Maturity
Posted: January 20, 2011 Filed under: James and the Giant Peach 3 CommentsI’ve heard that part of growing up is learning to tell the difference between wants and needs.
Help me out here, guys. I’m really not sure on this one.
Yeah. It’s a neon donut sign. THAT YOU CAN BUY.
(Just a disclaimer, because I don’t want to be lectured, I wouldn’t ever actually spend that much money on something that frivolous. Unless I had a ton of money. Maybe.)
Guest Review: Vesper
Posted: January 19, 2011 Filed under: Book of Sand, Romgi the Enigma 1 Commentby Jeff Sampson
{ 2011 | HarperCollins | 304 pgs }
I’ve come not to expect much when Roni gets a book for review in the mail. That being said, I was in a desperate state when this book arrived; I needed some light reading. I spend a large portion of my day pouring over legal textbooks and cases that span two centuries. Every now and then I need a book that doesn’t require any thinking. Roni had me read the letter from the publisher that accompanied the book and I knew that this book would fill my need. On that level, it did not disappoint.
I have several issues with the book. I know they say you can’t judge a book by its cover (and in fact that seems to be a theme of this book), but let’s throw literary caution to the proverbial wind and do precisely that. The title is Vesper. What does vesper mean? Looking it up in the thesaurus reveals “dusk, eventide, twilight.” Wait, twilight? Wasn’t there some mildly popular series by that name?
So let’s get this clear right out of the gates. This is a book that is trying to capitalize on the success and popularity of the modern tween gothic genre that started with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series; expect the supernatural. Is it as entertaining as Meyer’s saga? No. Was it entirely original? No. I will tolerate an unoriginal story when the storytelling itself is new, inventive or otherwise captivating. Was the storytelling here new, inventive or otherwise captivating? No. However, I am certain that there are people out there who will enjoy this book.
The story follows Emily as she tries to understand that changes that are happening to her. Emily is a self-described “entertainment geek” (read: she likes books and movies). The same night a classmate, also named Emily, is murdered, the protagonist begins to notice changes in herself: she is painfully aware of her body, she has mood swings and periods of forgetfulness, she sneaks out of the house in trashy clothes in an attempt to seduce random guys (metaphor for puberty? Yes). Are these changes somehow related to the death of her classmate? Read the book to find that out. I will tell you that I lacked any sort of empathy for Emily’s plight. The author seems to glamorize violence, underage drinking, and promiscuity as long as you feel empowered while you do it. I don’t know a lot about being a teenage girl, but I am pretty sure that there are other ways for a girl to feel empowered than to dress trashy and make out with a lot of guys. I don’t insist a book to have a moral to the story, but I’d prefer it to not make bad morals seem like heroism.
Furthermore, the author fails at addressing the target audience. Best I can tell, this book is aimed at girls who are in the range of 12-16 years old. I’m pretty sure people born past ’95 aren’t going to get references to Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Shinichiro Watanabe’s anime series Cowboy Bebop, Warner Bros’ Looney Toons or old-school cassette tape players. Also, I’m not sure that people still use “wicked” as slang for “good.” It seemed more like Sampson spent an afternoon remembering slang from his own high school days rather than making any attempt at learning what teenagers say NOW. If your book feels dated before it is even published, it has issues.
tl;dr: If you can get it for free from the library, it might be worth a few hours of your time. Otherwise skip this Twilight-inspired teen-fest.
This was a guest post by Romgi. Check out his other stuff here.
Disclaimer: Roni received a copy of this book for review directly from the publisher. The opinions contained here are my own and I was not compensated in any other way for them.
My lot in life
Posted: January 18, 2011 Filed under: Great Expectations 2 CommentsI’m a complainer.
Unless this is your first time reading my blog, you know that by now. You’ve probably known that for a while. Poor the Romgi, he knows it best of all. I think maybe I just enjoy complaining.
It isn’t a very good trait.
To make up for it, today I want to tell you how great my life is. Not perfect, mind you – we may never get there. But it’s pretty fabulous. Here’s why.
1. Family. I come from a really marvelous family and I definitely love the Romgi’s family, too. Best of all is our own little family. Have you met the Bwun? Oh man, what a kid. Allow me to gush: the Bwun is the cutest, sweetest, smartest little guy and I a-dore him. Then there’s jr. Absolutely beautiful, mellow (even more than the Bwun was)…there are few things in the world better than her little smile. And to have the Romgi with me in this grand adventure – did I luck out or what?
2. Education. I suppose it’s my fault for putting it off so long, but doing school right now is quite a challenge and sacrifice for both me and the Romgi. It means a lot less time we get to spend together, and a lot more stress. But BYU has a major I find interesting, unbelievably low tuition, and a good atmosphere for me. I can’t wait until next spring when the Romgi and I both graduate. His degree will be a little (or a lot) more impressive, but I like to imagine that even my bachelor’s degree will be something nifty considering what I will have gone through to get it.
3. Shelter. We live in a basement. There’s no real oven here. Some nights we have jr sleep in the living room because it’s more convenient. You know what? I love our quirky little apartment. It works amazingly well for us. True, the whole place is usually a disaster, but blame that on me, not the apartment. Our ward is incredible, there’s a jetted tub in our bathroom, and we have our own washer and dryer. I’m not sure we could ask for much more (except maybe an oven. Maybe).
4. Clothes. Last week I put a load of darks through the wash, and when they were dry I discovered that the Bwun had put a black fountain pen into the laundry basket and it went in with the clothes. Almost the entire load was ruined, aside from some pajamas. (You do have to wonder why the clothes that didn’t matter were untouched by the ink, right?) Today the Romgi and I replaced and upgraded our ink-stained clothes. The Romgi has barely bought any new clothes since we got married, which is coming up on 4 years. He desperately needed a wardrobe pickup. We left the Bwun with his grandpa and went shopping – jr was with us, but it was almost like a date. Now the Romgi and I both have killer clothes.
5. Food. The Romgi is the best cook. Plus we got a loaf of homemade bread that is divine as toast for eating with poached eggs.
6. Perspective. I realize my complaining makes it hard to believe, but I have a decent idea of how very blessed and lucky I am. Many people in the world are suffering physically, mentally, and emotionally. They don’t have either their temporal or spiritual needs met. By most standards my life is not only easy but beautiful. Of course I feel like I have plenty of challenges to face, but I also see how peaceful and content my world is.
7. Books. For a few months last year, I didn’t want to read at all. I was sick of books and sick of reading. Even though I’m a lot busier this year, I’m making time to go to the library (especially with the Bwun) and allow myself some relaxation and mental escape through books. No reading challenges this year, so I’d love to hear any and all recommendations for what to read next. I might even join a book group!
I also love your comments. It continually surprises me what random readers are lurking in the background. If you’re reading, let me know. If you have a blog, let me know. We’ll be blog buddies.
What are you grateful for today? Or would you rather complain? It’s fine by me if you do. Like I said – I’m a complainer, too.
Jarom
Mika
hilleries 