In 2012 I am participating in the Greek Classics Challenge. Hurrah!! I have a couple waiting to be read on my shelf so this will force me to eat them. :)
I'm aiming for the Sophocles level, which means I will read 1-4 Greek classics during 2012.
My choices:
The Histories by Herodotus
The Bacchae and Other Plays by Euripides
The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle (I've read excerpts of this, but not the whole thing)
Monday, December 19, 2011
Chunkster Reading Challenge 2012
In 2012 I am participating in the Chunkster Reading Challenge. The rules are simple: the only books that count for the challenge are works of adult literature (fiction, non-fiction or poetry) with at least 450 pages. Additional rules/clarifications can be found at the link.
I am aiming for the "Chunkster" level, which means I will read 4 books with the above criteria. My choices are below.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allen Poe
Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Alternate: The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Robert Fagle, because Fagle is boss.)
I already own all of these and they really need to be read. THEREFORE.
I am aiming for the "Chunkster" level, which means I will read 4 books with the above criteria. My choices are below.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allen Poe
Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Alternate: The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Robert Fagle, because Fagle is boss.)
I already own all of these and they really need to be read. THEREFORE.
X-Men: THE EXTREMISTS and HOUSE OF M Mini Reviews
I read these for the Graphic Novel Challenge.
So I love X-Men, but I am a very amateur fan. I've only read a few of the comics, watched some of the kids shows, and of course the movies. My buddy Kemendraugh recommended House of M to me, and The Extremists was just sitting on the library shelf so I picked it up, prepared to be completely confused (and oh, I was).
The Extremists is part of the Uncanny X-Men storyline, so there was obviously a lot going on previous to the volume I read. The story focused on a group called the Morlocks, who are trying to, you know, get humans to accept mutants, but this is an EXTREMIST group of those so they, you know, wander around disfiguring humans. As one does. The X-Men are all HEY NOW and there's prophecies for the future and a group of prophecy-sycophants and it was all very fascinating. I was mostly concerned with Leech, who is in mortal peril the entire time, and his buddy Caliban. Storm was a key character, I think. But yeah I was really confused by the story so I'd really only recommend it if you know where you are and what you're doing and what your purpose in life is. I wasn't very impressed with the dialogue writing in this one, regardless, which encouraged me to skim because everyone talked the same (except for the main Morlock and Caliban) and it was all very boring. Rating 3/5 stars.
House of M was excellent (of course, because Kemendraugh recommended it!). It starts out with a super-powerful mutant chick going crazy and altering the entire universe (so there's that). The only one who remembers what life was like before is Wolverine (of course). So he has to figure out what's going on, tell other people, and they have to decide if they should change the world back, and how. I was very distracted by Spiderman in this volume (The Avengers are in it). I've recently realized that my Spiderman love has nothing to do with the movies because every time he pops up in a comic, I'm just HEY THERE SPIDERMAN LET'S FOLLOW YOUR TINY SUBPLOT AND IGNORE EVERYONE ELSE. I really liked his tiny subplot here. ^_^ The writing in this volume was awesome too, hilarious and interesting and driven. Yes, driven, as in you needed to read all of it rather than just look at the pictures. Rating 4/5 stars.
So I love X-Men, but I am a very amateur fan. I've only read a few of the comics, watched some of the kids shows, and of course the movies. My buddy Kemendraugh recommended House of M to me, and The Extremists was just sitting on the library shelf so I picked it up, prepared to be completely confused (and oh, I was).
The Extremists is part of the Uncanny X-Men storyline, so there was obviously a lot going on previous to the volume I read. The story focused on a group called the Morlocks, who are trying to, you know, get humans to accept mutants, but this is an EXTREMIST group of those so they, you know, wander around disfiguring humans. As one does. The X-Men are all HEY NOW and there's prophecies for the future and a group of prophecy-sycophants and it was all very fascinating. I was mostly concerned with Leech, who is in mortal peril the entire time, and his buddy Caliban. Storm was a key character, I think. But yeah I was really confused by the story so I'd really only recommend it if you know where you are and what you're doing and what your purpose in life is. I wasn't very impressed with the dialogue writing in this one, regardless, which encouraged me to skim because everyone talked the same (except for the main Morlock and Caliban) and it was all very boring. Rating 3/5 stars.
House of M was excellent (of course, because Kemendraugh recommended it!). It starts out with a super-powerful mutant chick going crazy and altering the entire universe (so there's that). The only one who remembers what life was like before is Wolverine (of course). So he has to figure out what's going on, tell other people, and they have to decide if they should change the world back, and how. I was very distracted by Spiderman in this volume (The Avengers are in it). I've recently realized that my Spiderman love has nothing to do with the movies because every time he pops up in a comic, I'm just HEY THERE SPIDERMAN LET'S FOLLOW YOUR TINY SUBPLOT AND IGNORE EVERYONE ELSE. I really liked his tiny subplot here. ^_^ The writing in this volume was awesome too, hilarious and interesting and driven. Yes, driven, as in you needed to read all of it rather than just look at the pictures. Rating 4/5 stars.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
STAR WARS: REBELLION (1&2) Mini Reviews
I read the first two volumes of this series for the Graphic Novel Challenge. The overall premise of the series is that it is set during the time of the original Star Wars trilogy, and features some well-known faces while introducing new characters who at least claim to be working for the Rebel Alliance. Treachery, however, is a big theme.
The first volume, My Brother, My Enemy, was a bit iffy for me. There were various aspects of the story that I found confusing or inadequate. For example, the beginning of the volume sets up the friendship between Luke and Tank as if the reader is already completely invested in it. This either means that the prologue was a complete fail as far as I was concerned in getting me to immediately invest in the friendship, or that there's another storyline that leads into Rebellion that I don't know about. Either way, it seemed a sloppy way to start out an entire standalone series. I was also not huge on the Luke/Leia subplot, which was evocative of the incesty relationship they had back in the dawn of Star Wars in the 70s. However, I did become attached to Tank, the main protagonist of this volume, and I hope (I demand!) that he show up again. Rating 4/5 stars.
I enjoyed the second volume, The Ahakista Gambit, much more. The story was woven well between flashbacks of the protagonist, Wyl Tarson (who showed up in a small capacity in the first volume) and the present day, as opposed to the disjointed prologue of Volume 1 followed by the present-day chopped up with repetitions of said prologue. The weird Luke/Leia dynamic was nowhere to be seen and it focused on a handful of Rebellion-reject (I know, I thought they took ALL the misfits!) characters with backgrounds that are only hinted at. I look forward to learning more about all of them, and I thought Wyl especially was a much more fleshed out and interesting character than Tank. Rating 5/5 stars.
The art in the series is very well done so far, but nothing that stands out as unique; it's a similar grade to Legacy, Vector, and Knights of the Old Republic. The dialogue overall was well-written; often in graphic novels I find myself skimming dialogue and focusing on the images, but that wasn't the case here.
The first volume, My Brother, My Enemy, was a bit iffy for me. There were various aspects of the story that I found confusing or inadequate. For example, the beginning of the volume sets up the friendship between Luke and Tank as if the reader is already completely invested in it. This either means that the prologue was a complete fail as far as I was concerned in getting me to immediately invest in the friendship, or that there's another storyline that leads into Rebellion that I don't know about. Either way, it seemed a sloppy way to start out an entire standalone series. I was also not huge on the Luke/Leia subplot, which was evocative of the incesty relationship they had back in the dawn of Star Wars in the 70s. However, I did become attached to Tank, the main protagonist of this volume, and I hope (I demand!) that he show up again. Rating 4/5 stars.I enjoyed the second volume, The Ahakista Gambit, much more. The story was woven well between flashbacks of the protagonist, Wyl Tarson (who showed up in a small capacity in the first volume) and the present day, as opposed to the disjointed prologue of Volume 1 followed by the present-day chopped up with repetitions of said prologue. The weird Luke/Leia dynamic was nowhere to be seen and it focused on a handful of Rebellion-reject (I know, I thought they took ALL the misfits!) characters with backgrounds that are only hinted at. I look forward to learning more about all of them, and I thought Wyl especially was a much more fleshed out and interesting character than Tank. Rating 5/5 stars.
The art in the series is very well done so far, but nothing that stands out as unique; it's a similar grade to Legacy, Vector, and Knights of the Old Republic. The dialogue overall was well-written; often in graphic novels I find myself skimming dialogue and focusing on the images, but that wasn't the case here.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Magical Words: The Power of Speech in Old Irish Texts
I am a word nerd; I love words, their meanings, and the connections between them. Therefore I have a tendency to focus on specific words rather than on the overall effect or power or meaning the collective words have. This term I took a course called “The Age of Beowulf,” and it changed the way I think about words to include how words produce an action, and how heavily actions rely on words. The relationship between words and deeds, especially the question of which causes which (i.e. chicken or egg) was a prevalent theme in most of the texts we read, but I was particularly struck by it in the Celtic texts because of the concept of geis (or plural gessa). This is essentially a taboo or spell-like order on someone else, requiring them to operate under those gessa. But words in general are very powerful from the viewpoint of the Celtic texts we read, as we see time and time again.
In the Old Irish lyric, “To Mary and Her Son,” the speaker says, “I call upon you with true words” (Carney 19) “that we may have talk together with the compassion of unblemished heart” (21). Mary, a saint in heaven, is expected to come and speak with her caller because of mere words, almost like a summoning. The speaker expects Mary to listen to him because of his words. In “The World,” another lyric, the speaker says, “Take no oath, take no oath by the sod you stand upon” (41). The implication (taken with the rest of the lyric) is that since oaths are binding but the earth won’t last, the oath will remain but it will be impotent, because its witness is gone. Oaths, statements of words, are more permanent than the earth itself. In the wisdom poetry “The Sayings of Flann Fina,” this idea is complicated by the statement, “Vain speech is the beginning of evil” (Ireland 79). Speech is very powerful; once spoken, it spreads a certain power that enables speaker, listener, or both to act on the vain speech. This emphasizes the negative influence words can impart.
These are examples of how words influence actions, but there are also many instances in Celtic texts where words are blatantly magical, affecting the weather or other people in forceful ways. In “The Irish Life of Brigit,” Brigit communicates through speech with an infant, asking it who its father was. The infant, “thought it had not yet begun to speak” (Davies 153), answered, thereby saving an innocent man from a rape accusation. Birgit also calmed a storm, “stilled the rain and wind” (154), by chanting a verse to God. Brigit’s power is drawn from her spiritual connection with God, and channeled out through words.
This is evocative to the powers druids are shown to have throughout the earlier texts “The Book of Invasions” and “The Second Battle of Mag Tured.” When the Irish druids send a wind to keep the sons of Mil away, Amergin stands up and chants a counter-spell of some sort, beginning with “I invoke the land of Ireland” (Cross 19). This suggests names are very powerful as well. The result of Amergin’s chant is that “Immediately a tranquil calm came to them on the sea” (19). Amergin is a druid, but also one of the “men of learning” (19) Donn refers to, and also a “poet” (21), showing once again how closely connected magic is to words. Words, simple sounds that these druids make, are able to influence and control nature itself.
In The Tain, the gessa that Cuchulainn and the Morrigan place on each other further illustrates the power words have over deeds. When Cuchulainn refuses her proposition, she vows to hinder him in his fights (Kinsella 133). They trade promises of pain to each other until Cuchulainn finishes with, “I’ll hurl a stone at you…and shatter your leg, and you’ll carry that mark forever unless I lift it from you with a blessing” (133). All of these pronouncements eventually happen: “Cuchulainn did to the Morrigan the three things he had sworn” (136). In this episode, their previous meeting and words dictated the actual events in the future and the outcome of what happened.
Additionally, as we saw, words can have both positive and negative results. This is humbling and makes me want to be very careful and aware how I use my words, both in speech and on paper. As an English major, my entire academic life revolves around how well or how foolishly (as is more often the case) I use words to communicate and attempt to affect others. Before this term, I had considered this solely in terms of how I can persuade other people, but now words seem much more volatile and powerful in real life, not just the abstract world of ideas.
All of these examples drawn from the texts show words as having concrete, physical consequences. The power that words can have over people and situations, and their power to create, support, and destroy ideas is amazing and terrifying, and the Celts clearly knew all about this. When ideas move history, from the mundane day to day history of one person to the nation-changing wars and treaties of global history, it shows how absurdly powerful mere words are.
I have two large goals as I move out of this term resulting from this course specifically. The first one is to handle words as I would dynamite: very, very carefully and respectfully. I may not be able to use words to raise or calm storms (although that would be awesome), but how I speak to everyone around me on a daily basis, how I write, how I use Facebook to express myself, how I speak to employers, professors, and peers, are all very powerful forms of communication and directly influence both my own actions and those of others’.
My second new goal is to learn Old Irish.
Works Cited:
Carney, James. Medieval Irish Lyrics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967. Print.
Cross, Tom Peete. Ancient Irish Tales. ed. Tom Peete Cross and Clark Harris Slover. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1936. Print.
Davies, Oliver. Celtic Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1999. Print.
Ireland, Colin A. Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria. Tempe: Arizona
Center for Medieval Renaissance Studies, 1999. Print.
Kinsella, Thomas. The Táin: From the Irish Epic Táin Bó Cuailnge. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2002. Print.
In the Old Irish lyric, “To Mary and Her Son,” the speaker says, “I call upon you with true words” (Carney 19) “that we may have talk together with the compassion of unblemished heart” (21). Mary, a saint in heaven, is expected to come and speak with her caller because of mere words, almost like a summoning. The speaker expects Mary to listen to him because of his words. In “The World,” another lyric, the speaker says, “Take no oath, take no oath by the sod you stand upon” (41). The implication (taken with the rest of the lyric) is that since oaths are binding but the earth won’t last, the oath will remain but it will be impotent, because its witness is gone. Oaths, statements of words, are more permanent than the earth itself. In the wisdom poetry “The Sayings of Flann Fina,” this idea is complicated by the statement, “Vain speech is the beginning of evil” (Ireland 79). Speech is very powerful; once spoken, it spreads a certain power that enables speaker, listener, or both to act on the vain speech. This emphasizes the negative influence words can impart.
These are examples of how words influence actions, but there are also many instances in Celtic texts where words are blatantly magical, affecting the weather or other people in forceful ways. In “The Irish Life of Brigit,” Brigit communicates through speech with an infant, asking it who its father was. The infant, “thought it had not yet begun to speak” (Davies 153), answered, thereby saving an innocent man from a rape accusation. Birgit also calmed a storm, “stilled the rain and wind” (154), by chanting a verse to God. Brigit’s power is drawn from her spiritual connection with God, and channeled out through words.
This is evocative to the powers druids are shown to have throughout the earlier texts “The Book of Invasions” and “The Second Battle of Mag Tured.” When the Irish druids send a wind to keep the sons of Mil away, Amergin stands up and chants a counter-spell of some sort, beginning with “I invoke the land of Ireland” (Cross 19). This suggests names are very powerful as well. The result of Amergin’s chant is that “Immediately a tranquil calm came to them on the sea” (19). Amergin is a druid, but also one of the “men of learning” (19) Donn refers to, and also a “poet” (21), showing once again how closely connected magic is to words. Words, simple sounds that these druids make, are able to influence and control nature itself.
In The Tain, the gessa that Cuchulainn and the Morrigan place on each other further illustrates the power words have over deeds. When Cuchulainn refuses her proposition, she vows to hinder him in his fights (Kinsella 133). They trade promises of pain to each other until Cuchulainn finishes with, “I’ll hurl a stone at you…and shatter your leg, and you’ll carry that mark forever unless I lift it from you with a blessing” (133). All of these pronouncements eventually happen: “Cuchulainn did to the Morrigan the three things he had sworn” (136). In this episode, their previous meeting and words dictated the actual events in the future and the outcome of what happened.
Additionally, as we saw, words can have both positive and negative results. This is humbling and makes me want to be very careful and aware how I use my words, both in speech and on paper. As an English major, my entire academic life revolves around how well or how foolishly (as is more often the case) I use words to communicate and attempt to affect others. Before this term, I had considered this solely in terms of how I can persuade other people, but now words seem much more volatile and powerful in real life, not just the abstract world of ideas.
All of these examples drawn from the texts show words as having concrete, physical consequences. The power that words can have over people and situations, and their power to create, support, and destroy ideas is amazing and terrifying, and the Celts clearly knew all about this. When ideas move history, from the mundane day to day history of one person to the nation-changing wars and treaties of global history, it shows how absurdly powerful mere words are.
I have two large goals as I move out of this term resulting from this course specifically. The first one is to handle words as I would dynamite: very, very carefully and respectfully. I may not be able to use words to raise or calm storms (although that would be awesome), but how I speak to everyone around me on a daily basis, how I write, how I use Facebook to express myself, how I speak to employers, professors, and peers, are all very powerful forms of communication and directly influence both my own actions and those of others’.
My second new goal is to learn Old Irish.
Works Cited:
Carney, James. Medieval Irish Lyrics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967. Print.
Cross, Tom Peete. Ancient Irish Tales. ed. Tom Peete Cross and Clark Harris Slover. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1936. Print.
Davies, Oliver. Celtic Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1999. Print.
Ireland, Colin A. Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria. Tempe: Arizona
Center for Medieval Renaissance Studies, 1999. Print.
Kinsella, Thomas. The Táin: From the Irish Epic Táin Bó Cuailnge. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2002. Print.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Dewey: Wrap-up
Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably Hour 13, because I realized that I really hadn't read that much and I only had that much time again to finish everything. Hour 24, of course, is always hard.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
That I read this time? IDK. Book in general: And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
That I read this time? IDK. Book in general: And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander.
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope! It's always jolly.
Nope! It's always jolly.
What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The challenges. Last year, I didn't do very many of the challenges because they were really complicated and/or took a lot of time, time that I should be using to read.
How many books did you read?
How many books did you read?
I finished 4.
What were the names of the books you read?
What were the names of the books you read?
A Farewell To Arms, The Prose Edda, Wuthering Heights, Luck in the Shadows.
Which book did you enjoy most?
Luck in the Shadows, I suppose, because it wasn't for school.
Which book did you enjoy most?
Luck in the Shadows, I suppose, because it wasn't for school.
Which did you enjoy least?
Wuthering Heights. It was good but so depressing...I was crying at one point.
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
The Cheerleaders are made of win. That is all.
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
The Cheerleaders are made of win. That is all.
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
A reader, maybe a cheerleader?
Dewey: Hour 22
TIRED NOW MMKAY. I finished a book....*waves pom poms weakly*
Btw, cheerleaders, THANK YOU SO MUCH :D Y'all are awesome and inspiring. I'm going to attack another book and see if I can keep reading until 5 w/o falling asleep....idk though.
*staggers off*
But I have finished 4 books! Yay! Now for some poetryyyy.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Dewey: Hour 19
Reading continues apace! I finished up Luck in the Shadows and am halfway through The Prose Edda....
Page count so far: 623
Books finished: 3
Just consumed an enormous mug of coffee, so that should help keep me awake for at least a couple more hours. ONWARD.
Dewey: Rereads Challenge!
The Blue Stocking Society challenged us to blog about books that we love to reread. This made me remember how much I used to reread books...I would much rather reread books until they fell apart than pick up something new. Now I am much more into reading unread books.
Anyway, books that I STILL pick up at any moment and reread include:
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The first two are short reads, filled with humor and heart and a dash of ROH-MAHNCE, so I love them. ^_^ LotR is so rich and deep and full that I can't help going back to it again and again, finding something new each time.
Dewey: Halfway!
I took a break for the afternoon for the football game. >.> Hence the lack of progress. But I'm back on now!
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
The Temple by George Herbert and Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling.
2. How many books have you read so far?
2. How many books have you read so far?
I've finished 2 and I'm about halfway through another.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld!
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I turned down a couple of invitations, and accepted another. I know, I'm like social butterfly! lol not really.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I gave in and watched part of the football game. But only the second half. So. Yes.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I gave in and watched part of the football game. But only the second half. So. Yes.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
How SLOWLY I'm reading! I feel like I've been reading non-stop (which I basically have, except for challenges and the several-times-mentioned football), but I still haven't got much read. Whatever.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope. It's awesome.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Get up on time! :) I got up earlier than I did last year, though, so yay! 5 am is EARLY, YO.
9. Are you getting tired yet?
9. Are you getting tired yet?
NEVAHHHHH. But it's only 5:30 here.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
VARIETY IS YOUR FRIEND. Whenever I get tired of something I read something else for a while.
Dewey: A Music Bath Challenge
What song does the book I’m reading right now remind me of?
What song does my favorite book remind me of?
I'm reading Wuthering Heights, and it reminds me of the song "White Flag" by Dido. All of the star-crossed lovers in the book are singularly determined and unable to give up regardless of what obstacles they face. The results of that are not as positive as you might imagine. :P
What song does my favorite book remind me of?
My favorite book is The Lord of the Rings. I am always reminded of pretty much anything by Enya, but especially "May It Be" and "Anywhere Is."
Can I find a connection between one of my favorite songs and a story I like?
Right now I love the song "Bust Your Kneecaps" by Pomplamoose. It reminds me of White Cat by Holly Black, although let's face it, Cassel's family would probably do a lot worse than bust his love interest's kneecaps.
Dewey: Hour 8
Pages read: 189
Books finished: 1 (A Farewell to Arms)
Challenges completed: 6 (I was completely hopeless on the author pseudonyms one ^_^)
A Farewell to Arms is a pretty good book, although I think Hemingway writes about war much better than he does about romance. I don't even get the romance in that book, which is too bad because....that's the main plot. And, wtf, what happened to Rinaldi? He was my favorite, haha.
In the sequel, Frederick goes and finds Paini and Rinaldi and the priest and they all go to the priest's home and drink a lot and have jolly times. Oh, and Fergy can go, too. Oh and Paini's wife, I suppose.
Right now I'm working on Wuthering Heights. I'm ready for something HAPPY to happen in that book.
Dewey: Top 5 Book-Wants
Books coming out in the next months/year that I REALLY want to read:
What about you?
Dewey-Hour 4
Okay, I have some challenges to catch up on! Reading is going well-ish, I've read about 100 pages (in Luck in the Shadows and A Farewell to Arms) in 2 hours. Hm. Yeah. Well-ish. ^_^ I had breakfast, though! Breakfast is key.
These represent Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms....two lovebirds!
I've probably thoroughly given it away by this time, but there you are. :)
2. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (Nebraska)
3. The Rise of Silas Lapham (Boston)
Willa Cather, especially, is amazing with settings and does a beautiful job with the Nebraska frontier.
Off to read more Hemingway! I hope you are all reading muchly and having fun!
Dewey-Post 1
Hey all,
1)Where are you reading from today?
2)Three random facts about me…
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
I just got up to do this....I know, I tried! 6:36 and I'm ready to READ STUFF.
I posted once before this with general goals....but here is the questionnaire for Hour 1!
1)Where are you reading from today?
Right now I'm in bed, trying to be quiet because my family is still sleeping and they're really light sleepers and if I wake them up before 8 on a Saturday they will be GRUMPY.
2)Three random facts about me…
1-I have a crush on David Levithan 2-I am an English major 3-I drink a LOT of root beer.
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
6:
The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (118)
Finish Wuthering Heights (54)
Finish A Farewell To Arms (88)
Finish The Temple by George Herbert (90)
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (118)
Finish Wuthering Heights (54)
Finish A Farewell To Arms (88)
Finish The Temple by George Herbert (90)
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
I would like to stay up the whole 24 hours (or rather 22 1/2 hours, since I already slept in a bit).
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Pace yourself, eat good foods, and use variety in your reading material!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Dewey's 24-hour Readathon (Oct 2011)
I am once again participating! The challenge starts at 5 am my time on Saturday. Details are here.
For school:
The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (118)
Finish Wuthering Heights (54)
Finish A Farewell To Arms (88)
Finish The Temple by George Herbert (90)
Fun books:
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
Locations include but are not limited to: my house, the public library, Barnes&Noble
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Goal Updates
I am making an effort to get back into blogging again. Summer always kills me. So, if you're still following me, HI! You look lovely today. :) I have updated my reading challenges over on the right sidebar, so feel free to take a look at those. If there's a book you really want me to review, comment and I'll put it at/near the top of my priority list. I will do my best to review all of them. If there are other things you want posts from me about (I may have promised some stuff I've forgotten about) feel free to bug me about those. Thank you for following/reading/commenting/being lovely.
So, for now I'm going to review my summer goals!
I didn't complete any of my writing goals, unfortunately. :( I did get some work done on "Batty Batty Bats," did some editing, and I wrote a short or two, but writing was mostly a fail.
Reading:
- I DID read The Gathering Storm, but did not read Towers of Midnight. :( I will either start that soon or will save it for Christmas break, not sure. It's BIG. Luckily the pub. date for A Memory of Light got pushed back, anyway, so I have time.
- I DID read many more books! I won't list them here, but I did read. So yay!
- I DID finish the Tolkien bio and Idylls, and it's technically summer until the 21st, so there.
- The only manga I read was Code Geass. So no rereading but I discovered a good new series, so I'm calling this a win.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
RYOB Readathon Recap
Pages read: 845
Books finished (they were all started already): 4
My goal was to finish at least 3, so yay! I am a slow reader.
Titles:
JRR Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
I don't normally read biographies, but I'm a huge Tolkien fan and this is his "authorized" bio, apparently. I liked the way it was organized, I learned a LOT of interesting tidbits, and gained even more respect for him, as well as a new-found respect for one of his children, Christopher (Christopher is a boss genius). 5/5.
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
I've been reading this series since early high school or something, so it's kinda a huge part of my literary life. This book wrapped up or made a lot of progress on a LOT of plotlines, which was fantastic. It also delivered on some VERY LONG AWAITED scenes, some of which I cried over (I won't lie). And the culmination of Rand's issues near the end was beautiful. 4/5.
Idylls of the King and a Selection of Poems by Tennyson
He's Victorian, so yes there is some sexism (not as bad as I was expecting) and a lot of gender stereotyping. HOWEVER, his Arthurian reimaginings were very readable and gripping. The standalone poems varied in quality (I love "Ulysses;" I hate "Locksley Hall"). 4/5.
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathon Stroud
This story was somehow darker than I was expecting, so I kept having to update my expectations. Bartimaeus is a fantastic character, though, and I love the world-building, and all of the different demons, and Lovelace was chilling. Nathaniel (one of the two protags) disappointed me. But still a fantastic read! 5/5.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Read Your Own Books Readathon
It's been a while since I've participated in a readathon, and I love this one cuz it forces me to ignore my library books and such.
My goals are to finish as many of my my "currently-reading" on Goodreads, which are:
JRR Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter (finished)-Excellent, suspenseful biography!
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathon Stroud (finished)
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan (finished)- I cried. Yeah whatever.
Idylls of the King and a Selection of Poems by Tennyson (finished) - So sexist, but good poetry!
The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
X-Wing: Iron Fist by Aaron Allston
I probably won't get to all of those, so the top three are my shortlist. :)
Snacks:
vats of A&W Root Beer
tortilla chips and salsa
apple slices
Chips Ahoy *Chunky*
Reading Area:
Pretty much anywhere, but most likely my bed or the living room couch. :) I don't notice my surroundings much when I'm in a book, so.....kinda irrelevant.
Update (Saturday):
I dunno why but I am completely uninterested in The Amulet of Samarkand. So I'm working on Tennyson instead.
Update (Sunday):
I figured out my page count so far: 576. Not much, really, but I'm pleased so far anyway. I'm going to do my best to finish "Amulet" today but I have some social things going on so we will see!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Summer Goals (Awkward Turtle Version)
I know, I haven't blogged in forever. I am ashamed. Truly, truly ashamed. I'm not even going to make any excuses or promises right now.
However, I HAVE made goals for the summer, and I would like to share them:
Writing:
- Finish the rough draft of "Batty Batty Bats," my current project which is awesome. I REALLY need to finish it this summer though, because it's eating my brain, and I don't want it eating my brain when Nanowrimo rolls around.
- Write three more short stories for the Unholy Trinity short story challenge. I actually need to write these in the next....four days. No biggie.
Reading:
- Catch up on the Wheel of Time series. This means I need to read The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight. They're both like 800 pages long.
- read many, many many more books. But I don't want to specify which ones, cuz I'll never stick to it. Let's say 20 total.
- Finish Tolkien: A Biography and The Idylls of the King
- I also really want to reread Fruits Basket, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and Death Note. Does that make me a bad person? :/
I hope you are all doing well! I'm sorry I've been so inactive. Maybe I will be strong and do some reading challenge updates here soon?
If you would like to stalk me thoroughly, I spend a lot of time here: http://bahnree.tumblr.com/ and here: http://twitter.com/#!/bahnree I occasionally talk about books and writing. ^_^
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