Marius
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My Thoughts on Part 3 of Les Miserables
I had a hard time getting into part 3, as I tend to be impatient in my reading constantly wondering about relevance. But of course, Hugo makes everything worth while and without fail Marius is just as intriguing as his predecessors: Fantine and Cosette.
I love how Hugo builds a story out of lengthy character developments and social commentary. There’s no story, just life, but in that it is one of the most fascinating stories ever told. I think that is why I always find the climactic plot points so startling and wonderful – I don’t expect them. Hugo waits until you’ve settled into not being impatient, gotten cozy with the daily ins and outs of a particular character’s existence, and then shatters your world with a life altering event for them. The whole thing is beautiful, and depressing, and wonderful. .. think East of Eden, but instead of a sunny dust bowl, you’ve got the dank, cold of Paris. Why am I so drawn to this kind of literature?
I am 710 pages into this novel with only 550 pages to go, the overwhelming intimidation behind me, now I’m just eager to see what happens to all these people I have come to love (and hate). I am so glad I joined a readalong to encourage me through this novel, but I have found that the group really hasn’t served the purpose I previously expected. I hoped to read posts and have discussions, following the thoughts of others in a classroom like manner as I plodded through this masterpiece. Instead, I impatiently wait for other bloggers to share their reading experiences, only to find they haven’t read or at least haven’t posted about what they’ve read.
So instead, I sit here cherishing Fantine, Cosette, Jean Valjean, and Marius alone. Instead, I find that few others are sharing my desire to throw the Thenardier’s off a cliff by the mere fact that they are not presently posting the desire. God, I hope I am not the only one feeling murderess passions toward these useless pieces of crap who keeps “a pipe in his mouth, and was smoking. There was no more bread in the den, but there was tobacco.” People who do nothing for themselves, but scrape by off the hard work and sympathies of others, breaking their own windows to appear even more poor to a wealthier man who might give them money.
Misery loves company, and as I am reading Les Miserables – I want company to lament in the utter awfulness of these people who do everything they can to bring the good ones down to their level. The good ones being those equally destitute, equally at odds with the world, but doing their best to make a life and stay as happy as can be imagined.
Have you read Les Miserables? Care to join me? We will be all ready to see this at the end of the year: http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/50396/the-les-miserables-trailer-a-million-theater-geeks-just-fainted
Read my next post on Les Miserables.
Amelia Earhart: Keeping Burry Port on the Map
Before we moved to the UK, we would come over on vacation/holiday, rent/hire a car, and wander with no fixed plan from one wonderful-thing-you-could-never-see-in-the-US to another. And the UK never let us down.
You don’t even need a guidebook for this kind of travel, because wherever you go over here you’re almost guaranteed to pass a sign reading “Footpath to the Stone Circle” or “18th-Century Tidemill” or “Roman ruin”. My biggest double take was at a sign in Cheshire reading “Secret Nuclear Bunker”, seeing as how putting up “This way to the Secret Nuclear Bunker” signposts is just a tad counterproductive. (It turned out that the decommissioned Cold War bunker at Hack Green had just been opened to the public. I’ll do a post on it later; if you can’t wait, follow the link to their website, listed under Featured Links.)
So on our recent getaway to south Wales, we…
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Work Outs for Readers
I have a tendency to read so much during my day that outside of chasing Ayla and teaching a Kung Fu lesson, I forget to be active. So I established a reading reward system for myself.
Just lay a good book in front of you! Click the picture to see what to do between chapters!
* Don’t open the book until you’ve done 100 jumping jacks.
* For the 1st chapter of the day, read every left side of the page in the plank position, relax and lay flat on the opposite rights. (Just lay the book in front of you on the floor.)
* At the end of each chapter you read, commit to doing 5 Burpees (I do a full push up in my Burpees). Your reward for completing the 5th is that you get to move onto the next chapter.
* 2nd chapter: Sit in the center split position. 1st page: stretch left, 2nd page: stretch center, 3rd page: stretch right. Repeat until end of chapter. When you will jump up and do 5 more Burpees!
* 3rd chapter: Every two pages (basically every time you turn the page) do knee touch planks for the duration of that page. At the end of the chapter, Burpees!
* Repeat until you’re done reading for the day.
Odd Days
* 100 jumping jacks
* For the 1st chapter, lay the book in front of you and read while letting gravity pull your upper body to the floor to touch your toes (knees straight!).
* Between chapters do 30 crunches.
* 2nd chapter: Stand in a chi ma stance (horse-riding stance: feet slightly more than shoulder width apart, knees bent, back straight) holding the book out in front of you. Don’t forget to do your crunches at the end of the chapter!
* 3rd chapter: Stand on your tip toes for the left side of the page and relax your feet on alternate pages. Then, of course, at the end of the chapter do your crunches.
* Repeat until you’re done reading for the day.
Today was an even day, and I stuck to the work out. Needless to say, I’m quite sore, but I feel great. Looking forward to tomorrow.
A Rainy Day With the Olympics
Gabby Douglas, Winner of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials 2012
Bright and early this morning, I went to my best friend’s house to watch the Olympic Trials (old news, we were watching what we missed of the Women’s Gymnastics Team Trials on the DVR). It had been pouring down rain most the night and well into the morning, keeping my sweet baby asleep much longer than usual. So by the time I was heading over for some Olympic goodness, kiddo still cozy in her pajamas, the streets were quite flooded. It was a delightful morning, sipping coffee, hanging out, watching the best athletes in the country do their thing. It set me up for my whole day.
First, while watching Gabby Douglas rock day two and Sarah Finnegan do that fancy beam skill she shares with Terin Humphrey (Click to see the awesome beam skill I’m talking about: Sarah, Terin), I heard a commentator say something that got me pretty curious about Olympic rules and regulations I wasn’t familiar with already. They were talking about how young Sarah was. Young? I thought. Dominque Moceanu was young. This girl is normal… right? Nope, not anymore.
Dominique Moceanu was the youngest to win nationals at 13. She was allowed to compete because she would turn 15 during the Olympic year, which means she was actually 14 during the summer Olympics when the Magnificent Seven awed the world. That was 1996. In 1997 the rules were changed. Instead of gymnasts being required to turn 15 in the Olympic year, the eminent “they” that makes important Olympic rules added an extra year to that requirement, and now girls must be 16 (or turning 16). So Dominique Moceanu will remain the youngest for quite sometime, because it will be impossible for any equally talented 13-year-old to even have the same chances to prove themselves. In addition to that, there are rumors that the age may be increased to 18! I, personally, am not a fan of these rules. Yes, our children should be protected, but I think there is a higher risk of injury for training that intensely after an athlete has peaked. No, I was never an Olympian, but I am very familiar with peaking as an athlete and then things going downhill from there, no matter how hard you train.
Of course, I discovered all this and formed all these opinions today during kiddo’s nap time, while also polishing off my assigned reading for the day:
Title: The Naked Olympics
Author: Tony Perrottet
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Sports, Ancient History
Length: 214 pages
Perrottet takes an already fascinating subject and presents it in the form of riveting history. I was surprised how much detail had been discovered regarding the ancient games, and was impressed at how well Perrottet presents it step by step, without leaving anything out. There were so many things included in the games back then, beauty contests, poetry readings; it wasn’t just for athletes, it was an all out ancient world pagan party honoring Zeus and Eros. A lot of this information (though it makes perfect sense and fits right in with what I already knew about the times) was new to me.
I was fascinated by how often names I knew popped up in the commentary… Plato, Socrates, Herodotus… I didn’t expect them at the Olympic games! I also was ignorant of the role the Nazi’s played in our modern view of today’s Olympics, and the lighting of the torch. An interesting tidbit about the Nazis being so fascinated with Sparta kept popping up, along with tales that put shivers up my spine.
Regardless of the Olympic Games origins and history, and how much of it goes against my personal world view and moral standing, I still find the Olympics wonderful. Should you purposely breed Olympians? No. But if someone has the drive and talent and has a passion for it, competing in the Olympics is a beautiful dream and an awesome thing to behold.
Perrottet has done a great job portraying the Olympics for what they are, presenting a well-rounded quick study of the origins of an event which everyone is already familiar. As I plan to educate kiddo classically, I think this would make a fun optional read during the summer games when she hits her teens. I see us doing what we did today, eating tomato, avocado, honey mustard, parmesan cheese sandwiches on toasted wheat, sipping coffee, watching the trials, and doing some research. It could be a fun study/ study break from regular school assignments.
Now Time to Detox
The other night I finished City of Glass
Sigh. I feel as though I can rest and breathe now. The series isn’t over, but the ending of City of Glass serves for a solid intermission. Well done, Cassandra Clare, well done. If you have been following my blog this last week, there is not much more I can share regarding my feelings about this series. Pure cotton candy for the intelligent teen, it is lovely and exciting. However, I need a little detox after all that sugar before I dive back in with books 4, 5 and the 2nd of The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince.
So, my intentional break until the weekend (when I plan to whole-heartedly go on another bender) is a steady diet of meat. I’ve been leisurely reading through Merchant Kings
The Naked Olympics
Who else is down for a mind and body detox? Grab a good book, mix yourself some vitamin water (http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-vitamin-water-479989) and don’t shower until you’ve done 50 jumping jacks, 30 crunches, 20 pushups, all your stances for at least 30 seconds each (if you’re in martial arts), and had a good long stretch!
Here’s another earn your shower workout routine, and may I note that its been a good long while since I looked anything like this lady – man, she’s awesome. http://www.bodyrock.tv/2010/02/12/earn-your-shower-workout/
Flying Saucers – A Short Story
Meet Guest Blogger and Short Story Writer E.B. Jones. He is a native Texan, a musician, and in the process of writing his first novel. I hope to feature his short stories here as often as he chooses to submit them. Hope you enjoy!
Flying Saucers
The first thing I noticed whenever I looked down next to me was my guts strewn all over the place. Shades of red reflected in the moonlight and went out from my midsection in all different directions. I didn’t really feel anything substantial until I saw my daddy’s 68 Chevy Nova wrapped around the only damn oak tree within two miles on that stretch of highway we’d been cruising. The first thing that went through my head was that my dad was going to kill me. I could still hear .38 Special playing on the cassette deck.
I wasn’t wearing my seat belt and, from the giant hole in the windshield, I figure I had flown through it once we hit. Looking at the mangled wreckage, I was probably better off than if I’d stayed in the car.
I twisted my head around to see if Johnny was anywhere but I couldn’t see him and I wondered if he was laying out in some other part of the field staring at his guts like I was.
We’d been celebrating our high school graduation and had spent most of the night drinking beer and trying to get laid. We had one last summer here in Hickory Flats and we were going to make the best of it and then get the hell out of Dodge for good.
Whenever finding a girl here in town didn’t pan out for either of us, we decided to go for a joy ride and see what kind of hell we could raise. Thought there might be a party over in one of the neighboring towns we could crash and find some girls there.
It was about one-thirty in the morning whenever we went around Devils Bend and I guess we took the curve too fast cause I ended up losing control of the car. It was right about the time Johnny started screaming out profanities and just as soon as I heard him scream “oh shit” we hit the tree. Then everything just kind of went white and the next thing I know I was laying in a field staring at my intestines wrapped around some bull nettles.
I thought about how I hadn’t paid much attention in biology class back whenever we’d gone over the human anatomy and wondered that maybe if I had, I might have known where everything went. Then maybe I could have shoved all my insides back in their proper location and gotten up and gone along my merry way.
I tried to move a little to see if maybe I could crawl back up to the car and see if Johnny was all crinkled up kissing the dashboard or not, but my body wasn’t letting me do much but just sit there and wait to die.
I starting thinking about all the plans we had made and how we were going to have one hell of a summer drinking, floating the river, partying and just causing a ruckus all over Hickory Flats. Then come August, we’d be gone like ghosts of Christmas past.
We’d both been accepted to UNT in Denton, which was a few hours from here, but it was far enough to not be here. We had it all figured out. First we’d party our way through college, both of us probably joining some fraternity and doing it up right. Get lots of women along the way. Then once we finished up, he was going to go on and become a famous doctor and cure cancer or something and I was going to fight international crime for the CIA. I really hoped that he had somehow gotten out so that once he started practicing medicine he could stitch up the dumb asses like me that don’t buckle their seat belts but don’t actually want to die.
I heard some crickets chirping and a frog sending out its mating call and thought about the time that I’d heard from someone that most people die within ten miles of where they were born and I guess that was going to be true of me. We weren’t even three miles from the old hospital. I guess this is what I got for running over that preacher’s kid a few years back and being too scared to stop or ever fess up to it.
The tape ended long before I heard the sirens or saw the fire trucks and ambulances pull up. A couple of guys ran over to the car and I heard them say something about a body and I knew that Johnny didn’t make it. I guess they didn’t notice me on account of how far I’d been thrown from the car so I just decided to lay back and look at the stars while I waited for them to find me.
The night sky was clear and black and all the stars were out shining. The sky looked like someone had spilled milk across it and I wondered if there was any kind of intelligent life out there. I wondered what they thought of us and I wondered if they had seat belts on those flying saucers of theirs or not.
Review: Suite Francaise
I don’t think anyone can truly appreciate this book until they know the following: When Nemirovsky was writing the book she originally meant it to be five parts, but she only finished two: Storm in June and Dolce, these two parts are what makes up Suite Francaise. These five parts though, were each individually fashioned (in writing style) after the five parts of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Storm in June’s chapters are short and sweet, choppy, slightly repetitious in nature. Dolce is a little more long-winded and flowing. Imagine the beauty of the completed work, if she had lived to finish it. Without this critical information I was irritated by her repetition. I thought perhaps it hadn’t been through the proper editing because she died before the novel was completed. But listening to Beethoven and knowing what she was fashioning this all after, putting the war in terms of music, within a novel. Its beautifully fascinating. What made her think of it? How wonderful would the entire book have been had she lived to complete it? The story was interesting and the writing good, but for some reason I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I think I should have. I expected this to be a four or five-star book for me, easily, based on reviews and whatnot. Instead, I just liked it, and was far more fascinated by the appendices at the end. I loved her notes and journal entries, it was so amazing to be inside her head for those brief moments.
Book Title:Suite Francaise
Author: Irene Nemirovsky
Original Publication Date: 2004 (written in 1942)
Edition Read: 2006 Knopf
Total Pages: 395
Genre: Classic Historical Fiction
Reason Read: Found on Amazon as a gift for my mother; she gave thumbs up as did Sandy, neither of whom steer me wrong
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
“He wanted to write a story about these charming little horses, a story that would evoke this day in July, this land, this farm, these people, the war – and himself.
“He wrote with a chewed-up pencil stub, in a little notebook which he hid against his heart. He felt he had to hurry: something inside him was making him anxious, was knocking on an invisible door.” – Page 179
If you love lyrical prose and character development, I highly recommend this enjoyable book. I really loved this book the farther along I went…
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Indulging My Latest Addiction
*Spoilers!*
Title: City of Ashes
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Length: 453 pages
My obsession for these books goes against every fiber of my being, but I love them. I blew through City of Ashes in just a few hours and am pausing to write this review against the deep urge to blow it off and just start the next book. But the kiddo is napping and my blog is being neglected, so I have no excuse, and will sit and spout off a few thoughts before I move onto City of Glass.
First of all, the Jace and Clary business hasn’t been resolved yet and my impatient self likes to get past the angst and the romance and on with the war. It’s that deep inner girly desire to lunge head on into adventure *with* the love of my life, rather than struggling with all the defining the relationship business. I was never good at that, I married my best friend and soul mate after years of waiting for him. The angsty waiting should be reserved for books like Persuasion, for me, not warrior demon-slaying sagas. That’s probably what hooks me with Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series, Jamie and Clare are married. I get why that’s not applicable for a young adult series though.
Second, and mostly notable because its fresh on my mind (being in the epilogue), I love the Harry Potter reference. It is fantastic. Although, the subject matter puts this series in the sub-genre of Meyer’s Twilight Series, I find it more comparable to Harry Potter or the wonderful works of Robin McKinley. There’s a fine line, but it makes a huge difference. For those who read McKinley’s Sunshine as an adult, and perhaps read the Hero and the Crown, these books will suck you in.
Third… well, actually, I’m done here, I have more reading to do!
And She Went There – A City of Bones Review
*Spoilers!*
Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: McElderry Books (http://imprints.simonandschuster.biz/margaret-k-mcelderry-books)
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Length: 485 pages
Oh my… geeze Louise. What the heck! I totally saw the insinuation of the plot developing, and I completely anticipate that this particular plot development will prove to be false… But Clare totally STAR WARSed us! Except with Luke and Leah there was relief that came with the knowledge of their familial ties (after the ewww moment), because at least then we felt ok about hoping that whiny Luke didn’t get the girl and that Leah and Han Solo were meant for each other. Clary and Jace! Really? Did Cassandra Clare have to go there? Yes, yes, I fear she did. Although I’m not buying the story line, it worked hook, line, and sinker and I’m itching to find out what happens next.
Of course, now, perfectly livid and irritated at my fascination for this series, I’m both addicted and torn.
What am I torn about? And why am I still addicted?
1. I was not a Twilight fan. Meyer captured her target audience, and it was a fun little fairy tale – so in that aspect I can respect it. But Bella is useless and I pretty much hate her character, Edward is ridiculous and I pretty much hate his character, and their whole relationship, I think, is absurd and sends the wrong message. Cassandra Clare’s work definitely goes in the same genre, so in that sense I don’t want to like these books. Still, Clare is just so much better with her character development, her story telling, and her writing. Granted, I could do without all the teenage melodrama romance, but the adventure and the world she has created is wonderfully fascinating. (Read my Twilight review here: https://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/tag/flaubert/)
2. These books are complete fluff. In general, I am particular about my fluff. I am very judgy, and frankly, a bit of a book snob. Apparently, though, I’m in the mood for some complete and utter fluff, and a girl needs a healthy dose of dessert in her life in order to truly enjoy the non-dessert. Clare makes up for the feeling of reading a crap ton of mind numbing cotton candy equivalent books with a healthy dose of literature references, so instead of cotton candy, I feel as though I’m reading a lemon meringue pie (with extra cool whip).
3. I absolutely protest having half naked boys on the front cover. It’s a huge turn off when it comes to my book buying tendencies. I was duped by Infernal Devices and the gentleman in the top hat. Happily duped.
4. Then, which to read next? City of Ashes? (Book 2 of Mortal Instruments) or Clockwork Prince? (Book 2 of Infernal Devices). Infernal Devices is the better series so far in my book, mostly because its Victorian and steampunk and all that delicious goodness, but I’m in a little more distress over the Mortal Instruments story line in this moment. Does Clare pull a few more twists and rectify this ridiculous love story into the something morally acceptable I feel she is alluding to – or am I going to writhe my way through an incestuous romance? And if this situation is resolved as I suspect (and hope) it will be, how does she do it?
Side note: Contrary to recent and probably most frequent posts, this is not a blog dedicated to childrens or young adult titles. I read them a lot, therefore review them a lot, mostly because I have a child and partly because I enjoy reading what has been published since I was a child myself. In the coming month(s), my readers/ followers can (fingers crossed) expect to find reviews and commentary for Book 3 of Les Miserables, Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Ferris, Merchant Kings by Brown, a surprise title sent to me to review by an author, and the latest discoveries in my Astrology research project.
Thanks to Isopleth for promoting my review of S. Smith’s Seed Savers Book One: Treasure. Check this post and his blog. I personally look forward to reading his adventures in ‘mapping a dynamic earth.’
National Geographic recently published an article entitled “Doomsday” on the Norwegian’s effort to save the worlds crops from agricultural Armageddon. They have created a bank that can help ensure a variety of genetic material is safe from disaster, famine and disease. The bank is located on a remote chain of islands nestled in the Arctic. The cold tempuratures and armed guards protect the seeds from attack of decay, foriegn nations or evil entities.
The 750,000 variety of seeds collected thus far come from more than 123 nations and work like a safety deposit box for the contributors. The seeds are collected by depositers and seeled in jars then shipped to the vault in Norway. There preservation is reviewed, many seeds are placed in jars or vacuum seeled bags and then placed into the cold storage facility. The bank has a capacity of 2.25 billion seeds. If a farmeras crop is devastated…
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Anakalian Whims 