The Quote Game- MOTION

This Week's Topic: Motion

Ah! I forgot to post The Quote Game yesterday. I kept feeling like I forgot to do something last night and then it hit me all of the sudden. But then I went to bed and decided to do it today. Today I got up and did what I needed to do and came home around 12. By 1 o'clock I was asleep again and slept until 5:45!! I will never be able to go to sleep tonight. Ah, the joys of fibromyalgia. They are never-ending. ;)

So, as you can see, I have just now had a chance to post and I do apologize for the delay. I hope that you found some quotes this week so you can play the game.

If you need to look at how to play the game, click here.

Next week's topic to look for in your reading is Sisters.

Here is a quote to get you started for next week:
"I'm an allogeneic donor--a perfect sibling match. When Kate needs leukocytes or stem cells or bone marrow to fool her body into thinking it's healthy, I'm the one who provides them. Nearly every time Kate's hospitalized, I wind up there too." -My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Diversity in Reading Meme

1. Name the last book by a female author that you've read.

I am reading two right now: Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs and The Scalpel and the Silver Bear by Lori Arviso Alvord.

2. Name the last book by an African or African-American author that you've read.

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage. I just finished it a few days ago.

3. Name one from a Latino/a author.

Hmm. I don't seem to have read any lately. Does it count I have 3 by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and one by Octavio Paz in my TBR pile?

4. How about one from an Asian country or Asian-American?

Oddly enough, considering how much I enjoy books about Asia, I haven't read one by an Asian author since January. The two then were Khaled Hosseini and Lao Tzu. The last book I read about someone in Asia was Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne by Ben Hills in March. But Ben Hills is not Asian.

5. What about a GLBT writer?

I can't recall reading any books lately in which I knew the writer was GLBT. It's not something I look for in an author or a genre I seek out. I know that at some point in my life I read Find Me by Rosie O'Donnell and I'm sure there must be others that I don't remember or haven't known about.

6. Why not name an Israeli/Arab/Turk/Persian writer, if you're feeling lucky?

I read Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns in January and I have The Kite Runner in my TBR pile. I can't think of any more right now. One of my favorite books, The Virgin's Knot, takes place in Turkey, but, again, the author is not Turkish.

7. Any other 'marginalized' authors you've read lately?

I am not sure if I understand the term 'marginalized', but I will give it my best guess. I am currently reading a book by a Navajo woman, Lori Arviso Alvord, called The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, about her tales as the first Navajo woman surgeon. I also read Secret Daughter by June Cross in March. Cross is half African-American and half Caucasian.

Wow, I thought there would be more. I need to read more books that are in my 21 Cultures Challenge!

(via kiss a cloud)

Good Books, Inc. Scavenger Hunt Entry #4

To play in the Scavenger Hunt, visit Padfoot & Prongs' Literary Scavenger Hunt.
This is my entry for item #9, which is:

Think of you FAVORITE novel. Now think of all of the characters that are important. Noww think of any famous actors, singers, drag queens... who would fit the roles. Be a director and create your own 'dream cast'.

My favorite novel is The Poisonwood Bible, but I couldn't come up with a good enough cast for it. Then, The Great Gatsby and Pride & Prejudice had already been done and I don't know of any Turkish actors for The Virgin's Knot. So, I decided to create a cast for my favorite memoir, instead, which is Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I tried to get as close as I could to what I imagined the characters to look like. The Italians are Italian actors, Filipe is a Brazilian actor, the Indian teenager, Tulsi, is a 17-year-old Indian actress. The hardest part was casting Richard from Texas and the Balinese because I kept coming up with Balinese dancers as oppose to actors. So I cast Indonesians for the Balinese, which is the closest I could think of. I apologize in advance if this offends anyone Balinese. If you know of Balinese actors, could you please inform Google, which seemed to know of none.

So, anyway, here is my cast! What do ya think?

CAST OF EAT PRAY LOVE

Ellen Barkin as Liz

Goran Visnjic as David
(because wouldn't you have a middle-of-a-divorce fling with him, too?)

ITALY

Raoul Bova as Giovanni & Dario,
the Tandem Language Exchange twins
(they were supposed to be hot, right?)

Filippo Timi as Luca Spaghetti

Malin Akerman as Sophie, the friend from Sweden

Michael Imperioli as Giulio

INDIA

Philip Seymour-Hoffman as Richard from Texas
(with an added beard and white hair, of course, but I can totally
see him calling Liz 'Groceries')

Shweta Prasad as Tulsi


BALI

Tora Sudiro as Yudhi
(the guy she rents the house from, who says
'Dude, why is life all crazy like this?')

Fedi Nuril as Mario (the guy that works at the hotel)

Desy Ratnasari as Wayan

Antonio Fagundes as Felipe
(remember he is supposed to be older)

Ben Kingsley as Ketut Liyer
(the lovable medicine man)
(because Ben Kingsley would rock this role)


So what do you think of my 'dream cast'???

Teaser Tuesday 04-28-09

I enjoy Teaser Tuesdays. I like finding my teasers and I like reading the teasers from other books that other bloggers are reading.

This week my teaser sentences come from Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs:

Rinaldi rejoined us. Over Woolsey's shoulder I noticed a curtain move in a front window of the house in front of which Tyree had parked.

"I think we're being watched," I said.

Bookish Bites 04-27-09

1. New Regency has set to adapt the Josh Bazell novel, Beat the Reaper, into a screenplay. Guess who the potential star might be?

2. Smithsonian Magazine featured a piece by Steve Martin on how he got his act together and became a famous comedian.

3. In the month of Shakespeare's birthday and the 150th anniversary of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, NPR covers the literary cliche and its use and purpose. Can you spot all of the cliches?

4. Caitlin Phillips couldn't bear to throw away old novels- so she turned them into bags and purses.

Mailbox Monday 4-27-09

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page. Hop on over to see more book lover's Mailbox Monday posts!

This is what I received this week in my mailbox, both from BookMooch:

Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics by Alicia Keys

I sneaked a peek and read a couple of pages and the ones I read were beautiful.

Earn What You're Worth: A Wildly Sophisticated Approach to Investing in Your Career and Yourself by Nicole Williams
I have been wanting to read this one since college but never did buy it. Now I have it and I will see what pointers it gives me for negotiating during a job interview.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

TSS: What Makes a Book a Classic?

I wanted to pose a question to all of you Sunday Salon readers:

What makes a book a classic?

Is it how old the book is? Then how old should it be?
Is it the style in which it was written?
Should the author no longer be living?
Should the book evoke a certain response from its readers? What kind of response?
Should it teach a lesson?
Should it simply be books that we were supposed to read in high school and college?

I want to hear everyone's thoughts on this. No answer is wrong, of course, since I don't believe there has been anyone to give it a definitive definition. I am just curious as to your thoughts and opinions.

What Does Your Doctor Look Like Naked? Your Guide to Optimal Health by J. Warren Willey II

BOOK #: 32
CHALLENGES: None
RATING: 3 Stars

Book Description:
What Does Your Doctor Look Like Naked? delves into the complete concept of obtaining and then maintaining optimal health and your ideal body. It, unlike other books out there, describes not only what to do but more importantly the HOW TO and WHY the program works. With this understanding, optimal health, weight loss, and the body you desire are only a few steps away.

Book Review:
Dr. Wiley's book is based on both scientific evidence, as well as experience. He sets forth a plan for body transformation that may work when other plans have failed. Why might this one work? Because it is not just a list of do's and don'ts. It breaks it down into simplistic terms that even the most scatterbrained of dieters can follow. In fact, half of the book is dedicated to charts and tables and food lists that are based on caloric level instead of just a base number thrown out there to the masses.

Dr. Wiley also gives some information, tips, and scientific facts that I had not seen before. A few examples:

• Food is a drug. We all have a food that made us feel good, or gave us an upset stomach, or made us feel tired. Food (like drugs) has certain effects, interactions, and side effects. Food has consequences.
  
• Maximal health starts when you become happy with who you are and the life choices you make. Anyone who tries to pursue physical perfection as the main foundation of his or her life is doomed to failure. No level of fitness, no amount of body transformation will make you become a "whole" person unless you are continually working on your inner being as well.
• Once you notice that your objective and subjective changes are slowing down or halted (in other words, you've hit a plateau), it is time to shock the system. Our bodies adapt to everything we do to them, so we need to jumpstart them so progress will continue. We can't allow our bodies to get used to our techniques.

This book is 500 pages, but the food lists and charts start on page 175. The reading is not as intense as it looks when you see the book. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a simple way to understand how the body works and how to maximize its potential through food choices, eating times, and moderation. While I don't think it is the most concise or educational book on nutrition and health, it does contain some good information.

Also, there is a lot of information on hormone replacement therapy included. I skipped over this part since it did not concern me.

Friendly Bloggers Award

DeSeRt RoSe is one of the sweetest bloggers I have met. She has once again made my day by giving me an awesome award- the Friendly Bloggers Award.

I am now supposed to pass this cool award to other friendly bloggers, but how do I choose? This is a very hard task. I have given it a lot of thought. I couldn't give it to everyone since that makes it less special, so I chose 13, with the reason at the bottom of the post.

Here is the final list:

1. Kelly of The Chic Geek

2. Jennifer of Find Your Next Book Here

3. Kathy of Bermudaonion's Weblog

4. Shannan of Shannan Loves Books

5. J.C. of The Biblio Brat

6. Caspette of The Narrative Causality

7. Beth of Beth Fish Reads

8. Kristi of Books and Needlepoint

9. Sandra of Fresh Ink Books

10. Claire of kiss a cloud

11. Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit

12. Ali of Worducopia

13. Marie of The Boston Bibliophile


I finally ended up choosing these 13 because of the time they take to comment on my posts and to talk to me on Twitter and to build friendships through the blogosphere. Thank you to each of you. You deserve it! :)

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage

BOOK #: 31
CHALLENGES: 21 Cultures, New Authors
RATING: 4.5 Stars

Ava Johnson had everything going for her in Atlanta including a fabulous career and luxe living. Then her power plans come to a screeching halt when she tests positive for HIV. She decides to move to San Francisco, a more HIV-accommodating city in her mind, but before she goes she decides to spend a quiet summer in her hometown of Idlewild, Michigan with her widowed older sister, Joyce.

But what she thinks will be a quiet and uneventful summer turns out to be anything but. There is the Sewing Circus- her sister's determined effort to educate Idlewild's young black women about sex, drugs, and responsibility- that the Reverend Anderson and his wife try to stamp out because it does not align with "Christ-centered values." Plus, Joyce has brought home a new baby, which she named Imani, whose crack-addicted mother fled after her birth. And if that's not enough, she is falling in love.

This novel is a thoughtful and inspiring look at the black community, at poverty and drugs, and at AIDS. I like that Ava is turning her life around in Idlewild and that she takes responsibility for getting HIV (even though she does not know who infected her) and she is taking care of herself better.

I also like that this story involves three African-Americans who, despite living in a town riddled with drugs, crime, and bored citizens, are making real efforts to make their community better and educate people about safe sex and more. The three- Ava, Joyce, and the neighbor and old friend, Eddie- are a close-knit group and show intelligence and wit and love and responsibility in the black community. Too many books and movies and television shows highlight blacks in gangs, doing drugs, getting pregnant, and going to prison. This story shows that even though they have made mistakes in their past they have owned up to them and are capable of change, and not only that, they are changing and helping others in the process.

It really is a beautiful story and I was engrossed in it from the beginning. Cleage made all of the characters, especially Ava, so real and human and multi-layered. You could empathize with her and you could laugh with her and you could be frightened along with her.

I really recommend reading this book if you have not yet. It is a rich story that you won't soon forget.

*Note: This book does contain some explicit language.

100 Names of Mary: Stories & Prayers by Anthony F. Chiffolo

BOOKS #: 30
CHALLENGES: Triple 999, Spiritually Speaking Challenge
RATING: 3 Stars

Book Description: Perhaps the most popular saint, Mary has come to be known by many names, reflecting her many different qualities. Each of the hundred names selected provides the story about the title of Mary, a traditional prayer and a new prayer that reflects the particular charisms of the title. The Gospels refer to her only as the mother of Jesus, but over the centuries Christians have bestowed upon her innumerable titles of devotion- some lists include more than six thousand titles. This proliferation of titles reflects the different ways people relate to Mary. While one person may find comfort in the Mother of Sorrows, another may find his center in the Queen of Peace. Other titles relate to her privileges (Immaculate Conception) or link to her particular apparitions (Our Lady of Lourdes). This book will hopefully challenge readers to re-explore their own beliefs about Mary and also lead to a deeper appreciation of the glorious mystery of the Christian faith.

Book Review:

What I liked about this book is that it was both a history book and a devotional prayer book. I learned the stories behind each of the names chosen and I learned prayers that speak to Mary and ask her to petition on behalf of her people. It helped me to feel a lot more connected to Catholicism than I have for a while now, given all of the crazy things the current Pope is doing. But that is a story for another day. :)

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Catholic view of Mary (a lot of which I had before I eventually converted). She is not to be worshiped as a god or a demi-god. She is looked to as a heavenly mother. She is revered as the most special of humans next to Jesus. Catholics believe that Mary had to have been particularly pure and special in order to be chosen not only to be the birth mother of Jesus, but also to raise him. Catholics believe she was the Immaculate Conception, or conceived without sin. How could a sinful person carry something as holy and pure as the Son of God? Catholics also believe that by petitioning to her she can speak to her Son on our behalf, help to protect us in times of danger, and help lead her people back to a right relationship with God. She is the Mother of God.

While I enjoyed reading all of the stories and prayers, one that is a favorite of mine is the story of Madonna della Strada, or "Madonna of the Streets". It tells of the two icons that represent Mary as enduring hardship and poverty, pleading for shelter for herself and her child. It is representative of Mary's characteristically intercessory role. Her message is that when you hunger and when you thirst, there is someone who can satisfy your ultimate hunger and thirst- Jesus. And she reminds us of those who are less fortunate than us. When we complain about the price of gasoline for our car, she reminds us that there are those who have no transportation but their own two feet. When we make plans to buy a bigger house, we can look to her to remind us of those who have no shelter. She is there to remind us of what is important. That to me is a beautiful story.

One of the more powerful prayers to me was the traditional prayer of Our Lady of La-Vang. La-Vang was a place deep in the jungles of Vietnam, where many Catholics escaped to during the persecutions of King Canh Thinh in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is said that our Lady appeared to her people in La-Vang during these violent years, where more than one hundred thousand people became martyrs.

O Mary, give my dear ones true charity through which they may forgive with all their hearts and bear with resignation the crosses laid upon them by those they believe to be their enemies. -Pope John XXIII

If you would like to read more, here is the link to Anthony Chiffolo's web site. I would share mine with you, only my cat thought the book was for chewing on as oppose to simply reading. :P

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

BOOK #: 29
CHALLENGES: New Authors, Genre Challenge
RATING: 3.5 Stars (Mmm...That's Good)

This New York Times Bestseller tells the story of Rebecca Davitch, a fifty-three-year-old widow who, in the day-to-day humdrum of her life stops to wonder if she has turned into a different person.

Rebecca was widowed when she was in her early twenties, just six years after she married a divorced dad of three girls. She and Joe had another girl and then he was killed in a car accident. Rebecca was plunged into being a single mom and stepmom at a young age. Now that her children are grown and having children of their own, Rebecca begins to contemplate what her life would be like if she had never married Joe Davitch and instead had married her high school sweetheart, whom she left to marry Joe. Joe ran a business out of the home called Open Arms, which threw parties for special occassions. Rebecca continued to run Open Arms after his death and does so during the time of the story. She watches as people celebrate birthdays, engagement parties, anniversaries, the birth of a new child, and graduations. The way Tyler weaves in the Open Arms events into the story enriches the story.

I think most people who have reached the year of their 10-year high school reunion have looked back on their life and thought, Is this where I thought I would be? How did I get here? What have I been doing for the past 10 years? What do I have to show for it? Is this even what I want to be doing?

I know that this year marks the 10-year reunion date for my high school graduation and I have asked myself these same questions. Rebecca asks herself these questions in the book and even goes out to find the high school sweetheart she snubbed because of a strange, but powerful dream she had. While I have no intention of going that far (in fact, I never had a high school sweetheart), I have gone back and thought about what my life would have been like if I had not met certain people or gone to the colleges I did or moved to Charlotte. What would my life be like if I had made different choices?

This book shows the reader what happens when Rebecca goes in search of the answers to these questions and we find out whether the grass is greener on the other side.

One quote I really liked from the book, that resonated with me now as I mourn the loss of my father, is something that Rebecca's husband's uncle, an endearing man they call Poppy (who lives with her now and she helps take care of), said as he was thinking about his late wife:

"People imagine that missing a loved one works kind of like cigarettes. The first day is really hard but the next day is less hard and so forth, easier and easier the longer you go on. But instead it's like missing water. Every day, you notice the person's absence more."

I Feel the Awards Love!

I am honored and humbled to have received two awards today from two wonderful bloggers! Thank you so much for thinking of me!

I received the Lemonade Stand Award from Caspette of The Narrative Causality, a terrific blog that you should check out! The Lemonade Stand Award is for blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.

I'd like to pass this award on to:
1. Jennifer at Find Your Next Book Here
2. Claire at kiss a cloud
3. Beth of Beth Fish Reads
4. Sandra of Fresh Ink Books
5. Michelle of Michelle's Reading Room
6. Kelly at The Chic Geek


The second award I received was from the lovely SunShine at Garden in my Pocket. Please go over and check out her blog! The Friends Award is for bloggers who aim to be and find friends. Aww! Thanks, SunShine! I'm blushing!

I am passing this award on to all of my blogging friends. Those of you who follow my blog or subscribe to it and those of you who regularly leave me comments and who make a girl feel right at home! Hugs to you all!

BTT: Symbolism in Literature

Question suggested by Barbara H:

My husband is not an avid reader, and he used to get very frustrated in college when teachers would insist discussing symbolism in a literary work when there didn’t seem to him to be any. He felt that writers often just wrote the story for the story’s sake and other people read symbolism into it.

It does seem like modern fiction just “tells the story” without much symbolism. Is symbolism an older literary device, like excessive description, that is not used much any more? Do you think there was as much symbolism as English teachers seemed to think? What are some examples of symbolism from your reading?

First of all I want to say that this is a terrific question!

I am one of those in the minority when it comes to symbolism. While I definitely do not read a book seeking it out, it is fun for me to find it. A light will go off in my head and my immediate reaction is 'how clever of the writer', particularly if it is deeply ingrained into the story and not just thrown in for good measure.

Take John Steinbeck's The Pearl. The pearl is the main symbol of the story. Its meaning is never explicitly defined so the reader is left to interpret the meaning of the symbol for his/herself. That is my favorite kind of symbolism. You can have long discussions in your book club about the symbolism of the pearl.

Another example is The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I admit that I read this and did not figure it out on my own, but when I re-read the tale it was so obvious I couldn't believe I did not figure it out on my own. Dickens uses the story of Bob Crachit and his family to represent the underclass in Victorian England and the unfair restrictions placed on them by the government. Scrooge, therefore, represents the upper class: indifferent to the suffering of the poor and selfish in their gains. You can read about Victorian England's Poor Laws and understand more about the flaws that Dickens takes aim at in the story.

This was a great question and I enjoyed thinking this one over. BTT should have more questions that lend themselves to critical thinking and discussions.

NOTE: I just thought of Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I won't spoil the story for those who have not read it, but those that have know what I am referring to.

Thursday Tea

The Tea: Blended Black Iced Tea from Tazo, described like this: Crisp and refreshing Tazo® Iced Tea is a blend of carefully selected teas from Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka and India with a hint of natural citrus essence. And it is most delicious.

The Book: I'm Fine with God...It's Christians I Can't Stand: Getting Past the Religious Garbage in the Search for Spiritual Truth by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz. The book's description says: "This candid dialogue about the Christian community will make you laugh and even cringe as you read about well-meaning but misguided believers who take some parts of the Bible to ridiculous extremes while ignoring other parts. In the process, you'll take a good, hard look at your own life and see God for who he is. In the marketplace of ideas, God deserves a fair shot. But you may find that you have to get past the crazy things some people do in Christ's name in order to consider Christianity as a reasoned approach to faith."
The Mix: This is a book I found at Barnes & Noble while browsing one day and decided that it might be helpful to me. For over a year now I have been very disillusioned with religion as a whole. I have become more and more of a spiritual person than a religious person. Christians, in general, with no one in particular, have basically irritated me to the point that I can no longer relate to them. So this book is an attempt to try to develop a clearer understanding of what it is that is driving me in the opposite direction and how I might explain my thoughts and feelings to Christians who don't understand why I am disenchanted with it all (a.k.a. my mom).

The deliciousness of the tea compliments the book well because it is a blend of different teas much like I am a blend of different spiritual beliefs right now.

Bookish Links 04-22-09

1. Chinua Achebe talks about the 50th anniversary of Things Fall Apart, including his favorite editions.

2. Here is an opening lines from books quiz from Abe Books.

3. Cuteness Alert: 15 Reasons Cats and Books Go Well Together

4. Doctors prescribe lots of things in their professional lives: from tablets to exercise to specific appliances. Recently there has been a growing interest in prescribing books as a treatment for people with different conditions.

5. I found this article on StumbleUpon: How Science Fiction Found Religion

Wondrous Words Wednesday

I am excited because I have not been able to participate in WWW for weeks now. I have two words this week, though!

One word comes from the book I just finished last night, Anne Tyler's Back When We Were Grownups:

1. reconnoiter
Used like this: "Is your mother okay?" "She's fine," Rebecca said. "But I was thinking I'd like to go home and sort of...reconnoiter. Check out my roots." She gave a light laugh. "Zeb," she said, "do you ever get the feeling you've changed into a whole different person?"

Meaning: to explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody

My second word comes from Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincy, which I have been reading on Book Glutton.

2. epigram
Used like this: "..whilst we never condescended to open our books until the moment of going up, and were generally employed in writing epigrams upon his wig or some such important matter."

Meaning: a short, often satirical poem dealing concisely with a single subject and usually ending with a witty or ingenious turn of thought.

What words did you find this week?

Good Books, Inc. Scavenger Hunt Entry #3

If you have not been by to check out Padfoot & Prongs' Literary Scavenger Hunt, then you need to right now! Seriously, why are you still reading and not checking it out??

Today I am making an entry for list item # 5:

5.) Watch 3 movies that are based of off literary novels.

Well, P & P, I can do you one better. I have watched the 3 movies since the scavenger hunt began, but I am also going to list 30 more movies based off of novels that I have watched and loved and 5 more I want to see. Such the over-achiever, I know. :P

3 Movies I Watched for the Scavenger Hunt
1. Schindler's List (a re-watch, but I love this movie. And the theme song is one of my favorites.)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (one of my top 10 favorite movies. Also a re-watch. About the 12th re-watch, actually.)
3. Prozac Nation (very interesting)

The rest of the novels turned movies I have seen:
4. The Da Vinci Code
5. Brokeback Mountain
6. The Cider House Rules
7. Forrest Gump
8. Breakfast at Tiffany's (another favorite movie of mine)
9. The Bone Collector
10. The Notebook
11. To Kill a Mockingbird
12. Memoirs of a Geisha (one of my favorite books)
13. The Perfect Storm
14. Angela's Ashes
15. A Beautiful Mind
16. The Count of Monte Cristo (one of my favorite books)
17. Crash
18. The Haunting
19. Dangerous Minds
20. Dead Man Walking
21. The Virgin Suicides
22. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
23. Jarhead
24. Pride & Prejudice (a favorite book)
25. Girl, Interrupted
26. Dances with Wolves
27. Don't Say a Word
28. Zodiac
29. High Fidelity
30. The Kite Runner
31. Under the Tuscan Sun
32. Little Women
33. Million Dollar Baby

5 I Want to See:
1. Freedom Writers
2. Persuasion
3. The Color Purple
4. Green Mansions
5. Lolita

Essay #4- Obscenity by Vonnegut

ESSAY #4- Obscenity by Kurt Vonnegut
FOUND IN- The Outlaw Bible of American Essays
DATE READ- April 18, 2009 (as part of Dewey's Readathon)
RATING- 3 Stars
QUOTE- "But even when I was in grammar school, I suspected that warnings about words that nice people never used were in fact lessons in how to keep our mouths shut not just about our bodies but about many, many things-- perhaps too many things."

Vonnegut's essay is about the use of obscenities in his writing. He mentions some reviews that suggested while his themes were important, his execution left something to be desired. Why? "Small obscenities crept in, and four-letter words became frequent in Breakfast of Champions in a riot of indecorous line drawings and misbegotten words that were suggestive of a small boy sticking out his tongue at the teacher."

Um, okay.

I guess I must consider the year that this review was written in Indianapolis Magazine. I wasn't even alive. I have to understand that in 1973 it was a huge shock to the world to have four-letter words floating around on an open page like that. In 1972, Vonnegut mentions, he wrote a short story for a friend entitled The Big Space Fuck. I am sure that was full of scandal for all who read it and heard about it as well.

As someone who cares not if someone uses obscenities, and, in fact, uses them myself, I don't see the big deal. A word is just a word. A word has power and meaning because someone gives it power and meaning. I am not suggesting we all start letting obscenities fly in church sermons and job interviews. I am saying that people talk this way, so why not write in the same way that people talk?

What do you think about obscenities in writing? Do you feel it has no place in books? Do you think it can be overused? Should we write the way that we talk? Do you think writing that uses obscenities lacks class? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Teaser Tuesday #5

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading. Visit and check out everyone's teasers.

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

My teasers this week come from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver:

"What' new on the farm?' asks my friend, a lifelong city dweller who likes for me to keep her posted by phone. This particular conversation was in early spring, so I told her what was up in the garden: peas, potatoes, spinach.

"Wait a minute," she said. "When you say, 'The potatoes are up,' what do you mean?" She paused, formulating her question: "What part of a potato comes up?"

"Um, the plant part," I said. "The stems and leaves."

"Wow," she said. "I never knew a potato had a plant part."

The Quote Game- Arguments

This Week's Topic: Arguments

Here's how you play:

1) Each week there is a new topic, sometimes easy and sometimes more challenging. Once you know the topic, it is then your turn to find quotes from books, short stories, essays, and poems that pertain to the topic. They can contain the actual word or they can be a reference to the word, but your quote has to make sense out of context.

2) Once you have found a quote, save it and come back the next Tuesday and post it here in the comments section, along with the work you found it in, the work's author and the genre of the work. There is no limit to the number of quotes you can submit.

3) Also be sure to note next week's topic, which is at the bottom of this post. Anytime you see a passage or quote in your reading this week (or if you know of or find one) make a note of the quote and make a note to come back to Lost in Books next week and share it!

4) To get you started, I will always post the first quote. From there, let your books be your guides and, above all else, have fun! :)

Next week's topic is Motion.

Now for your Argument Quotes!

100 Shots of Short- Stories 18-22

STORY # 18- The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
FOUND AT- Classic Short Stories
DATE READ- April 19, 2009
RATING- 5 Stars
QUOTE- "Here again I paused abruptly, and now with a feeling of wild amazement --for there could be no doubt whatever that, in this instance..."


STORY # 19- The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce
FOUND AT- The Short Story Classics
DATE READ- April 19, 2009
RATING- 3 Stars
QUOTE- "Before I could get upon my feet and recover my gun, which seemed to have been struck from my hands, I heard Morgan crying out as if in mortal agony, and mingling with his cries were such hoarse, savage sounds as one hears from fighting dogs. Inexpressibly terrified, I struggled to my feet and looked in the direction of Morgan’s retreat; and may heaven in mercy spare me from another sight like that!"


STORY # 20- Regret by Kate Chopin
FOUND AT- The Short Story Classics
DATE READ- April 19, 2009
RATING- 2 Stars
QUOTE- "One morning Mamzelle Aurélie stood upon her gallery, contemplating, with arms akimbo, a small band of very small children who, to all intents and purposes, might have fallen from the clouds, so unexpected and bewildering was their coming, and so unwelcome."


STORY #21- Three Miraculous Soliders by Stephen Crane
FOUND AT- The Short Story Classics
DATE READ- April 20, 2009
RATING- 3 Stars
QUOTE- "Heroines, she knew, conducted these matters with infinite precision and despatch. They severed the hero's bonds, cried a dramatic sentence, and stood between him and his enemies until he had run far enough away. She saw well, however, that even should she achieve all things up to the point where she might take glorious stand between the escaping and the pursuers, those grim troopers in blue would not pause."


STORY #22- The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield
FOUND AT- Classic Reader
DATE READ- April 20, 2009
RATING- 4 Stars
QUOTE- "And after all the weather was ideal. They could not have had a more perfect day for a garden-party if they had ordered it."

Click here to see what other short stories I have read for the challenge.

Musing Mondays 04-20-09

Coming towards the end of April, we’re a third of the way through the way through the year. What’s the favourite book you’ve read so far in 2009? What about your least favourite?

My favorite books read so far this year-
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
2. The Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away by June Cross
3. Notes from My Travels by Angelina Jolie
4. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
5. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

My least favorite books so far this year-
1. The New Girls by Beth Gutcheon
2. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Bookish Links 04-20-09

1. LitChat tweeted today about NetGalley, "a website where publishers can invite contacts to view their print or digital galleys, and readers can request galleys they want to review."

2. I read a little bit of Hamlet during the Readathon Saturday. The blog How Books Got Their Titles has a post on the legend of how the name Hamlet came to be.

3. I also tried to read Columbine by Dave Cullen on Saturday (pictured above), but it was just too hard for me to read about so soon after my dad. But if you want to know more about the book, check out NPR. Did you know it has been ten years now? It doesn't seem that long ago but I guess I was in high school at the time. It is a reminder to us all to pay better attention to our children and our nieces and nephews and neighbor's kids. Everyone needs someone to listen to them.

3. Here is an explanation behind the changes to Library Thing's new catalog look.

4. Check this out: Bookgal, the President of AME, tweeted this interesting info: Pizza Hut is hiring an intern for the summer to tweet for them. No, seriously. Nice job for a college student or someone looking for work, as long as you are willing to relocate to Dallas.

5. I completely forgot (I know, I know, imagine that!) to put Sandra from Fresh Ink Books on my Marvelous Mondays post. Check out her haiku writing that she has apparantly had published? Very cool! And well deserved, I might add.

6. $52,000 fine is waived after a book stolen from a Virginia library during the Civil War was returned, 145 years overdue.

Mailbox Monday 04-20-09

This week I only received one book in the mail, which is quite alright with me considering my TBR Pile is turning into a mountain!

But I am extremely happy that author Tomi Akinyanmi sent me a copy of her book, A Worthy Legacy, to review. I am having to be very, very good and not move it up to the top of my "books sent to me for review" pile ahead of the others!

Here is the synopsis for the book. You will see why I want to move it to the top, especially considering my recent circumstances:

The Harmattan wind scorches across Nigeria, and an old man lies dying. His community gathers to pay its respects; their haunting songs echoing in the warm twilight. Tomi Akinyanmi, his eldest granddaughter, is present along with the rest of the family, and as she listens to Grandpa's last words, she feels a resonance deep within her heart. For Grandpa doesn't talk of regrets, or petty grievances, instead he talks softly about life; how to survive, how to be happy, how to achieve self-respect.

"A Worthy Legacy" is a book far greater than its sum of parts; a moral guide that does not preach or command, but simply presents a code for life with a confidence and credibility that allows the reader to relate to and apply its philosophies.

Marvelous Mondays 04-20-09

I think this is my most read and most commented on post every week. I love bringing you great posts I find during the week. Please go read these blogs because they are worth it! What did you find this week that you found marvelous??

Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon:
~Here is the link to the official Readathon site. Check out everyone's answers to the end-of-event meme.
~Here are the #readathon tweets collected over at Twitter, if you are interested.
~S. Krishna absolutely rocked the Readathon. Check out how much she read. Did anyone read as much? If so, let me know!

Special thanks to Nymeth, Trish, and Hannah, who organized the event.

Three Extra-Marvelous Reviews:
~Check out the review of The Lost Hours by Kate White up at Bookfoolery and Babble.
~I enjoyed reading Heather J.'s review of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The "Quirks" section was my favorite.
~5 Minutes for Books featured a review by Dawn on the book Old World Daughter, New World Mother: An Education in Love and Freedom. Check it out!

Three Reviews of Unique Reads This Week:
~One thing I like about Matthew is that he is always reading something no one else is currently reading and then he writes a wonderful review about it. For example, check out his review on Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. It made me remember why I bought this book (but not why I haven't read it yet.)
~Aerin read and loved The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett.
~C.B. read and reviewed Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, a book AND a movie which I adore. In fact, the movie is one of my favorites of all time.

Other:
~Gwendolyn is having her first giveaway over at A Sea of Books (a great blog already, by the way). She is offering up 5 copies of Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts!
~Cathy at Kittling: Books talked about how her grandmother and a wonderful book fueled a lifelong love with flowers.
~Carrie of Books and Movies has moved her blog here! And with good reason! Be sure to change your bookmarks and RSS feeds so you don't miss any of her posts.

Have a wonderful week reading and reviewing! I will see you on my Google Reader. :)

The Comments Award- You Don't Say!

I am so psyched because Desert Rose gave me this kick-ass award! Here is what the award means:

"We give and get awards for having a great blog and being a good friend. What I want to award is those people whose comments have meant THE WORLD to me. It takes time to visit a blog and leave a comment ... I wanted to recognize some special bloggers whose comments have made such an impact on me. The “You Don’t Say?” Award is awarded to these special bloggers in hopes that they will pass the award along to 5-10 of their best commenters!"

Here are my 10 best commenters. These ladies will leave me comments on any and all posts and have been the most welcoming to me since I joined the blogging community in January. In short, they rock! So here's to you girls! You deserve it!

1. bermudaonion
   
2. TheChicGeek
   
3. Jenners
   
4. Beth F
   
5. Serena
   
6. Claire
   
7. Sandra
   
8. Ali
   
9. DeSeRt RoSe
   
10. Padfoot and Prongs
    

Readathon Recap

I just want to say congratulations to all of the readers for completing the Readathon. You all did so great! I can't wait to finish reading everyone's list of books read and reviews for those finished. I did not finish any books. Not surprising considering I read about a dozen different books. I don't know why I can't stay on just a couple of books. I keep going back to ones I've started so it is not like I just don't like them. I just want to read so many different things I am finding it hard to choose and prioritize! I will work on this.

Here is my finalized reading list for the Readathon. I have included pages beside those I know the pages for. Some I forgot to write down or I read on the internet (Beyond Good and Evil) so I don't know the page numbers.

~Obscenity by Kurt Vonnegut (10 page essay)
~Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche (I read parts 2 and 3)
~Good Books Lately by Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens (70 pages)
~The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford (30 pages)
~A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (Chapter 1)
~Most of a Cosmopolitan Magazine (yeah, yeah, I needed a break!)
~Hamlet by Shakespeare (about 10 pages before I realized I wasn't in the mood to read a play after all)
~Columbine by Dave Cullen (19 pages but it was too emotional for me. I've been missing my dad a lot this week.)
~Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler (80 pages)
~Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (50 pages)

So that is 269 pages I know about, plus however many from Beyond Good and Evil I actually read and from The Passage of India. Nothing compared to the thousands read by most of you readers, but a lot in one day for me. In fact, the most I have ever read in a day. I am not one of those read a book in a day types, so I feel good about this no matter how it falls on the scale comparitively speaking.

I do look forward to the October Readathon. I know now what my reading pattern will look like and I can set a page goal that will be challenging but achievable.

Thanks to all of the readers, cheerleaders, and friends who left me encouragement during the readathon both on my blog and on Twitter. You guys rock! :D

Until October, Readathon, until October...

Readathon Update! Hour 17

It is now 2 AM and we are in hour 17. You guys have been so supportive and encouraging! It was so awesome to read all of your comments! Thank you!
Sorry I have not been updating frequently. I spent about 6 hours at the bookstore this afternoon/evening for a change of scenery. I took books with me to read, but did I read them? Of course not. I do what I always do in a bookstore and picked up something else. I (amazingly enough) did not purchase anything but I did read some books I had not been expecting to. Here is my reading list so far:

I previously told you about-
~Obscenity by Kurt Vonnegut (10 page essay)
~Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche (I read parts 2 and 3)
~Good Books Lately by Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens (2 chapters)

Now in the past 12 hours I've also read-
~The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford (30 pages)
~A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (Chapter 1)
~Most of a Cosmopolitan Magazine (oh, give me a break)
~Hamlet by Shakespeare (about 10 pages before I realized I wasn't in the mood to read a play after all)
~Columbine by Dave Cullen (19 pages but it was too emotional for me for today. I've been missing my dad a lot this week.)
~Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler (80 more pages)
~Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (16 pages)

Okay, so I haven't finished a damn thing and I began reading 5 books. My reading today has been even more A.D.D. infused than usual!

Okay, I better get back to reading now. I am going to read more in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now. So far it reminds me a little of Stuffed by Hank Cardello, but in another way it is completely original, so I am liking that.

Happy continued reading to all those who haven't fallen asleep yet! :)

Readathon Update! Hour 5

Well, it is just after 1pm and I think that we are in Hour 5 now.
Here is what I have accomplished so far, which I am sure pales in comparison to all of my quick reader friends:

~I started with an essay. I read Kurt Vonnegut's Obscenity.

~I have also been reading Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche. I was in a philosophy mood. It is not the easiest of choices to pick for a readathon, but it is important to read something that you are in the mood for I think.

~I read some more in Good Books Lately, as well. Interesting book so far.

Okay I am going to read a little more and then take a break for some lunch! I think I might head over to the bookstore to read, too, just for a change of scenery.

Happy Reading, Everyone!