January: all the things!

Hello and Happy New Year! 

I know I'm quite behind on this but, dear blog-reader, please don't feel like it's you.  In the throes of thesising, there are a lot of things I'm behind on, like folding my laundry and taking down Christmas decorations.  But while its still January, I feel I can say "Happy New Year."



...Annnd share my reading list from 2015 :) 

1. The Allegory of the Cave - Plato* (nf)
2. The Evolution of the Language of Cinema - Andre Bazin (nf)
3. Golden Son - Pierce Brown  [Also a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this fabulous author!]
4. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce
5. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema - Laura Mulvey (nf)
6. Passing - Nella Larsen
7. Nightwood - Djuna Barnes
8. Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf*
9. A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
10. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
11. Moments of Being - Virginia Woolf (nf)
12. Falling Upward - Richard Rohr (nf)
13. Faerie Queene: Book I - Edmund Spencer*
14. Amoretti - Edmund Spencer
15. Faerie Queene: Book III - Edmund Spencer
16. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (a)
17. One More Thing - B.J. Novak (a)
18. The Slow Regard of Silent Things - Patrick Rothfuss (a)
19. Landline - Rainbow Rowell (a)
20. First Meetings - Orson Scott Card (a)
21. Everyday - David Levithan (a)
22. Shadow of the Giant - Orson Scott Card (a)
23. I am Malala - Malala Yousafzai (nf)(a)
24. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell (a)
25. A Theory of Adaptation - Linda Hutcheon (nf)
26. Remediation - Bolter and Grusin (nf)
27. Double Indemnity - James M. Cain
28. The Big Nowhere - James Ellroy
29. Watership Down - Richard Adams (a)
30. Why Not Me - Mindy Kaling (nf)(a)
31. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me - Mindy Kaling (nf)(a)

key:

* re-read

__ - read for school

(nf) - non-fiction

(a) - audiobook 

Overall trends:

// I read fewer books this year--thanks grad school.  What this list does not account for are the pages and pages of dense theoretical and critical essays and book chapters I read for school.  I swear, 20 pages of theory can be far more challenging than a 200 page novel.

// Where did all that non-fiction come from - especially the non-fiction for pleasure reading?!?  Unusual for me, but I read--er, listened to some great memoirs this year, which brings me to... 

// Audiobooks! Before 2015 I would have considered this cheating, but due to certain factors--grad school, again, and working in a file room this summer--I discovered not only how great audiobooks can be, but also the types of books I'm comfortable audiobooking.  I got to hear authors B.J. Novak, Patrick Rothfuss, and Mindy Kaling read their own books and it was a beautiful experience!!  I also discovered that my library system back home works with a great audiobooking app that I utilize for road trips and such :)

Stand-outs: 

• Golden Son - Brown's followup to Red Rising was packed with even more plot twists than the original! Also, the final book in this landmark trilogy comes out in just 12 days, so it's a perfect time to pick up this series!
• One More Thing - This collection of short stories is just fabulous!  Some stories quite lengthy while others are only 3 sentences.  I shared some of my favorite snippets already, but I'd also highly recommend the book's trailer--it is a treat!  Audiobooking this was such a great experience as B.J. Novak enlists a lot of quality voice work--from The Office co-stars Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, and (of course) Mindy Kaling to thespians like Emma Thompson and Carey Mulligan to the quirky talents of Lena Dunham and Jason Schwartzman.  
• Landline - I only grow more impressed with Rainbow Rowell (I'm currently reading my fourth book by her...she's only written 5 so I'm probably gonna run out).  She captures romance so authentically well while also making her stories gritty.  This one was especially good because it was simultaneously about first love and rekindling love. Sooo lovely!
• I am Malala - This is one of those books everyone should read [I'd love to see Emma Watson pick it for her bookclub!].  It is such an incredible story and the news had only covered a small portion of it.  Again, the audiobook was stellar - especially because it ended with the actual audio of her UN speech.
• Why Not Me - Perhaps it's just that I read/listened to this at the perfect time, but this was a really meaningful collection of essays.  Even if you don't pick up the book, you should do yourself the favor of reading the excerpt on confidence here.

So there you have my 2015 in books!!

* * * * *

As I do every year on this date, I also have to commemorate a few other things... 

First, today is the 203rd anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice.  I first read it 12 years ago, but with each passing year it has become more and more valuable to me.  If all goes according to plan, a few months from now I'll be defending a thesis project that wouldn't exist at all if it weren't for this extraordinary, beautiful, quietly subversive novel.

[via]

And lastly... today also marks 7 years of blogging here.  Thank you to anyone who has followed along for even just a smidge of that journey - I appreciate you all very much!

Addendum to yesterday's post...

So I was, in fact, sitting in a cafe reading a novel.  This guy sat down not far from me and asked what I was reading.  I told him; we exchanged banter...as you do.  After a bit, he told me, "You do realize, of course, that you're a quirky girl with short brown hair reading in a coffee shop? Like, you know you are that archetype, right?"

Haha, yes I do.  Thank you for noticing :)

Mini-review: Eleanor & Park

This is a book I read several months ago, but due to a conversation with a colleague I realized I had never reviewed it and that I probably should.  

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Title:  Eleanor & Park

Author:  Rainbow Rowell

Published:  2012

Year I read it:  2014

One sentence summary:  This 1980's, YA, Romance isn't what you'd expect; it's about red-headed, socially awkward, physically and emotionally impoverished Eleanor and half-American, half-Korean, cool-kid Park - two different "outsiders" who discover that true love means becoming "insiders" of something beautiful.

Interesting fact:  Though it won critical acclaim and awards like Amazon's Teen Book of the Year, Amazon's Top Ten Book of the Year, and Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Book of the Year, the novel was censored in some American high schools. NPR addressed this in their pop-culture blog, saying, ""What's worrying about treating Eleanor & Park as a nasty book, or a dirty book, or an immoral book, is that it transforms talking about how to survive ugliness into something that's no different from ugliness itself. It makes the act of telling a story about rising above misery a miserable thing."

Three reasons to read it:

• This book feels like John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska) and Stephen Chbosky (Perks of Being a Wallflower) had a sister and she wrote a high-school romance set in 1980's Nebraska.  I say this because she captures the interiority of adolescence beautifully, aware of the dark, but not overwhelmed by it.  Alternating between Eleanor & Park as narrators, she carefully and graciously uncovers the different ways we suffer pain - be it poverty, racism, abuse, or bullying.  It is a profound book. 
• I read this book in one sitting.  It's that compelling.
• I hadn't read a true Romance for a while - a book about falling in love.  Romance was usually incidental to the fantasy adventure or contemporary novel I was reading.  But Rowell does an incredibly job recounting what it's like to fall in love for the first time.  She takes a few pages just to convey the sensation of what it's like to first hold someone's hand.  It may sound sappy, but it is a breathtaking story of what love is like.

One reason you maybe shouldn't:

• The story does get dark.  There is mature language in an abusive context, which could definitely be a trigger to some.

Great quotes:

Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.

Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.

“I want everyone to meet you. You're my favorite person of all time.” 

I don't like you, Park," she said, sounding for a second like she actually meant it. "I..." - her voice nearly disappeared - "think I live for you."  He closed his eyes and pressed his head back into his pillow.  "I don't think I even breathe when we're not together," she whispered. "Which means, when I see you on Monday morning, it's been like sixty hours since I've taken a breath. That's probably why I'm so crabby, and why I snap at you. All I do when we're apart is think about you, and all I do when we're together is panic. Because every second feels so important. And because I'm so out of control, I can't help myself. I'm not even mine anymore, I'm yours, and what if you decide that you don't want me? How could you want me like I want you?" He was quiet. He wanted everything she'd just said to be the last thing he heard. He wanted to fall asleep with 'I want you' in his ears. 

“Nothing before you counts," he said. "And I can't even imagine an after." 

Ask my Bookshelf

A blogger friend of mine (from England :), Hannah, recently "tagged" me on her blog for this fun little blogging challenge.  Following are 16 questions I had to answer using only book titles.  I may have fudged a bit and used a few poems' titles.  Enjoy! 


1. Are you a man or a woman?  
The Odd Women [Gissing]

2. Describe yourself.
The Hobbit [Tolkien]
 
3. What does life mean to you?  
Six Characters in Search of an Author [Pirandello]

4. How are you doing?
Great Expectations [Dickens]

5. Describe your current home.  
The Little House [Burton]
 
6. Where would you like to travel?
Surprised by Oxford [Weber]
 
7. Describe your best friend.
"Bright Star" [Keats]

8. What is your favourite colour?
The Picture of Dorian Gray [Wilde]

9. What is the weather like now?
Gone with the Wind [Mitchell]

10. What is the best season in your opinion?
A Midsummer Night's Dream [Shakespeare]

11. If your life was a tv series, what would it be called?  
The Metamorphosis [Kafka]

12. What is your (romantic) relationship like?
Much Ado about Nothing [Shakespeare]

13. What are you afraid of?
The Book Thief [Zusak]

14. Aphorism for the day.
You are Special [Lucado]

15. What advice would you like to give?
"Carry On" [Service]

16. How would you prefer to die?  
At the back of the North Wind [MacDonald]


Tag:
Beks :)
 

Things my teenage self never thought I'd say... [Pt. 1]

* "In Frozen, I'm glad Elsa's story doesn't end with her meeting a guy."
Let me explain - this isn't some crazy "women don't need men" things.  I just appreciate that of all the Disney princesses (of marrying age) we've had, this one woman doesn't end up with a guy.  Her story arc is about familial love - and it is beautiful that way!  Romance is wonderful, but relationships are hard work and getting married doesn't just solve all of a girl's problems.  So way to go, Disney, for showing a woman who has a different kind of lesson to learn.
Some people in my life have reminded me that this perspective is a far cry from what I once espoused.  My flatmate and I were recalling (and cringing over) a conversation late in high school where she tried to convince me that getting married was not the only purpose in my life.  Beks, accept this as an apology for vehemently disagreeing with you then.

* "Eminem is breaking my heart."

[This was my brother's response...]

Between Monster & Headlights [Warning: both are explicit. Yes, this is Eminem], he has absolutely wrecked me. I could do a whole separate post on the gold in those lyrics (and I might need to in order to justify these statements), but more than a change in his tone & lyrics, the change has been in me. His music can be very dark - though, lately, more desperate & even repentant. But, facing my own darkness has taught me to appreciate others'. 

* "It's been nearly 2 years since I read something pre-1900."

I know, I've alluded to this before, but I'm still shocked.  I will return.  Hopefully soon.  But there have been so many other treasures to find. 

Q&A with Tom Hiddleston

Last weekend I saw Coriolanus with some ladies, and ever since has been "Tom Hiddleston Appreciation Week."  I know I've mentioned him before, but I've realized some people don't know much about him. Well, let's just say he's a lovely old soul who has still retained a child's playfulness.  And is at the same time devilishly handsome!

Last fall, he did a Twitter Q&A and I loved some of his answers, so here are some quotes, pictures and videos of his for your enjoyment.

[My favorite poem...]

 He recites the beginning in this photo shoot & interview:

[My favorite Disney film as a child...]

He once broke into the "Bare Necessities" impromptu:

 

[Hiddleston reading to his Thor teddy bear]

 

[Hiddleston with Quvenzhane Wallis at the MTV Movie Awards 2013]

[Prince Hal to Henry V - from PBS's The Hollow Crown]

[Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Midnight in Paris]

And remember...

Probably more to come on that, but it's safe to say that I think Hiddleston is pretty fantastic.

Red Rising

Recently I came across this buzzfeed article about up-and-coming NYT best-selling author Pierce Brown.  His def-con-5 nerd level and the description of his dystopian future novel, Red Rising, intrigued me, so I added it to the list.  After a little more research, reading some brief reviews, and discovering we had a mutual friend, I ordered Brown's novel and bumped it up to my next read.  And I'm glad I did.  This, the first book in the "Red Rising Trilogy" was released less than a month ago.  Since then it's maintained a spot on the NYT best-seller's list, won rave reviews, and Universal has bought the film-rights, with a director and producer already attached.  Everything indicates that this is going to be big!

[via]

But let me back up and give my best non-spoilerific summary of Red Rising:

Darrow is a colonist on Mars, born into a color-coded caste-system with Reds - Darrow's people - on the lowest rung and Golds on the very highest.  His community slaves away miles under the surface of Mars, mining materials needed so the Golds can one day terraform their way across the galaxy.  After his wife, Eo, convinces him that freedom is worth any cost, Darrow joins a liberation movement.  But in order to fight for that freedom, he must transform himself into a Gold, attend their prestigious "Institute," and do whatever it takes to infiltrate the highest Gold position possible.

In this world, Brown creates an intense, fast-paced story that examines what freedom means and what it costs. The plot, though tricky at times, is carefully woven and moves incredibly quick.  This includes inciting action(s) extremely early - lots of "They wouldn't actually... Oh my gosh, they are!" moments - creating high stakes early on.  Instead of setting everything up and explaining, Brown does a very good job explaining as he goes, providing clues only as needed.  After reading a few too many first-person, present-tense narrations where I felt a bit smarter than the narrator (Um, hello, Katniss. Guess what - Peeta is only pretending to be a Career to save you), I was grateful that along with Darrow, I was blindsided by one game-changing surprise after another.  Red Rising is one of those books where you might have to cover up the opposite page so as to not spoil one of the many intense moments of the novel.  These were such proper jaw-dropping, hand-over-mouth shocks that, even though I finished 3 days ago, I am still shaking my head, thinking, "Wow!  He just pulled that off."  And despite the high-stakes and driving plot, I was grateful Brown created a sense of resolution amidst incredible suspense at the end of his first novel. 

As the novel progressed, I was grateful that it moved from a straightforward cry of freedom to a realization that, sometimes, there is not such a clear difference between the oppressor and the oppressed.  Darrow learns that a depraved person with power will exploit and manipulate no matter if they were born rich or poor, commentating, "The measure of a man is what he does when he has power." Brown explores not only this complex French-revolution-like lesson, but also a much more current issue of "us vs. them."  Darrow is in the process of learning who the real enemy is.  In one of my favorite lines of the novel, he encounters a Gold and thinks "he doesn't seem a monster.  He should be a monster."  But he discovers things are rarely so simple.  We are a generation that refuses to be defined by the "us vs. them" labels of the 20th century (and continued to cling on to the start of the 21st).  So, telling this story that seems so black and white, but using it to demonstrate social complexity is brilliant.

Now, addressing a concern I've heard a few times... The observant eye will note that The Hunger Games is mentioned no less than 4 times on the cover of Red Rising.  This, combined with certain other parallels in the story, have caused concern Brown's novel was a "ripoff" of Suzanne Collin's brilliant work, but I would argue this isn't the case at all.  Just about any story about oppressed groups in a sci-fi, fantasy, or dystopian-future landscape is going to overlap.  I believe that creativity does not derive simply from originality of plot and characters, but of how a story is told.  The former is something of a myth, but the latter is what made Homer, Shakespeare, Austen, and Tolkien the greats they are.  One of the main issues, specifically, is that a good portion of the "Institute" is set up as a brutal "game" where the competitors are divided into 12 houses where the goal is not killing but conquering the rest of the houses... which includes quite a lot of killing.  This may sound like THG, but if the Institute was in Panem, it would mean the "Games" were for Capitol youths only and that Katniss had to successfully masquerade as a Capitol citizen to even get into the games.  The point is, Red Rising may have moments reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but is far too innovative and engaging enough on its own merit to be accused of "ripping off" or "copy-catting."  The repeated mention in summaries and reviews of THG is little more than an (understandable) marketing ploy.  I'd also mention a few other stories Red Rising reminded me of, including: Braveheart, Pygmalion/My Fair Lady, Ender's Game, Lord of the Rings, Greek Mythology, The Iliad, Gladitorial games, Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Circle Trilogy, Doctor Who, A Few Good Men and many more.

As incredible and moving as Red Rising was, I have to include some potential detractors.  This was an incredibly brutal, gruesome book.  I would hope that for the film to do it justice, it would be rated R.  On nearly all fronts, this book is dealing with mature topics - murder, rape, a "bloodydamn"* lot profanity, mutilation, overall gore, and, what the movies call, "frightening and intense scenes."  While these are heavy and difficult I would add they are rarely if ever gratuitous.  Brown is painting a very particular picture of this violent culture.  Even the profanity has specific meaning with *certain words becoming a sort of passcode.  To be clear, there is enough brutal detail to turn the stomach, but it is all purposeful, not something reveled in.  This necessarily bleak tone is captured well by the tragic and harrowing opening paragraph:

[Warning: Graphic Content] The first thing you should know about me is I am my father's son.  And when they came for him, I did as he asked.  I did not cry.  Not when the Society televised the arrest.  Not when the Golds tried him.  Not when the Grays hanged him.  Mother hit me for that.  My brother Kieran was supposed to be the stoic one.  He was the elder, I the younger.  I was supposed to cry.  Instead, Kieran bawled like a girl when Little Eo tucked a haemanthus into Father's left work-boot and ran back to her own father's side.  My sister Leanna murmured a lament beside me.  I just watched and thought it a shame that he died dancing but without his dancing shoes.
On Mars there is not much gravity.  So you have to pull the feet to break the neck.  They let the loved ones do it.

As difficult as the crude, cruel tone and topic of this book are, my main concern with the book was something else entirely.  There is an ever-growing trend in fiction I can only describe as a morality that purports to be selfless but is at the same time radically ends-justifies-the-means in it's approach.  I have encountered this in books like The Road, Mockingjay, among others. The idea is that any action is excusable because you're doing it for someone else.  This is an extremely complex issue to address, especially in the context of a fight for freedom, and one that has me often re-visiting Jack Nicholson's infamous "you can't handle the truth" speech.  But the multiple disturbing situations and moral quandaries Darrow face cause the reader to pause and reconsider these issues.

Like Katniss (in at least books 1 & 2 of THG), Darrow demonstrates the power of living for something beyond this life, but he has yet to truly learn the lesson of Ender's empathy.  This was a shockingly good debut novel for 26 year old brown and I am eagerly looking forward to see what surprises are ahead for Darrow and where the sequel takes him.  4.5 / 5 Stars.

Favorite Quotes:

“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”
“I live for you,” I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

“Why is it so horrible?" I ask him. "Life. All this. Why do they need to make us do this? Why do they treat us like we're their slaves?"
"Power."
"Power isn't real. It's just a word” 


"Funny how a single word can change everything in your life."
"It is not funny at all. Steel is power. Money is power. But of all the things in all the worlds, words are power.”

One Bibliophile's Calendar

A time for every book under the sun
Or rather round the sun.
Different months call for different books;
A read for every season.
January is an amalgamation -
unfinished books from the prior year,
gifted books, bettering books.
February offers more choice:
What would you like to read?
March is best for modernism.
before marking her demise on the 28th
read some Woolf, and get into Eliot
before the "cruelest month."
April showers... mean sit in and read,
dive into that series, you have the time.
"Spring" for a re-read romance and
May-be find a way to "read out of doors."
June - despite the sun and celebrations,
your series is still making you feel "bibliosocial."
Summer is a time for sci-fi or short stories
or a good Shakespeare comedy.
If, in July, you can carve out a vacation
or just a rare quiet, sun-filled day,
binge-read a new author.
August is for finishing.  Just how much
can you finish before the re-start?
Sun to fog - September is transition
New routines, new books assigned in school
or cradled on suddenly-longer commutes.
At long last: Fall, the reader's utopia.
And Fall means fantasy.
For October - books, scarves, glasses are in vogue,
the bigger the book, the better.
Fantastical wanderings lead into November,
reifying characters and locales in our mind's eye.
Gothic is also good - Jane Eyre feels right
in a stormy or cold December night.
Then the holidays come, and with them,
re-assessed goals, another push to finish,
a search for the Word to make us real.
So we keep reading, keep becoming.

I can't stop myself from reading. 

While munching Cheerios, I simultaneously read the nutrition facts. The ads on my bus are familiar to me & I notice if one of them is new. I've been known to peruse the phone book when nothing else was around. 

If there are words around, they will be eaten. 

I love the words no matter what they say. It's just relaxing for my eyes to be processing these symbols. 

Today, though, as I was writing something and misspelled it, I was struck by the reminder that even my literacy is a gift. I take it for granted so quickly - that these symbols mean something at all. But not everyone has that privilege. And it makes me want to steward this gift even more intentionally. 

"Ender is making it possible for the others his age to be playing in the park." 

"And Jesus died to save all men, of course." Graff sat up and looked at Anderson almost sadly. "But we're the ones," Graff said, "we're the ones who are driving in the nails." 

I'm reading Orson Scott Card's First Meetings, a collection of short stories in the Enderverse - including the original "Ender's Game" as it appeared in 1977 as a 50 page story.  It's so fascinating having first read the 1985 novel to approach this. 
Comparatively, this feels very in media res, but with surprising depth, making it very apparent that Card had already begun his complex world-building.  This makes me wonder if this is, perhaps, the best way for an author to enter their created world in sci-fi or fantasy.  Composing a short story would force the author to establish the mythology, history, and projected future while also presenting just a fraction of that story to test the waters.  Well, that's what I'm wondering, anyway.
Being shorter, things are much more direct - such as the lines above - but they are also profound.  Not quite a re-read, I'm still moved by earlier decisions - knowing the ramifications later on.  It's funny actually - I've read abridged versions and then later full versions of novels; I've read parallel novels; but this is the first time I've read the condensed version after reading the expanded story.  I suggest trying all three if you can at some point.  It's a marvelous exercise in narrative choices.

Ok, enough rambling.  Happy Thursday.

Reading 2013

Well, if you're interested in the past, here are lists from 2011 and 2012.

The List:

1	Return of the King - JRR Tolkien*
2	The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
3	Great House - Nicole Krauss
4	Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni  (nf)
5	The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
6	Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
7	Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald*
8	Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins*
9	Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins*
10	Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
11	Ender's Shadow - Orson Scott Card
12	London War Notes - Mollie Panter-Downes  (nf)
13	Speaker for the Dead -Orson Scott Card
14	Shadow of the Hegemon - Orson Scott Card
15	Shadow Puppets -Orson Scott Card
16	Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
17	The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
18	A body in the Library - Agatha Christie
19	Stardust - Neil Gaiman
20	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - JK Rowling
21	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling
22	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
23	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -JK Rowling
24	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling
25	Lady in Waiting - Jackie Kendall  (nf)
26	The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
27	Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince - JK Rowling
28	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling

   29 The Crowd, the Critic, and the Muse - Michael Gungor  (nf)

* indicates a re-read
(nf) indicates non-fiction

General trends:


// I read longer, though fewer books.  I set a goal of 40 books in 2013.  Don't think I'd conjectured the average length of each books would be 435 pages.  You can see below for one of my spiffy graphs.  This shows trends in average number of pages per book and per month over the last 3 years:

// I loooove sci-fi and fantasy [obvi].  I started 2013 by finishing off my re-visit to Middle Earth and another quick trip to District 12, but this only set the stage for journeys into the Enderverse, the Four Corners, Gaiman's Fairyland, and the wizarding world of Harry Potter.  I fully recognize I'm a late (very late) comer to Harry Potter, so I won't even bother "recommending" it, Neil Gaiman speaks for himself, but, a few words on the other two series.

I wrote a formal review of Ender's Game as part of my 31 days project, but here and here are thoughts I shared while reading the 1st book.  I can't recommend Ender's Game highly enough, but I'd also suggest it's parallel novel Ender's Shadow and direct sequel Speaker for the Dead (an anecdote of which I shared here).  I've forayed further into Shadow series, which is a fascinating political and psychological saga.  I'm hoping to finish the Ender Quartet, which I hear is highly philosophical.  Card's fiction is a thought-provoking delight.

As for the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, I did my best to give it a proper review here.  Name of the Wind, Rothfuss's incredible novel debut gripped me from it's earliest pages and once he sets up the frame narrative - there's no going back.  Both it and its sequel, Wise Man's Fear, are innovative fantasy while maintaining some of the familiar qualities I love most about series like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (though intended for a more mature audience than either of those series).  I finished these two in August and yet still find myself wondering about the characters as if they were lost friends.  I eagerly await the 3rd and final installment!

All that said, I have enjoyed indulging more in my love for sci-fi, fantasy, and the wonderful spots where they blend.  It's saddening that these are so often relegated to niche literature in academia... but that's a thought for another post.  I have loved these literary journeys and I'm looking forward to a few more in 2014.

// I only just realized looking back at this list that I didn't read a single pre-1900's book this year.  Gatsby, published in 1925, is the earliest novel on the list.

My teenage self would be appalled.  My 23 year old self is rather thrilled.

// Another theme that emerged in my reading habits was learning more about WWII.  Not facts.  Stories.  It was the focus of London War Notes and The Book Thief, but it crept up in plenty of other books too.  London War Notes (passage here) was a heart-breaking and beautiful bi-weekly column written for the New Yorker by an American living in London throughout the war.  Interestingly, The Book Thief, though fictional, was a harrowing tale of "the other side" - how many Germans experienced the war.  As a side note, I think it would be very interesting to read The Book Thief in conjunction with The History of Love.  But these contrasting perspectives make it obvious how unnecessary and tragic the war was - not for one side or the other, but for humanity. 


As for 2014, I'm excited to announce that I'll be taking part of Jon Acuff's "Empty Shelf Project."  I've already cleared the decks and have some books in the wings - so look forward to filling it up! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my literary wanderings in 2013.  More than finding new friends, I found new parts of myself.  These stories lent me courage where I was running low, joy in some dark moments, and love - so much love - for other people.  I couldn't really ask for much more.

Have you read any of these?  What were some of the trends or highlights for your reading in 2013?

65 days.

2013: Opportunities

At the beginning of 2013,  the Lord spoke to me about how this year meant "opportunity."  And He was so right!

"Opportunity," however, is not all a rosy.  It involves a lot of variables.  There are risks to be taken.  There are often multiple opportunities vying for priority, and adulthood means having to pick a card and hope you picked right.  Opportunity is about risk with the chance of reward.

But when looking up "opportunity" in the dictionary, the word I found over and over was "favorable."  Opportunity is "a favorable, appropriate, or advantageous combination of circumstances; a chance or prospect."  Like a mountain concealed by clouds, I believe favor is still there, guiding me.  Even in silence.  Even in pain.  

This year I've learned that opportunity can come in all shapes and sizes.  In 2013, it looked like...

...going red.
...going short.
...less money in my savings account than I'd like.
...filling up journals and blog drafts faster than I could possibly process experiences.
...#refusetobeacog, etc. Generally raging against the machine, in search of something deeper.
...being moved to tears by a simple song lyric.
...belting out said song lyrics in a park with tens of thousands of others, led by Mumford & Co.
...sitting on the kitchen floor sobbing my guts out because of narrative and because, no matter how made up it is, it's true.
...having wonderful adventures with visiting friends.
...just doing "it."
...riotous run-ins with bus admirers.
...accepting titles I had always been afraid of [see, "writer"].
...writing in rounds.writing for release.
...opening up to someone, but him them pursuing someone else.
...fireworks.
...meeting artists I'd been inspired by.
...cubicle parties and embracing dress-up more than ever before!
...facing people I've been afraid of fears.
...a lot of Baggins vs. Took inner wrestling.
...having my own bathroom for the first time in my life.
...walking through vineyards, through the streets of Nob Hill, and through countless bookshops.
...finding myself in one of those bookshops with news that blindsided me, rendering me unable to even buy a book - all of them hurt somehow.
...picnics by the lake with good friends.
...moving out with my best friend.
...bearing friends' dreams and burdens and hopes and joys. 
...waiting on the Lord
...new revelations on stewardship - body, soul, and spirit.
...road trips for record books. 
...a lot of Doctor Who.  all. the. feels!
...flexing the forgiveness muscle.
...flexing the humility-and-asking-forgiveness muscle.
...challenging myself to go beyond what I thought myself capable of.
...a lot of "self-induced" late nights.
...inconveniences.  "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered..."
...meeting lots of new fantastic(al) characters.
...learning that the Lord is the only one I can implicitly and whole-heartedly trust.

 
It's been one blaze of a year - peaks and valleys and everything in between.  But, as Sheldon Vanauken said, "If there were a choice – and he suspected there was – a choice between, on the one hand, the heights and the depths and, on the other hand, some sort of safe, cautious middle way, he, for one, here and now, chose the heights and the depths."  

Here are to all the opportunities you & I have had this year, and here's to all the ones coming in 2014!

First Lines - 2013

My friend Simon has a tradition of doing a "First Lines" post to capture the year.  In his words, "It's very simply - you copy across the first line of each month's first blog post, and a link to that post, as an intriguing overview of the year..."  Sounds fun.  Here I go:

January - "This year is a sealed envelope / With apprehensive hope / We brace for anything / I swear, I understand that nothing changes that / The past will be the past / But the future is brighter than any flashback."

February - Since I woke up this morning I've been inexplicably excited.

March - This weekend I had one of those great "Wow!  Not everyone thinks everyone thinks the same way I do (thank God!)" moments.

April - This weekend was glorious! Glorious!!

May - Seriously... this book is wrecking me!

June - Ours is NOT a blind faith.

July - I know I've just written about it, but I'm seeing this everywhere - aren't you?  It's a happenin' summer - and it's just begun!

August - August means ... Moving into my own place and starting a new season.

September - "Don't be afraid to change. You may lose something good, but you'll gain something better."

October - Currently listening to... a lot of Lorde.

November - So... the National Theatre of Great Britain celebrated their landmark 50th Anniversary tonight, bringing over 100 performers together for a live evening comprised of some of their most famous productions.

December - Some nights, you just have to stay up late watching Jennifer Lawrence interviews and appreciating all that is quirky and authentic.

And some days, you just have to roll the melancholy music...

I will swallow my pride.

You're the one that I love

And I'm saying goodbye

And I've seen your flag on the marble arch

But love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

There is a house built out of stone

Wooden floors, walls, and window sills
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust
And this is a place where I don't feel alone

Thoughts for Thursday

So many random thoughts today:

\\  Last night in my dream, I relived my very first bee-sting experience (from age 4), but as the age I am now.  It was really weird.  It happened at a friends house 2-doors down from us.  In the dream I was over there but now they had a bee-infestation.  Anyway, I'm pretty sure my subconscious had been storing up some childhood video footage just for that little nightmare.  Been kinda weirded out by that all day.

\\  Recently came across this post and giggled to myself all over again.

\\  I'm preparing a "Books of 2013" post of epic proportions!  Ok, not quite, but I'm excited about it.  So excited that I created an excel spreadsheet tracking the last 3 years of books, and their length by page number.  I also included the results for average number of pages per book, pages per month, and books per month.  I might even whip up a graph!  (Ok, nerd-moment.  I just might be my father's daughter when it comes to excel...).  I will just say, though I fall short of my original goal for the year, I was encouraged by these stats.  See here for a recap of 2012 and my thoughts on reading at the beginning of 2013. 

\\  While reviewing my reading experiences of 2012, I realized that within a 2 week period that January: I finished Macbeth, Clarissa, King Lear, To the Lighthouse, and Sherlock died.  I'm really surprised I survived that.

\\ Also while sorting the book-list (and because of what I'm currently reading), I just have to say stage-whisper, "I flipping love fantasy."

\\  Final thought on books: this Buzzfeed list of how you can tell you're in a relationship with your books. [The answer is D. All of the Above.]  It's funny, I passed a guy on the bus the other day reading a book in the same series as the one I'm in and couldn't repress a quick smile.  I sat down a few seats away and pulled out my book.  He glanced over and smiled.  We both returned to our books. :)

\\  If you haven't already seen them, Buzzfeed has 30 new Sherlock S3 stills.  I have thoughts... but I'll save them for now. :)

\\  This review makes me even more excited to see Inside Llewyn Davis!  "...if only the universe could stop oppressing Llewyn and listen to him then it would hear how beautiful it’s oppression is making him."

\\  I'm packing tonight - which always makes me nervous.  But I'm extra nervous because I'm supposed to pack fancy-shmancy clothes......but we're heading somewhere with a weekend high of 18* and a low around 0*.  Yikes! Pray I don't die!

\\  Annnd, here is my current favorite Christmas song:

Have a great Friday and a happy weekend :)