Title: Dancing Longer Dancing Stronger: A Dancer's Guide to Improving Technique and Preventing InjuryAuthor: Andrea Watkins and Priscilla M. ClarksonGenre: Non-FictionLength: 296 PagesWeight: 1.0 lbsDate of Completion: May 28, 2013Thoughts:So...I'm not a ballet dancer. I'm not any kind of dancer. In all honesty, I can't actually dance. For the health and safety of those around me, I usually refrain from anything that resembles dancing. Why then did I, a bona fide non-dancer, purchase and read a self help book about improving ballet technique? Impulse. Curiosity. Jealousy. Take your pick; any of them work.
When I was younger, I was involved in gymnastics, soccer, and other activities. However, with four young and active children, my parents had neither the time nor the money to support us all in multiple pursuits. We were each given a choice: pick one. Following, as I always do, in my older brother's footsteps, I chose soccer. Thus, for the remainder of my youth and life as an teen, and now as an adult, there are moments when I question that decision.
I never went to ballet classes and learned to be flexible and graceful. I stuffed dirty shin guards and soccer cleats into a bag and played roughshod with the boys. It has taken me years to shake off much of the tomboy shadow. Don't get me wrong, it is who I am and I don't regret the time I spent in soccer. I miss it a lot these days. What I do regret was the complete lack of femininity and grace in my development. I relate this to dance.
More often than not, this nostalgia follows a performance (modern dance, ballet, etc.) that I have attended. I always leave with this insane jealousy eating me up that I never got the chance to try that. The twirling, the jumping, the beautiful, sweeping movement. It is completely ridiculous of course, but I can't help but think how different my life would have been if I had chosen dance instead. For a while, I nearly decided to take adult ballet classes. Thankfully, common sense returned and reminded me that I have NO dance background at all and that attending something like that would simply be humiliating.
I've accepted that I will never be a ballet dancer, but that doesn't mean that I can't be more flexible and graceful. This book goes over basic muscular and bone anatomy, which means I read it with a highlighter and colored pencils. Some habits never go away. I also suffer from terrible IT band issues, and thought there might be information in the book about knee and hip alignment exercises. Turns out, I was right. Though not as detailed as anything in a class would be, the exercises are simple and are meant to be done at home in a private workout session. This is ideal for my situation. I've added it into my morning routine stuff, so I guess we will see what happens.
Title: Good Omens
Author: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 432 Pages
Weight: 0.5 lbs
Date of Completion: May 25, 2013
Thoughts:
I cannot ever find the words to adequately describe Neil Gaiman's work. Witty, sharp, and classic cover most of the basics, but they never seem to convey the vastness of it. I don't remember the last time I laughed out loud this much while reading a book. Intelligent humor is a welcome relief and quite refreshing. Though I've never really gotten into the Discworld series by Pratchett (more due to time constraints and a 4,000 book long to-read list than any dislike of his works), I can appreciate his talent simply from the praise he receives from my peers. As a fan of Douglas Adams, it was easy to get caught up in this world when I first read it, and even more so now that I've come back to it as a favorite.
The British have mastered the art of a dry, scathing, intelligent wit. It is clever satire and entertaining parody; if you don't have the mindset that God can take a joke, this book is not for you. Part of this sharp humor is the ability to laugh at our own religious perspectives and have a sense of humor. Gaiman and Pratchett take a swift kick at the sacrosanct and absurd alike, and don't bother to differentiate the two either. Their irreverent humor makes this book the most enjoyable form of blasphemy I've found in a long time.
This book has everything that is missing from popular literature these days--and nearly as absent from American pop culture. I could go on for quite a while and bemoan the lack of intelligence and cleverness in modern society (specifically the American), but that would mar the tone of this happy post. Suffice it to say that I have far too much European blood to take kindly to the common ignorance.
I thought it appropriate to finish this book on Towel Day, though I would have liked to have done so earlier. So much for a summer full of free time for reading once I graduated. As Neverwhere is also in the pile of books by my bed, it looks like the Neil Gaiman party will continue.
Title: Earth UnawareAuthor: Orson Scott Card and Aaron JohnstonGenre: Science FictionLength: 464 PagesWeight: 0.5 lbsDate of Completion: May 11, 2013Thoughts:
It is official official at this point: I am a college graduate. Now what am I supposed to do with myself? Personally, I think I should just bury myself for days at a time with a book and ignore the rest of humanity. I'm good at that. Didn't get as much of that done this week as I would have liked, but work is stupid and decided to change our certifications. Nothing says "I'm in the process of training my replacement so I can quit" quite like spending time and money to get a certification I'm not going to need in two months.
At a recent jaunt in Barnes and Noble (as I obviously have no self control), I noticed a new Orson Scott Card book. Naturally, I freaked out and it was added to my stack of books. An unexpected purchase, but a welcome surprise. While I know that this story, the history of the First and Second Formic Wars, which are the back story for Ender's Game, has already come out in the form of comics by Card and Johnston, I have to say that novels are always better. Except when it comes to Superman. I'm not a huge comics fan, but I do have all of the Command School comics from Ender's Game. It is one of the few sets I acquired for myself.
Back to this book. It is another 24 hour read, not because it is short or lacking in depth. I read it all day at work. Probably ignored my staff a little bit but hey....I hate working Saturdays. They always go wrong and put me in a terrible mood. At any rate, I found I was unable to put the book down. I liked how Card, who has had this world in his head since the late 70s (conservatively) when Ender's Game was initially released as a novella, has been able to release the entire back story and history of the world in the pre-Formic era. We start Ender's story with a society that already knows it is not alone in the universe. They pulled all of the Formic technology, and it has been incorporated into the lives of all the characters. In this book, however, we see the technological development of mankind, as well as the beginnings of change that come to the government and social structures when you begin to spread beyond the surface of the planet.
Here, the process starts of unifying the world from a series of countries and factions to a singular body of humanity. This will initially be completed by Peter Wiggin as the Hedgemon, and that is a book (the Hive and the Hedgemon) that I would love to have Card write. I think it is interesting how it is an attack that challenges humanity, not a portion of it or a specific group but everyone who can call Earth home, to unite countries and ethnicities. Sadly, I think this is the only way that it would happen in real life. Look at what that type of tragedy does. Think back to 9/11 and, more recently, Boston. Those terrible attacks, which not only killed and injured many, also brought people together. It gave them a cause to rally behind and reinforced the ties of their communities. This is exactly what I believe we will see with the Bugger invasions.
We are also introduced to Mazer Rackham. Back in Ender's Game, we meet Rackham as he trains Ender to be a commander. Card gives us a little information, but it is implied that the man who was responsible(?) for ending the Formic Wars and was kept alive through space flight until they found their next Captain was pretty damn important. Though there was just a very, and I mean very basic introduction of the life that would build Rackham. Mostly, it was an interesting side story of military operations. When they do start on Mazer, that is something I look forward to in the next book(s).
It was fun to see more with Aaron Johnston, who also worked with Card on Invasive Procedures (which I also have). They seem to work very well together and I can't wait to see how they put this whole universe together. I've been careful to stay away from spoilers, as I hope there are several friends who will read this book, but I did love the snide digs that Card made towards what can only be that universe's version of Youtube trolls. Hilarious! This book was already out in mass market paperback by the time I found it, so I am lucky enough to know that the next book comes out in July. It better be before I leave!
