A Christmas Carol

"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!"


I love to read this every year... something about the genius of the verbiage combined with the themes of the book (and the fact that I can hear muppets in my head saying the words along with me as I read) makes me feel like it is Christmas for sure!


As a play on the quote above, I was just wondering, if the ghosts of your past, present and future were to come to you today, what would you regret?  What would you be happy about seeing?  And what would you (after seeing the "big picture" of your life) want to depart courses from things that you are engaged in at the moment?


I think for me the one thing that I am not totally ecstatic about in my past and present life is how busy I get.  This last semester reached kind of a breaking point for me.  I had a ton that I was trying to juggle and I did juggle them successfully.  But at what cost?  I know that I was not as patient at home with my daughter and I know that I did not work on any of my most important relationships at all.  I have wonderful friends and family, but if I don't take time to enjoy them, I feel like it will get to a point where I will lose something extremely valuable in the exchange.  Don't get me wrong, I was doing things that I have wanted to do and am glad to say I have done them, but I think I was running faster than I had strength, if you will.  This is one thing in sitting down to reflect on the last year and making new resolutions for 2011 that I would really like to depart from and really take the time to just be and just breathe.  


Do any of you have new years resolutions?  Or was there any part of the book that spoke to you?


I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I do every year!  Merry Christmas!


"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!"

I am the Messenger

So... what did you think of I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak?  Was it better than The Book Thief?  In what way?  Don't you just love his writing style?

Catch 22 Review

We gave Catch 22 a

3 out of 5

The Actor and the Housewife

Have any of you read this book?  Below is my goodreads review.  But I'm curious, what did you guys think?

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really have had a hard time knowing what to rate this book.

For the pros:  The dialogue really was very witty and at times I laughed out loud, and it was good enough that I actually finished it in not too long a time, which at this stage in my life is saying something.

However, I think I'll agree with some of the previously written reviews of the book that it was a little bit too much of the authors personal fantasy fleshed out in a book and it got a little ridiculous at points.

I love Shannon Hale and I salute her for doing something different, but it really didn't work completely although I enjoyed the ride for the most part.


View all my reviews

Catch 22

The following questions are from the Random House website

STARTING POINTS FOR YOUR DISCUSSION

1. Throughout the novel, scenes of unalleviated horror are interwoven with farcically comic scenes. How effective is this juxtaposition?
   
2. In what ways is Yossarian a typical literary hero? Would you class him as the novel's hero or its anti-hero?
   
3. Although Catch-22 is set in the Second World War, it was published at a time when America was going through great changes. To what extent do you think the novel provides a social commentary of the time in which it was written as well as of the era in which it was set? Are its issues still pertinent in today's society?
   
4. How do notions of power and bureaucracy function in Catch-22?
   
5. How do you react to the female characters? What role do they play in the narrative?
   
6. Catch-22 has a vast roll-call of hilarious characters. In what ways does Heller use them to develop his themes?

The Poisonwood Bible

I have heard great things about this book and it has been on my to-read list for a long time. I checked it out from the library to read for last month's book club book. I got about 60 pages in and I still wasn't getting interested in the book and, before I knew it, three weeks was up and it was time to return the book to the library. Has anyone else read this? Is it worth trying again and reading the whole thing, or should I move on to the next book? I hate leaving a book unfinished, but I just don't have as much time to read as I would like.

In another vein, I finally read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I loved it. I wish I had read it when the discussion was happening on this blog!

Same Kind of Different as Me

Here are some questions to get the discussion started on Same Kind of Different as Me.


Consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started:

1. At the beginning of the book, what kind of person is Ron Hall? How would you describe him (how does he describe himself)? Why does he agree to volunteer at the homeless shelter, and what is his initial reaction in doing so?

2. Talk about the trajectory of Denver Moore's life. What events have landed him in the homeless shelter? Discuss the differences between his life and Ron Hall's. What is Denver's world view?

3. Talk about Deborah Hall? What inspires her life? What does she think of Denver Moore?

4. Eventually, Denver and Ron, two men who have lived vastly different lives, become close friends. What do the two see in one another? What draws them together?

5. What are the symbolic implications of the conversation about how white men fish, especially their catch-and-release method? What does that conversation say about each man, and what is the underlying message that Denver is trying to pass onto Ron?

6. What is the meaning of the book's title, "Same Kind of Difference as Me"? What does it refer to?

7. How do both men change by the end of the book? What do they learn from or teach each other?

8. This is a story about how hate and prejudice can be overcome by love and grace. How difficult is that achievement in most of our lives? What can this book teach us?

9. Does this book inspire you? If so, in what ways?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)