Books
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Thinking about books…
I just finished this book….and I have to say, it was pretty amazing. I am not a HUGE fan of the short story, though of course there are those certain authors that can make me eat those words. Alice Munro, for one, can suck you in and make you feel like you’ve just finished a novel in just a few pages. Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles sucked me in and drew me from one weird world to another in a short period of time. But overall, I kind of like the continuation of a full length novel. The feeling as I’m putting the book down, and the characters will still be…
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Movie Update
We watched “To Kill a Mockingbird” the other night…it was pretty true to the book, very good, very sad. Too bad they took out the part about Scout and Dill being ‘engaged’…I always thought that was sweet and funny, but they only had 2 hours, so I guess it was best to stick to the main points as much as possible. Also no sight of the rich white man with the black family. Missed him too. I do understand, however, the difficulty involved with taking a book and all of the nuances involved in that medium, and putting it into a coherant narative for people to view and understand on…
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Reading Lists…
I had a fabulous weekend, but for some reason, not so much in the mood for talking about it today. Maybe tomorrow. So, what else is on this mind o’ mine? I kind of wish I had saved the ‘Almighty Cleanse’ bit or the very cool lunchbox link for today, because I don’t have much. Oh well. I didn’t, and now it’s too late. Well, I was just thinking of going to the library to pick up this book, which is on hold for me, and then I thought I would also pick up Jane-Emily, which was suggested by L on her blog. And that got me to thinking of…
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Go Ask Alice?
I was talking to my niece recently, who is just finishing up her freshman year of High School. She was reading “Go Ask Alice“. Did any of you read these fake annonymous books back in the day? Remember the horror with which you followed her decent from a ‘good girl’ to a ‘druggie’, remember how quickly it seemed to all go wrong? I never read “My Name is Davy, and I’m an Alcoholic“, but I’m assuming it’s pretty similar in that way, as was the anorexia horror, “Goodbye, Paper Doll“. What is it about teenagers that makes them so fascinated with reading about others who are dealing with tragedy? Books…
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Why I Should Not Be Allowed To Work From Home
Because I was sitting here, peacefully trying to figure out how to write up specs for EFT transfers for U.S. Savings Bonds via our Software Interface Payroll Software, and a knock came on the door….and this book was sitting there, smiling up at me, wanting me to play. Really, I don’t even UNDERSTAND the issues behind the specs I’m supposed to be writing, so how am I supposed to be concentrating on that when Clinton and Stacy are sitting there, trying to show me how to look my best? Really, people, come on. I’m only human.
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Post 200? I think so…
OK, another Meme. Got this one from Wendy. I’ve gotta cut back on these things, and I swear I will. I’ll also stop drinking wine on school nights, staying up too late reading, watching crap TV, and letting the clothes-to-be-ironed pile up to the rafters. Yeah, right. The rules are: List three CDs, books, movies, and people you would take if you were stranded on a deserted island. For the people, you cannot choose your spouse or relatives. CD’s: Californication, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Way too much fun. The White Album, by the Beatles. Wendy chose this one, too, so we’d be OK if for some reason we…
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I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
I’m at the point in my book where they are in the trial, and the woman has taken the stand against her supposed attacker…and as I was drifting off to sleep last night, the thought occurred to me…I’ll bet he’s innocent…I’ll bet they’re going to find him innocent…and he’ll get strung up just the same. Damn it. I may be wrong, and I hope I am, but the whole thing about killing a mockingbird being a sin, because they’re innocent? I think I just got it. Don’t tell me if I’m right or wrong. And I gotta say, this book is WAY more interesting than American Idol. 😉 Best quote…
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Violence Begins at Home…
I was walking the dog yesterday, listening to my beloved iPod, and this week’s (last week’s, really) This American Life is about crime, and the allure of it. There are several segments in each episode of TAL. The first was Julia Sweeney (Pat, from Saturday Night Live), talking about how she fleeced an old employer for 10K – 15K way back in her youth. Interesting. Perhaps even cute, because, you know, she’s Pat. Maybe we should all write about the crimes WE’VE committed, and that might be pretty interesting…make sure the statute of limitations is past, however. Anyway, the second segment was about a bank robber, Joe Loya, who enjoyed…
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Time to Finish High School…
I think it may be time for me to finish my High School reading for English class. Maybe then I’ll stop having those stupid dreams where I have to take a test for a class, and I haven’t been going and can’t really fake it because it’s physics, and I’ve never had physics or anything. I sort of decided that it was time for me to start reading some American Classics a few years ago. Ted’s eldest niece is in college, and she was reading The Grapes of Wrath. I realized that I had never read that, and it seemed kind of dumb for me to have missed out on…
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The place where you’re from…
I’m reading a short story called “Post and Beam“, by Alice Munro. The main character has moved away from her small town and her small town family, and is now living in the city. Her cousin hops on a bus and travels across Canada to come for a visit. One of the themes of the story is how we leave part of who we are at home when we leave. So here is Polly, the country cousin, who has come to visit Lorna, and is a bit put off by Lorna’s ‘post and beam’ house (reminds me of the Eichler homes that are popular around here…the picture above is of…
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Misc Thoughts…
I don’t have a central theme today…just thought I would pass on some things I have heard about, that may be of interest. 1. I was listening to the ever-beloved iPod this morning, to a podcast of To the Best of Our Knowledge, and one thing they mentioned in passing was these genetically modified flowers that have been developed in Denmark. Not so hot on the genetically modified agriculture, but these are good in a way that few things in this world are good. What do they do? You take the seeds to a country that has been at war, like, say, Afghanistan or Iraq, and you plant them in…
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Thoughts on Reading…
I’ve seen this posted a few places, most notably here and here. You fill in the blank, either on your blog or in the comments section. Everybody should read _____________________. So, here’s my list of things everybody should read: 1. This Post, from Angry Black Bitch 2. Chrysanthemum 3. The Lorax 4. The 100 Dresses 5. The Red Tent 6. The Unbearable Lightness of Being 7. Bel Canto 8. A Wrinkle in Time 9. The Handmaids Tale 10. The Mists of Avalon 11. The Forgotten Door 12. The Grapes of Wrath 13. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter 14. Invisible Man
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Why I’m Moving to Vancouver….
I was walking the other day, listening to a podcast on my beloved iPod. The podcast was of an NPR show, To the Best of our Knowledge, and it was about Canada. One of the segments was with a sociologist, Michael Adams, who wrote this book. It’s all about how the values of the United States are not the same as the values of Canada, and how that is becomming more and more the case as time goes by. For example: In the mid-1950’s, 60% of Canadians told pollsters they went to church each Sunday: the proportion in the U.S. was only 50%. Today, only 22% of Canadians claim weekly…
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This Book Is Stressing Me Out
I decided to read The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, by Roddy Doyle, because Maya has a couple of his children’s books, and they are really clever and well written and smart. So I thought I would try one of his novels for adults. This book is pretty amazing, especially since it’s written by a man. That sounds like a pretty sweeping statement, I know, but he really seems to GET a lot of the nuances of being a woman, especially about the pressures put on us by men regarding sexuality and so on. I mentioned some of this in an earlier post. Well, I am now at the part…
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Looking for an Interesting Read? Or Listen?
I was walking the dog this morning, in the dark, waiting for her to poop, (carrying my bag, and yes, I cleaned it up after), and listening to my beautiful little iPod Nano. I love listening to music, but even more, I like listening to podcasts. So I was listening to an NPR show that I downloaded from Audible.com, To the Best Of Our Knowledge. This show was called Fact or Fiction, and the first guest was a woman named Christine Wicker, who has gone out and interviewed people about their beliefs in magic. People who actually think they are vampires, werewolves, whatever. It was pretty interesting. So, if you’re…