe. He said I liked maths because it meant solving problems, and these problems were difficult and interesting but there was always a straightforward answer in the end. And what he meant was that maths was not like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end." p. 61-62

"And whenever I thought about the future I couldn't see anything clearly in my head and that made a panic start. So Siobhan said I shouldn't think about the future. She said 'Just think about today. Think about all the things that have happened. Especially about the good things that have happened.'"

Those excerpts give an accurate look at the writing style of the book. It is easy to follow along but sometimes when Christopher starts to explain math problems it gets a little tough, although I understood most of those parts. Additionally, they were not vital to the story so if it was problematic those parts could be skimmed or skipped.

So, interesting perspectives, unique protagonist, chapters labeled by prime numbers, etc. Pretty cool stuff in this book. I highly recommend. And I'm ranking it between Anne of Green Gables and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Next up: ? Before vacation, I was thinking about resuming Lord of the Rings with The Two Towers, but I think I'm still in the mood for something lighter. And after reading Haddon, I think I'm in the mood for another coming of age type story. So, I may start instead with Life of Pi. Although there are still a great many books that are on my shelf that have yet to be read so you never know...

Books I've read to date (and their ranking order)

I am 17% done with this list (as in, I have read 17 books from the list). I feel like after finishing Gone With The Wind I am accomplished and victorious and almost done but that is far from the case. As far as Gone With The Wind is concerned, 17% is 176 pages in where Scarlett just becomes a widow and moves to Atlanta and hardly anything has happened yet! Clearly I have a LONG way to go (especially considering that some of the list items are multiple books, such as Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and His Dark Materials). Now that I think of it, I read Gone With The Wind as a break from Tolkien but it may be several books before I return to LOTR because it's so dense. Even though Gone with the Wind was long, it did not require a ton of concentration.

My next book, from the list, anyway, (I have a couple that a friend gave me to read that are not on there) will be #59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon, which I have deemed worthy of bringing on an airplane. It looks interesting, sounds interesting, reads quickly, has pictures, equations, and diagrams, and last but not least has a cutout of a dog on the front cover. If that doesn't scream fun book, nothing does! And the narrator has Autism, which will be interesting for me because I am a teacher and a nanny and that kind of thing interests me. I love that this list has some contemporary books, like that one and the Lovely Bones to break up all the Dickens and Austen and Steinbeck.

Another one(s) I may be tackling simultaneously is/are #33 and #36 Chronicles of Narnia/The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, which is a part of the Narnia series. I have those on books on tape from the library which I may be listening to on vacation or perhaps when I'm exercising. (I did that to finish the Great Gatsby and it worked out pretty well.) I'm also thinking a plane ride coast to coast is the perfect opportunity to watch Gone With The Wind as a reward for my accomplishment.

Ok! Without further ado, here is my list from favorite to least favorite. From now on when I finish a book I will be ranking it on this list as well so that when I finish this project I'll have all the books in order. Here it goes:

21 Gone With The Wind
31 Anna Karenina
4 Harry Potter Series
5 To Kill A Mockingbird
7 Wuthering Heights
40 Winnie The Pooh
42 The Da Vinci Code
46 Anne of Green Gables
29 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
9 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
16 The Hobbit
22 The Great Gatsby
94 Watership Down
98 Hamlet
6 The Bible
70 The Inferno
61 Of Mice And Men

It was actually harder than I thought trying to figure out which books I liked more than others, especially in the middle, and especially since I read some of them a long time ago. But here it is for now, and others will be added as I finish. Eventually I'll publish the revised list with the extra books my friend and I added that we thought should be included in this list but were not for some reason. I know of a few of them, but once that gets finalized, that will be up here too, and probably in the list section on the right of this entry. But I won't think about that now, I'll think of that tomorrow, when I can stand it :)

Victoire!

VEEK-TWAR!! (yes, my high school did in fact expose me to French class bingo)

I have finished all 1037 pages of Gone With The Wind. Actually, I finished yesterday and started writing an update, but I had to stop for some reason and now it is lost. Anyway, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this book. Even though the last hundred or so pages were pretty rough, I still enjoyed it. In fact, I think this may be one of my favorite books of all time. Next entry I'll list the books I have read in the order that I liked them.

ANYWAY I'm not really in the mood to do a huge character analysis or anything like that, so I think today I will be agreeing or disagreeing with Sparknotes in my interpretation of the book, characters, themes, etc.

Sparknotes says that Scarlett embodies the South from pre-war days, through war days, and then through reconstruction as she changes from belle to widow to rich businesswoman. Ashley is supposed to be the old south and Rhett the new south. This all makes sense to me. But what about when Rhett walked out on the second to last page? The New South left Scarlett? hmm.....that is not making as much sense anymore. I prefer to think of it as Ellen representing the Old South, as well as Bonnie. Ellen's manners, habit of never having her back touch the back of a chair, keeping the books on the plantation, and nursing the sick show the charm of married women in the old south. However, during the war, the Old South dies and thus so does Ellen. Bonnie, named after the Bonnie Blue of the Confederate flag, also shows the old south. She is spoiled, shown off, and comes from a wealthy family. Even though she is born and raised in the New South, Rhett, treats her like a belle and expects her to be one as she grows up. She also resembles Gerald, who is another reminder of the old times. She too dies, showing the collapse of that sort of society. The fact that she dies in the same way that Gerald does is no coincidence either and draws more attention to the old days, especially with the flashback Scarlett has as Bonnie is jumping the gate.

I read the rest of sparknotes and in general it was on target, while at the same time a little sparse.

I'm not really sure what else to say...I've typed this entry at least twice because it kept getting erased/internet crashed. I admire Scarlett's perseverance in the face of her world crashing around her and everyone she loves leaving her. I admire Rhett's nonchalance and habit of stating things as they are. And I admire Mammy for stating things as they are as well, and controlling Scarlett, who is controlled by no one.

Overall, a great book, exciting read, highly recommend. The end. Tomorrow is another day.

Gone with the Wind: 80%

Less than 200 pages to go!

I feel very accomplished but I love the story so much that I wish it were several more thousands of pages. I love the style of writing, the characters, the details and the way that everything is connected. Scarlett ended up in Atlanta begging Rhett for money, trying to sell herself, and eventually got married to Frank Kennedy because he had money. She then bought a couple of sawmills and ran them to make money. One day on the way to one of the mills, she got attacked and Frank ended up dead trying to avenge the attack as part of the Ku Klux Klan. Scarlett was sorry, not that she had killed Frank (indirectly), but that she was going to hell. Then Rhett proposed to her while Frank was dead in the parlor. Ridiculous.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! I'm sad I only have a couple hundred pages to go :(

There's not much to say about this section, although I was drawing parallels between Scarlett and Gatsby in terms of getting a plan to make money and doing anything to make that happen. Both, now that I think about it, are in love with someone who is married. But Scarlett carries through with her goal and having known hunger never wants to be without money.

However, I am not sure why she is blaming herself so much for Frank's death. While I understand that she disobeyed him when he asked her to stop going out to the mills because it was unsafe. Scarlett, in turn, talked to Frank to make sure he was not part of the Klan. Therefore, both disobeyed the requests of the other, and both got hurt for it. Unfortunately Frank didn't make it out of his attack alive, but in my opinion it was not solely Scarlett's fault that he had been killed. If he had listened to Scarlett, he would not have been involved in the Klan. At the same time, if Scarlett had not visited the mill, she wouldn't have been attacked. Perhaps being a gentleman, Frank had to seek revenge, but Scarlett did not want that either; on the evening of her attack she wanted Frank to stay home and comfort her. Therefore, I believe Frank's death is just as much Frank's fault as Scarlett's.

I'll be honest. I have seen the movie start to finish at least twice, but have watched the first half and the last 5 minutes many times. Therefore, the ending piece is a little fuzzy. I'll watch the movie at some point after finishing the book. I can remember parts from the movie as they happen in the book but I can't remember details much, especially related to the Scarlett and Rhett marriage, which consumes part 5, where I am now in the book. I remember that they lived richly, had a child who died, Rhett got drunk and pushed Scarlett down the stairs, and of course the "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Other than that, I can't say I remember much about them as a couple.

That being said, here's my prediction. Rhett and Scarlett are two people who are not well respected or received in Atlanta, mostly because they have taken opportunities that were given to them that others did not take. Displeasure with Scarlett also has to do with the fact that she is a woman doing work for men, showing herself in pregnancy, etc. (That whole bit really annoys me, not that I would consider myself a feminist by any means, but people know about sex and that sex leads to babies and that pregnancy happens and leads to women the size of trucks, so....what is the big deal? It happens to everyone, why can't they go shopping or for a walk? And men have to be like, "Oh, gee, Mrs. So-and-so, what a surprise, a baby!" while thinking in their head like 'oh, I haven't seen her in a while, she must be knocked up!' What's the big deal? But that's besides the point.) and that she is being 'indecent.' They both don't care about their reputations or what people think, but both are concerned with their appearances, having luxurious things, etc. So, based on that, their marriage will be more like a facade. Their relationship, besides being about passion, is more of a love-hate relationship, which, when combined with passion can only end badly. I'm thinking they will live some time with luxury but at some point Scarlett will have to either give up on Ashley or leave Rhett altogether for her to be happy (We all know what happens in the end, who are we kidding?). Thinking back, I can't remember a time when Scarlett was ever truly happy. Even in the very beginning she was pining for Ashley and never did she get her chance.

Yeah, so, a third unhappy marriage, but this more fun than the other two. I'm interested to see if Scarlett ends up in Atlanta, seeing as how she and Rhett are bound to live in the lap of luxury (while Atlanta cleans up and becomes a nice place again, which is inevitable if they live there due to the Scarlett-Atlanta foil). And I want to know what happens to her children Wade and Ella, since they don't exist in the movie.

I have been thinking the whole book about who my favorite character is. IT IS DIFFICULT! I'll elaborate later if I get to it, but I love Scarlett, for as stupid as she seems she actually has some sense except about love. I love Rhett for his frankness, the way he is matter of fact about everything. The third character I love, which I discovered today, is Mammy. There was something she said in the chapter I read today that really struck me. Maybe I'll add it next time, but it was something about even though she is free, she still represents Miss Ellen and she was not going to let Scarlett go off unsupervised and find someone else to raise Ellen's grandchildren. The way Mammy protects the family that she grew up with is a story that often gets lost in the movie and in civil war stories in general. I mean, I grew up in New York (state, not city) so I didn't grow up with the same set of civil war attitudes as those raised in the south, but the message I got was that all slaves hated being slaves and hated their masters and after the emancipation proclamation, all the slaves ran away and came up north to work except for the ones that ended up as sharecroppers. While most of the O'Hara's slaves ran away, and freed slaves were some of the criminals in Atlanta, Mammy, Pork, Dilcey, and Prissy still stayed with the O'Hara's out of loyalty. I was unaware that loyalty of this kind existed in the south between slave and master. My view of slavery pretty accurately matches those of the reported northerners in the book who asked Sam of the bloodhounds and beatings. At the same time, I realize that Mitchell grew up in the south and that her story may be skewed also. Even if slave loyalty was extremely rate, it still draws attention to Mammy as a character and makes me admire her for her devotion to Ellen (who, by the way, represents the old south, thus why she is dead and Scarlett is less like her every day--I love symbolism!)

It's really too bad that Mitchell didn't write more books or a sequel or something--I know there's a sequel but I'm afraid to read it...this book seems so complete (minus the phillipi thing, haven't found out what that is yet) and the writing is so good that if the sequel sucks I'd hate to ruin this book for myself. Currently it may be surpassing even my favorite book, Anna Karenina. We'll have to see with these last 190 pages!

Gone With The Wind: The rock bottom section

After laying Gone With The Wind to rest for a week or so due to vacation and lack of interest for a few days, I'm happy to say that I'm reading it again with a vengeance. Within the past 2 days, I've read 131 pages (which doesn't sound like a lot but that's 65 pages per day while working which I find impressive).

Last I left off in my blog, Scarlett had just disgraced herself at the dance auction. Since then there's been a lot of description of sick/wounded/dying soldiers, how jealous Scarlett is of Melanie, and how Rhett Butler won't be received by the townspeople. The Yankees kept getting closer to Atlanta. Scarlett kissed Ashley before he left after his furlough, as well as Rhett on the night they escape from Atlanta. Rhett joins the army in the eleventh hour. Scarlett, Prissy, Melanie, Wade, and the baby take the road home to Tara, which is miraculously still standing. Scarlett's father is tired and confused, her sisters are sick, her mother is dead, and all the slaves are gone except Pork, Mammy, and Dilcey.

Normally, I am the kind of person who doesn't hold much sympathy for anyone who has screwed up their own life. I can't feel sorry for Scarlett pining for Ashley after so many years because she knows she can't have him. There's no way I'm rooting for that to work out (even disregarding the fact that I love Rhett). However, so many events in Scarlett's life are so incredibly out of her control that I can't help but feel awful for her. There's no food, no medicine, no cotton to sell, no livestock, her father is not who he was, her mother died the day before she returned home, her sisters are sick, she's stuck in her old house that no longer feels much like home with a son she doesn't like and the wife and child of the man she loves. I am pretty sure this is what rock bottom looks like.

And then there's the argument that if it weren't for her promise to Ashley, Scarlett would have returned home already and seen her mother before she died. However, in this scenario, Scarlett probably would have also come down with typhoid and died. The end. Game over. No 600 more pages to read.

I've seen the movie several times and I know what ultimately happens. However, with so many pages left, I'm wondering what the movie may have been leaving out. Surprisingly, though, not much has been cut out at all (except Wade, who hardly appears in the book anyway). We'll have to see about that...

Two things I noticed:
A quote I read today while at work.
"Make him hush. I can't stand it," said Scarlet, taking the horse by the bridle and pulling him to a reluctant start. "Be a little man, Wade, and stop crying or I will come over there and slap you."
Why had God invented children, she thought savagely as she turned her ankle cruelly on the dark road--useless, crying nuisances they were, always demanding care, always in the way. In her exhaustion, there was no room for compassion for the frightened child, trotting by Prissy's side, dragging at her hand and sniffing--only a weariness that she had borne him, only a tired wonder that she had ever married Charles Hamilton."

I'm a nanny. I can relate. I thought it was especially funny that I read it at work during nap time.

Another thing I noticed: As Atlanta declines, so does Scarlett. I mentioned this in my last Gone with the Wind entry. First, Atlanta becomes very busy with soldiers and people as a result of the railroads. Even though there is a war going on, it's still a hubbub of excitement. On the same page, it mentions that Scarlett had never been happier as a result of seeing Ashley. Is it a coincidence that both Scarlett and Atlanta had become more vivacious at the same time and on the same page? Absolutely not. Furthermore, as Atlanta burns, Scarlett falls apart. She calls for Rhett to take them away, and then loses her mind when she is trying to pack. She starts misplacing things around the house, trying to bring good china instead of a sunbonnet and gloves. Furthermore, as they leave Atlanta, which is presumably burning more, Scarlett deteriorates physically, becoming tired, sunburned, and getting blisters on her hands. By the time they reach Tara (note: they are no longer in Atlanta, therefore Scarlett is further physically from Atlanta which is symbolic for her) she is not the Scarlett we first saw at Tara on page 1 (or in my edition, page 3). She has lost the life she knew at Tara, the way of the south, and the life she had been been brought up to live. While Scarlett realizes that as the south changes, so must she (e.g. she drives the carriage by herself, she starts drinking, she slaps Prissy and calls her names) Mammy still clings to the past, telling Scarlett that she should have worn gloves to drive the carriage. I mean, I'm not sure of the importance of gloves, but when your city is burning and enemy soldiers are coming, I'm finding gloves to be the modern day equivalent of making sure you have your license when you're evacuating for a hurricane or something. However, Mammy, having brought up many young girls in the old south, knows no other way and perhaps cannot imagine what Scarlett has been though.

So, this section has seen things go from bad to worse. Perhaps a little more uplifting things are in store? I hope so, how much worse could it get?

I'm also still waiting on the "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again" part. I don't think I'm there yet....or else I passed it. But to be fair, I have not yet got to a part with Scarlett digging up yams.

The Great Gatsby

Recently I took a road trip to the northeast to visit a couple of friends in med school. Even though I am currently still in the middle of Gone With The Wind, the library did not have that on audiobook (on CD) for my car (and I wasn't about to shell out $50 to Amazon for it either,) I chose another book from the list to listen to for part of the car ride. The Great Gatsby seemed a perfect choice because it was short and because I was somewhat familiar with it. Truth be told, The Great Gatsby is one of those books that falls under the category of "books I was assigned in high school that I read on Sparknotes," along with A Tale of Two Cities, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Odyssey, Lord of the Flies, Huckleberry Finn, and Pride and Prejudice. This is not to say that I didn't read ANY of these; I usually started with such good intentions of this being the book that I actually finished, but time restraints usually won. Either I was too busy to actually do the reading, or the book was not interesting enough for me to bother finishing. I remember reading most of The Great Gatsby, up to chapter 6 at least. The point of that rant was a) I made it through high school by avoiding classic books, and b) I did not have to pay 100% attention to Gatsby in the car.



So, this being a particularly famous book, and one I remember liking in high school (the parts I read, anyway), I had high expectations for the book which were basically squashed. I found it surprisingly wordy and insignificant, which is ironic because that is the picture of upper class life that the novel paints. While I understand this major theme, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

What I find most striking about the book is the evolution of Gatsby. He was a poor mid-westerner who one day made up his mind to be rich and did everything he could to achieve his goal. Not everything he did was legal, some was particularly shady, but overall, Gatsby became a wealthy man. Modern day Machiavelli? I'd say so. His rationale was a little shaky (needing to impress Daisy even though she was married) but his efforts were rewarded with money. He threw elaborate parties to impress and lure Daisy in. In the process he lured in many others, but Gatsby seemed uninterested in them, as shown by his removed presence at his parties. I admire his determined nature, but can't help but be bothered by all the emptiness. He did what he did to get Daisy, which ultimately failed, not only when she chose Tom but also when he was shot by Wilson. Gatsby did not want to be rich for himself, although he did seem to enjoy that lifestyle, and I think that's where he went wrong. While money cannot buy happiness, achieving an important goal can bring happiness. In my mind, Gatsby had a worthy goal (even though it involved money) but the reasoning for his goal was what lead him to feeling empty. And while I can admire his do or die nature, I can't help feeling that Gatsby needed some other interests, friendships, and relationships to make his life worthwhile.

"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired."

I'm not sure why I like this quote so much. I guess when it comes to relationships, everyone falls into one of these categories, more or less. I also believe you can be in two categories at once. Either you are into someone, or they are into you, or both, which covers pursued and pursuing. I'm not sure if busy refers to people too busy to be in relationships, or people who are currently in relationships, but for now I'll go with both. And the tired I presume are not looking for any sort of relationship, and are perhaps bored or frustrated with that sort of thing. I'm not sure which category I fall into, maybe a mix between pursuing and busy, if that's possible. Maybe I'll do some work in this department and think about it some more. Maybe if I bring this quote up on a date I'll find out if the guy is a book geek like me, haha.

So, thus is my analysis of The Great Gatsby. Next entry will probably be getting up to speed in Gone With The Wind.

Reputation

"Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is."
--Rhett Butler, while dancing with Scarlett at the charity ball

Rhett Butler is my hero. Even though he is a scoundrel only concerned with money, he always speaks the truth. It doesn't matter whether he will be accepted or not. It doesn't matter whether his ideas are scandalous and not generally liked. When he brought up the fact at the Wilkes' barbecue that there was not a single cannon factory in the south, everyone went berserk. However, he was only bringing up facts (although they fell on deaf ears, clearly).

Scarlett, on the other hand, always cares what people thinks about her. However, she has such an analytic mind, she finds a way to do what people think is acceptable while also looking out for herself. When she flirts with everyone at the barbecue, everyone sees Scarlett's personality when in fact she is trying to make a point to Ashley. She goes to Atlanta for what everyone thinks is her health, but her real motivation is so that she can be with Ashley's family. Then eventually she finagles the reasoning of dancing at the ball to be helping the cause when in fact she just wants to dance and have a good time, and does not feel an ounce of grief for Charles.

This reputation statement, though, shows that Scarlett is about to fall from the good graces of society, as Rhett Butler has done, for doing something socially unacceptable. What society doesn't realize is that Scarlett has already done something unacceptable by marrying someone not for love or practical reasons, but to get closer to another man. She is only in Atlanta for that reason, and wearing black for someone you are not truly mourning is disrespectful as well. However, the people (minus Butler, of course) are unable to see through Scarlett's facade. Basically, Mitchell paints the southern gentlemen, ladies, and belles as ignorant and rash and the character not even received by his own family as having any shard of intelligence. Probably the exception to this would be Ellen O'Hara, but she only shines because she was good at the life she led in the culture of the old south. The post-war climate will not suit her.

There are many other quotes that I have loved but as I am now currently 200 pages into the book it's hard to go back and find them, so from here on out I'll be a little better about updating.

Something I thought was interesting was the description of when Scarlett and Melanie turned in their wedding rings. Scarlett, first, was thankful that she did not have any beautiful jewelry on because then she would have had to follow the norms and donate them to the cause. In essence her "mourning" was a blessing in disguise. However, she did notice that her wedding ring was jewelry and then took it from her finger and threw it onto the pile. Melanie then did the same thing, telling Scarlett that she was so brave (ha! If you only had a brain...). Anyway, Melanie really has to pull the ring off her finger, which shows the kind of attachment she has to her husband that she cannot pull her husband (symbolically through the ring) from her finger, while Scarlett has no problem casting him aside. And you can tell she wants to, because mourning would have given her an out to not donating anything, but she clearly chose to do it.

So, without the thought of Charles lingering around her, and her clear insubordination with the norms of mourning, I'm guessing Scarlett just casts her reputation off and continues her life without regard as to the townspeople's thoughts of her.

Wow. Long tangent. Getting back to the quote though, It's definitely true that reputation can be both a blessing and a curse. If you have a bad reputation, it lingers and there's not much you can do to change it no matter how hard you try. If you have a good reputation, you feel expected to live up to it no matter what you feel like doing. Personally, my reputation (i think, at least) is that I am quiet and I follow the rules, and it's definitely hard to break out of that when so many people know that about me. And once someone has a reputation it's hard to see them outside of that. Lucky for Scarlett, she had a way to break out and ruin her reputation, and win her freedom, as Rhett Butler puts it. Now that it's ruined, Scarlett can do whatsoever she pleases and is no longer confined by the ideas of others. I'll be looking to see whether she speaks her mind a little more too.

Additionally, Scarlett and Atlanta were Christened in the same year, which is, to me at least, as good as Margaret Mitchell screaming from the book "PAY ATTENTION!! SCARLETT AND ATLANTA ARE FOILS!" Anyway, Scarlett visited Atlanta when she was small, back when it was a new town, just developing. It grew quickly and was now the center of trade for the south, connected with many other cities. It is bustling and always busy, but because it is so new it is rough around the edges. Scarlett even says about it when she first arrives, "I'm going to like it here! It's so alive and exciting!" And if that statement doesn't describe the both of them, then lock me up!

I'm only one fifth of the way into this book. At least is it not as tedious for me as Lord of the Rings

it's only when like marries like can there be any happiness

I don't have much time to write (Have to be up before 6 tomorrow, eek!) but I just wanted to document how fabulous I think this book is. I'm already on page 160-something. Already Scarlett is a widow with a small child. They are about to go to the ball to help the Confederacy. Next time I'll put in some quotes (most of which made the movie) that I especially liked and tell why at one point during my reading I discovered that I was exactly like Scarlett (in some respects...I certainly hope I am not like her completely!) As for now, peace out!

Gone With The Wind

FINISHED THE FELLOWSHIP!!! finally....

I think I'm going to continue my pattern of hiatus from LOTR and take a break before I head into "The Two Towers". And by break I actually mean reading over one thousand pages of "Gone With The Wind."

I ordered Gone With The Wind to get free shipping on something I had to order for school, since I knew I was going to be buying it anyway. I've read two chapters so far, and besides being completely racist (but probably historically accurate in that department) it is fantastic. It probably helps that I have seen the movie several times, and really like the story. I'll put in some quotes and noticings in my next entry. For the time being, though, I'll get back to homework and hopefully I'll be able to read a little more tonight.

Hiatus

I am officially on hiatus from this book project due to grad school. It's really a shame, especially since I am mid-LOTR series (30 pages from the end of the first book). I'm hoping that between class and nannying I'll have a little time to finish up the Fellowship. Then it will be only a couple of weeks before I can resume with The Two Towers, which is slightly shorter (yay!) My goal is to finish up this series by the end of summer.

I also have to find a thrilling vacation book to take on the plane with me. Our family vacation is coming up and since we will be flying across the country, I've decided I had better use that time to read a good book. Hopefully something exciting and not something that involves intense concentration (read as: I am not bringing LOTR or War and Peace on vacation with me...and ESPECIALLY not War and Peace because it is heavy). I do have the Life of Pi sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me, so I'll have to preview that one to make sure it'll keep my interest for 5 hours straight, or find a different one from the list.

My friend and I have worked on revising this list to accommodate our own tastes. We've added a few books that we feel should be on the list (I'm not sure how many as of yet) and have decided that if a certain book is REALLY not working, we can move on to another one (read as: I will probably not read Dickens and she will not be reading Steinbeck). I'm still really excited about this even though I a) am burnt out from reading about how kids learn to read and spell, and b) have no time to actually read for pleasure.

See you July 1st, when class is over!

75% !!!

My goodness this is a long book!!
75% in and they are mid-Mines of Moria. There is still so much stuff that still needs to happen. Looking back (so far) I have enjoyed all of the description and back story but while I am reading I just want to get to the end. I was hoping that I could finish the entire series before my summer class begins next week but apparently that is not a possibility; I'll be lucky to finish just this book. I still have about 95 pages to go, and if I finish that it will be perfect timing for a 6-week hiatus from real reading in the name of getting my homework done. Blah. I am SO not excited for that.

It took me a while to get through the second chapter of book 2. There is back story out the wazoo. While I definitely see the necessity of it, the amount seems a bit excessive. Also, I am wondering if their various travel mishaps are going to be important later on. I can understand if every misstep shows the significance of something, but there are a few too many that just kind of hint at the fact that the journey is hard. Believe me, I can sympathize. Hiking and camping without any food or shoes are definitely not for me. We'll see if they get any luck in the mines (probably not though, I seem to remember a tomb and a fight scene).

Conclusion: These books are long, detailed, and epic. They are fantastic but you really have to commit to reading them because if you miss so much as a sentence you are hopelessly lost.

The Fellowship of the Ring (50%)

I finally made it to the halfway point in this book. It has been slow going, not because I don't like the book, but because I often get bored reading. Also, I was out of town for a few days without the book, but now that I am in bed with the plague I can make a little more progress.

Frodo and company finally made it to Rivendell. It only took 12 chapters. In the movie it happened so quickly and the majority of the movie was about the fellowship, but so far that has not even happened yet. It's amazing how much the film cuts out, although I can't say there was any scene I wish they had added from the beginning.

In this section, the 4 hobbits running away from the black riders reminded me of Jews trying to escape the Nazis. I'm not sure if that is what Tolkien had in mind, but keeping with the WWII motif it makes sense. Strider then is one who is helping them out but who is not immediately in danger himself, and using his connections to ensure their safety. He leads them to Rivendell, a safe haven.

Not a lot has happened, so I guess I'll end there. I'm sure it will get more exciting in Book II

The Fellowship of the Ring (the first 25%)

Wow! I am enjoying The Fellowship of the Ring SOOO much more than The Hobbit, but I do realize now the importance of reading the Hobbit beforehand; there are so many references to it that I would miss had I not read it first. As of right now, I have read the first 6 chapters, and even though Frodo and company are barely out of the Shire, I am completely engrossed in the book. I thought it would be pages and pages of the dullest part of the Hobbit, but there is so much more to this story and I think that is one of the things I really enjoy about it. I think today I read something like 60 pages!

I have recently seen all three movies for the first time, and the themes behind the story and especially behind the ring itself really reminded me of World War II, and realizing that the books were published in the midst of the war, I am even more convinced of this. Therefore, I have been searching for evidence of parallel events and such. However, the fact that the ring has so much power to corrupt men, and that the entirety of Middle Earth ends up fighting over power speaks to World War II quite a bit I feel. So far, though, there has not been much battle so the WWII parody remains to be seen.

The only thing that I am not liking about this book is the fact that when I finish I still have 2 more to go before I can check it off my list. On the bright side, these three combined are not as many pages as War and Peace, so there are still challenges ahead.

Next up: The Fellowship of the Ring

I have started reading The Fellowship of the Ring, but thus far I am only 9 pages in and therefore, I don't have a ton to say. However, I am anticipating this book being a little more exciting than The Hobbit (although I think the background was necessary) and easier for me to grasp since I have seen the first movie several times. So far they are preparing for Bilbo's "eleventy-first" birthday party and that's about it.

As much as I do want to read this book next, I also have some others that I would rather read first. I'm not sure if I'll do this simultaneously with another, since I think it's going to take me a while to get through. I guess I am so interested to find out what happens in all of them that I get distracted and can't decide. Luckily I bought 6 books at a time so I am going to make sure I finish those before choosing one that I don't have yet so that I don't spend too much money on books I haven't read or get slammed with library fines. But classes have ended for 5 weeks, and it's currently vacation, so I think now is as good a time as any to get the Lord of the Rings series over with now that I have a lot of time on my hands.

So, I guess this section of the blog will be consumed with LOTR 24-7. This is going to take a while...