TEOGROMITMM Scene One

Well, this is a lovely book.
Kidding. I find it rather depressing, actually.
First, I thought the first passage, belonging to Tillie, was cool. However, it was also... I dunno. Creepy, a tad eerie, I suppose. Kinda hopeless and depressing.
 So far Beatrice is my favourite character, just because she reminds me of Bellatrix from Harry Potter without a wand. However, as a whole, all the characters seem a bit off. Like the entire family is absolutely crazy. One thing I did notice, however, was how Tillie wasn't allowed to go to school, and then Ruth started talking about the assembly and how everyone made fun of Tillie. I was thinking that perhaps Ruth said that simply because she knew that if it seemed Tillie was embarassed, she'd be allowed to go to school.
A little bit twisted.
Maybe all the characters die at the end due to their own dark, insane depression.

My Weekly Reading

   My weekly reading has included many things, such as a biology textbook, a writing blog run by a journalism classmate, an article on cooking delightful holiday treats for the whole family, and... CATCHING FIRE.
    I'm sure that many (if not all of you) know what Catching Fire is about, and have read it yourselves. If not, then don't worry. I shan't spoil the plot, but I must say, this book is amazing. Katniss is probably one of my favourite female characters since Hermione in Harry Potter all those years ago. She is smart, strong, and kicks butt. Peeta is also awesome, and I think he's really sweet. He'd go to the end of the world for Katniss, if she really wanted him to. Also, if the Hunger Games were done, I'd bet he'd stay there as well, just for her. Or at least I hope he would, because although I respect his good thinking and dramatic acts of defiance against the capital (I'll get back to this subject), he can get a bit sappy at times. President Snow reminds me of Voldemort, only dressed like a businessman. And Gale... I just don't like Gale. Whenever I picture him I imagine a burly redneck with yellow teeth.
   Anyway, this story is epic. My favourite part (SPOILER HERE) is where Peeta and Katniss are interviewed. You see, President Snow, being the terrible man he is, decides to have Katniss wear her wedding dress, since she'll probably have died in the Quarter Quell before it's time for her wedding. Anyway, Cinna, Katniss' stylist, does a dangerous thing, but does it willingly: He turns Katniss' gown into a dress that burns away so she's dressed as a Mockingjay. I'm pretty sure he gets killed for this though, so even though I got a little teary, I couldn't help but feel impressed by his guts. Also, Peeta then tells the capital and the rest of Panem that he already secretly married Katniss... and they're pregnant with a child. That's hardcore heartbreaking material. It's very emotional, very well-written.
    Go Team Peeta! <3
    

Catcher in the Rye 20-26

   I get this ending, it's freaking brilliant. The entire story is basically one giant flashback.
   So, basically, Holden cracks in the last section of the novel, starting when Luce leaves him. I'm guessing it was probably due to the lack of ability for social interaction or feeling alone, but Holden gets drunk as heck, bursts senselessly into tears, and heads to his adored duck pond where he remembers Allie's funeral and decides that when he dies, he wants to be tossed into the river. Also, Holden seems kinda interested in vanishing things in life too all of a sudden. Kinda like how all the ducks in the pond randomly left.

   And then with Phoebe, Holden gets a bit better. But then she demands to know if he actually likes ANYTHING and he starts thinking about the kid who committed suicide in his turtleneck and how

Mr. Antolini picked up the body and got blood all over his coat. Plus, he cries AGAIN when Phoebe loans him her holiday gift shopping money, even though it isn't even that much. Seriously, you'd think he would be in therapy by now.
  I also found out what the title means. The Catcher in the Rye is Holden himself. I did research on rye, and apparently a rye field is the symbol of childhood because the rye plant is so high kids can't see beyond it. The catcher, or Holden, has already ran out of the field and fallen over the cliff or whatever to adulthood, and no one caught him. Therefore, he is living a crappy life of loneliness, alcohol, and sex. Hence, he wants to catch the other kids and save them from adulthood. For instance, Holden really wants to protect children from knowledge of sex. One part that shows this is when he rubs the words “f*** you” off the school wall because he is scared that someone will explain to the kids what it means. Holden really is quite the decent guy after all, in some ways.
   As for the ending, it has a climax but it is more hidden, I feel. It's not like Harry Potter where you know where the climax is right away. I think it starts the day after Holden is at Mr. Antolini's house and runs away. I think it starts at the place where Holden starts to focus on the kids in the streets and where he he calls to Allie and begs to let him cross the road. Holden is then, officially insane and the reader knows it, if they haven't already figured it out.
   Since Holden obviously feels disconnected from life, he decides to run away, only to be stopped by Phoebe. I wondered vaguely if she knew he was crazy, and purposely wanted to go with Holden for his own safety, or was just being a stubborn little child. Anyhow, the story ends with Holden at the carousel, watching Phoebe, and feeling overjoyed about the children around him, and how innocenct they are.
   At this point, I felt something bigger happened, like maybe Holden cracked and had a giant fit of anger or whatever. In chapter 26, I got the impression he was at an institution for the mentally ill or whatnot and had just told his tale to the doctor or psychologist. However, Holden seemed much more at peace in the last chapter as well, more so than anywhere else in the book. After that, I did more research:
   The Catcher in the Rye is, in a way, a perfect biography of J.D. Salinger's own life. 

 

Catcher in the Rye 13-19

   I think these chapters have made me depressed.
   I feel like in a way, everyone has an ideal world built for themselves in their mind, a world that isn't always like the real one. In chapters 13-19, I think Holden just so happened to realise that his ideal world isn't really real at all, and so he kinda becomes an alien in a way, an outcast. For example, I feel his adventure with Maurice and Sunny was a result of feeling like his ideal world could survive in the real world, but everything backfired big-time on him. Holden is really depressed, scared, and alone in this part of the book. Therefore, his view on the real world becomes even more negative, like how he starts to think that everyone his age and above is a phony and stupid.
   Religion, I feel, also had a big role in the reading, a role that I liked. Holden hates people who shove their religion down his throat (I don't blame him, it's freaking annoying) and is an Atheist. He also is a terrific liar. I find it funny that although he was fine with lying to a mother of a former peer who he could easily see again, yet is completely honest with some random nuns who chances are he won't ever run into again in his lifetime. I also think it helped that although Mrs. Morrow was a phony, the nuns didn't fit Holden's concept of organized religion, and hence he respected them in his own way.

   And Sally... poor Holden, the dear's on his way to an emotional breakdown for sure when it comes to love and romancing. Throughout the date Sally asks Holden to stop yelling or screaming, and he claims not to have been doing so, showing that he is unaware of his own agitation. Also, his attempt to convince a rich, shallow, spoiled, socialite girl like Sally to run away with him to wheretheheckistan just shows how far from reality his mind actually is. And being the phony moron she is, Sally says no and leaves after Holden informs her of her status of being, "A royal pain in the ass."    To conclude, Holden's life is pretty sucky right now. He's running away from his own problems, letting them build up, much like our national debt. No one cares about his feeling as long as he is normal, with the exception of Jane and Phoebe, making him feel unloved and alone. If he acts out, people get mad at him. It's a sad world after all...

The Catcher in the Rye 7-12

   Holden is very strange.
   In these chapters, I kind of felt there was a change in how Holden behaved. He seemed more nervous and wired, almost kinda desperate. For example, at the telephone booth, he wanted to call someone, particularly Jane, but gives a list of who he could call instead. This seemed really weird to me, cause in previous chapters all Holden did was complain about how so many people are morons and that he hates them.
   I also think now that although Holden is a mess of problems, his biggest one is loneliness. For example, he calls Faith in the middle of the freaking night, just to talk to someone. That seems really weird to me. Also, how he dances with the three stupid tourist women from Seattle who are complete morons in the Lavender Room. If I were him, I'd just walk away.

  Another part I liked was Phoebe. She, Allie, Jane both sound like the only people Holden really likes or liked so far in the book. She sounded smart, and the kind of person that wouldn't take other people's crap. No wonder Holden loves her so much. I also wish Holden would just call Jane already. I mean, God, it's not like she'll murder him. My guess is he's probably just embaressed about the "necking".
 As for my favourite part of the book this week, it was when Holden met the lovely Mrs. Morrow, and then claimed Rudolph Schmidt and to be going to New York for a brain tumor operation. I don't know why I found this so funny, but it was just ridiculous, especially how she just went on believing it. It makes me wonder what she said to Ernie later that week when he got home...

The Catcher in the Rye 1-6

   I simply adore this story so far.
   I've read the "Catcher in the Rye," before, but I think it's one of those stories that makes more sense the second time you read it. What I like about the story is that Holden is crazy. Although it may be part of his genetic make-up, I think the real reason he is insane is because of his childhood, since it refused to describe it in “all that David Copperfield kind of crap.” Therefore, I think that several big events happened earlier in his life outside of Allie dying. This has made him extremely cynical and negative about everything (kind of like Dr. House, I think). What's really funny about this is that he thinks the rest of the world is the problem, causing him torment. However, it's really just his view on the world, made negative by his own inner torment from earlier years. I got the impression that while he protests his strong hate of school, he kind of has an attachment to it. Holden doesn't like school, but it's like cross country; it grows on you. I also don't think he is stupid, I think he just has a strange view on the world and is too lazy to apply himself.
   My favourite part of the book so far is the relationships Holden has with the people he hates. He hates them. He really does. But at the same time these people, like Ackley and Stradlater, are his friends, it seems. What I like most is that Ackley's habits, like blocking the light while Holden is reading, annoys Holden, and then Holden does the exact same thing while Stradlater is shaving, and it annoys Stradlater. Ackley and Stradlater also, to me, seem to be like opposites of each other, like in their personal grooming habits. Another thing is that Holden is complaining about Ackley being a nosy bastard, and then tells Stradlater how much he hates Ackley for being that way. Right after he says that, Holden starts prying into the personal lives of Stradlater and Jane. He is so awful, yet so hilarious. I am going to read more now.

NaNoWriMo

   Okay, so I don't know if I should blog this week, as there was no given topic, so I'll write about NaNoWriMo.
   I have no idea what to write about. At all.
   I have a lovely idea for a murder mystery, but I don't think I could make it into a novel, since it would probably be best in short story format. Therefore, I've spent the weekend reading random stuff in the newspapers (Where I learned Michigan ranks third for serial killers in the nation, and rest areas are their favourite hang-outs), Vogue (For a setting, I'm thinking about Mombasa or Eastern Europe), and random parts out of books I looked at in Barnes & Noble (There are three rows devoted to Vampire books there. I feel like suing Stephanie Meyer for starting this stupid Twilight crap. And, I wanna hire Dexter to kill Edward.)
   So now I've decided I'm going to look through National Geographic magazines. That way, I can find a person, a setting, a lifestyle, a job, etc.
   Have an enthusiastic time reading and writing, people!

To Build A Fire

   Okay, this story really wasn't my favourite. It was good, I just didn't like it.
   I think the descriptions in it were very good. I liked the way the bitterness of the cold was described, and how you could almost feel like your fingers and toes were the ones dying from severe frostbite.
   However, I think my big problem was the fact that I kept wondering how the heck somebody could be so stupid as to venture out alone except for a dog on a day-long journey when it's -75 degrees out. The entire story I felt like bashing my head on a table. What idiot would do that? And what's more, why wouldn't he have waited for a better day.
   And the dog. I felt so sorry for the dog. He knew better than to venture out, but had to because otherwise he would be whipped. I got so upset when the man tried to kill the dog for the sake of his own survival. It was a hideous image, and I was actually really happy when the dog got away. Plus, he used the dog as a tester for the hidden springs. If you're stupid enough to venture out in icy weather, I think you deserve to fall into a hidden spring, with the exception of venturing out to save someone else. Don't make your dog do it. That's cruel.
   I did like the description of death at the end though. It would be a pretty awful way to die, but it sounds better than other ways. Like the show Dexter. I would NOT want to die in a way like the victims of Dexter.
   So yeah, not my favourite story, but still it was good.

 

The Most Dangerous Game

  This week, I read "The Most Dangerous Game" for the third time, and I still love it.
   For me, this story is something that falls between a catagory of sheer irony and complete disbelief.
   I find it hilarious (in an ironic way) that General Zaroff is always so refined, polite, and civilized, yes a completely insane monster ("Ah, yes, Mr. Rainsford. I did install electricity here. In addition to providing fair lighting in all sorts of dreary weather, it also tricks ships into thinking this is a port, and the safe lights really lead their ships onto sharp rocks, wreck their ship, and the survivors wind up on my lovely island so I can kill them. More wine? I had it imported from an expensive vineyard in the hillside of Italy with rare grapes.")
   What I really find interesting is how Rainsford manages to keep his wits about him. I would very likely go insane with panic and throw myself off a cliff to die if I were in his position. That would be better, I think, than getting hunted down like a deer. Plus, please note the story never once tells what Zaroff does with the bodies afterwards....
   The disbelieving part is that Rainsford actually does survive, and is so calm after he kills Zaroff. I'd free the survivors prisoner underneath the mansion, sail away immediately, anything but stay in the house of a murderer. But he manages, and likely sails away afterwards. The only questions I have are if he stays sane afterwards, and of course, still wants to hunt.
   I'd personally become a vegan.

The End of The Odyssey

   Today, I finished The Odyssey, an epic novel telling the heroic journey of Ulysses, as he attempts to get home after the Trojan War. Homer sure was bad with repetion, but he could write an amazing climax.
   I have to say this weeks part of the reading wasn't really my favourite, but it was very suspenseful and that kept me pretty interested. I think the biggest thing for me was when Eurycleia discovered the beggar was really Ulysses by his hunting scar. However, I also didn't like this part because I felt Ulysses was pretty nasty to her, even if it could have ruined his plan to take back his home. He basically grabbed her neck and whispered-yelled threats of death in her ear. I think he should have trusted her, because Telemachus and Penelope still did. But when you've been away for twenty years, I guess you'd kind of want the servants to know that just because you had gone missing didn't mean you weren't in charge.
   I also thought Ulysses went a little bit overboard with the slaying of the suitors and his unfaithful servants as well. I think he should have kept Antinous to kill last, so maybe he would feel worse about his actions. I also believe that Melanthius shouldn't have been killed so horribly. They could have hung him with the maids (I think that probably would've been rather insulting back then) or just chopped off his head. But mismemberment? That's serial killer sadistic. No one should ever have to die that way, not for something like mocking a beggar.
   As for Penelope, I'm very happy for her; She grew a backbone! A strong one too! I almost thought she was just going to be all "Okay, honey! Welcome home!" once she got over her initial shock, but she surprised me by testing Ulysses. And considering the serial killer/ anger management spree he had gone on earlier that afternoon, that was probably a pretty risky thing to do. However, it was also very smart, because who knows? It could have not been real...
   Anyway, I'm happy that everything worked out for all the characters in the end. And that Telemachus didn't die. 

The Odyssey 13-17

   I really liked "The Odyssey" this week as well. Go Team Ulysses!
   Okay, I was really happy that Ulysses is FINALLY getting home. I feel as if the story is now falling into place. Penelope was also alright in this particular section of the story. She actually grew a vertebrae of mental backbone or two when scolding Antinous for being so awful. Maybe even three. I felt though, that Ulysses shouldn't have left his treasures in a cave, even if it was sealed with the stone. It was probably the safest place to store treasure when traveling by foot back then, but I still have a bad feeling about it.
   Telemachus survived the suitors as well, at least for the time being. What's more, is Minerva sent him all the way out to Wheretheheckistan and all he really did was tell the same story over and over again and be a good guest. And get an awesome chariot. I think that this part of the story proved that the gods just play around with the people they find interesting. I also like how Telemachus and his dad are okay with crying. Crying is a good thing, and I feel like the men in "The Odyssey" are really touchy-feely (not in a bad way) and emotional. They are okay with being "weak" sometimes.
   My favourite part was how Ulysses was a beggar, and then how he got hit with the chair, and didn't even wince. I think that was kind of a mental toughness type of thing. It was like he was proving to the suitors he was tougher than them, and therefore better.
   My least favorite part was the pigs. I swear to God Homer was obessed with those creatures... I hate pigs more than copper!
Cheerio, Jenna

The Lottery

   Well, this is probably the most creepy story I've read in forever....
   "The Lottery" was a spooky story, and I really didn't like it. It reminded me of Stephen King and the Twilight Zone. My mom told me she saw the movie in middle school, and it still scares her some times.
   About halfway through the lottery was when I first started to realize something wasn't right. It's like watching a horror movie and knowing that the girl who just said "Bye!" to her parents as they drive away for the night is going to be in deep trouble once the sun sets and the phone rings... Ugh. It also reminded me of some kind of cult town, how they were all so civilized and then randomly starting to stone some one to death. Which is gruesome, but actually better than what I had expected to happen. It also reminded me of every day life. People might like you one day and then turn on you completely the next.
   This is also kinda off topic, but when the town turned on Tessie, I immediately pictured her as Everett in a hairnet saying, "Damn! We're in a tight spot!" Over and over again.
   All in all, I thought it was a creepy story, and shall now move on to cheerier posts. And Megan is here in one week too!

O' Brother, Where Art Thou?

   Well, as far as movies go, "O' Brother Where Art Thou?" has always been one of my favourites, from the R-U-N-O-F-T-D to the Toad squashing. I simply never have linked it to "The Odyssey" before. And there are a lot of similarities!
   Similarity number one is Big Dan T! compared to the Cyclopes. In the movie, Big Dan wears an eye patch over one eye, attacks Delmar and Everett, and then procedes to squash Pete the Toad (This part of the movie is priceless). Also, there's another similarity with this as well (the burning cross), but I don't wanna spoil that part.
   The second parallel is "Them syreens who loved him up and turned him into a... horny Toad." The three women at the river washing clothes seduce Pete, Everett, and Delmar with their singing, but instead of drowning the guys, they plan on turning them in to the Police. Also to go along with this is Circe. In "The Odyssey", Circe turns Ulysses' men into pigs after they drink her wine and eat her food. In this case, dear ol' Pete gets turned into a horny Toad, according to Delmar.
   Another similarity is when George “Babyface” Nelson is fleeing from the cops and begins to shoot the cows because he hates cows. This could be related to the killings of the oxen of Helios, god of the sun. Also, the Devil man and his hound are like Neptune, constantly tracking the trio down. Another thing is that Everett's wife is named Penny, short for Penelope.
   Ulysses Everett McGill (I am going to make Monika name her next cat that) also shares many personality traits, such as diplomatic sweet-talking, high intelligence, leadership skills, and his ability to talk himself out of tight spots... and now I'm laughing about the barn thing. Also, Pete and Delmar are like Odysseyus' crew, because they are so loyal to him, even after he steals from Pete's kinfolk. Last, but not least, suitors are after both Everett's and Ulysses' wives and both men return to their wives in disguise.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

   "A Good Man is Hard to Find" was not my favourite short story. The grandmother was okay in some parts of the story, like when she was talking with The Misfit at the end, but other than that, I couldn't stand her anymore than any of the other characters. June Star and John Wesley were absolute BRATS (especially when the lady at Sammy Red's told June Star she was cute and how she would love to have a little girl like her) and the mom and dad just didn't seem to care much about anything. The grandmother seemed kind of racist as well when she told the story about her suitor, Mr. Edgar Atkins Teagarden, and how he left her the watermelons. When she said how the little African-American boy ate the watermelon that said E.A.T. I felt she was making fun of him for what he did.
   Therefore, I was pretty happy when they died at the end. Of course, no one deserves that, especially by murder, but of all the people that it could have been, I'm glad it was their family, since I hated the characters.

The Odyssey 9-12

   One week until the British are coming, the British are coming!
    The Odyssey reading went well this week as well. I liked Ulysses' adventures, he's so much more interesting than Telemachus (he's a few apples short of a bushel). My favourite part was when he went to Cyclopes' island. It reminded me of how you have the stereotypical horror movie in which it's a lovely fall day. A group of teenagers decide to spend that day exploring a haunted house after they accidentally throw a baseball through the front window, or see Sheep and food in Cyclops' cave. However, the smart person in the group (who is not Ulysses in this case) says, "Let's go, this place is bad and scary. If we don't get out of here with whatever we want, we'll be killed." No one, surprisingly, listens (if they did, no one would like the story due to a good plot line being taken away), and people get killed. Also, they don't get the baseball, or if they do, it's not until the very end. So what I'm basically trying to say is, Ulysses diplomatic tendencies get him in trouble in this chapter. His jeering at the Cyclopes, which Neptune apperantly adores and dotes upon, didn't help either, and Ulysses (who was a few chips short of a cookie) should have chewed his words before spitting them out.
   My second favourite part was when Circe turned Ulysses' men into pigs. It sounded like something out of a Disney movie, with more description. When she turned them back, though, was even better. It was like she recycled the guys and turned them into stronger, faster, more youthful versions of theirselves. Therefore, Ulysses got a new bunch of sailors for free!
   So the rating for books 9-12? Nine out of ten!

The Odyssey, 5-8

   Cheerio! I'm happy, I shall meet a Brit in only two weeks!
   Anyway, to "The Odyssey"...
   I actually started to really get into "The Odyssey" this week. It's one of those books that start out kinda slow, up then really pick up speed. I also have decided Ulysses is my favourite character, and found myself wondering how his son could be so dull at times. Not that I don't like Telemachus. I do, but after book two, it basically was that he just kept meeting people and telling the same story about his dad and the suitors again, and again, and again.
   Ulysses rocks, though. It must be something about the personality his character was given, but he was a "magnetic" type of person. I kept wondering what he would do next, and how. I even got worried about him sometimes. For example, when Neptune sent the storm to try and drown him, I was hoping Ulysses wouldn't drown. I was pretty sure he wouldn't, but hey, this is ancient Greek mythology.
    My other favourite thing was how Minerva disguised herself as a little girl. I know in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't rank that high, but the scene it created in my mind was very sweet. It reminded me of this opera song Mozart wrote, called Ricette. It's about young girls bringing roses to a local countess, or in Ulysses' case, a young girl bringing him to a feast and house. I thought it was good that she gave him a fog covering. :)
   The suitors, on the other hand, I love and hate. They cause so much drama in the story that keeps it flowing and suspenseful, but they are so awful. I just want to pick them up and throw them out!
   All in all, I liked this part of, "The Odyssey". Can't wait to start reading it again.

"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. . . ."

   This week I read the book "Jacob Have I loved" by Katherine Paterson. The book is about a girl named Sara Louise Bradshaw as she grows up on a small island in the Chesapeake Bay. Ever since she was a little kid, Louise's twin sister, Caroline, has been the favourite, and not just in the family. Louise tells her story from her late preteen years to adulthood as she attempts to break away from her golden sister's shadow.
   I loved this book. It was sad and bittersweet. Sad because Louise has practically never gotten the many things that she wanted in life, like an everlasting friendship with Call, to be put first in the family just once, to be seen as pretty, and be loved. The bittersweet part was that in the end, Louise not only was loved, but she spread that love around and tried to make better lives for others like her (I shan't spoil the book by telling who she helped). My favourite character was Captain Wallace. Although he did pay attention to Caroline quite a bit, he also made Louise feel special. I bet he owned some kind of Dale Carnegie book (if those existed back then) that helped him help Louise. Or maybe he just had a ton of empathy. Either way, he was a wonderful character who was always sincere. I admire him greatly for that. My least favourite character was Louise's insane grandmother. She was deeply religious (not that that's a bad thing) and used her religious views to hurt others, like when she called Louise's mother a "scarlet woman" and called told the family Louise was evil since she "admired" the Captain (she did, but not in THAT way), and he "liked" her back (not in THAT way).
   All in all, I thought "Jacob Have I Loved" to be a really good book. I recommend reading it. Also, I don't know if this post was supposed to be on The Odyssey or not, but if it is, I'll update it as soon as I know.

The Odyssey

   Hey again.
   I just finished the Odyssey, and I really don't know if I like it, or dislike it. I think it is one of those books that starts out slow, and then gets faster and more interesting as you go along. Telemachus seems like one of those people who brood over everything and don't really take anything in, but listen when something is important to know. I also like Minerva in this segment. Usually, I picture her as the goddess with a lot of mental toughness who's all, "suck it up dude," but she seemed to have sympathy and good advice for Telemachus in book 1.
   So yeah, basically, as we get further into the book, I'll see what happens.
  Tschus allah, Jenna Chambers.
 

My Summer Reading

   This summer, went by so fast, it was amazing. However, due to a mixture of cross country, babysitting, road trips, tests to study for, theatre, and parties I didn't get in nearly as much reading as I wanted to. I still did some though. Here are my favourites.
   The first book I read this summer was "Great Expectations", by Charles Dickens. I personally wasn't a big fan of the book. The only characters I really liked were Mrs. Joe and Mrs. Havisham, due to their eccentric personalities and background stories. Pip always seemed either insecure, lovesick, or naive. Estella on the other hand, was just plain nasty, even though I did feel a bit sorry for her in the end. I loved how the setting of Pip's childhood was described though. It was a tad creepy, but still comforting.
   I also read "To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee. This was probably the best book I have read in a long time. I felt very nostalgic when reading about Maycomb, like I could picture the place. Another thing was I could totally sympathize with Scout on "growing up" with guys and then starting to grow apart as you got older. All in all, I felt very touched by the story. Not in a sobbing, teary-eyed way, but more gently.
   As shamed as I am to admit it, the third book I read was Stephanie Meyer's "Eclipse". I thought that maybe Twilight's third book would be better than the first two (how wrong I was), and that it would give me important background info so I wouldn't be confused when I saw the movie. From what I read though (I quit halfway through), it was just the same. Bella was still a feminist's nightmare, Edward was controlling, and Jacob was nice and forgotten. Basically, the whole book was:
                   Edward: Will you, Isabella Swann, do me the honour of marrying me?
                   Bella: Yeah...
                   Jacob: Hey, Bella, wanna make out?
                  Bella: Yeah...
   What a stupid book.
    Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" was the fourth book I read. It was okay, but not anything I would recommend. Although the story was fun to analyze, read, and tragic, the story just didn't do it for me. Romeo was immature, and made too many rash decisions. Juliet, on the other hand, was the product of her time, even though she quickly matured as the play moved along.
    The last book I read, and completely adored was "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffery Eugenides. Although it was actually quite depressing, it was intriguing as well. Since the point of view was of the teenage boys observing the mystery that was the Lisbon girls, it was refreshing, like a breath of fresh air. You knew what was happening in the book, but it was from someone who never knew the full story. I would recommend this book, but it has several very sensitive and dark subjects, such as gruesome mass suicide, and some self-harm.
   Auf Wiedersehen! Jenna Chambers