…more books to talk about!  To be fair, half of the books were complete page-turners, and the other half were really super short.  As I’m now taking a reading break and just re-reading Harry Potter (and I know I don’t have to tell you how I feel about those books) I might as well go ahead and fill you in on what I just finished reading…

1.  Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage – Elizabeth Gilbert.  This is Liz Gilbert’s second book, her first being eat pray love, one of my all-time favorites.  This book was by no means a disappointment.  I had a really difficult time putting it down, actually.  While still a memoir, this book is slightly more philosophical and sociological than her previous best-seller.  Having both been through terrible divorces, Liz & her lover (met at the end of epl) decide they will never remarry. 

Unfortunately, when the Dept. of Homeland Security blocks Felipe from ever entering the United States again (where Liz’s home and his business are) the only option they really have is…marriage.  So, Liz Gilbert writes this book in a cathartic manner, and we see her attempts to understand marriage – both sociologically and personally.  It is excellently written and I pretty much adore her, so I love absolutely everything she says.  Frighteningly, some of her concerns with marriage are things I have thought myself – and things I know my friends have thought.  So in that sense, it provides interesting social commentary as well.  Oh, also, I want to be Elizabeth’s Gilbert’s best friend.  Thanks.

2. Angela’s Ashes - Frank McCourt.  So, sometime when I was in middle school, my sister or mother or someone read this book…and all I know is ever since then, I have been told that I *have* to read this book.  It took me literally almost 10 years, but I finally got around to it.  And it was worth the wait.  While an incredibly sorrowful tale, McCourt’s writing is just…phenomenal.  You can really hear each person in his life talking to him.

Additionally, I love how he manages to write from the perspective of the age he’s speaking from.  When he’s six years old in the story, the thought process represented is really that of a six year old.  It doesn’t feel so much like looking back as experiencing.  And obviously, the personal triumph he makes over his life’s circumstances is impressive on a number of levels.  Also, I obviously adore any man who as a child fell in love with the words of Shakespeare…it’s kinda my thing.

To briefly summarize, Frank McCourt was born in NYC, America, at the beginning of the Great Depression.  His parents were both Irish immigrants who had a one-night stand of sorts…and since they were Irish Catholic, had to marry.  From there his parents had 4 additional children Stateside.  After the youngest dies, the family is forced to return to Ireland due to financial constraints.  Unfortunately, while McCourt’s father is an excellent dad relationally, he is a raging alcoholic and does not provide for his family; he drinks while the children starve.  Things do not improve much in Ireland in the wake of the Irish famine…and from there the story continues.

3.  Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor E. Frankl.  To continue my vein of somewhat-depressing-but-truly-inspiring-stories-of-personal-growth-and-triumph-in-extreme-adversity, I read this book, recommended to me by Lovell.  Frankl’s psychological memoir of living through the concentration camps in the Holocaust is incredible.  His worldview is truly profound, and his analysis is articulate and thorough.  There are so many just plain and simple good rules for living in this book…it’s all about how when everything is stripped away from us, literally everything, we still have the freedom to choose how we respond.  Ironically, this is a lot of what work is about for me.  It was kinda scary to be mentally comparing concentration camps to my program…whether from the perspective of the clients or the staff.  But in actuality, I guess it is a lesson that spans across a variety of crises: we can only control our own reactions.  We have no control over other people or circumstance.  The main premise of the book is that man can find meaning in life through either achievements, relationships, or suffering.  The paradoxical comfort in this is that even if no other way is open, there is always at least suffering.  And suffering can always at least bring meaning and personal growth.  Truly amazing perspective.

4.  Identity – Milan Kundera.  So uh apparently I was rereading this book.  It was a strange experience tho to keep thinking “Did I finish this book before?” but I couldn’t remember how it ended.  But once I finished it I was like “Oh yeah.  I did read this book already.”  I had just kind of forgotten.  This is not a criticism of the book – I was in a strange place when I read it the first time, and it’s a strange book, and is even intended to read somewhat like a disjointed dream sequence.  But anyway.  This was heavy on the existentialism.  After the emotional drain from the previous two books, it was kind of depressing to read about the uncertainty and meaninglessness in human relationships.  It’s an interesting little story tho, and I do adore Kundera’s writing.  His ability to portray human relationships and dialogue is seemingly effortless.  He really captures the tension in romantic relationships well, especially in terms of the boundaries between independence and love.  Specifically in this novel, he’s dealing with the question of whether or not we ever really know the person we are in relationship with…and how relationships can change our perspectives of our own identities.  How do we maintain our individual identities in the face of the blending found in relationships and the changes that relationships create in our lives?  Heavy shit.  And ironically, it ties back to Elizabeth Gilbert’s book concerning marriage…hm.

So, there you have it.  Lots of provocative thoughts and ideas from these books, but I do need a bit of a break.  So it’s time for some pure, quality entertainment.  However, if you are wanting to ponder some deep-seated questions about people and relationships, I definitely recommend any of these books.  All are quick reads (even the longer ones, just because they’re so good) and all are guaranteed to make you think.

It’s that time again…book review time!

1. Goddesses in Everywoman, Jean Shinoda Bolen:  So this book is a little difficult to describe, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it as a casual read to just anyone.  But, if you’re into Greek mythology, women’s issues, and Jungian psychology, it’s definitely interesting and appealing.  Apparently it was a very innovative idea when the book came out – utilizing the images of the Greek goddesses to explain and tipify the female psychological archetypes.  I found it pretty easy to understand and thought-provoking.

At the end of the day tho, I could not tell you which goddess myth I identify with more.  But, that was something I liked about the book: she took great pains to point out that women rarely fit solely into one archetype for their entire lives.  Rather a woman might have many different archetypes present within her at different points in her life.  She uses 7 goddesses throughout the book, divided into 3 categories.  The Virgin Goddesses are Artemis, Athena, and Hestia.  The Vulnerable Goddesses are Hera, Demeter, and Persephone.  And Aphrodite is the Alchemical Goddess.  If I had to choose…I guess I’d say this is my order:  First place is a tie between Artemis and Demeter.  Second place a tie between Hestia and Hera.  Then I’d say Aphrodite is third, Athena fourth, and Persephone the one I identified with the least.  But I don’t know.  Whichever chapter I was reading I seemed to identify with.  Oh well.

2.  The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon:  This novel came highly recommended to me by a few friends & fellow readers, whose opinions I place great value in for many things – but especially for books.  So I was understandably quite excited to read it (especially as it was forced into my hands with a promise to mail it back – which I swear I am going to work on next week).  And…the novel managed to live up to the expectations.  It really was extremely, extremely good.  The plot follows two Jewish cousins; one is New York born, and the other an immigrant to the States having escaped at the start of World War II.  Essentially they hit big during the comic book boom, but there is sooooo much more to the story.  Chabon’s writing is impeccable; engaging & descriptive.  The characters are engaging and the plot draws you in.  Also, the sheer amount of knowledge this author has about the rise and fall of the comic book empire is staggering.  Definitely would recommend this book.

3.  eat pray love, Elizabeth Gilbert:  I know it’s cheating because I’ve read this before and raved about it for a solid 2 yrs now.  But.  I finally reread it this summer.  And I have to be honest, I was a little afraid to reread it.  It was *so good* and meant so much to me the first time I read it that I was positive there was no way I was going to enjoy it as much this time around.  These were foolish fears.  The book lived up to my remembered expectations, if it did not surpass them.  If you are just passing through this blog, I encourage you to stop whatever you are doing on the internet, whatever you are reading, and go pick up eat pray love and read it.  If you are a friend or family member of mine and have not read eat pray love, I insist you do so now.  Ok, ok.  It can be a little cheesy and after-school special at time.  But.  The spirit of this book is undeniable.  And the author’s honesty with her emotions and experiences – and the humor and insight with which she relays them – are just incredible.  Please go read this.  Especially if you are at a transitional point in your life (aren’t we all?)

So, that’s that.  I’m trying to update the reviews more regularly so there’s not quite such an overwhelming list.  Also so I can remember what I’ve read.  But this month it would have been a short list anyway because for some reason, I really had to push myself through all of these books – even tho they were all fabulous works.  I’m not sure why I had to work so hard to do my casual reading this month…I guess I just wasn’t in the mood?  Maybe it was all the work or travel?  Regardless, I am pretty excited to be drawn back into the thrall of books with my current read…but that will wait for the next book review time.

“…Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over the loss of one beautiful brown-eyed young man is indeed to promptly invite another one into her bed.  This is why I have been alone for many months now.  This is why, in fact, I have decided to spend this entire year in celibacy. …I walk up the stairs to my fourth-floor apartment, all alone.  I let myself into my tiny little studio, all alone.  I shut the door behind me.  Another solitary bedtime in Rome.  Another long night’s sleep ahead of me, with nobody and nothing in my bed except a pile of Italian phrasebooks and dictionaries.  I am alone, I am all alone, I am completely alone.  Grasping this reality, I let go of my bag, drop to my knees and press my forehead against the floor.  There, I offer up to the universe a fervent prayer of thanks.  First in English.  Then in Italian.  And then – just to get the point across – in Sanskirt.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, eat pray love.

Yes, but…she got to be in Rome…

Alright, I’ve officially made it halfway through the semester.  Over halfway.  And through a largely difficult portion.  AND I made it through the psych GRE!!!!!!! (don’t receive my scores for 6 weeks tho…yikes…)  I don’t think it was too bad, but there’s no way to tell.  A lot of times I’d get it narrowed down to two and then guess…but I have this fear that I continually guessed the wrong one.  Oh well.  It’s over!!! (insert Homestarrunner voice).  Anyway, at least my mind won’t be consumed with the guilt of not studying.

The trouble is, this past week, I kind of blew off absolutely everything else in order to focus on studying for the test. Which actually was semi-ok.  Miraculously it was the only week I didn’t have some sort of test/quiz/paper/project/journal/presentation for the first time since…mid-September.  Unfortunately, it was apparently the *only* week as such between mid-September and Christmas break.  And so now I need to get back on the horse as tomorrow I have a test and a quiz, and Tuesday I have an annotated bibliography due. I also am woefully behind in my journals for my WGS class, have a project coming up in that, and am behind in my English reading.  Which is really unfortunate because it’s Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, which I’m enjoying and would love to just read.  Oh well.

Parables is going well, I think.  Our performances so far have been fun and gone well.  I really really like our service this semester, and as always, it is 100% applicable to my life at the moment.  Scheduling is simply ludicrous, but we’re doing the best we can, and I’m trying to correct my own bad habits that I’ve sunk into.  I’m also trying to be more organized.  I want to get things really really super crazy organized before I leave cause they need updating.  Also, Lindsey, if I could get the VHS tapes of previous performances, I would love to put them on DVD at the library & then return them to you.  Thank you!!!!

Speaking of organization, after the GRE yesterday, I did something I haven’t done in a long time:  I went through all of my boxes and file folders.  For the first time really since before Spain.  For about…3 hours.  It was insane.  And I feel sooooooooooooo much better!!  I consolidated a lot and threw out a TON.  I’m still not finished – I need to continue organizing my grad school materials a little better (also I need to print out the all the apps), and to be truthful, my computer needs some in depth organization.  And as I said before, the Parables stuff needs some updating.  Perhaps this Christmas break.   I think I also am organized enough to get back to the scrapbooking. And hopefully to do it really well this time around.

This coming Friday:  Rachel’s bachelorette/lingerie party!!!!!!!   Amanda and I have planned it, and it’s going to be amazing.  I can’t wait.  And immediately following that party, I will be hopping over to Drew’s 21st bday party.  John Allen is going to be in town for it!!!!  Ahhh!!!  Can’t wait. Next weekend promises to be pretty awesome.  The following weekend should be a lot of fun too as it’s Parables retreat!!!!! Which I love.  I did just discover I’m accidentally missing senior 5th, but that’s probably better for me anyway lol.  And let’s be honest…it’s not like the football games have been an important part of my career here (translation: in 4 years I’ve been to 3 games, and left before halftime for 2 of them).

I suppose that’s it for now…oh!  I finished eat pray love…and have started reading it again.  Cause it’s that good.  I’ve also downloaded a ton of music since yesterday.  I’m not telling you half of it cause it’s wildly embarrassing (I’ll give you a hint: she’s crazy and we have the same first name – in my defense, the new CD is pretty hot) but you really should look into getting “Whine Up” by Kat DeLuna and “Tambourine” by Eve.  Great dance songs, and a lot of fun.  I need some new music in my life.  And some new, fun books.  But must finish what I have first.  OH!  I FINISHED THE THIRD SEASON OF ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT!!!!  Sadness. I no longer know what to do with myself…what an incredible show.

Continued prayer is always appreciated   I can always use more wisdom and patience in my life.