It's a devotional, not a Bible Study....my bad

Worth the read.  I have to say, though, that considering the fact that I love to read, I would have liked for the daily entries to be a bit longer.  I understand wanting to keep them short and quick, but if I'm using something for a Bible Study, which was my plan/goal for CHOOSING JOY:  A 52-WEEK DEVOTIONAL FOR DISCOVERING TRUE HAPPINESS, I want a little more meat to each entry.  Of course, it does say right in the title that it is a devotional, not a Bible Study, so obviously I need to be sure I am choosing my Bible Studies accordingly!  :)

Stormy Sword Characters

What in the world should I say about the third book in the GAME OF THRONES series that hasn't already been said, more than likely?  Talk about E.P.I.C....!!!  Wow.  I have to admit that even though there are parts of the story that I find a bit TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO........., overall, I am very caught up in the lives of these characters.  There are certain ones I love and others not so much.  Not in the conventional way a reader tends to get wrapped up in stories.  There are too many characters to get too caught up with too many characters or to care too terribly much when certain characters die.  I don't like that so many die, but they have to be weeded out.  It's to be expected.  I will say that I do have my favorites--

1.  Catelyn.  I like her a lot.  She is a strong woman who has seen her share of horrors yet keeps finding a way to fight on regardless.  She is incredible.  I loved her husband, but she is more of a powerhouse than he was.  It seems that because she's a woman, her husband outshone her.  Just as Cercei's did.  But now that Ned Stark is dead, Lady Catelyn's true character gets to come out in subtle, yet awesome ways.  I love that this book ends with her.

2.  Danerys.  I love Dani.  I love, love, love her.  She is incredible.  And she's only 14 years old!  What a powerhouse.  She is incredible.  To wield the power the that she does....W.O.W.  She has been through her share of trials yet she continues to overcome and come out more powerful and awesome than before.

3.  Arya.  Who doesn't love the younger daughter of Ned and Catelyn Stark?!  She's a lady.  She's a warrior.  She's a little girl of nine years old.  She's a boy of nine.  She's a fighter.  She's a mouse.  She has more names than anyone else in the series.  She's murdered.  She loves hard and fierce.  Best of all, she's a wolf.  I can't wait until her wolf comes back into the story.  It's going to be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

4.  Sandor Clegane.  I know I'm not supposed to like him, but I do.  I love how he took care of Sansa--without taking care of Sansa.  And then he did the same for Arya.  He's supposed to be at death's door by the end of book 3, but I can't wait until he shows up again!  I know he's going to have to meet his brother and I'm expecting the meeting to be something worthy of this series.

5.  Jon.  I love, love, love, love, love Jon.  I did not like Yigrette, but I liked that Jon found some tenderness in all the crap he's had to deal with.  Jon is lovable, likable, and just awesome.  I don't like the fact that his bastardy is thrown in our faces at every turn, but at the same time, in order for us to GET his rise, we have to understand from how low he has come.  I can not wait to see what happens to Jon in the next couple of books!

6.  Tyrion.  He is so unappreciated for all the good he has done for both his family and the people of the land.  He is a dwarf who is taller than the tallest of men simply because of his character.  He can't catch a break, though.  At every turn he is accused of wrong-doing.  He is a great scape-goat.  I am tired of his being blamed for everything as he is.  I am so glad he does what he does at the end of this book.  I am so proud of him for taking such a stand.  Now if he'll just do the same to his sister......I'll say this:  I want him to end up with Sansa.  I want her to see the good in him and to love him for who he is, not for what he looks like.

7.  Jaime.  He is becoming a different man.  The loss of his hand has done something to him that was completely unexpected.  Sure he's still attracted to his sister and that's disgusting, but he is becoming more than his sister's pawnish lover and again, I can't wait to see what happens with him.

8.  Brienne.  A man in a woman's body.  Too ugly to be a woman.  Too manly to be a woman.  Yet utterly lovable.  I admit that I am romantic enough that I want her and Jaime to get together....

I won't go into the characters I can't stand--this has already gotten longer than I anticipated.  I am not only looking forward to reading the next books in the series, but I am also looking forward to watching the HBO series!

Not worth the read....Sorry, Sharon Lathan

I picked up MISS DARCY FALLS IN LOVE by Sharon Lathan because it is on the list of books for World Book Night 2014.  I'd heard of authors writing novels in the style of Jane Austen and I've always been curious and intrigued by them; I just haven't had a chance to read one until now.  Sadly, I was VERY disappointed.  This novel is slow, taking forever to get to the point of any scene or detail.  It drags worse than a snow plow full of snow.  I trudged through it, but I was bored and couldn't wait to get to the end.  It's predictable to the nth degree.  Sometimes predictability is ok in a novel, but this novel just takes it over the top.  The euphoria of the young lovers once they declare their love for one another is sickening rather than sweet.  Their eyes shine.  They both glow with love.  Their passion is so powerful, it's overwhelming.  He's so perfect because he checks his passion because he wants her first time to be special and perfect....blah, blah, blah.  Yuck.  Yuck.  Yuck.  Needless to say, we will NOT be asking for a copy of MISS DARCY FALLS IN LOVE for our give-away for World Book Night on April 23, 2014!!!!

Similes, Images, and Metaphors, Oh My!

I started reading THE WEIRD SISTERS by Eleanor Brown because it was chosen as part of the book for list for World Book Night for 2014.  I want to try to read a number of the books so we have a better idea of which books to choose if we're chosen as givers.  (By "we" I mean CVCC.)

The book is good.  I wasn't as impressed as it seems others have been with the novel, but I didn't dislike it by any means.  What stood out the most to me throughout the novel is not the fact that everyone, especially the dad, speaks quite often using Shakespearean quotes.  Nor is it the fact that this family reads rather than watches television.  Nor is it the wonder of fighting cancer or even the struggles each sister goes through.

All are great parts of the story, but what struck me the most throughout my reading of the novel were all the similes, images, and metaphors.  Hundreds of them.  Some of them were a bit overwhelming in their comparison.  I have to wonder how much Eleanor Brown was conscious of them as she wrote them.  Did they just happen in the course of her writing and they're a happy accident or was she very aware of what she was doing with them from start to finish....?

Just a few to spark your interest--

"floating like a dandelion seed" (7)
"felt as though she were folding in on herself like an origami crane" (71)
"the way the false stars of the light strings twinkled below the real stars, giving the impression that she could have reached up and held the light of a thousand years in her hands" (151)

Martin's Predictability

I honestly don't know what to say about the third book in George R. R. Martin's GAME OF THRONES series, CLASH OF KINGS.

A few short criticisms I have of the book (and series) are. . .
1.  even though Martin is doing his utmost to avoid predictability, I am finding myself knowing what is going to happen to next a lot of the time--not every time, mind you, but quite often.  For example, when the last chapter began with Bran, I knew the book was going to end with a powerful image of the ruined but not completely destroyed Winterfell.  It's the best way to end this particular book and it's an incredibly powerful image.
2.  There are too many characters.  I am finding it more and more difficult to keep the different characters separate.
3.  Every once in a while, Martin begins telling the story through the eyes of a whole new character--someone we haven't met at all.  It is very disconcerting and adds to the confusing of #2.

(I said I'd keep my criticisms short....)

A few of the positive points of Martin's book (and series) are...
1.  The story is really very good.  It is virtually impossible to quit reading--listening (remember that I'm listening to the story on CD in my car) to the story.  I've had several times when I've gotten where I'm going, but I don't want to get out of my car because I'm at a good part!
2.  I find myself caring about characters who are not all that lovable.  Tyrian is the best example of that.  I haven't decided yet what to think of him, but at the same time, I can't help but notice how he SEEMS to care even when he's trying very hard not to.
3.  I also care about many of the characters in the story.  I was devastated in book 1 when--well, in case you haven't read it, I don't want to ruin it for you.  Dani is my all-time favorite in the whole series so far.  She's awesome--and she's barely even 15 years old!!!

If you want to fall asleep quickly....

Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse:  What can I say about Virginia Woolf except:  be sure when you read anything by her that you're well rested and ready to focus and/or have your caffeine!

Letting me figure "it" out for myself....

MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw is a new one for me.  The online class I'm taking this fall hasn't been the most productive idea that I've ever had (we're down to two of us left in the class and the other person isn't posting to the discussion board until the last minute for each lesson), but yet the class is, at least, giving me the opportunity to read a few pieces of British Literature that I've never read.  Shaw's play is one example of that.  The play as a whole does not have much action or much to make it interesting enough to be a play that modern readers would enjoy as much as others.  But I have to say that I enjoyed it simply because the whole play is about how Mrs. Warren is a prostitute, but not once in the whole play is the word (or any word that means the same thing) actually used.  Shaw brilliantly uses the words of his characters as well as their reactions to those words to reveal the truth of her profession.  It's genius.  I love it when I read something and the author lets me figure out what's going on without feeling a desperate need to tell me what to think, feel, or take away from the story.  It's what makes writers like Edgar Allan Poe so genius, and it's certainly what makes MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw worth reading.

Grieving Creatively....?!

CREATIVE GRIEVING is certainly a wonderful resource to read for ANYONE grieving.  Elizabeth Berrien lost a child and then less than 18 months later, her husband died.  She shares her story with wonderful heart and humor, but mostly an obvious passion to help others who are grieving--at whatever stage of grief the person may be.  She is going to be at Malaprop's Book Store in Asheville, NC on Monday, November 19.  I am going to do everything I can to be there.  I'd love to meet this amazing woman who has walked such a tragic walk, but who is coming through her grief journey with a renewed purpose.  She has opened a grief, trauma, loss support group program in Charlotte, NC called "The Respite."  I am hoping to attempt to go visit one day.

As one who has suffered 3 separate child losses, this book was one I flew through.  It does help to know that others hurt, too.  But Berrien has reminded me of the importance of sharing my story as a way of helping others and giving me (as well as what has happened to me) PURPOSE.

It's a quick, wonderful read that is well worth your time......

Why I am Choosing to do NaNoWriMo: 2013

So I’ve decided that I’m going to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month—writing 50K words in 30 days) again this year.  I’ve been involved with NaNo one way or another since about 2004.  I have not won (successfully written 50K words in 30 days) every year, but I have won about four times.  Very few people will ever read the full manuscripts for any of the years I attempted NaNo, whether it be the years I won or otherwise.  They simply are not audience-worthy.

 

They were fun to write and I did share parts of them with others, but as a whole entity, the manuscripts will stay “hidden” on my laptop.

I have not yet once revised a single manuscript over the years, not even for the novels I really enjoyed writing and feel could possibly one day be publishing-worthy.  Last year’s novel was more fun to write than I can possibly describe—it’s about a serial-killing teacher (based loosely on me) who kills (with arsenic, mostly) and buries her students under her desk in her office, but even as much fun as it was to write, I can’t help but wonder what kind of reaction I’d get from an audience who doesn’t know me.  When I mentioned it to my son’s counselor during a counseling session, she looked at me very ODD and gave me that, “WTF?!” look.

Yeah.  I can live without that.

NaNo is a lot of fun for me regardless of whether I have as much fun writing the novel as I did last year simply because I LOVE to write.  When I have something to say, 2k words a day is nothing. 

The hardest part about NaNo—beyond Revision and/or preparation for publication—is finding the TIME to do it.  While I try to write every day in my journal, when I am really very busy, my journal, sadly, is the thing that suffers.  I might still write in my journal, but my word count will more than likely be far from my daily quota (750 words).  I just have a LOT going on:

1.  I am a Mom to a 12-year old in 7^th grade—Middle School (I don’t think I need to explain!)

2.  I am a wife to a Pastor (20 years!)

3.  I teach English full time at a community college—that’s 6 classes (average) per semester with 125 students (average) per semester—you can do the math when every class write a 2-3 page essay and I have to grade them….

4.  This semester (Fall 2013), I am also taking a class online through UNC-Chapel Hill’s Friday Center—English 121:  British Literature, 19^th to Early 20^th Century (you know what’s involved in taking a class online)

5.  I am on the board for NC CEI (North Carolina Conference of English Instructors) and we have a conference this weekend (just prior to the start of NaNo) and I am presenting—board meetings once every quarter

6.  I am the Lead (I don’t know what else to call it) for setting up an opportunity for my college to participate in World Book Night—an opportunity to give away books!!!!  I have to write a proposal and complete all the documentation, etc. to set up my college as a Group Giver—organize the event—take care of receiving and distributing the books to the Givers, etc., etc., etc. (I’m doing this because I WANT to!)

7.  Because I’ve had a lot of health problems, I have various doctors’ appointments every few weeks.

And I hope it goes without saying that there are also all the regular day-to-day activities that must be taken care of as well as attempting at least somewhat of a social life in order to function at any level of intelligibility!

I’ve had many people ask me how I have time to read, let alone half of the other things that I have to do—want to do—need to do. 

My answer?

We tend to do whatever it is that we REALLY want to do. 

When I don’t REALLY want to do something, I don’t do it—whether that be doing the dishes, grading papers, or just going to school.  (We all need a “Mental Health Day” every once in a while!)

But when I REALLY do want to do something, I find a way to do it.  I find the TIME to do it.  If my sleep suffers, so be it.  I make it up during my afternoon catnap or with a large soft drink or coffee! 

NaNo has not made me a successful, published writer—yet, but I thoroughly enjoy participating in the challenge to write 50K words in one month.  I have yet to do Camp NaNo; once a year is all I can afford at this time.  But I keep signing up for it!  I have no idea if I am going to be able to win NaNo this year or even if I’ll make it beyond 50K words, but I am going to give it the old college-try and hope for the best.

In my heart, in spite of how very busy I am, I feel that this is MY year not only to win, but also to write something that will be worthy of revising and eventually publishing!  How will I know if I don’t at least give it a shot?

Here’s to NaNaWriMo!!!!!

Character Traits

Dickens often associates his characters with a particular trait or action—such as Louisa sitting before the fire watching the ashes fall—which in some way defines them. Think of some of these keys to character and discuss their meanings.  HARD TIMES.

The “eminently practical” Thomas Gradgrind—“Fact”—blind to truth—unwilling to see/acknowledge Truth, yet known most for wanting TRUTH/FACT—it is this unyielding look at Truth/Facts that leads Gradgrind to marry his daughter to a man totally unsuited for her; he thinks that he is doing what is best for Louisa when in reality he is dooming her to a life of unhappiness and misery.  Gradgrind has no idea of the true mind of his daughter Louisa.  He squelches her desire for romance, “fancy,” by forcing her to learn only what is Fact/Truth.  It ultimately leads to Louisa’s obedience, yet disastrous marriage.

Gradgrind is also blind to the truth of who and what each of the other persons in his family really is:  his wife is a hypochondriac who is such mainly because she is completely ignored by her husband—in his search for Fact, he completely ignores that a wife desires attention, romance, ok—Love, from her husband; since Mrs. Gradgrind doesn’t receive any such from her husband, she responds in the only way she can find to get his attention.  The irony, of course, is that even her constant sickness—then her true illness and subsequent death—do absolutely nothing to gain her husband’s attention.

Gradgrind is completely clueless as to his son’s goings-on, mainly that Tom (the “whelp”) gambles and is in almost constant need of cash to get him out of his debts.  Even when the truth of Tom’s sins (including the bank robbery and ultimate assault/murder on Stephen Blackpool) is practically slapping him in the face, he refuses to see it.  It is not until he is TOLD the truth that he finally accepts it.

Josiah Bounderbury of Coketown—refers to self in third person—“blustery”—“windy”—boastful—self-made prosperity.  This man is hated from the very beginning.  It seems clear that whether it be in the 1800s, 1900s, or even current day, a know-it-all who always throws his wealth and success in the face of others (and the fact that he knows “it all”) is not a favorite.  I actually was hoping Louisa would go ahead and run away with James Harthouse just because I couldn’t stand Bounderbury and I’m not normally one who roots for infidelity.  When Bounderbury dies five years after the story (according to Louisa’s imaginings of “futurity”), all I could think was that it didn’t come soon enough.

Tom Gradgrind (the younger)—“whelp”—contemptuous (espec. towards Josiah Bounderbury).  Even from the very beginning of Hard Times, Tom is an unlikable character.  Once James Harthouse comes into the story and he begins to be referred to as the “whelp,” his character suddenly makes more sense.  Tom is too stupid to carry out thievery, assault, and ultimately murder.  He does get away with everything (including his gamboling and gamboling debts) for awhile, but truth will out.  To the reader, it is the way Tom is described as this not-so-smart young “whelp” that makes us mistrust him from the very beginning.  The reader suspects him of the robbery well before it is even hinted at in the story.

Rachel—sweet, gentle, loving, a lady (If she has a last name, right now I can’t find it).  Rachel is the woman in the story who is too perfect, too good to be true.  Based on my readings of the introductory material to Charles Dickens, he’d fallen in love but couldn’t be with the love of his life, so he continued to feel throughout his life that he’d missed out on the perfect woman, “the impossibly good and unreachable ideal” (Greenblatt 1237).  She, and Sissy, are just too perfect.  Rachel has every opportunity to have an affair with Stephen, but she chooses discretion instead.  She’s so wonderful, she even nurses Stephen’s wife!  She believes in Stephen even when no one else does.  She KNOWS that he didn’t rob the bank and she knows that he is honest, just, and true.  And she is right.

Stephen Blackpool--thoughtful—quiet—hard-working—honest—gullible—uneducated—working class—poor—crushed—“muddle.”  I think the term “muddle” used almost every time Stephen Blackpool is in the story is my favorite part of the whole book.  Even Stephen’s last words bring it up no fewer than 7 times during the few words he speaks once he is brought up out of the pit (207-208).  Muddle meaning, as I understand it, that he’s constantly in some sort of trouble that he has to “muddle” his way through, slowly but surely, plodding along, but getting there eventually.  Even up to the last, he has muddled his way out of the pit only to die at last.

James Harthouse—discreet—bored—manipulative (the way he gets Louisa to notice and ultimately fall in love with him and the ease with which he get Bounderbury to take him on as well as the ease with which he gets Tom to open up and reveal “secrets” that ought not to have been shared).  When James comes on the scene, he is barely noticeable as an important character simply because he is described as always being bored and thus moving from one job, one place to another.  He is not at all appealing as a character as a result.  It does not help at all that he quickly becomes associated with Josiah Bounderbury.  But James quickly notices something in Louisa that is different and wakes something inside of him that diminishes his boredom.  Of course, he throws caution to the wind and loses, making him a much more fascinating character than at first presented!

Sissy/Cecelia Jupe—sweet—innocent—“Fanciful”—loving—generous.  While a character who attempts to stay in the background, Sissy continually finds herself central to the action of the story.  She brings a calmness, a quietness, yet a joy, happiness to those around her who come in contact with her.  She is the foil to Louisa.  From the beginning Sissy knows that she is not so smart when it comes to facts, but she embraces who she is and doesn’t care that she’s more “fanciful.”  Ultimately, she has more sense than anyone in the whole book!

Mrs. Sparsit—Roman—nose—butting in (busy-body)—sagacious (sarcastically noted as such)—sharp—Cariolanian—overly officious.  I gotta say, I didn’t like Mrs. Sparsit from the beginning.  My first question is:  are she and Bounderbury lovers?  If they aren’t, why in the world is she living in his house under his protection?  And why does he continue to take care of her even after she gets married????  It makes no sense to me that he keeps her around just because of her high social status and his attempt to rise to the same unless they’re lovers.  So when she begins to suspect Louisa of infidelity, it makes much more sense that she is sticking her nose into Bounderbury’s business—where she really has no right to be since she isn’t married to him—because she must be his lover!  She’s not well liked, either, in case you didn’t catch that.

Mrs. Peglar—old—secretive—watchful—harmless—not to be noticed—proud of her son.  It seems clear from the very beginning that the reader is supposed to know that Mrs. Peglar is Josiah Bounderbury’s mother, but yet Dickens still seems to attempt to keep it a secret—not actually stating it with those exact words—for as long as he is able in the story.  It certainly demonstrates the fact that Bounderbury is not who he always presents himself to be.  She is probably my favorite character simply because she makes everyone see what a you-know-what Josiah Bounderbury is without meaning to!  All she wants to do is demonstrate how proud she is of him!

Louisa Gradgrind Bounderbury—watching/looking into the fire—watchful—quiet—perceptive—loyal—drawn to “Fancy” but fortified by “Fact/Truth” because of teachings by father.  Since I spent so much time talking about Louisa in my other post, I’m going to leave it at the fact that she does appear to be the main character in the story because she knows everyone in the story in some way, shape, form, or fashion.

Works Cited
"Charles Dickens: 1812-1870." Introduction. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. 8th ed. Vol. E. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 1236-239. Print.
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times; an Authoritative Text, Backgrounds, Sources, and Contemporary Reactions, Criticism. Ed. George H. Ford and Sylvère Monod. New York: W. W. Norton, 1966. Print.

I hope no one ruins what's coming....!

I don't know where to begin when it comes to talking about the first book in the GAME OF THRONES series.  I don't even know what the title officially for the first book; I'm pretty sure it's not GAME OF THRONES.....

I listened to this book on CD in my car rather than reading the book myself.  It was an interesting experience.  I found that I had to concentrate a lot more carefully when it came to listening.  I typically think about what I need to do once I get to my destination while I'm driving, but while listening to GAME OF THRONES, I had to stay focused on what I was listening to.  Whenever my mind would wander, I had to rewind the CD back to where I remember the last thing I'd heard.  In a way, I liked that because instead of worrying about certain things, I just concentrated on the story I was listening to.  It was relaxing, to a large degree.

I started reading this series after I heard all the hoopla in the Spring about "The Red Wedding" episode for the HBO series.  I still don't know what all the hoopla is--nor do I want to know until I actually read that part, but at least it was enough to get me started on the series.  I can't say why I decided to listen to it rather than read it.  I just wanted to try something a little different.

Anyway....There are a TON of characters to keep up with, but it was very easy for me to have a favorite:  Dani.  (Since I'm listening to it, I am not sure how to spell her full name.  I went looking for background information on her as well as how to spell her name, but ended up reading too much information.  So I'm going to avoid websites about the books until I've finished reading the whole series.)  Dani is incredible.  From the very beginning, I liked her as a character.  She starts the series as a little wuss of a girl, afraid of everything and everyone, easily controlled, and nothing more than someone easily manipulated.  She was forgettable, really, but yet there was something about her--even way back at the beginning--that made me perk up a little more whenever we came to a section about her.  She is definitely the character I will be looking forward to hearing more of in future books in the series.

Dragons?  While I didn't expect them when I started the series, there came a point when I realized they were inevitably going to show up.  I can't wait to see/hear what happens with the dragons!  The best part is that there isn't just one--there are THREE dragons!!!!!

BTW:  if you don't like stories where one person after another dies and typically in horrific ways, then this is NOT the series for you.  I have to admit that I did a little happy dance in my car when Dani's brother got what was coming to him!  (It's only a book!  Don't worry; I wouldn't want something like to happen for real!!!)

It can be Arranged

Mary Balogh's books are my true guilty pleasure.  I refuse to be embarrassed for reading such "trashy" romance novels.  They're fun and simplistic to a fault, but I enjoy reading her books very much.  And THE ARRANGEMENT was no different.  I saw it online yesterday for only $2, so I bought it....and read it all within a day.  I just couldn't put it down.  It's really cute.  It certainly isn't an amazing story that should be considered great literature, but it's fun and I enjoyed reading it very much.

I need to Notice more.....

THE NOTICER by Andy Andrews is a book that doesn't fit into any neat category or genre.  At least, not one that I can find or even think of.  I was even trying to find out if it's a work of fiction or nonfiction, but I couldn't find that tid-bit of information anywhere!  (If you find it or know which it is, will you share, please?)

The book is about a man, Jones, who helps people see a new or different perspective on their lives and what's going on in their lives.  He helps a couple see that they really do love each other; they just aren't speaking each other's love languages.  I have to admit that I enjoyed that little vignette in particular.  Not [just] because my husband and I have similar issues, but mostly because Jones refers to the love languages as animals, making them much easier to remember!

Cat--the person who speaks the love language of physical contact
Canary--the person who receives and expresses love by quality time
Puppy dog--feel loved by spoken words of approval/affirmation
Goldfish--the person who feels loved with favors and deeds

Unlike Dr. Gary Chapman, Jones only refers to 4 love languages.  I certainly found it interesting to think of them in terms of animals.  It's always helped me remember the four main personality types.  (Dr. Gary Smalley uses animals to discuss the personality types in one of his earlier books.  I can't think of which one right at the moment.)

We all need a little perspective--a NEW perspective.  Even those with positive outlooks and everything going for them can benefit from a new perspective--if only to ensure that he/she continues to be positive and successful!

THE NOTICER is well worth the read if you ever get a chance to read it.

Too scared

First of all, it needs to be clear that THE NEW HUNGER by Isaac Marion is obviously not for children, so please keep that in mind.

Secondly, I was surprised to find as I read first WARM BODIES and then THE NEW HUNGER that the comedic element that comes across in the movie version of WARM BODIES does not translate the same on the written page.  There are times when I found myself laughing during WARM BODIES, but not so much in THE NEW HUNGER.  I didn't find anything in the prequel to be funny at all.  In fact, the prequel is much more horrifying and truly creepy as one would expect of a zombie story.

I kept waiting for R to appear in the story, so I was quite surprised by the ending.  I'm going to have to go back and read it again because I missed that particular detail and it might have helped me understand some things in this particular story.

I did not like it as much as I did WARM BODIES, but it did help with some back-story.  I'm still a bit lost, but it's because I didn't get the "surprise" that is revealed at the end.  I'm sure that when I go back and re-read it, I won't have any trouble understanding the story.

Is your Body Warm?

I had no earthly idea that WARM BODIES was a book before it was a movie.  Because I love watching the extras on a DVD, I quickly learned the truth.  It did not take me long at all to purchase a copy of the book by Isaac Marion--or to finish reading it!

Just like the movie, the book is fun, quirky, weird, and everything else in between.  It has romance for the romantic soul.  It has blood and gore for the horror fan.  It has a father/daughter relationship for those who like family-oriented stories.  There are simple friendships as well as complicated friendships and even the oddest friendships ever written about.

My favorite part of the book has to be the oxymorons throughout.  They're in the movie, but I found them funnier in the book.  Of course, a couple of the ones in the movie had me laughing so hysterically that I realized quickly that if I had seen the movie in the theater as I'd originally planned (I just never made it), I would have been thrown out!

It was the same way reading the book.  I laughed out loud.  I cried out in disgust.  I spoke to no one listening because no one was in the room with me.

I loved every word and every minute of reading it!  What was most surprising about the reading, I have to say before bringing this to a close, were the difficult/challenging words throughout!  Thankfully I read it on my Nook, so all I had to do was click on the word to look it up, but that was completely unexpected!

If you like zombie stories, you'll love WARM BODIES (book or movie).  If you like love stories, you'll love WARM BODIES.  If you like horror flicks/stories, you'll like WARM BODIES.  If you like to laugh, you'll like WARM BODIES.

BTW:  there is already a Prequel:  THE NEW HUNGER (you can only get it online (an ebook)--let me know and I'll send you a link) and Isaac Marion is currently working on a sequel.  I can hardly wait!

If you don't like WARM BODIES, then your body obviously isn't warm!!!!!!  :)

*Updated: The Horror of being a Hun-Girl

2nd time reading and my original post still stands:

Words are not sufficient to explain what I think or how I feel about MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins. First of all, this is a LOOOONNNNNGGGGG way from CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG. It's difficult to believe that Ms. Collins used to write for a sweet CHILDREN'S tv show....

This is one of the most horrific series of books I have ever read. Even GONE WITH THE WIND with all the horrors of war that are described (including Scarlett killing the Yankee soldier, all the hundreds of thousands of soldiers lying on the ground at the railroad--and Scarlett has to walk through them, over them, and even on them to find Dr. Meade) as well as Scarlett's ruthless character as she fights her way back to the top financially so that she and hers will never be hungry again is not as horrific as THE HUNGER GAMES series.

1. I am horrified that this series is being advertised as being FOR children 12 years old and up. Yes, at first, I was even encouraging Samuel to read the series--he's 10 (he'll be 11 on May 1). When he needed a new book to read earlier this week, he asked me about THE HUNGER GAMES and I told him I had changed my mind and that he didn't need to read it....yet....? Twelve year olds and younger ARE reading this series!!!!  (Update:  Samuel is now 12 and recently read all 3 books for himself.  He didn't have much to say about them, but if the fact that within a few weeks of finishing them he's already reading them again says anything......)

2. I am horrified that this series is about children....fighting, killing, participating and even active participants in a W-A-R where violent and brutal war acts take place around every corner--some TO the children and some CREATED BY these C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N!!!!! Katniss herself is just 16 when she becomes a Tribute for The Hunger Games. As book 3 comes to a close, she's still only 17 or 18 years old....yet she's LEADING a group of SOLDIERS, made up mostly of children, as well as KILLING the enemy (and some who may not even BE the enemy)! (I won't say much more because I'll spoil it for anyone wanting to read this series.....) But she's given SO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY, yet she's not even considered a YOUNG ADULT, yet!!!!! And so are her friends, lovers, sister, etc.

3. I am horrified by the deaths. Wow. Readers don't need much of an imagination to SEE these violent, horrific deaths described in the story. EVERYONE dies--except the few people who should have died.....and re-read what I just wrote! That's a horror in itself! How can I say that there are characters in the story who SHOULD HAVE DIED?! But, I do feel that the story ends with an attempt at too much of a "happily ever after" style-story. It IS a war story, so I expected an ending more like OLD YELLER or even GONE WITH THE WIND. (Again, I'd better stop now so I don't completely ruin it for those who haven't read it.)

4. I am horrified by BOTH the presidents in the story. I won't say more because of fear of spoiling it, but once you're read it, I'd love to hear what you think.

5. I am horrified by the coping mechanisms of many of the characters, yet at the same time, how DOES one deal with the horrors seen and experienced by the characters in this story?! It's obviously NOT a faith or religion-based story, so they don't have their faith in (relationship with) Christ to help them cope. They only have each other and even THAT is taken away from them if not by the leaders, then by themselves in their own methods of coping. It's tragic to read about these beloved characters finding ways just to DEAL......I don't think I could. I do think I would have reacted most like Katniss, but even she seems more able to come out of her stupors than I feel I would be able to. I DO love the book she, Peeta, and Haymitch put together in loving Memory of....that touched my heart more than anything else in the story. I would LOVE to see THAT book put together and published.

6. My previous statement horrifies me! What did I just say?! I would want to read (yes, I'd buy it) a book that lists our beloved characters and includes the details/information Katniss, Haymitch, and Peeta put in it, especially Peeta's pictures?! Yes. Horribly, I would. That book is what FINALLY brought tears to my eyes.  I wanted to cry so many times during the story, but it wasn't until Katniss decided to put the book together that the tears started to flow....and I couldn't stop them.

7. I am horrified to say that I loved this series. How does a reader say she LOVES a series with so many horrific and terrible things??? How does a reader recommend this series to the people she loves and cares about?! Why do I want my friends and family to have THOSE IMAGES stuck in their heads as they are in mine?! How can I want my friends and family to read about such horrors?! Yet, I've recommended the series to everyone who will listen and even to those who won't.

8. It horrifies me to no end that I am on pins and needles in anxious anticipation for the movie to be released on March 23. Yes, I do plan on going to see it the very first weekend it's out. I am having a hard enough time waiting for the movie to be released as it is, so I know I won't be able to wait much longer after it's released to go see it. I won't go THE DAY it's released, I don't think, but I WILL see it before that weekend is out. Yes, I'm horrified at my own desire to SEE this story displayed VISUALLY on a movie screen for me to see beyond my imagination.....(Update:  Yes, I'm excited about the upcoming release of CATCHING FIRE this November.  I hate myself for it, but I am looking forward to seeing the movie.)

9. It horrifies me to imagine that there are still people today who give in to public and/or peer pressure to do things they might not really agree with--yet don't even think about what they're doing---they just do it. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and other stories like it sadly reveal that we SEEM powerless to do anything about the injustices around us---so we just go along with them. Or, if we aren't powerless to do anything, we don't know any better. When we read "The Lottery" in class, most students are absolutely horrified by the ending, but yet, when we hold our own class lottery and throw paper at the winner, most students actually throw the paper!!! I am always amazed to note just how many will throw the paper even though their voices are the strongest about how AWFUL throwing stones at Tessie is!!!!

10. I am horrified because I honestly do think that there might be places in our world today where leaders could be planning bombs, traps, etc. such as we see in THE HUNGER GAMES series. Samuel loves the Military channel. On that channel, they have these shows about weapons; I think it's called WEAPONOLOGY. In this series, they talk about the history/progression of modern day warfare weaponry....how such and such rifle/bomb/gun/tank/etc. has had to improve and become more viable as a result of the enemies' advances in weaponry. When one country finds a way to build a tank that is so awesome in its armory that the current bombs, bullets, etc. can't penetrate it, then the opposing country develops weaponry that WILL penetrate the previously impenetrable tank! And so on and so forth. It doesn't matter what new, modern weapon is developed to withstand the current enemy's attacks, someone somewhere always is able to find a way to defeat the current BEST.....just as is apparent in THE HUNGER GAMES. Gale and Beetee work very hard to come up with new weaponry to defeat the Capitol.....and they are TOO successful with their inventions.....


Yes, horror is the best word to describe THE HUNGER GAMES series. This is one trilogy of books that I will NEVER forget, whether or not I ever read the series again......Sadly, I probably will read it again. I know I missed a lot of details this first time through.......I've read both the TWILIGHT and HARRY POTTER series 4 times through and found new and exciting details I missed the first three reads, so I know the same will be true of THE HUNGER GAMES.....It's horrific that I'm even considering that fact, let alone know it to be true...

So if you do choose to read THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, just be forewarned going in to it that it's NOT a Disney, happily-ever-after story......It IS a war story......centered around CHILDREN.....

Waiting.....!

THE EXILE:  AN OUTLANDER GRAPHIC NOVEL (OUTLANDER 1.5) by Diana Gabaldon is really a great fill-in for the lover of the OUTLANDER series.  It's nothing short of pure genius for the author to write the same story from another character's point-of-view!  I especially love that it's not exactly like the original.  The fact that it's a graphic novel makes it that much more genius.  We already have SO MUCH with the original story that if Gabaldon attempted to do the same with Jamie's version of the story, no one would be able to stay with it through to the end.  By doing it as a graphic novel, it easily keeps my attention and makes me want to beg for the next installment!

Where's the next installment, Diana Gabaldon?!

I don't know of any other author who has written--and published (hear me, Stephenie?!)--the same essential story from a different character's point-of-view, making THE EXILE that much more fun and exciting to read.

As a writer-wanna-be (well, published wanna-be, anyway), I can understand how easily an author falls in love with each of her characters and wants each character to tell his/her story.  I, for one, would love to read some of my other favorite books from the POV of other characters within the stories.  I've even tried to write Snape's story, but not being Rowling, it's next to impossible.

Just finish it, Gabaldon....please?!?!

One negative:  there are images and brief details that are very confusing and difficult to follow.  I don't understand where this Kenneth comes into the story or how he fits at all.  I'm anxious to read the next one to find out more about him.  He's obviously a semi-main character who we never see in the OUTLANDER series because Claire never meets him.  But he's there and he's very aware of Claire and Jamie.....

It's over....?!

This is the 2nd time I've read Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER.  (Yes, I do consider it reading to listen to a book on CD.)  I found that I actually enjoyed listening to it on CD as I drove to and from work in my car.  I couldn't wait each day to get in my car just so I could listen to more!

Even though I'd read this book before, reading it again was like reading it for the first time.  There were a lot of details that I easily remembered from the first reading, but I forgot a lot of details, too.

The one thing that surprised me the most about this reading was the ending.  In my head, I remember the story ending with Claire having to go back to her own time--and to Frank.  But OUTLANDER doesn't end that way at all!  When I got to the last CD, I kept wondering how Gabaldon was going to get Jamie and Claire from France to Scotland quickly--considering how long it had taken them to get from one place to another throughout the rest of the book, I thought it was odd.

And the CD kept going from one track to the next, but Jamie and Claire were still in France with no possibility of being back in Scotland any time soon.

We got to one of the parts of the book that I remembered very well from my first reading (it was my favorite part) and all of a sudden, this guy came on and said "This ends the book OUTLANDER....."

What?!  I thought.......well, I guess I'm going to have to get the CD for the 2nd book and find out how much of that book I tried to put into the first book....!  It'll just have to wait until I get back from Disney.

At least I have something to look forward to after my trip....!!!!!  

:)

Full of J.O.Y.

FYI:  Spiritual as well as very personal content follows.  Read at your own discretion.

If it is true, as David Young says in his book JOY, that "...the deeper the child of God is pulled down into earthly sorrow, the higher he will eventually spring up in heavenly joy" (189), then I gotta tell ya that that explains an awful lot.  I have times when I honestly feel so full of joy that the only place it could possibly from would be God Himself.  When I consider everything I've suffered in my life, it would be so easy to fall into a pool of despair and stay there.

Now, I don't want you thinking that I'm always full of joy and bubbly and experiencing the full joy of the Lord.  I do have days where I wonder how I'm going to move, let alone make it through the day.  I do have days where my "Heartache finds a bottom," but Praise the Lord, it isn't long until "joy rebounds" (189).

For the sake of those of you who don't know me:

1.  while I was pregnant with my first son, my left ovary and part of my fallopian tube had to be removed because of a growing cyst
2.  my first son was stillborn just two weeks before his due date in 1999
3.  that same year, I had a miscarriage
4.  during the delivery of my only living child, my heart rate shot up to over 202 beats/minute
5.  I had another miscarriage a few short years later
6.  in 2009, I ended up in the hospital with severe stomach pains--I was in and out of consciousness for a week--at the end of which the doctor had to do emergency surgery where I had an ostomy (the cause of the severe stomach pains was a severe infections from diverticulitis)
7.  3 months later, the doctor reversed that surgery--leaving me with 2 huge, ugly scars on my belly
8.  during all of this, my husband and I have continued to struggle in our marriage (still ongoing)
9.  my grandmother (Baba) died
10.  a year after my diverticulitis attack, I was back in the hospital having an ablation because I had polyps in my uterus--effectively cutting off any more chances for having more children, if that had been something I still wanted--I did.
11.  last year, my son experienced the worst thing a child can go through

So in case you want to know why I smile bigger than anyone you know....why I always say I'm "Peachie" when asked how I'm doing.....why I laugh louder than anyone else in the room....why I sing at the top of my lungs even though I can't carry a tune in a bucket.....why I hug everyone I can whenever I can and I hug with my WHOLE being.....why I love so passionately.....it's because I've been deeper than anyone deserves to go (I know I'm not the only one) but I know in whom I believe and in Him and through Him, I live and move and have my being.  He has truly turned my mourning into dancing--into joy.

I will NOT apologize for experiencing the full JOY of the Lord.  I've asked Him to anoint me with the "oil of Joy" more than anyone else (Psalm 45:7 and Hebrews 1:9).  And He has answered my prayer.

JUMOY!

I only have one other comment about David Young's book and that is about the chapter where he brings up "Pollyanna."  You see, my name is Polly Anna, so I always pay closer attention when I see my name in print like that.  The problem is that he brings up being "Pollyanna-ish," but he doesn't explain whether his discussion of being a "Pollyanna" is a positive thing or a negative thing.  I just want to say that the real Pollyanna in the wonderful book of the same name by Eleanor H. Porter is a wonderful young woman who, with her dad, invents the "Glad Game" where they try to find something to be glad about even in the worst of situations.

If that's me--and it is, then I proudly say that I AM POLLY ANNA.....and I am GLAD that I am alive and full of the Joy of the Lord!

Hallelujah!

I love journaling!

Mari McCarthy's PEACE OF MIND AND BODY:  27 DAYS OF JOURNALING TO HEALTH AND HAPPINESS has been very good for me as was the grief journal I completed prior to doing this one.  I have discovered some things about myself that I wasn't aware of--or at least not fully conscious of.  I still have some work to do , of course.  I've also been able to put some things into words that I must have thought, but hadn't taken them any further.

I plan on sharing some of my journal entries with my counselors.

I don't do a lot of journaling with guided prompts--I typically already have my own thoughts to write about.  But when I do use guided topics, I've usually found to be great at helping me discover things about myself that I'm not aware of until it comes out in my journal.

From here, I'm going to begin--probably--the journaling Manifesto (also by Mari).  I also have the 53-week one by Mari to work on, but I think I'll wait to begin that one after our trip to Disney next week.

Of course, I'll also continue doing my Night Notes!

Katniss....not so smart

This is difficult....how do I say I "like" a book, CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins, where children are killing each other?  And it's SANCTIONED?!  Yet, I found myself anxious to get to each page....I just couldn't put the book down.  And I've already started the final book in the Trilogy.  I have so much else I need to be doing, but all I want to do is sit down and read MOCKINGJAY!!!!

Of course, it is a little annoying that Katniss can't seem to figure out whether she loves Gale or Peeta, but I keep trying to remember that she's just 17 years old.  Even adults, though, often have a hard time figuring out their feelings.  Just look at Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler!!!

First read:  March 1-3, 2012

I can't help noticing how not-so-smart Katniss is during this 2nd reading.  Sure, she figures out certain things based on the gifts Haymitch sends--or doesn't send--to her in the arena.  But she doesn't realize that there are quite a few people doing everything in their power to keep her and Peeta alive during the Quarter Quell.  She tends to act first and think second.

She becomes the symbol of revolution, the mockingjay, without doing anything but serve her purposes.  Even in the first book, eating the berries wasn't so much a defiant act against the capital as it was a chance to keep Peeta alive because it benefits HER--even though she has no idea how she really feels about Peeta--yet she can't seem to live without him.

I realize that she's just 16/17 years old in these books, but even a young woman at her age isn't always THIS confused....or are teenagers at that age almost always THAT confused???  Maybe I've been "old" for longer than I think.....????

Positive thinking

After reading Tommy Newberry's THE 4:8 PRINCIPLE, it was an easy transition to read 40 DAYS TO A JOY-FILLED LIFE: LIVING THE 4:9 PRINCIPLE.  As the title says, the reader is supposed to read the book one chapter a day at a time, which I did.  I liked reading a book that way.  Rick Warren's THE PURPOSE-DRIVING LIFE is done like that, too.  It helps me absorb what I've read to read just a little bit every day.

Newberry's book is not just a book; it's also a workbook.  More than anything, it helps me focus on things that are lovely, just, of good report, and so on.  After going through some really rough patches here recently, I needed to change my focus of thinking.  I'm not all the way THERE as far as keeping my thoughts 4:8 focused (that's Philippians 4:8, in case you don't know), but at least I know I'm making progress and that Newberry's book has helped me with that!

Hungry?

I started re-reading THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins in part because I want to read all three books in the series again before CATCHING FIRE comes out in the theater later this year.  I also started re-reading it because Samuel decided he wanted to read it--for the first time.  I was surprised that he wanted to read it, but I didn't fight it.  He is 12 and, based on what I understand about the intended audience for the series, he's at the perfect age to read it.  I like to know what he's reading, though.  If I hadn't read it before, I would now.  As it is, this time I'm reading it partly for me and partly so I can talk to him about it.  Since he saw the first movie, though, he doesn't have too many questions or comments about it.

I have to say that this is NOT an easy book (series) to read.  It's violent.  It's filled with sadness and death.  One of my favorite characters is drunk more often than not.  Another of my favorite characters becomes a drug addict as the series progresses.  There's romance.  There's even a love triangle.  A girl who's confused.  Two boys who each knows exactly what he wants:  the same girl.  There are family dynamics.  And, everyone's favorite, politics.

What's not to love???

Yeah.  I think that as long as we read stories like this with the reminder that it only takes one person to make a difference--to encourage change, then THE HUNGER GAMES (and the whole series) is amazing and should be read by all.  But if we're reading it because it's bloody, gory, and violent--then we need to stand back and re-evaluate our priorities.

*first read THE HUNGER GAMES, February 27, 2012

Morning Pages...?!

In THE MIRACLE OF THE MORNING PAGES JOURNAL, Julia Camera answers some of the most commonly asked questions about her famous "Morning Pages."  I was able to zip through the book in just a little more than an hour, so it's a nice, quick, easy read.

I have known about Morning Pages for several years now and I've gone through periods of time, mostly in the summer months, when I've done them consistently.  But I haven't been able to keep them going.

Why?

Because I'm just not a morning person.  Once I get up, I have to get my son ready for school as well as myself.  I sleep until the last possible second.  I really hate getting up early.  I am NOT a morning person.

I do agree with Julia Cameron's premise of the Morning Pages.  She makes a lot of sense and I do agree that when I did them, great things happened.  Everything Cameron talks about in explaining Morning Pages makes perfect sense and I want to get started writing Morning Pages, again, every single day.

But there's that nagging fact that I'm just NOT a morning person.

One thing that kind of bothers me a little about Cameron's thorough discussion of the Morning Pages is that over and over again she states that "there are no rules" to Morning Pages.  Yet, she states several rules within her question/answer session in this book:  it must be 3 pages--no more or less; it must be long-hand; an 8-1/2 x 11-sized notebook must be used (yet she doesn't specify wide or college-ruled); and, most importantly, they must be written in the Morning, first thing.

In theory, I agree wholeheartedly with everything Cameron says about doing Morning Pages in the morning.  She makes perfect sense when she talks about how at the beginning of the day, we have a blank slate--nothing has happened yet, but anything can happen--we can CHANGE our future because we're purposeful about it.  But if we write at night, we're writing about what's already happened and what can't change.

I wish it wasn't just theory for me.  I WANT to do Morning Pages in the morning.  But apparently I don't want to do them bad enough.....

My most favorite book--ever

I LOVE Olive Ann Burns' COLD SASSY TREE.  I read it for the first time back in the late eighties/early nineties and loved it even then.  My first reading was because my brother brought the book home during a weekend home from his first semester at college so I could read it for him for his freshman composition class.  I was happy to do it.  This is THE best book!!!

How does anyone not love this book?  It has someone being run over by a train--and living.  Romance.  An older man getting married to a much younger woman just 3 weeks after the death of his first wife.  Suicide.  (Not that suicide makes a story great.  It's just the way it's dealt with.)  A "funeral party."  Dyin' stories, because Grandma was the best in the county at telling 'em.  It's set in the south with southern slang.  It's set in 1906--when cars were first being introduced to the mass public.  It's told from the perspective of a 15-year old boy.

And it was written by an amazing woman who should have lived long enough to write more!  She started a sequel to COLD SASSY, but she died before she finished it.  Ovarian cancer, I think it was.  I find Burns' writing process to be just as fascinating as the book itself--she would get an idea and write it on whatever piece of paper she could get her hands on--napkins, receipts, corners of notes, etc.--then she would sit on her bed with all of her scraps of paper around her and work on putting them together to create a cohesive whole.

I, for one, believe that she was quite successful in her attempt.  I LOVE COLD SASSY TREE......Everyone should read it, truly.

Dark Chocolate

Mari McCarthy's DARK CHOCOLATE FOR THE JOURNALER'S SOUL is exactly what it says it is....dark chocolate for the journaler.  Personally, I love to journal.  I've been doing it for so long, I have no real idea when I actually first started.  I have a large number of hand-written journals (notebooks, actual journals, notepads, etc.) that I've used over the years as well as digital journals I started in approximately 2009 or 2010.  I write in my journals A LOT.  A lot of journalers have been introduced to Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY where she talks about doing Morning Pages--every day--3 full pages of freewriting that the journaler does first thing in the morning.

I have tried Morning Pages and liked them, very much.  The problem, though, is that I have never been much of a morning person.  I like to sleep until the last possible second.  So no matter how good my intentions, my Morning Pages typically were either Afternoon or Evening Pages instead.

In McCarthy's book, one of the contributors feels the same as I do about mornings and has taken to using Mari's suggestion of writing Night Notes instead.  While I've been reading through and working on a number of Mari's journals, blogs, etc., I had not yet heard or read about Night Notes.  But as soon as I read about them in DARK CHOCOLATE, I knew I'd hit on exactly what I was looking for as my alternative to Morning Pages--with no self-guilt!  (I felt guilty because I loved doing Morning Pages and I REALLY wanted to do them--I just didn't want to do them bad enough to get up a little earlier every day!) 

I am again inspired to get journaling.......

My Guilty Pleasure

Yes, another Mary Balogh book.  I like these ones that are published with 2 books in one.  Both of these books, A COUNTERFEIT BETROTHAL and THE NOTORIOUS RAKE, follow the same pattern as every other Balogh book.  There isn't anything new other than the stories themselves.  They're still fun to read and still provide me enough entertainment that I don't regret purchasing the book or reading it.  And, yes, I'll probably read the whole thing (both books) several times--as I typically do with Balogh books.

*Don't judge me.  She's my one, true guilty pleasure as far as reading is concerned!

Handling Anger

Gary Chapman's ANGER:  HANDLING A POWERFUL EMOTION is a reprint (revised edition) of THE OTHER SIDE OF LOVE.  I didn't realize that when I bought the book for my Nook; I already had a copy of THE OTHER SIDE OF LOVE in book form.  I went ahead and read the Nook version. 

Anyway, as someone who has been dealing with a lot of anger (rage is really more like it), this book was a valuable resource.  Let me just say that I will probably end up reading it at least once more if not more than that......

I do so want a Joy-filled life

Philippians 4:8:  "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."  (NLT)

Tommy Newberry's book THE 4:8 PRINCIPLE:  THE SECRET TO A JOY-FILLED LIFE doesn't really say much of anything that anyone who has been a believer for as long as I have hasn't already heard before.  With that being said, though, I want to clarify that because the Bible is the living, breathing Word of God, any time we can study God's Word does not return void.  It is ALWAYS valuable to a person's Christian walk with the Lord to be reminded of such wonderful truths.

It is so easy to get caught up in the daily activities of LIFE as well as just the daily trials of life.  When we get too far into them without keeping the Word the main focus, it is also easy to begin thinking of things that aren't true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, or admirable.  We begin thinking and believing lies as well as negative thoughts about our own lives as well as about the lives of the people around us.

I know that I have let hurts as well as just the day-to-day dealings with those around me to affect me negatively so that I've begun to think and feel negatively towards certain people in my life--important people.  As I've read through Newberry's book, I've thought about these negative thoughts and feelings and where they've come.  The reality is that they've come from a bad, negative place.

Have my feelings been hurt?  Absolutely.

Do the people who have hurt my feelings deserve for me to think about them as being terrible, awful people who deserve to have terrible awful things happen to them?  Not in the slightest.

But I have let negative thinking get in the way of dealing with the problems, the hurts, and finding my way to forgiveness.  I hope and pray that I am now at a place where my thoughts have been turned around and that these relationships will be as well.

Didn't like it....but didn't NOT like it

I've had WATER FOR ELEPHANTS on my shelf for several months.  Lauren had brought it with a stack of other books for me to read.  I just had a very busy semester, though, so I hadn't had time to pick up any of them to read.  Then, right at the end of the semester, for a student's presentation, he brought the movie version for us to watch.  When I asked him why he chose that movie, he said that the elephant in George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" goes on a rampage and, apparently, an elephant is involved in a rampage in WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.

So we watched the movie.

I wasn't that impressed, but it did inspire me to pull out the book and start reading.  I hate watching a movie based on a book without reading the book first.  This is one of only a few times when I've seen the movie first.

I don't really know what to say about WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.  I didn't hate it.  But I didn't really like it--yet I didn't dis-like it, either. 

It didn't really hold my attention the way I like for books for hold my attention, but it wasn't boring, either.

I guess my real problem with the book as a whole is that I just wanted more of the elephant, Rosie.  She doesn't come into the story until at least a quarter of the way through, if not later than that, and then she's just not in the story often enough to make me happy.  With the title having "elephants" in it, I wanted and expected for elephant(s) throughout the whole novel.

I knew from previews before I ever saw the movie or read the book that a major portion of the story was a forbidden love story, but I still expected--ok, wanted--more about the elephant.

It's not a bad book at all; in fact, I think most people who read it will enjoy it which is obviously why the book has sold as well as it has and why it even has been made into a movie starring one of our favorite hotties Robert Pattinson.  So please don't let me comments about the book dissuade or keep you from reading WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.  I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Charlie Finds Himself...

I had heard about THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER from a student/friend last year when the movie was coming out.  We were both excited about its release because Emma Watson was in it!  (You know; the young woman who played Hermoine in all the HARRY POTTER movies!!!)  I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters nor have I had a chance to watch it since it came out on video....until last week.  We were on a Humanities (English and Spanish) school trip to Florida and someone had the movie put in the bus' DVD player.  At first, I wasn't too terribly interested in watching it because I hadn't read the book yet--I knew the movie was based on a book.  But of course, I was quickly and easily drawn into the movie.

I loved it.

And not because it made me cry, but because it really is a very good story of a young man "finding himself."  The story has some scenes/parts in it that can be considered questionable, so be forewarned.  (In reading the book, I always do research on any book I read, so I found out that the book is on the list of "most challenged" recent books.  I think it's even been "banned" in some schools/areas.) 

So within an hour of the movie being over (it was really a lot sooner than that), I had downloaded to book to my Nook. 

I couldn't put the book down.  There are quite a few parts that are very difficult to read, but this boy is 15/16 years old and dealing with things no young man should have to deal with--but, sadly, more young men (and women) deal with than statistics can possibly reveal since most boys (and girls) don't/won't tell anyone.  Or, as in Charlie's case, they've repressed/blocked the memory(ies).  Charlie's story is one of love, friendship, brokenness, healing, sadness and depression, family, and so much more. 

It's written in epistolary format--Charlie writes letter addressed to "Dear friend."  We never find out who this mysterious friend is.  I thought that this friend was like Anne Frank's way of calling her diary "Kitty," but apparently, according to one of Charlie's letters, the "friend" is someone real he'd heard about being a good person, so he just chose him/her to share his thoughts/feelings with.  He actually mails the letters to this friend.....

I am considering the possibility of using THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER in my English 111 classroom.  I would love to know what you all think of that idea.  I'd also love to hear any ideas you might have for:  1.  how I should handle the more "sensitive" parts of the story--I don't want to offend anyone and 2.  any ideas you might have for writing topics I could use with this book as the base.

If you haven't read the book, you really should read it.  Please wait to watch the movie until after you've read the book, but regardless, the movie is pretty good, too and follows the book quite well.  In other words, yes, the movie does the book justice.

Anne's Story of Hiding

I read THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK or (THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL) many, many years ago, but after reading SARAH'S KEY and THE STORYTELLER (see previous posts), I wanted to go back and read the book again.  After all, it has been a very long time since I read the book originally.

I like books that are written in diary or letter/epistolary format, so I definitely enjoyed that part of the book.  This particular version is supposed to have parts that were left out of the original because they were considered too sexual or inappropriate for younger readers.  Since Anne was 13 when she and her family went into hiding, those publishing her book the first time all those years ago (her dad was part of that crew) felt that they could be removed (edited out) and Anne's story still have the effect it's meant to have.  I have to agree.  After reading both versions (even though, as I said, it's been a long time since I read it the first time), I don't feel that reading Anne's full diary makes it any better--or worse.  It simply is what it is:  a diary by a young girl becoming a young woman who has gone into hiding because if they didn't, they would be taken away to concentration camps--they'd be separated, and gassed, more than likely.

It's a powerful story whether you read the diary as it was originally published or this FULL version.  It is difficult to imagine living in such a confined space for 2 years and finding ways to get along with each other--even after arguments. 

Anne is very honest about her feelings for Peter in that she's not at all in love with him, but she needs a friend, as does he, and, as they're fairly close in age and both lonely, they naturally gravitate toward one another and wanting to be together.  Being with him provides some of the comfort she so desperately needs but can't receive from her family for various reasons, one of which is that she hates her mother.  That's really tough to read.

Anyway, if you haven't read Anne Frank's diary before, it's well worth the read........