Week of 24/2/14: Eleanor and Park

Prompt:  Describe the similarities and differences between the main character and you. Though I was tempted to the playlist prompt, but the whole book talks about music, so I thought it redundant..
Pages: Start to 220

Normally, I wouldn't even bother to read a book like this; a teenage romance set in the mid-80's with the characters saying "I need you" and "I want to eat his face" on every other page.  But the thing that drew me in, besides their promised love of punk rock and new wave music (my two favorite music genres) was the female protagonist, Eleanor.  A larger un-girly girl with huge (not stereotypical 80's huge) red hair with a broken family. I find we have a few things in common.  I also have a few things in common with the male protagonist, Park.  But not everything, which I'm happy about.  I prefer when characters are more foreign to me in personality and the way they go about life, it makes for an interesting read.

Starting with similarities, and Eleanor, the biggest thing I have in common with her is a love for the Smiths and The Cure, and so on with those dark-wave new-wave bands.  Though I hate labeling music.     Now Eleanor's family is a lot worse off than mine, but our parents are divorced, so that counts as a similarity.  One of my favorite things about her is her resistance to makeup and any other fake mass-produced product.  I feel the same way, so I would say we have that in common.  She is built bigger, bigger than I am, but I also have a more muscular, athletic frame.  I love that she's not model-looking or stunningly beautiful because it makes the story more beautiful.  The back of Eleanor and Park even says 'two misfits' so I can totally relate.  Well one misfit here.  For differences, the biggest one that popped out at me was that she hates the Sex Pistols, and I absolutely love them.

Park is not an overly-masculine boy, which makes him a really cool character.  The boy's not afraid to wear eyeliner, he's a keeper!  He and I both share a love for loud, brash, painfully politically honest punk music.  Who cares if they aren;t good musicians or if they can't sing, it's not the point!  A difference between us is that he wears Vans and I wear Chuck Taylors, but that's not a big deal.  We both wear all black whenever we can, and have stereos that get us in trouble because we play them too loudly.  He has a Walkman, I have my CDs.  We both have turntables.  You know, fun stuff like that.  This entire book is fun outlined in sadness and sympathy.  It's not a cry your heart out, or at least not to me, but it's definitely bittersweet.



Oh and anyone who can get what song the poll's quoting from can, like, get a brownie I made.

Aren't they adorable?  Wow, never said that before.

Nonsense poem "Late Night Reverie"

Word key:

Marleve - nightmare

aaroens - alien like creatures

altesers - parasite like birds

ambolenses - evil hounds

mycran - cliche

underquereum - a dream you have in comatose

yolsusll - peaceful and quiet

Last part: You can probably figure it out, they're real words in a different order...

How My Blogging Has Been Improved

Current book: Eleanor & Park 

After reading my earlier blogs, and then my latest blogs, I realized a few things.  One of the most prominent things was word choice.  Over the past few weeks I have tried focusing on my diction, and I think (hope) my blog has improved in that way.  In earlier blogs, I found that my writing was less appealing to a larger audience, which I'm fine with, but blogging has helped me connect with an audience through writing.  Probably one of the most important things I have improved upon is shortening run-on sentences.

A favorite post of mine is back when I was reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.  It was the first time in my "blogging career" that I'd got carried away with my writing, in a good way.  As the weeks progress, I often find myself wanting to write more than the three paragraph requirement, usually, I do.  There are a few things I want to continue working one throughout the rest of the year.  As always, one of those things is word choice.  I think you can never have too broad of a vocabulary, and so I hope to broaden mine.  Another thing is staying on topic, because I often rant a bit or just get bored and move on. Finally, one other thing I think I should work on is adding more to my blogs than just talking about the book for the whole three paragraphs.

Part of a blog I'm proud of 

Week of 18/2/14: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Prompt: What emotions do you feel about your reading? Describe what is going on in the reading that makes you feel that way.
Pages: Whatever was said last week until finish (yay!)

Anyone who reads this book, regardless of age, life experiences, or intellectual capability, will definitely feel a wide range of emotions that this book will stir inside of them.  Of course, this is on purpose. Lord Harry/Henry, or more fitting, "Prince Paradox" lives for a good epigram and will tire endlessly to get the last word in.  This makes many of the book's statements thought-provoking and kind of make you evaluate yourself through Dorian's life and experiences.  I feel as though I make most of my blog posts with the phrase "Spoiler Alert" tacked on at the end, so I shall refrain from doing so this week.  Because I really, really, really, really, really recommend this book to you, or whoever is reading this.  Nobody takes the spoiler alert seriously, and to spoil this book would be to spoil a revelation... A valuable experience really. Really, really, really, really, real-.... Ok I'll stop.

I learned from the 'forward' in this book that Oscar Wilde often liked to think of himself as someone very close in personality to Prince Paradox (that's just a more romantic name, don't you think?) so I can see where this book's multitude of epigrams, which some might call pretentious, but I wouldn't say anything against Prince Paradox.  He's much to cool of a character.  Lord Harry/Henry is one of those character's who you totally are enamored with while seeing/reading about them but in real life, you know you would punch them in the face every time they opened their mouth.  Which makes them even a more fascinating character.  Everybody loves the lovable jerk.

Now I'm beginning to realize I haven't answered your query in the prompt yet.  I have my reasons!  It's basically the same emotion you have when everything just kind of makes sense but it really doesn't.  You want it to make sense so badly yet you haven't had the experience you need to let it make sense yet.  Which leads you into a freaking paradox!  Because as soon as you experience one of these things, it shuts a door but opens yet another one, and another one, and another one!  You see my frustration?  It is one of the most endearing things I find, having to go back and reevaluate something and a book that makes you self-evaluate and entirely changes your opinion.  And then you can't see why you thought something earlier in your life when it is all so clear now.  But it really isn't clear now, because you want to feel this sense of satisfaction again so you're stuck endlessly.  I believe it was Prince Paradox who said something about repeated pleasures being an essential part of life, or something along those lines.  It fails me now, but I will remember it in time.  Kind of like how I will never forget this feeling, a whole new emotion, this book has given me.

"talking too loudly..." Found Poetry

In silence
Head was splintered
Thoughts pressed an insistent finger
A murmur
After midnight
Let me call!
There's something wrong
I'm
tied
up

*I uncapitalized the title on purpose, so don't think I have grammar..*
I decided to draw a person in a straight jacket because something in this poem made me think of someone protesting and speaking their mind, but a higher force of authority decides their opinion is not valid and they should rid society of someone who decides to stand out.  This symbolized conforming to me and the consequences of not doing so.  The words "in silence" are placed over the subject's mouth because well, haven't I made that clear?

"Traveling in Your Imagination" and others... Spine Poetry

My first idea, it's kind of up to interpretation but my idea was getting carried away in your daydreams. The titles were all kind of fictional (well most of them) places and I started imagining what all these places would look like, just as the main character does.  She (because I imagine it to be a gir) tries to experience all these things in real life, trying to get out her shell.  To quote one of my favorite songs (and to sound pretentious whoops) "I tried living in the real world instead of a shell, but I was bored before I even began" and so they never came home.


Recycling a few books here and there but;

For fun;

Week of 10/2/14: Two Voice Poem

Prompt:  Two voice poem
Book:  The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pages read - start to 75
*Just so you know, a lot of the lines in this are actual quotes from the book, I wanted to share them because they are interesting perspectives on subjects that are common.  I love the contradictoriness of this book, along with all of it's paradoxes.*  

             Dorian                                                                                   Lord Henry Wotten

                                                                                                  Ah, Dorian, you are so youthful  and innocent. Do not let humanity take that away from

you. Humanity takes itself to seriously.  It is the world's

original sin.  

Dear God, Henry!  I have never been more                                
fascinated; but do not taint me against life and humanity!
Do tell me, what is your opinion on marriage, I must know,
for there is the most brilliant lady I have my sights on...

Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry

because they are tired; women, because they are

curious ; both are disappointed. 

You know, Basil warned me about you.  He told me not 

to listen to you, but I can't help but to listen to your views,

granted, I don't agree with all of your words... 

Words! Mere words! How terrible they

are!  How clear, and vivid, and cruel!

Words of paradox...

I feel as though I am not using my time to

it's potential.  You speak a lot about this, 

Henry...  I feel as though I am afraid...

Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you.  Be afraid

of nothing.  Let nothing be lost upon you. 

Let me speak, Basil!

Maybe you shall write this down someday? 

You would enlighten many. 

I am too fond of books to care to write them.

Let him listen!

My beauty is being wasted on sitting for portraits.

There you go...

How terrible this is!  I could be doing things now 

Yes...  Go on!  I have all day.

But alas, I have such a short time, I will never be able to

experience everything!

Some things are more precious because

they don't last long, Dorian.

But how you prattle on about experience?

Experience is merely the name men give their mistakes.

But to define is to limit.

What even made you take interest in me? 

Your desire to know, your beauty, and your youthful

passion..

It seems your ideologies and theories are an

excuse for a lack of human emotion, Lord Henry.

I have grown to love secrecy. 

I don't want to be at mercy of my emotions.  I want to use 

them, enjoy them, and to dominate them.  

I see, well I must get going.  Sibyl is to

be playing Juliet to-night.  

Yes, good night Dorian, remember;

The world is changed because you are made of

ivory and gold.  The curves of your lips rewrite history. 

*I thought it wise to end the poem there, I didn't want to rattle on and dilute this poem of it's meaning.  Take these quotes as you will, this book is not for everyone.  But certainly for me.*

My favorite: "Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes.” 

Week of 10/2/14: Where I'm From poem

Week of 3/2/13: The Rook

Prompt: How have your feelings changed as you’ve been reading?
Pages: Start to 80

To be fair to the author, Daniel O'Malley, this is a great idea for a book.  Basically, it about the British Secret Service's supernatural wing that's kept hidden from the general public, the ones who don't have powers.  We start out as the main character loses her memory, and then takes the life (meaning becomes someone who agreed to it, she didn't kill the person who she now has the body of) of Myfawny (rhymes with Tiffany) Thomas.  In that part, I was really interested.  I thought this was a really cool idea and that the writing was clever and unique.  Though I still think those things, now I  am starting to see the author getting carried about with his own cleverness.  Some parts are over-explained, and the plot doesn't go anywhere, but then some parts go by in a flash and usually they're the most exciting parts.

That being said, I'm still interested in reading the book, but not anymore because of the writing or the characters, now it's just the ideas of the book.  One scene that saved a dull section was when Myfawny was recruited to be a Rook.  I liked the backstory, her learning her powers but no one discussing them with her.  As in most supernatural books, she learns of her destructively useful powers in her childhood, using the childhood cliche of falling out of a tree  to give the book a relatable aspect to it, although it's not supposed to. In particular, the scene where Myfawny and her parents are (basically) interrogated about her powers and her adoption into the Secret Service of 'Her Majesty'.  Usually, the government and hierarchy do not interest me, because I do not like them, but when there are like spies and crime involved it's totally cool xD.

Why does everything that I like start with M? Literally the three biggest things I am obsessed with are Myfawny from this book, Moriarty, and Morrissey.  I find it weird... back to the prompt though.  I guess I would call this book a roller coaster of good/boring writing and cool/boring scenes.  That's refreshing to have in a book because it seems like either I really like a book, or I read something like this and I have mixed feelings, which just makes me want to read it more. Also, I have a feeling that this book will be made into a movie and become a cult or huge hit.  Although it might just flop. Such is the case sometimes with unique things.