Goal 92: Read 52 books and journal about them.
1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
3. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
5. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
6. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
When I was a teenager I used to read a graphic novel series called Sandman. I loved it. I found the story lines interesting, I found the graphics amazing, in short it was the only comic I ever collected with any sort of enthusiasm. I don't know why it's taken me almost 10 years to discover that the author of those graphic novels is also an author of books. Better late then never, I suppose. I picked up a copy of his "Neverwhere" from the library and if I'm reading the reviews right, it was his first novel and was compared to a modern darker Alice in Wonderland. It's a fair comparison I think. In the first couple of chapters the main character, Richard comes across a girl covered in blood who has just fallen out of a doorway. He takes her home because she begs him not to take her to a hospital. It turns out that this girl is from "London Below" instead of "London above" and the interactions with her make him as though he didn't exist in his former life anymore. London Below is where the people who fall through the cracks live - the homeless that people don't see, the useless to society that people don't even notice anymore - and once you get there, there's no going back. Richard falls from his comfortable boring life working in the insurance industry to a world where people speak to rats, markets never take place in the same place twice and people you used to know look right through you and cannot remember who you are. He ends up following around Door, the girl he helped, and joins her in trying to figure out who killed her family. It's a tale full of beasts, sewer people, rats, a man coming back from the dead, something akin to vampires and an entire world that takes place right in front of, but not seen, by normal Londoners.
I really enjoyed the book. I didn't expect who the bad guy was until it was revealed (although maybe I should have) and the author weaved a world that was surreal but almost believable. I will defiantely be picking up one of his books again.
53. Reduce debt load by 25%
Up to 10% off my original debt so 1% down on my goal. 24% left. Sigh.
87. Get a library card
Got it.
I think that's all for now!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Goal Ninety-Two, again.
Read 50 Books and journal about them.
5. Blood Rites, Dresden Files book 6 by Jim Butcher
If you are not familiar with the Dresden Files books, it's a series about a Wizard living in Modern day Chicago. It's a nice mix of fantasy and reality, mixing every day events with magic, demons and various other things from the netherworld. That being said, I think I'm going to stop reading them. I love fantasy and I like the mix of it with modern times. It is squarely set in the "real" world but it borders on occultish and that doesn't bother me nearly as much as it should. The story line in this one was great, Dresden got to connect with his dead Mother (in a strange way) found out he had living family as well. It was a seperate story line from teh previous book but built back towards that story line nicely as there were a lot of loose ends. I'm slightly disappointed that I don't feel like I can read the next one but I think it's for the best. I may return to it after some time but for now, I have to say goodbye to Harry Dresden.
1. Twilight
2. New Moon
3. Eclipse
4. Breaking Dawn
5. Blood Rites, Dresden Files book 6 by Jim Butcher
If you are not familiar with the Dresden Files books, it's a series about a Wizard living in Modern day Chicago. It's a nice mix of fantasy and reality, mixing every day events with magic, demons and various other things from the netherworld. That being said, I think I'm going to stop reading them. I love fantasy and I like the mix of it with modern times. It is squarely set in the "real" world but it borders on occultish and that doesn't bother me nearly as much as it should. The story line in this one was great, Dresden got to connect with his dead Mother (in a strange way) found out he had living family as well. It was a seperate story line from teh previous book but built back towards that story line nicely as there were a lot of loose ends. I'm slightly disappointed that I don't feel like I can read the next one but I think it's for the best. I may return to it after some time but for now, I have to say goodbye to Harry Dresden.
1. Twilight
2. New Moon
3. Eclipse
4. Breaking Dawn
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Six Word Memoir
I came across this awhile ago on postsecret and stubbled across it again today on a thread of Ravelry. If you could sum up your life in 6 words, what would it be? Obviously it will change as we all change and grow but it made me think. Where am I right now? What are the six words that could sum up what makes me tick at this moment? I came up with two different ones that are closely related, two sides of the same coin.
Don't care about your expectations anymore.
and
I don't want to disappoint myself.
I feel like I've been fighting with people's expectations my whole life. I spent most of my childhood hearing my Father ask me why I wasn't more like my older sister. Don't get me wrong, I love Aimee, but I'm not Aimee. Truthfully, Aimee and I are about as alike as night as day.
I think that I rebelled against that. Aimee was a good student, so determining that I could never live up to that, I didn't bother to do my homework. Aimee had nice, long thick hair and I've usually preferred mine shorter. Aimee wears calm sedate clothing and my clothing choices have been described as "spastic." Not that I harbour any resentment towards her, I just was not her and didn't want to be her so I lived my life the way I wanted to and tried my best to ignore disapproving stares. That's not to say that I was unaffected by them.
Later on in college, I found myself a little bit more and came into my own academically, which I found, much to my surprise, that I enjoyed. For the first time, I began to feel the weight of people's positive expectations. People trying to push me to my limits, telling me that they were going to be watching my career and questioning me as to different directions that I could go. They meant the best for me and helped me to grow but I still felt the weight of not knowing if I would ever succeed in living up to the expectations that people placed on me. The weight was different but I still felt the pressure of those expectations. I hated meeting with my advisor because he always made comments about expecting great things from me.
I felt the weight of all those expectations dearly. Of all the exectations that I would never live up to and all the expectations that I didn't know if I could live up to them.
So once again, I rebelled, I've hid from academics since I graduated. I ran from the pressure of other's unmet expectations and their subsequent disappointment in me.
But now, a little older, a little more experienced. For the fisrt time in my life the person I'm worried about letting down is me. It's a strange feeling but a nice one too. I shouldn't have to live under the shadow of other people's expectations but I should be allowed to forge my own path in the way I see fit. The expectations weren't all bad, but they also weren't mine. Now, for the first time in my life, I'm doing things because the person I don't want to disappoint is me. It's not about family, teacher or friends. It's not even about Phillip. It's about what I want and what I choose. Don't care about their expectations anymore, and the one I don't want is disappoint is me.
The feeling is both better and worse but at least now I know it's mine.
Don't care about your expectations anymore.
and
I don't want to disappoint myself.
I feel like I've been fighting with people's expectations my whole life. I spent most of my childhood hearing my Father ask me why I wasn't more like my older sister. Don't get me wrong, I love Aimee, but I'm not Aimee. Truthfully, Aimee and I are about as alike as night as day.
I think that I rebelled against that. Aimee was a good student, so determining that I could never live up to that, I didn't bother to do my homework. Aimee had nice, long thick hair and I've usually preferred mine shorter. Aimee wears calm sedate clothing and my clothing choices have been described as "spastic." Not that I harbour any resentment towards her, I just was not her and didn't want to be her so I lived my life the way I wanted to and tried my best to ignore disapproving stares. That's not to say that I was unaffected by them.
Later on in college, I found myself a little bit more and came into my own academically, which I found, much to my surprise, that I enjoyed. For the first time, I began to feel the weight of people's positive expectations. People trying to push me to my limits, telling me that they were going to be watching my career and questioning me as to different directions that I could go. They meant the best for me and helped me to grow but I still felt the weight of not knowing if I would ever succeed in living up to the expectations that people placed on me. The weight was different but I still felt the pressure of those expectations. I hated meeting with my advisor because he always made comments about expecting great things from me.
I felt the weight of all those expectations dearly. Of all the exectations that I would never live up to and all the expectations that I didn't know if I could live up to them.
So once again, I rebelled, I've hid from academics since I graduated. I ran from the pressure of other's unmet expectations and their subsequent disappointment in me.
But now, a little older, a little more experienced. For the fisrt time in my life the person I'm worried about letting down is me. It's a strange feeling but a nice one too. I shouldn't have to live under the shadow of other people's expectations but I should be allowed to forge my own path in the way I see fit. The expectations weren't all bad, but they also weren't mine. Now, for the first time in my life, I'm doing things because the person I don't want to disappoint is me. It's not about family, teacher or friends. It's not even about Phillip. It's about what I want and what I choose. Don't care about their expectations anymore, and the one I don't want is disappoint is me.
The feeling is both better and worse but at least now I know it's mine.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Gilmore Girls
Not very exciting but #4 is off my list. I picked up the third season of Gilmore girls for $15 which seemed too good to pass up. That puts me at owning all 7 seasons.
Friday, January 9, 2009
www.gutenberg.org
Best website ever. I'm now on chatper 5 of Dracula since Twilight apparently has me on a vampire kick.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Apperances can be deceiving
When I first moved down to Cleveland I did some church hopping to find the right place to settle into. Several were good churches that I just didn't feel comfortable in and others just held no appeal for me. However, there was one church that I really couldn't find much positive to say anything about when I left. I felt uncomfortable the entire time I was there. The worship was fairly contemporary and there was nothing about the atmosphere that should have put me off. But I did feel singled out without feeling welcome, I thought there theology was slightly off the deepend and quite frankly when they started to pray at the end of service, I made a mad dash for the door. I was extremely relieved that I'd gone alone and the church was in walking distance of my apartment. I never went back.
Being in community service has really opened my eyes to what goes in the community. I come into contact with various churches and organizations all the time. What surprises me is that often the churches that people think would be doing much aren't doing much at all. In contrast, this church that made me feel so uncomfortable is one of the most active, community oriented churches that I've found in Cleveland.
I may not be comfortable there but I can no longer deny the good they are trying to do in the community. I, officially, stand corrected and repent over the harsh judgement I placed on them. They are doing what they can to relieve the suffering that they see around them. That's more than I can say for many others and, if I'm honest, more than I can say about myself much of the time.
Appearances can be decieving and first impressions aren't always right.
Being in community service has really opened my eyes to what goes in the community. I come into contact with various churches and organizations all the time. What surprises me is that often the churches that people think would be doing much aren't doing much at all. In contrast, this church that made me feel so uncomfortable is one of the most active, community oriented churches that I've found in Cleveland.
I may not be comfortable there but I can no longer deny the good they are trying to do in the community. I, officially, stand corrected and repent over the harsh judgement I placed on them. They are doing what they can to relieve the suffering that they see around them. That's more than I can say for many others and, if I'm honest, more than I can say about myself much of the time.
Appearances can be decieving and first impressions aren't always right.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Goal Ninety-Two
Goal 92: Read 50 books and journal about them.
Hmm, maybe I shouldn't read any novels in series until the entire series is written. I seem to actually make it through the series then instead of losing interest and never returning to it. So here are my thoughts on the last three books in the twilight series. Tara, you may want to skip this one!
1. Twilight
2. New Moon
New Moon ws not nearly as good as twilight, just to get that out of the way. The story line seemed mostly like prologue, like it was story filler with the only purpose to take us to book 3. Truthfully, the filler needed to be written but honestly the last 150 pages of the book were the only one's I really enjoyed. I only kept reading because the prologue left us with a teaser and I was reading to get to that point. I do enjoy the whole werewolves lore but Twilight left me wanting more of the Bella and Edward story, not the Bella and Jacob story. I realize it was a necessary chapter in the story, Edward not being there and the emotional turmoil that Bella was left in. Ah well, not every book can be a page-turner,.
3. Eclipse
Eclipse was much better than New Moon probably because I became totally involved in the Edward-Bella story and I don't really care much for Jacob. Jacob, especially after this book, is not someone I would be friends with in real life so I found myself just wanting him to go away. I guess it's because I'm someone who believes in clear relationship boundaries which Bella was definately confused about and Jacob was determined to cross. The only bright spot in the entire love triangle was that Edward was trying to give Bella room to work out her own issues. Jacob did deserve to be hit with a two-by-four. I guess it just irritated me because putting myself into that emotional confusion isn't something I would let myself do. Either your with someone or you aren't. Sigh, I definately don't miss being a teenager. Overall though it was a very good story and completely made up for the disappointment of New Moon.
4. Breaking Dawn
I read this 750+ page book in two days. This was definately a good conclusion to the series. Edward got what he wanted, Bella got what she wanted (and more) and Jacob's story came to a satisfying (if not a little weird) conclusion as well. Relationship boundaries became well defined and story lines came together. This was probably not the direction that I would have taken the series if it was mine but I did enjoy the authors vision and how Bella really didn't give up anything (except maybe her soul) to be with Edward in the end. Jacob, who doesn't have to age, ended up with the child who will never age after she's grown. Eternally, they all get to be happy except the Volturi. Honestly, I would love to see a book where she expands on that story a little bit but I don't think it would sell well. It would be the Twilight version of the Silmarillion where only really hardcore fans make it through. I do wonder what she's going to do next and I almost feel a little sorry for her like I do for the JK Rowling. What are the chances that they will ever acheive this sort of success again?
Hmm, maybe I shouldn't read any novels in series until the entire series is written. I seem to actually make it through the series then instead of losing interest and never returning to it. So here are my thoughts on the last three books in the twilight series. Tara, you may want to skip this one!
1. Twilight
2. New Moon
New Moon ws not nearly as good as twilight, just to get that out of the way. The story line seemed mostly like prologue, like it was story filler with the only purpose to take us to book 3. Truthfully, the filler needed to be written but honestly the last 150 pages of the book were the only one's I really enjoyed. I only kept reading because the prologue left us with a teaser and I was reading to get to that point. I do enjoy the whole werewolves lore but Twilight left me wanting more of the Bella and Edward story, not the Bella and Jacob story. I realize it was a necessary chapter in the story, Edward not being there and the emotional turmoil that Bella was left in. Ah well, not every book can be a page-turner,.
3. Eclipse
Eclipse was much better than New Moon probably because I became totally involved in the Edward-Bella story and I don't really care much for Jacob. Jacob, especially after this book, is not someone I would be friends with in real life so I found myself just wanting him to go away. I guess it's because I'm someone who believes in clear relationship boundaries which Bella was definately confused about and Jacob was determined to cross. The only bright spot in the entire love triangle was that Edward was trying to give Bella room to work out her own issues. Jacob did deserve to be hit with a two-by-four. I guess it just irritated me because putting myself into that emotional confusion isn't something I would let myself do. Either your with someone or you aren't. Sigh, I definately don't miss being a teenager. Overall though it was a very good story and completely made up for the disappointment of New Moon.
4. Breaking Dawn
I read this 750+ page book in two days. This was definately a good conclusion to the series. Edward got what he wanted, Bella got what she wanted (and more) and Jacob's story came to a satisfying (if not a little weird) conclusion as well. Relationship boundaries became well defined and story lines came together. This was probably not the direction that I would have taken the series if it was mine but I did enjoy the authors vision and how Bella really didn't give up anything (except maybe her soul) to be with Edward in the end. Jacob, who doesn't have to age, ended up with the child who will never age after she's grown. Eternally, they all get to be happy except the Volturi. Honestly, I would love to see a book where she expands on that story a little bit but I don't think it would sell well. It would be the Twilight version of the Silmarillion where only really hardcore fans make it through. I do wonder what she's going to do next and I almost feel a little sorry for her like I do for the JK Rowling. What are the chances that they will ever acheive this sort of success again?
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