If I could give I WAS HERE by Gayle Forman more than 5 stars, I so would! Wow. Of course I read I WAS HERE in one day in one sitting. I simply could NOT put the book down. As I came to the end, I was weeping, deep, heart-wrenching, soul-deep sobs because this story is just that powerful and because, yes, I too have once or twice in my life "gone there" (Richard). My son asked me how I could FEEL THAT POWERFULLY about a book. Just read it and you might begin to understand. Gayle has another winner on her hands with I WAS HERE.
It's all about each individual making a statement, "I was here"--having an impact--leaving an imprint--knowing that others CARE--knowing that he/she is IMPORTANT. Don't we all wonder these things? Don't we all wonder if anyone would even care if we were no longer here? Isn't that exactly what IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is all about--knowing that you've made a difference in SOMEONE'S life???
But not even all those things....it's also about finding and knowing ourselves--knowing who we are....finding our own identity and
owning it and loving ourselves. Cody (isn't that a wonderful name for a female character in a 21st century book?!) has lived her whole life in Meg's shadow until Meg does the unthinkable--she commits suicide. Cody's life is turned upside down, not just because she was Meg's best friend and she misses her best friend, but also because Cody had lived so much in Meg's shadow that she didn't even know who she herself was--what she wanted in life. It's in her search for answers to Meg's decision to take her own life that Cody finds her own identity and learns that no matter how much we love someone, no matter how much we do for someone, we can never know, truly, ALL there is to know about our loved ones. We can only know ourselves.
All I can say is, go read I WAS HERE by Gayle Forman NOW.......
So while I can't get enough of The Countess, I have to say that Charlie Courtland's THE HIDDEN WILL OF THE DRAGON, 2nd
in her series about The Countess (see my previous post on DANDELIONS IN THE GARDEN) is not one that I enjoyed reading. Yes, I'm still fascinated by the story of the Countess, her legend, and the speculations about her legends about what is real and what isn't. From that perspective, I wanted to read every word of THE HIDDEN WILL.
But the story here just is not well written. I'm sorry Charlie. I don't know what happened or where your editor went, but he/she was NO help to you. The grammatical errors stood out like sore thumbs and took away my enjoyment of reading such a fascinating story. I tried very hard, Charlie, not to pay attention to the grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors, but some of them were so simplistic that even a 4th grader would know better. For example there were several incorrect uses of the word "too" when "to" was meant.
With a little more editing and clean-up in that respect, THE HIDDEN WILL OF THE DRAGON would be well worth the read and I would recommend it with high stars. As I say, I am absolutely fascinated, morbidly so, with the Countess, so regardless of grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors, I am going to continue reading any and everything about her that I can get my hands on.
There's no reason why you can't make those corrections, Charlie Courtland, and put your book in the class of literature [about the Countess] not to be missed. (Please, please, please don't be offended by my comments!!!)
Haha! The first book I finish in 2015 is a fictionalized text telling the story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, DANDELIONS IN THE GARDEN by Charlie Courtland. Awesome! I accept that much of the parts of this version are completely made up by Ms. Courtland for the sake of fictionalized literature, but considering the fact that much of what we know about the Countess is not actually KNOWN anyway, it is always interesting to read what new authors think happened with the Countess. I am absolutely fascinated by Elizabeth Bathory. Her story is one that draws me like a moth to a flame. I can't explain what it is about her that is so incredibly fascinating since so many of the details of her story are so incredibly gruesome, but I the fact remains that I am. I don't know the exact number of books I have or that I have read concerning the Countess, but I would guess that this one is no less than the 5th fictionalized version not to mention the ones I have and/or have read that are based on actual accounts--as historians have the information from legal and historical documents to share. I have watched the movies about her that I have been able to get a hold of. Many of the movies about her are foreign films which makes watching them difficult.
Did you know that you can buy things like mouse pads, coffee
mugs, light switches, and other such trinkets with images of the real Elizabeth Bathory? I've never gone that far in my fascination with her, but I do find it absolutely fascinating that things like that are available for those who want to buy them. Oh, and there is even a wine in honor of her! Apparently you can even go visit her castle and stay in a hotel in the village where they serve food and wine dedicated to the Countess' infamous legend.
Personally, I think what draws us more than anything is not just the blood and gore associated with her, but the fact that there are so many different legends that it is difficult to determine what is fact and what is fiction. It does seem to be a consensus that the Countess Elizabeth Bathory murdered MANY young women--quite a few of them virgins--and murdered them in gruesome ways, quite often torturing the young women hideously prior to their deaths. Some texts say that she killed only about 200 while others say that she killed more than 600 girls. Since I also believe that Elizabeth had a violent temper and that she could fly into a rage faster than a you can shoo a fly, I do believe that the number of murdered girls was a high one.
Of course my fascination will continue as I begin reading the 2nd book in Ms. Courtland's series called THE HIDDEN WILL OF THE DRAGON. I am sure that these books will not be the last ones I read about the fascinating Countess!
Here a few links in case you want to read a little more about her for yourself.
http://www.infamouslady.com/
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bathorys-torturous-escapades-are-exposed
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/21/travel/blood-countess-slovakia/
I decided to read BIG FISH: A NOVEL OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS by Daniel Wallace when I first realized that the movie BIG FISH was actually based on a book! I saw the movie years ago and loved it! I love Ewan McGregor, you know! But I had no idea it was a book first. A few weeks ago, we had a free movie weekend with HBO or something like that and there was a preview, I think, that mentioned the book. I decided that I wouldn't watch the movie again until I read the book, so I immediately ordered the book and now I've finished reading it! So I can finally watch the movie again!
The movie varies from the book quite a bit. It keeps the essence of the overall story--what Wallace does with this beautiful story of a man who is an amazing story-teller (on his deathbed) and his son, attempting to connect with the man he doesn't know.
In some ways, I like the book better, but a part of me feels that I'm only saying that because as a book lover, I'm kind of supposed to say that. It is a really good book and I am very glad that I read it, but yet I have to admit that with this one, I think the movie is better. I don't know if it's because I'm prejudice towards Ewan McGregor or what, but I just find that the movie is much more fun. The book is cute, but I didn't laugh or smile or even cry while reading the book. I did all of those when I watched the movie. Of course, again, that might be because I watched the movie first, but that isn't going to change my opinion.
In this instance, the movie BIG FISH is better than the book BIG FISH by Daniel Wallace. (*Don't hate!)
BTW: did you know that there is also a stage musical?! I didn't!
Larry Richards' THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD: DEFENDING YOUR LIFE FROM SATAN'S SCHEMES is exactly what it says
it is. If you're new to studying the armor of God, it is definitely well worth reading. If you're not new to studying the armor of God, it's still worth reading, just know that there isn't an awful lot in it that you might not have studied or read previously. Richards covers the information thoroughly and well....just not in a very interesting manner. Don't get me wrong; it's a very good book and well worth reading. It's just that I found myself nodding off during my reading because it just didn't read in a way that held my attention and WOWED me when it comes to writing about something so important. The Bible is the living, breathing Word of God, so it doesn't need us to make it better. I guess I just have higher expectations regarding interest level when I'm reading about something as wonderful as the armor of God.
I did it. This isn't the first time in my life I've read my Bible through in a year, but it is the first time I've done it in several years. I tried last year, 2013, but when we went to Disney, I stopped and didn't pick it back up for some odd reason. It is NOT easy keeping up with something like reading my Bible every single day for 365 days in a row especially considering how busy I am at various times throughout the year (mainly the beginning, middle, and ends of any given semester). Every year, I say I am going to read my Bible through and almost every year for the past seven or eight years, I just haven't made it beyond the first few months. I am proud of myself for completing this goal this year.
Did I learn anything new from this reading? Because the Bible is the living, breathing Word of God, of course I did. I can't put into words exactly what, but what I do know is that rather than ending
the year thankful that it is over and afraid for the future, I am ending 2014 full of the Joy of the Lord and excited to see what miracles God is going to finish and do throughout 2015.
I loved reading through my Bible as I focused on JOY. I marked every single verse in the Bible with the word JOY in it as I read each day. I found myself marking verses on JOY more days than not. As I have studied JOY throughout the past year and as I have read my Bible through, I have found the true JOY of the Lord and that He truly has poured out His oil of JOY on me [more than anyone else].
I read the New Living Translation of the Bible on my digital reader.*
Jodi Picoult has the power, like no one else, to convince me that what I am reading at the time I reading HER book is THE GREATEST book I have ever read in my life as well as the most realistic story I have ever read. Wow. I had a difficult time getting started with LEAVING TIME. Not because of the story, but because I was very busy with the end of the semester. Once I had a few minutes to sit down and actually read the book, though, I found it next to impossible to put down. Wow. As I was nearing the end, I felt that I should have seen THAT ending coming, but wonderfully, I did not. I love it when I get to the surprise without having figured it out. I can still enjoy a book when I have figured out the surprise before getting there, but for me, it is simply more fun being able to read the surprise and experiencing it in its full force and effect. Wow. Great job, Jodi.
I have always loved elephants, but LEAVING TIME has given me a much greater appreciation for them. Wonderful.
LEAVING TIME is a wonderful reminder of the fact that we have to be careful to pre-judge someone or simply to pass judgment on people before we know the whole truth. There are certain characters in this book who I found myself drawn to and others I wanted to disappear simply because I didn't agree with them, didn't like their philosophy, or more importantly, I didn't like or agree with something they were doing. But by the end of the book, I found myself changing my way of thinking about each of those characters!!!
Picoult's books never fail to keep me riveted. The best part is that with LEAVING TIME, we also get the back story of her novellas that she published online prior to the release of the book! Awesome. I can't say enough good things about LEAVING TIME by Jodi Picoult.
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