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Sunday, December 14, 2014

My Favorite Book

For years, when people asked me what my favorite book was, I would get annoyed and skirt the question. I could list off a few books I'd enjoyed recently, or I could give personalized book recommendations, but my all time favorite book? No way.

“You can’t make a race horse of a pig.” “No,” said Samuel, “but you can make a very fast pig.”

Recently, I've slowly come to realize that I do indeed actually have a favorite book. It's a book I read a few years ago, and loved, and still love. It's East of Eden by John Steinbeck. There are so many things I love about this book, and I'm going to try to explain a few of them here.

“You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstrous.” 

One is it's epic quality. It's not the story of one person (though it basically takes place over the lifetime of one character), it's the story of a diverse and lifelike cast of characters. It's a tale of many years and many people. It's a story of good and evil, a story of life. Many things happen throughout the story, but the message in the end, at least the one I took out of it, is that life goes on.

“It takes great courage to back truth unacceptable to our times. There's a punishment for it and it's usually crucifixion.

Another reason is the characters and the symbolism. I love character driven novels, and this one is about as character driven as you can get. I also love the overt symbolism in the character's names: Adam and Charles, Caleb and Aron, Cathy and Abra. My favorite characters, though, didn't follow the C and A pattern, and are Samuel Hamilton, and Lee. They round out the world so completely.

“These too are of a burning color--not orange, not gold, but if pure gold were liquid and could raise a cream, that golden cream might be like the color of the poppies.

I also really like John Steinbeck's writing. This book is very quotable, and there are quotes from it scattered throughout this post. All passages in italics are quotes, pulled from the East of Eden Goodreads page.

“It would be absurd if we did not understand both angels and devils, since we invented them.” 

It's long. I know a lot of people don't like that about books, but at about 700 pages, it feels substantial. I don't think it could have been done any shorter, and it certainly wouldn't be the same if it were not so long.

“It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.”

I love the descriptive passages of the Salinas Valley. It's obviously a place Steinbeck loved very much.

“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.” 

Lastly, the ending is wonderful in my opinion. It ended the perfect way for the story (not necessarily the perfect way for the reader), and the last pages are beautiful.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Weekend Review #17 and 18 {Thanksgiving, Winter Break, and YARC}

I got pretty behind this week, so I'm sorry for the lack of blogging. I'd say that it'll get better now that we've hit Christmas break, but that's probably not actually true.

Two weeks ago was Thanksgiving break. Monday, I had school, but was then off for the rest of the week. I spent a lot of the week working on a final project for my study skills class. Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I went to my grandmother's house (which is less than an hour away), and saw my aunts, uncles, and cousins who I don't usually see too often. That weekend, I did a lot of work, hung out at a friend's house (he was appalled I had never seen the Incredibles, so we watched that, plus he had new kittens). I also babysat on Sunday, and won NaNoWriMo.

I finished NaNoWriMo on November 30 at about 9:30pm, after a day on which I wrote 6,500 words. It was quite a finish, but I managed it.

Last week, I had a group presentation, plus a research paper, and a shorter paper all due for my Study Skills class on Monday. I volunteered at the library and went to dance as well. We also started rehearsals this week for a show we are doing in January. I love this choreography, and it's definitely one of the coolest shows we've ever done.

Tuesday, I didn't do much, and then Wednesday I had my Study Skills final, and then park day. Thursday was current events, and on Friday, I went in to school for a final meeting with my Study Skills instructor. I got A's in both my classes this quarter, which I am very happy about.

Saturday was the meeting for the YA Review Committee, which was fun. I had a great discussion with four of my friends about whether or not Atheism is a religion. For the record, four of us thought it was (following the reasoning that a religion is a belief system), while one of us refused to agree (on the reasoning that a religion is belief in at least one higher power). That night, Mom, Isabelle and I went to the Lights of Christmas with two other families, which is a beautiful display of lights at a church retreat near us. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday, I babysat in the morning, then went home and didn't do much the rest of the day, as I wasn't really feeling well. In the late afternoon, we went and got our Christmas tree.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Weekend Review #16 {Homework, Portland, and NaNoWriMo}

On Monday, I went to school, volunteered at the library, and went to Irish dance class.

Tuesday, I did homework, and stuff around the house.

Wednesday, I had school, then went to Park Day, and then went back to campus later to work on a group project.

Thursday, I taught Latin, and did homework.

Friday, I had school, worked on the group project for a while, then went to hang out at a friend's house for a few hours, before going to ballet class.

Saturday, we left early for Portland, and got there close to noon. My mom went to a memorial service for a friend of her's from college, and then we all went out to dinner with some of her college friends. We stayed the night with friends in Vancouver. I had intended to do some writing while mom was at the service, but ended up playing Portal 2 instead, with the son of the friends we were staying with, who is about my age.

Sunday, we hung out with our friends for a while before heading back up north. We stopped at Seattle Children's Hospital on the way home to visit our friend there.

I finished reading Robinson Crusoe this week, and started Last of the Mohicans.

I'm at about 30k with my NaNoWriMo novel, which is 10k below where I should be at the moment. Today is my last day of school until next Monday, though, so I have high hopes for getting caught up over Thanksgiving break.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Weekend Review #15 {Veteran's Day, Pianos, and Seatle}

Here was my week:

Monday: There were not any classes at the college that day, so I stayed home and did stuff here. I went on a walk with some friends, went to the library and cleaned books, then went to dance class.

Tuesday: Mom was home since it was Veteran's Day.

Wednesday: I had classes at the college, then had lunch with my dad, and went to park day. I came back to campus later to work on a group project for my Study Skills class.

Thursday: Taught Latin in the morning, then had Current Events class at our house in the afternoon.

Friday: Had class at the college, and stayed late to work on the group project. Then I went to a friend's house for the rest of the afternoon. I was feeling really fluish and generally terrible, so I skipped ballet.

Saturday: Went to lunch at the Bagelry, then took a "behind the scenes" tour at the library. I then had a Nutcracker rehearsal for the rest of the afternoon/evening. 

Sunday: We had a piano delivered in the early afternoon, and then went down to Seattle to visit Spencer at UW, and see a friend at Children's Hospital. We went to dinner with Spencer and his family (who we went down with) and the family of our friend at the hospital.

That was what I did this week. Not super exciting, but there it is. I have two books I am reading that I will review once I finish them.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Weekend Review #14 {School, Writing, Pictures}

It's been another week, and now here I am to summarize it.

Monday, I went to school, volunteered at the library, and went to dance class.

Tuesday, I did homework, and really, nothing else. It was a kind of boring day.

Wednesday, I went to school, took a test in my Study Skills class, did much better on it than I thought I would, then went to park day.

Thursday, I taught Latin and had lunch with friends, then came home and did homework for the rest of the day.

Friday, I went to school, and then went to a friend's house for the remainder of the day. I also had a ballet class, which, since the normal teacher was unavailable, was taught by one of my best friends, which was fun.

Saturday, we did a Steampunk photoshoot involving all of us who went with the Steampunk theme for our Halloween costumes. I'll post a few pictures on here at some point, if I get them. I also then had a Nutcracker rehearsal that afternoon/evening.

Sunday, I did not do too much, but went shopping for coats in the evening. I spent a lot of time hanging out and talking to friends online.

Reading: I haven't done much non-school reading this week, but for school I read Pilgrim's Progress and Robinson Crusoe, both of which I'm almost done with. I also started Mort by Terry Pratchett after it was lent to me by a friend.

Writing: We are a third of the way through November now, which means that I should be at 16,666 by the end of today. At the moment, I'm at a little above 12k, and I'm hoping to make it to 14k by the end of the day.

It's a four day weekend (Veteran's Day on Tuesday, and no classes on Monday for faculty conferences), so hopefully I can get in at least 2k today and tomorrow, which would get me at least a bit caught up.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Why I'm Doing NaNoWriMo

I was inspired by Ian's post today to write one of my own. He's admittedly got a much harder time this November than I do, but I just hit the slump. I know it typically doesn't hit until week 2, but I usually hit it a little early. It's the point at which I've exhausted all those fresh exciting story ideas (and now I have to actually advance the plot and add character development). It's usually the point where I get behind on my word count for the first time. Because I'm totally ripping Ian off, here are reasons I won't succeed at NaNoWriMo this year:

1. I am really busy. I have college classes, high school classes, dance, and various social events I'm too much of an extrovert to skip.

2. I have so far logged 8,173 words of the 10,000 I should have by the end of today.

3. I'm only going to get busier. As the Nutcracker and finals approach, things can only become more busy.

4. My mom's voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that I should do school before writing, and I keep listening to that voice.

Reasons why I will succeed:

1. I have a good track record. I've finished the last three years in a row, and the last two years I've finished early.

2. In 2011, I got behind on Day 4, and didn't catch up again until the 29th, on which I wrote 5,000 words. In 2012 I was behind from the 7th to the 27th, and in 2013 I was again behind from the 4th through the 29th. I have a pretty good track record with catching up. Speaking of past years, on the sixth I had 7195 words one year. At least I'm doing better than that.

4. I've told a lot of people that I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year, and I can't tell them I failed.

5. I simply can't fail this year. Each year is going to be more challenging than the one before it, but I am determined to continue doing NaNoWriMo.


What are your reasons you're going to fail and succeed at NaNoWriMo this year?

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Weekend Review #12 and #13 {Dracula, Steampunk, and NaNoWriMo}

I missed last week, so I'm just going to combine the two into one post.

Last week was very busy with school, and Dracula. We had performances Saturday and Sunday, and then the show was officially over. I had a test in my Study Skills class, went to the Dracula cast party, and probably did lots of other fascinating stuff that I actually can not remember anymore.

On Monday, I had classes at the college, volunteered at the library, and then went to dance. It was my sister's 13th birthday, so we came home and had cake.

Tuesday, I did homework and went out to lunch with my grandparents.

Wednesday was school, and park day.

Thursday I taught Latin, and then we hosted a Current Events class at our house.

Friday was Halloween, so I went to a friend's house to help my sister and her friends finish making their costumes, and then went to the trick-or-treating event downtown with them. After that, we all went to a party at a friend's house. We had an awesome time there, and did not end up leaving until after midnight.
A Steampunk Halloween

Saturday I had a meeting of the YA review committee at Village Books, our local independent bookstore, and then a Nutcracker rehearsal for most of the afternoon. It was also the first day of NaNoWriMo, and I actually did manage to get in time to write 1667 words.

Sunday, we went to our other grandparent's house for dinner.

It's been a long few weeks, and I don't think it's going to get any easier any time soon. Dracula may be over, but now there is NaNoWriMo to contend with, plus general stuff with my friends that have been coming up lately.

Speaking of my novel, I am (as of Tuesday morning) at 5,018 words, which is exactly on track. I usually like to get ahead a little in the early part of the month, to give myself a little leeway around Thanksgiving, but that's probably not going to happen this year. I do have a long weekend for Veteran's Day, and an even longer one for Thanksgiving, though, so hopefully I can get ahead a little on those days when I don't have college classes to be at.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Weekend Review #11 {Dracula, PSAT, and Current Events}

I know I have said this a lot recently, but it's been a super crazy week. Actually, today I woke up really tired, and feeling sick. I think I'm kind of crashing after this week, but I need to tell my body it can't do that yet, since I have another busy week ahead.

Monday, I had school, I volunteered at the library, had a short Nutcracker rehearsal, and Irish dance class.

On Tuesday, almost nothing happened (amazing!). Some friends of my sister's came over in the afternoon, but other than that I just did homework.

Wednesday was the PSAT in the morning. I missed one class at the college, and barely made it in time for the second, which I had a midterm in. After that was park day.

Thursday, I taught Latin in the morning. We had the first current events class of the year at our house in the afternoon, and then I had a make-up driver's ed class.

Friday, I had class in the morning, then stayed on campus to study for a test in my study skills class, and hang out with some friends. Then I met up downtown with a friend who is home visiting from college. It was great to catch up with her. Then, because that wasn't a long enough day, I had a ballet class.

Saturday, we left at about 10:30 in the morning to get food for lunch and dinner, then went to pick up two other ballet friends. Then we drove 30 min. to the theater we were performing at that night. By the time we got there, it was about noon. We had a ballet class, a dress rehearsal, a break for dinner, a warm up, and then the actual performance. Despite a few issues, the whole thing went very well. By the time the show was over and I got home, it was about 10:45pm. The first performance of Dracula went well, but it was a really long day.

Sunday, I didn't do much all day except hang out with some friends who came over for a few hours. I spent a lot of time talking to friends online, and did a little homework that was due on Monday.

Today, like I said, I'm kind of crashing. I have a similar week ahead of me though, with Dracula performances both Saturday and Sunday.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Daemon and Freedom {A Literature Analysis}

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the books Daemon and Freedom, by Daniel Suarez. Since then, I've been exchanging emails back and forth with Spencer, a homeschool friend, who has gone to college in Seattle this fall. I was reading over this email conversation about these books, and I really wanted to share them with you. I love how we both came at this from pretty different perspectives (and if you know Spencer and I, and the topic at hand pretty well, you might be able to guess how this conversation went), but we ended up at a shared conclusion. But a huge warning: This conversation discusses the END of the book Freedom, and contains massive spoilers for both books. Continue at your own risk. If you have read the book, please continue reading, and feel free to continue this conversation in the comments!















It all started when Spencer sent me a comment on my blog, asking me how I had personally answered the question I had mentioned in my review of Freedom: "But in Freedom, it is suddenly a question that you have to answer for yourselves. " (whether the Daemon is evil or good).

My responseWARNING: Below you will find a somewhat rambling, stream of consciousness style answer to your question. :)  I am also very curious to hear what your opinion on the matter is, and what you think of my answer to it.

I'm not really sure. At the end of the story, they needed it, because they were no longer able to function without it, but they also would have never gotten into that giant mess in the first place if not for it's presence. I think they were, in many ways, better off because of the Daemon and the Darknet, but the considering the tremendous loss of life that it took to get there, I'm not sure if I would say it was worth it. Really, I think that the Daemon itself can't be good or evil. It's not a sentient being, and can't have good or bad intentions.
What I think really matters is the intentions of it's creator, Matthew Sobol. In the end, he seemed to have good intentions. He created a system that punished wrongdoers, and supported the grassroots community. Maybe what he realized was that the only way to get to that point was to force people to accept that they needed such a drastic  change, which the Daemon did force them to do.
But, one major question still remains: was the loss of human life that it took to get to that endpoint worth it? I personally tend to value intention over actions, which forces me towards the conclusion that Sobol's Daemon was in the end a good creation. Of course, Sobol knew when he created the Daemon that he wouldn't ever have to live in a world where it was in control, so why should he care about the process, if the outcome was satisfactory.
So, really, I'm not sure. I would lean towards saying that it was good, but it's hard to say for sure, not knowing what a world without the Daemon would have looked like.



SpencerWARNING: Here thar be a long, rambling pontification which is worse than unstructured, in that it is structured poorly :)

Hmm. I'm a utilitarian, so the outcome (total outcome: I do factor in the various bad things and loss of life that the Daemon caused in order to establish itself in the "outcome" of the decision to create the Daemon) is my main consideration. Whether Sobol's intentions were good (I agree that they were) and whether the Daemon itself could be said to have intentions (I agree that it cannot) aren't as important to me.
Although I have the same feeling that you do that Sobol's good intentions at least partially justified his decision. If you want to put yourself in a position where you pass the least judgment on others' decisions, you have to approve the decisions that are well-intentioned, since that way you affirm the decision-maker's ability to decide what is good and what will work. Let 'em do whatever they want so long as they're not evil-intentioned. Does that make any sense?

But back to the Daemon. The total outcome is what matters in my opinion. So what do I think of the total outcome?
Assuming that the Daemon's new government is stable enough to last for a long time, the loss of life seems fairly negligible. I mean, compared to either of the world wars I'm guessing the total death toll is relatively small, because the Daemon pitted forces against focused targets rather than pitting entire nations against each other. I could be off on this though, since it's been a long time since I've read Daemon.

So I would argue that if the state of the world is significantly better after the Daemon's takeover, then the Daemon is good. It seems like in the short term this is definitely true, even if you argue that some of the technologies the Daemon instituted would not have been implemented so flawlessly in real life. (Which you have to, because the technologies surely would not have been.) The Daemon improved the state of the world through redistribution of income (and all sorts of stuff like education), fairer and cheating-proof democracy and justice through secure, networked and constant voting, plus a system that gave everyone who wanted one a role in society. These things have little to do with technology and more to do with enforcing fairness.
It also made the world more like a game and in doing so created purpose for people who had lost a sense of purpose in real life.

Suarez also, crucially, built adaptability into the system, so that the Daemon could facilitate all sorts of other beneficial stuff and adapt to change.

However, this ability to change also represents a security risk. You raised an important point: "At the end of the story, they needed it, because they were no longer able to function without it". By removing existing political structure and forcing everyone to rely on the same infrastructure, the Daemon made the world a lot less robust. A single hacker who figured out how to game the system could cause immeasurable damage. I think Suarez would argue that infrastructure defense security people would be able to contain the damage, but if they could not and the Daemon were destroyed, the world would fall into anarchy and chaos. Or if the hacker/hacker's organization managed to turn the Daemon to their own ends fast enough to stymie the infrastructure defense people, they would essentially have unlimited power and the capacity to do all sorts of horrible things.

So in the end my evaluation of the Daemon comes down to how stable and un-game-able it turns out to be. If Suarez's argument that the people who believe in the Daemon will successfully be able to protect, update, and perpetuate it is valid, I'm all for the Daemon. But if it's hacked, the negative consequences would be enormous.

That's my take :) Looking forward to hearing what you think,


Me: I do think that you are right in saying that total outcome is more important in this particular situation. While I do highly value Sobol's good intentions, since he knew he would never actually see the Daemon in action, I don't think it's the most important factor to consider.
I also agree that long term stability (if the Daemon proved able to provide that) would negate the loss of life. I don't know what the death tolls would have been like, but it is probably true that it would have been less than many wars. While there seemed to be significant loss of life in certain area, and in certain groups of people, much of the world didn't fall into any of the target groups, and thus should have been fine.
My main problem with the entire idea is how dependent the entire world is on the Daemon at the end of the book. If they were able to function successfully without it, I think that the danger of it being hacked would be much less, because they could simply shut it down in an emergency, temporary, or, in an extreme case, forever. But because of their dependence on it, if someone did take over the system, they would be stuck in it. They could hope that, as you suggested, members of the community would be able to fix the damage, but in a worst-case scenario, they would have no way to "get away" from the Daemon, without causing mass chaos, which might arguably be worse than whatever damage the hacker caused.
I am leaning toward saying the Daemon is a good thing, though I think in the end, it defies any such simplistic categories. There is so much more information I would want before making a true analysis, but since that information was not available, I think that, considering just the information provided, I will say that the Daemon is good. Granted, it's risky, and there are plenty of possible issues, but I think that given what we have seen the Darknet community achieve in the past, and looking at the the whole matter with a bit of optimism (which admittedly, I'm not known for, but I'm trying. :D), I think my final analysis might have to be that the Daemon is good.
This is the thought process I imagine Sebek going through in the final pages of the book, when he makes the decision to keep the Daemon. He knew that society would devolve into chaos without it, and he knew that it had positive impacts so far, but he also realized that while trusting the Daemon itself was a huge risk, that wasn't actually who he was trusting. The Daemon was simply a facilitator (at least at that point) of an international community. He chose to trust the people, which, when you think about it, is really the only thing you can do in any society. Because, in the end, there are only people.


Spencer: I have to agree with that analysis. I like the idea that the Daemon, by the end of the book, has really become the community that has sprung up around it. If that's true, I'm definitely behind it. The more that the Daemon still has parts of itself hidden from the community, the less I'm inclined to trust its stability. 
 
I wonder, if you were Sobol, what sort of contingency plan you would try to set up. You would probably train members of the community in what to do if large pieces of infrastructure fell apart.
 
I guess I'd also have to ask how integrated the Daemon is; to what extent it exists in loosely coupled pieces connected by humans versus being a tightly technically interwoven system. I would say that the more loosely coupled the Daemon is, the more robust it is. In the book the Daemon is mostly portrayed as being tightly integrated so that it can maintain its blitzkrieg, but as you were saying, the peacetime Daemon has ceded a lot of power to its human constituents, so I don't really know what the final state of the Daemon looks like. 
 
In the end, I'd guess the Daemon is fairly robust and support it, but you're right: we don't have enough information :)


So there you have it. Our lengthy analysis of Daemon, and our final decision that it is indeed good.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Weekend Review #10 {Fall, School, and Friends}

It's been a good week. I'm finally feeling like the new schedule is normal, and it's getting less weird.

This week, I had my first ever college test (in my study skills class), and I got an A, which is very exciting. :) I also taught Latin this week, which I really missed doing and I am glad to be doing again. I spent a lot of time with friends, and had the last Dracula rehearsals. I finished reading both Paradise Lost, and Dracula.

On Sunday, we had a cookout/campfire party at a friend's house, which was really fun. It rained some, and was kind of cold, but there was something really awesome about sitting around the fire in the dark, while it rained, with friends.

This coming week, I have a lot of schoolwork to do, the PSAT to take, and friend home from college to catch up with, and, on Saturday, the first Dracula performance. It's going to be an exciting week.

In some ways, this week was a little weird, in that it was the first time this fall where the drastically new schedule actually felt normal. I am spending a lot of my time with different people than I used to, and becoming much better friends with people I barely knew before. It's actually really nice.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

In Which Hank Green is Inspiring

So today I've been doing a lot of nothing. I haven't gotten a lot of work done, but I have been doing a lot of things that are a) not very practical, and b) rather thought provoking. First of all, for the last few months, I've been watching all of the Vlogbrother videos, in order. I've seen a lot of them before (at least the newer one, and all of the ones in 2013 and 2014), but there are a lot I haven't seen before, or at least not in a long time. It's been really interesting in a lot of ways, and it's taken me a long time. I started in the middle of July, and I've only gotten to May 2011, which means I'm about half way though.

The videos I find most interesting are the ones that are a reaction to an current news event. These videos often try to predict what the outcome will be, and, living in the future, it's very interesting to see what they thought our world would look like.

But there are also videos that are just funny, or insightful, that are still just as funny and insightful today.

I'm thinking about putting together a playlist of my favorite Vlogbrothers videos, and putting it up here, but I don't have time to do that today. Instead, I just want to share this one video I was watching this afternoon. Just a warning, it does contain some adult language, just fyi. I'm not sure if you can see the title or not, but hopefully that should be warning enough.

It's funny, it rhymes, it's kind of standard advice, but it's said in a way that makes you (or at least me) think about it a little more.

And, in case you need something funny, here's a playlist of Hank Green songs. Two warnings: first, there are 90 videos in this playlist, so it's kind of a timewaster. Second, some of these are a bit NSFW, but most of them are fine. Also, the best songs (in my opinion) are the earliest ones, which also happen to be at the very bottom of the playlist.

I've been spending a good bit of my afternoon watching Hank and John while outlining my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel (yay for NaNo progress). I'm finally getting really excited about it. I kind of got some inspiration today, and I'm not sure how good my idea will be, but I like it.

I hope you're having a good Tuesday. I have more outlining (and actual school work) to do. And mom, if you're reading this, I actually have gotten schoolwork and chores done today, just not as much as I could have considering the time I had available. Don't worry. :)



Monday, October 6, 2014

Weekend Review #9 {Dancing, and Colleges}

It's been a busy week (but aren't they all?).

I had classes at the community college, I volunteered at the library, and I had dance classes. In addition to all the "usual" stuff, I made up a driver's ed class, and went to a college fair.

I also went to the YA Review Club meeting for the month on Saturday. This weekend was also the beginning of Nutcracker rehearsals. Dracula rehearsals are getting a little more intense too, since the first performance is now less than two weeks away. 

I'm a little conflicted about what to do after Dracula ends, dance wise, but I think I have enough material there for an entire blog post later this week. Basically, there aren't really dance classes at that dance school that I think are the appropriate level for me, but I don't want to stop going there because I've been making friends, and I would like to be able to be in more of their productions (like their spring production). Anyway, more on that later.

I have Yoga in 10 minutes, so I have to go now, but I will post again about dance and stuff, maybe later today if I have time. I'll try to talk a little more about the college fair in that post too.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Freedom by Daniel Suarez

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

I'm going to warn right away: this post is going to have spoilers. It is the second of a two book series, so there will certainly be spoilers for book #1, and likely some spoilers for this book too. Freedom is the sequel to Daemon, but they are really just parts one and two of the same story. You can't just read Daemon and stop there. I really, really liked both books, and highly recommend them.


My Review


In Daemon, the Daemon is painted as evil. It kills people, it frames people for murder, and it is a huge national security risk. But in Freedom, it is suddenly a question that you have to answer for yourselves. Yes, the Daemon shook things up, and people died, but the people fighting it have done bad things too.

Freedom begins with many of the characters we know from the first book joining the Darknet (the virtual world the Daemon has created to allow its followers to communicate, work on projects together, and follow it's initiative.) and trying to make the best of a new world they are now living in. With the economy going south, and traditional government unable to do anything about it, the Darknet is providing an opportunity for a new life for many people.

I thought the book was fantastic and creative. There were times when I doubted the ability of Matthew Sobol and the Daemon to predict so many events so accurately so far into the future, but in the end, I could ignore that. Also, I think the fact that I'm not familiar at all with any of the technology that would be used to do something like this helped. The characters were mainly well developed and the plot was well formulated (and obviously extensively planned ahead of time).

I really liked the character of Pete Sebek in this book. He goes on a quest that changes not only the course of history, but also greatly changes him as a person.

Who Should Read This Book?

As with the previous book in the series, this is an adult book, and thus has some adult elements. The violence is particularly graphic, and there is a lot of it. I highly recommend this book, but if these are things that bother you, you may not want to read it.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Weekend Review #8 {The New Normal}

This week contained the same things as many past weeks. I had classes at the community college three days a week. My yoga class started, so now I have two classes I'm going to. I had my final two drives for driver's ed. I had dance classes, and Dracula rehearsals.

I've been trying to find time to blog a little more, but it's a bit of a challenge at times. I have a book review that just needs a few final touches (and I promise it'll be out very soon), and a few ideas for slightly more interesting posts, but I haven't really had the time to sit down and write.

I finished one ARC I had to review. I am still reading Paradise Lost (not a favorite of mine), and Dracula. I got stalled out with A Feast for Crows in April, and have been hoping to pick it back up again, but I haven't had the chance yet. I am hoping to make a little progress on it though, even if it is slow. I really do enjoy those books, but I just haven't had the time to devote to them.

I have to go now, but I promise that book review ASAP.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Weekend Review #7 {School, Driving, and Ballet}

It's been kind of a busy week.

Monday, I volunteered at the library, and had Irish Dance class.

Tuesday, I went to my last Driver's Ed class (though not really, since I need to make up some I missed), and passed my written test for my license.

Wednesday was my first day of school! I just had one class (study skills), then I went to park day. It was the last park day for one of our most integral members. He'll be missed here, but I know he'll have a great time in college!

Thursday was actually a pretty quiet day.

Friday I had class again, hung out with my friend on campus for a few hours, and then came home. I also had ballet in the evening.

Saturday I helped my mom decorate her new office at work, and had a Dracula rehearsal. I also drove on the freeway with my mom and sister in the car for the first time, and I think it was probably more scary for them then it was for me. :)

Today, I just had a rehearsal.

I finished Freedom, and I wrote a review that I'll publish tomorrow. I've also been reading an ARC I have from my local independent bookstore to review for them. I'll write a review of it for the blog, but I might not be able to publish it until the book actually comes out.


Sunday, September 14, 2014

Weekend Review #6 {Busy, Busy, Busy}

It's been kind of a crazy, weird week.

Monday, I volunteered at the library, went to my new student orientation at the community college, and went to the first Irish dance class of the year.

Tuesday was all about driving. I had a drive with the instructor in the morning, and tried parallel parking for the first time. Then there was the driver's ed class in the afternoon. I also had a ballet class in the evening.

Wednesday there was dinner and golf class (the topic of the day was golf etiquette) with friends.

Thursday I had another drive, and went on the freeway for the first time! It went pretty well, though I had a hard time going fast enough. The afternoon was driver's ed class again. We got into teams and played Jeopardy to prepare for the written test, and my team won.

Friday wasn't to exciting.

Saturday, I had a Dracula rehearsal, and then a homeschool movie night at a friend's house. We
watched Stardust, which I hadn't seen before, but really liked.

Today I had another Dracula rehearsal, and we are having dinner with friends tonight.

We started school this week. I started reading Paradise Lost, and started Geometry.

I'm still reading Freedom by Daniel Suarez and Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Not a long update today. I'll review Freedom as soon as I'm done with it, and I might have a post about ballet up this week too.


Monday, September 8, 2014

Daemon by Daniel Suarez {Book Review}

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

Today I am reviewing a book called Deamon by Daniel Suarez. I read this book on the recommendation of a friend, and I loved it. Daemon, and it's sequel Freedom are really what I would call a two part novel. While they are separate books, and each have a clear plot arc, Deamon is only half the story. I thought about waiting until I'd finished Freedom (I'm still reading it), and doing a joint review, but I decided to do two separate posts. Daemon is hard to classify. At first, I thought it was a murder mystery. Then I thought it was a techno-thriller, with good guys and bad guys. But the farther along the story got, the harder it was for me to decide who was good, who was bad, and what the real problem was.

My Review
 As you probably know if you've been reading my blog for a while, I am a character person. The books I love have well developed characters, who act like real people, and who drive the story with their choices. Daemon has a lot of great characters. Pete Sebeck, the police detective who has no idea what he'd getting in to. Natalie Phillips, the NSA agent who never stops fighting the Daemon. Jon Ross, the mysterious freelance analyst without a past. Loki, the hacker with high aspirations, and not too many morals. The Major, the man without a name who is always there when something big happens. Roy Merritt, the hero. And Matthew Sobol, who I think might be the most interesting character, but who dies before the book even begins.

These characters all get trapped in a world they didn't know existed. The Daemon, which is a computer program, is threatening to destroy the world as they know it, and they must stop it. The world is becoming a video game, and those who don't know how to play are getting left behind.

This book is so hard to talk about without giving away the plot. It is very well written, and even though it is a technology book, it's written in a way that would make it very accessible to people who aren't familiar with how that world works. The story can be hard to follow at times, because it often makes leaps forward in time, and it switches often between narrators. If any of this sounds interesting, I highly recommend this book.

Who Should Read This Book

Basically, if you were intrigued by the description, and enjoy a good thriller sometimes, you would probably like this book. But, a obligatory disclaimer: This is not a kid's book, and you shouldn't expect it to be. There is a lot of very graphic violence in this book. A lot of people die or are tortured in very creative ways, and very little is left to the imagination in many of those scenes. While this in no ways lessens my recommendation of this book, it is something to be aware of. If those things bother you, this might not be a book for you. It didn't bother me that much, though there were some time where I started just skimming for a few pages (not only are those parts graphic, they are long. They get a little boring sometimes). There is also sex, and some swearing (though no more than any YA book, and actually probably less than most), so as usual, take those things into consideration when deciding whether to read this book.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Weekend Review #5 (Drives, Graduation, and School)

It's been a big week. Before I start, I should say that I have multiple book reviews in the works, and I expect at least one, maybe two to be out this week (yay!), along with a back-to-school update.

Monday was pretty quiet. It was Labor Day, so my mom was off of work.

Tuesday and Wednesday were quiet too. I had Driver's Ed on Tuesday.

Thursday, I had my first drive with my driving teacher! I was really nervous, but I think it went pretty well. I am too cautious most of the time, and my main issue is that I am usually going too slowly, but other than that, I think I'm doing pretty well.

Friday was the graduation ceremony for some people in our homeschool group. It was the first time we've had one of these, but it turned out really well. Some of the parents got up to talk, the grads walked through to get their diplomas, and we had cake. It was a great time, and it was both really exciting, and sad, since this means that they are getting ready to leave and do their own thing.

Saturday, I had a meeting at a local book store. I am now part of their YA Review Committee, which means I get ARCs to review for them. They will use the reviews in their magazine, on their website and Facebook page, and in the store. I also had a Dracula rehearsal.

Today was our first day of school! I'm going to talk more about this in another post, hopefully tomorrow.

Sorry it's a short one today. That's all I've got for now.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

11th Grade Goals

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

With a new school year soon beginning, I think it's time to make some goals for how I want the year to look. This year is bringing a lot of changes, both in my personal life, and in my social group that are going to make things pretty different. Several friends of mine are leaving for college (or have already left), and while that doesn't really change how I do things, it changes my experiences. I'm now doing Running Start as well, which is completely changing my school structure, and I'm doing a lot more dancing that I've ever done in the past.

Goals:

1. Be as healthy as possible, both physically and mentally. While this isn't entirely under my control, I do want to do whatever I can to stay healthy, whether that's making sure I eat well and exercise, or in some cases taking medication and going to the doctor to figure out that some of my problems are. Last year, I was sick nearly all year, and I would really rather that not happen again.

2. Accept that I'm not always in control. This goes with #1. Sometimes, I just can't do as much work as I would like, because of illness, or just life circumstances. While I can make an effort to deal with my anxiety, a lot of that is just accepting that I can't always change things. My goal is to learn to go with the flow.

3. Finish the Latin book I'm on. One thing I'm really sad about is that I probably won't be able to keep doing Latin. But, I am 3/4 of the way through the book I'm working on, and I really want to finish it, even if it takes me all year.

4. Manage my time better. I have a lot of different things going this year: dance, college classes, school at home, volunteering, blogging, reading (I have some exciting things on that front to talk about soon), and more. I have never been particularly good at managing all the things I have to do on a daily basis, but to keep up with all these different things, I'm going to need to get better at it.

5. Start thinking about college. I have a year left until I need to start applying to colleges, and that means that it's time to start thinking a little more seriously about where I might want to go, what is important to me in a college, and what schools I want to visit and eventually apply to.


These are some of my goals for my junior year of high school. I will try to check in every few months, and talk a little about what I've been doing to help achieve these goals, and how it's going.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Weekend Review #4 {The End of Summer}

This week really felt like the end of the summer. The weather's been getting slowly cooler and we've had some rain. Today is the last day of the Summer Reading Program, which really means that summer is over for me. Plus, Mom was back at work all this week (except for Friday), and all of that adds up to mean that Fall is pretty much here. The only thing left to make it official is for school to start again, which won't happen until next week.

Monday, I took the bus to the library from my house, and volunteered there. This was the first week after the girl who volunteered with me for two years left for college, so it felt very quiet. I also taped stakes onto the last of the yard signs, which is a sure sign that summer is coming to an end.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday all included Dracula rehearsal, plus Park Day, and visiting with friends. 

Friday morning, we left for Leavenworth, WA, a cute little Bavarian themed town just on the east side of the mountains. We used to go every year, usually for just the day, but we haven't in a few years. Leavenworth is fun, but there isn't much to do other than wander around the shops in town, which we did a lot of. We stayed in a little hotel that night.

Saturday, we did some shopping, played miniature golf, ate (one of the best reasons to go to Leavenworth is the food), and headed home in the evening.

This week, I finished Daemon by Daniel Suarez (which I really liked, and promise to review when I can), and started Freedom, the sequel. I also watched the movie Men In Black for the first time. I've also been listening to a lot of Welcome to Nightvale. I've been kind of slow about it, but now I'm finally catching up to the current episodes.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Weekend Review #3 {Pizza, Birthdays, and Art}

Monday, I volunteered at the library.

Tuesday, my friend came over, and my mom took us to driver's ed. After driver's ed, Mom, Isabelle, and I went to see the movie The Hundred Foot Journey, which I would definitely recommend.

Wednesday was Mom's first day of work, so Isabelle and I got a ride with some friends to park day. Before park day, a bunch of people got to the park early to do some art stuff, and I, not really wanting to draw or paint, read while other people drew me from two different sides. After park day, I had a Dracula rehearsal, then dinner and golf at another homeschooler's house.
This is just after I fell of the slackline at our friend's house.

Thursday, Isabelle and I had lunch with friends, then she went to her ballet class, and I hung out with my friend until her mom took us to driver's ed.

Friday, Mom was not working. Our dance studio had an open house, so we were there for a few hours in the morning, dancing on and off for prospective students (and, at one point, just ourselves). Afterwards, we went to the Bagelry (guess what they sell) for lunch. That evening, I went to Fat Pie Pizza for dinner with some friends, because one of them had just turned 18.
The three of us at dinner.

We ate on the roof, and the sunset was gorgeous, though it's hard to tell from this picture.


Saturday, there was a birthday part for a homeschool person. I did some driving, and (mostly) drove home from the party.

Today, my mom and I walked down to the bus stop near our house (about a 20 min. walk), to try taking the bus downtown, but when we got there, we realized the bus doesn't come down this far on Sundays, so we walked back.

I started a book this week called Daemon by Daniel Suarez. It's really good, and I will most definitely review it once I finish it.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Giver {Book vs. Movie}

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

On Sunday, I watched the movie of The Giver. This is a collection of my thoughts about it. This post will have spoilers for both the book and movie, so if you don't want to know what happens, stop reading now.


The movie was actually pretty good. Graphically, it was very pretty. The transition from black-and-white to color was done very smoothly, and it looked very nice. On the whole, it was a quite good movie. But, it's not just a movie. All of my complaints come from where it differed from the book.

1. They aged all the characters up. I knew they were going to do it, and in some ways I understand why they did it, but it felt wrong.

2. The romantic sub-plot. Of course, this is one reason they aged them up. I really didn't like it. In the book, Jonas is really supposed to be completely alone, except for the Giver. But here, he had this companionship and understanding with Fiona that was just weird. And, when Jonas leaves, he promised her he'll come back.
This happens.

3. And, of course, most importantly, the ending. When Jonas left the community, we continued to see what happened there. We saw Fiona almost be killed for helping Jonas leave (what the heck?), we see the Giver almost give up all hope, and then we see the moment that all the memories are returned.

4. But for me, the worst part was the very last few seconds. In the book, the ending is left purposefully ambiguous. When I read the book for the first time, at the age of ten, that was what made it stick with me so strongly. But in the movie, Jonas sleds down the hill, and knows that the house is real. He made it. He gets up and walks, with Gabriel, towards the house.

These are my issues with the movie. The ageing up of the characters didn't bother me all that much, and if that had been the only major change they made, I wouldn't have been too bothered by it. The character of the Chief Elder (played by Meryl Streep), barely exists in the book, and had a major role in the movie. That doesn't bother me too much, and they integrated it well.

The Giver.
Jeff Bridges as the Giver was really great. He is the reason to watch the movie. He played a tortured man, tired with the world, but driven by grief and a deep sense of duty incredibly well. A lot of the acting in the movie was, well not at all bad, not that great (most of the main characters were played by unknown actors), but the adult characters (Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, Alexander Skarsgard) were all very good.

Jonas is pretty cute, which is obviously a plus.

In the end, I enjoyed the movie a lot more than I expected it. While I can't give it a full recommendation,  I would recommend it with reservations. It's not a movie to avoid at all costs. It's good, just different.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Weekend Review: Dancing, Shopping, and The Giver

It's been another busy week.

On Monday, I went to ballet class, volunteered at the library, and went to Irish dance class. This week was the last week of summer dance classes, and so Monday was my last day until fall.

Tuesday, I had Driver's Ed.

Wednesday was park day, and then I had rehearsal for Dracula.Then, because my mom was hosting a "Mom's Night" at our house, my friend's dad picked us both up after Dracula, and we went back to one of the other family's houses, where we joined a bunch of other kids and dads, and we ate dinner. Then, most of the kids and dads went to the driving range to for some golf lessons, but some of us stayed behind and hung out for a few hours.

Thursday, I had another rehearsal, and my mom and I went driving before that.

Friday, my sister had soccer in the morning, and after that my mom and I tried out the city buses. We took the bus to the college,  from there downtown, which is where the library and my dance studio are, and then from there back to where we started, which is a few miles from my house. There isn't a convenient bus stop close to my house, but there is one a few minute drive away. Then, we had an Irish dance performance Friday night in the beautiful Birch Bay state park, on a stage overlooking the water.

Saturday, we went shopping with our grandmother.

Today, my sister is doing a mud run, and then I am going to see The Giver with a friend this afternoon. I'm a bit nervous about The Giver, because I've heard some not so good things, and the trailer wasn't promising, but I promise to write a blog post about it tonight after I see it.

This week, I read two books I really liked: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and Thirteen Reasons Why. Thirteen Reasons Why is a book I read for the first time probably five years ago, but it was fascinating to read it now, and connect with it in a whole new way. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was a beautiful book that made me so happy and so sad at the same time. I am writing a review of it right now, and it will be published later this week.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Weekend Review: August 4-8 2014

It's been a busy week. Monday, I went to ballet class, volunteered at the library (we cut out hot pink crowns for the Frozen party they are holding), then had two Irish dance classes. Tuesday, we picked blueberries, and then I went to driver's ed. Wednesday was park day and a Dracula rehearsal, and Thursday I just had Driver's Ed. On Friday, we did some shopping, and then I had ballet in the evening, and today my mom has her 30th high school reunion, so Isabelle and I are spending the afternoon and evening at our grandparent's house.

Driver's Ed is boring mostly, but there is some stuff that is actually new information. Ballet is hard, but I do feel like I'm a lot better than I was at the beginning of the summer. I am thinking about writing a post soon about what it's like to be the "new girl" in ballet at 16. It's a strange, but not necessarily bad, experience.

It's been a busy week in some ways, but there isn't a whole lot to talk about beyond that. I imagine these posts will be pretty short for the next month, but will get a little more interesting after school starts in September.


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Blog Changes: Coming Soon

I'm not dead! In fact, things have been going pretty well. They have just been super crazy. In light of recent happenings, as well as my knowledge of what the future is going to look like, this post is going to outline what I imagine will be some changes coming to the blog.  But first, here is a bit of a recap of what I've been doing since I blogged last. 

We went camping in Bend for a week with our friends, which was awesome. We played a game of Capture the Flag with the cross country team who was camping next to us. This is something I definitely intend to blog in depth about as soon as I have a spare minute. After we got back, things have been really, really crazy. I started taking Open ballet classes this summer, so I've has two ballet classes a week, plus two Irish dance classes. I also somehow ended up being in my dance school's production of Dracula, so I've had rehearsals four days a week for that. I started driver's ed last week, so I have that twice a week as well. And of course, there are still all the normal things like volunteering at the library, park day, soccer, golf and more. There have also been plenty of other events going on, like the boat party we had last weekend, and the Hunger Games we held this weekend as well. I'm not even going to bother blogging that one, since Autumn did it so well

I know I had promised some posts before I left, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to manage that right now. This summer has not ended up looking anything like what I expected it to look like, and that means I have a lot less time for things like blogging than I anticipated. I also have done a lot less reading this summer than I had hoped, which is a bit disappointing, but I'm glad to be able to be doing all the other things that I am doing right now.

The reason I'm mentioning this is that I don't feel like I can commit to blogging like I have been able to in the past. This summer schedule makes it hard, and next year, my schedule is going to be pretty variable, and a bit hard to pin down all the time. I will be taking classes at the community college, doing school at home, dancing, and doing any number of things I don't even know about for sure yet. Because of this, I'm going to change some things around here. First of all, I will probably end up posting a bit less (though hopefully more than the last few weeks), and bit more sporadically. However, I do want to have some goals, so that I have something to work for, and you have something to expect. 

1. I will be starting a new feature called the Weekend Review, where I will post each weekend, talking about what I did that week. This is the only posts I will promise at this point. I will publish one post each weekend, even if that's all I'm able to do for weeks on end.

2. This blog is book blog, and I'm trying not to stray too far from those roots. I will write and post book reviews as often as possible. That might not be too often, but I'll do my best. Same goes for TV and movie reviews, and for writing posts.

3. All other kinds of posts will be completely sporadic. If I have something to write about, and time to write, I will. But, I might not have time, and if I don't, then I don't. 

This is all I can promise right now.  Hopefully, I'll have the chance to do way more than this, but I can't have the blog be a priority at the moment. I'll be back this weekend with a review of my week!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Off to Oregon

In the morning, we are leaving for Bend, Oregon to go camping with four other families (about 85% of the typical Usual Suspects group). I haven't been camping since 2009 (wow, it's been 5 years!), and I've never been camping with other families like this. While I'm a little nervous that I've forgotten to pack some vitally important thing, I'm excited. It should be a fun trip, and I'm looking forward to it being warm, though hopefully not too warm.

I won't be doing any blogging until I get back Friday night, but hopefully at that point I'll have stories and maybe some pictures to share. I'm starting Driver's Ed right after we get back, and I might have a very small part in my ballet school's fall production of Dracula (though I'm not positive about that one yet), so hopefully all of that will also provide plenty to blog about. Plus, I of course still have a backlog of book reviews to finish and publish.

I have six books for the ride, which is 7 plus hours each way, which will hopefully be enough. My goal is to write a review for each of them as I finish them and post them when I get back.

Wish us luck!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

On Rereading

If you know me personally, or if you have been reading my blog for a long time, you might know two things about me:

1. I love to read, and I often read books more than once.
2. I prefer character driven stories over plot driven ones.

This post is going to be a argument about why you should read books more than once. In my opinion, any book worth reading is worth rereading. If it's not interesting or subtle or involved enough to make it worth rereading, it's probably not worth the first time through either. Of course, this post is just talking about fiction. Nonfiction is a whole different topic, and this really doesn't apply to it.

I started really thinking about this a few weeks ago, when I decided to reread all of S.E. Hinton's books after seeing a play version of The Outsiders, which is one of my very favorite books. Then, yesterday, I read The Fault in Our Stars for the second time, after seeing the movie a few weeks ago. All of this helped to really bring into focus my thoughts on this topic. I've also been rewatching old Vlogbrothers videos this week too (I've started at the very beginning. I doubt I'll get all the way through them, but it's fun to try), which has made me realize that my thoughts on this apply to other mediums as well.

Now, I believe that everybody reads for a different reason, and that's okay. Books are for their readers, and every reader needs something different from a book. Some people read to experience new things, some people read to escape their everyday life, some people read to gain a new perspective. I read to connect to characters and people I'll never meet. This brings us to point 2, from above. I prefer books with well fleshed out characters, and stories that are driven by choices the character makes rather than plot twists that come from an outside source.

All of this leads us to the reason that I think books are worth rereading. Any good book will never be exactly the same any two times you read it. I'm going to use The Outsiders as my example, since it's a book I've read four or five times over the last five or six years.
The movie was pretty great too.

The first time I read it, I was really just trying to absorb the story. I was trying to understand the Curtis family dynamics, and who the heck the Socs were, and why it all even mattered. The second time I read it, I was able to pick up on far more nuance that the first time. Now that I had a good grasp on the plot, I was able to really connect with Ponyboy, and try to image what I would have done in those situations. The most recent time I read it, just a few weeks ago, was pretty different. The first few times I read it, I was about 11 or 12. This time, I was 16, and suddenly, the book felt different. While before, I'd always connected most to Ponyboy, this time, I found myself really connecting to Darrel, and thinking about how I would deal with those kinds of situations from his perspective.

I had a similar experience with The Fault in Our Stars. The first time I read it, about two years ago, I really just took in the story. I didn't know what to expect, and I just took it in, and tried to understand it at it's base value. This time, I really found myself connection with Hazel. Now, I don't have a terminal illness, and I've never had to deal with almost any of the things she's had to deal with, but for some reason, I really found myself experiencing the story through her eyes, instead of from the outside.
The google image search for TFiOS is a timewaster. A beautiful, kind of amazing timewaster. Somehow, though, I still just ended up with this screenshot from the movie.

I really think that it is impossible to read a book twice and have the same experience. Our lives and our experiences shape us, and they do it constantly. There have been lots of things in my life that have made me who I am, and that exact person that is "me" is always changing. Every experience you have, every change that happens to your life changes the way you read a book. Some of it I think just comes with age. I think it might be easier for my to connect with Hazel simply because now we're the same age, instead of her being several years older. Maybe it's the simple fact that I can't possibly imagine going through what she has gone through that makes me connect with her. Or maybe it's the little things. There are several scenes in that book, when taken completely on their own, are things I can say I have experienced almost verbatim.

Sometimes, the thing that makes a difference is a reference to a movie or song that you hadn't seen or heard the first time through, but that you get this time. Sometimes, it's just having a different perspective on the story as a whole. For me, there is one thing that I know is a big factor is rereading books. I read a lot of things at a young age. I was an emotionally mature, very strong reader, and the books written for 11 year olds can be pretty boring. So, I was reading Tamora Pierce, S.E. Hinton, Madeleine L'Engle, Lois Lowry, Julie Anne Peters, and even Ellen Hopkins as a preteen.
Almost all of Ellen Hopkin's book. All of these (minus Smoke and maybe Tilt), were out when I was 13.

Those are not authors that you would typically recommend to a kid that age (at least some of them), but I think it was good for me. Those books really did do their part in shaping the way I think, and the person I am by challenging my beliefs, and my ways of thinking. When I was about 12, I read a LOT. I can't remember everything I read, but my life was changing in ways outside of my control, and those books were a bit of a refuge. Books that challenged me, changed me, and helped me decide who I wanted to be.

Now, I should say that a lot of those books and what they really meant went completely over my head at that age (though not quite as much as you might think). Rereading those books now is a completely different experience. The experiences I've had since then make reading an Ellen Hopkins book feel so different. While it's not an exaggeration to say that Ellen Hopkins defined a year of my life practically (the year I was 13, I read all of her books at least twice), they hardly feel like the same books now. The first time I read them, they were what I needed them to be, and when I read them now, they are what I now need them to be, and those things aren't remotely similar.

So, my challenge to you is to read a book you haven't read in a long time. It doesn't have to be a great book, it just should be one that you enjoyed or that meant something to you the first time you read it. Now, how does it feel different to you this time? Sometimes, the changes are subtle, but I think they are always there. Humans change to quickly to ever experience the same book the same way twice.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Summer Update: School, Dance, and Books

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

It's been a long time since I posted here, and lots has been happening. I've been working hard to try to finish up Algebra II and Medieval History. I've been doing art classes once a week (pictures to come eventually), Irish dance (soft shoe and hard shoe) once a week, and, starting this week, ballet two to three times a week! There have also been lots of parties and spontaneous get togethers in the nice weather, plus many birthdays to celebrate.
Sunset over Bellingham Bay, on a spontaneous evening excursion to the park with some friends.

I am currently reading The Prince for History, and just finished Are You My Mother? and Maggot Moon, both of which I have written reviews for which will come out soon. If I have time, I'll try to review Fun Homeas well, since it kind of comes before Are You My Mother?

It's been hot around here, in the high 70's to mid 80's all this week. It's supposed to get close to 90 soon, which is quite hot for NW Washington!

As usual, I'm staying busy this week with dance (I have 1.5 hrs of ballet and 2 hrs of Irish on Monday, plus ballet on Friday, and maybe on Thursday), volunteering at the library, a family soccer picnic tonight, a World Cup party tomorrow, and art class, golf, and probably other things I forgot. I'll be reading, doing school, and editing as well.

I'll try to get back to blogging more again soon, but probably not until August, when things really calm down a bit for us. We are camping in Bend, OR for a week in about 10 days, so I won't be blogging then either.

I'll get a few book reviews up this week, but other then that, I probably won't be on here until the beginning of August.



Saturday, June 28, 2014

A Look Back at 10th Grade

Now that this school year is over, I can look back on it in a somewhat subjective way. While I'm not done with 10th grade yet, and really won't be until probably the end of July, my mom is off work for the summer (she works at a community college), and to me that means the end of the 2013-2014 school year.

This year was a challenging one in many ways. I have been sick in some way nearly the whole year. I had a horrible sore throat think for a week over Thanksgiving, I had a coldish thing that lasted most of the winter, and then I have what I think is whooping cough for all of March and April, and half of May. I've also been starting to deal with my asthma.

When I think about how sick I've been this year, and how much of that time I really didn't get any work done, I don't feel as bad about having a month's work left at this point. I've also had a lot of stress and depression I've dealt with this year, relating to school, illness, and other ongoing personal issues that I need to deal with.

On the other hand, this year has had a lot of great stuff happening too. Despite the introduction of boys and dating into our lives (or maybe even because of it), my friends and I really are closer than ever. I have the ability in our group of friends to run in many circles, teen girls, teen boys, younger girls, and even adults at times, and never really feel out of place. Through a variety of circumstances, I also feel like I've gotten a lot closer to all the people and families in our small group.
I turned 16!

I've done more Irish Dance, and gained a lot of confidence in my ability as a dancer. I really want to start experimenting with more types of dance, and I really want dance to be part of what I do in the future. I've started thinking more seriously about what I want my life to look like, and I'm finding I'm not really sure. For a long time, I've always thought that it was destiny that I would end up doing something involving writing or editing, but now I'm not so sure. This year, I've really found myself drifting farther and farther away from that realm. While I could see myself working at a library or bookstore, I really can't picture myself writing for a living anymore.
Dancing at the Highland Games

I've done a lot of editing, which really is something I enjoy. While I did very little this spring while I was sick, I've got a few rather large projects I'm finishing up for the author I'm working with. I've also started teaching Latin this spring to a small group of middle school age girls, which I absolutely love. I really like Latin, though I don't really have much time for it at the moment, and I really want to study it more seriously. I really enjoy teaching like this, and I would love more opportunities to do things like this. I spent a lot of time this spring working on the homeschool yearbook, which I think has been a success.
The three seniors opening their yearbooks, while the rest of us look on.

I read a lot of books, including Beowulf, The Song of Roland, and The Inferno, and before the summer's over, I'll have added The Prince and Hamlet to that list. For fun, I read A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and the first part of A Feast for Crows, in addition to many others.

While at first look, this year seemed to me to be a somewhat bad one, filled with stress, anxiety, and illness, there was much more to it than that. I've had a lot of great opportunities, done a lot of great activities, and been willing to try more new things than ever before. I have a lot of great friends, and we've had a really great year, despite the challenges.

Next year's going to be a pretty different one, in a lot of ways, but I think it'll be a great one too.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Making a Homeschool Yearbook in 40 Easy Steps!

This year, I made a homeschool yearbook for our group of friends. Here is how it happened. In case you wanted to do it too, exactly like I did, I put the whole process into a handy step by step guide.

1. Around Christmas, decide that, since this is the very first year that there are graduating seniors in your homeschool group, that making a yearbook would be a fantastic idea.

2. Decide that you are way too busy to even consider making a yearbook.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 three to five more times.

4. Finally decide that this is something you really want to do, and that you'll manage to find the time some how.

5. On New Year's Eve, tell a few select people about your plan (your family is a good idea), and make sure that you have at least one person who is willing to help (an adult with a lot of pictures and a good camera is an invaluable resource to track down at this point).

6. Make a list of all the topics you want to include pictures of.

7. Now, once a week for the next month or so, while waiting for dance class, talk with your adult advisor (the one you picked in step 5) about pictures, logistics, software, and more, preferably while drinking hot chocolate.

8. Create a Shutterfly share site, where people can upload photos, and create a book in Shutterfly.

9. Do nothing for a while, since you have a lot of time until it needs to be done (late June), and you're not really sure what to do next.

10. Upload a few pictures to Shutterfly, then get extremely frustrated with how incredibly slow their online book creating application is.

11. By this point it should be about March. Tell a few more key people about the project. People with lots of pictures are very important. It should really be on a "need-to-know" basis at this point though, since you want to make sure the seniors don't find out.

12. Get really fed up with Shutterfly's web interface, and start looking for other photobook making programs.

13. Read a bunch of stuff online, and download MyPublisher. Since it's not online, it's way faster than Shutterfly, and seems to have all the important features.

14. Spend an afternoon with your adult advisor (and more importantly, her photo collection), looking for pictures.

15. Add several dozen pictures to a shared dropbox folder.

16. Add all those pictures into MyPublisher, and start messing around with putting them into a book.

17. Decide that you're just practicing for now, since you have a very clear vision of how the book will be organized.

18. Get pictures from a few other people, who you have now had to tell about the project.

19. Continue organizing the pictures, and begin to realize that maybe your idea of doing the book chronologically through the school year isn't such a good one.

20. Start putting pages together, a little more seriously this time. Continue collecting photos from people. By this point, pretty much all the adults, and a good number of the kids in your group will know about it.

21. Come up with the idea of putting in quotes and messages to and about the seniors through out the book, and send out an email asking for submissions.

22. Put together a few pages you like, save them, and make a few more, arrange them all throughout the book, decide that you really don't like one of them, then replace a few pictures from one page.

22. Repeat step 22 about ten to fifteen more times. All told, this should take about 2 hours a day for a few weeks.

23. Send out another email asking people for quotes for the book, since you didn't get much the first time. Also, send out your first "official" email to the adults, describing the project, and asking how many people want to buy.

24. Find spots for the quotes people are starting to send you.

25. Spend about an hour one day going through all the available font options, then switching all the writing already in the book to your font of choice.

26. Realize that the default text size is 7 point font, and go through changing it all to 14 point.

27. Rearrange the pages some more, add a few last pictures, and add the rest of the quotes. By this point, it should be early May.

28. Go through the book several dozen times, looking for photos that need to be cropped, ones that are cropped too much, pages with too much going on, double page spreads with too many pictures, pages with too much color, or not enough, and typos in the quotes. This should take a week or so, and should include a lot of time not working actively on the book, but thinking about it.

29. Write a letter at the beginning for the three grads. Rewrite it two or three times.

30. By this point, the book should be pretty much done, and you should have it pretty much entirely cataloged in your head. You no longer need a computer to decide on changes to make. This is a good time to send out more emails, and nail down everyone's orders.

31. Decide what kind of cover you want, what color, and what size. Decide what type of paper, what color end sheets, and what type of binding. Of course, if you don't want to pay extra, most of those choices are already made for you.

32. Get to the end of the ordering process, and freak out a little over the cost of shipping (it is incredibly expensive). Send out a final email to everyone letting them know the final price.

33. Put in your order.

34. Wake up in the middle of the night two nights in a row, realizing you forgot to add someone to the acknowledgments section, and forgot to replace that picture at the end.

35. Get your box with all 16 books! Check the books to see how they look, and get very excited. It's early June by now.

36. Wait. Everyone knows but the three seniors at this point, so keeping it a secret is hard, but possible.

37. Plan a party to give the books out at in late June.

38. Get nervous about letting everyone see this thing you've spent so long working on, and start collecting money.

39. Present the books to the seniors at the party, and then give everyone else their books. Start looking through your copy, since that's what everyone else is doing, and then feel silly, since you have the whole thing memorized and cataloged in your head. Pass out pens so that people can sign the books.

40. Watch everyone look at the books, realize that they all look happy, and finally relax. Your project is finally complete.

So there you have it: how I made my yearbook, in 40 easy steps. By the way, over the last six months or so, I have at several points mentioned a "secret project" or a project that I couldn't talk about yet. This is it.