In which I reem Twilight

I really don't have time to be blogging when I should be reading, but I just have to talk about this.

I watched "Twilight" at least a year and a half ago and this was my first reading of the book. Before I say what is coming next, I want everyone to understand that I have never said this before. I have been waiting for just the right book/movie duo. Are you ready?

THE BOOK IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE MOVIE!!!!

There, I said it. Usually I fight with people who say it, because, usually, I think it is ignorant to say it. You cannot possibly fit all the pages of a book into a movie. The movie would be eight hours long. And every movie-based-off-a-book that I've ever seen has essentially kept the integrity of the book. Harry Potter, Narnia, The Lord of the Rings.

But this movie? Catherine Hardwicke (director) and Melissa Rosenberg (screenwriter) obviously believed that lying in a meadow staring at one another in silence was the best way to convey their "feelings" about one another. They also didn't believe that we needed to know anything about any of the other characters. Where was all the development of the movie? When I was done watching the movie I wondered, "What does Edward's family have to do with anything?" Every time Jasper walked into a room I wanted to say, "I'm Harpo!" and Rosaline was just angry for no reason at all. The. Entire. Movie. Carlisle and Esme served as little more than smiling parental figures. And who was that broody guy? Oh yeah, Emmett. He hates Bella, right?

No! No, the book says he likes Bella! Rosaline is angry because she is jealous that Bella is a human! Jasper has the power to control emotions in the room! Alice is becoming Bella's best friend! Carlisle is 322 years old! Esme binds the family together!

And how about that other clan of vampires? The ones that are dressed in fur and designer clothes and all have hair long enough to be ponytails? Oh, in the book they are in jeans and plaid shirts? The men have their hair cut short?

I may or may not take some flack for this, but the first Twilight movie? It sucked royally. I haven't seen the other two, but I might have to. It's the macabre fascination I have with cars crashing and burning. And exploding.

At least they kept the long long long inexplicable silences in tact. Sometimes leaving you wondering... "Have they forgotten their line?" No, they haven't. But the subtext we are supposed to read? We can't. Because Edward and Bella have, apparently, never taken acting lessons. I wish I have devilishly good looks to carry me through life. If I only looked like a vampire, things would be so much easier.

I picked up the other three books from Jordan's brother today and they get thicker. I just figured out that to be done by Saturday I need to read 486.5 pages every day. I'm not altogether sure that that is possible, but I will give it my darnedest. I should be able to finish "New Moon" today without any problem. It's the rest of the week that worries me just a tad. It's going to be a nutty week.

Day: 24
Books to read: 97

Sense and Sensibility

I have loved Jane Austen for years. Starting with my lovely collection of Jane Austen works that I bought on my lovely trip to England in May 2008.

The first place we went was Bath. The buildings were magnificent, all of them built before America even existed.

We visited the Roman baths. The awesome thing about England is that they let you touch things. We walked on the same stone floors as the Romans. But it's considerably more dangerous now because the stones are super slick.

This is my delightful husband.

Don't jump in the water.

But the most amazing place we went was this:

Sally Lunn's. Established 1680. Jane Austen herself used to come here for tea.

Here's some proof.

And I got to drink tea here.

And here I drank it.

Immediately after this picture I got excited like a little dog and threw up on their rug. Not really. But the memory of it still brings tears to my eyes. I would go there every day if I lived in Bath.

I ran to a bookstore while we were in Bath and purchased my Jane Austen collection. Which leads me to today when I have read my first 100 pages of Sense and Sensibility. I get the sneaking sensation that I have read it before, so I hope you will forgive me for cheating just a little bit. I don't remember the plot or how it ends at all, so it's nice to rediscover its wonder.

In conclusion, this was sitting outside Sally Lunn's. 5 blog-follower points to the reader who can tell me what the heck it is or come up with the most entertaining guess.

The Beginning

I can't tell the blogging world how many times I have begun a blog. It really is pretty disgusting. Every single time I promise myself that my blog will not be trite, that it will speak to others, that it will mean something. This is sentimental hogwash, probably. Nevertheless, I felt inspired again. So here I am.

In order for me to care about a blog, I think it must be about something outside of myself. My husband is a teacher and I recently sang for one of his choirs. It was the act 2 closer of Little Women: The Musical, "Astonishing." When I asked the girls how many of them had read the book "Little Women," I was appalled. One girl out of sixty eighth and ninth graders. I read "Little Women" when I was ten.

Of course, before I could get too judgmental about these girls, I realized that I hadn't sat down to read a good novel in ages. As a matter of fact, I couldn't remember the last time I read a book all the way through. What ever happened to that ten year old whose mother pried books out of her cold hands?

 Therein lies the reason for this blog. I am sure I will have very few readers, but if I could inspire even a few to being reading again or to pick up a great piece of literature, it will be worth it.

I have decided that by this time next year I will have read 100 books that I have never read before. Some will be novels, others biographies or self-help books. I'm going to start with the shelves in my living room and work from there. We really have an obscene amount of literature in our tiny apartment. It's disgusting.

Right now I have a list of 51 books, but I will add more... I haven't even gotten through my bookcase downstairs. And there's two more to go in our guest bedroom...

Day: 1
Books to Read: 100