30somethingandsearching

You might recall that I had been reading Twilight and New Moon a couple of weeks ago.  I was addicted and enthralled by these two books.  However, I had to stop myself from buying Eclipse and Breaking Dawn so that I could put them on my Christmas List.

To break my mind free from these stories, I picked up a book I had received for my birthday, The Godmother by Carrie Adams.

I had been browsing in Borders one day and picked it up because of the title.

The cover described the main character: “Tessa King Has Seven Best Friends, Four Godchildren, And One Big Wish – To Have A Life Of Her Own.”  It also had a rave from one of my favorite authors, Adriana Trigiani, on the cover.

That was enough for me, so I put it on my birthday list.

I had expected to enjoy the story, but not to relate to the main character as much as I did.  Of course, there are many characteristics of Tessa’s that are nothing like me, like her sleeping around and drinking all too often.  That’s not me at all.

The other things, though, are very much me.  For starters, she has 4 godchildren, as do I.  She’s single in her 30’s and desperately wants children of her own.  She is unemployed after a very unpleasant work incident.  She is very comfortable not working and is terrified to go back to work after having been traumatized, even though she needs to find a job and is looking for work.  She has been living a half-life, floating or coasting through life not truly living.

It takes a series of serious situations for her to see herself clearly and realize what she needs to do to take control of her life.

I felt like I was reading about myself at times.  It was somewhat frightening, actually, but also very comforting to know that there are people that think the way I do.  I also found the book to be very amusing.  The book is set in England and I really enjoy English authors.  There are things most American authors don’t include in their writing that some English authors, this one included, discuss such as gas and using the bathroom.  Makes for some great comic relief.

It took a story about a fellow godmother to break the spell of the vampires in Twilight.  Hoping that I get Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, for Christmas, I am sure that the vampires will suck me in once again. 

In the meantime, I am off to read Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella.

The other day I posted about the movie/book Twilight.  I was only about 130 pages into the book at that time and I said that I did not want to stop reading but I didn’t feel the need to rush back to it to read more.

Well, that has changed.

Not only am I still not wanting to put it down, I am eager to get back to it to find out what happens next.

I have been reading at night when I go to bed, which is always a bad idea because if I like the book, I end up going to sleep at midnight instead of 11:00. 

Not with this book. 

I have been reading since Tuesday; starting Thursday night, I have been so intrigued by the story that I have been staying up until 2:00 am.  Last night it was about 2:30 when I finally fell asleep. 

Of course, I don’t allow myself to sleep past 9:30, so I am pretty tired.  I am itching to get back to the book and am intending to buy the second book in the series today or tomorrow. 

I am not going to discuss the details of the book because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who might want to read it, so I will just say that initially it was a good story with a lot of interesting dialogue and it was very sweet.  It has become very exciting and currently is suspenseful. 

If you like romance and suspense, I think you will like this book.  Thus far (about 400 pages in), it is not a vampire story like we are used to, so if you are squeamish or not into scary stories, I think you might still enjoy this because I don’t like scary stories either.

Odds are you have heard all the hoopla about the movie Twilight coming out tonight, 11/21/08, at midnight.

How can you miss it?  It’s the talk of all the magazines and news shows.  The actor who plays Edward Cullen, Robert Pattinson, has been on local news as well as shows like Access Hollywood. 

There were a few public appearances here in Chicagoland that caused some mayhem and quite a bit of screaming from girls young and old.  I understand the books, and now the movie, have a cult-like following similar to that of the Harry Potter books and movies (which is interesting being that Pattinson played Cedric Diggory in the fourth film).

I had heard about the books prior to the movie coming out.  My friend’s nieces have talked about them so much that my friend read the books.  She said they were fantastic.  So good that she read them all in a short period of time.  As the mom of a toddler, she doesn’t get to read much, so that was quite telling.

After hearing so many people rave about these books, I ordered the first one.  I got it Tuesday and started reading that night.  I read about 85 pages in an hour or so. 

I can’t say that I was desperate to get back to the book the next day, but I did not want to put it down while I was reading. 

At this point, I am about 130 pages in and Edward has not yet been outed as a vampire.

Stephenie Meyer is good at building the feeling of suspense.  Everything seems average and typical except for Edward.  Bella’s fascination with him and the connection the two have is exciting.  I know that the revelation of  Cullen’s as a vampire is coming and I am eager to see how that plays out.

It’s interesting how the book can be so realistic yet full of fantasy at the same time.  It is, after all, about a vampire. 

Last night as I watched the 2008 Election coverage, I kept my fingers crossed and prayed for the results this country needs.

At about 10:00 pm local coverage was giving an update. When NBC went back to national coverage, I was greeted with the image of Obama and the words “Obama elected the 44th President of the United States.”

Honestly, I was confused. It was so early that I didn’t understand what I was looking at. I think like most people, I expected it to go late into the evening before we knew who won.

When it hit me and then they showed footage of people cheering and screaming in celebration, I was overcome with emotion.

And relief.

I felt a great sense of relief wash over me. I know a lot of you voted for McCain and do not like Obama. I can understand that because that is how I felt about McCain and Bush the last 2 elections. My fear of McCain being elected was for the economy and Palin. She frightens me.

That’s not the point, though. The point is that today, I feel hope. I feel that we are finally going to be heading in a good direction. I feel that finally the world will look at us and see the country we once were, not the country we have appeared to be under the current administration.

I also feel the great joy and emotion of those who cried last night. Those who shed tears of happiness for the reason I stated above regarding our country, but also those who shed tears because they thought this day would never come.

I am an optimistic person, but I had doubts that a black man, even one who is only so on one half, would ever become President in my life and I am only 32. I knew it would happen before a woman would get there, but that is par for the course in this nation.

I am a white girl from Chicago, so I know I do not feel the same way that the Black communities feel. But I do understand it.

I grew up not knowing or understanding that we were different. I grew up not comprehending hate or racism. I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around how anyone could harbor hate like that against anyone, let alone a person they don’t know.

When I was about 9, I was on my grandparents’ farm in Kentucky. We had just been learning about slavery in school and the KKK. (My first 2 initials are K, so it has been a long-running joke that I will never marry a man with a last name starting with a K, or I’d just have to keep my maiden name.) I was walking around the hundreds of acres helping my Papa and talking about slavery and the KKK.

My grandpa’s people were Irish, German and Native American. They did not own slaves; they did the work themselves on a small family farm. He said he thought it was a terrible thing to treat people like that.

When I said to him, did you know that there was a group called the KKK and they did things like burn houses and beat or hang people just because they were black, he said “shhhh.”

I was confused, I thought it was a bad thing and you should always speak up against something you know is bad. He said it was a bad thing, but voices carry in the country. I said, “so?”

He said, “Kelly, we know it’s wrong, but not everyone around here knows that. There are people around here that still participate in that behavior and if they here you talk bad about them, they might retaliate.”

I was horrified and that moment has stuck in my mind ever since. We were in a very Christian, god-fearing part of southern Kentucky. I thought that if you believed in God and the scriptures, then you were to love thy neighbor and treat others as you wished to be treated.

I did not understand, and still do not, that people were still considered less than human because they had a different skin color.

I had a fascination with literature and history surrounding slavery and Black history. I had a teacher who was smart enough to teach us that the history books eliminated the sections that would have taught about the accomplishments of Black American: Inventors, writers, abolitionists, etc.

I began reading things like Uncle Tom’s Cabin at 13. Some of my favorite books are still those written during or about slavery and black history.

In college, I took a Black History course taught by a wonderful man named Willie Dixon. He worked at the Dusable Museum and appeared on a radio show in Chicago. I loved his class and I really think everyone should take that class. I think it would bridge many gaps and create a level of understanding that currently is lurking as distrust (by both black and white America).

I thought of him last night. I wondered if he was still with us and how he must have felt. He was there with Dr. King and Malcolm X. He lived the Civil Rights Movement. He taught the history from the slave ships to the present and I know he would be overwhelmed to be able to teach about the first Black President.

I also thought about Zeb Barnes. I man I worked with/for for 5 years. (He was the Vice-President but also worked in the field.) Zeb was from Alabama and came up here to Chicago when he was 13 around 1950. I adored this man. Everyday, he would come by my desk and say, “Hey, Trouble. How’s it going?”

He would then begin a story about his time in Alabama or in Chicago. He always had a riveting story and I told him he should write a book or two because it was fascinating stuff. I thought about him and his best friend last night. The two of them would always be dressed to the nines with hat to boot. They had so much history in just those 2 men. I know they never thought this day would come.

When Barack Obama took the stage with his wife and children last night, this might sound strange, but my thought was Bill Cosby.

For many of us, The Cosby Show was the first real look into the lives and families of Black America. I grew up on that show and on Bill Cosby, who I believe is not only one of the greatest comic minds, but also one of the greatest Americans we’ve ever known. I thought about him last night and wondered what he was going to be thinking or saying. I could imagine his pride and that wonderful grin.

As President Elect Obama began speaking, I thought this man is a culmination of JFK and Dr. King. He is that stature and greatness of President Kennedy. The ability to inspire hope and bring about change. He has the peace and intellect of Dr. King. The speaking ability and power to raise people up into action.

I have often wondered what Dr. King would think of the world since his murder. The first time I heard his speech was on The Cosby Show. I remember feeling chills and moved. After that, I began reading more about him and his speeches, including his Letter From Birmingham Jail.

He was Greatness. That was a man with a destiny, a vision and a spirit touched by God.

Last night they showed many people crying, including Jesse Jackson. Now, I don’t particularly care for him, though he was always nice when I spoke to him over the phone at my old job, but I felt his emotion last night. A man that was with Dr. King and has continued to the best of his ability to keep that dream alive was finally witnessing the fruits of their labor. I imagined him thinking, “we did it, we finally did it.”

This change is not just for the good of our nation, but also for the good of our people. I don’t normally watch The View, but I happened to catch it this morning for about 10 minutes. Whoopi said after speaking to her mother that for the first time, she felt she could put her suitcase down. Sheri Sheppard was overcome with emotion at the thought of being able to tell her son that he can do anything, include become President.

There are several generations in this country that are being changed by this. There are elderly who had parents that were slaves. There are those who came up during the Civil Rights Movement who lived through Segregation and Jim Crow Laws.  There are those that came up with the “equality,” but were denied jobs because of race. Those that came up understanding that they had to work twice as hard to get half as far. There are those that are coming up now in violence and apathy because they feel forgotten or that no one cares. Those that feel that they can’t achieve much because of where they are from and the color of their skin.

The President Elect is more than hope for a nation, he is hope for a people. This is a Great day in America. It feels like New Years Eve 1999. We knew something great was to come, but we weren’t sure what. We were exhilarated and hopeful for the change that came with the new millennium. Here were are in 2008 and we are blessed with that feeling once again.

Today marks the end of Banned Books Week.  As promised, although a few days late, I am going to talk about a few of the many banned Children’s books.

These are some listed by Powell’s Books :

  “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl

  “Giver” by Lois Lowry

  “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

  “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson

  “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein

  “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madelaine L’Engle

  “Lorax” by Dr. Seuss

  “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy Blume

  “Blubber” by Judy Blume

  “The Golden Compass” by Philip Pullman

  “A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

“Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

You can find others, like “Gulliver’s Travels,” “Harriet the Spy,” “Goosebumps,” “How to Eat Fried Worms,” “Superfudge,” and many more at CSULB .

Now let’s look at this list.  What do the majority of them have in common? 

Immense imagination.  Imagination entering into or bordering on fantasy.  This includes novels and poetry.  What kid did not grow up reading and loving Shel Silverstein? 

I have head the arguments against books like Harry Potter by Christian groups who fear their children will turn to paganism.  First, you would have to understand paganism and realize they don’t fly around on broomsticks, use wands to cast spells that turn people in to rats or mix potions to change their appearance. 

Once you realize that (and most kids are smart enough to know this will never happen), the parents should.  These books are great fun and teach many lessons about life, friendship and good vs. evil, which I would think Christian parents would be happy about.

Judy Blume is, sadly, known for having been banned or challenged many times.  These are fun books looking at what children are really thinking, feeling and experiencing.  They are timeless and loved.  I can’t grasp why they would be challenged.

If you are like me, your jaw dropped slightly upon seeing “Little House on the Prairie” on that list.  What?  Are you kidding me?  What part of this book is questionable?  It’s a young girl far away from much of anything else; she is a good girl helping ma and pa with the chores! 

For many kids, reading is an escape from a life that is less that perfect.  For others it is just fun.  They get to travel to new places, have adventures, learn new words and language all without having to get a ride.

Children need to develop and use imagination.  If they are kept from books that rouse their imagination, we are depriving them of an elemental part of their growth.  Not to mention the love of learning that comes from reading at an early age. 

Without developing these things, children will grow up without creativity.  Without creativity, we would have no books, no TV or movies, no music, no art, not theatre.  A world without creativity is bland, beige and boring. 

Without developing these things, children will not come to understand the importance of the freedom to speak.  A freedom, which, as a country, we hold dear.

According to the ALA, “the “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2) “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language

4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons:  Religious Viewpoint

5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons:  Racism

6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,

7) “TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

8) “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons:  Sexually Explicit

9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons:  Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10) “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons:  Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Off the list this year, are two books by author Toni Morrison. “The Bluest Eye” and “Beloved,” both challenged for sexual content and offensive language.”

I will be honest in saying I have not read all of these.  I have read and adore some.

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is one of my absolute favorite books.  Yes, it addresses racism, but what is wrong with addressing a real issue?  Mark Twain was one of the world’s most prolific writers.  He wrote a beautiful story looking at racism and an adventure between a grown man and a young boy.  You can separate the two issues, if you read closely.  As much as the relationship is about race, it is about the one-sided views of a child and it is about people needing each other.

“The Color Purple.”  The reasons being homosexuality, explicit sex and language.  Firstly, we don’t ban films that use offensive images if it is an intrinsic part of the story. Secondly, if homosexuality, explicit sex and language are so offense, should we then ban all the Harlequin romances?  They are full of such things.

“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”  Seriously?  This is Maya Angelou’s life.  We should ban the telling of someone’s life because it was violent and tragic?  I know that looking at things that are in this book are difficult.  Yet they happen.  They are real events and this is a true story.  I think that banning a true story of a woman’s life is an insult to her and a slap in the face over all the things she dealt with.

“The Bluest Eye” and “Beloved” had been on the list and then came off.  I have read both.

“The Bluest Eye” is incredible and yes, there is racism, but again, should it be ignored?  Should stories about the way some are made to feel be removed from the shelves because it makes you uncomfortable?

“Beloved”, yes sexually explicit, but one of the most interesting stories about life after slavery.  I read this in college.  I found this to be one of the best books to analyze.  So much can be gotten out of this book.  I know a lot of people did not like it or get it.  I know some just saw the film and I can tell you as much as Oprah thought she was honoring this book, she strayed from it immensely.  If you had not read the book, the movie made no sense.  But I digress.

My point being that you can find something offensive in anything you read if you look for it.  From the greatest of classics to current favorites to off the wall tales.

A friend had her book banned in some southern states because she wrote about ghosts.  A children’s book about a young girl and ghosts titled “Lily’s Ghosts” by Laura Ruby.  I read it and enjoyed it.  I did not see what was so controversial, but it was banned from some libraries.  Tomorrow I will look at some of the Children’s books that have been banned over various controversies.

If we take away books, we take away creativity and imagination.  Hitler tried to control what information Germans received.  Keep that in mind if the urge to have a book banned ever takes you over.  There is a great book called “The Book Thief” about a girl in Nazi Germany.  Read it.

Celebrate Banned Book Week by reading books that have banned, support such books by writing to those trying to ban them and keep an open mind.

Today begins Banned Books Week .

I learned about Banned Books Week from Wildaspie.

No, this does not mean a week to ban books.  It is a week to celebrate the freedom to read.  The freedom of speech we hold dear. 

We have recently heard rumors of Governor Sarah Palin wishing to ban books in Alaska.  I will not speak to whether she did or did not.  That is not what this post is about.  It is about the fact that throughout history, many individuals and groups have attempted to ban books for various reasons.

There have been times when books were burned in protest.  Some find certain books offensive for a multitude of  reasons.  Either they don’t want to read it, they don’t want their kids to read it or they are fearful of what may come if others read it.

As a book lover and someone with a BA in English Literature, I have a passion for books and words.  Thereby, I have a passion for the freedom of speech.

I feel that if you don’t like it, don’t read it.  If you don’t want your kids reading it, monitor your children.  Just like music, television and movies, you need to be careful of what your own child is doing.

Tomorrow, I will list the 10 most challenged books of 2007

I am very disturbed. 

I just saw a commercial for Confessions of a Shopaholic, a film based on the series by Sophie Kinsella.

I adore these books.  I have read them all and look forward to any new adventures the author might have brewing.  I was intrigued by the idea of a movie being made. 

Now, I am disappointed and have no intention of seeing this film.

Not only does the main character have red hair in the movie and dark hair in the book, she hates a redhead in the book!  Beyond that, um, the book is set in ENGLAND, British accent and lingo to boot.  The film is set in NY with American accents.

I don’t even want to know what other changes they have made.

I hate, hate, hate when books are destroyed in adaptation from book to film.  If you are going to do it, do it right.  Damn it.

Sophie Kinsella speaks about the film on her website .

I saw Wicked last night.  (Yes, the tickets finally came yesterday.)  My mom and I had been planning on going for over a year.  The tickets were a gift from my grandma for my mom’s 59th and my 31st birthdays.  A year later, we finally made it.

This is one of the best shows I have ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot).  The show was outstanding.

Prior to going to the show, I did not really know what to expect.  I had not read the book.  I had seen the commercials and heard the buzz, so I knew it was about Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz.

While The Wizard of Oz focuses on Dorothy, we only see the end of the road for the Wicked Witch.  I knew Wicked had to do with how the two witches got to where we meet them in The Wizard of Oz.

Wicked tells us the story of the two, Galinda and Elphaba, from when they meet in school following their relationship up until where The Wizard of Oz ends.

This show is fantastic.  Wicked is wickedly funny and touching.  The set design and costumes are incredible and executed perfectly.  I am awestruck at the way they brought the flying monkeys to life.

The dialogue is smart and witty.  The music is amazing and the singing is outstanding.  The songs are powerful.  The story is just as powerful.

Like The Wizard of Oz, Wicked delves into political topics.  I can go into that utilizing the analytical skills I developed attaining that English Lit. degree of mine, but I won’t.  I will discuss the other topics, however.

Wicked is about friendship.  It is about truth and perception.  It is about standing up for that in which you believe.  It is about the way truth and perception can be manipulated and, therefore, manipulate us.

If you have not yet seen this show, I highly recommend it and I recommend it for everyone.  It is appropriate for most any age bracket.  You will laugh like you hadn’t expected to at a Broadway musical.  The music will move and inspire you.  The lyrics will have you singing the songs the next day.  They will make you laugh and cry.  The power of the songs and the voices will make your hair stand on end and will bring tears to your eyes.

I almost always tear up during the finale of any musical.  If I sat and thought about it, I am sure I could give you a wordy and lengthy explanation, but I won’t.  I rarely cry or tear up during a show, though.  I welled up last night and had to fight back the tears during the final song, “For Good.”

My absolute favorite musical is Les Miserables.  I have seen it multiple times.  I believe I have to place Wicked second on that list.  I am not sure how long it is on Broadway.  It is only in Chicago through January 25, 2009.  Go see it before it is gone.  You will not regret it, rather you will regret it if you miss this show.

photo credits: Wikipedia

more photos and video

I am one of the last to have read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. (http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htm)

It is one of those books that shot to fame and was THE book last year.  I really didn’t have a clue what it was about; I had just heard the name ridiculous amounts of times.  I happened to turn Oprah on one day when Elizabeth Gilbert was on discussing the book.

She was warm and funny and I was intrigued.

I added the book to my Christmas list this past Christmas.  I figured I ought to read it, right?  If it’s that huge of a book and Oprah loves it, why not?

I picked it up after having read three other books successively, but I wasn’t into it.  My mind was directed toward the dramas I had been reading, so after two pages I set it down.  It wasn’t the right time.

I have been searching for many things for years.  My spiritual path, balance, etc.  The past year that searching has increased to more of a desire and the last 6 months it has catapulted to a need.

I’ve been feeling somewhat lost, as if I am floating through life unanchored.

I have been reading a lot lately.  I read the last three Harry Potters, Vanishing Acts, The Bitch Posse and a very fluffy chic lit called Singletini in about six weeks.  I was trying to fill a void with words. 

I have a degree in English Lit, so it’s not that unusual for me to read mass amounts of books, but this particular mass was intended to fill something.  These books did speak to some part of me, but I wasn’t feeling fulfilled afterwards.

I looked over one night, trying to decide what to read next from my pile of unread books, and saw Eat, Pray, Love sitting there staring at me.  I could read its mind; it was wondering why I had neglected it for so long.  I said, you’re right, it’s time.  I picked it up and have been reading it ever since.

This book has come at the perfect time.  I needed more than a spiritual guide, I needed a spiritual kick in the pants.  I read this true story of a woman who had hit bottom after going through a tumultuous time in her life.  She was, as am I, seeking balance.

She was a woman who had always practiced yoga and had been looking for a spiritual path, as am I.  A woman seeking this amidst friends and family who were not of like minds.  A woman who finally listened to her soul and did what she needed to for herself.

This book spoke to me on so many levels.  I finally understand why this book skyrocketed to the success it did and why so many women carried this book with them like a new age Bible.  It is inspirational knowing a real person did this, lived this book. 

For me, this book was a jumping off point to begin my mission seeking my own balance.