Lord of the Flies: check!

It happened!  I surpassed my 2013 total and am now up to 3 books read from the list.

It took me three days to read Lord of the Flies.  I am not sure why I was so drawn in.  It wasn't a particularly exciting story and I definitely didn't feel like I could relate to the characters.  Still, I was so curious about what would happen that I basically couldn't stop reading.  It was like a bad accident where you can't look away.

I had to read this book as a freshman in high school, but like all the books I hard to read in high school, I kept up for a few days and then fell behind and caught up via sparknotes.  There were certain events I knew were coming (Piggy dying, Piggy's glasses breaking, the paratrooper falling from the sky, the pig hunt) but all the details I missed the first time put everything in perspective.  I knew what Piggy was feeling when Ralph kept shoving him off as a friend.  I knew what Ralph was feeling when no one understood how important the fire was.  I knew the frustration they felt when Jack felt it was more important to hunt than build shelters or tend the fire.

One by one, the characters succumb to savagery and tyranny until it is just Ralph left.  He is the one who is able to cling to any sort of thought about life beyond the island.  He was the only one who wanted to have a fire, and he created order at the assemblies initially.  All the other boys (except Piggy) slowly forget their lives and fall victim to Jack's tribe toward the end.  Ironically, it is an act of savagery, trying to smoke Ralph out of the jungle, that ends up saving them, although it is by the same means that Ralph was suggesting all along.  Perhaps the most striking part of the book was the ending.  Although the boys are rescued, this does not constitute a happy ending, even though a rescue was what they were hoping for all along.  Instead, the boys are shamed by the officer regarding their behavior, and when they start to cry, it is evident that they cannot go home and resume life as normal.  The island has changed each one of them.

I think the character I most identified with was Piggy.  He was the voice of reason throughout the novel, and the butt of all the other boys' jokes.  However, Piggy had good ideas and advice, and eventually Ralph began to trust him, especially without Jack around.  I see this kind of dynamic all the time at school--kids being nice to each other until the "cool kid" shows up, at which point one puts the other down to look "cool."  However, this rarely works, and it didn't work for Jack either.  There are times when the person with the better ideas is often not heard for whatever reason (for Piggy it was his size, his glasses, and his constant complaining).  It was interesting that Piggy was created by Golding to be so "disadvantaged" in comparison to the other boys.  He can't move as quickly as them, he has asthma, and he can't see without his glasses.  When Jack and the others steal his glasses, he is rendered helpless.  In this way, reason (Piggy) does not even begin on the same playing field as some of the other forces at play in the book, namely savagery (Jack).

Anyway, this was an interesting book and unfortunately probably more true to life than fiction.

A couple of quotes I liked:

"I know there isn't no beast--not with claws and all that, I mean--but I know there isn't no fear either."  Piggy paused.  "Unless--" Ralph moved restlessly.
"Unless what?"
"Unless we get frightened of people."

"Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!"
-Lord of the Flies talking to Simon


Up next: I don't know.  I was on vacation recently, and I read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and half of Prisoner of Azkaban.  I also read half of my summer reading book for school (The Reading Promise) and part of The Help.  I am also reading Emma and have been for a while.  My plan is to finish those (except maybe Emma, for now) and then jump into something different, maybe Middlemarch.  However, this is a busy summer, so if I can even finish Harry Potter I think I'll be doing OK. 

Wonder(ful)

Excuse the pun. :)

I just finished reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  I guess I was a little behind the times, as this book was super popular last year, but I thought it seemed like a good one.  Last year while subbing I read different parts of it at different times (SPOILER ALERT: I read the part where their dog dies at least three times) but had never gotten through it cover to cover.  It was great!  Definitely something that made me think a little bit, although it is definitely meant for a younger audience.  I would definitely use it with kids for a little perspective taking, especially with the middle school age that can be so cruel.  I loved how it switched between different points of view, and made you see plainly why people do what they do.  It forces the reader to examine what different characters are feeling, the motivations behind their actions, and the truth behind their actions.  I remember being really surprised (and a little angry!) that Jack had such mean things to say about Auggie on Halloween.  However, from Jack's side, while it doesn't make it any better, we find out that he didn't really mean what he said and was only trying to get Julian off his back.  I think this gets readers to really think about each character independently, and it also allows them to examine themselves.  I imagine that is a difficult task to accomplish as a writer, especially for a writer of a book geared toward middle schoolers, but I think Palacio pulled it off expertly!  (And I know by the way the kids I was reading to listened to and talked about the book.)

The Kite Runner, Check!

Today I finished The Kite Runner.  I probably won't be forgetting this book any time soon.

As I wrote before, I was reminded a lot of Life of Pi while I was reading this, mostly because it took place in lands far away and unfamiliar to me.  It started out very enjoyable, telling about a childhood and culture of Afghanistan, a tale of family and friendship.  Like Life of Pi, the book reaches a pint where it suddenly turns from cheerful to sullen and serious, as we witness a major event that serves as a turning point in the story.  Eventually, we see the main character(s) struggle in the aftermath of that event, and try to make the story come full circle.

The other part of the book that reminded me SO much of Life of Pi was the part where Amir returns to Afghanistan to look for Sohrab.  In both novels, the main character remembers a place of his childhood that no longer exists, and that serves as a source of pain when he revisits the place.  In one of my Life of Pi entries, I wrote about my own experience with something like that, though clearly not to the extent these characters experience.

The thing that this book got me thinking about was regret and that feeling of "shoulda woulda coulda," and how something you did (or didn't do, in this case) can change the course of your/someone else's life.  There's no going back, so after an event that causes regret, we have to figure out what the next step is: do we forget it and try to move on?  Do we fess up right away and try to make right?  Do we harbor it inside and hope we can bury the feelings?  If we bury the feelings, will they go away, or will that make it worse?  Does it help to tell someone?  Each situation is different, and in situations like Amir's, all of them are equally bad, because nothing can make up for the fact that he didn't do anything in the moment.  However, as the story continued, we saw Amir's repeated attempts to try to redeem himself, eventually taking in Sohrab.

Honestly, I thought this book would have a happier ending, after all of the turmoil throughout.  However, I'll take it.  I am not a fan of endings that are TOO happy, so I usually settle for realistic, which I feel this ending was.

I also didn't realize there was a movie, and I am on the fence about whether to watch it or not.  I did love the story though.  In the end, it comes down to the love that exists in a family, whether they be related by blood or not.  I know I have strong family love in my life, and feel equally close to some who are not family, and in the end, what counts is taking care of each other in the face of anything.

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I will leave you with some of my favorite quotes:

"...but it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it.  Because the past claws its way out."

"At parties, when all six-foot-five of him [Baba] thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun."

"Of course, Baba refused, and everyone shook their heads in dismay at his obstinate ways.  Then Baba succeeded and everyone shook their heads in awe at his triumphant ways."

"I see you've confused what you're learning in school with actual education."

"Children aren't coloring books.  You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors."

"In Kabul, it rarely rained in the summer.  Blue skies stood tall and far, the sun like a branding iron searing the back of your neck."

"It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime."

"Returning to Kabul was like running into an old, forgotten friend and seeing that life hadn't been good to him, that he'd become homeless and destitute.
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Today I also started reading The Color Purple and The Return of the King.  I'll be working on those this spring, as I try to get more books/series finished up after last year's pathetic showing of 2 books, one of which I'd already read.  Oh well, better luck this time!  So far this year, I'm up to 2 (one of which was a series) and it's only March!  Go me!

When Harry Met Sally (Screenplay)

Also this week, I read the screenplay of When Harry Met Sally, which was, not surprisingly, literally just the movie in writing with stage notes.  It's one of my favorite movies, so, also not surprisingly, I loved it.  I thought this one deserved to be documented too, so here it is!

Holes

I was looking for something a little easier to read so that I could read and watch the Olympics at the same time, and I came across Holes.  I had read it a few years ago and loved it, and seen the movie and enjoyed that as well.  I reread it the other day and it was just as good.  It wasn't as exciting since I knew what was coming, but as a first grader told me a few years ago, "A good book is like an old friend," (which to her meant you could read it over and over and still find enjoyment.

I had to put it in here, since I finished it.  Fantastic read, especially for upper elementary/middle school readers.

I also have begun reading The Kite Runner.  So far I am enjoying that too.  It's reminding me a little bit of Life of Pi, probably because it's about a boy who is growing up somewhere else in the world.  I thought that since it takes place in a place and culture with which I am not too familiar that it would be hard to access, but so far it is very easy to understand, and the words that the author writes from other languages he explains almost immediately.  So far I'm about 15% done, which equates to chapter 6 and page 51 of 391.  I'm anxious to keep reading, but I have so many other things to do this weekend that I'm not sure I will get to much more of it.  Oh well.  It will get done eventually.

The Amber Spyglass: Check!

Well, here we are, mid-February and I've finished the "His Dark Materials" trilogy.  It started out pretty good and went downhill from there.  Bummer.

I just finished The Amber Spyglass, and was pretty disappointed.  Not only was it entirely too long, but it also wandered from the main point and tried to do too much.  I loved The Golden Compass because there was a clear goal in mind (Lyra tries to save Roger) but this one had too many things going on and I was pretty uninterested throughout.

Anyway, I am glad this series is done even though I enjoyed the first book.  Yesterday, in anticipation of finishing this book, I downloaded Emma for free.  I think I will read that next.  As soon as The Return of the King is back in the online library, I will download that to read as well.

Well, this was disappointing.  Hopefully Emma will be more enjoyable.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

I recently finished reading Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?  Every once in a while it's fun to read a goofy book like that.  While I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Bossypants, it was enjoyable and I liked reading about someone else's life.

I guess I don't really have any commentary on this one.  I just wanted to document that I had read it and that it was good.  There were a lot of funny quotes that I highlighted and will remain in my kindle forever.  (Creepily, as I was typing that, I heard Harry Potter quoting in my head "her body will lie in the chamber forever".....weird)

I'm still working on The Amber Spyglass.  So far I'm about 75-80% done with that book.  Really the only one of those books I've enjoyed so far was The Golden Compass.  The 2nd one was kind of boring, and the 3rd one is dragging on and on and on, seemingly without purpose.  Any symbolism or foreshadowing from book 1 has been lost or forced in.  Honestly, I'm just kind of waiting for it to be over.  The good news is that I have less than 2 hours left, according to my Kindle.