fall break

taking a small break from reviewing. have been reading a couple of series, and i wanted to read without reviewing on the individual books.

so this is what i am currently reading:

one being the jessica darling series by megan mccafferty. this series follows jessica darling throughout her life starting as a mere (trust me, "mere" is no small word for a teenager; they are much more then "mere") sixteen year old high school student and finishing up as a full-blown adult.

jessica darling is by far one of my favorite protagonists ever. (cannie shapiro of the jennifer weiner novels good in bed and certain girls is another.)

her humor is unmatched. i guess, technically, mccafferty's humor is unmatched. she says shocking things like this:

"...and yet i can't blame shea for being so...pissed off. i mean, all nut the most genetically blessed go through periods of squirmy discomfort in our own skin. but there's a big difference between my kind of discomfort ("Boo-hoo! I don't have any boobs!") and Shea's ("Boo-hoo! I have boobs! And where the hell is my penis?").

i love shocking humor. and that's only one example of what our lovely-sailor-mouthed (love her) leading lady's humor. check it out. i promise you will love it.

the other, which is seemingly indescribable due to its hugeness, is the harry potter series. i, being a rebel, never read these books simply because everyone else was. i have, however, given up on the rebellion and have begun to read them.

i love them so far.

someone told me, "you will love the child."

i do. i love harry.

so...for the sake of conversation--what are you reading????

review: jemima j

the more i read jane green, the more i come to love her novels! (i bought two more last night.) i believe that it's because her protagonists are so lovable. i come to care about their conflict and resolutions.

this book is about an overweight journalist named jemima jones. we find out within the first page or two that she is jonesin' (pun TOTALLY intended) big time for her not-at-all overweight and sexiest man alive ben williams. over time they eventually become friends due to the work environment, but her feelings are never reciprocated. he only sees her as a friend...due, in jemima's point of view, to her being overweight--he is unable to see her as anything beyond a friend. this, obviously, has become a problem to her.

her problem: the vicious cycle that only "eaters" can relate to. she eats because she is lonely, she is lonely because she chooses to hide behind her insecurities of being overweight. something i, and more of green's audience than will care to admit, can completely relate to.

having been published in 1999 and written pre-1999, jane green takes on the introduction to all things internet in the corporate world. she places her characters in the situation of attending an internet class together so that they can learn how to navigate what is soon be their website.

because of this internet class, jemima takes on a love and a waxing curiosity for the internet. she finds herself amidst the taboo and oh-so-mysterious world of chat rooms. here she meets a man in LA, and they continue chatting for months moving quickly from chat room, to email, to telephone. this, to jemima, is pure fun...until the day brad, the online hottie, decides they need to meet.

thus kicking off the "i have SO got to lose weight if this is ever going to work" obsession, and we find our lovely "jj" (as brad knows her) 100 pounds lighter and on her way to LA to meet the man that could be "it".

we find our leading lady growing in ways she could never imagine as she crosses the atlantic ocean and finds herself in a whole new culture of blonde, thin, and hotter than hot.

this novel follows a woman as she grows beyond her insecurities--being viciously smacked in the face by betrayal and the utter selfishness of the human race, she becomes much less naive about the world--and learns, from TRUE friends (geraldine-coworker-, laura-fellow londoner-, and ben-love of life) that being genuinely happy is more than being the right size.

though the novel is somewhat outdated, due to the introduction of internet dating, and pretty predictable, (and, not to mention totally unrealistic at some points) i can't help but find myself wishing the absolute best for jemima. i want her to do well. i want her to love and be loved in return. she is a gem. an absolute gem.

my favorite part about this novel, besides the resolution, is the stylistic decision of shifting point of view. green goes back and forth between first person point of view--the story being told by jemima-- and a third person omniscient narrator who gives commentary throughout the novel to remind the reader when a situation is shady, when a character is being naive, when the plot is beginning to thicken, etc. clever.

so, i guess, in the game of jane green novels, i am 4 for 6. it seems like great odds, right?

book: jemima j

i am still deciding about jane green. all of her novels are so totally different that it's difficult to decide how i feel about her writing. though, i will tell you, i have LOVED 3 out of 5. those being the beach house, mr. maybe, and second chance. i will let you know about this one when i'm done.

review: baby proof

i put this book off for too long.

before i start, let me remind you that emily giffin's novels are plot-driven. there is nothing astoundingly literary about her novels. though her writing is smooth and clever, there is nothing stylistically and syntactically incredible about her books. BUT. I. LOVE. EVERY. ONE. OF. THEM. the reason is because giffin has this way of telling a story in such a way that i, as the reader, tend to feel every emotion that is portrayed throughout the novel. sometimes i have to read them fast because i tend to get too emotionally involved due to my empathy.

in this story, we follow claudia davenport/parr as she tells the story of the fall-out, separation, and failure of her marriage with her (described as) absolute soul-mate and love of her life ben. all of this heartbreak is due to the plain and simple fact that she does not want a baby after ben, having changed his mind, decides that he does in fact, want to reproduce and raise a child.

the novel follows her every emotion as she wonders, second-guesses, questions, the decision she (THEY) have made. her pain is real, and--as an empathetic reader i can literally feel this--she is emotionally and physically torn between what she wants and what she doesn't want. the conflict between "wants" and "non-wants" is so complex that we are led to wonder whether or not things will ever be resolved.

the questions raised tend to web into each other in such a way that the reader genuinely cares about the outcome of this heartbreaking and seemingly despondent situation: does ben not love claudia enough to sacrifice not having a child? didn't he love claudia before he loved the thought of having a child? why does claudia so stubbornly refuse having a child to the point of emotionally, physically, mentally (and legally) losing the man she loves? why doesn't she ever mention to him her real, deep-down fears of being a mother? can't this be resolved somehow? how, after having loved each other so much, will either of them ever be able to move on?

of course, i will not tell the ending. but i will admit, i cried on more than one occasion while reading this book. giffin does a wonderful job of making the reader carry the burdens of these characters.

and that, in my opinion, is the mark of an incredible writer--making a story come to life.

book: baby proof

a favorite author of mine: emily giffin. i have read everything she has written except for this book. i have been avoiding it for some time--thinking it might be just a stupid spin-off of the "something" novels.

i have already started it, and so far it is not disappointing.

review: gods in alabama

i judge books by their first sentences.

this one is one of the best i have ever read:

"there are gods in alabama: jack daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also jesus."

it was this sentence that was the deciding factor in purchasing the novel. i was not let down........

i have to admit, when i was in college, one of the things i struggled with the most (in hindsight it was a struggle) was trying to deny and avoid at all costs my southern past...my southern roots. my reason being i felt better than where i came from. pretty pathetic, yes, but i have learned (muchas gracias to the man i love) to reclaim my roots and let them envelop me.

arlene, our beloved protagonist (english words, children, english words!)/main character deals with this as well. she spends her entire adult life--from the very beginning of college to the present--avoiding her past, her roots. not because she feels better than where her family but because she has buried, and spends her energy continuing to bury, a deep dark secret.

with the promptings of the man she loves--it's about to, he believes, to meet her family--she returns to her hometown and is immediately bombarded with her deep dark secret.

as the plot unfolds, she learns to trust her secret the people she loves the most, aunt florence and burr (her man). in so doing, she experiences that most grace, love, and forgiveness she has ever experienced in her life.

this is a beautiful novel harping on the need to stand up for, love, forgive, and give all to the people that you love the most.

at the end of our novel, arlene feels that most peaceful she has felt in years, and as a result, the most whole she has felt in years.

i highly recommend this "not exactly chick-lit" novel to readers who are looking for something a little different. the story is not about romantic love, it is about sacrificial love. it is about embracing that which we try our hardest to leave behind.

it doesn't work, you know? trying to deny your roots. they always come back. and it is peaceful. and wholesome.

read this. you won't be sorry.

book: gods in alabama

i have moved on from the starter wife. i assume i will probably finish it at some point, but i am ready to read another book.

my next conquest: gods in alabama. feel free to read along with me.

review: the starter wife

chicklit- literature (written [usually] by a female) that follows a female main character; usually chock full of clever humor, heart-wrenching conflicts, wonderfully, to-die-for, developed characters, and true-to-life themes.

one of my pet peeves is unrealistic literature.

i don't mean idyllic, romantic (not to be confused with romance) literature.

i mean twists of plot that would never, i don't care how much money you have, actually happen in real life.

-a main character (i can't even remember her name; hang on let me look), Gracie, and her daughter are in-coincidentally left by the jackass, movie-careered husband. what is left out: anything detailing her true emotions regarding the situation, any details regarding WHY (as her friends indicate) she and her soon-to-be-ex-husband never actually fit together, and any character development allowing the reader to actually feel any connection with the main character. no connection = no concern

-gracie, offered a free house for three whole months in malibu, attempts to move on with her life by stalking the oh-so-irresistable, token (unknown to be) "homeless-in-shining-armor" man who happens to save her from drowning. in return, he subconsciously offers a feeling "down there" that gracie apparently hasn't felt in quite some time. and all it seems to have taken is one kiss--when he, "clint" or sam knight (symbolism hell) storms her front door and cavalierly carries gracie up the stairs to her bedroom to kiss her.

it's love, apparently. gracie describes this feeling to be love. seriously? in a 400 page novel, couldn't love have been more developed than this?

-a carefully planned, yet turned out to be completely realistic, suicide leaves our main character in pain for 3 hours. until she again meets up with sam knight and she finds her loins have been screaming his name since their last meeting.

my tone is cynical and biting. yes, i know. but a novel that is deemed "funny" and "lively and wry" should at least be funny and entertaining. it's not. in fact, i find it silly and a waste of time.

alas, i will, however, finish the novel because of my OCD: i must finish a book once i start it.

who knows? this last hundred pages might win me over.

maybe you will find a follow-up post claiming "screw it all, this book is fabulous! life-changing!"

i wouldn't count on it.

book: the starter wife

books

i imagine this space as mine. i want to write; therefore, i am.

i want to write about what i love: books.

i will read a book and post a review.

that way they both of us are happy--i am reading books of my choice; you, in turn, are receiving a wonderful list of books to read.

i must admit, i am heavily drawn to chicklit. i think there is something very powerful about a woman with a story to tell.

if you want to challenge me, encourage me to read (and review) a certain novel, please do.

look back in a few days for the first novel i will read and review.

i'm really looking forward to this....

p.s. sometimes i will review an author instead of a book.

high-bow or middle-brow

as an honors (and AP) english student in high school, i was forced--ahem, encouraged, gently prompted...assigned for a major grade--to read "classic novels of literary merit" so that i could effectually write intelligent [sounding] literary analyses of these aforementioned works of art. all the while not liking hardly any of the literature.

throughout high school, i caught myself saying "i will read again after i graduate!"

i guess i was right.

as an english major, my bookshelves were packed with "classic novels of literary merit" and 15-pound anthologies dripping with writings deemed as academic and intellectual enough for further literary analysis according to them. (i refer to them as "the powers that be" or "the english gods" to my english students--i'm still not entirely sure who they are myself.)

so i did read. i read a lot. british literature, young adult literature, 19th century female authors, 19th century popular literature, african american literature, professional literature, etc, etc.

high-brow literature. that's what it all was. meaning its literary merit comes only from its exclusivity. if it can be read and fully analyzed and understood by the average person, it is not high-brow. high-brow literature is only to be touched and experienced by above average intellectuals. elitists.

novels are not meant to be devoured by intellectuals only.

i loathed my reading assignments in high school because i didn't "get" them. i was denied access. now, don't get me wrong. i was an intelligent and insightful student, but the readings tended to be too much at times. what i needed was something less intense.

english teachers are being told (and i know because i am one) to teach the literary classics ONLY.

students have to know what came before, they argue.

i understand. but what we they seem to be missing is that most students don't care what came before. these days it seems that students just want to be entertained.

so as a teacher i pose this question: why can't some of that entertainment be provided through the novels that i teach?

instead of teaching great expectations that is indeed the epitome of literary merit, instead of teaching the high-brow literature, why can't i meet my students where they are and teach the dirty, ragged low-life--the middle-brow novel.

think what will happen if students are assigned such novels as twilight, the uglies, the perks of being a wallflower, etc.

my goal is not for my students to have read a certain amount of high-brow novels. my goal is for them to learn to enjoy english, literature, more than they ever have before. and if that means teaching--GASP!--middle-brow literature...well, i'm in.

because in the end, what's the worse that can happen?

that they learn to love reading?

i can only hope so.

when i finally had time to read on my own, i didn't run for the classics--elite high-brow novels--at the bookstore. i went or the new york times bestsellers. the popular literature. the red-headed step child of literature.

and you what? i FINALLY returned to my long lost love--reading.

"we shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading." b.f. skinner