Dancing Longer Dancing Stronger by Andrea Watkins and Priscilla M. Clarkson

Title:  Dancing Longer Dancing Stronger:  A Dancer's Guide to Improving Technique and Preventing Injury
Author:  Andrea Watkins and Priscilla M. Clarkson
Genre: Non-Fiction
Length:  296 Pages
Weight:  1.0 lbs
Date of Completion:  May 28, 2013

Thoughts:

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.  

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

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.

Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston

Title:  Earth Unaware
Author:  Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
Genre: Science Fiction
Length:  464 Pages
Weight:  0.5 lbs
Date of Completion:  May 11, 2013

Thoughts:

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!

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

Title: A Wizard of Earthsea
Author:  Ursula K. LeGuin
Genre: Fantasy
Length:  264 Pages
Weight:  0.5 lbs
Date of Completion:  April 28, 2013

Thoughts:

I haven't been able to read much since getting back from that wonderful trip for spring break.  Graduating college is no easy feat, but these classes have seemed hell-bent on sucking the soul out of my life.  Sadly, this semester is not as bad as the last, but I have less and less willpower to do anything.  Talk about a major burnout.  However, I will be officially done with both of my undergraduate degrees in 5 days.  Then I can read to my heart's content.

For Easter, I got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble (my parents know me so well) and I was able to practice some measure of self control by not spending it all immediately.  Last week, however, I treated myself to a trip to the bookstore after finishing my last midterm and homework assignments.  I came home with several more Shakespearean plays to nearly complete that library, as well as an Ursula LeGuin book that caught my eye.  The Earthsea series was recommended to me by several of my book aficionado friends, and I decided to give it a try while carousing the SF/Fantasy section.  

This was definitely a great choice.  Though the Earthsea series is labeled as a young adult (since when has that ever stopped me?), it was more than enough to get me hooked on LeGuin.  I'd like to make it through this series, which shouldn't take long.  I read this entire book in one day.  Granted, I didn't do much else besides church and read, but that makes for a wonderful day.  There is just an elegance about the way she writes; it actually reminds me a lot of H.G. Wells with the imagination of Garth Nix.  I am immediately moving The Dispossessed up on my To Read list.  

For this story in particular, I was just relieved to be able to sink into a fantasy world again.  While I can contribute the feeling partially to my stress level and anxiety with a life full of constant change and unknown (an absolute horror for someone like me who plans everything out far in advance), I felt such a strange connection with Ged.  Through the entire story, I felt his character was so burdened with the weight of this terrible shadow.  It is certainly a great metaphor for my life.  The great thing about this?  Fairy tales were not meant to teach us that monsters exist.  We already know this.  These stories are meant to tell us that monsters can be slain.  I might not be fighting any monsters, this certainly gives me courage to soldier on.  

King Lear by William Shakespeare

Title: King Lear
Author:  William Shakespeare
Genre: Tragedy
Length:  384 Pages
Weight:  0.9 lbs
Date of Completion:  March 17, 2013

Thoughts:

William, William, William.  In my opinion, Shakespeare has no equal.  His understanding of human nature and his ability to bring it life, both in the pages of his work and on stage, is unparalleled.  When I decided on this challenge, I made a short list of books I wanted to make sure I completed.  The entire collected works of Shakespeare was very near the top.  So, while I have been working my way through the unread stack of books by my bed, I had to sneak in one by Will.  I have so much of my soul in his books, that I feel almost a personal connection with him, so much so that I will refer to him in an overly friendly manner, and call him Will. I wish more people could write with the grace, ease, and wit that is found in Shakespeare's books.  

Reading King Lear brought back so many memories, but more importantly it reignited my indignation at living in such an uncultured society where I cannot go see any of his works performed at any time other than the Shakespeare Festival in the fall.  It is at times like this that I wish I lived in a city with a more active theater community.  I'm a huge fan, but there aren't too many shows.

That short rant aside, I pulled out King Lear at random off of the shelf in a hurry while I was packing my bags.  So, while I was sitting by the pool, enjoying some sun (and more importantly HEAT) for the fist time in months, imagine my surprise to find I had picked one of the books I had read and annotated way back in high school.  I have several versions of different works, including a fancy, leather-bound edition, but I like the Folger library version the best.  I'll be the first to admit that I like Sparknotes while I;'m reading.  There are people much more intelligent and knowledgeable than I am who can expound and clarify where my understanding may fall short.  I will take any assistance to receive greater enjoyment while reading.  

Whenever I read Shakespeare  I am drawn back to my favorite scenes, soliloquies or images.  In this book, my favorite scene is Lear's decent into madness as he wanders amidts a terrible storm.  Particularly, I love the echo of unhinged destruction in the weather.  I can imagine one of those dark and stormy nights with wind that skins your face and hands raw whipping sleets of rain against you.  Thunder crashing as lightning etches across the sky, the only light as Lear crawls away from his cruel family and the remnants of his sanity.  This continues onto the tribunal of Goneril and Regan in a cave.  While Edgar and Lear egg each other on in their madness, you can almost forget that Edgar is only acting.  He presents a convincing loon that fools his own father. 

This madness is my favorite part of the story. I think Will does such an incredible job of showing how a certain sort of clarity often accompanies madness.  It can be like losing your filter, where the simple truth can hold the greatest wisdom.  Gloucester only sees the truth once his eyes have been put out. There is a tragic and poignant beauty in the scene where Edgar, disguised as a madmen leads his now blinded father to his suicide "at the top of the cliffs of Dover."  

With a wonderful insight into the human psyche, I think King Lear does a great treatment of old age.  It is both terrible and fascinating.  Of greater terror is the function of Regan and Goneril.  As they sin against nature to plot the death of their father (and each other), Will portrays them as the ultimate evil.  Afterall, Cornwall only puts our Gloucester's eyes after Goneril suggests it.  That is also something I noticed while reading this.  The tragedies of Shakespeare are incredibly violent, as well as deadly.  You don't exactly get this when all you read is stage directions that say his eye was forced out.  In a play, you can a get a better image of this grisly scene, but even so-that would be a terrible and bloody reality.  

On a happier note, I want to talk about my favorite characters, the Fool and Kent.  The Fool is wise and honest, a perfect foil to the foolish actions of Lear.  His position allows him the freedom to speak frankly with the King, even if it does no good.  As for Kent, his loyalty is the greatest attribute a friend can have.  We all have that friend who is kind and loyal no matter what we do, the friend that we never deserve.  That is Kent, and I think Lear is never thankful enough.

The Mabinogion translated by Jeffrey Gantz

Title: The Mabinogion
Author:  Unknown, but translated by Jeffery Gantz
Genre:  Fantasy-Fairy Tale
Length:  320 Pages
Weight:  0.6 lbs
Date of Completion:  March 15, 2013

Thoughts:

This book was suggested to me by my Amazon book account.  Obviously, I buy an absurdly large amount of books online through them, so whatever algorithm system tracks my account knows my taste in books fairly well.  The combination of Welsh/British culture that I love so much mingled with fairy tales was a perfect match--Medieval Welsh prose tales that contain a twist of the ancient but a common theme instantly recognizable.  Add in a pleasant bit of Arthurian escapades and you have a winner.  I really enjoyed this book and it was a fairly quick read (I have to excuse myself on the time it took to read it as I tried to get into a book in the middle of mid-terms right before spring break.  Bad idea.)  I have so many thoughts about reading this books, but I will try to organize them into some sort of coherent stream.

My first, and overarching thought is that I wish I had read this book in an English Lit class.  With few notable exceptions, I have always enjoyed literature classes.  Not only because I love to read, but also for the opportunity it gave for in depth discussion and analysis.  Those classes helped to build a foundation of thought on which I could pursue literature with a higher degree of skill and comprehension.  Thankfully, this book has a long forward to the body of the work that explains much of the historical context and importance of the branches of the work.

There are still so many things that were unclear; why were certain stories included? The context of several plot layouts and much of the symbolism was lost.  While the cultural content of most of the stories was understandable in the context of the story line, they were filled with completely foreign concepts.  I didn't find a Sparknotes for the book (Yes, I use Sparknotes for books I read for pleasure), so I wish that I had access to more than just an internet search.  English professors, especially those who have a specialization in a topic you are particularly interested in, are a veritable wellspring of information.  

My next thought sort of stems from the above topic.  There were several things that I found strange when reading this.  In one of the branches (stories), the brothers-in-law of the antagonist were given his conquering armies to wreck havoc wherever they pleased as a reward for their assistance.  When they were finished killing and rampaging, they and their men came home with all of the loot (money and women).  To keep the women from contaminating their language with their foreign words and accents, they cut out their tongues.  And this was all written with the same jovial tone as the rest of the story.  I can understand that the traits of conquering and domination through quests was a large part of proving one's worth as a man, but the tongue thing caught me off guard.  It was just thrown in at the end of the story and I had to re-read the passage several times to make sure that I wasn't mistaken in my understanding.  Apparently this barbaric act of permanent silence is acceptable, even commonplace in the ancient world.  Maybe this is just a Welsh thing.

Speaking of Wales, I am supremely grateful that Mr. Gantz translated the Mabinogi into English.  At the beginning of the book, there is a pronunciation chart to help with all of the Welsh names.  Now, I have ancestry in Wales and a lot of experience with foreign cultures and languages, but I could not decipher how to say most of the character's names.  For the most part, I had to resort to the simple and childish method of simply associating the organization of letters to a person without any effort to make sense of them.  This was highly effective, and only became difficult when several characters had similar names, or when a character re-appeared in another story.  Even with the pronunciation guide, I'm still hopeless.  At the very least though, this was a minor inconvenience; it didn't detract from the stories at all.  

Examples:

Pwyll, Prince of Dyved
Manawydan
Penn llwyn on Bwya 
Annwvyn
Arllechwedd

In conclusion, I'm a big fan of fairy tales, both original and retold.  It is always interesting to see how our modern versions differ from the original forms.  I have so many comments about the strange characters and stories, but I think I'll have to end this post with one last thought.  This book was a lot of fun, and I think it is extremely unique and undervalued.  If you can get your hands on this edition (don't go with Guest's), it is well worth the time to read.  

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Title: The Indigo Spell
Author:  Richelle Mead
Genre:  Paranormal Romance/Fantasy
Length:  432 Pages
Weight:  1.2 lbs
Date of Completion:  March 2, 2013

Thoughts:

Ok.  Here it is:  the first of what will likely be many vampirically inclined novels.  Twilight may have given the genre of teen paranormal romance a bad rap, but that doesn't mean that all books featuring vampires and/or vampire-human relationships are terrible.  I saw, I think, a quote from Angeline Jolie who said that she wanted to be a vampire when she was little.  My poor mother understands this;  she was understandably horrified that her 7 year-old was reading Ann Rice and L.J. Smith.

Richelle Mead's books do fall into the paranormal romance category with the whole human-vampire love triangle.  But I like that.  And its not a phase--I've been reading books like this for years.  I do find it odd that my initial reaction to posting about this book is immediately to defend my choice in reading it.  People, including my family, have given me flack for years about my recurring interest in the supernatural-themed books.  I honestly don't care.  If you are interested in this genre, I have several other series I would recommend.  

In comparison to the Vampire Academy series, I think I like this one better.  Sydney's personality is far more similar to mine than Rose.  Also, I'm one to admit that I'd pick Adrian over Dimitri (for myself at least).  Green eyes and a sharp suit are definitely a weakness of mine.  At least he doesn't have glasses and/or a British accent or I'd be a hopelessly lost cause.  This book was a particular pleasure for me as I forced myself to wait until I wasn't so bogged down with schoolwork to lose myself for a few days.  Indigo Spell was released almost a month ago, so the fact that I held out this long is a testament to my willpower.  However, I finished this book in less than 24 hours, so perhaps my willpower isn't quite up to par after all.  I have no shame in admitting that I spent my Friday night at home curled up with a mug of tea and a good book instead of socializing.  Who needs people when I've got a library, right?