Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt

This summer The History Chicks did an episode titled Gilded Age Heiresses.  It was so so so interesting to me.  People with more money than they knew what to do with, the struggle for social power, etc.  I really enjoyed listening to it.  One of the books they recommended that I was interested in reading was Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart.

And as luck would have it, the book was in the personal library of Mrs. BBWP and I have a library card for there.

This was such a remarkable story.  Strong controlling mother, Alva, dictating as much of her daughter's life as possible. Even to the point of arranging her marriage into British nobility, because surely it's a mother's duty to pick her child's spouse.  indeed.  Plus, the story of what happened AFTER the wedding.  The book chronicles both women's lives from birth to death with a lot of historical context.

Here's the text from the back of the book:

When Consuelo Vanderbilt's grandfather died, he was the richest man in American. Her father soon started to spend the family fortune,m enthusiastically supported by Consuelo's mother, Alva, who was determined to take the family to the top of New York society - forcing a heartbroken Consuelo into a marriage she did not want with the underfunded Duke of Marlborough. But the story of Consuelo and Alva is more than a take of enterprising social ambition, Gilded Age glamour, and the emptiness of wealth.  It is a fascinating account of two extraordinary women who struggled to break free from the world into which they were born -  a world of materialist concerns and shallow elitism in which females were voiceless and powerless - and their lifelong dedication to noble and dangerous causes and the battle for women's rights.

Yes, that is much better than I could have said it.  It's definitely worth your time if this subject is anything you're interested in.

Sleep, the enemy ...

Husband hit it out of the park with this library pick. Husband forgets where he heard about this book.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

It is best described as 50 First Dates (a movie I'm not so hot about) meets Memento (one of my favorite movies ever)

It's about a woman who, because of a severe head injury 22 years in the past, wakes up every morning not knowing who she is, where she is or who the man is she's sharing a bed with. She can remember her day until she goes to sleep at night and then it's erased and she starts the next day back at square one. Until ...

It really is a great book in the thriller/mystery/suspense genre. I tore through this book. When I got to the climatic point of the book, when I knew the answer was about to unravel, I had to put the book down. I didn't want it to be over yet. BUT I was anxious to know the ending. So, I picked it back up and finished.

I told Husband one of the things I like best about the book was S.J. Watson is a completely unknown author to me. Unlike John Grisham, James Patterson, Stephen King or Dean Koontz, who I've read so many times, I'm not usually surprised anymore, Watson kept me guessing and kept surprising me.

loved it.

The Great Pretender

On a recent library trip, Husband picked up The Great Pretender by Millenia Black for me.

After reading the back of the book, I was definitely intrigued.

TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM THE BACK OF THE BOOK:

One man. Two lives.

For over six years, Reginald Brooks pulled it off. Having two families, leading two lives. Now the pretending must stop.

The Great Pretender. An electrifying tale of how one man tries to untangle his life, setting a full-fledged arena of wife against husband, lover against lover, friend against friend, family against family. Once you begin this engaging tale, you witness how one man's decision to pretend ricochets through the lives of several people.

Husband definitely did well with this pick. I really enjoyed the drama and wrong decision after wrong decision. In fact, I worked myself into quite a lather at the ridiculous choices these people kept making. I read it at a much quicker pace than I've allowed myself for books lately. It really pulled me in.

The emotions were real and very believable. I felt the anger, happiness, love, rejection, fear, betrayal right along with the characters. It was a real page turner for me.

Aside from not being able to counsel these people myself, I enjoyed it.

The only part I didn't like or think was entirely believable was the part that actually set the wheels of the story into motion. I'm not giving anything way because it's stated right there in the prologue, the double life ends because Reginald feels guilty. I just don't think that's quite believable. For over 6 years he's able to live with and carry on this lie and then suddenly he's just struck down with guilt? nah. Both women trust him completely and have no clue about his other life, but guilt makes him stop? nah. It's a nice thought, but I don't believe it's real world practice.

But I did like the book and I do wish that someone I know will read it so that we can yell together at each other about the ending.

Voices from Chernobyl

I'm not any kind of history know it all, but I do enjoy learning about history.

(slight tangent: my favorite history source right now is The History Chicks. Check them out. subscribe to their podcast and visit their website)

Anyway, back on task. I know enough about history that I can answer a Jeopardy category on most history topics, but that's about it. And my Husband has a BA in History and Political Science and BBWP has an MA in history. So, I'd like to know more.

Recently, Husband has been checking out more nonfiction books out of the library that he thinks I'll enjoy and Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster is the latest one. I actually heard about this one on a recent episode of This American Life and mentioned it'd be a book I'd enjoy digging in to. Weeks later, Husband picked it up.

And I guess enjoy is certainly the wrong word. There was nothing enjoyable about this book. It was hard and dirty and sad and pitiful. But also so moving and powerful.

Before reading this book, all I really knew about Chernobyl was that in April of 1986, a nuclear reactor blew and caused massive amounts of radiation to escape. And really, that's all you need to know to appreciate the book.

Ten years later Svetlana Alexievich started interviewing first responders, their families, evacuees, soldiers called in to help with the "clean up," journalists, teachers, pretty much anyone that would talk to her that had their life impacted due to the explosion and its aftermath.

The stories are so gripping, and moving and sorrowful. By far my two favorite stories are the first and final ones. They are both told by wives who lost their husbands. These were the ones that I reacted to the most, that pulled my heart and made me cry. Probably because I am a wife and have a fear that my husband will die. And these women told their stories so bravely and nakedly.

Anyway, I recommend this book if you're into history and nonfictions. It really is a story that deserves to be remembered.

Book to Purse Part 3 (!!)

Tina finished the purses, Tina finished the purses, TINA FINISHED THE PURSES!

Can you sense my excitement?

Imagine how surprised I was when my mail carrier dropped off a package on the porch yesterday. There has been no recent online shopping. It's no one's birthday. what in the world in this box? Then I recognize the handwriting and squeal. yes, I squealed.

Tina definitely had the hardest, most involved job. Remember, I just donated the books. Tiffany had a slightly harder job of selecting matching handles and fabric, but WOW, Tina was our workhorse.

sewing, gluing, shlacking ... she did it. And did it well.

My purse that used to be a Nancy Drew book

the inside -- peacock feather fabric. love it.

plus, the handles are a perfect size. The provide nice grip.

So ends the first project of the crafting trifecta. Now that I can sew, I promise to help bear the load when we get our next idea.

We still have all the pages of the books to do something with. ideas?

What's so Great About Divorce?

For June, my Reading is Cheaper than Therapy Friends and I have been reading The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis.

First of all, I need to say, I love C.S. Lewis. Actually have a literary crush on him. And aside from his science fiction stuff, I've read most every word he's had published, including Letters to Malcolm, which I recommend. I also have two collection of his letters. ok, ok, how much more proof do you need that I didn't have to go out and buy this book or check it out from the library to read? ;-)

I pulled out the copy I've had since college. highlighted in different colors, notes scribbled in different pen inks. There's something so familiar and comforting about revisiting an old favorite. Rediscovering parts you've forgotten or never noticed in the first place.

I'm not going to talk specifically and give away anything you won't read in the Preface.

In the first sentence Lewis mentions William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell (which I feel like I need to read since Lewis mentioned it) and says he's not trying to antagonize Blake or even pretend to understand what Blake wrote about. This is simply his idea.

I think one sentence in the Preface sums up the entire book. "If we insist on keeping Hell (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest the most intimate souvenirs of Hell." He writes like Hell, Purgatory and Heaven are all our own choices. And I believe they are, but he goes beyond my agreement to say that we can move freely from one to another as we wish.

He writes about the things that keep us out of Heaven: greed, lust, violence, arrogance, selfishness, materialism, pride. Just to name the most obvious ones. He tells stories of people's encounters in Heaven and how they are unwilling to give up these things so they can stay in there. Most believe it's easier to stay the same and live in Hell.

It's such an interesting read. And it always pushing the boundaries of my own theology. I'm excited to start discussing it tomorrow!

My first C.S. Lewis book was The Screwtape Letters and my favorite may be A Grief Observed (my favorite changes a lot).

Mennonites Wear Little Black Dresses?

I just finished reading Mennonite in a Little Black Dress By Rhoda Janzen.

And before I say anything else, you should head over to Reading is Cheaper than Therapy because we're discussing the heck out of it.

OK, now for my general assessment of it. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed. The title + the inside front cover gave me a slightly different (better) impression of what the book was going to be about/laid out/presented/whatever.

While I LOVED, Rhoda's words and general writing style I didn't really seem to like Rhoda (sorry, if you ever read this Rhoda. maybe we should have coffee sometime, I'd probably like you better in person) and that really weighed on my general feelings of the book.

I was pulled in by the story of a women who was raised Mennonite, then departed during her education, married a man who left her 15 years later for a man he met on gay.com. She then returns broken (literally and figuratively) to her parents' home to help recover. I was there. That's the story I wanted to read. But it ended up being so much more. There was a lot more to the marriage that left me screaming, "HOW COULD YOU REMAIN IN THIS MARRIAGE FOR 15 YEARS!?!?"

That and I kept getting the Mennonites and the Amish mixed up in my head. She would mention watching television and I would get distracted because I didn't think Mennonites even had electricity. The Appendix was a primer on Mennonites and it would have helped to have that in the front or even for me to have noticed it on the Table of Contents page. But I don't like to know what's coming so I never really read chapter titles on the Table of Contents.

I did enjoy the stories of her childhood and other Mennonite musings. That was fun and interesting. Plus, Rhoda does tell a good story.

Overall, I'm glad I read it. It led to some nice discussion with friends. But it was a slow read because I just lost interest.

The Mary Ward Brown Trilogy

At J-Day this year, I had the amazing pleasure of meeting and listening to a reading by Mary Ward Brown. I had previous read her second book of short stories and was really interested in getting to meet her (and possibly buying her two other books - which I did.) I loved this lady before I met her and listening to her read and speak about her writing and life sealed the deal.

Mary Ward Brown has published two books of short stories and one memoir. Tongues of Flame, Is Wasn't All Dancing and Fanning the Spark (the memoir). She has an amazing way of crafting sentences and weaving amazing thought provoking stories about life, race relations and the black belt.

Plus, she's a Judson girl. That makes this 93 year old lady my sister. And as weird as it sounds, I love her. I'd like to put her in my pocket and carry her around or even better bring some pecan pie to her house and enjoy a chat for as long as she'd have me.

After reading her story "Amryllis"

My favorite story from Tongues of Flame is probably the first one: "New Dresses" It's about an aged Mother-in-Law and her young Daughter-in-Law. They have a strained distant relationship, but the DIL volunteers to drive the MIL (who is dying of cancer and needs a new dress(es) because she's lost so much weight) dress shopping. While there, the DIL sneaks away to a more stylish shop to look for a new fancy dress for herself for an upcoming dance. Both women make a purchase and on the way home the DIL is surprised is find the MIL picked a very fancy dress even though what she needs are every day dresses. (I think MIL bought the dress to be buried in)

My favorite story in It Wasn't All Dancing is "The House Asa Bulit." It's very much a "the grass is not always greener" story.

I loved MWB's memoir too, but I'm not going to lie, I wish she'd written much more about her time at The Judson. I love how raw and honest it is. And also so conversational. I could almost hear her saying the words as I read them.

I'll admit, I'm wasn't a fan of short stories in middle school, high school or even college. To the point that I only really liked "The Lady or the Tiger," "Gift of the Magi," and "A Rose for Emily" before I started reading Mary Ward Brown. Short Stories always left me wanting more. I always felt there was more story to tell. More of the characters to get to know. But the way she so painstakingly chooses words and lays out her stories, I always feel satisfied when her stories are over.

She signed Fanning the Spark "For Christy, a Judson sister. My Best, Mary Ward Brown 4/2/11" She asked if I was a student or an alum. I told her she just made my day by asking if I was a student because I'm 30 years old!

Two Kisses for Maddy or Pass the Tissues, Please

There's not much more I can say about this book that isn't described just as well in the About section of its website.

There's an audio version, that Matt reads. And the paper version (there's also a Kindle version, I think)

I've been reading Matt's blog since Maddy was about 6 months old. I don't know him personally, but I feel so proud of him, nonetheless. Get to know this man and his daughter (and Brooke). They truly are people worth knowing.

Also, you can donate to the foundation he started to honor his late wife, Liz. The Liz Logelin Foundation

Book to Purse Part 2

Tiffany received the books in the mail yesterday and promptly headed to her local craft store and picked out fabric and handles. She did a fantastic job. I REALLY like her fabric choices. Stop by her blog to see her choices.

I'm really excited for Part 3!

Is Cinderella really eating my daughter?

The short answer, for me, is "not yet." Although, earlier this week Daugther brought me two of the finger puppets we got both kids for Christmas (pirates/unicorns/fairies/princesses. Thank you, World Market) and wanted to play. She had the princess and gave me the fairy. She told me the princess was named "Princess." But she told me that the fairy was really named "Rapunzel" because she had long hair. Then she said, " I will say 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair. And then we'll go play at the park." Super Why! (sigh) that's how my Daughter knows about fairy tales. I try to steer Daughter away from stories about helpless princesses being rescued by handsome princes. I'd rather she build towers out of blocks, even if she is wearing all pink to do it!

Anyway, back to the book. I heard about it on npr, and in her interview Peggy Orenstein, the author, sounded a lot like Ayelet Waldman, who I REALLY like so I decided to read the book. (It turns out Ayelet actually wrote a blurb for the back cover)

Husband checked it out from the library and that was the only thing I didn't like about it. I wanted my own copy so I could underline and highlight and write in the margins.

This is a quote from the book that sums up almost perfectly my feelings on the matter: "Mothers want so desperately to guide their daughters to an authentic, unconflicted balance of feminism and femininity, on that will sustain rather than constrain them."

I could go on and on about my ideas on the subject and yada yada yada, but I'll spare you. Maybe we'll talk over coffee soon. I recommend the book. I don't know how much a non-parent will enjoy/get out of the book, but I have a friend who doesn't have children but is a teacher and she really enjoyed it. It's definitely a lot of food for thought and at the very least will spark a conversation.

Raising a daughter is hard. But, really, so is raising a son.

The great make a purse out of a book adventure of 2011 PART1

Back in January, Tiffany posted a tutorial on how to transform a book into a purse. THIS is the original tutorial on Media Bistro.

My exact comment on her blog was : seriously. I love this idea. I can't even imagine how much time it would take me to choose a book, fabric or handles though. probably more time than it would take to assemble.

and that was before I learned how to sew!

Well, I now know how to sew and I just so happen to have three books lying around. (I used to actively scour antique stores/yard sales/flea markets/thrifts stores/etc for old Nancy Drew books.) I have quite the (incomplete) collection. sigh. I love Nancy. And along the way, I managed to get these three duplicates.

So, I decided I have three books and two friends who I know would LOVE to have one. Fabulous surprise I was going to craft for my crafty friends. Then, I sat down with my X-acto knife and the books. And I couldn't do it. I could not cut the pages out of the books.

could.

not.

do.

it.

It seemed so wasteful and demeaning to the words on the pages. I tried again. Still couldn't do it.

So, I spilled the beans in an email to Tiffany and Tina about my idea but how I couldn't cut the books. Tiffany gladly and QUICKLY volunteered her steady hand and knife for the job. (This woman is a librarian!! gasp)

It wasn't long before the Crafting Trifecta (I've made this a new tag on my blog ... so that means this won't be our only collaborative project) divided duties and started planning.

The book covers

the backs

and because I love books with histories, I feel like I should tell you more about each book we're about to mangle for a greater cause. (We are saving the pages for a craft project to be determined in the future)

The Password to Larkspur Lane once belonged to a girl named Lori Miller. She wrote her name in pink cursive. The book was published in 1966.

The Whispering Statue has the stamp of a Long Island, CA bookstore in it but no one's name. It was published in 1937. (as an aside, the copy of this book that I am keeping was owned by Lori Miller and was republished in 1970 but the cover isn't as colorful as the older one)

The Clue in the Crumbling Wall was once owned by Jana Ost and even included her telephone number. It was republished in 1973.

I remember our middle school (which we all three attended, btw) library had nearly all, if not all of the Nancy Drew books. And week after week of my 6th grade year I read them all. fond memories of Nancy.

I'm excited to mail these to Tiffany today. Then she'll do her part and blog about it and mail them along to Tina. And she'll do her part and if there's parts left to do, they'll come back to me.

I'm excited to see what these books become in the hands of my crafty friends.

ETA: I have no idea why the text is so many colors, but it probably has something to do with the copy and paste of the comment. blah. I can't fix it easily.

The 158-Pound Marriage

I FLEW through this book. First, because it's short. And second, because I got really wrapped up in the characters. There are 4 main characters and I liked some more than others but they were all very interesting and had deep personalities/motives/emotions. They seemed very real to me.

This is the first John Irving book I've read and I liked it so much, I'll have to read another. (He wrote Cider House Rules and I know it's a movie, but I didn't see it and couldn't tell you anything about it except it was nominated for some Academy Awards.)

The briefest synopsis I can give you is 2 couples begin a casual affair where they swap wives. (The book calls it a foursome, but never in the book are all four parties in bed together) I'm pretty sure anyone who has ever been in a stable serious relationship is like, "What? This will not end well." And not to spoil anything(the back of the book will tell you) it doesn't.

It's told from the perspective of one of the husbands and he seems to be a very reliable narrator. btw, the book was published in 1974, so give you a little historic perspective.

This is the kind of book that after it was over I wanted to talk about it. A LOT. This is the kind of story, that if it was a movie I watched with Husband, we'd still be talking about it.

I can't imagine a situation where I would ever think it was a good idea that Husband and I find another couple and intermingle socially and sexually with them. So, that part of the story was hard for me to relate to, but I definitely believed it was a possible scenario. Plus, I enjoyed reading how each of the four dealt with the affair.

read it.

finally finished this book.

I struggled. And I mean STRUGGLED through this book. It ended nicely though.

Husband heard about it on NPR and thought it would be something I'd enjoy. It sounded very Chuck Palahniuk-y (who I love. seriously, EVERY thing he's written is a favorite) so I asked Husband to pick it up at the library for me.

Basically, it's about a guy who realizes he can stop and restart time various ways for various lengths of time. Ok, I'm with you. I can suspend my disbelief for that. But it's what he does in the "Fold" or "Fermata" as he calls it that just really turned me off to the book. He would undress woman and admire them, sneak into their homes to "get to know them" and in a few instances he'd write very graphic pornographic stories for them to find and read.

That was a part that was just so hard for me to believe and latch on to. Really? he has the ability to stop time and he just spends it being a sexual deviant? eh. I had a ridiculously hard time relating to the main character. I'm not a sexual prude, but seriously, the sex talk was insane-o.

There were very slow parts where he talks about ways he's gotten into the Fold and the things he tried to get in that didn't work. I had to read most of that at least twice because I would find myself at the end of the page with nothing retained! Then there's the crazy sex stuff that shocked and horrified me. (ugh, I feel like an old church lady typing that!)

I wanted to stop reading it. But then I remembered the only book I've ever stopped reading in my life. The Life of Pi. (it haunts me. I hate quitting books no matter how much I dislike them) And I continued on. Like I said before, it had a good ending. So I'll probably remember it as not "not quite Chuck Palahniuk-y book that bulged my eyes and almost put me to sleep 12 times" and not "the horrible graphic almost rape book" <-- I could write a lot about how I felt what the main character was doing was pretty much rape but I'll spare you my essay.

Revolutionary Road (book versus movie)

Husband picked this book up for me at the library last week when he was there to pick up Harry Potter audio books for himself. It was a nice surprise.

After we watch a non-comedy movie we usually talk about it for days and days. But with Revolutionary Road I felt there wasn't as much to discuss because there just wasn't as much.

We'd just watched the movie and really felt like I didn't know enough about the character to understand their motivations for making the decisions they did. Why did Frank Wheeler do this? What possessed April Wheeler to make that decision? And there HAS to be more to John Givings than the movie gave me.

I really appreciated the extra character development (I shouldn't say extra since he wrote the book about 50 years before the movie was made) from the book.

Things twisted out longer and more elaborately as they tend to do in books as opposed to the movie produced for the masses.

I enjoyed the extra details about Maureen that the movie omitted. But I think that was intentional to make Frank seem more like the "good guy" and April the "bad guy" That's how she came across to me in the movie. selfish. I understood her more after reading the book. sympathized with her.

If you've read the book but haven't seen the movie - don't bother. Unless you just want to see Jack and Rose reunited in a mostly unhappy marriage. All the major dialog in the movie is practically word for word from the book. That was a little boring to drudge through.

And the book ending was a little more sad than the movie ending. Same ending. Just a little more details in the book. Sad real life story.

I added a "I'm reading" tab to the sidebar. Hopefully that'll help me remember to at least jot a few sentences about what I'm reading.

(btw, if you haven't read Devil in the White City by Erik Larson --- I recommend it. I read mostly fiction and Husband reads mostly nonfiction and he recommended it and thought it would be something I would enjoy)

I just read _A Wrinkle in Time_

this is the cover of the copy I read. the one Husband has had since he read it in middle school.

seriously, this was the first time I ever read it. I know, I know. Where was I in middle school? I was busy reading every Nancy Drew book and then every Fear Street book by R.L. Stine that I could get my grubby little hands on. true story.

I've never been much on fantasy books other than Star Wars, Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings and maybe a handful of other children's stories.

I liked it. I don't know how I wouldn't felt about it if I did read it in middle school ... I doubt I would've ever identified with Meg, the main character. She and I (back then) don't seem very similar.

It was a nice 'love conquers all' type of message.

And crazy old man in a little boy's body Charles Wallace kept blowing my mind.

As did late arrival Calvin.

It was a good fast read. I finished it in about 3 nights just reading before bed.

Pride and Prejudice AND ZOMBIES

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH.

Remember approximately three years ago when I got all hyped up about all these great classics I was reading and rereading? and then I just stopped.

I think I made it through 2 or 3 books. Since then I've read a lot of non-classics. Well, non-classics in the sense that they won't be on any Honors or AP English reading lists.

I've read/listened to on audio book the Harry Potter Series.

read the Twilight books.

read the Sookie Stackhouse series.

and about 2 dozen more various this and that books.

OH. I just remembered two worth mentioning by name: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote [post to come later for ICB] Great books.

Anyway, today I bring you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I read Jane Austen's original work in high school and will forever enjoy Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. so I definitely knew the story when I picked up this jewel.

I originally heard about it on a segment on Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me! and thought, I like zombies. I should read this some time.

With a gift card I received for Christmas, I headed to Books-a-Million.

I really liked it. Seth Grahame-Smith managed to seamlessly weave zombies into this classic so that I don't think I can read the original again with thinking of Elizabeth Bennet's amazing sparring skills (and not just verbal sparring this time). He did a great job of making these zombies so a part of the story, there's no question that they don't belong there.

And it made me want to rent Night of the Living Dead and watch my copy of Shaun of the Dead (my two favorite zombie movies)

"They're coming for you Barbara"

the first of many: a busy day of blogging.

I finished reading _The Lord of the Flies_ last night. and I've decided that because I don't want to include any spoilers I'm not going to really talk much about the plot. Well, can I talk much about the characters? eh, not without giving away more than you can get on the back cover. now my "reviews" are going to be very bare bones, hopefully just enough to get you interested enough to make you go to your book shelf, public library or book store.

I first read this book in high school and there was one part at the end that was in the back of my head the entire time I was reading the book. but there was a completely separate instance before it that I totally forgot about. This really is such a great book. with the themes, metaphors and the fact that it's an allegory. It's easy to read and easy to follow. wonderfully written.

I'd say the part that bothers me the most about the entire book, is surprising. The boys are on the island because the survived an airplane crash (that killed all the adults) but the plane is NEVER mentioned again. seriously. They never returned to the wreckage to look for supplies or shelter. I would've at least liked a sentence that said something like, "the plane was reduced to thousands of little pieces, yet these boys survived, but will they survive themselves?" well, maybe not that sentence because it sounds more like the tag line for a movie than something William Golding would've written. how about, "and the wreckage was drug out to sea?" yes. I could live with that.

Anyway. My two favorite quotes are both on the same page. Ralph, Jack and Simon are exploring the island.

• He wanted to explain how people were never quite what you thought they were.
• They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate.

To me, the most interesting thing about this book is that is was written in response to _Coral Island_ a similar story where 3 boys are shipwrecked on an island. so now I want to find and read _Coral Island_.

Next, I'm reading _A Separate Peace_ I had to read it in ninth or tenth great for Honors English and loved it.

The Catcher in the Rye and Holden

my copy

I've really been thinking about this post for a few days. and trying the best I can to not make it sound like a 5 paragraph essay for Honors English 11 (even though I never had to read this book for school) or some dis conjoined piece of mush. While at the same time, not including any big spoilers in case you haven't read it. ugh, here goes.

I don't remember what I thought of Holden and this book, specifically, when I first read it in college. I just remember I liked it mainly because I didn't care too much for the phonies that Holden spent so much time whining about.

Now when I'm thinking about Holden I'm torn. There's the phony hating kid I can still relate to, there's the kid who lost his brother to leukemia that my heart breaks for but there's also the poor little rich boy who can't seem to apply himself well enough in school(s) to manage to not get kicked out.

Phoebe calls him out on all his tomfoolery when he admits he got kicked out of Pencey. I think you can tell a lot about characters by how other characters relate to them. with Holden we see him interacting with a roommate, suite mate, a couple of nuns, a schoolmate's mother, a prostitute, a pimp, a couple of former teachers, a former schoolmate, a girl he dates and his sister. I think he's a pretty unreliable narrator so the best idea you get of who he is, isn't who he tells you he is, but who other people tell you he is. each interaction gives you a little more of the Holden Caulfield puzzle.

but to me the difference between whether I like him or just feel sorry for him has to do with how his perception of life was BEFORE Allie died. Was he always the kid who never tried in school? Was he always the kid who couldn't be bothered to put forth effort? The passive kid who just ran away for the weekend instead of dealing with his problems? or is his massive depression the sole result of his brother's death? and seriously, image how torn up you'd be if your brother/sister DIED as a child.

eh, it's all up for debate. J.D. isn't telling anyone. and won't let anyone else publish their ideas either.

On the whole, it's hard for me to relate to Holden but I still definitely like _The Catcher in the Rye_ and I want you to read/reread it too. What do you think of Holden Caulfield? whiny rich boy or tragic figure or somewhere in between?

This is at least my fourth time to read this book (I can tell because there are three previous kinds of highlighter used - pen, pink highlighter and yellow highlighter. and before you ask, I NEVER mix kinds of highlighter on a single reading)

most of the stuff was things that pertained to personal experiences of mine or inside jokes I shared with others. I'll share a few of my past highlights:

• I'll just tell you about this madman stuff - I made a smiley face beside that in the margin.
• That's how I practically got t.b. - for all the Judson girls
• What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.
• All morons hate it when you call them a moron.
• Anyway, I keep picturing all of these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy.
• I mean you can't hardly ever simplify and unify something just because somebody wants you to.

Undoubtedly, the mystique of the book has so much to do with Salinger's reclusive lifestyle, the fact that because of the profane language and sexual references it's one of the most banned books in high school reading and the fact Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley Jr both heavily identified with it. but also, the book is something generations of teenagers could relate to.

I'd sort of like to see the story made into a movie. but then again, those phonies would probably just muck it up. ;-)

I think next I'm going to reread _Lord of the Flies_ I haven't read it since 9th or 10th grade. I'll probably like it a lot more now that AP Cards aren't involved.

something to read - a new saga

I have books. lots of books. serious, tongue and cheek, scary, thought provoking, entertaining, empowering, nonesense, good to own books. lots of books. most of them I hope you've read or at least have on your to read list. Maybe some you've never heard of. Maybe some, after I mention them you'll go back and reread now that it's not high school or college required reading and it'll mean something completely different for you now.

My books are in bookcases and shelves in the office, in Daughter's room (my extensive Children's book collection resides there) and in the Master bedroom (The Judson related books live there and you'd probably be surprised with how many I have.) Well, the ones in the office are right here to my right. I look at them multiple times a day, but really, have little time to sit down and read or reread them these days.

but hopefully Something to Read will be more than a monthly update as I go back and read/reread books I own and tell you a little about why I love them and why you should read them. I picked up _Catcher in the Rye_ a couple of weeks ago to reread for probably the 5th or 6th time because I heard about _60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye_ by John David California (pseudonym) a stand alone sequel of _Catcher in the Rye_ that has J.D. Salinger all up in arms and suing about its release. (As far as I can tell, it's only being released in England, but I'm sure if you try hard enough you can get a copy stateside).

Here are a couple of links if you're interested in the story:
from Reuters and The Book Seller in the UK
Talk of the Nation also did a bit on it, I'm sure you can find it at npr.org

So, the news story reminded me of good ole Holden Caufield and how he hates phonies. I wanted to see if my view of him has changed since the last time I read about his crazy New York City weekend.

Anyway, it has but I won't give you the actual 'review' until I'm finished reading.

I'm a habitual underliner and highlighter when I read and it's always interesting to go back and see what I thought was important/interesting enough to break out the pen or highlighter for previously. maybe I'll include some of my past high lights.

go get started on _Catcher in the Rye_ and I'll try to finish it up by the end of the week.