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Henry David Thoreau said:
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
xx.
Archive for the ‘Reading’ Category
He Said, She Said – No. 1
Posted in Music, Reading, Things I Love, tagged henry david thoreau, inspirational, inspiring, kill time, quotes, walden on October 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Posted in Reading, tagged book review, harry potter, jk rowling, read along, reread, review, the chamber of secrets, the chambre of secrets, thoughts on September 26, 2012 | 4 Comments »
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Just as good this time as it was the first!
There’s nothing better for a little happy entertainment than getting swept up in the world of Harry Potter. It’s a tremendously well-imagined (and well-planned) series that is ideal for rainy days and autumn. So, perhaps against my better judgement, I lost a couple of hours to it this morning, on this perfect reading day, and managed to polish off the Chamber of Secrets. I suppose not much more needs to be said about this book since probably all of you reading this have yourselves fallen in love with the series, and if you haven’t been convinced to read them by now, no amount of persuasion on my part could make you do so.
The world of Hogwarts is just such a comfortable, yet exciting one. How romantic it seems to think of myself curled up in an oversized wingback chair before the glowing fire in the Gryffindor common room (although I’m fairly convinced I’d actually be in Hufflepuff, I just don’t know what their common room looks like!). With so many endearing characters about in the castle, and the environment so conducive to history and books and community, I just can’t get enough of it.
Next I’m going to dive into Franny + Zooey, for anyone who’d like to read along. I’ve surprisingly really come to love my morning reading time. I am not a morning person. I know a lot of people like to read in the morning, and I always hated the idea of it in the past because I have such a darn hard time getting started every day, so to add another thing onto my list of to-dos in a short amount of time was just undesirable. But this summer I started waking up earlier to add this into my day and found that it has actually helped me ease into the day and helps keep me in a better mood. I’d highly suggest it for those who like to read, but hate getting out of bed in the morning. Just make sure that coffee is involved and you’re good to go!
What are you reading?
xx.
Walden; or Life in the Woods – Henry David Thoreau
Posted in Environmental Consciousness, Inspiration, New Hampshire, Reading, tagged henry david thoreau, life in the woods, new england, review, thoughts, walden on September 15, 2012 | 2 Comments »
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This book gave words to the things I knew in my youth.
As my years stack up, I have found myself drifting further from what I have always known as truth. Although, this year I have taken it upon myself {and with a great deal of patience from my Mister} to begin moving back toward the purest and simplest beauty which I have always known – the woods. I think it must be accurate to say that we know the most about our reality when we’re small, and when “life” gets in the way of things we begin to forget what it’s most important to know.
When I was a child my parents nearly had to beg me to try to make friends. I had some girls at school that I would sit with at lunch, laugh with, and invite to my birthday parties, but my ideal day consisted simply of myself {and sometimes my one best friend who understood} losing every hour of the day in the woods.
Now in my late 20s, as I read the pages of Walden, the curtains around the room in which I sit show evidence of the Earth’s great lungs breathing broad and heavy breaths which we recognize as the wind. It was a reminder, and a call. It’s a finger pointing in at the irony of my chosen reading spot. But even in this apartment {though I am much closer to home than I’ve been in years} I’m still amidst society and feel the qualities of being vermin infesting this space. We are all much too close together.
Truth be told, this isn’t my first viewing of the book. I earned my degree in English which, of course, included the obligatory study of the classics – Walden was part of that. But it seems to me that though my Professors were well-read and even brilliant scholars, the book may have been partly lost on them. The sections to which they directed our class, the discussions they led on the subject, were completely banal and missing the point. How could a fish teach about a mountain top? How could a city-dweller teach about the woods?
In the first session of one of my English classes in college we began by introducing ourselves and saying where we were from. My turn came, I said my name and my hometown (which only one person in the room had heard of, though we were in the same very small State that I grew up). My Professor had in fact rented my neighbor’s cabin to pass one of her summer vacations. She was awed at the fact that I lived there. She said, “That’s God’s country”. I was immediately struck by that claim and it has stuck with me ever since. Somewhere along the line humanity separated Nature from “reality” and turned it into some sort of a getaway that people with money can purchase for a weekend or a month in the summer. Knowing that she held this sort of removed novelty for the natural world, how could I expect her to understand the communion, comfort, and familiarity that Thoreau describes in his book?
I’d highly suggest your reading it, of course, but more important than turning the pages and learning of Thoreau’s account of the woods would be gaining or renewing your own. Walk amongst the trees where no sounds of traffic can reach and use your eyes, ears, nose, and skin to observe. That’s the only way you’ll know.
xx.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Posted in Reading, tagged and the philosopher's stone, and the sorcerer's stone, book, book one, harry potter, reread, review, thoughts, year one on August 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
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The first time I cracked open this book was well over ten years ago.
So I felt that it was about time I reopen its worn and weathered binding for a re-read. Most of my peers have gone through the series several times already and since Ryan has been making his way through it recently, I have found myself a tad jealous. Although the whimsical world that J.K. Rowling created has been with me from page 1 of book 1 ever since I originally opened it, upon my second read through I realized that I had forgotten quite a few of the details!
For example, in my head when I thought of the story, I pictured it beginning as the movie does – on Privet Drive when Harry is dropped off at the Dursleys’ doorstep. Somehow I’d completely forgotten how the book itself read:
*Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.
Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.
The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it…*
I’d also lost my knowledge of wizard money! Galleons and sickles and knuts hadn’t entered my mind since high school. And I was again struck and comforted by Dumbledore‘s insight and understanding in every situation – What an amazing character and series. From here I’ll tackle one more title on my book list {Walden!}, and then leap back into the wizarding world with Year 2 of Harry’s adventures at Hogwarts!
Happy page turning!
xx.
Sputnik Sweetheart – Haruki Murakami
Posted in Reading, tagged book review, haruki murakami, murakami sputnik sweetheart, my thoughts, reading list, sputnik sweetheart, summation on August 4, 2012 | 2 Comments »
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This novel was not what I was expecting!
However, it was very, very good. I devoured it as quickly as I could, flipping page after page in total disregard for the clock or anything on my to-do list. But, it’s nice to get completely swept up in a book every so often, especially in the summer, and it was a pretty quick read so I’m now able to move on a concentrate on other things in life once again.
I found myself on several occasions putting the book down for a moment or two just so I could sort through everything that I had read. It was easy to read, Murakami’s writing style is beautiful and thorough – like taking a deep drink of cool water on a hot day, but the metaphors were tangled amongst the prose in such a way that I had to stop and think because I didn’t want to miss out on anything!
I recently read Mrs. Dalloway, so the parallels between these two works were pretty clear to me. Both focus on human isolation even amidst a bustling city. The satellite metaphor Murakami uses to describe people on different paths, orbiting the same Earth, but completely isolated reminded me of Woolf’s image of the woman across the street from Clarissa – they could see one another through the windows moving about in their respective rooms, and all that stood between them was air, yet they were removed from one another and completely alone. It was the same comment, but each speaks distinctly of its own era.
While reading this, I was suddenly inspired to open up my NaNoWriMo novel from last year, and add a little more character depth! Sumire, a main character in Sputnik Sweetheart, was an aspiring novelist herself, and there are several discussions that take place amongst the characters on the subject of plot development, novel writing, and style. It’s wonderful to feel entertained, inspired, and inquisitive all because of the same book – well done, Murakami, well done.
If you’re itching for a good book to read, this’ll do it for you.
xx.
Peter Pan – J. M. Barrie
Posted in Reading, tagged book review, books, discussion, j m barrie, literature, neverland, peter pan, peter pan by barrie, thoughts on July 28, 2012 | 2 Comments »
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What a refreshing read!
It’s been a long time since I’ve gone through a book this quickly, but the world of Neverland truly drew me in. The story isn’t exactly as long as I had thought it would be, either, so I must say I’m surprised with the ease at which I polished this one off. Since there have been so many adaptations of this story, each one different {but just as exciting as the last} I sort of expected more. The content certainly wasn’t lacking in quality, it’s just that I had anticipated a greater quantity. A dazzling story such as this surely must be as intricately woven and as expansive as the night sky itself, no?
Not so! I find that films have just embellished, developed, and imagined more backstory than there actually was, which is nice because it’s such an interesting world to explore anyway. Plus, we’ve all grown up with the basic story line, so if every adaptation wasn’t a little different we’d become rather bored if it all, wouldn’t we? While we’re speaking of people getting bored easily, I must admit that this true Peter Pan rather annoyed me! In the movies that I’ve seen of him, he was sort of a guide to the Darling children, and a hero. In the book he was just a selfish, greedy little boy no further concerned with anyone else’s well-being than he was with where his next meal would come from {which he wasn’t concerned with at all since he just imagined all of his meals and there they were – no work or forethought required}. Here were three children who trusted him enough to leave their comfortable and safe home to fly away with him into a world unknown and he couldn’t always even be trusted to stick around! I was actually a little scared for them…
I did, though, enjoy how true to this story Mary Martin’s Peter Pan was. This film was the first I ever heard of the story, and one of the movies I rented most from the library as a child. I watched that tape so many times, just enamoured with the whole of it. So many times while I was reading the book, the feeling of that movie came back to me which means that they pulled it off very accurately. Maybe this should be the next sleepover movie that we rent with my niece!
I also truly enjoyed the concept of Neverland being shared amongst all children subconsciously. Barrie suggests that this is the place where all of our dreams happen, and that we all have met Peter Pan and his hooligan friends! But, as our years pass here on “the mainland” we forget our adventures for good only vaguely recognizing the names or people from those times, without being able to place them.
I’m taking a bit of a break from the reading list these days, if you didn’t notice, but I’ll be hopping back on soon enough! I thrifted this copy of Peter Pan several months ago, and couldn’t stand the fact that I still hadn’t read it, so that was a necessary detour. From there, I thought I might as well get to a Murakami novel that my BFF leant me {I’m just over half way through already, it’s that good!}. And lined up for after this one, I’m planning on starting the Harry Potter series over again. Ryan’s been working his way through it, and since I never actually finished the last book, I’ve really got to get that going. My Dad and I bought all of the books in the series together and share the copies, but since Ryan has been working through them, we have them all at our house now! I’ve got to start my way through again so we can at least pass some of them back my parents’ way.
But, after The Sorcerer’s Stone it’s back to the book list again! When I read through a series I like to alternate each book with something outside of the series so I don’t get too burnt out on it. I find that a little time away makes me appreciate it all the more, and I think the same will be said for my reading list itself.
Happy page turning!
xx.
Mrs. Dalloway
Posted in Reading, tagged clarissa, ideas, mrs dalloway, my thoughts, novel, outline, review, summary, virginia woolf on July 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
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There’s nothing like the feeling…
of crossing something off a list. And just now I got to strike right through Mrs. Dalloway on my reading list! I read bits and pieces of the novel in college, and studied it then, too, but without managing to pass through every page. Now, thankfully, I’ve given it a more thorough read and found that the fluidity of this novel is astounding – especially considering the number of characters whose perspectives we dove into, and the corners of London that we toured around with them.
The structure was admirable; beginning the book when Mrs. Dalloway descends the staircase from her room to greet the day, and finishing up when she prepares to engage in her last conversations of that same day before climbing the stairs again. Every page in between is alight with fluttering and flourishing language, but grounded with an occasional simple sentence for emphasis.
It was a portrait of sorts. Seeing as to know anyone “one must seek out the people who completed them; even the places”, we cannot know Clarissa Dalloway without meeting those people from her past + present and the places, too, that have made her who she is. And so in this book we explore the city, its people, and their memories {within a day!} – all of which connect to our leading lady. Well done, Virginia, well done.
Next up is Peter Pan!
xx.
Photo Booth Friday – No. 42
Posted in New Hampshire, Our personal history, Photobooth Friday, Reading, tagged film, filter, instagram, our week in snapshots, photographs, vintage images on June 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
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Our week in snapshots:
| highlights |
Summer has hit us hard here in the Lakes Region {if you couldn’t tell from all of the beach snapshots}! It’s been almost 100° F and muggy, so I was lucky to have some time at Camp where the water was cool and the grill was hot – two of my very favourite things. I did have to pay my dues and by spending hours in the garden weeding previous to my dip. But I was quite happy to see that our radishes and lettuce are both ready to be picked! We’ll be away until Tuesday, so I’m hoping my parents help themselves lest those babies just turn into compost!
It is rather comical that a momma turkey and her littluns have taken it upon themselves to enjoy some of our spoils when we’re not around. Several times now when we’ve arrived, we’ve had to chase them from our food supply and shake our fingers at them. Momma turkey does not take kindly to this type of discipline and has actually charged at Ryan in her fury! She’s pretty lucky that we’re vegetarians, otherwise I can imagine another farmer serving his family Thanksgiving dinner in the beginning of summer to pay her back for her antics.
Now Ryan + I are gearing up for our trip to Sunset Hill House! I’ll be sharing our adventures with you every day and you can like them on facebook to make sure that you don’t miss a beat seeing as I’ll be linking every blog post on their facebook page! I do need your help, though, with choosing my next book to read. I’m pretty close to polishing off Mrs. Dalloway, and I’m not sure where to go next. We’ll surely have plenty of time to spend between pages while we’re away, so I’ll be bringing a few options with me for when I’ve finished my current read. I’d love your opinion! {Check out my full reading list here.}
Can’t wait to share our vacation with you!
xx.
An afternoon in the park
Posted in New Hampshire, Our personal history, Reading, tagged canada geese, may, park, reading, small town, spring, summer on May 21, 2012 | 2 Comments »
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One of the things that we liked about living in the city
was that everything was within walking distance. Turns out, though, that living in a small town is even better. There’s only one of everything (post office, grocery store, library, park, diner) so there is less variety, but they’re all even closer together than they are in cities and much less populated.
Yesterday we walked out our front door and past just two buildings before arriving at our town’s little park and spent some time there reading. We had the whole place to ourselves minus one couple who came in just to eat their lunch then were on their way again, oh, and a pair of Canada geese. We don’t have a Target, Walmart, or ten different pizza places, but it’s still incredibly convenient to live here.
There’s also the most perfect sitting tree in our park. How very Huck Finn-y! Although I was wearing a white dress, I still tried to climb it – it’s that irresistible. Turns out this particular tree is not so good for climbing in dresses {unless you don’t mind a little exposure}, so I let Ryan have the tree to himself and I occupied the blanket below.
We’re off on a walk to the post office now, then to work on our garden. It’s much too nice a May day to stay inside any longer.
Enjoy your Monday!
xx.
Lord of the Flies
Posted in Reading, Social Consciousness, tagged book list, books everyone should read, classics, lord of the flies, novels, reading list, school, stories on May 15, 2012 | 2 Comments »
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Check another off of the list!
I’m a tragically slow reader, but since we’ve moved to our new apartment, Ryan + I have made it a point to get in bed at 10 pm and read until 11. Setting aside a specific time every single day to dedicate to our books helped me plow through The Richest Man in Babylon {upon request of my Dad}, my Grandfather’s war journal, and Lord of the Flies, all in record speed!
Unlike most people, my high school did not make me read Lord of the Flies. And, I think I’m glad about that. I’ve always gotten more out of the things I chose to do myself than the things others told me to do. Most of the books that I read for school I didn’t like simply because I felt like I was forced to read them. Immediately after serving my last term in college, I finished Fahrenheit 451 and fell in love with reading again. I read it because I wanted to, not because I had to – and what a book it was to start this chapter of my life!
Since then, I’ve made it my personal goal to read all of the classics for me {thus, the list was born} along with anything else that I think sounds good. I hate that it felt like reading was a chore for me in school, and maybe that’s one reason why I decided not to use my English Education degree – I didn’t have any good ideas about how to make reading really exciting for students because I myself felt like I didn’t want to read when I was told to. I’m a weird brand of literature lover…maybe I just have authority issues.
Anyway, my thoughts on Lord of the Flies are all positive. I know I’ve read a good book when after I’ve turned the last page, I attempt to go on with my life like I had before I opened it but find myself wondering about the characters in the book and missing them a little. This was certainly the case with my most recent read. Next up, Mrs. Dalloway!
What book are you currently working on?
xx.
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