Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut

To contact us Click HERE

Vonnegut will always have a special place in my heart. He was my first favorite liberal philosopher author with whom I fell madly in love. His writing honest, humorous, and incredibly intelligent. Vonnegut has got this knack for conveying more ideas in one short sentence than most writers can in an entire novel. His words are powerful and memorable. Although he held a pessimistic view of politics and the modern day world, he believed in the good of human kind.

Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of essays published posthumously, one year after Vonnegut's death. The majority of the essays explore the meaning of war and it's impact on those involved. While there is a focus on WWII and the bombing of Dresden, Vonnegut's writing is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago. I especially liked the introduction, written by Kurt's son, Mark Vonnegut, where he paid tribute to his father and offered an interesting perspective of a man and his writing:

“He often said he had to be a writer because he wasn't good at anything else. He was not good at being an employee. Back in the mid-1950's, he was employed for Sports Illustrated, briefly. He reported back to work, was asked to write a short piece on a racehorse that jumped over a fence and tried to run away. Kurt stared at the blank piece of paper all morning and then typed, "The horse jumped over the fucking fence," and walked out, self-employed again.”

I have to say this wasn't my favorite collection of Vonnegut's - some stories outshine the others - but it's worth the read, nonetheless. If you're new to Vonnegut's essays, I would suggest starting with A Man Without A Country.

Publisher: Putnam, 2008

LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST'S CHILDHOOD PAL by Christopher Moore ✰✰✰

To contact us Click HERE

This humorous take on the life of Jesus, subtitled “The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”, is certainly stepping out from my usual reading fare, but I was in the mood for an audio on the lighter side and this one was getting a lot of buzz, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about.As a reviewer, one of the things that I try to do is write with my audience in mind, and knowing that many of my readers are Christians, I am going to target this review towards those readers in particular, given the nature of this particular book, but the book actually might appeal more to other readers, so the rest of you might not want to tune out.Based upon the author’s premise that Jesus spent those lost years of his young adulthood, about which we know nothing, seeking out the three wise men who visited him at his birth, believing that they are meant to teach him how to be the messiah, Lamb takes the reader on a journey through the East as we follow Jesus, known as Joshua, and Biff, as they study with each of the wise men in turn, learning the teachings of Confucius and Buddha, and yoga in India.  Author Christopher Moore toes an odd line with this book.  He takes a subject which clearly appeals to a Christian audience, but then throws in a narrator, Biff, who sees it as his job to experience all of the seedier side of life on behalf of his best friend, the Messiah of the world, who clearly must be above such things.For the most part, Jesus Christ is treated with respect and I was not offended as a Christian, but I would be the first to recognize that there might certainly be people of faith who would find this book offensive.  More than religious reasons, I think that the element that would bother people the most would be the strong language; there is a large segment of the Christian audience who can appreciate the humor of this book, slightly irreverent though it might be, and, I was disappointed that the author chose to use this type of language in a book with this subject matter because I felt that it was incongruent and narrowed his audience.  There is also a lot of sexual innuendo in the book.  While the sex is not graphic, it is a recurrent theme, and frankly, at times got a little bit overdone, to the point that around disk eight (of twelve) I considered quitting listening.  I persevered for two reasons-first, I rarely give up on a book, and second, I was very curious to see how the end of Christ’s life was handled in this strangest of books.Surprisingly, the mission of the Messiah and his crucifixion were handled in a very sensitive fashion, and there were many touching moments in the final three disks.  There was far less humor, and the author really toned down the less savory elements in the final chapters of the book, which was as it should be.  I was actually glad that I hung in there to listen to the end of the book, but it was not enough to bring up my rating from three to four stars, as the things that I mentioned above simply weighed the middle of the book down too much for my liking.In the odd way of these things, this audio is likely to be a contender for my number one spot of the year.  It is absolutely five star.  While I did not always enjoy the story (mostly because it was outside my comfort zone), there was nothing about the audio that I could fault; characters had distinct voices and personalities, timing made the humor shine through (this audio is just plain laugh-out-loud funny in many, many places, and I loved it), and gravity entered the tale when it was supposed to.  If this is a book which appeals to you, I highly recommend the audio-it is outstanding.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO MEDIEVAL ENGLAND by Ian Mortimer ✰✰✰✰

To contact us Click HERE

British historian Ian Mortimer takes as his approach the idea that history begins with people, not events, and that to travel through history one must first delve into the lives of those who inhabited the time and place you wish to visit.
For me the definite strength of the book is its ability to breathe life into the long distant past, to draw out the commonalities between the lives of the people of that time and my own, and to make me see that when I read history and historical fiction of the time period, I need to view their lives through their era’s lens, not my own.  Ian Mortimer does a great job of stressing that, stressing the pride that they took in keeping clean homes-would they be clean from our standards?  No, but against another home of the time they were.  Or the fact that they washed hands and faces between five and eight times a day, but all we can focus on is the fact that they took baths so seldom.This book subdivides into sections such as What to Wear, What to Eat, Where to Stay, among many others, covering all aspects of daily life, across all stratums of society.  Detailed lists are given, such as what furs were allowed to trim the hoods of your garments, depending upon your position in society.  Yes, in fourteenth century England there were actual written laws stating which animal fur you could use if you were a merchant’s wife as opposed to a duke’s wife.  It was fascinating to read through each subsection in turn and see the quality of and quantity of clothing, food, household goods, etc. diminish as the author moved from discussing the king on down to the lowest peasant.  Some things were loved in common by all, such as music, oral tales and poetry, and nature.  Also discussed were things that were common to society in general, although some could afford them more than others, such as medical care and traveling from place to place, and the law of the land.At times the book became a bit too detailed for my taste, giving, for example, actual lists of household inventories, complete with values of items, or lists of specific kinds of fish that each level of clergyman would eat.  After section after section of list after list, this does tend to get a bit tedious, and I found my eyes beginning to slide to the end of tallies of fabrics or meats or whatever was being discussed.  If you are a serious history buff or really into historical fiction set in the Middle Ages, then you will find this book fascinating.  If, however, you have a passing desire to learn a little more about the time period, this is not the book for you.  It is far too detailed, and I doubt that you would give it more than two stars.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF WALWORTH by Geoffrey O'Brien ✰✰✰✰

To contact us Click HERE

Not generally a fan of either society tales nor crime stories, there was something that appealed to me about this nonfiction story of a distinguished Saratoga, New York family brought down by the crime of parricide and an inherited strain of epilepsy that struck their family in an age when such an illness was labeled as “lunacy” instead of seen for the illness it truly is.The Walworth family produced generations of vaunted war heros, politicians, judges, lawyers, doctors, and other venerated members of society, and when problems arose within their ranks they were kept closely guarded and dealt with amongst themselves.  Centering around the generation during and immediately after the Civil War, this work of nonfiction tells of the various ways they either distinguished themselves or gained notoriety.  In particular, the book tells the story of Frank Walworth, son of the novelist Mansfield Tracy Walworth, who kills his father, due to years of letters sent to himself and his mother, threatening to kill the Walworth children and mother.  Over the years a young Frank had also watched his mother suffer much abuse at the hands of his deranged father.  The book gives a good deal of backstory of the family for a couple of generations, setting a stage of privilege and influence, and follows through the deaths of the main generation with whom the book deals.
Overall, I found the book to be well written.  In the beginning I felt that it jumped around in time a little too much and this made it a bit confusing; I am sure the author used it as a device to create interest in the story, but I would have preferred a more linear approach.  Once he settled into a more chronological telling things settled into a much smoother tale.  He quotes extensively from contemporary sources but does not footnote, using instead page-noted endnotes at the end of the book which need not be read unless the reader desires to read the entire source.  A quote from the book pertaining to the family’s treatment by the press well illustrates O’Brien’s fine narrative writing:

“...they had done all they could to distance themselves.  The newspaper stories stripped their lives of all traces of sensitivity and cultivation and made them grotesque woodcuts fit for theatrical poster advertising...”

O’Brien says of Ellen, the wife of the victim, and mother of the shooter, that, “she might have seen the emblem of what her life was to be: a confrontation between catastrophe and endurance.  Any cry of pain was to be inward, private, swallowed back.”

This book contains a lot of historical elements, as the family was involved in a good many events in American history, from the War of 1812, to the Spanish American War, to the Civil War, to friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln, to founding the Daughters of the American Revolution.  A lot of court cases, such as the taking down of Boss Tweed’s ring happened simultaneously to the Walworth trial, and so are discussed in this book.  However, there is no mystery involved, as the reader knows right from the beginning who the guilty party is.  What you do not know is what Frank’s punishment is going to be, especially given that New York, just the day before he shot his father, had passed a new law giving the jury the option of second degree murder.  Previously the only choices had been hanging or exoneration.
Another element of American history at this time was the great cataclysm occurring among the religious faithful.  There were many revivalist preachers traveling through the country preaching, and Catholic priests were also beginning to gain converts as well.  This religious upheaval affected the Walworth family dynamics in a profound way, in particular the Catholic influence, and so is written about quite extensively in the book.
Overall, this is not as compelling a read as say, Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, with its intriguing setting of the Chicago World’s Fair and a serial killer, but the writing is sound, the characters sympathetic and interesting, and the era quite engrossing.  Where the Larson book is a five star read, this one merits a solid high four.

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafón ✰✰✰✰✰

To contact us Click HERE

Finally!  This book has suffered from the curse of ownership, but this month all of my reading challenges aligned, and it was dusted off and read.  To all of you who have told me so many times that I would love it-you were right, and to all of you who have not yet picked it up-you really should.The Shadow of the Wind traces two lives, which run along a parallel course, some ten years apart-those of a young bookseller, Daniel Sempere, and an aspiring author, Julian Carax, who lived and wrote a decade earlier, and whom Daniel discovers and becomes fascinated by to an unusual degree.  As he delves into the life of his mysterious author, Daniel’s life spirals out of his hands, bringing peril to those he loves.  However, he comes to realize that often the disappeared do not wish to be found, but to redeem love and to enact vengeance they will come forth, in their own time and on their own terms.
In addition to the two main characters, there is a full list of supporting cast, all of whom feel well defined and necessary to the plot.  Recently, on one of my online groups, we had a discussion about characters in thrillers, and how characterization is often sacrificed to keep the plot moving at a brisk pace.  That is certainly not the case here.
This novel is consistently listed as a thriller, but some disagree.  I feel that the middle section does slow down quite a bit, as the reader is fed a lot of the characters’ backstories during that section of the book.  However, the final third of the novel absolutely flies as the plot begins to thicken and the convergence of the characters’ lives begins.
The element which absolutely sets this novel apart, aside from its finely, subtly crafted sub-plots that ultimately weave so effortlessly together, is the stunning beauty of its prose.  I feel that some credit must surely also be given to the work of the translator, Lucia Graves, who translated Zafón’s work from the original Spanish into English.  Her translation has a wondrous cadence that defies the reader to believe the novel was not written in English to begin with.  It is an absolute tour de force of translation.
Overall, I think that this is the rare thriller that manages to combine plot, characterization, and gorgeous prose into one lovely literary package, and as such, it comes with my five star recommendation.  I will certainly be reading the newly released sequel, The Prisoner of Heaven.

Book Review: Vaganova Today, by Catherine E. Pawlick

To contact us Click HERE
A while back, I read and reviewed (or panned...) Apollo's Angels and was so frustrated by the book that I set myself the task of studying ballet, its history and its ongoing evolution, for myself. I've done some reading since then, and I added Vaganova Today to my Fall Into Reading list as another perspective on ballet. (And that's an important reminder, particularly to someone like Homans, who authored Apollo's Angels: these book offer perspective, but none of them does, or should claim to, give the entire unbiased picture.)

What's valuable about Vaganova Today is something that was more or less overlooked completely in Apollo's Angels -- and I apologize in advance for bringing up the book I read earlier, but it makes for a nice jumping-off point to explaining why I liked Vaganova Today so much more -- that is, the development of Russian ballet during the twentieth century, during the Soviet era, and without any influence of Balanchine. Agrippina Vaganova was a Mariinsky dancer who then became an instructor at the Leningrad Choreographic School. Later she became the founder of an entirely new method of ballet for Russia, a method that took what Russians viewed as the best of the French and Italian styles with the addition of something uniquely "Russian." As Homans would have had it, ballet in the Soviet Union withered away because of its singular focus on classical dance and the lack of Balanchine. As the Russians would have it, Vaganova gave them something invaluable, a style of training that is still recognized around the world today for its ability to mold exceptional dancers. (Even Americans have to admit this.) In fact, there's an amusing moment in which one of the pedagogues whom Pawlick interviews says that while there's some good in Balanchine's choreography, she doesn't find it very musical. Pawlick tries to follow this up with an explanation that Balanchine's work is generally recognized as being very musical, but I was left with the impression that this elderly Russian ballerina might know a little more than most people are comfortable admitting.

Anyway, that's more my opinion than anything else. What I really liked about this book was how little the author felt the need to make herself present in it. She was more interested in sharing the historical information about Vaganova and then in demonstrating through a series of interviews how the style has changed and how it's being incorporated today. The historical detail is heavily annotated, and the biographical information about Vaganova relies on direct resources from the day: reviews, newspapers articles, etc. The interviews are direct quotes from those who once knew Vaganova -- those who were her students and remembered her -- and those who are currently working to maintain the tradition. The element of authorial opinion comes in toward the end, where the author pulls all of these details together to explain one way of viewing the differing perspectives she's encountered.

Because differing perspectives there are. Many of the pedagogues (and "pedagogue" refers to a special kind of ballet instructor who works individually with dancers to shape and mold their artistic form; much more than a mere coach, as we might see it) see the changes in ballet with concern, primarily as regards the focus on tricks over artistry. But others acknowledge that ballet will always evolve, so it's a matter of absorbing the good changes and trying to weed out the bad. The author simply notes at the end that many of these opinions reflect a very internal view of a system that the individuals know well, and that as far as the rest of the ballet world is concerned Vaganova-trained dancers are still among the best. It's worth noting that recent graduates of the Vaganova academy, sometimes only eighteen or nineteen years old, receive top-level contracts with companies outside of Russia, because their dancing is already at that level compared to others in the same non-Russian company.

All in all, this is a very specialized book on a very specialized topic. If you want a springboard into a history of Russian ballet, this is good, but it might be a little confusing in places. (And if you have never seen Vaganova-trained dancers, in person or in video, then this will have very little direct application.) Still, it's interesting and well-written, and for the person looking for a more specialized book on the topic this is one-in-a-million. As far as I know, it might be the only one, so I'm glad Pawlick made her contribution.

Video included below.

Year of publication: 2011
Number of pages: 208

Some videos to offer an example of the training, as well as the outcome. These are not all the same dancers in the videos, but rather just a range of dancers from different years.

First year class:



Fifth year class:



Graduating class (2008):

Quick Review: St Silouan the Athonite, by Archimandrite Sophrony

To contact us Click HERE
The length of this review is inversely proportional to the length of the book, but like the previous review the topic is highly specialized and is unlikely to appeal to all (if many). There's nothing wrong with that. Some books are intended for more people, while some books are intended for fewer. The author even notes in the beginning that it is "destined for a very narrow circle of people whose interest is concentrated on Christian ascetism" (p. 4, emphasis in the original).

To read more about St Silouan the Athonite, see here. This book is divided into two parts: (1) a biography that is written by St Silouan's friend Archimandrite Sophrony, and (2) a collection of the saint's writings. He was not a particularly well-educated man, so his writings are not as sophisticated in style as the biographical portion; but what they lack in style, they make up for in intensity.

Perhaps the most famous saying which is attributed to St Silouan is as follows: "Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not." At first, it's almost bizarre sounding, but ultimately it's a reminder about humility: practice humility, but never move past humility to believe that God cannot save you. This, of course, is just one of many of St Silouan's treasured sayings, but it's definitely the one that summarizes his faith most succinctly. I suspect even he would agree with that.

Again, this is a specialized read for those who are interested. It's a bit of an endeavor, at just over 500 pages, but it's worth the time.

Year of publication: 1991
Number of pages: 504

"A Journal of Orthodox Living"

To contact us Click HERE
The Hermitage of the Holy Cross, located in West Virginia (and part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia), has begun publishing Kairos Quarterly with the subtitle "A Journal of Orthodox Living." Perhaps fittingly, the first issue is about Nativity, so for anyone interested in reading it, here's the link.
Articles include the following:
-- "The Transfiguration of Place: An Orthodox Christian View of Localism (Part I)," by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick (author of the book I read a while back, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy)-- "Why We Fast Before Nativity (Christmas)," by Vincent Martini-- "Nativity Homily," by Bishop Basil Rodzianko
And more!

Winter Reading

To contact us Click HERE
I'm compiling my winter reading list, and the following items have made their way onto the list:

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstory (a re-read from many years ago)Talking about Detective Fiction, by P.D. JamesThe Elements of Mystery Fiction, by William G. TapplyThe Rest of the Bible, by Theron MathisThe Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, by Vladimir LosskyRussian Ballet Master: the Memoirs of Marius Petipa, by (inevitably) Marius Petipa
French Provincial Cooking, by Elizabeth David

A few quick notes:

-- No, I'm not interested in seeing the new film Anna Karenina. I was, however, so irked by the trailer that I decided to re-read the book and particularly the new(ish) translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
-- French Provincial Cooking is over 500 pages in length and contains a rather intimidating amount of text. That is to say, one doesn't just pick it up and choose a recipe to try. There's some reading involved, and I'd like to dig in and get through it. (The fact that Penguin publishes a version of this should indicate that it's almost as much literature as cookbook.)
I've also made a blog decision, and that is I'll be cutting back on the blogging after the New Year (some time after January 3rd, since I have a TLC Book Tours review that day). I just don't have the same interest in this right now, and I don't know that I feel like keeping up with blogging. Part of this is due to the nature of my reading, which as far as I can tell is going to have a pretty narrow reading audience. I hate to bore people with reviews of books they probably aren't interested in reading, but I don't want to limit my own reading to a projected interest among readers.

Fall Into Reading Challenge: The Rather Delayed Wrap-Up

To contact us Click HERE
Yeah...I should have done this days ago, but it just wasn't possible. (And for some reason, I didn't think to schedule it in advance, like I did with my Winter Reading post.)

So for a quick wrap-up, I completed all of the books on my list, except one -- The Mayor of Casterbridge. But I had decided a while back to remove this from the list, in favor of the three that I added (Lunch with Buddha, A Desire Path, and Cascade) later. I actually finished my fall challenge reading some time back, knowing that I would run into trouble finishing up reading closer to the holidays, so I feel a little removed from it all at this point. I enjoyed the books I chose, and I'm glad I had such a range of books to read. I'll admit right now, though, that my mind is already moving on to the winter books on my list (as I'm currently reading Anna Karenina). In other words, good challenge and good to move forward.

A Review of 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley

To contact us Click HERE
"Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen.  At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein.  Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but: upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness.  Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human?  What responsibilities do we have to each other?  How far can we go in tampering with Nature?  In our age, filled with news of organ donation, genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever."

I had the honor of reading and discussing this over the internet with Ezra!  I'm glad that I did too, because I would have been hopelessly confused for much of the book.  It helps to read this a few times to completely understand and gain meaning.

Dr. Frankenstein is really annoying.  He puts together a body made of human parts, reanimates it, and then runs away from his Creation because he thinks that he (the creation) is absolutely ugly and not worthy of being alive.  What's really disturbing is how long and how far he is willing to run from his problems, refusing to handle them.  The number of lives this "problem" costs is staggering-- far too many.  And those characters who died were relatively good ones too... Justine, Elizabeth, Frankenstein's brother, Henry... it's so sad.  And even after the many deaths of people he loves, Frankenstein refuses to stop running and avoiding the issue at hand.  Grr...

I loved how Frankenstein's creation developed as a character.  He was by far the most impressive, and not just because he is essentially the focal point of the story.  No.  Mary Shelley takes the time to explain (however indirectly) how this creation came to be, from living an aloof lifestyle in the shed of a rather unfortunate family.  There, he learns language and works up the confidence to assert what he wants.  In this respect, the story is very relate-able.  Who hasn't experienced that crippling moment where you know you want something but you don't feel that you're good enough to accomplish it?  He's looking for acceptance.  Who hasn't wanted or gone out searching for that?

Overall, this book is infuriating and devastating at the same time.  If you like science fiction, horror, and classics, this is a book that is definitely worth trying.

I give 'Frankenstein':
Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Dubliners' by James Joyce

To contact us Click HERE
"Perhaps the greatest short story collection in the English language, James Joyce's 'Dubliners' is both a vivid and unflinching portrait of 'dear, dirty Dublin' at the turn of the twentieth century and a moral history of a nation and a people whose 'golden age' has passed.  His richly drawn characters-- at once intensely Irish and utterly universal-- may forever haunt the reader.  In mesmerizing writing that evokes rich imagery, Joyce delves into the heart of the city of his birth, capturing the cadences of Dubliners' speech in remarkably realistic portrayals of their inner lives.  This magnificent collection of fifteen stories reveals Joyce at his most accessible and perhaps his most profound."

This book has led to many an interesting discussion in my Irish and Scottish Literature class.  I really don't care for the short story format, but after reading through Dubliners (and especially after discussing it), I think I can say I'm a James Joyce fan.

This is going to be a mildly difficult review because I can't really touch on any of the characters... we'll see how well I can do!

First of all, Joyce's writing style is very interesting.  He switches between points of view effortlessly through most of the stories, shedding light on different aspects of the various stories and making the reader question what they just read (as in, think critically about his writing, not stop and wonder what the heck this guy is talking about).

Something that is really very interesting is how Joyce focuses on those people who are generally ignored.  A young boy who looks up to a dead priest; a woman who falls in love, but not really; three sisters who will never marry... the downtrodden, the underdogs are what make up these stories.  My theory is that by not having very popular characters like Katniss Everdeen or Harry Potter, we will feel empathy for these characters on a different level.  The characters are a focal point in each story, but they are closer to the average reader's level as far as social status, if not lower down.  You want these characters to succeed, but someone, nothing seems to work out for any of them.

This book is a celebration of Irish culture.  For me, it's very interesting because I haven't been exposed to the Irish culture even in a minor way... except maybe St. Patrick's day, but I'm not sure if that is an event that really counts... but any way, it's nice to get a feel of what Irish culture is like.  I had no idea how important the Catholic faith was for a lot of Ireland.  I didn't realize that (at least in the early nineteen-hundreds) poverty was a huge problem.  Maybe I figured that before, but this book brings this to light and makes it click.

What was really frustrating about each of the stories were the endings.  The stories go along quite nicely: it's set up (usually because the story starts somewhere in the middle; like a dream), the characters are introduced to us, bad things continue to happen, those bad things get worse (usually), but then the story ends.  Often we're left hanging on a bad or disappointing note.  There's very little resolution to any of the stories.  But since it bothers me so much that the stories are unresolved, it must be a good sign that the stories are pretty good.

Overall, 'Dubliners' is a good read if you are looking to enjoy a collection of short stories or are looking to indulge in Irish culture.  I look forward to reading more James Joyce in the future.

I give 'Dubliners':
Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky

To contact us Click HERE
 "The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about what it's like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school.  The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends.  Of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up."

I swear, the description doesn't do this book any justice.  It sounds just like any other YA novel, and to a certain degree, it is, but it's been a while since I've read a story so relate-able as Charlie's story.  A story that is told so eloquently.

Charlie begins to write letters to an unknown recipient starting from the time a few weeks before the first day of his freshman year of high school and ending when his senior friends graduate and move away from home.  I don't know who the recipient is and I'm not sure if it's important if we know in the first place.  I've been wracking my brains since I finished the book, and I can't think of who it might be.  I don't think it would be Bill, because Charlie talks to Bill anyway.  For a while, I thought it might be Bill's girlfriend whom Charlie was writing to, but since she lives with Bill, she might hear about what Bill and Charlie talk about, so I kind of dis-included her in my list of options.  Any way, I don't think that it's that important who Charlie is writing to, it's just important that he is writing to someone.  Even if that someone doesn't really know who he is.

The characters in this story were so great.  They felt human to me, even in a surreal way at times.  When Sam climbs into the back of the truck and stands up in the tunnel.  When Charlie is watching Sam play Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show each month.  I think that's just the way Charlie writes.  His style is kind of dreamy in that the things he says don't always seem real and when they are undoubtedly real (you know, for fiction), the style is wispy and at times a bit off-handed.  It's a little hard to describe.  If you've read this book, perhaps you know what I'm talking about and can help me be a little more articulate about it.

When Charlie talks about Sam, time seems to slow down and I think that's why his writing style is so dreamy at times and like a typical teenager other times.  It just further shows how much he loves her.  And he doesn't even have to say it out loud for us to know.  That's my second and final attempt at being articulate about this.

I thought it was really cool that Charlie had such a cool English teacher who would challenge him by giving him piles of other books and having him write papers on them.  What I find to be even more cool is that fact that his teacher, whom he is told to call 'Bill,' was only planning to be a teacher for a year or two before embarking on the difficult path to becoming a recognized writer or moving onto another profession.  But after the year with Charlie as his student, he decided to remain.  This is slightly aggravating and mostly awe-inspiring.  It is aggravating because why would you become a teacher if you only mean for it to be a short-term plan?  I mean, what's the point?  I feel like it would be harder to enjoy your time because you'd have a sort of count down in your head when things are going wrong.  Likewise, you'd be counting down when things are going well and then you'd be sad that your time is so limited.  Teaching is such a wonderful (and challenging) profession and to know that mere students (kind of the lifeblood of the profession... just kind of) can change the mind of someone who would initially rather do something else.  That's probably not what I was "supposed" to get out of this book, but that's one of the things I've taken with me.

I equally liked and hated some of the underlying issues in this book.  When I say 'liked,' I don't mean enjoyed.  I mean that I'm glad that they're in the book because it sheds light on such serious subjects like rape, depression, supreme grief, etc.  Chbosky doesn't down-play the things that are happening, but he doesn't turn the book into a public service announcement and have the book center around those things, which would be very easy to do.

Overall, I really, really liked this book.  This is something that is going to be on my shelf for a long, long time. It is not trivial and it takes life with all of its imperfections and highs and embraces each and every aspect of it.

I can't wait to see the movie now.  I've heard that Chbosky also wrote the screenplay.

I give 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower':
Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

P.S. I have several reviews brewing at the moment.  I haven't really had a lot of time to sit down and write these, so I'm glad I at least have this one to give you today.  Hopefully I'll get a lot of reading done over Thanksgiving Break!

A Review of 'Open Adoption, Open Heart: An Adoptive Father's Inspiring Journey' by Russell Elkins (Blog Tour)

To contact us Click HERE

I am participating in the Open Adoption, Open Heart Blog Tour today!  This tour is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and it is going on through 20 December.  You can CLICK HERE to go to the main Blog Tour page and get links to the websites of everyone participating!

Any way, here's my review and I hope you enjoy!

"The world of adoption has changed dramatically over the past twenty years.  No longer do biological parents have to say goodbye to their child forever.  they now have more options when deciding the type of adoption to pursue, such as open adoption.  Open adoption creates the opportunity for a special relationship between biological parents, the adoptive parents, and the child.

'Open Adoption, Open Heart' is an inspiring and true story, which takes the reader deeper into the feelings and emotions experienced by adoptive parents.  As you read this incredible story, you will experience the joys, difficulties, and amazing victories facing adoptive couples.  Russell and his wife, Jammie, invite you to share in their inspiring and heartwarming journey."



Purchase
Amazon * Author's Website Amazon Kindle * Barnes & Noble


I was excited when I was asked to read this!  This is the first time I've been asked to read a book before it was released (is this considered an ARC even if I read it in eBook format?).

'Open Adoption, Open Heart' is a great read if you or someone you know is considering adoption.  I think most readers will be familiar with a closed adoption, but there are a number of misconceptions about Open Adoption.  This is a topic I had very little knowledge about, so reading this was a learning experience.  Open Adoption is such a unique experience.  It was really cool to read about how open this particular couple was with the birth mother of their child.  I kind of expected it to be really awkward between this couple and this fifteen-year-old girl, but that didn't seem to be the case at all.  Open adoption is all about communication and I found that to be such a cool relationship to have.

I am very interested in knowing more about Brianna, the birth mother.  What was going through her head?  What was her process?  We know what she ended up doing, but what made her make those decisions?  One thing that I've found that makes a good companion to this book is the author and his wife's YOUTUBE CHANNEL because you get that extra perspective.  I don't think either of the birth moms have made an appearance on this channel, but you can at least hear Jammie's point of view.  The family also has a BLOG that includes many of these videos and some extras.

There was one 'plot-line' that just wasn't tied up for me by the end of the book.  What happened to the first birth mom?  I mean, the first birth mom that approached them before Brianna?  I read that Russel and Jammie were planning to adopt both children, but did that actually happen?  I see two adopted babies (they say they are both adopted) in their videos, but I don't know if the youngest is the other baby mentioned in the book or if she came a bit later.  I'm left wondering what happened.

Overall, this was a very informative and amazing story, but it was lacking in a few key areas.

I give 'Open Adoption, Open Heart':
Thanks for Reading and enjoy the rest of the tour!

--Jude


LinksWebsite * Facebook


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tough Decisions

To contact us Click HERE
Hello there!

Do you remember me?  I definitely haven't been much of a presence on this blog, but trust me, I still receive your comments and I'm still lurking in the shadows.

Life has been incredibly busy here.  I have finals on the 19th and 20th of December, I've been struggling to make my Christmas plans work (it's been complicated because of my job), and I've kind of been having a bit of a mental break-down because of all of these things happening at once.  I have called my boyfriend in tears as well as my own mother.  I almost cried in front of my boss due to frustration.  I have woken up in the middle of the night after a few hours of restless dreaming and I've just wanted to cry.

I don't think I've ever felt this way or come this close to an actual break-down.

Perhaps it's poor timing, perhaps it's a lack of communication from a variety of parties, perhaps it's my own inability to set limits for myself.

With the New Year and a new semester coming up, I think it's time to at least consider a change.  It's definitely a pre-meditated change, a week or two in the making, but I think it's a step that I must make in order to keep my sanity and do my very best in school, because school is my priority at this point in my life.

I love having a job and the place where I work is, for the most part, pretty great.  There are a few problems that I have with it, but it's very much related to being a full-time undergraduate student.  I won't go into detail about that here though.  Besides these problems, I'm having trouble balancing everything.  I have been procrastinating more than I usually do (doing things the day of as opposed to a night or two before the due-date) and because of this, I feel like I'm not doing as well of a job as I know that I am capable of doing.

These things are the most critical parts of my decision, but then I thought of this: I am also missing out on many, many experiences in college.  I have a friend that has asked me on several occasions if I would go swing dancing with her, but I've always had to say no because I work on the days this usually takes place.  I want to be able to say "Yes!!" for once.  Not only this, but I don't think I've been able to foster my friendships very well.  I have met so many wonderful people, but I haven't been able to make memories with them or get to know them better because I'm never around.

So I have to make some tough decisions.  I think that no matter what my decision ultimately is that I can make it work and it will be very beneficial to me.  I need to learn to accept that I cannot make everyone happy at the same time and I need to learn what my limits are.  I need to learn more about sacrifice and compromise.  I need to learn how to be more assertive (I've been very bad at that and that's a big reason why I've gotten myself into this predicament).

If you'd like to share, what are some difficult decisions that you've had to make?  How did you come to a conclusion for your problem?  How did you go about acting on this decision?  I could use all the help I can get...

Thank you for reading!  I will try to post more reviews soon.  After finals are over, I will have a lot more time to just sit and read.

--Jude

Sunday Sundries: Dear Blog, I miss you

To contact us Click HERE
We'll talk about how I miss my blog in a minute. But first, let's do that thing where I tell you about my week and you, in all likelihood, don't care all that much. But anyway!

I was totally ill on Monday and Tuesday so I was off work coughing and being miserable (and blogging! Totally my only two posts of the week were on those days) and I definitely shouldn't have gone in on Wednesday but I did because I'm a brave little soldier. And also it meant they'd know I wasn't faking when I was off on Monday and Tuesday because apparently that's a thing I think about! On Monday and Tuesday, though, in spite of a massive cold, I totally watched ALL of season 3 of The Hills and sewed like 2 and a half cushions, and by the end of it I wanted to MURDER everyone in The Hills. Which wasn't really their fault but mine for watching SO MUCH SO FAST (I think I gave myself cabin fever...) but also... They're SO fucking annoying. I'm sort of in the middle of writing this post about how much Sex and the City pisses me off when I watch it now, but I think the same is true, if not true-er of The Hills.

Although once they get Season 4 on Netflix, I'm totally there. I have issues.

So anyway, once I was back at work that's basically what I did, along with more sewing in the evenings, and also somewhere in there I managed to finish Birdsong which is ridiculous and amazing and means that I only need to read one more book (Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela) to be DONE with all my challenges, which, as you may be able to tell, excites me! I feel the freedom from the shackles of challenges beckoning me! (Can you tell I'm not signing up for any this year? I CAN'T DO IT!) Anyway... And then on Friday night I couldn't get to sleep at allll and for no reason and it was really annoying, so this weekend has been kind of a washout because I've been SO TIRED at all times. Even now. And I have another tree to decorate (I've already done one today, and I'm kind of like... didn't this feel less like work when I was a kid?!)

Now.

So, I miss my blog. And by that, I really do mean my blog and not my blogging peoples for once, because, you know, twitter. And I think it would be really easy to blame work for not blogging that much, but you know what? My entire mornings are free and I pretty regularly waste them doing not much. And yeah, I've got less time to read now, but I've got two reviews lined up to write, and I just... Haven't. And it makes me sad because my blog used to be kind of like my job-where-no-one-paid-me-but-it-was-the-funnest-ever-job, and now it's barely on my radar. Sad times.

The thing is, I know it's just a rough patch of having too much to do (which, obviously, I'm not at all used to) in that November free time was committed to NaNoWriMo, mainly (which was totally worth it, actually) and now I've committed myself to making these bloody cushions that I started last year and bought all the stuff for, and then... Never finished. And I'm totally moaning about it but I'm going to feel GREAT when they're all done (and even better when people open them) but at the moment I'm resenting the CRAP out of them for taking my tiiiime away. Also other christmas things grr grr moan. All of this just smacks of first world problems, I realise, but at least I realise it right? And if I realise it I get to complain?

Basically, I just have too many hobbies and not enough time/energy to do them all. It's lame.

But anyway, since I have identified that I want to blog more/some, I'm going to commit more/some time to it. I mean, nothing like set out in some kind of horrid timetable or anything, but I'm going to make sure I do it because I think it's good for me, and I definitely feel more settled when I'm blogging things. I'm halfway through a review of Crime and Punishment (I don't even know how I properly feel about it, so that's going to be fun to read!) and I got kind of excited thinking about writing about Birdsong because I have a lot of issues with it, but also it was sort of ok, and ALSO I want to mock all the quotes on the back a bit? So these are the things you have to look forward to!

Just don't ask how The Blind Assassin readalong is going, because I haven't read any of it and Elf is on tonight. I have priorities, people.

So yes. These are my feelings and this is what I'm going to do about them. I'm glad we're all clear on that. This week I'm going to try and wrap some Christmas presents to get them under the tree and OUT OF MY FACE, and I have a work Christmas meal thing on Friday that should be fun. Tomorrow I have to get glared at at the Post Office because I have SO many cards to send to the US (and Canada. Sorry for the brackets, Canada.) and they will surely take all my money from me like they always do. Those bastards. But anyway. Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! (And blogging. Never forget the blogging.)

Devouring Books: Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

To contact us Click HERE

I think I was predisposed to dislike Birdsong. I mean, it's kind of the book on my TBR Challenge list that I've been looking at all year and going 'not Birdsong', and frankly, I probably would have gotten rid of it when I got rid of loads of other books had it not been on that list. Interestingly, I'm not like 'Oh MAN, I HATE that challenge for making me read this', but also I'm not like 'This is the greatest book I've ever read and everyone MUST read it.' I'm just... Fine with having read it, and fine with never reading it again.

I mean... It's ostensibly a WWI book, which you guys know I'm never going to love, and then there's the fact that I kind of think of Faulks as a pervy old man when he writes a sex scene, and there was also this whole bit set in 'the future' where something from the past was tied up, and Faulks showed that he's really not good at writing a modern (ok, 1978, but that's modern, right?!) female character. I mean, honestly, I was a little embarrassed for him in these chapters, I can't lie. PLUS, he's really good at using his characters as a mouthpiece, which isn't something I normally even pick up on but it was so blatant in Birdsong that I was a little bit astonished, and like 'Oh really? He'd say that, would he? NO HE WOULDN'T, THAT'S A THOUGHT FROM YOU!"

And then there was all the shouting in my brain every time the sentence 'he could hear the birds singing' or any variation on that was used. And trust me, it was used A LOT. There was much eye-rolling and sighing. Because firstly, how much do birds actually sing when it's not, you know, morning; and secondly, how much do you notice it when they do, and thirdly I KNOW YOUR FUCKING BOOK IS CALLED BIRDSONG, STOP THROWING IT IN MY FACE ALL THE TIME.

But apart from that, it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting. But it's still not as amazing as these people seem to think it was:

"Ambitious, outrageous, poignant, sleep-disturbing, Birdsong is not a perfect novel- just a great one." SIMON SCHAMA, New Yorker
Well, at least he said it isn't perfect. As for all the other stuff... Meh. And I really don't know where he got outrageous from. Must have run out of adjectives.

"An amazing book- among the most stirringly erotic I have read for years... I have read it and re-read it and can think of no novel for many, many years that has so moved me or stimulated in me so much reflection on the human spirit." QUENTIN CREWE, Daily Mail
We have to talk about this erotic thing. The sex scenes in this book made me cringe SO much (do we think "the pink swell of divided flesh" is a good way to talk about that area? Or that "Isabelle settled herself, luxuriously, on the feeling of impalement" is totally hot? I really hope not) that I can only imagine he found the war bits erotic which, considering he writes for the Daily Mail wouldn't surprise me.

"This book is so powerful that as I finished it I turned to the front to start again." ANDREW JAMES, Sunday Express
This book was so non-powerful that as I finished it, I put it in the bag for the charity shop. Sorry, Faulks.

"One of the finest novels of the last 40 years." BRIAN MASTERS, Mail on Sunday
Nope. Since 1953? I'm sure there are many finer books. At least I hope so...

"This is literature at its very best: a book with the power to reveal the unimagined, so that one's life is set in a changed context. I urge you to read it." NIGEL WATTS, Time Out
I understand what Nigel is saying, but it seems to me like he basically doesn't live in the same world as me- I feel like every November we're asked to relive the First World War, and we do, and it's not nice, and I don't think Faulks' novel has made it any clearer to me because hey- he wasn't there either. Plus the end is really non-believable, although if something similar to it did actually happen, then my little heart would be warmed by it VERY much.

I don't know how fair it is responding to the criticism that they obviously put on the book because it was nice, but there is no blurb! All there is to go by are these quotes, and I don't think they're an accurate reflection of Birdsong at all. Especially the erotic thing, because no.

Birdsong might be a very good book written about the First World War, but that was never going to be my favourite thing. It was ok but not great, it was not stirringly erotic, and Faulks doesn't care for his female characters much, or at least not enough to give them proper personalities and things. And I wish for "I KNOW YOUR FUCKING BOOK IS CALLED BIRDSONG, STOP THROWING IT IN MY FACE ALL THE TIME." to be used on the blurb of the next edition of this, just as a warning to people like me. Because that really was bloody annoying.

Sex and the City Fatigue

To contact us Click HERE
Before I write about my Sex and the City fatigue, you have to understand what a big deal (no pun intended. Unlike EVERY line in that fucking second movie) it used to be for me. For every situation in life, I believed, there was a line or a situation from either Sex and the City or Friends that was appropriate, and I used to know the order of every episode, from every season. I liked it a lot, you could say, and you could also probably say it was my favourite and not be far from the truth. I've probably watched it the whole way through about six or seven times, and never tired of it.

So, when I got a part time job and found myself with the majority of my mornings free (both a blessing and a curse; blessing: no getting up early, curse: HOW DO YOU USE UP MORNING TIME EFFECTIVELY?) I thought hey, you know what'd be nice? Watching a couple of episodes of Sex and the City a day, either to wake me up, or to eat lunch in front of, whatever strikes my fancy. I do this now, as I think everyone does: I just go through boxsets instead of mixing up my viewing, and it just so happens that I was between TV series when I got all employed and stuff, hence, Sex and the City time.

But. I've had to stop. And it's not just because I signed up to Netflix again and, hello, they have Modern Family on there, and it's not just because the movies have changed how I feel about the TV series SO much (which they have), but it's because... You know when you're obsessed with something when you're young and then you go back to it and it's really disappointing and you're somehow disappointed with yourself for liking it? It's a bit like that, only I think it's just that I've changed SO much since even the last time I watched it the whole way through that maybe it's just not relevant to me anymore.

Or maybe it just sucks.

These women literally talk about nothing but men. It's something that Miranda (who is clearly the best character, at all times, ever. And right now she's the only one I can stand) brings up in one episode that I would have been able to tell you about once but now can't so much, and the fact that she only complains about it once shows some remarkable patience on her part, considering that it's all they ever talk about. I don't know why it didn't annoy me before, but apparently it does now. It really does.

Charlotte is incredibly irritating with her whole 'I just want to get married' shit, because hello girl? You've got this awesome job, you live in NEW YORK CITY and you are rich as fuck. Get some hobbies! Do things with your life instead of just waiting around for some guy to take care of you! I mean, I'm not saying that marriage is bad or that you know, people shouldn't want boyfriends, BUT I feel like one shouldn't just wait around for these things to happen, or worse try and FORCE them to (*ahem* Trey *ahem*) but just live their lives and then if they meet a nice dude they want to spend time with then GREAT but if not then their life will have still been worth it, you know?

Samantha's just kind of this ridiculous caricature, which is fine because it means it's difficult to get really annoyed with her, but on the other hand... Nice writing, people. I know this is something that does get better as the series progresses (and, in fact, I've always liked the later seasons better than the earlier ones, so I might just be being a little unfair here, but I can rant, yes? It's the internet, of course I can!) but it's definitely a major annoying factor in stopping me from watching more, because I just CAN'T.

And then there's Carrie. Oh Carrie, Carrie, Carrie. I used to think you were so cool, with your writing and your living exactly how you wanted, but it turns out? You're just a fucking idiot. I totally used to be on her side with the whole Big thing, but the more I age, the more I'm just like... TELL HIM HOW YOU FEEL AND NOT YOUR FRIENDS! And also STOP DOING THAT YOU ARE ACTING LIKE A CHILD! And WELL I WOULDN'T WANT TO FUCKING MARRY YOU EITHER! And I think it's a shame because her character is clearly created so that women can relate to her and feel good about the relationships they left that made them feel like shit, and that's all well and good, but... If their relationships were anything like Carrie's? And if they acted like her at all? Then they're fucking idiots too.

The main problem though, isn't that they're terrible characters, it's that their lives are empty and meaningless and shallow. And I realise this makes me sound like a dick, so allow me to elaborate. Not only do they only talk about men, they genuinely don't talk about anything that has any interest for me at all. I feel like I am a bit spoilt in that I can just spout things out about books and people respond to them, because the internet is the greatest thing ever, but it's like... There is one conversation about politics, ever, in SATC, and it's about the comparative hotness of various politicians. In spite of being a writer, Carrie basically never reads, unless the person she is dating happens to be a writer and then she's all over it. It's like their entire lives, all their actions have to have something to do with a man in some way, and it completely sucks to watch. Or at least it does to me, now.

Sex and the City, I don't know if it's you or if it's me, but I think we have to break up for a while. I'm sure you'll understand- you still have a tiny slot left in my heart, but I just don't think you're The One. I think I'm just going to go and watch Girls for a bit, because Lena Dunham? She really just gets me more, you know?

Devouring Books: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

To contact us Click HERE
"In spite of his recent momentary wish for contact, of whatever kind, with other people, no sooner was a word actually spoken to him than he experienced the old unpleasant feeling of exasperated dislike for any person who violated, or even seemed desirous of disturbing, his privacy."
I have this long-standing theory that you can tell whether you like John Lennon or Paul McCartney better as a songwriter by whether you prefer Nowhere Man or Fool on the Hill. They're sort of the same song, content-wise, but they sound totally different. In terms of Russian Literature, I'd imagine that you can read Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment which are completely different but both, you know, Russian, and figure out if you're a Tolstoy or Dostoevsky person. For your information, I'm a Lennon and Tolstoy girl, but this doesn't really mean I didn't like Crime and Punishment.

So all of that was kind of a bit pointless, then. Ahem.

I think I had all these ideas about Crime and Punishment before I read Crime and Punishment, as one is wont to do with Works of Great Literature, and I believe that about 90% of them were wrong. I didn't exactly expect that the vast majority of the book was going to happen solely in Raskolnikov's mind, in a narrative style that seemed way way way ahead of its time, and I didn't know how... Uncomfortable it would be being in there for long stretches of time. Seriously- the dude has a lot of issues, most of which could probably be solved with regular meals and a purpose to his life, and I feel like he sees himself both as nothing AND everything, which seems like a very perplexing state to be in.

And if this sounds bad, then I think I'm explaining it wrong, because it's sort of... different to anything I've read before, and it feels like a lot of authors have tried to imitate it but haven't really come close to anything like the sensation of being inside Raskolnikov's head. And it's not just that- there are moments where things are getting so intense and you're sort of freaking out inside your head and then something funny happens and it's so unexpected and jarring that you laugh out loud and it is genuinely funny. And then there were just moments where I completely and utterly agreed with this Russian dude who's been dead for 30 years, and I realised that I was reading one of those novels that really do relate to the human condition, not just at one specific point in time, but for all times.

"I know you don't believe this- but don't philosophise too subtly; plunge straight into life, without deliberation; don't be uneasy- it will carry you straight to shore and land you on your feet."

The thing is, even though I say I prefer Anna Karenina (although, really, they're not at all comparable and it's really unfair to do so just because they're both Russian) I feel like Crime and Punishment is a book that I might like more and more as the years go by. As I said, there's quite a lot of anticipation upon reading a classic that it seems like you've always known existed, and so that's in the back of your mind the first time you read it, and this post  has definitely made me think that yeah- when I go back to it, I really think I am going to get a lot more from it. Even more than I have already, which isn't nothing. And I think about Anna Karenina and wonder if I can really say the same about it, and I'm not so sure.

So basically what I'm saying is, ask me in about 20 years which out of the two I prefer, and maybe things will have changed.

I know you're all dying to read Crime and Punishment now, so here's a teeny little tip- since this is Russian literature we're talking about, each character has about 5 different names, so even though you think there are about 50 characters in this, really there are about 10. If that. Alarmingly, whilst there were SO many characters in Anna Karenina, I managed to keep them straight a lot more than the characters in Crime and Punishment, probably because Tolstoy wasn't a prick and didn't call basically his two main characters Raskolnikov and Razumikhin, which may not seem that similar but it totally is when you're reading at a certain pace and have to stop to figure out which one he's talking about. That prick.

But don't let that put you off, because really? I totally understand why this is a classic, I kind of firmly believe that everyone should read it, and it's done nothing to dampen my love of Russian literature. Nice work Dostoevsky. You prick.

Sunday Sundries: The Best Ever Week of Post

To contact us Click HERE
Well happy Sunday folks! As is my usual battle cry, I'm illllll again, only this time I have no voice and I haven't had much sleep this weekend, so... just be glad you're only reading this from afar and not in the same room as me, where I am, in fact, intermittently moaning and also bitching. I actually feel so ill now that I almost want to go back and amend all the other times I've said I'm ill on here and just be like 'oh HELL no I wasn't' because EURGH OMG. And yet, still I am blogging, and yesterday I made a birthday cake of awesomeness that was all fine but still had me sitting on the stairs crying and eating doritos because I didn't feel well.

Don't ask me to explain that, because I don't know either.

Still, life has been happening, and please allow me to spotlight Friday, which saw the dual excitements of my cousin's little boy Jacob's third birthday (THIRD?! You probably know what this is like if you have kids/are around them ever, but oh my gosh I feel so old! And it's like it's gone SO quickly, but also I can't really remember a time when he wasn't around either? It's pretty weird and nice all at the same time) and my work Christmas dinner thing, at which I sat around coughing and croaking out words and drinking water and diet coke. Because I know how to have a good time. Anyway, so because of the work things, I only got to see Jacob for about an hour on his actual birthday, so today we're having a little family lunchy thing, hence the cake. I will be prostrate in a bean bag, but that's beside the point.

Oh, and I also got another haircut this week, and here's what that looks like, with some added pants in the background, for artiness:
I should probably add that it doesn't look anything like this now, because apart from the cake making I basically just laid down yesterday as an activity, but yeah! It looked nice on Thursday!

Anyway, shall we talk about my post? Before I actually do, I just want to add that ALSO, along with all this post, I found basically a brand new copy of The Sisters Brothers in a charity shop this week, so let this be full disclosure of the number of new books in my house. And more evidence of why my mum hates me.

Anyway. So last Saturday I got my secret santa book thingy (I didn't do the Broke and Bookish one, but I can't remember which one I actually did, so... I can't link you to that shit!) and it was exciting and lovely and I am happy:
AND LOOKIT THE BOOKMARK! Perfectness. Also I kept forgetting to thank the person who sent it to me, and now I've lost the bit of paper that says who it was, and basically I should probably be put down, but if you're reading this then THANK YOU and also I will find the paper and thank you properly! Probably. Hopefully.

Anyway. And then there was no post until Tuesday, and Tuesday. Was. Epic. You see, Penguin UK had this 50% of sale thing the previous Friday, and I got really really excited and sort of ordered like, ahem, 7 books, and on Tuesday THEY CAME!

Aren't they just so beautiful?! I actually would have gone crazier, but I couldn't remember which books I had asked for for Christmas, so... Yeah. Never mind. Also I've just realised that you can't really see what they are, so let me clear that up for you! From left to right: Oliver Twist, Shakespeare's Sonnets, Les Miserables, The Portrait of a Lady, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The House of Mirth, and What Maisie Knew. Which is more Henry James than I would have thought I needed, but it turns out that I do! So there. And THEN on that exact same day I also got a card exchange card thing, and ALSO the lovely Ellie sent me some books! That I wanted! Because she's awesome like that!
Lookit! Penguin English Library and everything! And I totally didn't expect it or anything so it was awesome! (I hope you've been keeping count, because that makes 9 books in one day. In about 5 minutes, actually. It was pretty awesome.)

And then the post quieted down until Friday when everything was AMAZING again:
LOOK AT ALL THE STUFF! Ok, so the magnificent Jenn was the kind benefactor of the TWIZZLERS (which are the absolute greatest. Just so you know.) and also the doggy card that's a little bit hidden, and then the books I bought from Bex who, by the way, is selling books for charity so you might want to get on that and she added the card with the little houses on, and then the other card is another blogger exchange one which, by the way, is the best christmas blogging thing in my humble opinion. OH and right at the back I also got a Lovefilm DVD on Friday (which, you know, I pay for, but still) which I'm way excited about because it's Manic which is a film that I think basically no one has seen, but which stars both JGL and Zooey Deschanel. So you know it has to be good.

Aaaaand, I'm done bragging about my post. But still, I know I say this all the time, but I've been doing this whole blogging thing for 2 years now and I didn't really expect to get anything out of it other than a writing outlet, and as well as that, I got friends, and, more importantly, stuff. (I kid, I kid! But, TWIZZLERS!) So that's pretty special and yay blogging and yay Christmas and YAY post!

I have a lot more energy in this post than I have in real life. I just want you to know that.

A Whole Lotta Books to Unpack

To contact us Click HERE
Howdy! And Happy New Year!

Just thought I'd send a quick hello since I finally got my books unpacked. I got two new bookshelves last night so I have three matching in total. I feel like such a grown up! Ha! One more is coming today but I have to share that one with Scott. Boo! I wish I could try to talk him into getting rid of some of his books, namely the outdated business textbooks, but I know I don't have room to talk.

In case you're wondering how many boxes it takes to pack up approximately 700 books, well here's a look. (those don't include the boxes with Scott's books as he hasn't unpacked his yet).


Oph! Scott just informed me that he found another medium box with books. Sigh--add one more to the pyramid in the picture!



Side note--I started getting so much spam during my absence that I'm now on full moderation. Sucks since I don't get on the computer very much lately, but I figured that was better than comments for escort services or random Chinese symbols popping up. Maybe one day I'll be able to take it off again. ____________________________________ Come visit me at my new blog: Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity