26.10.09

The Seventeenth One

Seventeen is my favorite number. It's also my default number; if I can't remember how many there actually were, you can bet I'll say there were seventeen.

So, on this, my favorite number post, I am pleased to add two more books to my "done-and-done" list: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist.

Neverwhere is the story of an average joe who gets lost in a world that exists in the same time and place as his own, but is unrecognizable to him. After helping what seemed like an injured, homeless girl, Richard Mayhew was thrown into a world he never knew existed. No longer recognized or remembered, Richard had no choice but to join the girl, Door, on her adventure in "London Below."

Gaiman does an excellent job creating his fictional world. Instead of being only a world of magic and mystery, London Below is also full of people passed over by London Above. There are magical and mystical elements, but for the most part it is made up of the ignored people of our own world, whose lives are richer, more interesting and more adventurous than those lived by the people of London Above.

I am beginning to wonder if Neil Gaiman is capable of writing something I won't love. I have read Stardust, Coraline, and a collection of his short stories and I have loved them all. His ability to combine the mundane elements of the contemporary world with the magic and intrigue of a fairytale. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of his stories is that instead of the campy, happy (and, admittedly, delightful) fairy tales a la Disney, Gaiman seems to draw more inspiration from the darker and richer fairy tales of the brothers Grimm.

I rarely listen to recommendations, mostly because it is a small way for me to rebel against "the man." Seriously, if you ever really want me to watch/read anything, feel free to casually mention it to me, but it would be better if you did not outright tell me I absolutely HAVE to see/read it. If you do the latter, I probably will never get around to seeing/reading it. However, this trait of mine is particularly annoying to my mom, and so in an effort to prove to her that YES I CAN read something she read first, I read The Alchemist.

I would not say that I liked this book and I would not say I disliked it either. It reminded me of the books I read in my World Literature class in college. In fact I would not be at all surprised if college student are currently reading it in their own World Literature classes. It is well-written and interesting enough. It is not a difficult read, nor is it tedious, so you can read it quickly. It also has great value intellectually. I did not find myself agreeing with Coelho, but I found myself thinking about what he was saying. I love to make notes in my books, in the margins. Sometimes I just read to read, but there are certain books where I find myself without a book friendly pen/pencil and I lament it. This is why I dislike borrowing books, certain types of books anyway. I borrowed this book from my mother and regretted it almost immediately. If ever there was a book made for notes in the margins, it was this one.

My main problem with book, or rather with the content of the book, is the questionable message that it sends. Essentially Coelho is telling his readers that everyone has to identify their own "Personal Legend," what is it that that person is supposed to be doing with their life. What do they desire most out of life, what do they want most. Once this "Personal Legend" is identified, they must then stop at nothing to accomplish it. There can be no compromise, everything must be done with the intent to succeed. If you work long enough and hard enough toward your single goal you will not fail. Those that fail simply stopped believing or working toward their goal. If they had continued on they would have gotten what they wanted.

This sounds good. Much like telling little children they can be anything they want to be when they grow up. They can do anything they want to do, they just can't give up.

Let's be honest. Sometimes people work hard their entire lives and never realize their ultimate dreams. You really want to be the one telling them it's because they didn't work hard enough? They gave up too soon? They didn't want it badly enough? Sometimes you don't get what you want. Sometimes you don't realize all your dreams. Sometimes you try and try and work and work and still fail. Telling people that if they work hard enough they'll get whatever they want is like telling people if you pray the right prayer God will give you whatever you want. What happens when a person prays and prays and prays for something and doesn't get it? You want to tell that person it's because they prayed wrong? No. Because sometimes you can pray and pray and pray and the answer will still be "no." Sometimes Mr. Coelho, you can work your ass off to get a certain goal and you still won't reach that goal. Sometimes the real treasure is not at the end of the rainbow, but it's the people you meet and the things that you learn as you're walking to the end of the rainbow.

16/25 :-)

17.9.09

The Sixteenth One

Well, I think we can officially call the Reading Goal of 2009 an epic failure. That's okay. My reading list is still several pages long, I'll simply have to update as I go. Oh well.

On another note, I love Season Premiers. It doesn't even matter if I watch the show regularly, I love to watch the first episode of the season. I love Premiers almost as much as I love the Finales. They are usually the best and most interesting episodes of the season. So today I bring you the shows I am looking forward to the most:

America's Next Top Model: And this year, there's twist! That's right Team Tyra is giving petite models a chance this year. Yes, short models have invaded. And by short, I mean my height. This is the one and only season I could have been on ANTM. You know, if I only ate apples for a year, maybe.

I suppose you could label this show a guilty pleasure of mine, except I don't feel guilty at all about watching. Perhaps indulgence is a better word. At any rate, I adore this show. Nigel is dreamy and Ms. J is fabulous and Jay is awesome as he directs the girls in their shoots. Tyra's good too, but she's also a little crazy, and at times truly weirds me out.

Favorite part of the show: the pictures. No matter how strangely they are dressed or ridiculous the circumstances are, even the bad photos end up looking cool.

Least favorite part: I hardly ever agree with the judges. They tend to play favorites which means sometimes they choose girls they like because they like them, not because they're, you know, good at what they do. Also, the show seems more and more commercial. It used to be the model who did the best in the final fashion show was the winner, now they choose more for the cover of Seventeen and the face of CoverGirl instead.

Even with these problems, I like it. I like it a lot. It's taught me a lot about myself. Mostly, it's taught me that I never, ever, ever want to live in a loft with a dozen other girls who hate me because I'm beautiful.

Glee: This show delights me as much as it horrifies me. I watch it and laugh while at the same time I wonder, "What in the name of Josh Groban did I just watch." Fox does a good job making interesting, different, hilarious shows (see: Arrested Development) Let's just hope it sticks with this one.

Best part: the adults. Matthew Morrison is delightful as the enthusiastic teacher who takes over the Glee Club at the school where he teaches. Jessalyn Gilsig is his over-bearing wife. Jayma Mays is the screwy school counselor with a crush on Morrison's character. The list goes on and on. The best part, however, and I mean the VERY BEST PART is Jane Lynch who plays the evil coach of the cheerleading squad. She's fantastic. Everything out of her mouth is hateful, but precious, comedic gem. And it's not just about the words she uses, most of it is in her delivery.

How I Met Your Mother premiers next week. The Office premiers tonight along with a new show, Community that looks intriguing.

18.8.09

The Fifteenth One

Well, my summer is coming to an end and I have not been as productive in the book reading as I had wanted to be. In order to reach my goal of 25 (!) books I am extending my deadline through August. In the meantime, here is an update on the books I successfully finished.


First up, some candy: the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich. There are currently fifteen novels in this series, I read six of them... in one weekend. These books are seriously fun. They are quick and easy, but the main character (a bumbling bounty hunter who lacks skill, but makes up for it with luck and moxie) is thoroughly engaging. She cracks you up and I more often than not I laughed out loud at the situations Stephanie found herself in (in which Stephanie found herself. I have not finished the series, but I'm sure I will at some point in the near future.

Next we have another series: the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. This series focuses on a soldier (Richard Sharpe) in the British Army as they fought Napoleon's forces in Spain during the Peninsular War in the early 1800's. I'm not going to lie, I know nothing about the Peninsular War. Correction: I knew nothing about Peninsular War. Sharpe, his company and his close friends may be fictional, but the battles they fight and their General (Arthur Wellesley) are real. Cornwell does a great job combining authentic, historical events with his fictional plots. You may notice the Sharpe picture is not a book cover. Indeed that gentleman looks familiar, doesn't he? Sean Bean (Borimir from Lord of the Rings, the bad guy from Patriot Games, and more!) who[m] I love, played Richard Sharpe in quite a few BBC movies based on Cornwell's novels. You can actually find quite a few of them on youtube, Sharpe's Rifles is the first one. The movies are just as much fun as the books AND you get to picture Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe with every chapter that you read. At this time I have read Sharpe's Rifles, Sharpe's Eagle, and Sharpe's Sword. I skipped around a bit.

I succeeded in reading a collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman, but it was not the collection I mentioned earlier (see The Thirteenth One). The collection I read is entitled M is for Magic. You can find it in the Young Adult Lit. section. There were a couple short stories in this collection that you can find in Smoke and Mirrors, but most of them are not repeats. Gaiman does a great job bringing the fairy tale to the modern day. His stories are enchanting and intriguing and, sometimes anyway, creepy as all get out.


In other news, Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer is just as fun as the title and cover suggest. You get a vampire story without massive amounts of angst and brooding (there is a little angst, but the vamp is in eighth grade and, you know, he's a VAMPIRE- mostly) and inappropriate/unhealthy relationships with human girls (*cough* Twilight *cough*). This story has none of the stuff that has been turning me off to the more recent vampire stories and all the fun of a vampire story. I am looking forward to other books in the series (which, incidentally, have equally cool titles and covers!).


And finally, I present to you The Package Deal by Izzy Rose. It's a story (mostly memoirs) about a single, career girl whose life gets turned upside down when she falls in love with a divorced father of two. She ends up getting married, moving and being a jobless step-mother. The stories within her story are amusing and, many times, emotional. I actually found myself crying. My parents are still married and going strong, as are the parents to all of my close friends. While I am academically familiar with divorce, I am not actually intimately familiar with it. I know how hard it can be for the kids and the parents and the step-parents, but I guess I had never been emotionally confronted with how difficult it is. And the situation in this book sounds like a more stable, healthy and positive situation compared with a lot out there. The book is a solid one and the advice sprinkled throughout is solid as well. It is secular, so no Christian observations (yes, Christians get divorced too), but it is still an excellent read. I came away from this one feeling like I learned something!
Book Count: 14/25.
See you in a couple weeks.

28.5.09

The Fourteenth One

Here I am again, and I only posted two days ago. 

I realize I just stated that I was going to work my way through books I actually own instead of buying new ones, but I am still in Nebraska and thus without my own books. Also, my mother insisted on a trip to Barnes&Noble and she makes sure I always use her membership card, so here I am five books wealthier and two books into my summer reading. Side note: I realize, of course, that I will breeze through my twenty-five book goal if I continue to purchase and choose young adult literature instead of "serious" literature. More about this later. 

First up, Neil Gaiman. I wrote about him in my last post and purchased two of his books: Coraline and M is for Magic. I have read the first. Coraline is a book I was first introduced to during my time at Nebraska Book Company. There I would stand in front of my station as watch as books came tumbling toward me, waiting to be stacked in the giant metal "buckets." It was a tedious job, but every summer I walked away with a book list a 
mile long and an employee discount. Coraline was a book I picked up knowing nothing about the author or the book and found myself enthralled in only the first chapter. A little girl with a big heart, a big imagination and a thirst for adventure finds herself in the scariest and most interesting situation of her life. The book may have been written for children and not twenty-four (almost twenty-five) year olds, but I love this book and I love this character. Coraline walks into a truly unbelievable situation, but never once does she truly question what is going on or what she has to do. She is practical until the end and she does what needs to be done in order to save herself and others around her. She charmed the pants off me. I can't wait to read this book to my own children.

Then I read some candy, Christian candy at that. Perfecting Kate is written by Tamara Leigh who wrote Splitting Harriet which I read during the winter. I thoroughly enjoyed Splitting Harriet. It's not often I find a "Christian romance" book that lives up to my expectations of both being theologically sound and, you know, good literature. Splitting Harriet is both charming and thought provoking and follows the life a church-worker, which you don't come across very often. It's not profound, nor is it deeply moving, but it is fun and I like what it has to say about second chances and God's grace. This said, I was looking forward to reading Perfecting Kate. The premise was interesting, focussing on the insecurities that most (all) women (people) have about their appearance and using this as a starting point for 
the makeover we all need from the inside out. I'm not sure how I feel about the book itself, though. I found myself waiting for the main character to really see what was going on. What was really irritating was that she knew that her boyfriend wasn't a "practicing" Christian, but she justified it away. She knew that it wasn't right how he consistently told her what was wrong with her appearance to the point of deluging her with the business cards of professionals who can take care of all her cosmetic needs. She knew she wasn't being a good steward of her money, of her gifts, of her health. She knew all this yet she continued on. I realize that I share many similar qualities with the Kate. I often do things I know are wrong the moment I do them. I sin now knowing I can ask forgiveness later. Maybe that's why I found Kate so annoying. Maybe she reminds me of me. But I do find her annoying and I probably won't be rereading this book anytime soon. That does not mean I'm unhappy about adding it to my, ahem, private collection.

There we go, the first two (completed) books of the summer which brings my count to: 2/25. I shall keep you up to date as the summer tarries onward... 

I'm not sure I used "tarries" correctly just now. 

26.5.09

The Thirteenth One



I thought about skipping this one, it being the thirteenth and all, but decided I really wasn't that superstitious.

I'd like to take a moment to welcome myself back to the world of infrequent blogging... Thank you. School is out, my second year is water under the bridge which means I have some extra time on my hands. Extra time= beach, books, blogging. I'm sure more activities will be included.

Last summer my summer reading goal was twenty (20) books. I succeeded. This summer I'm shooting for twenty-five (25). I don't like to start out with a specific summer reading list, that would just irritate me and I would end up dragging my feet and not reading nearly enough. That said, however, there are a few books that I'm definitely going to read:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I have wanted to read this book for a long time, and to be fair I have already started this one, but it is so intriguing and reads so well. I cannot wait to finish it.


Next up is a collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman whom I am quickly falling in love with (with whom I am quickly falling in love). I read Stardust last summer and this summer, if all goes well, I will read more than just this one book of Gaiman's. I must start with this one, however, because I already own it and I am trying to be thrifty... although I could always visit the local library. That has worked well for me in the past.




After working my way through the pile of books that I own but have not yet read, I will move on to books I do not own, but wish I did. Including, but not limited to:
Eighth Grade Bites
by Heather Brewer

I discovered this book and its two sequels (Ninth Grade Slays, and Tenth Grade Bleeds) in Barnes&Noble. I was exercising my oft-used (and rarely unsuccessful) technique of judging books by their covers and this one caught my eye. It really has nothing to recommend itself except for its cover, its title (which is really a lot of fun) and the fact that it's about a vampire, but doesn't seem to take itself as seriously as the Twilight series (which I also have yet to read).

Thus ends the book portion of my blog. Onto other entertainment.

I am a huge fan of tv on dvd and this summer I have at my disposal the entire season of Monty Python's Flying Circus. I cannot wait. I also cannot wait for the release of the third seasons of Heroes and Psych. I have faithfully avoided any and all spoilers about Heroes, saving myself for the time when I can simply sit down and watch them all back-to-back-to-back. I have just as faithfully NOT avoided any and all episodes of Psych because Gus and Shawn are just as amusing the twelfth time around as they are the first.

In an attempt to slow my purchase of movies (obviously not box sets as seen from the above paragraph) I have joined Netflix. The theory was I would simply watch all the movies I wanted to watch without having to buy them. Unfortunately the plan has backfired somewhat because I am simply adding to my ever-growing list of movies-to-own. This list now includes (thanks to Netflix) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (which I loved despite my little brother's contention that it was slow and boring. Shut up Charlie, it was beautiful), I'm Not There (a fascinating biopic about the one and only Bob Dylan), 300 (which almost-but-not-quite as interesting as the graphic novel), and Be Kind Rewind (which was equal parts hilarious and touching).

The plan has, however, been a success in that I watched quite a few movies that I wanted to see, but am very glad I never bothered buying. Seriously stupid movies, some of which I couldn't even make it all the way through. For the sake of these movies I am inventing a new tag: the non-rec. I do not, I repeat, I DO NOT recommend these movies to anyone: Georgia Rule, couldn't even watch the whole thing. Catch and Release, amusing in parts, but ultimately not amusing to save itself from being pointless. The Covenant which I watched to see if the guy who was going to play Gambit in the Wolverine movie could act. I definitely chose the wrong sampling. No one could act with a script that bad. Pointless eye-candy. (Side note: the guy who played Gambit is Taylor Kitsch. And he can act. See- Friday Night Lights the series on NBC.) In the Land of Women, chosen because of my love for Adam Brody, which hails from my days of obsession with The O.C. It was okay. Not good, nor great, but okay. I just kept waiting for more and the end I didn't feel like I was left with anything worthwhile. Not that movies have to be profound, but I like even my comedies to at least be sustantially funny. And yes, I do realize how incredibly subjective my yardstick is.

That's all for today. I may post later this week, simply because I get to use my mother's MacBook and it's super fun.

13.1.09

The Twelfth One

Last night I did what I have tried desperately not to do all school year: I read a book for fun instead of planning for school the next morning. It has been a long time since I read a book that engrossed me so much I couldn't put it down. I tried many times to put it away. I even went so far as to put it out of reach and turn out my light so I could go to sleep and at least be well-rested if not well-prepared in the morning. I attempted this twice and both times I lasted about ten minutes before turning my light back on, picking the book back up and (ultimately) reading it to its conclusion.



The book in question is When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin. The title calls it "a book of the heart" which is exactly what it is. The narrator is also the main character and he is a mystery from the beginning. Throughout the book he slowly reveals himself and his past. The story that develops is a beautiful and graphic description of the heart, its diseases and how to heal. Rather than limiting himself purely to the physical or the emotional, Martin masterfully weaves the two parts of our heart into a single account. The author liberally sprinkles relevant passages by Shakespeare, Tennyson, Helen Keller and the Bible.

There are definite Christian themes in the book, but I would recommend it as an excellent piece of literature to anyone, Christian or not.

Bottom line: When Crickets Cry- highly recommended.