...and a couple more book reviews

I really have been reading and not blogging the last several weeks. Here are two more reviews!

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
I have no idea why I have waited so long to read this book. It was wonderful! This book actually felt like it was written for an older audience than the usual Newberry book. It was written about younger people, but definitely very adult concepts - Puritans, marriage, love, loyalty, witchcraft, etc. I felt like I was reading a book, not that would appeal to younger people that I just enjoyed reading, but a book I just liked to read.

After reading it, I understand why Cindy enjoys it so much. It's one of those books with a good lesson you don't even know you're reading (unless you're looking for it). People are all a little different. It's okay to be different and to not completely 'fit in' with everyone else. But, at the same time, being different is hard - it's stressful and can lead to complications and feeling isolated.

Set in Puritan society at the brink of the Revolutionary war, The Witch of Blackbird Pond asks the reader to consider, just for a moment, that everything isn't quite as it may seem - That instead of black and white, there are more and more shades of gray every moment.

The Red Tent
I picked up this book not knowing what to expect at all. Mostly, I was looking for a book with a color in the title to fulfill the reading challenge requirement. The Red Tent is about Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah. The story takes a relatively short Biblical passage with little known history and writes an entire book about Dinah, her family, the women in her life, and the end-result of her life.

As a work of fiction, I enjoyed the book well enough. However, I have always had a small issue with fictional works about Biblical characters, especially ones that take a small story and invent and entire life for them. Removing the Biblical account of Dinah (which I was not too familiar with) and reading it as fiction was enjoyable. Had I thought too much about what the characters were saying and their stand on God, I would maybe have felt differently about the book. Sometimes a little too graphic and sometimes a little too...feminist...The Red Tent is a book I enjoyed, but not one that made a lasting impact on my life.

Why message boards should be banned

This one is just for Cindy!

I am a big believer in free speech. I believe that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. I also believe that some people's opinions are better kept to themselves and not shared with the whole world. I find that especially true when those opinions reveal the person to be a biased, sexist, unoriginal person who just likes to see their own words in print. Because people see message boards as a way to be cruel, ridiculous and just plain uneducated, I really think they just need to be closed down until further notice. That, or you should have to pass some sort of test to be able to submit a comment. Now, I don't want to be the moderator of the world's message boards, but still...it's pathetic.

I should have learned by now not to click on the "comments" button under any article in the online version of your local paper. No matter how good the article, no matter how positive or uplifting, people find ways to ruin it. Recently, an article was written about a 12-year-old girl who had donated her hair to Locks of Love, not once, but twice. That's impressive for anyone, but especially for a 12-year-old! That is understanding that the world is bigger than you and that even small things mean something big. And, what was the first comment under the story? Not that the girl was doing a good thing, not that she deserved to be commended for giving heart, no...it was a complaint about Locks of Love and how they distribute wigs. I don't know that much about Locks of Love, so I don't know if the criticism was valid or not, but I do know that what they do has NOTHING to do with the heart of a healthy 12-year-old girl trying to do something nice for people. GRRR.

And, fear not, it's not restricted to the local Bloomington paper - message boards and 'comment' boards across the internet are full of only the loudest people. And it's not just that I am usually completely opposite of the people posting, it's the way they do it. Like their opinion is the only one that matters, and to "you know where" with anyone who dares to disagree with them. There is a reason there are professional writers in the world - and a reason so many people do not fall into that category.

So, here's my advice to people who use message boards as just another way to sound off their undereducated opinions on things they haven't researched or really thought about - or to those people who have potentially valid opinions but are mean, cruel and uncalled for most of the time - get a blog! Don't pollute message boards with your drivel.

And that's all i have to say about that!

Where I've Been

So a few people (okay, two) have wondered why I haven't been blogging and where I've been. Hmmm...I've been. Here. Staring at the blank blog page and not really having a lot to say. I could come up with some great excuses for why I haven't been blogging, like...

* I forgot my password (but I didn't)
* I've been too busy (I'm busy, but not that busy)
* My computer died (but it's working great)
* I've spent too much time reading to blog (this one is kinda true)
* Facebook has taken over my life (hasn't it taken over yours?)
* TV has started again, and I'm spending time with all my friends that have been gone over the summer (and you are too, admit it)
* I don't have anything to say (which I do feel)

The reality is, however, that I have a lot to say, I just haven't gotten around to writing my actual blog entries. So, although only a couple people read this thing, I've decided to leave it to you! I have some topics in my head...and you get to pick which one I write about first.

Here are your choices (they're vague on purpose).
* My opinions on message boards and the dummies who write on them.
* How I feel about seeing one more political ad this year.
* My new friends, including Cindy, Jenna, Ramona, and more!
* Being married almost 2 years
* Suggest your own topic :)

(and knowing that Scott & Cindy will answer this...I can't wait to read what they say!)

Book Reviews

I've been doing a lot of reading the last couple weeks - and loving it! here are some short reviews of what i've been reading lately!

Winged Creatures by Roy Freirich
This was an interesting read (months ago when I actually read it). I picked it up on a whim at the library (one of my favorite things to do). The basic story is tragic - a man opens fire in a fast food restaurant, killing several people before turning the gun on himself. The book itself is about the survivors of the shooting - not even the ones that were hurt the worst physically, but just how they deal with the aftermath.

What you should know about this book if you want to read it is that the author is a fairly accomplished screenwriter. And, when reading Winged Creatures you can tell that is true. The book reads like a script, with a little more exposition. It's well-written, but moves like a movie and is told from many characters and their POV. From the sticker on the front, the book has already been optioned for a movie, and I have a feeling it will make a pretty interesting film. Maybe one of the few that is better than the book, which makes sense considering the background of the author.

Once Upon A Marigold by Jean Ferris
I would sum this book up in one word - whimsical. It's nothing too amazing, but it's a fun and quick read. Marigold is a princess who is headstrong and unique. Christian is a boy who ran away from home when he was little and now lives in a cave with a troll. Boy sees girl, boy sends notes to girl with carrier pigeon (p-mail). Boy leaves home and gets a job at girl's castle. Boy and girl meet. Evil stepmother wants to kill girl so she can be queen by herself. Boy isn't as common as you first thought. And they live happily ever after!

It's a cute story, and a nice take on the fairy tale genre. I think I read the whole book in about 2 and 1/2 hours.

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pende de Bois
I could tell this book was written around the same time as Dr. Doolittle. They are written in a very similar style and language. I enjoyed The Twenty-One Balloons because it was a unique story and the story of one person. The protagonist leaves on a hot-air balloon to spend a year in the air, and is found just a few short weeks later on the other side of the world. It's a story about treasure, intelligence, and what really makes a 'utopian' society.

I enjoyed reading this book because it was fun - there was action, adventure, and enough silliness to make it fun to read. The story is obviously not real and not meant to be. The Twenty-One Balloons is meant to be fantasy and escape - which is what I think books should always be in some way.

The View from Saturday by EL Konigburg
Contemporary young adult fiction. The story of an unlikely group of friends drawn together by life. They become an academic bowl team and find out that everyone is connected somehow. This was my least favorite book that I've read recently. I didn't care for the writing style and I thought it was a bit contrived. Part of that is because every other book I've read this week has been fantasy and fun and this one was more real, more raw, and more serious. It was more a commentary on today's world.

Girlfriends

In high school and college I was lucky to have a great group of girlfriends. In high school, we first became friends because we were in the same classes - from Kindergarten through 12th grade. We became friends because we were in band together...then theatre...then because we had found something in each other that we appreciated and were drawn to. I love my high school girls, and wish I lived close enough to see them and hang out with them more. Thanks to facebook, I have found some of my girlfriends again - and reconnecting with Sara, Sarah, Rachael and more has been refreshing. Catching up with their lives - the highs and lows - has made me feel more complete somehow. They were such crucial parts of my growing-up experience and finding them again has refreshed a part of me I didn't know was lacking.

I have been lucky - one of my absolute best friends in the world - Rene - is close. We've been friends forever, literally. She's been there through some of the craziest ups and downs, through adolescence and lost parents, through broken relationships and weddings. She has been my rock through much of my life and I am so glad she's still in Bloomington and still close. We may not chat all the time and we may not see each other that often, but knowing she is always there and close is such a blessing to me.

Moving to college was hard. Rene was here, but that was about it. She was in a different dorm, on a different path, and I was alone. Freshman year was hard, but slowly I made new friends and met a new set of girlfriends that would impact my life. In Christian Student Fellowship, I found Auburn, Liz, Jenny, Michelle, Jennifer, Hannah, Janel and so much more. I found girls that were on the way to becoming strong, independent wonderful women. My homes sophomore through senior year, though sometimes full of drama, were oasis' of joy and friendship. We were a group of women experiencing so much of life together, and their impact in my life has only continue to grow. Sadly, I am not as close to many of them as I used to be - many of them I am only on a casual basis, but some have remained my lifeline as far as girlfriends go. I can't imagine where I would be in my life without my continuing friendship with Liz.

And now...now I feel like I am at a crossroads in my girlfriend life again. I have found myself longing for that authentic relationship with women that only other women understand. I have been looking for friendships that can be impactful and growing. And, the sad thing is, I KNOW I have a lot of good girlfriends now - we just are in such different places in our lives that finding time for each other is so hard. I know that the craziness of the last several months has made it hard for me to really connect - and in some ways I've felt even more disconnected than ever. I need to make girlfriend time a priority! I had lunch last friday with Amy, one of the dearest people in my life. She's like a sister to me, and just a simple lunch of McDonald's and time to just hang out made the rest of my day and my weekend that much better. I need more of that in my life.

It sounds so easy, but part of me is convinced that the women in my life I would most like to spend time with are too busy, have their own friends, etc, and no room for me. The even sadder part is that I know that's a lie, a pathetic excuse for not putting myself out there and doing my part to dig deeper into relationship. That is my challenge for myself this week - to call my friends and ask if they want to do something, to get involved in a woman's study somehow to help me and to reconnect with the women in my life that I know are there, they just maybe don't know how much I need them!

Book Reviews Coming

I've been doing some reading...book reviews coming for

"Winged Creatures"
"The Twenty-One Balloons"
and
"A View from Saturday"

Very different books, but good. The two Newberry books have earned their awards - the other one was different and interesting. It's late and I'm tired, so I'm not going to worry about them tonight.

In other news - it's September. That means August is over - that means that it's a new month and a new opportunity. I'm looking forward to writing and reading and hanging out with friends. I'm hoping to go deeper with some casual friends and make new ones all at the same time. It's a new month, a weight has lifted, and I am optimistic about the future.

Love,