Commonplace Book -- 3

"I found out that with one hundred and fifty well-chosen books a man possesses, if not a complete summary of all human knowledge, at least all that a man need really to know."

From:  The Counte of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Commonplace Book -- 2

"Sex and speed--haven't they been symbiotic for most of our existance, as intertwined as the strands of our DNA?  We wouldn't be alive without love; we wouldn't have survived without running; maybe we shouldn't be surprised that getting better at one could make you better at the other."

Born to Run:  A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Ever Seen by Christopher Mcdougall



"Think of the Old Testament Lord as a 1950s dad with especially unruly kids who's maybe a little quick to the strop."

Beowulf on the Beach:  What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits by Jack Murnighan

Commonplace Book -- 1

"Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.  The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up little habitats, to have new little hopes.  It is rather hard work:  there is now no smooth road into the future:  but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles.  We've got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen."

From:  Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

A Commonplace Book -- The Idea

After the recent procurement of a few lovely journals, a Christmas present from my in-laws, and finding inspiration after reading Beowulf on the Beach, I've decided to start keeping a commonplace book.  Each day I will journal a quote I find interesting, pithy, sexy, profound, beautiful, entertaining, insightful, etc.  Some I will share here, and you can decide for yourself why I chose the particular quote.  Look for the first installment this evening.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --2-18-2013

You (my 4 readers) may have noticed that I didn't post a reading update last week.  In short, a close family member has been in the hospital, leaving me incredibly distracted.  I returned to my hometown for a few days to bring cheer to the sick and was able to work on a bit of knitting but little reading.  Knitting still works with a distracted mind.  Reading does not.

I finished Dog on the Cross, and posted a review at Goodreads.

 I would place these stories within the Southern grotesque tradition, and as others have pointed out, Gwyn's style is reminiscent of Hemingway. Fans of Flannery O'Conner will certainly enjoy this collection because it examines faith within a Southern Protestant setting, a setting rather familiar to the author.

Several of the stories are quite memorable for their bizarre content and haunting feel. My favorite story was "The Backsliders," which was one of the few that took place outside the confines of the First Pentecostal Church, but involved several church members. The stories are loosely connected, and major characters in one story make minor appearances in others. When I finished reading the book, I continued to imagine the ways in which these lives intersected in the small town of Perser, Oklahoma.

I don't review everything I read, and I need to get into the habit of doing so more often.

I'm still listening to The Hunchback of Notre Dame and still reading Death of an Expert Witness.

I was able to read Fullmetal Alchamist; Vol. 1 during this hectic week.  Graphic novels require less concentration, and it's easier to find my spot when I get distracted.    I own the first 12 books in the series, and I want to re-read these before purchasing the next ones.

Finally, I plan to start reading some short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald in anticipation of The Great Gatsby coming out this spring.  I've read The Great Gatsby 3 times, and it ranks as one of my favorite books of all time.  It's now time to experience more F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I've enjoyed incorporating short stories into my regular reading routine.  This collection is calling to me from my Kindle:

Combined Birthday and Valentine's Day

I know more than one person with the unfortunate luck of having a birthday around Christmas.  One of my best friends has a birthday the day after Christmas, and my own daughter's birthday falls a mere 12 days before Christmas.  These wonderful people end up getting combined Birthday-Christmas presents. 

My own Birthday, February 12, falls only 2 days before Valentine's day.  I share my birthday with the legendary Abraham Lincoln and the great Biologist (capitalism on purpose), Charles Darwin.  February 12 has always been special for me because I admire both of these men and always acknowledge the two "greats" when mentioning my birthday.  Of course, most Americans ignore the greatness of Feburary 12 and instead focus on February 14, Valentine's Day--a day filled with more consumerist possibilities. 

When I was in school, my *classes' Valentine's Day party often fell on my birthday, and this annoyed me because not only was I ignored, but Lincoln and Darwin were ignored as well.  (Okay, I was mostly annoyed because I was ignored.)  Nevertheless, these class Valentine parties helped me understand how those born around Christmas feel.

Now that I'm no longer in school, I've found that a combined Birthday/Darwin Day/Valentine's Day celebration can be A LOT of fun.

My husband surprised me on my Birthday with this amazing present--a chocolate-raspberry cake from my favorite bakery, Belhaven Scottish Ale, and soft luxury yarn from my LYS.  So delightful!

This is an example of the handmade goodybags I made for Fee's preschool *class's Valentine's Day party.  I'm convinced that a little ribbon and a few cutouts can turn any paper bag into a Pinterest-worthy giftwrap.

 

I received this amazing pastel drawing in the mail yesterday, from a friend.  It's a very meaningful Birthday/Valentine's day gift because it commemorates the time when I tandem nursed my children, a period in my life that lasted 6 months but that I'm glad is now behind me.  She didn't plan it this way, but this also works as a weaning present because after 4+ years of breastfeeding babies, and 28 months of nursing Theo, I'm now happy to say that I am no longer lactating.

* I had to look up the possessive forms for class.

Wrecking This Journal -- 8

I'm really not an artist, but I wanted to at least put in a decent attempt at a pencil sketch in my art journal.  I pulled out my How To Draw Grassland Animals book, and decided that a buffalo would work nicely on this page.

 

I've done many more pages, but I've fallen behind on taking pictures and posting them.  I'm slowly remedying this.

It's Monday--What are you reading? 2-4-2013

I
'm coming off my classics kick and spicing things up with some less cerebral selections from my TBR pile.  As it stands, I'm suffering from a bad case of "start-itus," a state in which I start a book (or a knitting project) only to start another, and another, and another.   Thus, I am only showing the books that I'm fully committed to reading.

On My Nightstand

Death of an Expert Witness by P.D. James

"Dr. Lorrimer appeared to be the picture of a bloodless, coldly efficient scientist. Only when his brutally slain body is discovered and his secret past dissected does the image begin to change. Once again, Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh learns that there is more to human beings than meets the eye -- and more to solving a murder than the obvious clues."

I was in the mood for a good mystery and decided that this was suitable.  I'm now about a third of the way into it, and I can understand some of the complaints in the Goodreads reviews about the huge number of characters introduced rather quickly within the first several chapters.  I'm glad that I was able to anticipate this slight difficulty and stratagize accordingly.

I've managed to sort this out by taking the character introductions slowly.  Instead of speeding through the book, I've allowed a proper time between chapters to pass in order to absorb the content and think about the characters I've just encountered.   However, now that all the introductions have been made, the book reads rather quickly and certainly holds my interest.

On My Kindle

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

"One of the most extraordinary literary works of the twentieth century, Lady Chatterley's Lover was banned in England and the United States after its initial publication in 1928. The unexpurgated edition did not appear in America until 1959, after one of the most spectacular legal battles in publishing history."

"Of the many exquisite books written by D.H.Lawrence, the book which has gained the most popularity has been Lady Chatterley's Lover. Most famous because of its obscenity trial during the 1960's, Lady Chatterley's Lover is far from a "dirty book." Rather, through his usage of local vernacular and an in depth look at the true relationship between two humans, Lawrence has successfully portrayed sex as sacred in a world where sex is viewed as nothing more than physical pleasure. This novel is a masterful example of a writer going back to everyone's common roots and emerging with a thought provoking masterpiece designed to affect a change within its readers." 

My book group picked this book as our February romance read.  I'm only a few chapters in (start-itus, remember?), but so far I'm enjoying the way Lawrence describes the inner thoughts and motivations of his characters.  The book takes place shortly after World War I, and I can't help but imagine everything in a Downton Abbey sort of way. 

In My Ears

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

One of the great literary tragedies of all time, The Hunchback of Notre Dame features some of the most well-known characters in all of fiction - Quasimodo, the hideously deformed bellringer of Notre-Dame de Paris, his master the evil priest Claude Frollo, and Esmeralda, the beautiful gypsy condemned for a crime she did not commit.

I read Les Miserables last year, an epic undertaking with moments of literary beauty and narrative bliss interspersed between tedious descriptions of Paris and the French Revolution.  It's been no surprise to find that The Hunchback of Notre Dame also contains long descriptive chapters on history and architecture, but by listening instead of reading, I've found the long descriptions of Gothic architecture more endearing than monotonous.  Surprisingly I've found myself laughing out loud (literally) in certain places.  The long descriptions of ugly Medieval Parisians and the contest for the Pope of Fools were simply hilarious.