On a long enough time line, everyone's survival rate drops to zero.

I finished reading Fight Club a few days ago. It was pretty good. There was a lot of interesting stuff to think about in it. Here are just a few little excerpts.

"That old saying, how you always kill the one you love, well, look, it works both ways."

"We don't have a great war in our generation, or a great depression, but we do, we have a great war of the spirit. We have a great revolution against the culture. The great depression is our lives. We have a spiritual depression. 

We have to show these men and women freedom by enslaving them, and show them courage by frightening them."

Hello... is it me you're looking for?

I have been thinking about making a list of books I would like to read this year.
I am going to start one, and I will probably add to it later.
Here goes, I would like to read:

- The Great Gatsby -- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- 1984 -- George Orwell
- The Grapes of Wrath -- John Steinbeck
- Les Miserables -- Victor Hugo (maybe)
- The Big Sleep -- Raymond Chandler
- Mother Night -- Kurt Vonnegut
- While Mortals Sleep -- Kurt Vonnegut
- Look at the Birdie -- Kurt Vonnegut

That is all I can think of for now. I am really really fighting the urge to re-read both the Harry Potter and the Hunger Games books. I said I wanted to read 18 books this year, and although I didn't say it, I meant new books. So far I have read 8. And technically I have read two of them before, but that was at least 4 years ago, so it doesn't count.

I thought it might be interesting to try and make a list of every book I have ever read. Of course I won't be able to remember them all, but I can probably get most of them. And by books I mean novels that I read past elementary/jr high school. I wouldn't have a hope of trying to remember any of the books I read that long ago. Maybe I will attempt it sometime.

I think I will also make a list of movies I would like to see. So often I just watch whatever because I can't think of the movies that I really want to see. If I made a list, I would always have a place to go to when I wanted to watch a movie. Then I would probably watch less crappy movies and more movies that I legitimately want to see. Perhaps I will see how many of those I can think of now too:

- The Wind that Shakes the Barley
- J Edgar
- Gangs of New York
- Body of Lies
- The Ides of March
- Fight Club (I have seen most of it, but I missed the first half hour)
- The Godfather
- Pulp Fiction
- Braveheart
- Winter's Bone
- Shutter Island (maybe, I can't decide if I am too scared to watch it or not)

In the water I am beautiful.

My favourite stories in this collection were:

- Harrison Bergeron

- Who am I this Time?

- Welcome to the Monkey House

- All the King's Horses

- D. P.

- Unready to Wear

- EPICAC

"Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?"

-- Kurt Vonnegut

Welcome to the Monkey House.

The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.

Some things about living still weren't quite right, though. April, for instance, still drove people crazy by not being spring-time. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away.

It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was turned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.




I am reading another Kurt Vonnegut and thoroughly enjoying it. It is a book of short stories. This is the first three paragraphs of one titled, 'Harrison Bergeron.' Doesn't it intrigue you? I was insistent on buying this Vonnegut collection because I had read a description of this particular short story. The book is called 'Welcome to the Monkey House.' 

You've got to go through it to get to the end of it.

I have finished the Hunger Games trilogy.

I read them rather quickly. They were gripping and kept me interested.

It was one of those stories that can't have a happy ending. Even if it turned out how you thought it might at the beginning, when you get to the end it is not satisfying and it seems sad rather than happy. Like the Lord of the Rings. You spend the whole story thinking that if Frodo can just destroy the ring, everything will be happy again. But when he does, its not. The characters have been through too much to ever really be happy like they were before. At least not for a long time. This book had that same sort of ending. I am interested to see how the movie they are making of the first book turns out. It will probably be a disappointment, as most book to movie transitions are. But who knows, maybe it will be alright.

This brings my 2012 book count up to 7. Thats pretty good considering it is only January 14th. However, I think I am going to have to turn my attention to textbooks now. The trouble with me is that I am terrible at reading books slowly and only a bit at a time. Especially if they are really good books. The 'read a chapter or two a day' thing doesn't work well for me. If I get hooked, I keep reading. And so, starting books during a semester is really an act of self-sabotage. But I still may attempt it. 

2011 Booklist.

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• 
  
• 
  
• I really only started keeping track at the start of May, but these are the books I read last year. I don't think there were any that I read in the spring, I was pretty caught up in school and textbooks.
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Animal Farm -- George Orwell

The Woman in White -- Wilkie Collins

Pirate Latitudes -- Michael Crichton

Fahrenheit 451 -- Ray Bradbury

Oliver Twist -- Charles Dickens

Slaughterhouse Five -- Kurt Vonnegut

The Perks of Being a Wallflower -- Stephen Chbosky

Nine Stories -- JD Salinger

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time -- Mark Haddon

Cat's Cradle -- Kurt Vonnegut

Hocus Pocus -- Kurt Vonnegut

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone -- JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -- JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -- JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince -- JK Rowling

My reflections on these books are as follows:

The Woman in White was recommended to me by a friend. I was everything they said it would be. I enjoyed it immensely. Good book

I was not impressed with the Michael Crichton book. I thought I would try out some new, popular, mainstream fiction. It was a mistake. It was not a terrible book, but I felt like I was reading fluff. This is probably because I am used to reading books by Alexandre Dumas, and Dickens, and other dead people. I always find it weird to read books whose authors are still alive.

I love love loved Fahrenheit 451. It spoke to me deeply and made me feel guilty for not getting through the Iliad or for ever saying something like, "old english is too hard to read" or "I wish they would make a summary (or movie) of that." I think this book may become one of my favourites, I think I need to read it again before I make any declarations though.

I thought I knew the Oliver Twist story from watching Oliver and Company when I was little. Turns out I didn't at all. The only other Dickens I had read before this was Great Expectations, which has quite a slow part in the middle that was a bit hard to get through. I was worried that this was simply Dickens' style. It is not. Oliver Twist was super exciting the whole way through, I quite enjoyed it.

Slaughterhouse Five was absolutely nothing like what I expected. Not that I was really expecting something in particular. But it was nothing like I thought it might be. I liked it quite a bit. I also found that I quite liked Kurt Vonnegut's style.  You will see from the list that I read two more of his books. I have 2 or 3 more waiting on my shelf to be read as well. I quite enjoyed Cat's Cradle. And Hocus Pocus was written in a very interesting way. 

I didn't quite finish the Harry Potter series in 2011. I read the last bit of Deathly Hallows on Jan 1. So it will go on the 2012 list. I loved these books. I loved the story and the world JK Rowling created. I will read these books often I think.

Seventeen books. My goal is to beat that in 2012. And not with short, terrible books for just numbers. No. Good books that I actually want to read. And at least 18 of them. I will post them on my new book list as I finish them. And maybe blog about what I thought of them. I even already have some up. Look over to the right and see.

*picture found on weheartit.com. Originally found on http://marytheresaforde.blogspot.com/?zx=f684fca1cfd7b7d7

Those in deepest darkness fight most valiantly for the light.

I am back to school. I had an incredibly stressful day today trying to figure my schedule and grad requirements out. But luckily for me, everything actually turned out okay. I think. I have two classes which I am pretty much locked into taking that I haven't actually been to yet. So they could potentially turn out really bad. But I think they will be okay.

I read a lot over the Christmas break. I will be updating all my reading lists and such in the next couple days.

I finally finished a book trilogy that I started around 5 years ago I think it was. The author, Christopher Hopper, wrote and published the first two books (The Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie) within a year or two. And then he wrote the third book (Athera's Dawn), but had a bunch of trouble with publishers. Finally, after years of waiting, he self-published the series and the final book came out at last (you can even read them for free on his blog if you so wish, personally, I despise reading off a screen). I should mention here how the second book ended with the most insane cliffhangers ever. It was one of those books where there are several story lines going on at the same time. It made up on inclusive story, its just that characters were in different places and doing different things at times. Anyways, at the end of the second book, the story was happening in around 5 different places. And it ended with insane cliffhangers in every one. If you don't believe me, read this:

"If it needs to be said again, I'm a far more spontaneous author than I am an outlined author. I tend to write from the seat of my pants. There are pros and cons to each of the polarized extremes, but it's the former that tends to excited me the most. For if I don't know where things are heading, I'm confident that my readers won't either. I ended The Lion Vrie on what's easily considered a far more tumultuous cliffhanger than Rise of the Dibor. The main reason for this is that I wanted to paint the characters into such perilous positions that not even I could foresee a way out. Literally, I wanted to be as clueless as the reader. And I was."

- Christopher Hopper

I read the final book within 24 hours I think. I had forgotten how gripping they were. Since I had read the first two books before, I kind of knew what to expect when I read them now. But when I got to the third book, it reminded me of how I felt when I read the first two books for the first time. It was that "I absolutely can't put this down" feeling. I think part of that is since the story is usually going on in more than one place, the author jumps around from place to place. Kind of like the Lord of the Rings books do. Only Christopher Hopper tends to stay in one story for only a chapter or two at time. And often just before moving on to a different story, there is a little bit of an intense moment or cliffhanger.

If you know me well enough to have ever talked books with me, there is a good chance I have ranted to you about this book series. I waited for years. Not, on-the-edge-of-my-seat waiting, but still waiting. I checked every few weeks at first. Then every few months. When it occurred to me I would peruse Mr Hopper's blog looking for any sign of a release date. I am happy to finally have the closure of finishing the series. The characters are no longer stranded in sure-death situations in my mind and I finally have a conclusion.


*The title of this post is the line from the back of Athera's Dawn

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

It has been a while since I have posted. If you want to know what I have been doing, you could check out my booklist to the right of the screen. You will see that I have been reading. I have been reading Harry Potter and quite enjoying it. I have read five books over the last weekish. I expect I will be finished the series within the next week.

Exams finished well enough. It has been nice spending time at home with no school or textbooks. I really enjoy reading and don't get to do it much during the school year. I got a bunch of new books in the last month. I am trying to get a bunch of reading over the holidays. And hopefully I will be able to continue reading into the semester a bit, before things really pick up school-wise.

Deathly Hallows.

Last night I finished watching that Harry Potter series.

The ending left me a bit unsatisfied, I am hoping the books will do a better job of tying up loose ends. But it was still a good story. The movie was sad.

Only two weeks of classes left! Then one week of exams, and then home for Christmas!

The Harry Potter books are waiting for me at my house to entertain me over the break. I am also planning to read The Hunger Games trilogy over Christmas or shortly after. I am not sure how long it will take me to get through Harry Potter, I might not get to The Hunger Games until next semester.

When all you've got to keep is strong.

I finished another book!

Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut.

I like his books. I have a few more lined up to read at some point.

However, I should really start spending my reading time reading textbooks.

It is 3 weeks in and I have only cracked one of my textbooks. And that was because I had to write a paper on the reading.

My humanities heavy semester means that I have 3 classes with big reading components.

Also papers. I would like to try to finish my papers early, but I don't know if that will happen. It doesn't seem remarkably likely.

This morning I fell asleep in the library trying to read a paper for Ergonomics.

I have climbed 5 days a week for the last 2 weeks. I just went climbing again today. My arms are toast. I pretty much exist in a constant state of sore muscles. I really am looking forward to a weekend of rest for my poor forearms.

And the sun is still alive even though it's hard to tell.

So, I realized that my last post with excerpts from Cat's Cradle really doesn't give you any idea what the book is actually about. Haha.

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. So here's an update. I worked night shift last week. Then I went to camp for the weekend. It was lovely. The weekend seemed so long and I had a wonderful time. I played my guitar, went canoeing (which was quite the adventure), went ropeswinging, played games, and spoke at a campfire. It made coming back to work this week rather unenjoyable. I would love to still be there.

This week I am afternoon shift. I have one more day of work, I leave in an hour. Then it is a long weekend. Yahoo. Three days for me to work on sr 2 camp stuff. The sooner I get everything ready for sr 2, the sooner I can maybe go back to camp.

I loved everything I saw. Good night!

"Nothing in this book is true."

-epigram

"All of the things I am about to tell you are shameless lies."

- First sentence in the Books of Bokonon 

Newt remained curled in the chair. He held out his painty hands as though cat's cradle were strung between them. "No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's..."

"And?"

" No damn cat, and no damn cradle."

- Newt Hoenikker (chapter 74)

"As the poet said, Mom, 'Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been." ' "

- John (Chapter 123)

These have been excerpts from Cat's Cradle, but Kurt Vonnegut.

So I have finished another book.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

If you have never heard of it, it is a book that is written from the perspective of an autistic boy. Which was interesting and different.

I have more recent updates to post about, but I am too tired now. So I will save that for later.

good night.

I finished another book: Nine Stories by JD Salinger.

I have a big decision to make in the next few days.

hey.

check out my booklist. Just to the right of the screen.

It is a list of books I have read so far this summer.

I would have made a 'to read' list, like most people. But, especially lately, I don't pick out the books I plan to read ahead of time. I just finish one and then decide which one I want to read next. I thought it would be funner to list them after I have read them. Also, I think that a small part of me feels more accomplished when I see the list getting bigger. Also, maybe I want to show that off a bit :)

I have been reading so much lately, mostly on my breaks at work, and I am loving it. When I finished school last semester, I wanted to start reading again. Reading things that weren't textbooks. However, it took me quite a while to get into it. For the longest time I just wasn't at all excited about reading. Then once I made myself start, I haven't stopped. We shall see how much I can get through before the summer's done.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is my last day of work before my 30 days off. There is always a chance that I could still get called out during that 30 days. If they need me on weekdays, then they will have to transfer me from a casual employee to a summer student. And if that happens, my hour restrictions will be gone. But that is not super likely.

Today I slept through my alarm. I woke up 40 minutes after I had to leave to drive to work. I was 35 minutes late. I've never been more than 10 minutes late before. But my charge-hand likes me, and didn't even make me work through any of my breaks or make up the time. That is the one good thing about being at the mill right now. Even though everyone else may not be treating me well, Larry always does. If you work hard for someone, it usually pays off.

good night.

Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.

     "Welcome aboard, Mr. Pilgrim," said the loudspeaker. "Any questions?"

     Billy licked his lips, thought a while, inquired at last: "Why me?"

     "That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?"

     "Yes." Billy, in fact, had a paperweight in his office which was a blob of polished amber with three ladybugs embedded in it.

     "Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why."

          - Kurt Vonnegut

So it goes.

I hope you have enjoyed my excerpts from Fahrenheit 451.

If you have not read it before, I highly recommend it. It is the best book I have read it quite some time. I found it very applicable to life and somewhat prophetic.

Then I read Oliver Twist. It was much more exciting than Great Expectations.

Now I have just finished Slaughterhouse Five. Let me tell you, it was not what I was expecting. If you thought, 'Slaughterhouse Five doesn't have aliens or time travel in it.' You were wrong!

I think that I like Kurt Vonnegut's style. I will have to read another book of his and see. It reminded me a little bit of Catcher in the Rye. Maybe just because they were written in the same era. Who knows.

I spent the last two days at camp. It was nice to be there. The new lodge is very nice and I am excited for how much more convenient it will make camp. I am also likely going back to camp next week for most of Jr 1. Which is very cool. I love the Jr 1 directors and I always try to make it to their camp. I am looking forward to it.

11

Montag looked at the river. We'll go on the river. He looked at the old railroad tracks. Or we'll go that way. Or we'll walk on the highways now, and we'll have time to put things into ourselves. And someday, after it sets in us a long time, it'll come out our hands and our mouths. And a lot of it will be wrong, but just enough of it will be right. We'll just start walking today and see the world and the way the world walks around and talks, the way it really looks. I want to see everything now. And while none of it will be me when it goes in, after a while it'll all gather together inside and it'll be me. Look at the world out there, my God, my God, look at it out there, outside me, out there beyond my face and the only way to really touch it is to put it where it's finally me, where it's in the blood, where it pumps around a thousand times ten thousand a day. I get hold of it so it'll never run off, I'll hold onto the world tight someday. I've got one finger on it now; that's a beginning.

          -Fahrenheit 451

10

Montag turned and glanced back.

What did you give to the city, Montag?

Ashes.

What did the others give to each other?

Nothingness.

Granger stood looking back with Montag. "Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there. It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take you hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts the lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime."

          - Fahrenheit 451

9

"How many of you are there?"

"Thousands on the roads, the abandoned rail tracks, tonight, bums on the outside, libraries inside. It wasn't planned, at first. Each man had a book he wanted to remember, and did. Then, over a period of twenty years or so, we met each other, travelling, and got the loose network together and set out a plan. The most important single thing we had to pound into ourselves is that we were not important, we mustn't be pendants; we were not to feel superior to anyone else in the world. We're nothing more than dust jackets for books, of no significance otherwise. Some of us live in small towns. Chapter One of Thoreau's Walden in Green River, Chapter Two in Willow Farm, Maine. Why, there's one town in Maryland, only twenty-seven people, no bomb'll ever touch that town, is the complete essays of a man named Bertrand Russell. Pick up that town, almost, and flip the pages, so many pages to a person. And when the war's over, someday, some year, the books can be written again, the people will be called in, one by one, to recite what they know and we'll set it up in type until another Dark Age, when we might have to do the whole damn thing over again. But that's the wonderful thing about man; he never gets so discouraged or disgusted that he gives up doing it all over again, because he knows very well it is important and worth the doing." 

          - Fahrenheit 451