Reviewing and Hiking.

Hello Friends!  I saw over on The Blue Bookcase blog that they are looking for another writer...so I thought that I would toss my hat into the "ring."  It is a review of The Giver.  I know that I have already posted a review of it a earlier last week, but the one that I sent into the Blue Bookcase is a little different...mostly because I wrote them at separate times and I couldn't remember what I had written!

It is weird to have something that I have written posted up on another blog, but I think that it is putting me one step closer to becoming comfortable with people reading what I am writing... So, you can find my review Here...and Let them know what you think of it and the other guest reviewers, Thanks friends!

My friend Cheryl and I have been trying to go on a hike for the past few weeks now...but things like work, and making headbands, seemed to get in our way...until yesterday.  We took a trip over to the Chino Hills State Park (I have never been there) and went on a hiking excursion.  It was really kind of confusing.  Have you ever been there?  There was nobody around, the road wasn't paved, and the trails weren't well marked.  So we parked randomly, and went on our hike.  We walked until the path ended.  Yep.  It just ended.  It didn't even go in a circle!  What a let down.  (We think we weren't even on a "real" trail because we saw a sign that said utility, so maybe we were on the utility road? And we were walking under the power lines...Oops?)

Sorry the pictures and kind of blurry....They were taken with my phone.

Once we turned around and got back to the car, we decided to explore a little more and go deeper into the park.  We drove a ways and the street finally turned into pavement...we found a real parking lot (instead of just parking on the side of the road) and more trails!  What we didn't find was more people...well we found a couple but not many.  I would never go to this place by myself...but I think we will go again.

A Book Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

"'It is as if...' The man paused, seeming to search his mind for the right words of description. 'It's like going downhill through deep snow on a sled,' he said, finally.  'At first it's exhilarating: the speed; the sharp, clear air; but then the snow accumulates, builds up on the runners, and you slow, you have to push hard to keep going...'"

-The Giver by Lois Lowry

A young boy, named Jonas, lives in what is called a "Community."  Everything is pre-planned and the people living within are conditioned to believe their way of life is normal.  As Jonas grows as a character, we grow with him and start to understand why the "Community" is the way that it is.  

Throughout the whole book I was sure that I knew how it was going to end.  Spoiler Alert...kinda!  I thought for sure that it was going to end with another "Giver" telling the memory of Jonas (since the story is not narrated by Jonas).  I suppose I am not as astute as I thought.  I can see why it ended with Jonas leaving the "Community" but I didn't expect it.

This book was an extremely easy read (I think it is meant for middle-schoolers?  Or so I am told...I didn't have to read it in middle school).  Only 180-ish pages, with short chapters.  It was perfect to pick up here and there throughout the day where I had a few extra minutes (I hate stopping in the middle of chapters, but with this book I didn't have to!).  

I am going to head off to the library and see if my next book has come in (it has been more than a week- when they said it would only take 3 to 5 days!- and I haven't received an e-mail with the news that it has arrived.  I hope it is only a small mistake and that it is there....here's hoping!

A Book Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

"As I say, I have never in all these years thought of the matter in quite this way; but then it is perhaps in the nature of coming away on a trip such as this one that one is prompted towards such surprising new perspectives on topics one imagined one had long ago thought thoroughly."

-Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go

I was completely confused throughout the majority of the first half of the book.  The style that Ishiguro uses is conversational, narrated by Kathy the main character.  This conversational tone is effective in engaging the reader to believe that we are friends with Kathy, as though she is letting us in on her secret world.  When I was confused about the "exchanges" and the "gallery" Kathy eventually explained what it was.  She was letting us in on her life as if we were her real life friends.  I think that Ishiguro was using Kathy as the one to let us in on the lingo to help us connect to his character and become attached to her.  I found Ishiguro's writing style to be how I would write a book.  I liked having that similarity.  

What I didn't like about it though is that the story line would go back and forth a lot through time, and I found it a little hard to follow.  I also didn't read this book as fast I have other books, and I think that hindered my understanding and involvement in the book.  Throughout the book I thought that I would cry at the end (especially since the cover advertises the book to be a "heartbreaker".  Partly because of my lack of involvement and partly for how the ending was written, I didn't.  (Maybe when the movie comes out?  Doubtful.  I am like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday -start at 5:20)  Some things that I didn't think would be important to remember too carefully in the beginning turned out to be important for the understanding of the ending, so I definitely should have paid closer attention. One more thing that I didn't like was how there was all this talk about "donations."  I don't want to give too much away if you do decide to read it, but I don't understand how they could happen.  So please read it, and maybe we can discuss it together one day?  

Over all, I enjoyed the book...and I think that I would have to read it one more time to get everything out of it that is in it.  I hope to be able to do that one day, but for now I am going to move on to my next book: Crime and Punishment.  Any thoughts on what I should tackle after I finish this one?

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A Music Review: Bradley Hathaway

I saw on Bradley Hathaway's myspace (I know, myspace) today that he was looking for people who have a blog to write a review of his new EP A Thousand Angry Panthers.  I thought, well I have a blog (not that many people read it) and decided to do a little review. 

I first learned of Bradley Hathaway and his work when I first got into college (or around then at least).  I liked it all right, but absolutely fell in love with what he was doing when he came out with his A Mouth Full of Dust album.  (Promo 1, Promo 2, Promo 3--I wish my days happened like that!)  From this album Mary is my favorite.  It is possibly one of the most heartbreaking songs I have ever heard (but I find beauty in depressing things...especially these past few years!)  It inspires me a lot.  I mention this song because I think that it is the most closely related song sound wise to the new EP. 

I think the reason that I liked the past album so much is because I could see so much of myself in it.  In this new EP I notice the growth from the previous, and it makes it that much better.  Even though there are only 4 songs on it, there are a broad range of topics covered.  I love the violin that is used in She Was Raised By A Man With A Sickness, and the hopeful tone in Carolina is beautiful.  Would You Think Less Of Me is a song that I can connect with from experience; the winter imagery is lovely. The last song: The World Is Screaming is not only a glimpse of the state of the world but possibly a reminder of how to live in it and perhaps change it.

I just wanted to share because I think that what Bradley Hathaway does is amazing and inspiring, and if you would like to support A Thousand Angry Panthers is on itunes.

A Book Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

"To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream."

-Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar

I literally just finished The Bell Jar, and I really enjoyed this book.  Yes, it is rather depressing, but I thought that it was well written.  The imagery that was used throughout set the tone and helped connect the story that was going to happen throughout and at the end.  I don't want to give the ending away, but it didn't end like the way I thought that it would have, but at the same time after reading it I can see why it did end the way that it had. 

Now I am going to complain about the publisher of the book.  They wrote a very small biography of Sylvia Plath, and I think that what they wrote is misleading.  All they said was that she died in 1963.  Through readings in come classes that I have taken of Sylvia Plath's work I knew beforehand that she committed suicide after her own battle with depression.  For me, knowing this changed the way that I read the book.  I could not help but read the main character as Sylvia Plath (I know you shouldn't do that but I couldn't help myself!), and maybe that is the publishers reasoning for not including this information.  However, I think that this background is key in understanding the way the book is written. Then I thought I might do a little research, and I found this. (Now I don't feel so bad reading Plath into the main character!) I must give the publisher a little credit because they did mention that Plath had sprinkled some of the relationships she had with people into her characters, and she was uneasy about publishing the book because of it, so I can't be too hard on them.  Here is a little more information on the novel.

After all the background knowledge and reading of the book: I would recommend it.