The Grizzlies Left Their Great Big Teeth and Their Claws At Home

     Another week, another book.  I've been trying to put off buying another book for a while since I finished The Rook (I think I made it a whole week before I finally gave in).  Right now I'm reading the first of the Jack Reacher series (the novels that inspired the movie that stars Tom Cruise).   So far it's been pretty interesting and nothing like the movie looks like it's going to be, but in the movie's defense there are a good many different books to pull from, so who knows what troubling story they are going to actually pull from.

     Before I read The Rook, I was intrigued by a movie trailer of The Mortal Instruments: The City of Bones which meant I had to read the book to see if I was interested.  At first I thought the book was interesting and pretty decent.  The essence of every story is evil versus good so there are only so many ways that can play out, especially in such a fantasy-driven world.  However, there were a few plot twists in the book that felt a trifle strange (or maybe cliched is a better word) and it completely changed my feelings towards the book.  I'm looking forward to the movie, I'm sure it will be a complex and beautifully created world and all the action will play out well on screen.  The character development, the one thing I love most about books, just wasn't there.  So even though it is a series, you won't find me reading the rest of them.  

     But I would highly recommend the movie Brave, it is as sweet and heartwarming as you can get.  And the little triplets are the cutest little things ever!

(Photo Credit)

     

Title: "Avalanches (Culla's Song)" by A Fine Frenzy

Take the Time to Build Yourself

     If you're looking for a book that you won't be able to put down, look no further than Daniel O'Malley's The Rook: A Novel.  This mystery, thriller, science fiction/fantasy story really has a hard time fitting into a specific genre.  It's main genre that I can really nail down is butt-kicking.  Seriously, I have not gotten this excited about a book (and haven't been immediately ashamed about said excitement) since I can't remember when.  Basically, it's a story of amnesia, extreme preparedness (it has actually been inspiring in my real life job), supernatural and corruption.  My favorite part--it's set in ENGLAND.  Of course, that would be why I absolutely love it, right?  (Just kidding, but seriously.)
     It's gotten rave reviews on Amazon and it is a new book (just out in January of 2012).  What's really surprising (but not really) is that it is written by a man and the main character is a well-written, well-developed woman.  Oh, and even though it's set in England, O'Malley went to college here in the States and currently lives in Australia (where he grew up).  I throughly enjoyed The Rook and can't mention it highly enough.  The planning that probably had to go into writing this book blows my mind.  Seriously, the writer has my full respecTt.  I'm just so glad that I found this book.  I would encourage anyone to read it, especially if you enjoy plot twists and action packed adventure.  It is also a moderately long book, so it will be perfect for holiday travel.

(Photo Credit)

Title: "Every Little Thing" by Soft Swells

We Could Live to Learn and Learn

     Books changed my life.  Honestly, I can't remember a time that I didn't know how to read/wasn't reading a book (except for that dark time from sophomore to junior year of college where I only read school-related books).  I got an English major and a History minor for a reason, other than "just making sure I was fully unemployable" (see Liberal Arts movie trailer).  Even before I was in middle school I would stay up late with my "night light" and read books way late into the night.  I've always been somewhat of a night owl and book junkie.  I doubt I could tell you about all of the books I've read, but some of them stick out.  One in particular was my favorite for years--and then I read Jane Austen.  And yes, this means I'm turning Saturday into Book Day just because I feel like all of my weekend posts should be themed.  Actually, now that I'm thinking about this author, I keep remembering books I want to read by her.  So instead of just highlighting one book, I'm highlighting a whole body of work.
     Robin McKinley is a British author (I think).  What I know for sure is that she has an English writer husband and has written some of my favorite childhood books.  Although if you look at the Amazon listings it says the reading level is "18 and up," pretty sure I read them on one of Colorado road trips we took (so 4th-5th grade maybe).  I'm way super glad that Mom didn't know about the "reading age" thingy.  There was not anything inappropriate in the books, but I'm getting sidetracked.  Robin McKinley has written The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, Rose Daughter, Deerskin, and Sunshine.  All of which I loved.  Warning there are some adult situations in Deerskin, but it's still a great story (and not extremely graphic like things are these days).
     The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword are set in the same imaginary land centuries apart.  These stories are epic tales of young women stepping up and becoming heroines without even realizing what they are doing.  Mostly they are just trying to do the right thing.  Beauty and Rose Daughter are retellings of Beauty and the Beast.  While I'm not 100% certain, I think that Beauty is McKinley's first published novel.  I know it is her first attempt at retelling the fairytale and Rose Daughter is a much more elaborate version.  While some elements are similar in both books, they are not the same story.  However, I kind of wished I had read Rose Daughter first as I fell in love with Beauty and compared everything, but that is also just my personality.  Deerskin is a story of magic, survival, justice, loyalty, and love.  I don't even know if I could sum it up for you or even begin to do this story justice.  Let's just say it's a powerful complicated story.  Sunshine is fairly new.  If by new you mean early 2000s--The Hero and the Crown was first published in the late '80s.  Sunshine is a vampire book that was written obviously before Twilight (but also after Interview with a Vampire).  It is not all about vampires though, it takes into account that if the vampire stories are true then so are other stories.  Actually Sunshine was one of the first serious vampire books I read and I personally think it can hold its own with the best of them.
    I've never been one to follow trends because in my opinion if you're busy keeping up with trends then you don't have much time to create your own ideas, opinions, and taste.  So maybe I missed the part when Robin McKinley was a big rock star in the book world or in truth maybe I was barely just born.  She has won more than a few awards and recognitions for her work.  I love her.  I was extremely sad once I had read everything she had ever written.  (I hear she's coming out with some new stuff in the upcoming years and I seriously cannot wait!)  In fact, I'm probably going to have to reread Sunshine just because I started thinking of her (I very recently reread The Blue Sword for about the fiftieth, which is my absolute favorite of hers).

Title: "Dark Sea" by Husky

This Is the End

     The last installment of the Twilight Saga recently hit theaters, as in last night.  Based on my newsfeed on Facebook, it was the best movie of them all. While I've seen them all, I just have to say that isn't that hard to beat the previous movies.  They pushed the amount of drama they could pack in one scene to the max.  Honestly, the books were dramatic and about how one girl couldn't survive/thrive without a boy.  What does that teach our youth?  But before I digress completely the movies had such dramatic music, dramatic pauses, dramatic looks/glares that it almost became comical. Oh and apparently this movie ends differently from the books?  Or at least rumor has it.

Because I'm trying to prove my point here are a few videos:

I'm just ready to go see Skyfall on Saturday.  James Bond=a good time for everyone.

Title: "Skyfall" by Adele

You Live So Intensely

     If you've been following my blog for some time, you might remember that I want to be a novelist.  I have no more ambitions in life.  (Okay, so that's not true, but I'm trying to make the point that it's an important dream of mine.)  Since I was assigned a fiction writing project in my 7th grade English class, I have not stopped creating stories and trying to get them out on paper.  (In my class, we were broken up into groups, but I was pretty sick for a few weeks so I was in a group all by myself.  I had full control of the different fairytale stories we were supposed to write.  Looking back, I'm pretty sure that assignment changed my life.)  So from what I can remember starting in 7th grade I would write and write, not necessarily about the same stuff and reading what I wrote back then now makes my stomach cringe a little.  However, I can remember the movie in my head I'm trying to describe and acknowledge that it was a valiant effort.  These past few years as an English major (and growing into my perfectionism) have gotten me a little off track.  What really matters when you're writing is that you're writing for yourself, not for others.  I have gotten stuck in wanting to create the best masterpiece I can.   I look at the novels of Jane Austen, Ayn Rand, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald.  These books have withstood the test of time and they are still so important in the English world today.  I strive to want to have just one masterpiece like that.  For a while I thought the answers were in the books themselves so I wouldn't let myself write until I had read x amount of classics.  That didn't take because I have yet to finish one classic.  I'm trying a new approach that has everything to do with November and passion for telling stories.
     Since I first heard about National Novel Writing Month that takes place in November two years ago, I've tried to complete this crazy challenge of writing 50,000 words of a continuous piece of fiction.   NaNoWriMo as its fondly called is pretty awesome and intense.  The first year I heard about it (through my loving sister) I started a brand new story and poured all my feelings out in the story.  I had just been through a break-up and well it was pretty cathartic (but the general story and writing wasn't that great).  Plus my dedication sort of fizzled when studying for classes took precedent. Last year, I honestly can't remember what I did.  I'm pretty sure I didn't even attempt it because I wanted to focus on graduating and making good grades (but I did promise myself that I would take part in it again this year).  My promise to myself was the only thing that let me calmly accept that my participation last year would just be a mess and not productive or helpful.
     This year I have a game plan.  It's not much of anything, but I ran across an old story of mine that I started in high school.  It does have some contents that are worth saving, but I'm completely reworking it.  While NaNoWriMo strives for their participants to have new, original material, my old story and the new one I'm starting to plan writing won't have much in common except for some similar story lines in the first few chapters.  I'm going back to a story that has filled my dreams so many times.  I can already see some of the scenes that will take place.  All in all, I'm excited and looking forward to November so I can finally write something.  While I'm not expecting any kind of literary genius, I just want to write a good clean story that maybe some people will want to read, but most of all it will be something that I want to read over and over again just so the story can play out in my mind once again.
     While I'm not so naive as to think this will be an easy task, I'm looking forward to seeing it through. And I'm trying to figure out a way so that most of my free time can be taken up by this project.  I'm cutting out all of my favorite shows for the month (I'm DVRing all of them so I know I'll be able to watch them once November is over).  Wish me luck because this task is not one I undertake lightly, especially now that I've told you about it.  Now I won't be able to give-up.  I have to make it to at 25,000 or I'm going to have to hide in shame for a little while because I know that the only reason I didn't finish (or at least get half way) was because I mishandled my time and was lazy.  I won't let that happen.  Or so I say now, come the end of November and I'll be full of excuses!

This next month is going to be pretty intense.  But if I get too stressed out these cute guys will always be here to help me get my head back on straight.

Although I love the a capella version of this song both versions are almost equally as awesome.

Title: "Unlike Me" by Kate Havnevik

A capella version:

Money is the Anthem

     Saturday night I watched the most incredible movie, Atlas Shrugged, Part I.  Going into the movie I wasn't so thrilled, I didn't know what to expect.  I had tried to read Ayn Rand's Fountainhead in high school and it left a foul taste in my mouth.  I wanted to like it and the parts that I read I did like, it just took me forever to read it and it was, oh just over 700 pages (of really tiny font).  I was reading it for a writing contest (to write an essay on it) and I realized I was never going to be finished before the deadline.  So I returned the book to my English teacher and did what any sensible person would do read the plot summary on Wikipedia.  I'm not proud of it, but I did learn what happened.  Needless to say, I had had my first second experience with Rand (the first was from reading Anthem, which I really enjoyed).  Since then I've always wondered how people would make a movie of either the Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged (which is even bigger than Fountainhead).
     When I finally gave in to watching Atlas Shrugged (or even just clicking on the movie poster on Instant Netflix), I realized that the title of the movie read:  Atlas Shrugged, Part I.  And the movie that's in theaters now was obviously titled Part II.  Curious me had to instantly look everything up on imdb.  That's when I got the shock of my life, Paul Johansson (a favorite actor of mine who played the infamous Dan Scott on One Tree Hill) directed and starred in this movie.  From then on out I knew it was going to be good.  The fact that Dagny (one of the main characters) was played by Taylor Schilling (from the not so hit TV show, Mercy, and the movie The Lucky One) was just a huge bonus.  Who ever decided that Atlas Shrugged, Part I shouldn't be advertised and Part II should be was a complete sillyhead.  From the plot to the acting to the cinematography, the whole movie is sublime.  I wish I had known about it sooner.  I really do.
     But from what I've seen of the trailer for Part II, the acting and the main characters aren't so strong.  Maybe I'm just biased right now because of the high Part I has me on, but its the way I feel.  I even want to read the book!  And I don't read books after I seen the movie.
     If you're wondering what the movie is about, I guess I could give you a quick summary.  The government takes complete control of the economy (which super stinks, btw, prices of gas are on average $35/gallon or something ridiculous like that).  The government decides that everything should be equal (it's unfair for one person to own more than 1 company, everyone should have equal wages, etc.).  But mostly the people who are running the government are self-entitled, self-interested morons.  They spin the media so that new things are "dangerous" especially if it has a chance at succeeded (if Rearden Steel won't sell their  new formula for steel that is over twice as durable and light than regular steel, then Rearden Steel is unsafe!).  The main characters, Dagny Tagget and Henry Rearden, try their hardest to fight the system and succeed no matter what gets thrown at them while some of their hardest and best workers are disappearing.  All with the one question:  "Who is John Galt?"
     It's an extremely intricate, extremely beautiful commentary on socialism and a busybody government that happens in the not so distant future (2016).  While Ayn Rand wrote the novel in 1957 (I'm sure that seemed like an eternity until the future she wrote about), I'm sure the commentary was pretty relevant to her time (and even more so now).  I think that may be why the release of Part II was so advertised (and still is) because of the upcoming political election.  When they made Part I, there was always a trilogy in the plans, I just wish they had signed on the whole cast for all three movies.  It doesn't make sense to me to switch the actors/actresses when the characters are all supposed to be the same.  Maybe the cult following they were expecting just didn't pan out.  Okay, I can think of a lot of maybe possibilities.  I'll go into watching the movie with an open-mind, but I'm already predicting I'll like the first one alot better (just because of the actors/actresses).
     You can see what I mean below, if you want to compare the 2 trailers.  (The blondes are supposed to be Dagny Taggart and I have yet to figure out who is Henry Rearden in Part II, but I think it's pretty obvious in Part I.)

Atlas Shrugged, Part I trailer

Atlas Shrugged, Part II trailer

And because you know I love pictures of my main man, here's Oscar cheesing for the camera.

Update 10/23/12:  I forgot to post this photo in the original blog post.

Title: "National Anthem" by Lana Del Rey

(skip to 2:05)

(Also just a disclaimer, not my favorite song/video, but it seemed a little relevant.)

I Got the Lights in My Eyes

5 things I'm thankful for this week:

(Photo Credit)

Books.

I need to remember whenever I'm feeling a little listless/restless/over everything,

I just need to read a thrilling book.

(Photo Credit)

Photography workshops.

I'm getting super excited for a workshop I'm attending in late January,

I booked the flight and the hotel this weekend.

Photos.

I finally figured out these photos on here,

they're bigger now.  Did you notice?

Puppies.

I'm spending the weekend with my adorable buddies,

especially now that Oscar's fur is naturally turning a shade of pink.

Heroes.

I heart Peter Petrelli/Milo Ventimiglia.

Remember when the show was the "it" thing?

Title: "Lessons in Love (All Day, All Night)" by Neon Trees

That's Cool, But If My Friends Ask Where You Are I'm Gonna Say

     I've been a busy, busy bee.  Yesterday I traveled all over the upper part of Mississippi gathering items for Click's Fall Fashion shoot coming up (for our October issue, but it's happening like now). Then I took a few senior pictures for a family friend around the Collierville square.  Finally I attended the Literacy is Key Author Reveal party.  It was awesome.  There are some pretty amazing authors speaking at the event in January.  The line up is Courtney Miller Santo (an up and coming Memphisian), Claire Cook (author of Must Love Dogs, the novel), and Mary Kay Andrews (a name many of y'all are probably already familiar with).

     I saw this music video this morning and the song has been stuck in my head ever since.  I love it.  I love the Mexican influence (instruments) plus who doesn't sometimes feel this way after a break-up?  I definitely think Train has the right idea making this their next single.  It's just so dang catchy. They also know how to make some pretty awesome lyrical statements.  (My mom was unable to attend the Kappa function with me... so I guess that relates... weak, I know.)

Title: "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" by Train

There Was a World That I Thought I Knew

     Despite everything I said yesterday about being able to read books quickly, unless I have a series to read, I'm pretty much a mess trying to decide what book is next. It seems to take me at least a day or two or three to figure out what to read, especially now with Kindle.  I can get a sample of everything before I start reading so I know if I want to read it or not.  Usually I have to try a bunch a samples until I find just that right fit for the mood that I am in.  Even when I'm convinced I want to read a certain book, if I put it off and then come back to it sometimes it ends up in the "I don't want to read" pile.  I'm not quite sure why I struggle so much with picking a book.  I think I go back and forth between what I really want to read (fantasy, romance, easy reading) and what I think I should be reading (classics, literary, denser reading).  A blog all about books (and writing), Pub(lishing) Crawl, had a post,"My Love Letter to Fantasy", which summed up basically everything that I've felt towards the genre (sub-genre, what have you).  In fact, the post kicked me out of a must-only-read-classics-phase and made me feel a little less guilty about reading fantasy.  Which led me to Patricia Brigg's Cry Wolf and has since then become one of my favorite series.
     For a long time, I felt as if I needed to read only classics, no matter how long it took me to read them, because they would help me with my writing.  Of course, that is true, but the more I think about it the more I wonder if that is the only way to go about improving your writing.  My theory was if I understood how the classical authors wrote (and I understood the classic novel structure) then it would translate in my writing.  This theory may not be incorrect, but I don't have to only stick to the classics.  I can read contemporary novels as well.  On a side note, by classics I mean Jane Austen, Shakespeare, The Brothers Grimm, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and others.  As you can tell by my list, I don't necessarily mean the real classics, but the authors who have stood the test of time and are still popular enough today.  I would even include Dashell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, C.S. Lewis as authors.  Singular books might make it onto the list even if their authors are not on there as a whole.
     As I am still in between books right now, I'm just trying to figure out what I will be able to read through.  I wish I had enough patience and endurance to read through more of the classic books when I'm not having to talk about it in class (or have quizzes on it).  Fantasy books just make me desire to read them and not even be able to put them down, literary books make me want to read them for the knowledge I might could gain from them but when I put them down I end up feeling discouraged because I haven't gotten through as much as I thought I had.

Title: "Long Time Coming" By One Night Only

Isn't Keeping Out the Doubt and the Disbelief

     I realized today that I haven't even begun to read a single book on the extensive list of "Books To Read" I made a few months back.  I started the list because I wanted to improve my own writing skills, but the older books are so much more dense than I remember.  They take a little while to get through them and I'm used to finishing a book in a day or two (maybe a week).  So I started reading more fun books (starting when I bought this impulse buy on the way home from Hawaii and I loved it).  I think I'm going to go back to my original list.  I want to educate myself and really break down the book like I used to have to do in class.  (I just need to figure out how to do that one again.)
     I've been struggling with my pseudo-novel story in progress.  I'm such a character driven reader and writer.  The dialogue is usually one of the better parts of my story, but I'm struggling to figure out how to change things about my story (very basic things... like where they are in the world, what they do for a living, how old they are).  I want to complete it, but maybe it would be better if I just started over. It definitely would be easier.  But I love my characters.  Not to mention that I've already written roughly over nine chapters and close to 170+ pages.  Then again my college advisor did say that you have a certain amount of bad writing you just have to write out.  So maybe starting over wouldn't be so bad.
     Either way, I'm hoping to read a good bit more than I've been reading (or maybe keep it at the same pace that I've been going).  I've pretty much quit watching TV so that I can read and do my jobs.  I've gotten to the point where I only watch TV when I'm editing and then it's mostly for the background noise.  Oh, wait.  I forgot I watched a couple of shows the other night on my computer.  I forgot, but if the pilots you can watch early are any indication of Fall's new TV lineup I won't be missing much.

Title: "Young Glass" by Hey Rosetta!

When All We Need Is To Think, Try, Reach, Love, Live

     Yesterday I talked about my recently roughly sketched out five-year plan.  It has not really been something that has been on my mind, all of the ideas just came together during a quiet moment after an extremely loud, but fun day.  However, I guess some of these things have been reoccurring in conversations for a few months.  I just lost sight of what I really wanted in the long run and started looking at the more practical what can happen now things in life.
     For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a novelist.  Even when I could not put a sentence together correctly to save my life (or spell any of the words), I wanted to tell imaginative stories.  I wanted to be the author of a book that someone would read over and over and over again because they loved the plot, the imagery, and they wanted to get lost in a story, my story.  Back when I was growing up, before Harry Potter and Twilight, in the middle of the Gossip Girl book series, there was not much to the young adult fiction world that was well written that was not just, well Gossip Girl.  I had been lucky enough to find a few good books that I loved that fit well in the young adult world, it was fantasy and it was not a Jane Austen novel (not that I could really read to understand any of the parody behind her work), but it was well written and I felt like I learned something about the human condition from it. You can learn about the human condition from Gossip Girl novels, too, but that is more like reading People magazine or OK Weekly as opposed to Vogue or Harper's Bazaar.  I think you get my point, I wanted more from my books that I could not find in the young adult section, but I definitely had some trouble finding what I wanted from the adult section.  After all, I did not really want to read those scandalous sex scenes.  I tended to skip those parts because the rest of the book was at least decent.  Adults used to have a much higher standard than the young adult section.  That is not so much the case anymore.  You can find (or really, I have found) books that are equally has horribly written, plotted, cliched, etc in both sections.
     In college, when I finally decided on an English major I did so with graduate school in mind.  I was planning on taking a year off and then applying to creative writing graduate schools (with no where in particular in mind).  When I finally graduated a semester early, I was so sick of school there was no way I was going back.  I was tired of classes, tired of homework, tired of putting forth effort.  But most I think it was the migraines talking, my whole last semester I felt horrible.  Now that I have some distance between graduation and now, I do not want to give up on my dream.  Everyone talks about going to graduate school, until they actually graduate from undergraduate and then (from people I have talked to) a good many of them change their mind.  I did.  And now I am changing it back.
     Graduate school, in general, scares me.  I worry about not being a good enough writer to get in, not having good enough grades, not being experienced enough, just not being good enough in general.  I think I am worried that if I can not get into graduate for creative writing then maybe I should not be a writer.  I think fear is the main reason I changed my mind in the first place.  But the only way to conquer your fear is to face it.  So that is what I am going to do.
     My five-year plan is that I am going to work (a real job) for a few more years (roughly two or three) and then I am going to start applying to graduate schools for creative writing (in the fiction genre).  I will also be applying for teacher assistantships and other fellowships.  Right now, I have a few places in mind that are my top choices (Wilmington, NC or somewhere UKish) but just because those are my favorites does not mean I will get in nor will they end up being the places I go if I do get in.  I will most definitely weigh all of my options and choose the right place for me.  Then again, who knows if I will even make it to that part.  A lot can happen in two to three years.

Title: "Inside Out" by Katie Costello

Now I'll Be Bold As Well As Strong

     I find myself in cycles of obsessively having a camera almost glued to my hand and never having anything resembling a camera near me.  With my iPhone camera, these cycles have some what changed a little (meaning instead of never having a camera near me I might take a few photos here and there but there is still usually a limit to that--like no people pictures).  Of course, as a freelance photographer when I'm covering an event (or taking portraits) it doesn't matter what stage of the cycle I'm in I will still cover an event like it's my job (because it is).  As of right now I'm in my not so favorite cycle, the never taking picture part (or at least not as much as I should/wish I would).

     I hosted book club tonight.  Preparing for tonight was so much fun.  I spent a good part of the day melting chocolate and puréeing watermelon.  I definitely would not have been able to proficiently do any of the hosting without the help of my mom and my dad.   (My dad helped me make the peanut butter cups.)  One of the things I was most excited about (besides all of my recipes being a hit) was the fact that everyone enjoyed the book (Wicked City by Ace Atkins)!  We had a lively discussion about it before deciding on some new books for the coming months.  Our list seriously rocks (it's extremely diverse) and I can't wait to read it.  

     In the coming days and weeks, I'm going to try and work on maintaining a happy medium of pictures.  After all, this weekend is a Game Weekend (as in a Grove Weekend, since I never really go to the games).  I enjoyed Wicked City so much, I honestly wouldn't mind reading other books by Ace Atkins.  The next title of his on my list would have to be Infamous.  I heard him speak about it at the Literacy is Key event in Memphis (last January, benefiting Literacy Midsouth).  Just the way he spoke about it made me want to read it (even before I had read book by him).  After reading Wicked City, I want to read it even more because I know he can develop characters as fully as they deserve.

Title: "Nothing is Written" by Mumford and Sons

Heavier Than I Knew

     If you follow my blog regularly, you will have noticed I didn't post yesterday.  I've been pretty down in the dumps lately over my migraines.  I hate to say that I'm depressed because I started feeling bad again, but when my health went backwards instead of forwards it really frustrated me.  It's still frustrating me.  I even think I feel better and then I start to do something (because I'm feeling better) and I'll feel bad again.  It has given me the strangest urge to sob at any little thing.
     I didn't really feel like blogging yesterday, but there have been many times where I've just sucked it up and felt accomplished after I posted even just a little something.  Then I realized it was Sunday.  Sunday meant that it was my "five things I'm thankful for" day and I just couldn't do it.  Of course, I had things I'm thankful for.  I'm always thankful for my family (including my puppies and my kitty).  That could have been three things already, but I wanted to be thankful for other things.  So here's my second attempt at things five things I'm thankful for this past week.

It's almost Tuesday and my turn to host Book Club!

meaning I get to feel like a grown-up because even though I'm hosting in my parent's house, 

I'm the actual host (not my mom)

I feel like I'm preparing a very small feast of desserts

I won't ruin the surprise for the ladies who are coming 

but I will say one of the things involves watermelon

I found out this morning that there is a Little Free Library in Mississippi

in Arkabutla to be exact

I don't have a picture but it still makes me feel a little better about the state of Mississippi

The simple fact that I don't feel as bad as I did on Thursday and Friday

 

I might get to hang this amazing piece of art on my wall

(it's from Hawaii)

Title: "Cameo Lover" by Kimbra

I've Heard the Story

     In case you didn't already know this about me, I love Free People.  I love their clothes, I love their stores, and I especially adore their website and blog.  While browsing through the Free People blog, Bldg 25, today I found a post about Little Free Libraries.  The writer of the blog (they have multiple contributors) came across a small, mailbox-like structure that housed books.  The policy of the Little Free Library is you borrow one and you return one, something kind of like the take a penny, leave a penny holders at cash registers (except of course this is sharing knowledge, not money).  As an avid reader, I personally think this is an awesome idea.  I followed the link to the Little Free Libraries website and found that there was a whole system of these libraries spread across America (and abroad).
     What deeply saddened me was that there was not ANY of these libraries in Mississippi!  NONE!  There are some in Arkansas, some in Alabama, and even some in Tennessee, but not one in Mississippi.  Not even in the "literary capital of Mississippi" aka Oxford.  To me this is shameful, but not entirely shocking.  After all, Mississippi is the least literate state in the nation.  I think that if these books were available then maybe that could change.  I know that library membership is generally free, but for some reason I feel as though this would make books more available to the public.  I could be wrong and it could just be that I'm a romantic about these things.  I know I'd love to find a little birdhouse of books that I could borrow from.  It would be a neat little treasure.  If I lived in a neighborhood, I most definitely would be pushing to sponsor a Little Free Library but until that day I guess I'm just going to have to live without one in Mississippi.

(Photo Credit)

 (Photo Credit)

(Photo Credit)

(Photo Credit)

This Little Free Library is the one that was posted about on the Free People Blog.  However, while I was searching for images of the different kinds of libraries, I came across the blog post that told about this guy being erected.

     Personally, I think we should do something about not having one in Mississippi, but I'm not 100% what I can do about it now.  If someone wants to put one up please let me know and I'll send a book or two or three your way to put in it!

P.S. Yes, I know I sound something like an English teacher with all this enthusiasm about upping Mississippi's literacy rate.  It affects so many other things than just the simple being able to read the road signs or your bills or a book.  Reading (books) on a daily basis enriches your life, sharpens your brain, and expands your imagination.

Title: "Cigarette Eyes" by Matt Costa

I'll Keep the Life That I've Got

     I am a multi-multi-tasker or is it more I have so many project ideas that I can never seem to stick with just one?  I'm not entirely sure which one I am more.  But sometimes, I kind of wish there were more hours in the day so that I could do everything I want to and more.  I can't blame it all on not enough time, really, it's that I don't have enough time to do everything that I love (like reading whole books in a day) and all the other projects that I can't seem to actually accomplish.  I just got done reading a series of books that made me remember how much I love pure, unadulterated novels that are easy to read, sometimes action packed, and well written.  I've been trying to read some older books lately (Jane Austen, Sir Richard F. Burton, and the like) and while they are definitely great things to read they are dense and harder to wade through.  I'm finding I like the current books a lot better than anything else.  I've been doing a lot of reading on my Kindle app for iPhone/iPad and while I have found it easy to read, I still miss the book in my hand and flipping the pages and smelling the pages.  But it does seem that I get sucked in a little more when I'm reading it on the screen of either technology.  I don't know what it is, but it is harder to put it down than a normal book.  Maybe because I can't really ever tell how far along I am (even when I look at the scroller at the bottom of the page) where as when I'm reading a book I have the evidence of how much I've read and how much I still have left to go.  I don't really know and I don't really care. I think I'm going to have to make it a point from time to time to actually buy a book, but I definitely know that I won't be giving up on books so soon.
     My parents moved Will into his room at his frat house today giving me a leisure/recovery day of not doing too much (reading, knitting, writing, and maybe a little TV watching).  The only pictures I have are of Oscar.  I know, not another dog picture!  I hope y'all aren't too terribly tired of my puppy.  You have had a break from him for a whole week, even I did showcase some dog pictures in Hawaii.

Title: "Synthetica" by Metric

(skip to 1:18 for the start of the song)

I Wish I Had a Mango Tree

     I miss reading.  Back in high school I used to always have my nose stuck in a book when I wasn't actively doing something else (like learning in class), but once I got to college and had to read more and more it became a chore and definitely more like school work than pleasure.  It's been a recent change that I've found pleasure in reading again (like in the past 6 months), but then with my migraines I was unable to read even when I really wanted to.  Now I'm hoping to get back to reading again.  I have on my bookshelves a good number of classics I want to read and I just printed out a few different book lists.  I came across Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list (and Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels), which definitely encouraged me to read some books that I would normally never read.  (Plus I felt pretty accomplished to check off the ones I had already read-- it wasn't an astonishing number, but it still made me feel good.)  Yesterday (or maybe the day before) a friend posted a link to the "Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge" book list.  It's a book list of all the books on Gilmore Girls that Rory is seen reading throughout the 7 seasons.  I crossed off what I could, but again it wasn't an astonishing amount (about 30 and I already have about 15 other books lined up for me to read off of this list).  Then I ended up looking up a list of the Best Southern Literature (according to GoodReads).  Their list includes 471 books and some I definitely don't agree with (the first Sookie Stackhouse novel should not be number 23 on the list) but all in all the list seems at least somewhat sound.

     I took all of the lists and made a small list of my own (in a notebook) of books I would like to read; this does not include the books that I already have on my shelves. I'm going to slowly make my way through every single one of those books until I have read them all.  I'll keep you updated, if you like, especially if I find a book that I really love.  Right now I'm reading Jane Austen's Persuasion.  I started it before I made the list or even thought about making the list.  I've read it before but now I know it's going to have so much more meaning to it.  I have wanted to reread all of Jane Austen's books since I reread Northanger Abbey in college (I liked the first time I read it, but I didn't really get the whole meaning so it was just so much more the second time around and I have a feeling all of her books are going to be like that).

     Oscar is recovering nicely, well, he seems to be anyway.  I've noticed that he hobbles when he gets up from naps (like an old man) but I think his paw just gets stiff when he isn't using it.  Sometimes he limps and sometimes he's having so much fun he forgets to limp or not jump or not do something equally silly.  When I love on him, his hurt legs keeps ending up in my lap.  He paws at me kinda like "look, it hurts, do something about it" but besides that he is his old self.  He still barks at the cat and roughhouses with Jack.  He's totally terrified with a capital "t" of my car.  He looks at me with those sad, scared puppy dog eyes when I get in it.  While I'm glad he's not hanging out under my car anymore, I hate that I was the one who ran over him and I'm the one getting those eyes.  I'm his mom!  He still loves me though.  Which is completely wonderful because I would be very, very sad if he didn't.

     We just booked a flight to Hawaii (for my parents and me) for the beginning of August.  I can't wait to go.  We'll get to see my sister and her husband, their puppies (there's one of them we haven't met), and see their brand spanking new house.  Seriously, it seems so far away.  So the video that I chose is in honor of us going to Hawaii (even though I don't exactly like mangoes).  

Title: "Mango" by Angus and Julia Stone