Pamela is about as annoying as you can possibly get. Seriously. All she does is talk about her virtue, fall to weeping, swoon, and with alarming frequency for someone so virtuous calls other people fat and comments on her own beauty. My suggestion? If you have to read this book make it a drinking game:
1 shot every time Pamela falls to weeping
2 shots every time Pamela calls someone fat
3 shots every time Pamela's Master thrusts his hand into her bosom
At that rate, you'll be completely hammered by about page 3, and won't have to remember the next 500 pages. No, I'm not kidding. Just those three rules would make this drinking game more intense then The Labyrinth Drinking Game.
I appreciate what Richardson is trying to do here. And I realize that the novel was still a new form, and yadda yadda.
Here's the thing: if someone is say learning how to bake, and it takes them 34 tries before they manage to make a really delicious cupcake, if they offer you a cupcake are you going to take one of the delicious results from the end, or are you going to eat a nasty cupcake from the beginning?
Basically Pamela is the early failed cupcake. Don't waste your time. Apparently Richardson's Clarissa is painfully long but absolutely brilliant. If you want to experience Richardson... don't punish yourself. Just opt for Clarissa.
By the time I had dragged myself through 500 truly appalling pages of Pamela, it being the third mediocre to lousey read from 18th Century Fiction, I was ready to give up all hope and then...
But what a surprise. It was laugh out loud funny. The prof described it as a galloping read and she is absolutely right. It was brilliant. Every single word. Fielding may be the world's most entertaining narrator, and his tongue-in-cheek opening chapters to each other books are hysterical. At one point, there is a massive cat-fight in a grave yard behind the Church, and he narrates it in the elevated style of a Homeric muse. As he describes people being flung over grave stones you can't help but laugh and wonder if you are going to go to hell for laughing at it.
It was so, so good. I couldn't put it down. If you have ever considered reading this (or even if you have never considered reading it) just stop whatever you are doing, go get a copy, and enjoy. Do not be intimidated by the size. You will fly through it and be wishing there were another 900 pages in no time.
The way Carter toys with narrative techniques is dazzling, but even aside from the literary pyrotechnics, it has a fast paced entirely amusing plot. It tells the story of Dora and Nora Chance, twin sisters who are the illegitimate offspring of a famous Shakespearean actor. The story is told from the perspective as Dora, at age 75, reflecting back on the life she and her sister shared, as well as some family history.
It's really funny. It's really entertaining. It's really.. well everything that I love in a book.
Oh just one note though, this book is like jam-packed with incest (consensual incest, but incest nonetheless) so if that bothers you, avoid the novel at all costs.
Currently reading:
I found out today that a previously very close friend of mine have locked down her twitter account and unfriended me in Facebook. There were previously misunderstandings but I thought we passed them because she told me that she forgave me and we were good. She even referred to me as her best friend. I guess it's all lip service. It is still hard for me to understand when people just end relationships like this so abruptly, without any explanation.
True friends are suppose to love/accept/forgive you no matter what and try work things out with you. I guess my definition of what a true friend is doesn't apply to other people's definitions and I need to realize that.
My life is full of mistakes, and I know that. But I welcome those mistakes so that I can learn from them and grow from them. I never ever do anything knowingly hurtful on purpose, ever. It's just not who I am. If you are a true friend to someone, you will do what it takes to be a true friend, even if it means telling them how they fucked up and hurt you so that they can realize and understand. Then you both can work pass this. I guess my friendship really is worth nothing to some people and it really saddens me.
Received from: Thomas Nelson.
Rating: 7 out of 10 (might have been higher had I read the first book -- this is the second)
Synopsis: The more than four hundred thousand readers stirred by the story of Ron Hall and Denver Moore will resonate with the all new, stand-alone true stories of hope and healing offered in this intimate, authentic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different as Me. With new "Denverisms" and reflections from Denver on his personal dealings with homelessness and disrespect from others, additional insights from Ron on what we can learn from people not like us and from those dealing with a terminal illness, and the stories of readers who have been impacted by the book's central themes, this inspirational reader will generate a host of new fans.
My review: I really wish that I'd read the first book, Same Kind of Different as Me, before I read this one. I have it coming to me from the library, so I'll review it soon. This book says it's standalone, but I really think I would have benefited from reading Same Kind first, just so I could have known the background of the three people What Difference focuses on -- Ron, Denver, and Deborah. Half of the chapters of the book are written by Ron, and half by Denver. Both had a lot of interesting things to say on the subject of homelessness and Christians. There are also stories of people around the country who were inspired by the first book. There was even a woman from West Sacramento mentioned -- her story hit very close to home. Needless to say, I really got a lot out of this book. It shifted my views of homeless people quite a bit, and it challenged me to think differently about the people I pass every day on the street. I don't have enough space to quote all of the different passages that affected me, but this one that really stood out (it was written by Denver, in his own voice):
"Since I been visitin a lotta churches, I hear people talkin 'bout how, after readin our story, they felt "led" to help the homeless, to come alongside the down-and-out. But when it comes to helpin people that ain't got much, God didn't leave no room for feelin led. Jesus said God gon' separate us based on what we did for folks that is hungry and thirsty, fells that is prisoners in jail and folks that ain't got no clothes and no place to live. What you gon' do when you get to heaven and you ain't done none a' that? Stand in front a' God and tell Him, "I didn't feel led"? You know what He gon' say? He gon' say, "You didn't need to feel led 'cause I had done wrote it down in the Instruction Book."
Hello conviction, I'm Cori.
(Finished 10/30/09)
Borrowed from: the Sacramento library
Rating: 8 out of 10
Synopsis: This sequel brings back the young wizard-in-training to face suspicious adults, hostile classmates, fretful ghosts, rambunctious spells, giant spiders, and even an avatar of Lord Voldemort, the evil sorcerer who killed his parents, while saving the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from a deadly, mysterious menace. Ignoring a most peculiar warning, Harry kicks off his second year at Hogwarts after a dreadful summer with his hateful guardians, the Dursleys, and is instantly cast into a whirlwind of magical pranks and misadventures, culminating in a visit to the hidden cavern where his friend Ron's little sister Ginny lies, barely alive, in a trap set by his worst enemy. Surrounded by a grand mix of wise and inept faculty, sneering or loyal peersplus an array of supernatural creatures including Nearly Headless Nick and a huge, serpentine basiliskHarry steadily rises to every challenge, and though he plays but one match of the gloriously chaotic field game Quidditch, he does get in plenty of magic and a bit of swordplay on his way to becoming a hero again.
My review: Ah, the adventures of the young Harry Potter continue. Again, I listened on audio book and fell in love all over again with Jim Dale's reading. He just brings everything to life. Also, he sounds exactly like Maggie Smith. Which is weird and awesome. This book is a little more intense than the first, especially toward the end. The characters are expanded more in this book, as are the growing mysteries surrounding Voldemort and Hogwarts. It's was also really well-paced -- unlike some of the others in the series, this one doesn't really get bogged down in the middle (I'm talking to you, Deathly Hallows). Plus, we get to see more of Ginny. And I just adore her. (Finished 10/13/09)
- I was opening a can of cream of celery soup on Sunday and sliced the absolute hell out of my pinkie. Went-to-the-hospital sort of slice. Almost fainted sort of slice. Bloooood sort of slice.
- Barf.
- Would have thought it would have been a knife that would have done me in. But no, apparently I cannot work a can.
- I knew I couldn't be trusted in the kitchen.
- No stitches for the cut. Mostly because I didn't want to wait around in an emergency room full of the swine flu for three hours.
- The cut is healing better than I would have guessed, though. It's only moderately gross now.
- Because I cut my hand, I had to get a tetanus shot.
- The shot didn't hurt. But GOODNESS GRACIOUS, my whole arm is killing me now! It feels like someone is trying to yank my arm from my body. Pain pain pain!
- I am SUCH a wimp. And a complainer.
- I'm stopping now.
- I have been writing about my New Zealand trip, so I'll hopefully get that posted soon. Needless to say, I had an incredible time! Amazing! Phenomenal! If you'd like to see one of the many, many, many photos, visit my flickr.
- I want to go back! There was so much that I didn't get to see!
- I'm reading this really great book right now called Angry Conversations with God. It's so good!
- I miss Amy (my coworker) -- she's in Denmark. Work is just not the same without her happy face around.
- We are apparently world travelers around my office.
- Remember back when we complained because Thanksgiving was barely over and Christmas decorations started going up? Yeah, there's already trees and santas and candy canes EVERYWHERE.
- I had other things to hodgepodge, but the Motrin has made me all la-di-da.
- La-di-da.
I have a confession to make; I've been going to school with a nasty cold. I realize everyone is ready to throw rotten vegetables at me and discuss how rude and inconsiderate I am but it is not like I have the dreaded H1N1 and also... I really cannot miss anymore school (I was already sick in October and missed a week).
So. I basically plotted out how I was going to go to school sick:
- sit near the back corners of classrooms far away from everyone else whenever possible
- take a cough suppressant in the morning so that I minimally interrupt lectures with coughing fits
- carry around massive amounts of water and drink it like it is going out of style to avoid coughing fits
- get up early to ensure that I look nice (and therefore am not suspected of being sick - nothing says sickee like bedhead and sweatpants ... actually that also says hangover. well whatever)
- at all costs avoid speaking (because I don't have much of a voice, so the minute I open my mouth it is like a dead give away)
And it should have worked.
Why is it that when I am deliberately trying to minimize human contact, that suddenly a plethora of social opportunities arise?
On my way to my post-modern British literature class I encountered the professor. He actually acknowledged me (which is like a dream opportunity for the frantic english student who is desperately trying to get letters of reference for grad school) and so I end up chatting with him across campus all the way to class.
[Digression, I am pretty much in love with this professor because he announced that his favorite bits of grammar are hyphens and semicolons - which just happen to be my favorites too, and it is so rare that you find someone who shares that sort of a passion and. and. and.]
He was very polite and did not comment on my voice which sounded a lot like fingernails on a chalk board. I hope he thought I had just been at some sort of grammar rally and had lost my voice cheering for semicolons. That would be good. Very good.
These events continued pretty much all day. People that I don't normally talk to asking me questions in class. People asking me for directions. People asking me where I got my scarf (mental note: do not wear pretty scarves when ill; where boring scarves, hideous scarves. second mental note: purchase a boring hideous scarf).
The day rounded off with a person from my Arts Writing class introducing himself to me, and proceeding to talk with me all the way to the bus stop (this is a relatively long walk).
Needless to say, my cover is completely blown. I guess I will pour out libations to the gods, and hope to hell that I wake up miraculously healed.
Borrowed from: that same Hannah
Rating: 9 out of 10
Synopsis: Throughout the world today Christians continue to face intense persecution, and Christian women are often the most vulnerable. In Pakistan, Christian girls are systematically kidnapped, tortured and raped. In China, underground church leaders are sent to labor camps for hosting illegal home meetings. In Sudan, Christian women are captured and sold into slavery or mutilated and left to die. And in many Muslim countries, a woman can be killed by her husband or father for converting to Christianity.In this deeply moving book, Kay Strom and Michele Rickett tell the stories of persecuted Christian women from around the globe. From Africa to the Middle East to Asia, they give voice to our sisters persevering under the yoke of oppression and injustice. Each section provides specific prayer points and practical action steps to equip us to respond.
Despite the challenges, God is active and present with his suffering people. Do not be discouraged. Take heart from these daughters of hope.
My review: I had a hard time starting this one because I knew it would be a difficult read. It's never easy to read true stories persecution, and these were no different. The stories of the women in this book were incredible, though. Reading about what they endure every day was inspiring. We live in such an isolated wonderland here in the US. Freedom of (or from) religion is something we shouldn't take for granted, no matter what we believe. The "persecution" we receive about our faith is nothing compared to what people go through in other countries. I have never been beaten, imprisoned, tortured, or raped because of my beliefs. My family have never disowned me. I have never had to hide my Bible, whisper at church, or sing silently. It made me extremely thankful to live here. It made me pray that if I am ever in a situation like the women in this book that my faith will stand strong. I liked this book, too, because it gave a lot of helpful suggestions for getting involved and helping the women in the book and around the world. Highly recommended! (Finished 9/25/09)Boston was oodles of fun. I loved getting girl time with my friend! New England is a pretty cool place to visit. Three words: Sam Adams Brewery Free Tour & Beer... um, six words? Those crazy cities in the north have so much to offer that the South just doesn't - well, other than warm weather, sweet tea and racism. I loved the feel of the city, the historical significance, the diversity. It snowed like crazy on a Sunday and Monday morning brought with it not even a trace of snow, only sunshine and deep blue skies. This is why I would like to be a traveling nurse. I could live in a different city for 3 to 6 months at a time and see what it's like. Although, I'm sure I could be terribly lonely if my nursing school buddies don't do it with me. Eh. I think I could live in Boston. For 3 months. Preferably June, July, and August. Followed by some exotic city in Hawaii - aloha!
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