Word of the moment

mon·de·green

noun-- A series of words that result from the mishearing or misinterpretation of a statement or song lyric. For example, I led the pigeons to the flag for I pledge allegiance to the flag. [After (Lady) Mondegreen, a misinterpretation of the line (hae laid) him on the green, from the song "The Bonny Earl of Murray".]

Pride and Prejudice

Once upon a time I tried to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (and Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre) and failed. I could grasp the language and cadence of the writing. I was not engaged in the story or the characters. Granted, the fact that I attempted all of these books at the age of 12, and again at 16 or so was possibly part of my problem.

This time around I found that it took only a few pages to be completely enamored by the Bennet girls, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy. Seriously, who can't understand a family where the mother is constantly trying to marry off her girls and the girls who are hoping for something better than just a marriage of convenience. Of course, most families don't have five girls to marry off; or the manners that most of the Bennet girls possess.

Truly the story is mostly about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy who supply the roles of protagonist. It is an intense distaste that they have for each other's company that eventually leads them both to find that they truly love each other; though not without some fighting on both of their parts. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy both have witty, quick tongues that are as likely to bestow praise as they are barbs.

Of course, the one minor annoyance with this story is that I find myself using similar language. As I had spent a better part of the day reading about the Bennet girls before heading to work, I found myself being pulled over by a police car. As I was trying to ascertain whether or not I was speeding and come up with an excuse before he came up to the window, I found myself thinking through my head words that are not often used in casual conversation. I checked myself and made a few simple phrases in response to the officer's questions figuring that my original thoughts would have earned me a breathalyzer. (I wasn't ticketed, I just had dirt obscuring my expiration date. Guess the cop was bored at 11pm on a Saturday night.)

I am intensely interested in reading another version of Pride and Prejudice. This one is the tradition Jane Austen with additions by Seth Grahame-Smith called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance. It's hitting bestseller lists right and left. I guess they've inserted lovely zombie killing sequences throughout while still keeping the integrity of the original story. I hope to get my hands on a copy soon.

More updates to come. Look for Chocolat, Wuthering Heights, The Host, Gulliver's Travels, and Pretty in Plaid in the upcoming few days/weeks.

I'm about one book away from tipping over my house.

I'm pretty sure that I've bought at least 20 books in the last two weeks (many of them on my 1001 Books list!). That in itself is not a bad thing, especially since I picked most up at Goodwill and yard sales. The problem is that I live in a trailer. I'm certain that if not for my roommate's boxes of books stacked against the wall in her room that my whole house would tip over towards the east. That would complicate my life a lot. I'm also perilously close to having no where to put new books. My big book case is full. I'm having to rearrange my 'pretties' into other places and smooshing them all together. Then my headboard is full of borrowed books. I have a stack of books on a corner of the bed. I also have library books on one of the end tables (so I don't mix them in with my other stuff and allow them to be lost). There's a book on the edge of the bath tub that I had intentions of started while immersed in bubbles and Eric Clapton on the stereo but I got caught in games on MyYearbook. Then there are either 3 or 4 books in my purse.

My name is Heatherly and I am a bibliophile.

The Secret Life of Bees

When the movie version of The Secret Life of Bees came out, I was completely disinterested. Now after reading the book, I want to see how they did. I'm adamant about reading books first. I would rather be disappointed in a movie for not living up to the book it is attempting to portray instead of being disappointed in a book because I expected it to follow a movie. Books are always better. Always.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is steeped in the tension of early civil rights (1964) and the coming of age of an abused 14-year-old girl named Lily Owens. After her African-American, stand-in mom Rosaleen affronts a few racists while in town with Lily and subsequently finds them both in jail; Lily hatches a plan to bust Rosaleen out of jail and run away from her abusive father T-Ray.

On a scrap of hope Lily hopes to find people who knew her mother before she died and in doing so, to figure out who Lily Owens is. She and Rosaleen end up in the care of August, May, and June Boatwright--African-American sisters who keep bees for a living. While there Lily learns about life, love, family, and bees.

Heartbreaking at times, and funny in others I read this book cover to cover in the matter of a few scattered hours. I found myself thinking about Lily and August while cleaning up messes at work, while washing dishes, when I was showering--I finally made myself sit down and finish the story so as to find some closure on the matter.

Bees was a quick read in truth, if not for my busy schedule I would have read it in one sitting. I have my roommate Prose to thank for the lending of this book, though I think I will be adding it to my personal library in the near future.

Look for a post on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the next few days as I am nearly finished with it as well. I'm sitting on pins and needles to find out if Jane will get Mr. Bingley, if Mr. Darcy will succeed in capturing Elizabeth's heart, and where on earth Lydia has gone off to!

Chick lit and me

I am not usually one for chick lit, but I came across a book called Bitter Is the New Black by Jennifer Lancaster a year or so ago and was so taken with the sarcasm and snarkiness that I became a fan (even on Facebook!). How can you not like a book with a front cover that reads, "Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered, Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office"? This non-fiction gem details the life of an ex-sorority girl with more money in her closet than in her savings and what happens when her world comes tumbling down on her. Secretly all poor people want the rich(er) people to fall on their ass, and Jen does and tells us all about it in an hilarious way.

In the last week I have read the sequels, Bright Lights, Big Ass and Such a Pretty Fat. There is a fourth book freshly out that I have yet to read, but believe me that as soon as our library calls me and tells me it's waiting for me I'll be in my car to get it clothed or not.

The best part of Bright Lights, Big Ass was the several pages detailing a trip to the gynecologist after a 4-year-hiatus (my new favorite word I guess since I've used it twice in as many days). When Jen started talking about stapling the paper gown back together over her chubbiness I laughed so hard I choked on a pretzel (dipped in chocolate pudding) and almost woke my roommate. There were many other quite humorous parts, but that one took the cake for me. The central part of the story however was her working as a temp while waiting for money from Bitter is the New Black. How can you not laugh at a former big shot collating copies and fetching coffee for $10 an hour?

In Such Pretty Fat, Jen delved more into her weight issues in a funny and snarktastic way. Much as she used to drop off a bad rent check then force herself to waitress her tables for maximum tips to cover it, she signs her publishing contract as a deadline to make herself work to lose her weight. It's an up and down battle with her binging on pie and working out to a pint sized drill-sargent at the gym.

Through all of the books she throws in funny stories about her dogs, husband, friends, and even herself to show readers that she (and those associated with her) are real people in the real world.

So, chick lit and I can be friends; just don't expect me to start reading every glossy, pink-jacketed, shoe or flower bedecked book out there. It's not going to happen. Jen Lancaster's next book, Pretty in Plaid has pink and green argyle socks on the cover--so not the same.

back from hiatus

So I realize that it has been a great many months since posting. In that time however I was reading many unexciting things about psychology and the English language as it pertains to 'college writing'. I went back to college after a great many years in hopes of getting in to nursing school. I'm happy to say I've come out of this first semester with a 4.0 GPA (for the first time in my entire life) and a whole lot of nothing done other than school work.

In the few weeks since finals however, I have taken it upon myself to try to tackle the '1001 Books to Read Before you Die'. True, I've already read a few of these books. I can already tell there are a few that I will not read as well. I have no desire to read "Mein Kampf" or some of the books by the Russian guys that are so dry as to make my brain shrivel into a zombified nothing. I will, however, at least read a synopses of each book and give them all a shot. I'm also adding to the list with books I'd like to read, am reading, or have read; and adding in elements of the list from a book I found at Borders with about 500 or so titles in it.

I've managed to make a small chip into the list the past week or so. It would have been a bigger chip if I had not been sidetracked by some 'chick lit' and my re-read of the Twilight Saga. I'll be posting a few blogs soon to document my progress and inform of a few good reads for any readers that I have.

First New Word!

Anfractuous: characterized by windings and turnings.

Synonyms: sinuous, circuitous, devious, oblique, roundabout, tortuous

Use: The road up the cliff was dangerous in it's anfractuous nature.

Book Review #1

My first book in 2009 happened to be a Christmas present that I finished just yesterday. I have long been a fan of John Irving and was gifted a copy of A Widow for One Year.

First the synopsis:

As with most Irving novels, it is written in several parts and covers a span of many years. A Widow for One Year is written in three parts, each covering a different section of time.

The story begins in 1958. Ruth Cole is 4-years old, living with her parents in Long Island during their trial separation. Her father Ted is a children's book writer who hires Eddie, a 16-year-old boy, to be a writer's assistant for the summer. Ruth's mother Marion is a tortured character who has been unable to move past a tragic car accident that killed her sons four years before.

Eddie finds quickly that his job as a writer's assistant leaves much to be desired as he is mostly answering fan mail and running errands. It is in Marion that he finds his summer begin to be more interesting. Eddie and Marion become lovers and they learn more about themselves in their few months together than they ever really learn about each other. It is learned that Ted has a habit of chasing after unhappy, young mothers; and much of his summer is involved with women than it is writing.

At the end of summer Marion leaves taking only the photographs of her dead sons. Her only instructions to Ted is to tell him to keep his drinking to a minimum. She leaves nothing to Eddie, save the sweater that he first saw her in.

The second part of the book is in 1990 and about Ruth, now grown and a writer in her own right. She is at a crossroads in her personal life and as she is on a book tour, she is trying to make a few decisions.While on tour she starts research in the Red Light District where she witnesses something that changes her. She returns home with decisions made and a new turn of life to live.

Part three finds Ruth at 41. She has been recently widowed and left with her young son. The book she began in Amsterdam is finally published and it brings someone new into her life. Time has also changed things and brings a few other people back into the picture.



Now as for my thoughts on the book:

I adore John Irving. I find his books to be about real characters. These characters could be real people. Marion could have been the perfect mother until her sons were taken away and unable to be even a mediocre mother to the daughter she tried to replace them with. Ted could have just been a man-whore, who failed to even try to conceal it once Marion was so disinterested in anything other than their sons' memories. Even Eddie could simply be an average boy that happens to be attracted to more mature women.

Ruth intrigues me. As a woman she is conflicted. She is unsure of what she wants in her relationships. She sees the double standard between men and women where sex is concerned. She is also unsure as to whether she wants marriage and a family. She sees it as something that she should want, but something that she is also afraid of. Her mother leaving her at the age of four left her feeling as if her mother couldn't love her, maybe she couldn't love a child either.

I recommend for anyone to read A Widow for One Year. For me it was a quick read that did not leave the feeling of having wasted my time. This was a book of actual substance. Far from a 'throwaway' book, it is one to put on the bookshelf for many reads to come.