Category: Literature

Birthday Books

Posted on by Dana

My parents have given me a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for the past several birthdays, and frankly they probably don’t realize how much I really, truly appreciate and enjoy it. I don’t get the chance to just buy books for myself — whatever I want — very often. I usually consider the cost, weigh how much I really want to own it after I read it, what other readers have said about it in conversation or reviews, and what I know about the author’s other work before I am willing to buy a book. Let’s face it, books are expensive. And they’re English teacher crack. I really have to either be on a specific mission or have enough money to indulge a little, or I can’t even go in a book store. That’s why it’s so nice to be able to go nuts with a book gift certificate once a year. So thanks Mom and Dad!

I recently ordered some items from Amazon with a gift certificate I earned through my referral fees as an Amazon associate. I bought the DVD The Freedom Writers and Terry Jones’ Who Murdered Chaucer: A Medieval Mystery. I ordered them on August 28. I’m still waiting for them.

Freedom Writers Who Murdered Chaucer

My order with Barnes and Noble was placed on September 11. To expedite my order, even though shipping was free, B&N decided to ship the items separately. I have already received part of my order, less than 48 hours after I made it. I find it somewhat intriguing that both my Amazon order and my B&N order were placed using gift certificates, but were treated comparatively differently. Just for the record, both items I ordered from Amazon usually ship in 24 hours, according to their descriptions. Both companies waived shipping and handling fees because I spent above a certain amount; however, the fact that the shipping and handling fee was waived didn’t seem to impact the speed of my service with B&N. Again, just making a general observation. I’m usually a very happy Amazon customer, and I can’t remember another time they have taken so long with an order.

At any rate, here is the run-down of my order with B&N:

The Intellectual DevotionalThis book has been on my wish list since Wil Wheaton mentioned it on his blog. It is a compendium of information in every field of knowledge: history, literature, art, science, mathematics, music, philosophy, and religion. The devotional is a concept long associated with spiritual books, but I think this is the first attempt at a secular devotional. The devotional starts on a Monday, but you can start on any Monday. Actually, since I received it today, I started and read up through Thursday, Week 1. I learned about the origins of the alphabet, cave paintings at Lascaux, James Joyce’s Ulysses (which will be my next DailyLit selection — I must be crazy because it’s even longer than Moby Dick and will take me about 11 months to read through Daily Lit, but I decided that I probably wouldn’t read it any other way), and cloning. Did you know that Dolly the cloned sheep had a shorter life span because she was a clone? Her telomeres, “thin strands of protein that cap the ends of chromosomes,” were too short because they were replications of her six-year-old mother’s telomeres. Scientists aren’t exactly sure what telomeres do, but they shorten over the lifespan of organisms. Dolly’s shorter telomeres were most likely a factor in her shorter life. She was put to sleep at the age of six, suffering from arthritis and cancer. Most sheep live about twice that long.

Romantic Favorites Collection I’m not sure, but I think that Love, Actually has been on my wish list for about a year and a half, since I first saw it after renting from our cable company’s On Demand service. I loved it. I love British romantic comedies, and I really don’t care what Hugh Grant did in the car with a prostitute in L.A. I’ll watch anything he’s in. Colin Firth, too, but I don’t have to worry as much about his reputation. And I have loved Julia Roberts since college — I used to try to emulate her look. Remember when she wore the jeans, white tee-shirts, and blazers in the early ’90s? Yeah, that was me in college. Anyway, this package cost about $20 at B&N, and it contains four movies. I thought it was a great deal. In case you can’t tell, it includes Notting Hill; Love, Actually; About a Boy; and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

Merlin is an alternative point-of-view telling of the King Arthur story. It’s really beautifully shot, and I like the different twist. I am so picky about King Arthur movies and books that unless the author does something fresh, I just get aggravated by the changes they make. Don’t get me started on First Knight, for instance. So much potential, yet so terrible in execution. Not so with Merlin. I used to own a copy of this on VHS, but can no longer play VHS movies anyway, so it was time to get my replacement. I’m looking forward to watching it with Sarah. I’ll bet she likes it.

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice Finally, I ordered The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, which I’m sure I must have read about first on the Jane Austen blog (the review didn’t put me off, however). Jane Austen is one of my favorite writers, and I couldn’t resist a volume that had explanations for every small detail. You know, I’m not sure if I’ve ever owned an annotated book, and I think it will be interesting to see how it enhances my reading experience. I’ve read annotated books — Norton’s anthologies, for instance, and other college literature texts are often annotated, and the annotations really help. At any rate, I love slipping into Austen’s world, and hopefully David Shapard’s annotations will enrich the experience.

I’m enjoying Rebecca so far, and I think the R.I.P. Challenge in general will be a fun one. Tomorrow night, Sarah and I are trekking to the Alpharetta B&N to see Stephenie Meyer (who has some of the best advice for aspiring writers on her website that I’ve ever seen) and get her autograph on Sarah’s copy of Eclipse. Can’t wait!

By the way, in case you were wondering, my birthday is Monday.

[tags]books, literature, stephenie meyer, eclipse, r.i.p. challenge, jane austen, intellectual devotional, british romantic comedies, merlin[/tags]

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Caught Up

Posted on by Dana

I spent a couple of hours this morning catching up on Moby Dick, so now the DailyLit blurb in the sidebar is, indeed, correct, and I await the 211th installment of 252 total installments. I have 42 installments left, and by my calculations, unless I fall behind again, I should finish the novel by October 21.  I started reading it on February 12.  I don’t think I could have finished the novel if I hadn’t read it through small daily installments, but it sure feels like it’s been an odyssey.

[tags]moby dick, dailylit[/tags]

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R.I.P. Challenge Decided

Posted on by Dana

After thinking about the R.I.P. Challenge today, I have decided on the four books I will read. Actually, I already finished one, but these four books constitute my participation in this particular challenge:

Twilight Rebecca
Jonathan Strange & Mr. NorrellJane Eyre

In case you haven’t noticed, I changed the music in the sidebar to Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” which I think is perfect for curling up with a gothic book. I just wish we had some cool weather, changing leaves, and maybe some raindrops to complete the atmosphere. But I am thinking fall thoughts.

[tags]r.i.p. challenge, reading, literature, twilight, rebecca, jonathan strange & mr. norrell, jane eyre[/tags]

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Twilight

Posted on by Dana

TwilightA few short hours after announcing that Twilight would definitely be my first book in the R.I.P. Challenge, I finished it. According to my records, I did indeed start it on September 1, so without realizing, I wasn’t even cheating a little bit on the challenge!

I read Twilight based on a recommendation from my daughter. I have to admit I’m a little surprised it turned out to be her cup of tea. Twilight is the story of Bella, who moves in with her father to Forks, Washington in order to allow her mother to follow her baseball-player husband on away-game trips. She immediately notices good-looking Edward Cullen and his beautiful siblings — they keep to themselves and are considered mysterious by the rest of the students. Edward notices Bella, too. In a relatively short period of time, Bella is sure of three things: “First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him — and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be — that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”

Twilight is aimed at a teen audience, but I believe fans of vampire fiction of all ages would enjoy this suspenseful book. My daughter devoured the book in less than 24 hours, and while I didn’t tear through it that fast, I have to admit that a 498-page book usually takes me a bit longer to read when the beginning of a school year is in full swing. The book is the first in a series including New Moon and Eclipse. The book is fresh, telling some of the familiar parts of the vampire story without being derivative. I think the novel would appeal to fans of vampire fiction as well as those who usually don’t read that sort of book. All of us can relate to Bella’s feelings about being the new girl and crushing on the handsome boy. I really enjoyed the book and plan to read the sequels, too.

[tags]twilight, stephenie meyer, literature, review, fiction, vampire, books, r.i.p. challenge[/tags]

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R.I.P. Challenge

Posted on by Dana

R.I.P. ChallengeCarl over at Stainless Steel Droppings has a challenge right up my alley — the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril challenge. I have heard of his challenges on other book blogs I read and wanted to participate in one for some time (and nearly did the last Fairy Tale challenge), but it seemed I always found out way too late (good argument for Carl now being in my RSS reader) or got way too busy at that particular moment. But the good news in this case is that I had already started without realizing because Twilight is a perfectly acceptable choice for the challenge! Beside that, I am all for ushering fall in this year with a stack of gothic books. I haven’t completely decided which books (in addition to Twilight) that I’ll read yet, but some ideas include:

I’m still thinking, so after you’ve checked out Carl’s post for requirements (which are very loose), please feel free to suggest titles. The starred titles would be re-reads, but I don’t think that’s necessarily cheating. I would like to firm up what I’m reading fairly soon, and I am totally up for suggestions.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to add that one my student’s parents invited Sarah and I to take part in her mother/daughter book club, and some of these books would be perfect!

[tags]r.i.p. challenge, literature, books, reading, gothic, mystery, horror[/tags]

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September Books

Posted on by Dana

I have given up on Return of the Native for the time being, but I think I’ll try to pick it up again later. It’s just the kind of thing I usually like to read. I am reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer at the behest of my daughter. Ms. Meyer will be at a book signing in nearby Alpharetta on September 14, so I am supposed to finish Twilight and its sequel in advance of our trip to the signing, but they’re pretty thick books, and I’m a pretty slow reader. Perhaps Sarah will forgive me if I can only finish one.

I’m still reading Moby Dick, but I’m behind. I know where it says I am in the sidebar, but that’s just the most recent installment DailyLit sent. I am actually a good twenty or so installments behind that.

I bought Anthony Burgess’s Nothing Like the Sun and plan to read it soon. I’m also trying to finish Grendel. I have this great historical fiction project going with my British Lit. class, and I want to read all the books on the list that I haven’t already read. Here’s the list, with the ones I’ve read crossed out:

OK, so I know that Grendel isn’t historical fiction, but it sure does go well with Beowulf, and I really wanted to have books that represented each time period we would be studying.

I have a lot of reading to do. I’m looking forward to it.

[tags]historical fiction, england, britain, reading, books, twilight, stephenie meyer[/tags]

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Posted on by Dana

Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsI finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night, and all I will say is… wow.  It was amazing.  I loved it.  It was my favorite of the series, and possibly, I have to say, my favorite book ever.

I won’t post a review here.  I have a Harry Potter blog, and I will be posting whatever thoughts I want to share about the book over there.  I do want to wait until this weekend in order to avoid spoiling it for others, but frankly, after the book has been released, I say it’s fair game for discussion.  Pop on over there if you are interested.

I wish I didn’t have so much summer reading to do!  I want to start over again from the first book to the last.  That’s a project that will have to wait.

Thanks so very much for the wonderful books, Jo.

[tags]harry potter, deathly hallows[/tags]

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One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Posted on by Dana

One Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichAleksandr Solzhenitsyn poignantly captures the hardships of the Soviet Union’s labor camps in Siberia, as well as the arbitrary unfairness of living in that regime in his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , and I’m glad I read it for that reason.  Solzhenitsyn himself was arrested after criticizing Stalin in a personal letter.  He was sentenced to eight years in a labor camp, and permanent internal exile following his labor camp sentence.  This sentence was, however, apparently commuted after he was treated for cancer.  He was deported from the Soviet Union in 1974, but returned in 1990 following the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Much of Ivan Denisovich Shukov’s experiences in the labor camp must have been modeled after the author’s own.

I found the novel difficult to read.  In order to preserve the narrative thread, which captures one day in an average prisoner’s life in the camp, the book is not divided into chapters.  This lack of division made it difficult to stop reading.  I am generally not a reader who can read an entire book in one sitting.  For one thing, I’m a slow and generally careful reader.  Even if that were not the case, however, as a mother of three I don’t have the luxury of reading in one sitting most of the time.  Therefore, with Ivan, I had to frequently re-read passage so I could pick up the thread of the narrative again.  To be honest, having to re-read so much made the book something of a chore to get through.  I would imagine a few of my more politically-charged students might have found the book interesting, but I would be surprised if the majority liked this book more than Siddhartha or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

I didn’t find the book difficult to understand; H. T. Willetts’ translation was accessible.  However, the unfamiliar names did impede my comprehension somewhat.  I’m not sure I did a very good job keeping the characters straight.  For example, I would imagine most American readers would have no problem understanding if a character named Robert were suddenly called Bob.  Likewise, it probably throws off no Russian readers when Ivan is addressed as Vanya, but it didn’t immediately occur to me that Vanya was a nickname, and I was confused.  I started to look up the name, thinking perhaps it was a term I was unfamiliar with and then it hit me as I looked at the name that it was a nickname.  In general, however, the book’s footnotes did an excellent job helping Western readers understand the allusions in the book.

I think One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is an essential text — a true-to-life account of what life was like in the Soviet Union, and I think people who read this book may come away feeling more thankful for the freedoms they have.  However, I can’t really say that I found it enjoyable.  Perhaps a book about a Soviet labor camp shouldn’t be described as enjoyable?  Let’s say it wasn’t gripping, then — at least not for me.

[tags]aleksandr solzhenitsyn, one day in the life of ivan denisovich, book, review, literature[/tags]

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Brave New World

Posted on by Dana

Brave New WorldContinuing my quest to finish all the summer reading my students have to do, I finished Brave New World this morning. I usually like dystopian novels, but I didn’t like this one, which is somewhat ironic considering it is one of the two “gold-standards” of dystopian novels (the other being, of course, 1984). It’s been a long time since I have read anything that gave me bad dreams, but even putting that aside, I didn’t like the novel for other reasons.

First of all, I found it somewhat problematic that Huxley’s society would repress family and childbirth by manufacturing children in “hatcheries,” but at the same time encourage promiscuity. It would make more sense to me that the World State would repress sex altogether and punish people caught having sex. Huxley explains this objection away through the words of his character Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe, who says that encouraging promiscuity is necessary because “[y]ou can’t have a lasting civilization without plenty of pleasant vices.”

I also found it hard to believe that the World State would allow dissenters to continue an existence in exile. What if they decided to band together and overthrow the World State? Doesn’t dissent represent too much of a threat to allow it to continue?

Another issue that bothered me was the fact that 70% of the women were sterilized in “utero” (for lack of a better term), and the other 30% were made to use contraception. Where did they get the human ova? Did they require the women who could have children to donate their ova, or did they extract them from fetuses, and if so, why not sterilize all the women after extracting the ova, eliminating the need for contraception drills? I can’t remember that Huxley mentioned where all those eggs came from.

Also, as much as I understood that this society prized consumerism and mass production to the point that they even manufactured people (the description of the hatchery was, to me, the most disturbing part of the novel), I still found the, for lack of a better word, worship of Henry Ford to be hard to buy completely. It does help explain why the society as a whole is uninterested in history, if you take Ford’s assertion that “History is bunk” at face value.

I think the novel explores some important issues, including exactly where we might be headed when we make consumerism and pleasure-seeking the point of our lives and don’t worry about learning. Huxley’s vision of equality isn’t really far from the truth with the exception that the government doesn’t actively introduce toxins to fetuses to subjugate certain groups. We are probably at the stage when we might indeed be able to mass produce people as the novel depicts — I wonder what Huxley would make of in-vitro fertilization and cloning (and please understand I don’t criticize people who use in-vitro to have children; the principles behind the creation of children in the novel and with in-vitro are similar, however).

I can easily see that my students might have trouble with this novel, particularly catching all the references and making connections, and for that reason, I should probably choose this one to study prior to assessment (as I have explained, students are assessed over two novels without benefit of class study). It would certainly provide fodder for discussion, and I already have the beginnings of a good assessment rolling around my head. I don’t think students would have the same difficulties with The Picture of Dorian Gray, but I haven’t read The Return of the Native yet, so I’ll delay making a decision until I’ve read that one.

After having finished Brave New World, I’ll say I’m glad I read it because it is one of those novels that literate folks, especially English teachers, should have read, but if I hadn’t had to read it for school, I’m not sure I’d have finished it.

In case you’re interested, the books I still need to read to prepare for school are The Return of the Native, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (the latter two I began last summer, but never finished). If I have time, I will re-read The Bean Trees. If I keep up the pace I have been, even with the release of the new Harry Potter book, I should still finish all right.

[tags]literature, book, review, aldous huxley, brave new world[/tags]

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Siddhartha

Posted on by Dana

SiddharthaLast year when I was deciding which summer reading book to study with my seniors, I picked One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because my particular students were somewhat free-spirited neo-hippies if you will. I really liked that about them, and I thought they’d enjoy Cuckoo’s Nest for the whole counter-culture aspect and association through Ken Kesey with the hippie movement. One student, however, lobbied for a study of Siddhartha. He proclaimed it had been his favorite summer reading book. This from a student who found something to dislike in just about everything we read. It made me think. We couldn’t study it last year, frankly, because I hadn’t read it. I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into one selection this year, which is why I resolved to make sure I’d read all the summer reading books the students were required to read.

After having read Siddhartha myself, I can say that I’m not sure I’ll select it yet again. One thing my principal and department head have always made clear is that I should select the book that really grabs me the most. I think Siddhartha is intriguing. In many ways, I can see why it might be interesting to study with a class, but I’m not sure if my sort of lukewarm response to the book might be obvious.

If you are not familiar with the novel, it is an allegorical story of the quest of the title character for spiritual enlightenment. It strikes me that Siddhartha is much more receptive to learning from all different kinds of people than most people are. I think in this he is wise. He meets Gotama, whom we most often refer to as Buddha, but decides that he cannot learn from Gotama what he must experience himself. If the truth be told, he reminded me very much of Henry David Thoreau and John Dewey in some of his ideals. In fact, Siddhartha’s best teacher, the ferryman Vasudeva, is the one who realizes that he is a facilitator — Siddhartha must learn for himself. In fact, it might be interesting for teachers to read this book for its commentary on education. If I don’t decide to teach the novel in class, I can at least compose better topics for essays. It was a short book and only took me a couple of days to read, even with all the other interruptions in life *cough* computers and TV *cough*. I’m glad I read it, and I think I’ll be turning it over in my head for some time.

[tags]siddhartha, hermann hesse, literature, book, review[/tags]

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