A Review of 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak

“Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.”

I first reviewed this book in December 2010, but I've recently picked it up for a second read (because I'm taking a Literature for Young Adults class and this was my first homework assignment.  My first class meeting was 6 February).  When I initially reviewed it, it had been a while since I had read it first (two years, maybe) and upon re-reading my own review, I realized that it really doesn't do the book justice, despite the positive review.  So here I am again, writing this review.  I hope that my writing has improved a little bit since 2010.

This was indeed a Christmas present many years ago from my Nani and it has since become one of my absolute favorite reads.  The interesting thing about this book is that you only need to read it once in order for it to stick with you.  Not that one read will ever be enough in a lifetime, I mean, look at me, re-reviewing this after another read-through!

One of the strong points in the novel is the characters.  I love that Zusak takes the time and gives each character a personality so distinct from all of the other characters.  Like, there's one character, Pfiffikus, who is rather vulgar and whistles a lot.  He's not a particularly important character in the novel, but characters like Pfiffikus add color to the pages and it's absolutely wonderful.

Liesel and Rudy are two characters I fell in love with.  I love how Liesel feels about books and words and it made me so proud that she put so much work and effort into learning how to read just so that she could understand.  I love how Rudy, while he is very much a typical boy, is also atypical in some ways.  He's a normal boy in that he picks on Liesel (because he likes her) but then he's not so normal because he's so open about his affections for Liesel.  He begs and bargains for her kiss for years.

I'm still giddy with excitement when I remember that the narrator of the novel is Death.  I think that I was able to get more out of what Death was saying, but I also came up with twice as many questions (which is great, because I hope to teach this book in my classroom someday).  It's such an interesting choice for a narrator and his (her?) voice is just wonderful.  I think it was a good choice.  It would have been nice to hear a little bit more from Liesel, but I can't bring myself to be angry or disappointed by the decision to make Death the narrator.  It just fits!

The story itself is just wonderful in general.  Until you get to the ending... then it's just devastating.  But that's a sign of a great book I think: one that makes you feel as the main character does.  And that's exactly what I got out of 'The Book Thief.'

This is a great book if you're a fan of fiction related to World War II, partcularly in Nazi Germany.  It's also good if you're a fan of words or are just looking for something profound to read.

I give 'The Book Thief':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Today, F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for his novels, but in his lifetime, his fame stemmed from his prolific achievement as one of America's most gifted story writers.  'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' a witty and fantastical satire about aging, is one of his most memorable stories.

In 1860 Benjamin button is born an old man and mysteriously being aging backward.  At the beginning of his life he is withered and worn, but as he continues to grow younger he embraces life-- he goes to war, runs a business, falls in love, has children, goes to college and prep school, and, as his mind begins to devolve, he attends kindergarten and eventually returns to the care of his nurse.

This strange and haunting story embodies the sharp social insight that has made Fitzgerald one of the great voices in the history of American literature."

This book just got sadder and sadder as I read through it.  Since it's only a fifty-two page book, that's a lot of sad in a short amount of time.  I watched the film version of Benjamin Button prior to reading this and though I watched it a while ago, I still don't remember there being this much downtrodden-ness.  I suppose that I should get to the actual review.  I'll start with the things that bothered me so that we can end on a positive note.

One thing that really bothered me was how harsh everyone was with each other.  Right away in the book, upon Benjamin's birth, he's not that well-liked because he's old and sassy-- everything that a newborn ought not to be.  His father is just rough with him from the get-go over something that neither he nor Benjamin has any control over: how Benjamin was born.  Later in the book, after Benjamin has gotten younger, he meets and marries his wife, which is great.  But once she gets older and Benjamin continues to age backwards, he fails to remain attracted to her and he essentially throws her aside.  That is maddening to me.  I can only imagine what Benjamin's wife, Hildegarde, is thinking and feeling as Benjamin stops caring about her and goes off to water and later to join the Yale football team.  He even has a son!  How does he just go off and do these things?  If I were Hildegarde, I'd just be peeved.  But probably something stronger.

When Benjamin becomes too young to take care of himself, he moves in with his son, Roscoe, who is also very rough with him.  The story comes full circle as Roscoe angrily implores why his father doesn't stop pretending.  I wanted to slap Roscoe.  You'd think that after spending any amount of time with his father, he'd realize that he's not making this way of being up.  What a stupid git...

This book was also sad because it made me realize how similar birth and death is and how life is so circular. One day you're not there then suddenly you're in existence.  When you die, you're there, then you're not.  You're so helpless at the beginning and end of your life.  You need to be taken care of, whether you like it or not.  I can imagine that when you're at an old age and you suddenly need to be taken care of like a child again that this is very frustrating.  Especially after you're so used to taking care of yourself.

I hope that I don't grow that old...

Overall, this book was terribly depressing and aggravating, but it still managed to evoke a reaction out of me, so that must mean that something was working for me on some level.

I give 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'My Name is Memory' by Ann Brashares

"Lucy is an ordinary girl growing up in the Virginia suburbs, soon to head off to college.  On the night of her last high school dance, she hopes her elusive crush, Daniel Grey, will finally notice her.  But as the night unfolds, Lucy discovers that Daniel is more complicated than she imagined.  Why does he call her Sophia?  And why does he make her feel so strange?

The secret is that Daniel has 'the memory,' the ability to recall past lives and recognize the souls of those he's previously known.  And he has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl.  Life after reincarnated life, spanning continents and dynasties, he and Sophia have been drawn together, and then torn painfully apart-- a love always too short.  And he remembers it all.  Ultimately the two of them must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are to reach their true happy ending."

I love Ann Brashares to death.  I was laughing and crying through The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Sisterhood Everlasting, so I was hoping for this book to be just as nice of a read as those ones.  Brashares is truly meant to be writing romantic stories, so that really shone through in this book, but I still found My Name is Memory to be rather disappointing, compared to her other works.

I was really hoping that Daniel would change more as a character.  I mean, he's been reincarnated a number of times and in a variety of places to grow up from Ancient Turkey to Athens, to England, to Virginia, etc.  He's had families who loved him so dearly and ones who just couldn't care less.  It seems throughout the book that the only thing that changes about Daniel is his memory as he acquires new memories.  It was really disappointing to find that in almost all of his lives (whenever he reached an old enough age), he was always a doctor.  Sure, it's nice to do something familiar, but wouldn't that get boring if you became a doctor five to ten lives in a row?  I realize that Daniel is a complicated character to write, but I was still disappointed.  I didn't care for him as a character.  I didn't really feel the connection between Daniel and Lucy until the end of the book.  I felt it more in Daniel and Constance.

I didn't like that Brashares went through all of Daniel's lives.  It came to a point where I was constantly trying to scramble to connect where Daniel left off, how that will eventually connect to his future and "Sophia's" future as well.  Then after a while, it just got plain boring as Daniel kept finding Sophia, not getting together with her, and dying.  Again and again and again.  These things would have been more interesting if they were shortened or even edited out.

Let me transition to more positive things.

I really liked the cover!  This was a big reason that I picked up the book in the first place.

I also thought Lucy was a decent character.  I preferred it when she didn't know about the transference of souls, but at the same time, I thought it was cool that she was able to figure out who she was in the past.  For me, that would be really interesting to find out.  The story was a lot more interesting when told through the point of view of Lucy (or Sophia).

I also really enjoyed the ending.  That's where everything picked up.  The story transitioned from what felt like a couple hundred pages of explanation to being chased by someone who was incredibly jealous.  Just getting away from this guy (whom Daniel was brothers with in a past life) was kind of exciting.

Overall, this is an okay book.  I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Ann Brashares and also anyone who is in the mood to read something even remotely romantic.

I give 'My Name Is Memory':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

P.S. I'll make sure to finish my reviews before posting them next time... my changes must not have saved or something like that.

Reading and Blogging Goals for 2013!

This is a super belated post... it's February, after all.  The recent book reviews that you've been seeing were books that I read in 2012 and I was just finishing recording them.  Now that those are done, I think it's time to post a few goals before moving on to the 2013 reviews.

Reading Goals

1. Read 50 Books in the Year 2013.  I was just two or three books shy of completing this goal again like I did in 2011.  I'm going to try really hard to strike more of a balance in my classes and also read a lot this summer.

1. My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
5. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
6. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
7. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
8. Hourglass by Myra McEntire
9. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
10. Watchmen by Alan Moore
11. Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
12. Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge and Mark Bieschke
13. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
14. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
15. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
16. The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy by Gregory Bassham
17. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
18. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
19. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
20. Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
21. The Girl's Guide to Homelessness by Brianna Karp
22. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
23. Paris in Love: A Memoir by Eloisa James
24. A Million Little Pieces by Jame Frey
25. Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster
26. Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
27. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
28. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
29. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
30. Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
31. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
32. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
33. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
34. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, Book 1 by Chris Roberson
35. Dramarama by E. Lockhart
36. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
37. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
38. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, Book 2 by Chris Roberson
39. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
40. Austenland by Shannon Hale
41. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
42. Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows
43. The Dark by Lemony Snicket
44. Journey by Aaron Becker
45. Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
46. The Plague by Albert Camus
47. The Second Coming by Walker Percy

2. Read More Nonfiction.  I've talked about this with a friend of mine.  I like memoirs, but rarely do I ever read true nonfiction.  So I'm going to try and read 5-10 nonfiction books.

1. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

2. Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
3. Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge and Mark Bieschke
4. Paris in Love: A Memoir by Eloisa James
5. The Girl's Guide to Homelessness by Brianna Karp

3. Listen More.  This summer (since I've found that I don't really go to the public library while I'm here at school, unless it's the digital library), I will make it my mission to listen to 5-10 audio books of any genre.

1. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

2. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

3. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
4. Dramarama by E. Lockhart
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
6. White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
7. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

4. Read More Graphic Novels.  Again, this is because of the same friend.  It started to become more of a theme with him towards the end of 2012 and it even helped me decide what to get him for Christmas.  So I'm going to try and indulge more in this interest of his.  I'm currently reading Watchmen, so that'll definitely count towards this total.  I'm going to resolve to read 2-3 graphic novels this year.  Just to start small.

1. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
2. Watchmen by Alan Moore
3. Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
4. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
5. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, Book 1 by Chris Roberson
6. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, Book 2 by Chris Roberson

Blogging Goals

1. Post one review a week.

2. Continue to post college adventures and other non-book related content.

3. Consider monetizing this blog.  Actually, if someone could advise me on this, that would be wonderful.  I'm still incredibly nervous about it and I'm not sure that this is something I really want to do.  Please educate me.

I think that's it for now.  I discovered that last year, I took on way too many challenges, so I think that I'll go lightly on them this year.  College is a challenge in and of itself.  I will keep track of these challenges and resolutions on this page.  For the books, I will post the titles with the links to their reviews under the goal they fulfill.

Have a wonderful 2013 and I will catch up with you all later!

--Jude

A Review of 'The Country Girls' by Edna O'Brien

"Meet Kate and Baba, two young Irish girls who have spent their childhood together.  As they leave the safety of their convent school in search of life and love in the big city, they struggle to maintain their somewhat tumultuous relationship.  Kate, dreamy and romantic, years for true love, while Baba just wants to experience the life of a single girl.  Although they set out to conquer the world together, as their lives take unexpected turns, Kate and Baba must ultimately learn to find their own way."

This was another book from my Irish and Scottish Literature class that I really liked!  Like a lot (almost all) of the Irish literature that we read, this was another sad one.  Why am I so attracted to sad books?

I really liked watching the characters develop.  It was a little scary to see how much Kaithleen and Baba relied on each other, even as they transitioned from girls into women.  There was no Baba without Kate and no Kate without Baba.  In other words, they are inseparable.  They change and in a way, kind of turn into each other just by associating with the other for most of their lives.  It was a little bit sad to see that they couldn't truly function on their own.  When Baba wasn't like boarding school, she didn't plan to just get herself out, she planned for both she and Kate to get out, despite the fact that Kate was better suited for school than Baba.

Kate's relationship with her dad was an interesting one.  She didn't really have much of a relationship with him to begin with, but it is very obvious that Kate's mother was the one holding them together (by force or otherwise).  The story of Kaithleen's mother and father is just so tragic.  They were so in love when they married, but then Kaithleen's father took up drinking and suddenly, the whole family began to fall apart.  I think Kaithleen's relationship with other men was determined largely by her relationship with her father.  She went for guys who were almost nothing like her father.  They were older, they were sophisticated, oftentimes rich, and they typically weren't Irish.  It's very interesting to me.  My life is not like this, so it's very interesting to read and think about.

I know that this book is part of a trilogy, so I hope to get around to reading the other two books and learning about what ultimately happens to Kate and Baba.

Edna O'Brien writes in such a way that I'm just drawn in.  By her characters, by the story she weaves, etc.  She is a wonderful Irish writer and if you're looking to read more Irish literature, this would be a good start.

I give 'The Country Girls'

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

An Homage to a Life

It's never easy when someone you love passes on.

The story is complicated and very personal, so I won't go into too much detail here, but this is something that I really want to talk about.  Need to talk about, even.

My Uncle struggled with his health for over three years.  Troubles with his breathing, troubles with his brain, troubles with his heart... he spent years in and out of hospitals, struggling to be healthy and to live as normal of a life as possible.  But only last week, my family and I were told that things weren't looking so good.  We were hopeful, but I think we were also preparing for the worst case scenario.  We received updates from my grandpa about every other day, or at least as news came in, which everyone really appreciated, I think.

On a Friday night, I went and visited my Uncle in the hospital.  He was more broken and unaware than I have ever seen him before.  I cried gigantic tears and my mom and I held each other through the time we were there, however brief it was.

Sunday, I was at the mall with my boyfriend and we were on the train about to head home when my mom called and told me that the decision that was made was the the breathing tubes would be disconnected and my Uncle would be allowed to go on his own, whenever his body let him.  I tried not to cry on the phone, but as soon as I got off, they fell again and I think my boyfriend had an idea what was going on.  He just held me.

We finished our shopping and went back to my boyfriend's dorm where we played games and hung out for a while.  Not a few hours later, my mom sent a text and my sister contacted me as well.  My phone ran out of batteries, so I couldn't respond for a while.  As soon as I saw that my mom texted me, I knew they news I was going to receive.  So I didn't call her back, even though I probably should have.

When I talked to my sister who gave me the news, I really didn't know how to feel.  I had no more tears.  I was getting choked up, making sure my sister was okay, but I couldn't cry any more.  I sat in the middle of my boyfriend's dorm room just thinking.

It felt wrong for me not to feel more sad.  I should be crying, causing a scene... but I wasn't.

To receive the news that I was losing one of my favorite Uncles wasn't really a shock at all.  In my mind, I lost my Uncle 2-3 years ago; When problems started in his brain and his personality changed from the easy-going and very funny guy to someone completely unrecognizable.

This is what confuses me about my own grief: I don't seem to be grieving much at all.  I wasn't surprised to hear the news of his passing.  I was relieved, in a way.  He was out of his misery and this whole nightmare of a situation was over.  I was more sad thinking about how my dad and other Uncle had just lost another brother and how my grandparents had just lost another son.

My mom put up a picture of him on Facebook from a time when he was relatively happy and he was our happy, smiling Uncle again.  There were a billion messages saying 'my condolences' or 'I'm sorry for your loss' or other similar sentiments.  It's a nice thought, but those messages succeeded in nothing else but making me mad.  I don't think these people quite understand, even if my mom kept them all updated on my Uncle's status.  It's easy to feel misunderstood.  But then my neighbor got on and was talking about celebrating his life and what we as a family remembered about him.  Another lady who had lost her husband to a terminal illness advised us to just remember the wonderful times we had with him and make sure to take care of ourselves too.  These comments made me feel much, much better and it kind of explained why those supposed to be comforting comments were so upsetting to me.  They were so negative and sad when I don't feel that my Uncle's death was such a negative thing and not entirely sad either (though it still is a little sad).  He was not going to get better.  I believe the doctors gave us a 0% statistic for his recovery, or something hovering around that number.

I think I'm adopting a new philosophy about funerals and death.  Funerals need to be a time to remember.  It needs to be a way to accept what happened, get some closure, and start to move on.  I don't think that it's a real enough expectation for people to not be sad, but I feel like funerals need to be a bit more positive-- less morose and downtrodden.

I think that this is a post I really needed to write, so if you've read through this entire thing, thank you very, very much.  I'd like to hear your thoughts and stories about death, dying, and funerals, if you're willing to share with me.

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Stevenson's famous exploration of humanity's basest capacity for evil, 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' has become synonymous with the idea of a split personality.  More than a morality tale, this dark psychological fantasy is also a product of its time, drawing on contemporary theories of class, evolution, criminality, and secret lives."

This is a classic horror story, so I was very excited to read this book for my Irish and Scottish Literature course.  However, I wasn't as impressed as I thought or hoped I would be.

I liked the general plot line.  A man with a split personality-- one is a perfect gentleman who never does anything wrong while the other is a loose cannon, a menace to society, the unleashed form of Dr. Jekyll.  I liked how Dr. Jekyll just decided to due away with his 'good' persona and give in to the 'bad.'

I didn't like how Robert Louis Stevenson seemed to assume that one must be completely good or completely bad.  Maybe it was just simpler to tell the story this way, but I really hated the separation of these two major aspects of a being.  One cannot be completely good without a little bad, because otherwise, what would they be?  We can't know good without the bad.  They're relative terms.

This could partially be a personal problem, but I was having trouble keeping up with minor characters.  I don't think that I was really given a reason to care about them and they weren't particularly memorable.  I'm a reader who thrives on well-written characters, and this story just didn't have them to the degree that I was hoping for.

This wasn't an altogether unpleasant read, but it's not a book that I would like to read again.  I feel really guilty saying this about a classic read...

I give 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde

"The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde's only full-length novel, is the enduringly eerie story of a naive and irresistible young man lured by decadent Lord Henry Wotton into a life of depravity.  Though dorian is steeped in sin, his face remains perfect, unlined as years pass-- while his portrait, locked away, reveals the blackness of his soul.  This tale's elements of Gothic horror and fable render it timeless, and the unabashed hedonism and cynical wit of its characters epitomize Wilde's literary revolt against the properties of the Victorian era."

This was a very strange read, as far as the story goes.  It's strange, but I really did like it.  It's always fun when something so internal as the soul is turned inside out and presented in a very visual way.  It really helps because while we might know what sins are, it's very different to see what sin looks like, especially when they accumulate and appear on the face of a beautiful individual (painting or no painting).

What was really intriguing to me was how willing nearly everyone was to forgive or dismiss Dorian when he did sinful things.  It was all due to the fact that he was beautiful; he couldn't possibly be capable of doing awful things like killing people and doing drugs, right?

Wrong.

Even when Dorian admitted to killing Basil, the artist who immortalized Dorian through painting, characters like Lord Henry scoffed and were like, "Yeah, right.  How could you?  You're young and beautiful.  You're not capable of such a thing."  Ordinarily, Dorian would have been chewed apart by all of the wrong things he's done and it would have appeared in some way shape or form, but instead, he suffers the guilt.  To me, that's much, much worse.

I'm surprised that Dorian survived that long with that much guilt.  I know that I couldn't do that.  I think Oscar Wilde did an amazing job with writing this novel.  I really wish that he wrote more novels.  Luckily, there are still his plays to read!

Something else that I really liked were Lord Henry's witty phrases.  They're really interesting because when taken out of context, they are pretty applicable to a number of lives and the advice seems sound.  However, when placed back in context, one can't help but think, "Henry, what are you doing?"

This book is wonderful if you're interested in reading the classics or if you're looking for a witty and thought-provoking read.

I give 'The Picture of Dorian Gray':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

College Adventures: The State of My Brain

The last time I wrote on this blog in a similar format to this, on 16 December, I was in distress.  So I thought that I'd write again to update you on the state of my brain.

On 16 December, I was working at Barnes and Noble, I was waking up in the middle of the night due to my aforementioned job, I was preparing for my finals, I was struggling to make my Christmas plans work, and I was having a mental break-down because of all of these things mashed together into one not-so-nice personal situation.

Today, 13 January, things are much, much different.  I am no longer working at Barnes and Noble (for a variety of reasons that I won't share here).  Generally, I'm sleeping through the night.  I only wake up because I'm not tired any more.  Also, I'm getting enough sleep at night!  My Christmas plans have come and gone by now, but I'm proud to say that I made everything work, even though there were some times that were less than ideal.  I managed to get through it and I'm fine now.  My brain is no longer in crisis mode.

So what's going on now?  

After making the decision to leave Barnes and Noble, I had to work on finding something else to do, because I still need a job.  While weighing my options, I decided that it would be a lot better for me to have a job on campus that would actually stick to a 10-20 hours a week schedule.  While I still don't have such a job procured yet, I am hopeful because I applied for two on-campus jobs.  One of them would let me work in the Admissions Office.  It would be a lot of office work, but I would also be giving tours to prospective students at my college.  When I read the job description, I thought that it was perfect because it combined several of the skills I've acquired from Barnes and Noble as well as Minneapolis Public Schools.  I tried to stress that in my application.  The other job I applied for was originally going to be a month long, but right after I applied, they changed it to last the entire semester, which just worked out so well for me.  That job is with the Education Department.  I understand that it is going to be a lot of office work, but I am not complaining.  I'm hoping to hear something (good news or bad) from either of these jobs, but if I don't, I still have the option of finding a nannying job.  My second semester schedule is very open, so I think it will be really easy to accommodate a family into my schedule.  And I know that I'd enjoy the job immensely.

I don't wake up in the middle of the night feeling the need to go through my cash register schpeel at Barnes and Noble.  This is an absolutely amazing feeling to me!  I hated the monotony while working the cash register.  That monotony was so monotonous that it infiltrated my sleep and my brain would become confused.  Typically, I'm asleep by midnight and I fall asleep fast.  It's a glorious feeling!

My classes don't start until 4 February, because my college observes a J-Term.  I couldn't find a class to take because they filled up so darn fast, but that doesn't mean that I'm not keeping busy!  I contacted my principal from elementary and middle school (who is no longer the principal of my old middle school) and he is letting my come to the new school where he is principal so that I can volunteer.  When I am done with my undergraduate studies, I'll be certified to teach English in grades 5-12, so I'm volunteering in the fifth grade class, since they are the oldest kids at this new school (it's only K-5).  The kids there are absolutely wonderful and I come away with so many laughs.  I help teach math (I'm struggling with division... I've been spoiled by calculators) and I also help with reading and spelling.  I'm only volunteering, but I'm still a sort of teacher to some of these kids and it feels awesome!  I love what I do here.  I wake up early, but I don't even care.  My days goes so quickly and I'm never bored.  There's always something to do!  I can't wait to spend the rest of my life doing this.

I am feeling great about my life right now.  I had tough decisions to make about a month ago, but I think that I made the right decisions for myself.  I have no regrets.

A Review of 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Muriel Spark

"The elegantly styled classic story of a young, unorthodox teacher and her special-- and ultimately dangerous-- relationship with six of her students."

This is one of the first few times I've enjoyed a book that was assigned to me.  This story centers around one teacher and examines how one's influence impacts the lives of those around us.  Reading into this aspect of the book was both wonderful and scary.  The girls in this Brodie set at the very beginning of the book are so young, maybe around the age of eight or nine, and until recently, I've forgotten how impressionable that age can be.

The story is set in Edinburgh, Scotland, but were the girls in the U.S. school system today, they'd be in third or fourth grade.  As I write this review long after finishing the book (which I finished in December 2012 and am therefore counting towards last year's goal), I've started volunteering in a fifth grade classroom (I'll write more about that in a separate post) adding to my experience in High-5, Kindergarten, and first grade.  So I can attest to how impressionable kids this age are.  Even when kids are in fifth grade, which is a time when they're searching for a little bit more independence, the teachers are the oracle and the students are the wayward orfs vying for the knowledge we have (when they're not being distracted by "boy/girlfriends" and cell phones...).

Miss Brodie is definitely the oracle to the Brodie set.  She predicts their lots in life, which is a huge influence in and of itself.  If you're given a label, you either take on that role or you completely defy it, both of which happen in this book.  She tells them which track she thinks is the best in school, which tears the students apart.  Many are trying to please Miss Brodie.

While this is not the main idea of the book, it's kind of opened up my eyes when it comes to how careful I need to be as a teacher.  My influence may not necessarily be a positive step in another's future.  The trick is, how are we to know for certain?

I liked watching how the girls changed from impressionable young minds to grown up and relatively free-thinking young ladies.  I adore books like these.  I think they make me a tiny bit nostalgic... or grateful that I never have to return to that age again.

I did not like how manipulative Miss Brodie was of everyone and how she was a martyr about it.  She led on two different men, one of whom was obsessed with her, but who was already attached and another who was a good match and completely single.  She spent time with the eligible gentleman, but played it off as a personal sacrifice because he was lonely.  When she was teaching, she said that she chose to dedicate her time to the girls because she was in her prime and her prime must be taken advantage of.  Another personal sacrifice.

Overall, I really liked reading this book.  I would recommend this if you're a fan of Scottish literature or are looking for a relatively short book that makes you constantly wonder, "But why?"

I give 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Snail Mail My Email' by Ivan Cash

"Feeling nostalgic for the almost forgotten written letter, author and former ad man Ivan Cash fell upon a simple idea: he invited anyone in the world to send him an email and he's write it out in a letter and mail it, for free.  Participants could even request a doodle or to seal it with a kiss.

What started out as a personal art project exploded into a worldwide event.  As requests poured in, Cash enlisted an international army of volunteers who helped create more than 10,000 letters sent all over the globe.

An addictive and artful window into everyday lives, Snail Mail My Email is a collection of the most memorable letters and moments from the project, and a reminder of the power of personal connection in a digital world."

If you're familiar with the Post Secret project, this is something very similar.  While Post Secret is an on-going project asking people to mail in their secrets on postcards, the Snail Mail my Email project lasted only a month and it encourages people to send out letters as opposed to emails when it comes to their special notes.  The extra incentive: email your notes and this large group of volunteers will write them down, draw some pictures, and send them all over the world, all to show how important and meaningful snail mail is.

I liked that the letters were so different from each other.  Yes, there were a lot of love letters, but some of them were pretty quirky, including what I'm sure are inside jokes between the writer and the recipient.  These inside jokes made the letters funny to read.  My favorite letter is one from a grandma to her grandchild saying, "You should write to me every once in a while, jackass."  Maybe my maturity level is on the lower end, but I just cracked up upon reading it because there was a drawing of a donkey next to it and the wording was bold.  What an interesting grandma!  I just hope that I never receive a letter from her...

This is a very quick read-- it'll take a couple hours to get through because the letters are short, but you'll stay for the pictures and the sentiments left on the paper.

I liked this book, but somehow, it was less satisfying than reading Post Secret.  Maybe it's because the letters weren't anonymous and that made them feel a little less genuine.  With no name, you can say what you please and forego your filter, to a certain degree.  A degree more than with Snail Mail My Email.

I give 'Snail Mail My Email':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

19 Reasons Why It's Great to be Alive!

It's pretty great to be alive for scene like this as well...

1.  First and last days of things-- I love the anticipation beforehand and I love the sense of accomplishment or even the relief of being done afterwards!

2.  Good food on the holidays (and most other days too)

3.  The satisfaction I feel after taking care of someone or something, whether that's feeding my fish, watering my cacti, or helping a friend through a problem they're having

4.  Leisure time, when it actually comes

5.  Productivity, when it actually comes

6.  Inspiration, when it actually comes

7.  A clean room after several months of living in a pigsty filled with scattered papers and dust

8.  Old-fashioned things, whether or not they are from a time I was alive.  Most of the time, they are before my time

9.  People who appreciate books and are willing to have conversations about them with you

10.  Having people who want to be your friend and not for material reasons

11.  Living in close proximity to your friends

12.  Having periods of time when I get to read what I want and not was a professor tells me I need to read in order to receive a grade

13.  Funny Sisters that are challenging me, time and time again, to redefine my schema for Nuns

14.  Biological sisters that are there to listen, bounce ideas off of, and giggle with until our sides and cheeks hurt

15.  Other languages and the ability to acquire them

16.  Having friends in other countries.  Not just so that I can have a place to stay when I return to these places (and other selfish reasons), but so that I can be humbled by cultural differences and learn to love people who live in a different culture than my own.  Understanding is very important to me

17.  Having a place to sleep during the holidays when my dorm room is closed for the rest of December

18.  Family, no matter the moods they're in or the demeanor of them

19.  Being in higher education and not regretting my decision to enter this crazy, crazy world.  I know that by the time I graduate, I'm going to have met so many wonderful, intelligent, witty, creative, hard-working, and beautiful women and I will recognize how fortunate I am

***I meant to have this done by my 19th birthday (20 December), but that was a day busier than I care to mention, so it didn't get done.  But I thought that it was still worth posting, if only for the sake of keeping a relatively new tradition

Thanks for Reading!!

--Jude

College Adventures: Tough Decisions

Hello there!

Do you remember me?  I definitely haven't been much of a presence on this blog, but trust me, I still receive your comments and I'm still lurking in the shadows.

Life has been incredibly busy here.  I have finals on the 19th and 20th of December, I've been struggling to make my Christmas plans work (it's been complicated because of my job), and I've kind of been having a bit of a mental break-down because of all of these things happening at once.  I have called my boyfriend in tears as well as my own mother.  I almost cried in front of my boss due to frustration.  I have woken up in the middle of the night after a few hours of restless dreaming and I've just wanted to cry.

I don't think I've ever felt this way or come this close to an actual break-down.

Perhaps it's poor timing, perhaps it's a lack of communication from a variety of parties, perhaps it's my own inability to set limits for myself.

With the New Year and a new semester coming up, I think it's time to at least consider a change.  It's definitely a pre-meditated change, a week or two in the making, but I think it's a step that I must make in order to keep my sanity and do my very best in school, because school is my priority at this point in my life.

I love having a job and the place where I work is, for the most part, pretty great.  There are a few problems that I have with it, but it's very much related to being a full-time undergraduate student.  I won't go into detail about that here though.  Besides these problems, I'm having trouble balancing everything.  I have been procrastinating more than I usually do (doing things the day of as opposed to a night or two before the due-date) and because of this, I feel like I'm not doing as well of a job as I know that I am capable of doing.

These things are the most critical parts of my decision, but then I thought of this: I am also missing out on many, many experiences in college.  I have a friend that has asked me on several occasions if I would go swing dancing with her, but I've always had to say no because I work on the days this usually takes place.  I want to be able to say "Yes!!" for once.  Not only this, but I don't think I've been able to foster my friendships very well.  I have met so many wonderful people, but I haven't been able to make memories with them or get to know them better because I'm never around.

So I have to make some tough decisions.  I think that no matter what my decision ultimately is that I can make it work and it will be very beneficial to me.  I need to learn to accept that I cannot make everyone happy at the same time and I need to learn what my limits are.  I need to learn more about sacrifice and compromise.  I need to learn how to be more assertive (I've been very bad at that and that's a big reason why I've gotten myself into this predicament).

If you'd like to share, what are some difficult decisions that you've had to make?  How did you come to a conclusion for your problem?  How did you go about acting on this decision?  I could use all the help I can get...

Thank you for reading!  I will try to post more reviews soon.  After finals are over, I will have a lot more time to just sit and read.

--Jude