book for march

Surprised by Hope | N.T. Wright

{running list}

Not so very much time for leisurely reading lately.  I have been stagnantly paused in the middle of The Tiger's Wife for over a month now- and not for lack of interest.  Books are dear to me.  So imaginative, so enjoyable, so affecting.  They comprise of end of a days and breakaways.  I miss its escape.

March is not yet over, but I already know that I will not finish any other books in the remaining three days.

Non-fiction has always been a challenge for me- unless it is a history where there is still story.  Stories are and always be what makes my love of reading so deep.  However, I am in a theological book group made up of some very special friends of mine and we meet once a week and discuss difficult questions, try to wrap our minds around heady concepts, and together- we hope for hope.

This book has been read over a series of many months, split in the middle by an intermission to read a part of Eternity in their Hearts by Don Richardson.  There is so much to be said of what I did or did not agree with, what provoked what in me, and where I have more questions,  but that is precisely what book group meetings are for.

inkling:  what words contained  |  © kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

 

1 // the hunger games / suzanne collins

2 // moon palace / paul auster

3 // of mice and men / john steinbeck

4 // catching fire / suzanne collins

5 // mockingjay / suzanne collins

{running list}


lotus lg cellular phone: jesper  |  © kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

of mice and men and best laid schemes

10/29 | Twenty-Nine Days Challenge

I finished Of Mice and Men last night.  As I read, I couldn't help but imagine Lennie and George as Matt Gilmore and Joe Barone portrayed them so powerfully in the truly affective and provoking stage rendition of John Steinbeck's story.  And Stephen Bobbett strumming his Best Laid Schemes on guitar with each piece seeming to fully understand and speak this impressive piece of literature.

Meandering around in photography files, I found this image and it reminded me of the first scene, of talking over canned beans, and the final scene, the end.  I see Lennie and the brushes and remembering just like George told him.

{impossible film project:  hushes in brushes}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

book for january

barely time for one,

but, oh, such a one

1. To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

Absolutely wonderful.

It makes me so sad that Harper Lee

wrote no other books after this

brilliant debut novel.

{Ex Libris}

book for december

albeit belated...

1.  The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

{Ex Libris}

{polaroid with impossible film:  sanctuary - sierra madre, ca}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

books for november

A Spot of Bother

Mark Haddon

The Help

Kathryn Stockett

{Ex Libris}

 

{impossible film:  sierra madre spent}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

books for october

Finding old photographs taken by
a previous, unknown girlfriend of my grandfather's
(or maybe by her family)
who no one seems to know much about,
during his time in Nebraska.

There are many more, which I will share here in the future.

The photographs reminded me of things that I read about in books.

1. Tortilla Flat

by John Steinbeck

2. Breaking Dawn

by Stephenie Meyer

3. Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen

4. This is Where I Leave You
by Jonathan Tropper

{Ex Libris}

books for september

1.

Pilgrimage

Zenna Henderson

2.

Gossamer

Lois Lowry

3.

Dealing with Dragons

Patricia C. Wrede

4.

Searching for Dragons

Patricia C. Wrede

5.

Calling on Dragons

Patricia C. Wrede

6.

Talking with Dragons

Patricia C. Wrede

7.

The People: No Different Flesh

Zenna Henderson

8.
Animal Farm
George Orwell

9.
Talking to Depression
Claudia J. Strauss

{Ex Libris}

{canon powershot : seattle, wa}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

books for august

(albeit belated)

1. Gathering Blue

Lois Lowry

2. Messenger
Lois Lowry

{Ex Libris}


{canon 30d :  huntington gardens, may 2010}
© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

there is yet meaning

I have been thoroughly impressed by Lois Lowry's, The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger.  They are not a series, but rather- companions.

I do not even want to say anything about them because that is the way in which a friend pressed me to read The Giver.  And it was so beautiful and impactful, I would say, because I had no idea what I was picking up, allowing for simply discovering everything on my own. 

   

Please read them.  And I hope to impress upon you not to read the previews or book jackets first.  They are short and simply read, but truly wonderful.

{Ex Libris}



happiness is meeting goals and having time to spare

Happy day!

Status:  Completed

My Challenge: 20 Books in 2011

No. of Pages Read: 5404

Began:  January 2011

Completed:  August 2011

View the Log

And with time to spare feels good.

^.^

*Another off the list

books for june

1.  The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

2.  306 pages of The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

3. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan


{Ex Libris}


{polaroid : books and a street fair}
© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

books for may

1//  Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

2//  The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

3//  The Giver by Lois Lowry

4//  Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord


{Ex Libris}

{canon powershot : kirkland}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

books for april

1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

2. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

{Ex Libris}

 

{canon 30d : Easter Sunday}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

book for march

Well, March holds only one book, so I question whether this qualifies as a list.  The book was incredibly long and time for reading was incredibly short. Alas...

1. Emma by Jane Austen
{Ex Libris}

Overall, I must admit that I was not very impressed, but I will give Pride and Prejudice and some of her other works a try before I write her off altogether. 

The character, Emma, is quite irritating as well as many of others who fill the pages (Mrs. Elton, Mr. John Knightley- Isabella's husband, Mr. Woodhouse, and Miss Bates- though she might be the most loving and humble of them all). 

Many of the characters, especially Emma, are incredibly classist, which irritates further.  Sexism permeates as well, though I must give Austen credit for being above some of this in writing a female lead character who is known in her community for her cleverness and wit (though not seen where her assessments of people are concerned) and a lead male character who would leave his home and property to settle in the home of his wife instead of assume/demand she leave her father to come to him. 

Overall, I found that it was difficult to care very much because hardly anything these characters do with their lives seems to mean much of anything to anyone or to the world.  It truly does nothing to entice me towards wealth.  One of the only truly commendable acts seen, is when Mr. George Knightely gives all his baking apples (every last one) to the Bateses, who are less fortunate than himself.  And yet, most everyone else considers it excessive.

And so, Mr. George Knightely is the most likeable character, but some of his sexist comments bothered me and his affection for Emma shows lack of taste.  I enjoyed when he challenged Emma's actions that harmed others, but he is always so quick to forgive her even though she continues to be self-righteous and judgemental.

Nearly all of the characters talk in long, paragraphical streams and use the word, "scruple" and its variants very frequently, which I wonder- Is due to the time period or the author?

Strangely enough, I still found some enjoyment reading Emma, merely in taking note of Austen's writing style and the vocabularly of the time period.  However, it is definitely not something I would open again unless I were looking to be irritated.

Thus, I cross number twelve off of The List!  And the photograph above, taken last year during a day trip to Hungtington Gardens for my daddy's birthday, seemed to accompany Jane Austen and Hartfield and Donwell. 

{canon 30d:  a day of celebratory roses}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

away on the pages of books

In a push to find the positive, I write about...

For the first time in my life, I am in a book group.  And I am ecstatic about it.  Our readings center around, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, which is a blend of memoir and literary critisicm.  The author, a retired professor, invited seven of her previous female students to join her in a weekly study of Western literature.  The books they read were banned in Iran so the group met in secret.  This book describes their experience.

Our book group is preceding Reading Lolita in Tehran by reading the same books these women read.  So far, the group has read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (I joined the group after this one), The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Washington Square by Henry James.

We met Sunday night to discuss Washington Square over homemade chocolate drizzled macaroons, chocolate chip and powdered oats cookies, clementines, and white wine.  Mikael Taylor facilitated our time and his studies as an English major always provide for interesting commentary and insight.  The rest of us are a mix of post-graduates who love literature and miss school.  Degrees in History, Mathematics, Sociology, Theology, Biblical Studies, Theatre Arts, and Psychology, and various backgrounds in the arts and global studies makes for a very stimulating and varied conversation, analysis, and discussion.  This book, in particular, sparked a lot of conversation about the power of information, feminism, realism, and character psychoanalysis.  My brain loves this!

We are now on to Emma by Jane Austen and I am most excited because I have yet to be introduced to Jane Austen's works!  Having dropped out of high school, I missed out on most of the typical high school reading list.  So, I am thorougly enjoying the experience now at age 27.

Emma is the last book before we open Reading Lolita in Tehran and I voiced my sadness that the group would be concluding our goal soon.  Others felt the same way and everyone warmed to the idea of continuing the group.  Mikael suggested that,  perhaps, each of us could select a book we have always wanted to read and the whole group can continue along.

Love.  it.

{polaroid:  away sailing}
© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

books for february

I read books and they are loveliness of imagination. And I feel quite content when the novel is in my hand and I am in the novel. And I sorely wish that I could stay up as late as I wished, warm in weathered quilts, and read without any repercussions of alarm clocks in early mornings.

This month was for reading these:

1. Washington Square by Henry James
2. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
3. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

{Ex Libris}

{polaroid: wall space}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

books for january

This month, I read some books...

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Stewart
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
4. The Tiger's Rising by Kate DiCamillo
5. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

{Ex Libris}

...and I enjoyed them all.

January held a theme of children's novels (Stewart, Birdsall, and DiCamillo) and it made bedtime feel like Bedtime beneath patchwork quilts and warm, yellow lamps.  The Tiger's Rising  made a distinct impression.  In fact, it rather puzzled me a bit and I could use a second reading merely for the sake of not going through it quite so fast and seeing a bit more.

Books have always held imagination and enjoyment and have always been thought-provoking,  dream-spurring, and altogether lovely.  Lately, such things are more necessary and I am glad to have leaf-s and binding and printed words and bookmarks to hold my place.

{polaroid:  peace in old and moss}

© kimberly k taylor, all rights reserved

Sometimes, this is how the world is to me

My head is hurting in a dull, devious, conniving sort of way... as if it is trying to fool me into thinking I can run around and be at my usual level when that really isn't true.  Meanwhile, my hair is hanging limply (again) and it is driving me wild.  I need to put it out of its misery and cut it or at least ponytail it.  No reason to suffer needlessly, I say.

{Polaroid: Sometimes, this is how the world is to me}

© kimberly k taylor 2009

I need to sleep more.  Why is that so difficult?  Insomnia has no pattern that I can find.  It creeps in and does its little thing- sometimes, and sometimes not.  On some occasions, it comes in the form of restlessness and my mind won't shut off and I toss and turn and all the motion (both mental and physical) makes me feel entirely too alert.  Other times, it lulls me into false hope as I quickly meet my friend, REM, only to wake up three hours before the alarm and groan when sleep proves irreclaimable.  Still other times, it draws me in and out of dreamland with its colorful, tangible(at-the-time), crazy dreams that exhaust me with their intensity and subject and deter peace.  I need to sleep more.

Maybe I need to give myself more of a chance and stop reading in bed to allow for more open hours.  I have been captivated by The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) and every night when I climb into bed, I pick up where I left off and proceed to lose all track of time (how ironic).  The writing is true, raw, like real, then-and-now-and-someday, life.  The characters are wonderful and pungent at times, dry and empty at others.  They impress you and disappoint you.  You admire them and have affection for them, but then you wonder if you'd want to be their friend in real life.  She writes beauty and grit and conflict and pure emotion and intensity.  Nothing is sugar coated, not even love.  I am most impressed at how she masters such blunt realism and stark out-in-the-openness in a book about a man who time travels.  Reality and striking unreality.  She must be brilliant.

Wish me luck on the sleep cycle.

I just set myself up for things...

I realize how very dangerous it can be to sign up for a Rewards Card from Borders. They send me little, tantalizing e-mails with pictures of new novels with titles that call out to me, 40% off coupons on items I've had my eye on, and big blow-out sale notices with eye-catching fonts and colors. What was I thinking signing up for Borders Rewards? It's like asking myself to exercise extreme restraint.

Books really are my weakness. It's so hard to walk away (especially when there's a discount!). Meanwhile, I'm supposed to putting money away for the future.

And does anyone know how long it's supposed to take for a wasp sting to heal? It's been two weeks and it's still causing me grief.