A Little Peter Pan... and Christmas

This week started off incredibly busy, and has been holding steady! Bright and early on Monday morning my girls had auditions to be a part of the traveling Missoula Children's Theater. This year they are putting on the play Wendy and Peter, which is an adaptation of Peter Pan, and both of my daughters got a part! My oldest will be playing Mr. Darling, Wendy's dad, and my youngest will be playing Buddy, who is one of the Lost Boys. They are both super excited and having a blast with all of the play practices. If you are unfamiliar with this theater group, they travel to different cities in the US, hold auditions on a Monday, have intense practices all week long, and perform the play on Friday. Needless to say, my week is filled with Wendy and Peter and all that theater goodness!

Aside from that, not too much has been going on in my world. I am enjoying our new house, and simply loving the change. I've also been trying to get more organized with our homeschooling, specifically with records and grades. I have everything collected, but it is all super disorganized. My goal is to have everything recorded in a much more organized manner before I start this school year. It is taking a lot more time than I had initially thought it would, so we will see how quickly it comes along! I have ordered curriculum I need for my girls, so as soon as it arrives in the mail, our school year will start. I took my daughters to Target yesterday to pick out some new fun school supplies, which I think has gotten them both a little excited to begin the new year.

For any avid readers, I thought I might pass along that Target had several sizes of book covers in all kinds of patterns and solid colors for only $.65 each. Of course we had to pick some out! They work perfectly for some of those old library books I now own, the ones with damaged or messed up covers. I was surprised at all the choices in patterns they had available!

To get back into the swing of blogging, I suppose I'll share some of the books I've been reading. In all honesty, I've been in a bit of a reading slump.

 

I have been reading The Cat Who Came for Christmas, very sloooowly. I owned a beautiful softcover copy of this when I was a kid, and absolutely loved how beautiful this book was. I believe I read it, however, I don't have much recollection of the story now. I was able to grab up a hardcover copy of this book when I was at our base library closing and book giveaway. I found it super ironic, as I had been thinking for months prior that I would like to read this book again. I am enjoying it a lot! It is kind of a beautiful book. Not sure why exactly, because the writing isn't super "beautiful", nor has the tale really revealed anything that is super "beautiful", but there is just something nostalgic about it, and it simply makes me smile the entire time I am reading it. I can definitely see this book creeping its way up my list of favorites.

 

This is the other book I started reading this week, The Search for King Arthur. This is also another one of my free library books, one that I was super happy to stumble upon, as I was specifically hoping I would find it. I am always extremely interested in people of legends and all of the mysteriousness that surrounds the tale and if they existed. I love watching documentaries on people like this, such as King Arthur, or any person of mythology, or my favorite, Beowulf. So far I am finding this book very interesting. The beginnings of Arthur was not at all what I expected, and am curious to read on!

What good books are you reading lately?

week summary and sunday reads

Well, I have had a very stressful week. My oldest daughter was to have her Remicade Infusion on Friday, but started coming down with a yucky cold on Monday. After a lot of back and forth doctor phone calls, I made the decision to postpone it until Monday, to allow her to have more time to heal over the weekend. Then, my poor sweet little lady woke up yesterday morning with pink eye. That meant a trip to the much hated walk in clinic. I am always so filled with anxiety in medical facilities. There is just so many sick people that do not cover their mouths. While waiting to be called, another lady was checking in and I overheard her saying she had been diagnosed with walking pneumonia. And where did she decide to sit in this tiny cramped room? Directly across from my oldest, heaving and struggling for breath. Why she didn't just go to the ER, I don't know, but I had to get both my girls up immediately and move across the room. Glad I did, because she started coughing a lot, not covering her mouth. I will never understand how a grown person feeling so ill doesn't care if they spread what they have to others, including children. I get so frustrated at these people.

My daughter was tested for strep, which she didn't have, and they tested her breathing, which was fine. She did, of course, have pink eye, which is always unmistakable. We got medication for her cold and drops for her eyes, so hopefully by tomorrow she will feel a ton better so that she can get her Remicade.  

Now onto some bookish things. I was planning to relax all day yesterday and get some reading in. With the trip to the walk in clinic, I pretty much didn't get anything else done. I haven't been sleeping well, so I was really looking forward to that relaxation, and maybe a nap or two slipped in along with it. So, that will be my day today... reading and snoozing, with a bit of fun tv thrown in the mix. I have been wanting to read some short stories out of The Short Story: 50 Masterpieces. This is one of the library books I got for free from our base library closing. I really love short stories and don't have anything in my book collection like this. 

I am also a bit interested in reading this book, Sounding, by Hank Searls. This was another one of the free library books I got, though was a mistake! While I was browsing, I had picked this book up to peek over it and was not interested, then started talking to the woman who had organized the library books giveaway. I didn't realize until I got 

home that I had slipped it into my bag of books! I am glad for it though, upon reading the summary now, I am really interested in it. It is apparently from the point of view of a sperm whale, and the author also wrote Jaws books. It sounds pretty neat. Whales and stellar sea lions are my most favorite ocean creatures.

Another book might get thrown into my agenda today, but as of now, these two are much on my mind!

my 5 favorite book covers

I wanted to put together a post today of my top five favorite book covers. Here they are, in order starting from my most favorite:

Wildwood by Colin Meloy. I just adore this cover. It makes me smile. It is so...full and folksy.

The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow. This is just a beautiful cover for a beautiful book.

Three Theban Plays by Sophocles. Even though this is not my favorite translation, this is by far the best cover. It is just gorgeous.

Le Morte D' Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table b Sir Thomas Malory, this rendition by Keith Baines. This is the most striking cover I have seen for this book. How can you not want to crack it open?

The Official Quotable Doctor Who: Wise Words From Across Space and Time. I can't say why I like this cover so much. I just think it is so crisp, clean, and neat. My only complaint is the pop of red. Why the red? It makes no sense. A red Tardis? They should have had the pop of color be a bright blue instead, it would have enhanced this cover a lot.

And there you have it, my most favorite covers of the books I own. what about you?

historical fiction novels about England's royalty

It is not secret that I absolutely love anything related to England's royalty. I love any show, movie, book, especially when they are focused on the Tudors. One of my favorite shows right now is Reign, and even though the second season ended not that long ago, I found myself re-watching the first season last night on Netflix! It is such a great show! The premise of course attract me, but it is really such a beautiful show. I love the scenery, the clothing, the hair styles- love it! I have been wanting to get a book on Mary Queen of Scots (something that slips my mind until I am watching the show), which means it was on my mind last night. Since today was the very last day our bookstore was open, I decided to stop in and see if there was anything that might suffice. Why not if I can get it 50% off right now? While I would have preferred a nonfiction book, I did luck out and find a historical fiction book, so I thought I would write up a post about the few historical fiction books that I own base on England's royalty.

The first one is Queen of this Realm, by Jean Plaidy. This is, of course, about Queen Elizabeth I, someone I deeply admire. I lucked out and found this book when our base library was giving away all their books. They actually had a giant stack of Jean Plaidy historical novels, but being as I don't read these as much as I use to, I left all the others for someone else. I haven't read this one yet, but it is on my long list of books I can't wait to read!

The White Queen by Phillippa Gregory, the other author that excels at writing these types of novels (and the woman who wrote The Other Boleyn Girl that was made into a film), I purchased a while back after watching that tv show that was also about Elizabeth Woodville. The show was amazing, but I have only read a portion of this book. I still need to finish it. If you don't know about her, her story is really interesting.

The Other Queen, also by Phillipa Gregory, is the book I found today. I was actually surprised to find this! It is about Mary Queen of Scots, so I really lucked out. It is a used hardcover in great condition, and I paid only $4.50. I am super anxious to read this book. I normally read things from the view of Queen Elizabeth I, and the tv show is showing what unfolds between these cousins from Queen Mary's side- which I am finding really intriguing. I have mixed feelings about this, as I want to jump in to defend Queen Elizabeth, but am now super curious about things from Mary's side. It will be a neat read.

I use to read these types of novels all the time when I lived in Alaska. Since then it has kind of dwindled down to a rarity and find myself mainly enjoying the shows and movies- but these are three books I would like to give a try! What about you, do you like any of the historical fiction novels by either of these authors?

mythology and fairy tales

Last night I had a little bit of an itch to read some mythology, so I dug out my Mythology: Timeless Tales of God and Heros by Edith Hamilton. I haven't ever finished this book, and it had been so long since I read any of it, I decided to just randomly pick a section and enjoy. I settled on reading about Psyche and Cupid, which I found super interesting. First, the entire beginning of the story is extremely reminiscent of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I was actually quite surprised to discover this, as I have never found such a similarity between mythology and fairy tales. The beginning of the story unfolds with Psyche marrying a man she never sees, one who arrives only in the dark of night. She then tries to outwit him by lighting a candle after he has fallen asleep so that she might see him. This in a way causes trouble in their relationship with Psyche finding herself alone. She reaches out to Cupid's mother, who claims she will help her through all of these trials, and again...more similarities with fairy tales! Her first task? Separating and organizing a huge pile of seeds! Who helps her? Mice- just like in Cinderella! There are also many other tasks that could very well resembles parts of other fairy tales that I am unaware of, but then in her last task, Psyche finds herself in a deep sleep. Yes, just like Sleeping Beauty. How does she awaken? Her lost love Cupid finds her and takes the sleep from her eyes. I have to admit, I am kind of shocked to see so many fairy tale elements going on in this story! I don't know how, but I am sure it is significant in some way. I kind of love it! 

top 10 summer tbr

This topic is from the Broke and Bookish blog, and couldn't help but to join in after all of the books I have collected from our local bookstore closing sales. Here are the 10 books most on my mind to read or re-read this summer, in no particular order:

Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

 

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

 

Brain Plague by Joan Slonczewski

Othello by Shakespeare

 

Grecian Holiday by Kate Cann

 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

 

The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow

 

Legacy of the Force: Betrayal by Aaron Allston

 

The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles

 

Wildwood by Colin Meloy

Adding to My Shakespeare Collection

I was in the mood to browse a bookstore today, probably because I keep thinking about how I wont be able to easily enjoy that anymore. So, I took my girls back to the bookstore today, with only 5 days left before their final closing. My youngest daughter was able to find a bunch of chapter books based on Disney movies; my oldest found a few E.D. Baker books and another Star Wars one she liked. Myself, I just really had fun looking through everything today. I was savoring being surrounded by so many lovely books.

I didn't find too much I was really wanting to purchase today, but I did buy three more Shakespeare plays (Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, and The Winter's Tale). I've been wanting to start collecting Shakespeare plays for a while now and figured this was a good time to gather up a few. I used to have twelve of his plays, but I really hated the cheap bindings of the books I had and it really kind of bummed me out every I tried to read them. I eventually just gave them away and promised myself I would get his plays again in better editions. I normally hate Signet Classic books because they print too closely to the binding, making it hard to read once you start getting to the middle of the book. However, I really love Signet Classic for Shakespeare. His plays are not long enough for that to become a huge problem, especially since the spacing in plays have the words further from the binding. Plus, I love how Signet Classic has the footnotes set up to more easily enjoy Shakespeare. I am super happy to have found this Romeo and Juliet today. I already own a copy, which was my very first Shakespeare work that I read, but is for a Shakespeare beginner. My original one has Shakespeare's version on the left pages and a modernly worded version on the right pages. It is a little bit of a larger sized paperback, and is annoying to only need to read every left page now that I understand Shakespeare. I've been wanting a more simple edition for a while. I am really craving to read Romeo and Juliet now.

The only other book I got is Bran Plague. It is a sci-fi that reminds me a lot of The Host (which makes me wonder if this book is what inspired Meyer). It sounds super interesting, the idea of a colony of microbes living in her brain that share her consciousness. I liked the idea when I read (and watched) The Host, but I have never really been that impressed with Meyer's writing. I am hoping I will enjoy the writing style of Slonczewki.

 

Aside from all that book fun, I stopped at our local library to sign my girls up for their summer reading program. I tend to forget to do this every summer until the summer is almost over. This year I managed to remember! They have both recently gotten a ton of wonderful books from our bookstore's closing sales, so they have plenty to read. I think they will have a lot of fun reading this summer. As we were leaving, my youngest said "it's too bad they don't have a reading program for you, Mom!". Isn't it? I might just have to photocopy their record sheets and join in the fun with them. They would get a kick out of that. I also had to do some summer clothes shopping for my girls, including some swimsuit shopping. They've both grown so much! I think they are just about all set to start enjoy the summer weather! 

book heaven

I was finally able to return to our local bookstore that is closing to retrieve a book I placed back on the shelf. I did, however, replace the book back on the shelf, remembering why I didn't get it in the first place. The book sounds lovely, but reading the beginning chapter didn't have me thrilled to give the book a go. I am so incredibly happy I went though; you will not believe my luck!

I spent most of my time looking at the plays and poetry. I always forget how much I really enjoy reading plays until I pick one up again. Today I decided I would pick up a few more Shakespeare plays, being as I only owned Romeo and Juliet and the three Henry VI plays prior to today. There wasn't a whole lot of selections left of Shakespeare, or I should say a whole lot of selections of Shakespeare books that were actually in decent condition. Most of them had pages ready to fall out of the bindings. I settled on these three: Othello, Macbeth, and As You Like It. You can probably tell by the photo that As You Like It looks pretty old, but the binding is very nice still. The other two look practically new.

Remember way back when I said this was the specific edition I wanted of the Sophocles plays, and that my bookstore only had one copy that was damaged on the pages? Well, I sadly pause by it every time I visit the bookstore, but today I decided to flip through it one last time, longing for it to not be an OCD trigger.

There are weird brown speckles on some of the pages, as if it has been stained. With what? Who knows! Which is why it would be an OCD trigger for me, constantly having my mind wondering what gross thing was spilled upon these pages. However, I was flipping through the pages today and realized that the speckles were in a pattern through the entire book. Two pages fresh and clean, two pages with brown speckles, two pages fresh and clean, two pages with speckles. With that, and the fact that the pages are not crinkled as if they've been wet, I decided it must have been some sort of a mishap when it was printed- and I GOT IT! I am super happy to finally have this book in my hands, weird speckles and all! Considering that every time I ever see this book in any bookstore (even if new), it is always terribly damaged, this is absolutely amazing! I really love this version of the Theban Plays.

Would you believe I found another amazing find? They must still be pulling books out from the back of their store, as I have been looking for a copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poems since I discovered his poetry online. Apparently, his books are hard to come by! They actually had three different ones on the shelf today. I chose the thickest one that appears as though it might contain all of his works. I really love his poetry; probably one of the only poets that I feel I could own an entire book of their poems and devour it all.

 

I got these 5 books and let my daughters each pick out another book, so seven books total at 50%. I only paid $11 for all those books today!. You cannot beat that! It is a bittersweet though. I've gotten a lot of wonderful books lately that I can't wait to read, for so cheap! But, in about a week we wont have a bookstore...

recent readings

I have been enjoying some of my new books lately. I started out reading Grecian Holiday by Kate Cann. From what I gathered, this was the first book in this series, though it appears each book is truly a different story with different characters, so I don't think it matters which one you start with. It started off slightly annoying, with a girlfriend and boyfriend arguing a lot over how to spend summer vacation. It was really just weird. Very immature, a very manipulative guy trying to twist things all weird. I am really hoping that the book will unfold and that the girl will realize he is not good for her. I am still struggling to figure out how old they are. They drink in bars and all of that, still in some kind of a school (college or high school?), but yet the girl and most of her friends are barely starting to learn to drive. I am so confused. It is written by a British author, so maybe a little research might clear it up. I knew before hand the book was British by the title, but I did not know prior to reading this book how different British English truly is from American English. For example, they would apparently say "the phone went" instead of "the phone rang", and "cases from the boot" instead of "luggage from the trunk" (I think). There was also a moment in the book where the weird boyfriend was complaining about one of his girlfriend's friends, calling her a "slag". I am not entirely sure of the meaning, but I was guessing "slut"?
It is an interesting read though to be somewhat immersed into another culture's writing style in this way. The girl has left her boyfriend for the summer and headed off to Greece, so I am hoping lots of fun things will happen. We will see!
Also, I picked up Shakespeare's Henry VI plays. I only read the first scene last night, which was 175 lines long, but I found it interesting. I noticed that I tend to gravitate towards classic pieces when I am feeling bummed, and other books when I am feeling more happy. I was feeling a bit bummed last night, so I set aside Grecian Holiday and opted for Shakespeare. This discovery is a little perplexing for me, and I am unsure what this means about me or why I am like that. Hmm.
Back to Henry VI. I really don't know much about this king. I know a lot about King Henry VIII, but not Henry VI. I have been fascinated with English Royalty for some time and tend to devour anything related, whether it is movies, shows, or books, so I am interested in learning about this time period through Shakespeare. I hadn't realized Shakespeare wrote so many plays that are historically based. I must say, learning history through the poetic nature of Shakespeare is quite wonderful!
I know I mentioned I was done buying books from our closing bookstore...but...
There was one more book there that I had really wanted that I put back, and I am somewhat regretting it. It has been haunting me, calling to me. Everything is still 40% from what I understand, so I may go back this weekend to see if it is still there. It was a large historical fiction hardcover book about all the women in Caesar's life. I did a bit of research and discovered it is the 4th book in a series, so I may see if there are any of the others there (though I am pretty sure there aren't). I think that time period would be really interesting to read about, and I am a sucker for anything that revolves around the feminine, girl power, and all that fun stuff. I'm sure I will giddily share my purchase on here if I find it!
What books have you been enjoying lately?

Oh what a wonderful...Saturday!

Last night was my daughters' dress rehearsal for their dance program, which means today was their dance recital! I absolutely love watching their dance dress rehearsals. For me, that moment is extremely emotional, and I savor every bit of it. With how much my oldest has gone through due to Crohn's Disease, it makes my heart sing watching all of those beautiful young ladies having fun with their bodies and who they are. I love watching their passion and pride for what they have worked so hard to accomplish come to fruition. It is just one of those things that gets me deep in my heart...every time. I usually try to film their dances during the dress rehearsal as well, so that during the actual recital, when the audience is more packed, I get to just sit and relax, and enjoy! So, today set the day for greatness!
Then after the recital (and my girls changing into more comfortable clothes), we headed of to a lovely dinner to celebrate a recent family member's birthday. It was deliciousness. Then we stopped in our local bookstore (the one that is soon to close), to see what goodies we could find before all was gone.
Apparently they are closing their doors on the 13th, which is way too soon! Everything in the store was 40% off, so I decided to browse and see what would jump out at me. The cheap prices allowed me to give some random books a try, which was really fun!
My youngest picked out 5 American Girl books and a lovely book on a diary of a young lady that was on the Titanic (she is a bit Titanic obsessed), and my oldest picked out 5 more Star Wars related books and Geek Charming (there is a movie on this book that she likes quite a bit). As for me, here are my finds:

All 3 of Shakespeare's Henry VI plays. I have been wanting to read some plays lately, and really don't have any aside from the Theban plays and Romeo and Juliet. I am a sucker for trilogies (I am pretty sure being obsessed with 3 is OCD related...), so when I saw this I thought to myself, can't go wrong with Shakespeare!

I've heard good things about The Secret Life of Bees, and in all honesty, I've been really interested in bees since so many are dying out. I keep telling my husband I want to be a beekeeper, but he just laughs at me! I thought I might enjoy this story, it's the next best thing, right?

I have read about The Mermaid Chair several times online and just think this cover is so beautiful. The storyline sounds interesting, and anything even mermaid related has my attention. This was the only hardcover I purchased today, and all the books we got today were used books.

My last 3 books are these little strange ones; Spanish Holiday, Grecian Holiday, and California Holiday. I really have no idea what they are about, aside from the titles, but they have been catching my eye for quite a while in the bookstore. I think I would love to read a few books with a travel theme. I have a feeling they might be some fun stories, so today I decided to give them a try. I was actually really happy to see that all 3 of them were still on the shelf (yes, again, 3).

Beowulf, based on the screenplay for the movie that I so much love. I really didn't know much about Beowulf prior to this movie, and I loved it. I had no idea this book existed, but I am super excited I discovered it!

 

We ended up bring 19 books home for a total of $50. Most of the books we purchased were only $2.50 each. That will be our last stop in the bookstore before it closes, which makes me incredibly bummed. But, I am happy my girls were able to get so many books they love, so inexpensively- and I am excited to give these new random books a try and see what I like! I am still reading Star Wars Legacy of the Force Betrayal (at a very slow pace lately), but I am itching to give one of these new ones a go. Either way, I'm sure I will blog about whatever I decide to read...

another bookstore...gone

So, this past weekend I went to a store I don't normally, and discovered it was in the same shopping area as our small local bookstore. When I got out of the car, I pointed to the bookstore across the huge parking lot to show my girls how close we were, only to discover a giant sign hanging before their entrance informing me that they were closing. I was so incredibly sad at that moment, if I wasn't out in public I probably would have wallowed in my tears! I have so much enjoyed having a bookstore that I can easily drive to and wander through the isles looking for something delicious to devour. It is so depressing that it is so hard for our town to keep a bookstore open.
With that said, my personal book buying ban is out the window. I immediately chucked it and was reading to start hoarding everything I could. They have a lot of books I know I want to read, books that I've put off purchasing for a late date, books I know I will be paying a lot more for down the road than right now. Everything in the store was 20% at the time, on top of used book prices to begin with. My oldest daughter made out like a bandit. She loves the Star Wars series for kids, such as Jedi Apprentice or Jedi Quest novels, and they had a ton on the shelves. I think I got her 8 Star Wars books total. My youngest is apparently unamused by books at the moment and just insisted she found nothing of interest. I kind of pushed a couple of books on her that looked like something she would enjoy. Myself, I finally splurged and purchased 4 of the Legacy of the Force books. I have been eyeing this series for a while, really interested in reading them. Unfortunately, they were several books shy of the series, but I will seek them out online to fill in the gaps. I am now the proud owner of:

1. Legacy of the Force: Betrayal by Aaron Allston
2. Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice by Karen Traviss
3. Legacy of the Force: Inferno by Troy Denning
4. Legacy of the Force: Fury by Aaron Allston
5. Star Wars: Tales from Jabba's Palace edited by Kevin J. Anderson

The bookstore has lowered the percentage to 30% off as of today, so I am sure I will return to try and gather up a few more of the books I've been wanting. Then when we are void of bookstores, I wont feel so panicked. Then my indefinite book buying ban will be reinstated!

Books I wont read. Ever.

I decided to do a Top 5 Wednesday, which is to share 5 books that I wont ever read. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Hunger Games series. I haven't even seen the movies, but the whole premise of this dystopian series doesn't impress me. I actually cringe at the whole idea.

2. 50 Shades of Grey series. Again, haven't seen the movie either, but I did get slightly curious with all the buzz and looked up a few excerpts from the book. Woah! It is pretty sexually intense, though that is not what surprised me. I was actually shocked at the horrible writing for the sexually intense scenes in the book. It amazes me that so many people like it, even if they purely like it for the sex scenes. There has got to be better written stuff out there in that genre.

3. The Vampire Diaries. Bleh. I absolutely love the show, but the books were a bit iffy for me. I picked the first one up in a bookstore several times, giving the first few pages a go. I just cannot get past the extremely teenagery feel of the entire thing. Even the first few pages were too saturated with "OMG, like, I'm writing in a diary."

4. The Fault in Our Stars. I watched this movie and immediately wished I could pull the story and all the heavy emotions that came along with it our of my brain. I literally couldn't stop crying that night I watched it, and I slipped into a bit of depression. Watching people suffer like that because of sickness is something that triggers a lot of grief for me, and probably always will. Reading that for however many days it takes me to finish it...will never happen.

To be honest, I can't come up with a 5th book that I absolutely don't want to give a try. I'm sure there is one...but my mind is blank after those four! What about you? Is there five books you refuse to read?  

Nautical Songs for the Ukulele

I received my Nautical Songs for the Ukulele by Dick Sheridan in the mail today. I haven't really gotten to go through much of the songs within, but I am just marveling at how magical the cover is. It is beautiful! I am kind of in love with it...

Color Cover Challenge

This is day 5 of Bout of Books, and the challenge is all about cover colors! Basically, pick a color, or colors, and find at least 4 books whose covers match! You can find more information on this challenge here.

I picked covers with a lot of blues on them. Here is Charlie Bone and the Beast, Star Wars: The Swarm War, Last Wool and Testament, and Letters of E.B. White (without the dust jacket, as I don't have the dust jacket).

Character Face-off!

Another fun Bout of Books challenge, hosted over at Lulo Fangirl.
This is a favorite character face-off:

Opponent #1: Pip from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Cons: He stumbles through life fixated upon trying to change who he is to please another.
Pros: He learns the truth of life, and develops a strong sense of duty towards protecting another that did right by him.

Opponent #2: Antonia from My Antonia by Willa Cather
Cons: To be honest, I can't think of much?
Pros: She acknowledge the earth around her and went through her entire life with a love for the land that never faltered. She understood that ones happiness is their own truth and that it doesn't need to be hinged on societal expectations.

Winner: Why Pip, of course!
Even though Antonia is amazing and beautiful, and looks at the world through eyes that allow her to see the beauty all around, I just love Pip and always will. He is a relatable character, in the sense that most people struggle to find their place in the world and have to learn the harsh lessons of life that he did. I also really admire people who stand up and helps others, even in situations when it goes against the norm or even the law. No character has ever really topped Pip for me since I read Great Expectations. 

bookish survey challenge

Here is the first Bout of Books challenge! Answering all of these fun question, hosted over at Writing My Own Fairy Tale.

1. How do you organize your shelves? I actually really only have one book shelf that is quite small, with 3 shelves. It is in our living room, and I have given a shelf to each of my daughters, leaving me with only one. I usually tend to fill that shelf up with my favorites and books that I am interested in reading at that time. All my other books I have stacked up to ridiculously high levels in my closet. I switch them out on my shelf, depending on what I am in the mood to read during that time period.

2. What is your one of your favorite books that is not in one of your favorite genres?
Hmmmm. I will probably say Grayson by Lynne Cox.

3. What is the last five star book you read? Well, I had to look it up on my Goodreads, and it made me laugh. Meet Molly: An American Girl.

4. What are you most excited to read during the readathon?
I am not sure yet. I went to the library today and picked up a few middle grade books that looked interesting. I have yet to look over my spoils, but I am thinking I will either read a lot of Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood, or The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu.

5. What book do you recommend the most?
I am guessing this is pretty much the same as asking what is your favorite book, so I'd have to say Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. But as I am in a fairy tale mood lately, I will also say One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey, just because it is a fun book.

A Grimm Struggle....

Well, I am oddly finding myself at odds here, in terms of My Grimm Monday meme. The more I read of the original tales, the more I feel like I don't want to?
I suppose I'll explain...
What you've always heard is true, the originals are dark, but not dark in the way that I had assumed they were. I had read several when I was younger, the originals of the well known tales, such as Cinderella and Little Red, but I think when you just randomly pick a tale, especially the ones you are unfamiliar with and have no current comparison, their darkness is more apparent. (Check out this article that goes a bit in depth on the gruesome side of these tales.) They are not written more dark as in the sense that the stepsisters cut off their heels, but are dark in a way that is strange for me. It is as if these old tales take the worst characteristic possible in a person, amplify it to such point that it doesn't make sense, and then nothing more. The character does not see right, has no desire to make things right, and gets everything they want, leaving little room for any sort of a positive message. To find a message within, you really have to stretch the mind, and then find yourself doubting that was what the story was intending to relay. And I have to admit, I am a huge lover of Aesop's Fables and stories with morals, I have been since I was a young child. Grimm tales just seem a bit twisted to me and am finding myself wondering how people sat around back then listening and enjoying these tales in this form, which is disappointing to consider as I always imagined that experience to be so magical! I am so much more appreciative of the creative minds of those in our time and how they can weave these tales into such magically wonderful stories, and I didn't know it was possible for me to appreciate them more than I already did! However, that is leaving me in a place of deep thought about this project.
In all honesty, the tales are really negative, and I feel like I don't need to foster that in my own mind as I cannot read anything without thinking too profoundly upon it. I don't want to sit around and read about someone who was so ghastly manipulative that he tricked his entire town to kill themselves. I feel like I am trying to love people more in general, and I purposely created this meme to try and foster something more positive in my world and create something that I can be excited about approaching on a weekly basis, and these tales are not helpful in that aspect. It never occurred to me that I might not actually like the original tales. So, sadly, I will be pondering on this, maybe reading a few more tales from my Grimm book to be certain the themes run through, and then probably trying to slightly tweak my new meme into something that is more appropriate for what I wanted to get out of it.
Do you have any of these same feelings about the original Grimm tales? I have to say, I generally adore older literature and have always been so fascinated with the idea of oral storytelling; it surprises me that I am not finding myself loving these tales. But, I am guessing if I am dreading picking the book back up again to write out a My Grimm Monday, I should probably make some changes... 

My Grimm Monday #1

The Frog-King Quote:

"Then she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. "Now, thou wilt be quiet, odious frog," she said.

But when he fell down he was no frog but a King's son with beautiful kind eyes. He by her father's will was now her dear companion and husband. Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked witch, and how no one could have delivered him from the well but herself, and that to-morrow they would go together into his kingdom."
 

Click here to read the full story, though it may not be the exact same edition I took this quote from. You can find the exact edition I am using in the menu under My Grimm Monday.

 

I was a bit shocked to read about how the frog became a prince in this tale. I think we all have that vision of the lovely girl kissing the frog to transform him. Knowing that she is so completely disgusting by the slimy green frog and throws him against the wall, triggering his transformation into a prince... is quite startling! Not to mention it doesn't make sense. She was the only one that could transform him, but why? Was being thrown against the wall the requirement? I would love to have known the premise or foundation for this bewitchment, and what the message behind this story was meant to be.
I can already tell in this very first story, that these tales seem to take the dark side of human nature, making them shine into twisted tales of how unfairly the world works. This is much different than what we all see today, where the basis for all revolves around love, and good winning over evil. It is very evident that these tales were intended for adults, those who have grown to see the harshness of the world and can appreciate these tales that showcase it. I am anxious to read on!

My Grimm Monday: Introduction

So, I will be starting a new weekly meme on here (again), hopefully one that will stick! I have written a new section in the menu that explains the new meme, but I will share it in this introductory post as well:

I have been inspired lately to try a new meme on here, one that I think will continue to hold my interest and that I can have a lot of fun with. I absolutely love fairy tales, and anything fairy tale-ish, so this new meme will revolve around that never fading love of the Grimm fairy tales. I finally got my hands on a lovely hardcover copy of the original Grimm fairy tales, and I couldn't be more excited. I cannot wait to dive in and start devouring the foundation for so many fairy tales that we have floating around today! Every Monday I will be posting something Grimm or fairy tale related, just to simply have fun with these well known (and not so well known) tales.

For now, I believe I will start out with posting quotes from the tales I read in this new Grimm book of mine; quotes that I find intriguing or startling. To be honest, I am not yet sure what adventures will come of this new meme, but I am excited to start it anyways! For me, nothing will be off limits as I am allowing this meme to be pretty broad. You might see me sharing about films or shows that are fairy tale based, links to artwork I discover online that are fairy tale reminiscent, a fairy tale moment in my life, or even sharing some fairy tales I write myself. For me, right now, all is included in this meme, as long as it is something I want to share that is fairy tale related! These posts will be easily found under the tag My Grimm Monday, or in the archives labeled the same. I hope you enjoy a bit of Grimm on your Mondays, and feel free to leave comments with your thoughts, or links to your own blog for me to check out!

SO not Grimm!

My oldest daughter was feeling quite chipper after her Remicade today (well, feeling better than usual), so I offered to take to her to a nearby Barnes and Noble, to sneak in a little mother-daughter time that didn't require a  hospital bed. It was a nice surprise that she felt up to it! So we spent some time wandering around chatting, looking at different books. I picked up my youngest the missing book from Diary of a Wimpy Kid that we can't seem to find anywhere, and my oldest ended up deciding on a gluten-free cook book (as Crohn's is a tad confusing, and causes her body to not be able to handle wheat, basically also like Celiac).
I wasn't planning on getting anything new, but I did discover a hardcover book filled with ALL the Grimm fairy tales, AND it was lightweight! I have been searching for something like that for a few years, and could not believe I found a beautiful one, for only $8. I had a book in our family house when I was younger with all the original tales that I loved browsing through now and then. Since I've been married, I've been wanting to get my hands on a nice one. I know I will be enjoying this a lot! I think I will try to read through the entire book over time, and possibly come up with some kind of a blog project to go along with it. I am not really sure what I would do yet, I haven't thought too much about it...but I will announce it if I can come up with something! I am super excited to dig into all the original tales!