Procrastinating

My mom told me I could delay reading at the moment. So I am. She said! I shall return with two sections read.

I'm Pooped

Sorry.

I just got back from work thirty minutes ago. I went in at 7:30 p.m. and got done at 1 a.m.
Mind you, this was supposed to be a small, part-time, minimum-minimum wage job. I clean after animals (and mainly the workers) at a veterinary clinic. I can sit here and complain all morning about how I smell like animal poop and sadness but I have to go. I didn't even have time to read. I didn't even realize I had to work tonight. Yeah, that was an unexpected surprise. Wow. That sentence was stupid. No, not the "Wow" sentence. The one before it. Yes, with the "unexpected surprise". It is unnecessary to say "unexpected" because a surprise is unexpected. And yet, I am still not going to change it. It gave me extra sentences and I enjoy rambling anyway. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I will leave now so there are no other casualties.

sigh...

As I Lay Dying - Section 2

Now things are getting interesting!

Okay...
Vardaman is crazy and incoherent; he is rambling about Peabody killing his mother and his mother becoming a fish. I still do not understand his reasoning or why the fish stain, blood in the pan, and the rain starting when he left for the Tulls' place had any connection at all. Another frustrating obstacle that I shall overcome. Anyway, since the fish is apparently Addie, who would still be dead in this situation Vardaman created, Addie's body is not hers anymore. Yet, he still was terrified of her previous body being nailed into a box. In his frustration and climbing fear, he tried to get her out.  Apparently, the logical thing was to drill holes into the box and eventually bashing a couple of holes in her face. I had to read this section twice to understand what the heck happened. Oh, and get this!
*"what?" the studio audience chimes in*
Dewey Dell is pregnant! Woweee! Pregnant by some guy named "Lafe". He was mentioned by both Darl's point of view and Dewey Dell's view afterwards. Hmm. Can anyone see a possible family brawl brewing? Yes. Yes I can. I can bet all my money it will be combined with every other character's bowl of crazy and the crazy pot of soup will explode in the last fourth of the book. Yes, Yes.

Back to the important note-taking...
I am still annoyed with Cora.
I am interested in whether or not Dewey Dell is:
   a. bored
   b. a slut           *"oooooh" Them's fightin' words*
   c. severly screwed up from the family issues that Cora was mentioning
So, yes, I am getting interested in the story. I always do. I was just frustrated from passages like this:
          "Then hit want. Hit hadn't happened then. Hit was a-layin right there on the ground. And now she's gitten ready to cook hit."       
That was courtesy of Vardaman, page 56.  Yeehaw.

All of the characters so far and their brief characterizations:
Cora Tull - busybody who has done everything she has ever done because of her "Christian duties"
Vernon Tull - rich neighbor of the Bundrens and helps nail Addie into her coffin
Kate and Eula Tull - annoying offspring of Vernon and Cora. Haven't heard from them much but I can safely assume that they are irritating.      
Can you see that I have a rather odd hatred for a family of minor characters? Well, stick around. I'm sure there will be more.
*Why am I still typing at 2:42 a.m.?! Grrr.*
I shall do one more character and then I will return to my slumber and dream amazing dreams.
Cash Bundren - hasn't appeared much or contributed to the narration but all of the other characters have mentioned his lingering presence and the sound of him sawing in the background.

I shall resume tomorrow. Wait... today. I forgot that I technically skipped a day on this assignment. Sorry 'bout that.

As I Lay Dying - Section 1

*sigh*
Okay. I'm ready.

As I Lay Dying is infuriating. This is the only thing I got from the thirty-eight pages I had just scanned past my eyeballs. I understand it is classical American Literature and the very-difficult-to-comprehend-writing is meant to reflect the lack of education of these dirt poor, simple-minded people. No excuse!

Back to my assignment in which I will attempt to form possible thesis statements. My notes say to write a "strong thesis statement!" I will do so now.
Possible thesis statements - after reading the first section:
- something with the strength of family during the Great Depression
- the different meanings of death between characters
- strong-will during hard times
- ???
I give up. It is probably too early to form one. To be honest, I could never form a really strong thesis statement in my school papers.

Small notes:
Cora seems gossipy and very full of herself. (her dislike of Jewel, talking with her family about the Bundrens' situation, and the fact that they are a well off family)
Asne's chapters are very irritating to read.
Why is Addie dying? Why has she given up?
Jewel is either truly terrible as, Cora says, or a good person with problems.
Is the whole family going to travel with Addie to her grave-spot?
How greedy and evil is the Bundren family? Is there proof Cora's allegations?
I want to hear more from the daughter Dewey and the son Vardaman.
They have odd names.


to be continued...

The Beginnings of a Long, Long Summer

Okay, first assignment: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner from 1930.

I am going to hit two birds with one stone on this project. I will write a passage about the thirty-seven pages I read everyday over the span of a week. That is two hundred and sixty-one pages folks. By reading the pages and then publishing a detailed blog post, I will be fulfilling my requirements of my AP English project: read As I Lay Dying and Their Eyes Were Watching God, write detailed notes while reading, and write two separate four-page literary analyses. I also have to write notes on a book that will teach me how to write properly. *internet audience cheering in the background*

Anywho... I will report back to this blog in, hopefully, a few hours.

I'M BACK in the saddle again... d(-_-)b

Yup. School is over. Way over. It is the first day of August, the first day of the end of my summer break, and the first day of worry and anxiety until I graduate from high school. To say the least, I am scared. Scared of the three AP classes. Scared of being around the classmates who have frustrated me for nine years. Scared of the impending college applications and possible failure. And yet, the thing I am most frightened of is not being able to read the books I love and reporting to this blog. Just look at the last time I wrote a post! It's shameful. I like writing about books. I will write about books -- as much as I possibly can during the thirty-one days I have left. To make it easier, and more interesting, I will write about other bits of entertainment. Similar to what I had already proposed many, many months ago.

I despise myself.

The Return

I'm back.
I know. We (Mother and I) have been neglecting the blogosphere. We will make it up to you.
Back to Book Land.
My American Literature class was assigned different books for our Literature Circles Unit. I immediately chose to read the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I just have to say one thing about it... AMAZING
It is my new favorite book. Although, this would conflict with my Harry Potter Nerd Contract.
Seriously though, read it. Do it. You will thank me. You're welcome.
This book was soo good that I ended up reading the second one -Catching Fire- soon after and am currently on the third -Mockingjay. The only thing standing in the way between me and the ending of this book is my ridiculous pile of homework. Don't tell me the ending. Not even a whisper. It might come through the Ethernet cable and attack my ears. Mockingjay. Hmmm... I think it is calling my name. I'm sorry Mockingjay, I can't read you.
Why not? I am very good.
I know you are. I...just... I have to read The Scarlet Letter for my class and do my Anatomy homework first. I'm sorry.
Whatever, Megan. I feel so unloved.
This is the weird guilt trip I go through.
Oh yeah. I have to read The Scarlet Letter. Ugh. --I know, I know. I call myself a "book lover" but the fact that I have to read 70 pages every other day is getting on my nerves. Detailed notes too. Grrr. I just want to sit down and enjoy the book, not dissect every single detail--
Sorry 'bout that.
My mother is still trying to read the final Harry Potter book. I think there isn't enough romance in it for her. Shame. It is a wonderfully epic finale. I am getting emotional just thinking about it.
She also read Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and is on Mockingjay. I'm soo proud.
I suppose I better get back to my homework... *currently sulking away*

Hmmm.....I am in need of a book to read. I am reading "The Power of Now" by Eckart Tolle, which is a wonderful, amazing book and I recommend it to everyone, but it is a self-help book, and I need a book to help me escape! Like a nice love story.......... Oh, yeah, Megan wants me to finish Harry Potter #7. I better do that first!

Music

I'm sorry.
I lied.
I did not come back after an hour to talk about music.
But,
I did something better.
I convinced by mother to write her first post!
I think that makes up for my absence. Anyway, I will continue talking about music in this post. It will be legen- wait for it -dary (Yes, that right there was a quote from How I Met Your Mother) (Don't worry, I will bore you to death with that topic in the Film section later).

~~~

Music. The most amazing thing ever created/developed? Arguably, yes. Now, keep in mind that I am probably not an unbiased person. I was rocking out to Paul McCartney and BB King & Buddy Guy music at their concerts before I was even born. So, I didn't even have a chance.
Now forgive me, but I am going to put in some stage notes to this. Establish the mood.
In a small coffee shop. A thin layer of snow is still on the ground. There are only two people sitting in the coffee shop, a mother and her daughter. They are both on separate laptops. They continue to talk to each other over their wall of technology that is shielding them from reality. Beatles music is playing softly through the shop's speakers, at these two customer's request. Only the sound of clicking from their keyboards interrupts the music.
Back to business. The band -(No, not the band named The Band from '64-'75 and again in the '80s and early '90s)- to mention is the Dave Matthews Band.
They are amazing. My biased tendency is coming out again. When my brain registers that name, the song "Crush" plays in the background. "Good song", my mom says in the background.

Relaxing.   I'm getting very very sleepy.  


Megan

psst... I think you should visit http://www.soulpancake.com/  Don't worry, it's nothing naughty.

Book of the week....... My review of "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. I have had this book on my nightstand for over a year, someday I was going to read it. A few weeks ago on a snowy Saturday I did just that. Megan was sleeping until 2:00 p.m. that day and Austin, my 15 yrd old son was gone to his dad's for the weekend. So, I started reading that morning about 7:00 a.m. and did not stop until I was done with that book at about 9:00 p.m. that night! It was that good! I think the main reason I was able to read the book so easily was because I knew that Robert Pattinson (*sigh*) was playing the lead role in the upcoming movie! I pictured him through out the book and how he would act it out. I don't want to take away the fact that this book was sooooo good by making it all about Robert Pattinson, but it did help me. I did not think I would enjoy a book about a circus in the 1930's, it kind of seemed creepy to me. I am not fond of the circus....mostly the clown thing. But this book was so wonderfully written, I would not mind going to the library and finding all I could on circus life back then. I doubt I could find anything as good as this, but I am willing to try. I guess I really like a good love story..... Twilight for example. This was so gritty and yet the love story was wonderful. In the movie Hal Holbrook plays the older Jacob so that was neat to picture him in my mind while I read the book, he is going to be a perfect older Jacob! The violence was sometimes hard to read about, very graphic, but not scary in the movie type of violence, more like reality maybe? It was also hard to read about the animals and how they were mistreated. Again, it was reality back then and the author did a good job. But when the book came to an end, I was wishing there was a part two. I highly recommend reading this wonderful book, and I am trying to get Megan to read it so she can write a better blog than I have done. ENJOY! Susie

I Was Thinking...

So...
I was thinking about what to put in this very post, and I was stumped. First of all, I still haven't started reading any of the books I mentioned in the previous post. Yes, I could read the books instead of typing this completely snore-worthy post... but, I do not have a car. I do not have a license. I do not have money. AND I DON'T HAVE A LIFE!  *gasping* *women screaming* *babies crying* *fine china crashing* *panic-stricken people running in circles* *a man yelling at some nonexistent entity to stop using asterisks*
Okay. Quarter-life crisis is over. Back to what I was mulling over.
I was thinking about including multiple categories of ART into this blog. Books would still be the overall theme. You see, written stories are only one little part of what bookworms and nerds enjoy. In order to really enjoy books, you need to enjoy movies and music that inspires, and is inspired by, books.
We need to look at the big picture fellas:
Comedy, Film, Comic books, Music, Theatre, Etc.!
I'm excited...
Let us begin with a post in an hour about Music!
Weeeeeee...

As always,
Megan


This picture is not lying to you. 



"Nerds are just deep, and neurotic, fans. Needy fans. We're all nerds, on one subject or another."

Jonathan Lethem

Books to Read

 

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Tick Tock by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt

Please discuss amongst yourselves, my nonexistent bookworms.



WELCOME

Hi folks!

I am going to just jump right in and overwhelm your brains with Novel Talk. Fun. I know.

First thing's first: I am a sucker for rock stars' autobiographies. My first one was about the Red Hot Chili Peppers' front man Anthony Kiedis (I am a huge RHCP fan) (the two people reading this are currently gagging and I apologize for that) (p.s.- I enjoy parenthesis). I really want go out and get the autobiography written by Keith Richards, appropriately named: Life.

Now for something completely different.

I was thinking about getting an ebook reader. Such as a Kindle or a Nook (for some reason I was reading that sentence in my head as a British scholar). 
  
I'm changing the subject again.

I am trying to get my mother, the other (and currently reluctant) contributor, to read the final Harry Potter book. I know, I know. Just because I like the books does not mean I go around carrying a wand and yelling "Expelliarmus!" to innocent and confused passersby. I just love the world that J.K. Rowling created. Yes, anyway, back to my ridiculous mother. I understand that she is busy and everything, but... *dramatic pause building* ... she rereads the Twilight books! She has already read the teen lovey dovey books twice, why not something more creative and...awesome? (gasping is heard throughout the imaginary audience of this blog). Yes. I am hatin' on Twilight, as my mother would playfully say. I'm just upset because I have no Harry Potter nerd-friends to talk to about this! What's a nerd supposed to do? Use word violence against an inanimate object.

Thank you for following an underwhelming adventure...no, odyssey... of a fellow book enthusiast (BAM! Title drop).
Megan

p.s.  I have read the Twilight books. All four of them. I loved them. *sulking away with guilt over previous comment that may have offended the imaginary readers*