State of Obvious

Day 20 – Favorite romance book I do like a good love story, especially one where the characters feel real and genuine.  I think I might go with Pride and Prejudice for this one simply because Mr. Darcy really goes out of his way to make things better for the woman he loves, and he takes no credit (in fact, he doesn't want anyone to know he's done it). 

Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie I'm not picking Harry Potter, are you surprised?  Probably not.  The movies on their own have been fine, definitely not perfect.  Given the time and imagination constraints, I prefer to just consider the movie and books independently.   That being said, my favorite book turned into a movie is North & South.  The British-non-civil-war version, there is some confusion there (my own included, when my sis-in-law first loaned us the movie and promised it was great I thought she might be crazy.  I was happily surprised.)  I watched the mini-series-movie a few times in the last year, high praise coming from me since I rarely watch a movie more than once in a short time span (Disney movies excepted).  My second favorite would be Pride and Prejudice (Kiera Knightly edition, I adore the music absolutely), followed by Anne of Green Gables (which I actually enjoy in movie form more than in book form).

Day 18 – A book that disappointed you Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind.  The second book in the Sword of Truth series, to be specific.  I read the first, "Wizard's First Rule", and had a hard time with the graphic violence at the middle but skimmed through and finished the book.  I liked it enough to buy the second book, but never made it out of the first couple of chapters.  I wanted to like them, I really did, but it was just to intense I suppose.

Day 17 – Favorite quote from your favorite book I suppose I'm going to give my favorite quote from Half Blood Prince, although that might not be my favorite book of all time.  I haven't decided. "And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure." - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, JK Rowling.

Day 16 – Favorite female character I'm gonna go with the first person that popped into my head: Jo March.  Strong, sassy, a little bit quirky, and very reminiscent of my sister.  I'm also a big fan of Anne Shirley for much the same reason, she just isn't your typical damsel in distress.

Day 15 – Favorite male character Another interesting question with quite a few possibilities.  I am quite partial to Severus Snape - the name alone is awesome.  But, he's probably not my favorite ever.  I highly enjoy Mr. Thornton from North and South.  If you've seen the movie, the book goes on to tell of the many more good deeds and thoughts of Mr. Thornton.  I'm also a fan of Laurie in Little Women, even if he did marry Amy.  Simon and Jace in the Mortal Instruments series are also great.  I very much appreciate the boys of Harry Potter, too, and in particular I think Neville Longbottom is fantastic. If I'm going to pick an overall favorite, I think the top of my list is Peeta from the Hunger Games series.  Throughout the series he never strays from his basic goodness, even when he's been brain-washed he tries to be and do good.  Peeta, not Katniss, is the true hero of the series.  

I came to Christ a beggar, A wounded empty house, Broken walls and shattered glass. And He said Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; Go in peace. I came to Christ a sinner, A cup of bitter dregs, Half full and thirsting. And He answered Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give Shall never thirst. I came to Christ wondering, Seeking shelter from the storms, Tossed about and drifting. And He blessed me My peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, Neither let it be afraid. I went to find the Christ, In the quiet early morning, And found the hollow, empty tomb. And the angels answered Why seek ye the living, here, among the dead? He is not here. He is risen, as He said.

Day 14 - Favorite book of your favorite writer Since I named 3 favorite writers yesterday, I'll name my favorite books for each today (that way it won't just be Harry Potter again...) Favorite writer off the page: Obert Skye .  Favorite book by Obert: Pillage.  (Obert Skye is a lesser known author, his books include the Leven Thumps series, Pillage, and Choke.  I happen to know Mr. Skye personally and he's pretty fantastic.  But that's another story.) Favorite Young Adult writer: Suzanne Collins.  Favorite book by Suzanne:  The Hunger Games. Favorite overall writer: JK Rowling.  Favorite book by JK: (as previously mentioned) Half Blood Prince.

Day 13 - Your favorite writer This is another question with a few possible answers.  My favorite writer off the page?  (Obert Skye).  My favorite YA writer?  (Suzanne Collins).  My favorite blog writer?  (Now that would just be rude to tell).  I guess if I have to pick one favorite writer, I'm going to go with JK Rowling.  When I grow up, I want to write like that.

Day 12 - A book you used to love but don't anymore I feel like some of these are repeating - or maybe it's just my answer.  In an effort to throw the unexpected your way, I'm going to go with Years by LaVyrle Spencer.  Ms. Spencer writes romance novels.  Not the dirty, explicit kind with every single detail, but certainly more details than I'm comfortable with nowadays.  I first read Years back when I was a teenager.  I was babysitting during the summer for a local family and the lady of the house was reading it.  So I read it during down time.  I probably spent too much time reading it instead of actually babysitting, but that's another story.  I've read a few other novels by Ms. Spencer, most notably Morning Glory which was turned into a movie starring Christopher Reeve.  I liked that book also.  In fact, I would probably read both of these books again if they were on my shelf.  But I do wish they had clean versions so that my e...

Day 11 - A Book You Hated If you get the title, it wasn't that book.  I liked that book even though it was extremely long and wandering.  Anyways, a book I hated - the first book that comes to mind is Jane Eyre.  I KNOW!  We read this for our local book club and when they asked if anyone didn't like the book, only 2 of us put up a hand.  I. just. don't. get. it.  I actually compared Jane to Bella from Twilight.  Jane is a very sophisticated Bella.  Wait, wait, put down the pitchfork.  This comparison drew immediate objection and ire (oooo, fancy words) but just think about it for a minute.  Jane spends a lot of the book whining about her life.  Bella spends a lot of the book whining.  Jane has to overlook Mr Rochester's flaws in order to be with him.  Bella has to overlook that Ed's a vampire.  Both of them are emotionally repressed and prone to fits of sudden passion.  The difference, what makes me not d...

Day 10 - Favorite Classic Book Little Women.  Except for the parts with Daisy and Demi which are just boring.  Also, Jo and Laurie should have gotten married. 

Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving I don't even have to think about this one: Twilight.  My sister in law told me to read it.  I had my doubts, I'm not really a vampire type person, that is more Eric's thing.  I think it is quite amusing that people who like Twilight feel compelled to defend liking it - so I'm not going to.  I liked it, the end.

Most overrated book I'm gonna be awfully generic here: Anything by Stephen King.  The few I've read were creepy, yes.  But also very similar.  Something bad and scary happens, people swear, something bad and scary and dead happens, people swear.  While I think that profanity in some books is just part of the setting, overall it usually feels forced.  Most people do not swear all that often, although I acknowledge exceptions to this rule.  I personally would much rather settle in to a good, scary book that is devoid of all that trash.  And I highly value books that my children can pick up when I'm not around.

Day 7 - Most Underrated Book Hmm Hmmmmmm This is hard.  It's not like I'm some kind of expert, and I haven't read nearly so many books as some of my friends.  Most underrated book....I don't really read reviews, either.  I guess I will pick a current book I've read that didn't get a lot of press.  I wouldn't call it the MOST underrated EVER, but given it's fresh approach and fun plot, City of Bones.  It's book 1 in a series and has done fairly well sales wise, but you just don't hear about it like Twilight, Hunger Games, HP or any of the other hot-on-the-markets out there.  Let me just add that this was a token offering after a lot of "I have no clue" blankness.  An author that I consider underrated is Zane Grey.  He wrote a lot of western novels and many of them were made into movies.  He is fairly well known but I think his popularity peaked back in the golden age of movie westerns.  Zane wrote many beautiful western novels wo...

Day 06 – A book that makes you sad I'll be honest, I knew this one was coming and so I've been thinking about it for a few days.  I'm not sure that thinking about sad books for days on end is the best thing in the world, but at least my brain hasn't been empty. A book that makes me sad - again there are quite a few.  But the tip top of my list is Gone With the Wind.  I read this for the first time about 10 years ago after watching the movie.  Now, the movie - I love the movie.  I love the way it looks, I love the way they walk and talk.  The movie is a classic for a reason.  It also happens to be my mother-in-law's very favorite, which is why I came to watch it the first time and subsequently pick up the book.  The book is so not even close to the movie. For starters, the Scarlett of the movie may be shallow and spoiled and selfish - but she is vulnerable.  I want to like her, I want Rhett to turn around and rescue her at the end, I wa...

A book Books that makes you happy Gosh, this is hard.  A lot of books make me happy but every now and then I close a book with such a feeling of complete satisfaction.  I get that feeling at the end of The Deathly Hallows, when JK gives us a glimpse into the future.  I'm so glad she did that, she gave us Harry and Ron and Hermione as full-grown happy people.  Don't think I'm totally lame, but I also get that happy ending feeling at the end of Breaking Dawn (the final in the Twilight series).  Another book that makes me happy is Anne's House of Dreams, the first Anne of Green Gables book where she is finally married to Gilbert (I should have had that on my more than 3 times list, by the way).  Another book that really makes me happy is Peter Rabbit.  My grandparents gave me a copy when I was 8, which I still have, and still read fairly often.  I suppose I shouldn't leave out Where the Wild Things Are.  What's better than coming back from the...

Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series Without a doubt, Half Blood Prince.  I don't think story telling gets any better, I don't think characters are more perfectly put to a page, I don't think the twists and turns weave so well in any other book.  I've probably read this book 10 times, every single time I love it even more. 

(I'm running out of plays on the word 'meme' and it's only day 3, this is a bad sign.  I blame the weird dream I had with the lead singer of the Cure in it.) Day 3 - Favorite series I gotta pick Harry Potter, there is no other series that can even compare (for me).  Each time I go back to the series, I find something new.  I am amazed that she had tiny, itty-bitty details in book 1 that turned into big, important things by book 6.  Master story telling, amazing imagery, inspiring message - yep HP for me.

A book that you've read more than three times A book, now come on. Usually when I find a good book, I read it over and over until it becomes an old friend. Perhaps a list of books I have read more than 3 times? Okay! Harry Potter - all of them but in particular Half Blood Prince (which is my favorite of the series, I so knew Snape wasn't all bad at the end of this book) Little Women The Host Twilight series - yes I've read them all multiple times. They are great fluff Hunger Games - all 3 multiple times but Mockingjay only twice Chronicles of Avonlea (might not be the right name, but I've read this collection of short stories at least 20 times I'm sure) Eragon Gone With the Wind - I haven't read this in a while, I had to stop re-reading it because it made me sad on so many levels City of Glass (by Cassandra Clare if you are interested, interesting new feeling fiction and there is a new book coming out soon I just found out by googling) ...

Cruising around the 'net, I stopped at Fantasy Casting and found this little meme.  Sounds fun, gonna do it, here's day one. The best book you read last year: This is hard.  What does 'best' mean?  Best read?  Best grammar?  Best twist?  Okay, okay.  Best new book I read last year (that I can remember) must be The Hunger Games .  It is highly likely that I reread a few of my all time favs last year, but I have also reread Hunger Games (and it's sequels) at least twice since last summer.  It was that good. Here's a full list of the meme if you want to participate too (or feel free to post in the comments and participate that way):   Day 01 – The best book you read last year Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times Day 03 – Your favorite series Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series Day 05 – A book that makes you happy Day 06 – A book that makes you sad Day 07 – Most underrated book Day 08 – Most overrat...

I'm wearing my "Feminist cap" at the moment.  Don't be afraid, it is for an English class wherein we examine works of literature using different types of theories .  Special theories .  We've used a Marxist theory and a Deconstructionist theory and now we're being Feminists.  Don't worry, I haven't burned my bra or anything. Some of the parts of these theories are complete hogwash.  That's right, hogwash.  In particular, right now I object to the idea that a woman can't be defined by her womanness .  (That's not a word according to the squiggly red line that lets me know I spelled it wrong.)  There are things that make me a woman.  Physical things that they tell you about in Health class.  Physical things I was born with.  Physical things that often annoy me and get in the way of my life.  Ohhh snap. There are other things that make me a woman.  My softer side.  (Sometimes dormant, I admit).  My talky side....

How do you cope with the crushing weight of burdens of a thousand little things that rush in like spotlights on the inadequate. How do you cope when words aren't enough and fingers can't touch voices can't sing lips can't rise into smiles. How do you cope when wee ones lie helpless on your lap no laughing, no crying, no sounds just stillness and darkness and waiting. How do you cope with cruel intentions and misplaced best wishes and doubt - doubt that rises like waves on the sea washing away hope violating faith. Eyes to the light face to the sky heart to the wind blown away by the breath of peace as you slumber Rising up like the sun on the morning You cope.

I found this skirt at my local Salvation Army (my favorite place to shop if you don't count Target). I paid .25 cents for it. It's J. Crew, pin striped, and so cute. It's, sadly, not my size. So I listed it on ebay (thanks to some inspiration from My Dear Trash ). And it sold. For $26.99. No foolin'!