Book Lists

Here is Crazy's list of books that would, ideally, be taught in a high school. Here are those which I have read, or will read:

-The Odyssey, unfortunately

-selections from The Canterbury Tales are next year

-so is The Scarlet Letter

-selections from Emerson, but at church, not school.

-selections from Thoreau, although I read Walden during the summer.

-Little Woman, but I read that, for myself, in elementary school

-Jane Eyre, a summer book, again.

-A Tale of Two Cities, in sophomore English

-Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and A Midsummer Night's Dream

-The Sun Also Rises, which I'm midway through. Also, Crazy wrote the following: "I like it better than A Farewell to Arms and HUGELY better than that stupid story where he chases around the fish." I agree with her whole-heartedly.

-The Great Gatsby, which I read this fall

-a short story by Woolf

I'm rather appalled that she didn't include Catcher in the Rye, which really ought to be on any list, in my opinion.

I also found a list here of thirty books everyone should read before their 30th birthday:

1. Sidartha- from what I've heard, I'll pass, although it supposedly helps on SATs.
2. 1984- I should probably read that one eventually.
3. To Kill A Mockingbird- I read it in eighth grade, and, to be honest, I think it's a bit overrated.
4. A Clockwork Orange- would have been better if Otis hadn't spoilt it.
5. For Whom the Bell Tolls- it's Hemingway, and not Old Man and Sea, so maybe I'd like it
6. War and Peace- sounds long and painful
7. The Rights of Man- is written by Paine. More or less pain than War and Peace?
8. The Social Contract- Rousseau. This is not a novel. I will not read it.
9. One Hundred Years of Solitude- anything that "does not have a plot in the traditional sense" does not seem as if it will be a great deal of fun.
10. The Origin of Species- well, that might actually be fun.
11. The Wisdom of the Desert- sounds like something my mom would read before forcing a new supplement on me.
12. The Tipping Point- Malcolm Gladwell. Can I leave it at Outliers?
13. The Wind in the Willows- never heard of it. Sounds nice, though
14. The Art of War- military strategy. blech.
15. The Lord of the Rings- I've read some. Vastly overrated, again.
16. David Copperfield- I started it and liked it, but we read it in school next year, so I didn't want to do the whold thing.
17. Four Quartets- poetry? I'll pass.
18. Catch-22- this I'd rather like to read.
19. The Great Gatsby- been there, done that.
20. The Catcher in the Rye- see #19
21. Crime and Punishment- sounds foreign and confusing. What fun!
22. The Prince- Machiavell. Will probably destroy my optimistic worldview
23. Walden- I read it. Loved it. Highly recommend it.
24. The Republic- Plato. Not a novel. "Gripping and enduring" makes it sound like bad sex.
25. Lolita- this I'd like to read.
26. Getting Things Done- self help. I'd really rather not.
27. How to Win Friends and Influence People- more self help. And it sounds snooty.
28. Lord of the Flies- I've always wanted to read that one.
29. The Grapes of Wrath- I'm sorry, but I really just don't like Steinbeck.
30. The Master and Margarita- Emily read this, our teacher hadn't heard of it, but it's apparently quite good.

Yay books! Yay reading! Now, back to Hemingway.

Book Sale!

At the library book sale, I bought the following:

Kiss Me, Annabel, by Eloisa James - total bodice ripper, one of those ones where you can open up the first flap of the cover and see semi-clothed kissing people. I'm looking forward to it immensely.

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding. I read so many references to it, I think I should read it.

Ophelia Speaks, by Sara Shandler. It's something of an extension to Reviving Ophelia, so I thought I'd give it a go. Plus, it was only a dollar.

The Queen of Second Place, by Laura Peyton Roberts. The first line on the back is "You know what four words a girl never wants to hear a guy say? You're a great friend."

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien. It's was 50 cents, and I read so much fantasy that is derivative of LOTR, I thought I should read it.

The Mozart Season, by Virginia Euwer Wolff. It looked pretty. I like music. Perfect match.

Dreamcatcher, by Stephen King. If this is the one Stephen King book that Otis ruined the ending of (and I don't remember which it is) I swear to god, I will steal all his books and cut out the endings.

A Woman of Substance, by Barbara Taylor Bradford, which my Mom said I should read.

Then I went to Barnes and Noble and bought an SAT prep book. I wanted to get Barron's again, since I had thought that they were good for the SAT-II. So, Mom and I went into the store and asked for SAT books. We were shown a shelf that was literally covered in books about APs, SATs, and SAT-IIs. I found the Barron's one, and they had three books: one for the PSATs, one for the SATs, and one thinner book entitled SAT 2400, Aiming for the Perfect Score. The normal one was bigger but cost the same amount, so I wanted to get that one, but Mom was like, no, you've already had exposure, get the good one, so we did.

It is by far the most pretentious thing I have ever read. It contains such helpful sentences as "A word list a day keeps the average scores away!" and goes on about how by getting higher than a 700 on all three parts, you're in the top 5% of test takers, and this book helps, and on and on and on. I feel like they're trying to capitalize on the intellectual insecurities of readers. I think the authors are figuring that the only people who buy this book are really thinking about all that. It makes me feel rather silly, to be honest. I mean, yes, I would like to do well, but I'd rather be able to study without being constantly reminded of the pressure, thank you very much. And, aside from that, I was under the impression that the '2400 hundred club,' as the book calls it, was made of people who actually got a 2400, not just those over 700 on all three parts. I'll still use the book, though, regardless of how silly it makes me feel.

This little piggie...

Mom thinks that Shelby has swine flu, so she's taking her to the doctor's for a test. Also, if it is swine flu, Shelby can't come on vacation, because she'd be contagious for seven days after the first onset of symptoms. If it isn't flu, then she can't come unless her fever goes away. Regardless, Mom and I aren't leaving until Wednesday at the earliest.

In other news, I'm pretty much done with my room. The most amazing part is that you can see the floor.

Also, a couple nights ago, I babysat one of my neighbors. We watched the third Harry Potter movie and argued about whether Ron and Hermione were meant to be together (he couldn't understand why they fought so much if they actually liked each other). Then, around 11, I got home and went on my computer. Kathrya and I started facebook chatting about the compare people application. Basically, we both pulled it up at the same time and laughed at all of the ridiculous comparisons.

For instance, would Kathrya rather sleep with her brother or some weird ugly freshman? Is Will hotter than Bryant? Is Bryant or Josh more cuddly? Kathrya repeatedly got ones about Bryant.

On mine, I got rid of my 'interested in' back when my mom got a facebook, so that she couldn't tease me about it. So, mine were fairly gender neutral, but mostly guys. For instance, is Will sexier than Isabelle? (I said that he wasn't) Would I rather marry my camp-friend's ex-boyfriend or my father? (I skipped that one) Then, I started getting Mario. Repeatedly. Who is hotter, Mario or Otis? Is Mario or Chris a 'better catch.'? I started panicking into the fb chat.

"KATHRYYYYYYAAAA!!!!! WHY DOES IT KEEP TALKING TO ME ABOUT MARIO?????"

"I DON'T KNOW! WHY DOES IT KEEP TRYING TO GET ME TO SAY THAT BRYANT IS HOT??"

"This is awful. I blush at the computer screen every time his name comes up."

"ha."

Needless to say, it was somewhat ridonkulous.

other interesting questions: If Joanie (the talkative) and Dan (I can't identify the back of his head) got into a fight, who would win?

Also, Vicky would probably appreciate it if everyone would post their schedules, because she doesn't have a facebook, so can't obsessively check everything like I do.

Hugs

First, a quote, courtesy of Otis in my English class.

"If nobody voted, there would be no votes."

Now, onto current events. According to this article, hugs are the latest social trends. Apparently, we teenagers hug everybody, all the time. Now, I may not be the coolest kid on campus, but I'm not blind, and I definitely do not see that much hugging. Yes, I do hug a few of my closest friends, but I'm hardly a hugging maniac, and I haven't really noticed other people hugging excessively.

Thoughts?