on book 3.

book 3 of 60: mary poppins by p.l. travers

date started: 1.9.2014
date completed: 1.17.2014

thoughts: 
after seeing saving mr. banks, i was left with the desire to read the actual mary poppins text.  i must admit i'm a bit indifferent to this text.  it was good.  it was entertaining.  it brought back many a happy childhood memory.

but it was also very austere.  travers' poppins is rather cold and, well, stereotypical "British".  this isn't a bad thing, it's just a different thing.

i teach a comparative class on film and text, and using the definitions i demand in the classroom to avoid such comments as "the book is better," the film version of this text is a fairly radical translation.  parts of the book are directly translated into the film, but many of the characters are rather different sorts.  there are many parts of the book i would have loved to have seen included in the film.

these differences are not good or bad--they're just different.

had i read this book as a child, i would certainly have loved it.  as an adult, it doesn't contain the magic or power needed to overcome my childhood love of the film version.

probable next read:  county of the pointed firs by sarah orne jewett

on book 2

book 2 of 60: the ocean at the end of the lane by neil gaiman

date started: 1.5.2014
date completed: 1.9.2014

thoughts: 
i freaking love neil gaiman.  this book is so rich in themes: loss, reminiscence, longing for childhood, getting what you need exactly when you need it--not on your own terms, sacrifice,

more than anything, i loved this book for the style.  gaiman is so very good at creating worlds and the vivid characters who inhabit them, and that is especially true of the book.

also interesting is that the book functions as a frame narrative, something you don't see very often these days.  this format is beautifully woven together with the frame.

the book is absolutely beautiful and is full of riches.

probable next read:  night film by marisha pessl  

on book 1

book 1 of 60: the circle by dave eggers

date started: 1.1.2014
date completed: 1.5.2014

thoughts:
i really want to like this book. it's an interesting topic--very relevant today as tech becomes increasingly ensconced in our daily lives, so i was hoping that the book would live up to its timely subject matter. unfortunately, the whole thing just fell flat for me.

while there are some parts and the book that are extremely relevant--mae's incessant sharing, crowd sourcing, etc.--the whole thing feels a bit underdeveloped.

the ending was predictable. the completely overworked symbolism of the shark and stenton was a giant snooze-fest--very heavy handed (the kind of thing even a beginning student would notice and think was too much).

add to this interesting, but completely unnecessary scenes--like with mae and the older couple on the boat--and you get the impression that this author had no idea of where the book was going. the scene between mae and the older couple feels like it should mean something; at the very least you expect to revisit these people later in the book.  it feels important, but eggers never revisits the scene or this couple.

most troubling is the characterization. mae is a flat character, static in her lack of thought. as a reader, you never care enough about mae (or any other character) to be affected by their decisions or thought processes. she is passive rather than active, a character upon whom things are carried out but who never takes initiative of her own--until the very last moments of the book when you are absolutely beyond caring.  i think the previously mentioned scene on the boat was meant to show mae's "edginess"--that she's willing to take risks and break the rules, but it did the opposite for me.  she had an opportunity in that moment to break free of the circle's tyranny, but she caved to the pressure, choosing to leave on time, return her rented kayak, and drive herself back to the circle's compound.  she is no more "edgy" than today's ubiquitous hipster.

while it might be easier to chalk this whole book up to social commentary on the surface level communication that now exists due to internet activity like social media, i think that's giving eggers far too much credit.  his characters don't work--they and the very plot of the text--elicit no emotion from the reader.

this book was an absolute struggle to get through.  i spent the entirety waiting for a profound, jaw-dropping moment that never came (and which should have, given the timely subject matter).  this book pushed no boundaries and wins no praise from this reviewer.

probable next read: the ocean at the end of the lane by neil gaiman (a book that most likely won't let me down!)

on books and challenges.

so it begins: a new book challenge for 2014.

i’ve been a member on goodreads for a few years now, but have only recently begun actually using it to track what i’m reading.  i hate that i don’t have an accurate list of all the books i’ve read in my life—i would love to be able to look over that list.

so for this year’s challenge, i have set a goodreads goal of 60 books.  that is, i will read a minimum of 60 books this year.  this number seems small to me, and i initially started at 100, but given the months of sometimes complete and utter attention my job requires, 2 books a week doesn’t seem feasible at all.

the list is malleable--i don't know what exactly i'll read.  there will likely be some fresh new stuff, some classics, narrative nonfiction, and some re-reads.  it doesn't matter what i'm reading, as long as i'm reading.

so i will read a minimum of 60 books this year and will blog about them here.  book reviews, random thoughts, analysis—whatever i am left with at the end of a book will be posted here.

while this challenge may not be as difficult as the book buying ban, it is a goal that i must work towards, and that’s something i can benefit from. 

not to mention—think of all the great books i’ll get to explore!

On 2013.

2013 is over, so here's the obligatory 2013 rewind (which will be light this year given my blogging hiatus):

worst parts: losing beloved pets, learning to cope with new life circumstances

best parts: spending time with loved ones while seeing awesome movies (i'm looking at you jurassic park 3D IMAX, pacific rim, ender's game, and catching fire), getting to visit my sister and explore a new part of the country, becoming the go-to tech in the classroom person on campus, developing and deploying the BEST.CLASS.EVER!

in 2013, i resolved to:
1) write more--even if it's just five minutes a day
-definitely complete.  while it may be hard to believe given the fact that i haven't updated this blog since july, i have been working on several projects offline that have taken up all of my writing time.  these projects have moved forward, and i look forward to continuing to work on them.
2) choose joy.
-yeah....so...about that.  i struggle with pessimism, so this is something that i need to actively work on.  i tried to be more joyful, but i'm not sure if it worked or if i stuck to it enough to work.

in 2014, i will:
1)  embark on a new book challenge (i don't know what it will look like yet, but i need to do something)
2) continue learning and growing as a teacher
3) work on accepting bad news in a productive manner

best of 2012 (the best things i've encountered this year [either truly great or awesomely bad or entertaining])
books:
*the strain series - guillermo del toro and chuck hogan
*HARRY POTTER! – J.K. Rowling
*middlesex – jeffrey eugenides
*a song of fire and ice series – george r.r. martin
*bitterblue – Kristin cashore

music:
*night vision – imagine dragons
*my head is an animal – of monsters and men
*til the casket drops – zz ward
*last of the great pretenders – matt nathanson
*the civil wars – the civil wars
*from there to here to you – jack johnson
*carry the fire – delta rae
*the lumineers – the lumineers

movies:
*zero dark thirty
*hansel and gretel: witch hunters
*iron man 3
*the great Gatsby
*pacific rim
*prisoners
*catching fire
 
2013 in review (quotes from my dear neglected blog):

janeiro: "all this is to say that this week i feel fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful, funny people who have begun to think of me as one of their own and to have my own little islands of solitude where i can work, play, and get away from it all when i need to."

fevereiro: no posts

marco: "my post-apocalyptic/dystopian class goes live in the fall!"
abril: "no one could ever possibly make me hate fahrenheit 451, right?  RIGHT?!"
maio: "i wish i could have celebrated his last birthday with him by taking him to see the avengers instead of calling his hospital room."
 
junho: "after collecting bits and pieces and threads of info about the whole series for years, i decided to become a pureblood by reading and watching all of the potters."
julho: "as we took off the next day, belvedere snapped one last picture of the mountains outside the plane window. "
 
agosto: no posts

setembro: no posts

outubro: no posts

novembro: no posts

dezembro: no posts

on sir belvedere the beaver's pacific northwest adventure.

i recently went on an adventure in the pacific northwest--up to portland and seattle to spend a few days.

having moved to texas when he was very young, a friend of mine, sir belvedere the beaver, decided to tag along on my trek to the beaver state.  

he wanted to get back to his roots, see his family, and have some fun.  i happily followed him around with a camera to document his journey.


first, we waited patiently for our plane.  shout out to dfw airport for the awesome chairs with charging stations built in!

  once we took off, belvedere was obsessed with looking out the window.

when we finally made it to stumptown, belvedere decided to be the navigator.

i forced him to accompany me to powell's city of books.  unfortunately, no photographic evidence of this event survived the excitement.

the next morning, we headed up the portland aerial tram to get a good view of the city below:

then, we headed off to saturday market and did some browsing/people watching:

next up, we hung out at pioneer square:

later that day, we traveled to the columbia river gorge to take in the view. 

we saw waterfalls:

and were awed by the beauty of the place:

while hanging out at crown point vista house in the gorge, belvedere met up with his long lost cousin, batilda.  the beavers were shocked at their differences at first--batilda being a more natural, country beaver and belvedere being very much a city boy. 

the next day we had an early breakfast at pine state biscuits:

then we headed to seattle. we visited alki beach on puget sound where we stuck our feet in the frigid water just to see how cold it was.

belvedere took advantage of the sunshine and did a bit of sunbathing:

we then boarded a ferry from seattle to bremerton and snapped a few shots along the way:

the next day, we spent some time exploring pike place market.

we met rachel the pig:

and found the super smelly and disgusting gum wall:

then it was on to fremont to see america's biggest statue of lenin:

as we took off the next day, belvedere snapped one last picture of the mountains outside the plane window.  he enjoyed his trip, loved visiting his family members, and looks forward to another adventure.

on potter.

i’ve just finished a self-induced journey.  one that took me across the pond and into the realms of a world previously unknown to me.  i’ve journeyed to hogwarts and back in the last couple months, and i’m ready to dish.

first, some background.  i’m a freaking geek.  everyone who knows me is aware of that fact.  i have read and watched tolkien so many times i can recite it.  i love sci-fi/fantasy so much that i’m teaching a freaking class on it.  yet, somehow, harry potter was always just off my radar.  i knew the gist, and it seemed right up my alley, but there was always some other book, movie, or series that took precedence. 

until now.

after collecting bits and pieces and threads of info about the whole series for years, i decided to become a pureblood by reading and watching all of the potters.

here, in fragmented, piece-meal bullets, are my thoughts on the experience:

• i didn’t expect so much allegory.  there’s a definite WWII/hitler/nazi thread here that just needs a bit more pulling.  voldemort and his deatheaters hate muggle-borns/mudbloods (i.e. wizards/witches born of two muggles) and aren’t too fond of halfbloods (i.e. wizards/witches with one wizard/witch parent and one muggle parent).  they want mudbloods removed from wizarding society so as to keep the race pure.  they put out propaganda on the dangers of mixed society.  they hold rigged trials to convict and intern them in prison.  mudbloods must register their existence with the ministry of magic.  many flee the country or are taken in by bloodtraitors (i.e. wizarding families who are sympathetic to their plight). sound familiar?  it really works in the texts, though, as it’s not heavy-handed or blatant.

• snape is an amazing, truly well-written character.  i knew the character’s endgame going into the text, but i couldn’t help hating him along the way.  there is something so deeply sinister about his character that makes his revelation at the end that much more painful and breathtaking. i wonder how shocked i might have been if i didn’t know the truth of the character the whole way through.  i should probably ask someone about this…

• alan rickman was made to play snape.  perfect.

• hermione, like éowyn from LOTR, is bad ass.  i wasn’t a huge hermione fan until the last book.  in books 1-6 she seemed undernourished as a character—always on the periphery, there to swoop in in some dues ex machina device.  only in book 7 did she really develop as a character for me as i began to see her stake in everything: a mudblood forced to cast a spell on her parents for their own protection, 100% dedicated to the fight against voldemort regardless of its costs. 

• rowling hit adolescence on the nose in these texts.  everything you expect from a group of teenagers is present, but it is all contained by the overwhelming struggle they find themselves in the midst of.  they have all the problems of a typical teen drama, but these issues are set against a backdrop of immense evil and a rapidly changing world, thereby minimizing their importance.  the characters are forced to think beyond just themselves for a good portion of the series.  a series about teenagers that isn’t super angsty: well played, rowling. well played.

• sweet neville gets his moment in the sun.  and it is beautiful.

• the most important horcrux twist was amazing.  as was the inclusion of the deathly hallows instruments.  just when i was beginning to question how rowling was going to bring everything together in the end, it happened and worked amazingly well.

• house-elves rock

• the films, especially the last five, are really well made and reflective of the texts.  the first two are very, very childish, but that seems appropriate given the age of the characters in them. 

• poor lupin and tonks!  but at least their orphaned child, the mirror of harry himself, will be surrounded by a community that loves and protects hims.

• harry finally gets some peace and the family he has always longed for.  i'm not usually a sucker for a happy ending--i much prefer it when things are allowed to end badly--but this series needed a bit of peace for its principle character.  harry suffers so much throughout the texts and is intensely lonely for a good part of them.  i was actually glad to see it end well.

overall, i can now say that i am spellbound by harry potter {terrible pun intended}.  this series is yet another badge to add to my nerd-scouts vest.

and finally, in case anyone cares, here’s how i rank the books and movies from favorite to least:

books:
fave: 7 - deathly hallows
5 - order of the phoenix
6 - half-blood prince
4 - goblet of fire
3 - prisoner of azkaban
2 - chamber of secrets
least fave: 1 - sorcerer's stone (or the much better named british version, philosopher's stone)

movies:
fave: 7.1 - deathly hallows, pt 1
7.2 - deathly hallows, pt 2
5 - order of the phoenix
6 - half-blood prince
4 - goblet of fire
3 - prisoner of azkaban
2 - chamber of secrets
least fave: 1 - sorcerer's stone