I'm Back

It has been a heck of a couple of weeks around here. I'm trying to catch my breath but life is still whizzing by at lightning speed.

First off, we finally moved; which is why I have not posted lately. For some reason the Theologian sent our internet connection over to the new house a week before the computer. I'm slowly getting over my withdrawal symptoms.

Among all our packing we had two deaths in the family: our beloved Opa and my boisterous Great Aunt. Opa was ready to go so that one was sad but also a relief. We miss him but he is so much happier in the presence of His Lord. My Great Aunt was unexpected and caused more heartache for the circumstances around it. I grieve for my Great Uncle's loss.

We also celebrated a birthday. Our friends were almost surprised that we did anything with everything else going on. But GoldieLocks deserved a couple of hours, at least, of smiling playfulness in the midst of all the anxiety. It really was a much needed relief. It was a pleasure to remember when she joined our family 9 years ago. I'll share the story sometime.

With all this(and more) going on I have had virtually no time to read, or relax in any other way, but the house is slowly getting unpacked, the apartment is empty and clean, and I finally found my shampoo. =)

Yes, I'm Human

I made a big boo boo. I confused George Orwell and H.G.Wells in my post just below. Here I thought my post was pretty good until I read another book with a reference to Orwell's(not Well's) 1984. I went pale. I feel like such an idiot.

This is not the only time I've confused authors. I often morph Twain and Dickens. And who hasn't interchanged the Bronte sisters? Normally I would have checked the bookshelf before hitting send but all my books are packed away. (picture weeping and gnashing of teeth) I suppose I could have checked Amazon. Oh well.

Now I have to decide, do I want to go back and edit my earlier entry or should I leave it as is? Of course I want to change it but then I'd have to get rid of this post all together. No, I think I will keep it up for all the World Wide Web to see. It's my way of saying, "I'm not perfect." Now can we get on with life?

(I'm still thinking the writing in The Island of Dr. Moreau will not disappoint.)

Sharing a Brag

My sister, Pee Wee, forwarded this lovely email from her daughter's teacher.

Good Morning!
I just wanted to send you a quick email letting you know how much I enjoy having [Girly-girl] in class. She is so kind to other students and is always doing exactly what is asked of her. I appreciate that very much! She is such a pleasure to teach.

We are, of course, extremely proud of Girly-girl, though not at all surprised. Way to go! And I am so pleased that she has such an encouraging and caring teacher for her 4th grade year. She will remember this always. Thank you Ms. Teacher!

The Genuine Wells

I, too, dislike it.
Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it,
one discovers, after all, a place for the genuine.
-Marianne Moore in Poetry-

This is exactly how I felt after reading 1984. This book gives me the creeps far worse than Dracula did. I told my brother after reading Dracula that I was glad to know that reading scary books didn't give me nightmares like watching scary movies did. He told me I had no imagination. HA!

But when I read 1984 I was paranoid for a month. It literally made the hair on my arms stand on end. I was demoralized. It definitely was one of those books that changed me.

I reread 1984 recently. Yup. It's still creepy. Poor Winston just can't win, no matter how determined he is to hold on to the truth. But what's frightening is that I can't hold out a hope like I can with other novels I've read with depressing outlooks(Heart of Darkness). There is no hope in the political climate of 1984 as laid out by Wells. I can see it could happen and I can see how there would be no way to fight it. It makes me want to cry.

After the first pass through I considered this a horrible read. I was determined never to read it again. And when it came back around on a reading list I was planning to skip it. But then I thought perhaps I would get something a little different this time, like watching a complicated movie. You pick more up once you know where it's headed. But the second reading did something else to me. Yes, the story and my reaction were both the same but I realized that I love this book. There is a good reason it is always included on every Great Books list. The writing is superb. The reader is brought along without the text getting in the way of the images portrayed. It moves me.

I am preparing to read Wells The Island of Dr. Moreau. I am all pins and needles about it. I expect it to be horrific to my senses while I so thoroughly enjoy the prose. This is what I call titilation.

Motivation Meme

From Booking Through Thursday:

*What is your favorite kind of reading? Novels? Biographies? Mathematical textbooks?

I enjoy novels the most but I also like autobiographies and children's fiction.

*What do you like best about your favorite kind of reading? What keeps you coming back to that kind of book? Following a gripping story? Watching characters develop? Being educated about things and places you didn't know about? Letting your mind relax into someplace completely different?

I like stories. I like to step inside other people's lives, real or imagined, and learn about their experiences and philosophies about life. I take comfort in seeing how other people think and behave differently than me. I'm naturally an emotional person so experiencing the emotions of others is an interesting change. I know a book is really good when I feel the emotions of the characters. And maybe a little of it is also that my life is pretty humdrum and I can live vicariously through these stories. I can ask myself how I would handle the same situation. I want to learn from each person's life so I can be more comfortable and content with my own.

In children's fiction what I want is the fantasy and magic. I want to believe in fairies and unicorns. I want to pretend that I could be a princess. As an adult I know these things are not real but when I'm around children I like to pretend that I am a child that does believe. It reminds me of the best part of childhood.

Change is Good

My little world is changing in big ways.

For 5 years we have moved 5 times, each in an attempt to gain some stability. Funny huh? We moved to Washington state and loved it; but there was no work for the Theologian so we reluctantly moved back to our native CA because this is where all of our family lives. We stayed with family until a job opened up for us. Then we thought, "If we can't live in WA then we should live in the mountains." So for 9 months our family of 5 lived in a tiny 5th-wheel trailer in the mountains. When I just couldn't handle that for one more minute we moved into our current apartment, which was huge compared to the trailer. But now we are bursting at the seams. So we will be moving yet again in less than 3 weeks.

When we decided to move into a house we hoped this would be a little more permanant. It kind of depended on work. Well this week we got some very reassuring news. The company that the Theologian has been working for has asked him to be part of a special department that is made up of the best of the best. They like the kind of work he's been doing and they hear nothing but praise from his coworkers and bosses. This is a big compliment and also a stable position. (Yeah!)

We are all very happy and proud over here today. And now it's time to pack some boxes.

R.I.P. Autumn Challenge

While making the daily blog rounds I came across the Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge. Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings is challenging book lovers to read 5 books between now and Halloween "that you think meet the very open, broad criteria of being scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic, unsettling, etc."

Even though I am moving in 3 weeks and have several other books I deperately want to get through I will be joining the challenge. I pulled these books off my shelves:

1.The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G.Wells
2.The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Loouis Stevenson
3.Lord of the Flies by William Golding
4.Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5.The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

I've been wanting to read most of these for some time now and this gives me the perfect excuse. Anyone else care to join in?