Still Single??? No Worries!

So, according to this article, marrying older is still a good idea. I was silently cheering on this article until I hit the whole "baby" advice, which basically says that "no later than 30" to start rule. Oh well! It's an interesting article though, so I thought I'd put the link here.

Article on the best age to marry.

We're still reading Papa Married a Mormon, but I've only managed to get through the first chapter so far. It's Doc's birthday today, so I want to wish her a HUGE Happy Birthday chica!!! You're looking hot, and I'm so proud of you for going back to med school to reach for your dreams.

Anyway, that's all for now. I haven't gotten through anything other than a stack of AP essays...so I guess I'll update later! Aloha!

November Book Club Choice

Before I post, let there be a moment of silence for Bachelorette couple Deanna and Jesse... Yea, I actually got really into the show again with these guys, so I got suckered into thinking they might actually pull through. Hmm...guess I shouldn't be so optimistic (although I thought I was pretty much a pessimist as it was). I'm just a little sad. :( Make fun of me if you will, but I hoped she'd put aside her diva ways to keep this nice guy!

So, on to our book choice for this month. We're going to be reading a book by an author that Doc really loves. It's called Papa Married a Mormon by John Dennis Fitzgerald.


I guess Fitzgerald is the author of the Great Brain series, which Doc owns multiple copies of (so that her future children can enjoy), but she picked our current pick as a good overview of Fitzgerald's style. If anyone chooses to join us, let us know and post a comment if you have anything to add! Thanks, and let's hope poor Jesse (hey, that's my dad's name...so I have to feel for the guy!) finds a great, down to earth girl!


Oh, and don't forget to VOTE tomorrow! :) I stood in line last Thursday for an hour and a half to place my vote (with a book in my hands, since it's pretty hard to write all over essays when you're standing), but I did it and saved my sticker to wear on the 4th. Until then, all my best!!!

One HECK of a Week

Sigh...so glad it's "Fall Back" time so that I get an extra hour. This last week our grades were due, so honestly, I ran this grading marathon to wrap things up on Wednesday. In fact, I went right home and climbed into bed at 6:30 pm. Ah! :) You would think that would have gotten me by, but no such thing. Keeping up with all the students I've had who have been out with mono, surgeries, and other illnesses kept me busy even after grades were due. So, Thursday night I repeated Wednesday night! Friday, I didn't get a chance to go to bed that early, as Doc, Cool Breeze, and I met at Melting Pot to discuss Dracula, which none of us had technically finished. Doc had read it before though, and so we moved on to discussing what we'll be reading this month. I'll post another "small" post to let you know what it is!

Now off to what I've either picked away at over the last week, or tore through today out of a desperate need to do what I wanted. Well, first off I have to say how completely enamored I am again with Friends!


They saved my sanity these past couple of weeks, as I have kept them running in the background as I've graded papers, and as an escape from stress at night. I love them!


Last week I finally got my hands on a new BBC set of mini-stories based on four of Shakespeare's famous plays, Shakespeare Retold. I watched the Much Ado About Nothing modernization last weekend, but didn't get a chance to watch the three others until Saturday morning (because I had to take it back to the library). Admittedly, I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan (before you freak out...I DO know he's a genius of language), and since I was in a hurry to return this to the library, I sort of fast forwarded through the remaining tales on the discs. My favorite one though was Taming of the Shrew, which starred that one girl ghost in the Harry Potter films as the Shrew. It was actually pretty good!

I also woke early (6am!) this morning, so I grabbed a nice bowl of Fiber One Cereal (YUCK), and watched BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Glaskell's novel Wives and Daughters.


Okay, so it was good...but...I HATED THE ENDING!!! Sigh. Why watch four hours of a movie if the ending can't match the tension created in the first 99% of the film!?! Yes, it made me a bit crazy. I won't say I didn't like it, but would it kill these uptight characters to lock lips for even the minutest, most congenial kiss!!!

So, the last thing on my list then is a quick review of a book I've been TRYING to pull myself through for over six weeks (I've renewed it three times, and it's due tomorrow!), The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen.
A student had recommended it to me last school year, and I had meant to read it over the summer, but selfishly read mass amounts of my favorite MEG CABOT. :) Well, as several people can tell you, when pushed repeatedly to read a book, I sometimes get stubborn as a mule and decide I don't want to read it. Now it's all subconscious...I promise, but I just balk and feel like I'm somehow not choosing the book. This book happened to fall into the category of, "I'm forcing you to read this and will pull my student-who-wants-your-feedback card if I have to!" I've seen a million girls (yes, I exaggerate) packing around Sarah Dessen novels, and maybe it's the pastel colors and sweet titles that made me vomit slightly into my mouth, but I'd made a promise, and I was bound by my oath as an English teacher that makes too many promises to read the thing. Guess what? It was pretty good. I'm not big on the "my dad died and now I have to get over it" plots (as too close to home and make me roll my eyes at the emotional manipulation), but once I sat down today (sorry...lounged in a nice bubble bath) to finish the last half of the book that I'd been picking at for weeks, it wasn't half bad. The story is engaging, and while not surprising, it still made me care about her. She packs her nerdy, genius boyfriend off to "Brain Camp" for the summer, to work his boring job at the library. He basically dumps her, and she picks up the pieces by kind of finding herself. Yes, there are other love interests who pop up, but that's all I'll say.

While a little sweetsy at times, I had to smile and think about how much I would have loved this story if it were the 16 year old version of myself. I would have probably started packing around every pastel-colored copy of a Sarah Dessen book on the planet. They are relatively clean, have characters who value their insides over their outsides, and have connections to their families. Overall, I'm happy to say I can go back to my student and tell her I read it, and actually kind of liked it.

Well, back to grading essays! From one book-sex-love-entertainment-free time-time off starved single gal to another...Mahalo, and I'll be back baby. :)

Eliot? Hmm...Guess I'm Not Interested???

I don't know why, but I always thought I'd love to tackle Eliot's famous novel Middlemarch. I realize that in a way Eliot's work tends to have characters that seem to be almost inhuman in their moral fortitude, which can be nice to see in fiction, but this particular story depressed me a little. Maybe I'm alone in feeling this way, but because the story was so long, and the number of characters that showed themselves to be corrupt or weak, really started to grate on my nerves. Yes, I get it...their bad behavior and weaknesses make her look like a real angel of mercy! Should I mention that I've gotten very little sleep over the past several days because I've been up grading for end of term??? Maybe I'm a bit cranky?!? Yes, I think that might be it! :) I watched the film while I have been grading, and maybe that's the problem, but I'm not sure if I'll be revisiting this particular story, nor reading it anytime soon. Well, back to finishing my literary term quizzes for my AP classes...sigh.

Rumors

I just finished the novel Rumors after thinking I would just read for about 30 minutes and then get to my grading. Is there a way to insert mad screaming here? If I could find a sound effect that would start sobbing and screaming, I'd do it!!! To top it all off, I can't discuss WHY I want to sob and scream! Sigh... Yes, I finished the sequel to The Luxe, which I both liked, but felt a little confused by its YA stamp. Once again, I wouldn't necessarily say this follow-up is much of a YA novel, but seems more geared towards an adult audience that understands the nuances of social stupidity...wait, I mean "mores." (Gag...) Don't get me wrong, I obviously really liked this book and am quite angry that I have to wait for the third in the installment, but it's just that I have a stomach ache over the twist at the end and wonder what this author won't do to tell her story?

The story picks up where the first book left off, with Diana taking her sister Elizabeth's place as the main character in the story. We, once again, are privy to the inner workings of upper New York society at the turn of the century, and find that relationships and behaviors are as guarded and judged as any I can think of. Very much reminiscent of my viewing of "The Duchess" this weekend, it's all about money and social standing, and nothing about personal happiness. In the end, it seems like happiness falls to the wayside of what some deem "necessity" for someone else. Sounds familiar, and nauseating. I really did like this book though, and found it be a quick read. Now I just need to wait for book three! For now, I think I need to go watch "Jon and Kate Plus 8" or "Friends" to get me out of this little slump that I've put myself into. Real life can seem so sad sometimes, you know? Do I really think that grading papers is going to make that any better?!? :)

More Fall Break

Above is the trailer for "The Duchess" if you're interested.

Say goodbye to my fall break. :( :( :( Do you hear my heart rending into a million little pieces?!? The break has been really nice, even though I didn't touch all the papers I needed to grade. I did get a lot of reading done, ran a lot of errands that needed taken care of, and had lots of opportunity for rest and relaxation. I don't actually even know where the first two days of the break went, but Friday night Doc came down and we went out to dinner and the world's worst facade for an Italian restaurant! Seriously...horrid. I did finish off a book that night, as Doc immersed herself in a good book in the chair nearby.

Before I dive into a book review, I have to take a second to review "The Duchess," which Doc and I went to see Saturday night. We both love a good period drama, and were both really looking forward to this one, so we battled the soccer game mania on the streets of town (we have a new professional soccer stadium across the street from the theater), to go see this film. Well...what can I say? The costumes, hair, locations, homes, etc. were all breathtaking, and of course make you wish you could slip into that time period for a day or two, just to see what it's like; however, that's where the enjoyment all came to a screeching (and I mean screeching) halt. The premise of the entire film is basically about the life of a Duchess whose only purpose in life was to produce a male heir, regardless of the state of her marriage to the Duke, or should I say regardless of his relationship with every other maid or maiden on the planet? Gag! At this point in my life, and to all those who know my backstory, any culture that forces marriage on two people is pure CRAP. Once again, this film reiterated in my mind the pure evil nature of looking at marriage as some sort of business transaction, leaving its two bartered goods feeling empty and unable to find joy in anything except what they find outside their own home. I ramble. Anyway, it was depressing...to say the least. Doc and I left the theater convinced that marriage is impossible, and that love and happiness are even more of a fairytale than we had previously thought. Sigh...let's hope the next "period drama" I watch doesn't leave me quite so depressed!

Having said that...let me segway into a book review that I debated whether I'd admit to or not...as yes, it was a trashy romance! Okay, but here's the back story. So I follow a bunch of author and Jane Austen blogs. On one of the Austenite blogs they've been discussing how horrid all the fiction is that's been created about Pride and Prejudice. In my mind, it's a fine line, as one of my favorites Bridget Jones' Diary would not exist had it not lifted the plot from Austen. Well, one of the sites posted a brand new "romance" novel titled Seducing Mr. Darcy.

I happened to be heading to the library that night, so as I walked through to get my books on hold, I noticed that it was sitting on the "New Releases" shelf and picked it up. It sat here at my house for quite awhile until I picked it up on Friday, and finished it that same day. Yes, it's "trashy" and filled with innuendo (and not so innuendo), but I found myself laughing out loud and unable to put it down until I'd finished it later that night. The basic plot is that Flip, the main character, finds herself thinking she's dreamed herself a liason with Mr. Darcy, only to find that her "dream" has completely changed the plotline in the original novel. She then must solicit help from the resident scholar on loan from Cornell, British hottie and Austen know it all. As with any "bodice ripper," she and Mr. Knightley (yes, that's the scholar's name...and yes, it's a throwback to Mr. Knightley from Emma) have an undeniable chemistry. So, together they must try to right the storyline from the novel.

Overall, I thought the plot of the story was pretty funny, and a great approach to take towards the novel. Attempting to touch on such an iconic novel as Pride and Prejudice is pretty nervy, so I have to give Cready some credit at having done so without really putting the characters into the original too much.

Whew...what a mouthful for a blog entry! I'm actually hoping to finish Ana Godbersen's second novel Rumors today (the follow up to The Luxe) before I dive back into school to the point of insanity. Also, I'm about 50 pages into Dracula. If you're reading, tell me what you're thinking about it so far? I kind of like the writing style of Stoker and mentioned to the others that I like seeing good sentence construction. I know I'm crazy, but I think all those student essays have left me hungry for good writing and structure. Anyway, if you're reading, let me/us know!

Fall Break and a Good Vampire Book!

Yay! I'm on fall break...finally! :) I pushed through Monday through Wednesday, grading essays for over 15 hours over three nights. That doesn't sound like much, but can I even tell you how horrifying that is??? Sigh...they're all finished and handed back. Anyway! I slept 13 much needed hours last night, and then bummed around most of today, watching old seasons of Friends and The Office, took an hour nap around the time I would normally get off of work, finished reading a book, and even got to watch late night shows tonight. Just being able to watch Dave Letterman for once made me a VERY HAPPY girl! :) I love Dave, and can't get him on my antenna upstairs, and am too tired to ever watch him during the week. It was a real treat watching him tonight.

So I finished another teen novel. I know, when will I get back to the hard-hitting stuff that will help turn my brain into a savvy PhD candidate?!? P-A-L-ease! I'm enjoying myself for now. :) Actually, I noticed that several of my library books were coming due and wouldn't allow me to renew, so I thought I'd better tear through them. Well, the first was the novel I could have read in one sitting had I not had all those stupid essays to grade! Sunday night I started reading Melissa de la Cruz's novel Blue Bloods, which is another teen vampire novel. At first it had me a little lost as it bounced from character to character, but before I knew it, I was completely hooked and couldn't put it down. Once again, I have to say that this is yet another teen novel that I'm a little surprised is so gritty at times, but won't lie when I say I really liked the story and writing overall. In fact, I jumped onto the library site and reserved the next book in the series!


In this particular vampire series, we find that a bunch of priviledged rich kids from NYC are all part of a coven of vampires that have been around since the beginning of time. The novel starts with these diary clips from the early American settlers, and you soon figure out that they are clips from these same vampires. Come to find out, they continue to be reborn over and over again, but retain their memories from lives before. The bad things is that they don't blossom into their vampirism until they are in their teens, and must be introduced to who they are, and their blood-lust impulses. Having said that, you get really attached to some of these vampires and learn that there is a danger to them which keeps you reading to find out more. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that it's a pretty quick read, and a good one for this time of year. :)

Well, it's after midnight, and while I'd love to say I want to stay up and kick it awhile...I really don't. My bed and a good book will be putting me sleep in about ten minutes from now, so until later...best reading!