Memorial Day

Although now known mostly as a three-day weekend to Bar-b-que and chance to buy big-ticket items on sale, Memorial Day originally had much more serious origins.

After the start of the American Civil War, commuities would set aside one day a year to decorate their fallen soldiers’ graves. On this day, which could be randon, townspeopl would gather to remember and honor those who fought for their country; which at the time, of course, could have been either the Union or Confederate States of America since both the North and the South engaged in this practice.

On May 30, 1868, Decoration Day (precurser to Memorial Day) was officially observed. It was proclaimed by General Jophn Logan to be a day to decorate the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers. May 30 was chosen because it was not an anniversary of a particular battle. While the day was meant to commemorate both sides of the conflict, many Southern states honored their dead on other days.

It was not until World War I that Decoration Day morphed into a day of rememberance for all fallen US servicemen (and later women.)

Memorial day was still celebrated on May 30th until 1971 when it was declared to be held on the last Monday in May in order to provide a better holiday for Federal employees.

If you get the chance, decorate the grave of a fallen soldier, hug a person in military service, or at least take a minute to remember those who gave their lives.

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I found this information on the two following sites.

http://www.history.com/topics/memorial-day-history

http://www.usmemorialday.org/

Quintessentially French

F is for Farewell, My Only One by Antoine Audouard

Let’s take a walk down foreign author lane for the next A to Z Reading Challenge title, shall we?

I’ve always loved languages, and having studied four different ones in the course of my high school and college career (one was a dead language, so should it count?), I’ve learned a lot about different cultures. I studied French the longest and to the highest level off all four linguistic courses, so I’ve read a bit of literature in it’s original published format. Which is why I can say, that Audouard’s Farewell, My Only One is quintessentially French.

Audouard’s novel is essentially a love story and a love triangle, as only the French can create. The love between the three characters is at times philosophical, carnal, unrequited, destructive, inspiring, and always complex. The fictional story based on real letters and works of a 12th century philosopher follows William, a student of thought, philosophy, and religion. When he meets this philosopher, Peter Abelard, the two become friends and develop a master, student relationship in the quest for knowledge, but at the same time, William also falls in love at first sight with the same woman destined to have a historic romance with his master. Heloise (which must be pronounced in your head with a French accent because, well, doesn’t everything sound better in French?) and Abelard develop what is known in history to be the beginning of courtly love with a tragic, star-crossed lovers facet. Heloise is a student of Abelard and the two have an all-consuming, passionate, and raw love of each other that leads to scandal, a secret marriage, and violence on both sides.

William watches and sometimes abets this fiery obsession between Abelard and Heloise with a voyeuristic detachment that belies his own feelings for Heloise, deep down under his blasé exterior. As the narrator, the reader gets insight into William’s own thoughts and feelings which are both conflicted, with his friendship with Abelard and love of Heloise versus an innate propensity to watch life from afar with a melancholy soul of a loner.

This book was very cerebral, and while there is a plot, I think the meat of the book is really the thoughts and emotions elicited from the reader by the narrator. The story makes one think about all manner of philosophical questions posited by the actual teachings of Abelard that are interwoven with the plot of the novel and by William’s actions and the nature of the love between Abelard and Heloise. There is pensive remoteness to William’s character that gives the book a lugubrious tone that I think is characteristic to French literature (as well as Russian literature, but that’s another story). I can say that I enjoyed Audouard’s writing and the story that he tells, despite needing a gigantic pick-me-up after ending the final chapter.

To say that there is something lost in translation is usually true, but Euan Cameron’s translation is stellar (in my inexpert opinion). Having read French language fiction before, I still get the mood, wording, and structure of writing that typify the French style in this English version of the novel. This book still feels French, which is important when reading foreign translations. That being said, I’d have to warn readers who have never read a foreign book translated into English of the sometimes jarring wording and unusual syntax that exist in translations. This is something that you have to jump into with commitment and an open mind; suspend your American passport for a while, and enjoy the prose before you.

Farewell, My Only One would certainly be a good starting point for those of you who want to dip a toe in the foreign fiction pool because the fact that is is also a historical fiction novel helps; readers are already using their imaginations to submerge themselves in another world, time, and location that is foreign to them. I’d recommend this book not only for it’s beautiful language, but for the mental challenge that the philosophical undertones of the book provide.
So, readers, lisez, et découvrez un nouveau livre!

The newest Moore title*

Sacre Bleu! by Christopher Moore; page count 416

Christopher Moore has done it again. Once again, I found myself laughing out loud at his hilarious take on art and Paris in the 1890s. The novel opens with the death of Vincent van Gogh. His two painter friends, Lucien Lessard and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, happen upon suspicious circumstances within the Parisian art world and decide to investigate. The book is a little history, a little color theory, a little paranormal fantasy, and a whole lot of funny.

I was surprised by the attention to detail within the book. Three things in particular made me overly, geeky excited: 1)The book is written with navy blue ink. Fantastic! 2)It includes color pictures of many of the artwork discussed. A book with pictures! I love books with pictures! 3)The riotous humor we’ve all come to love and expect from Moore. My goodness with the sex jokes! They’re everywhere!

Moore’s work isn’t for those who take things too seriously. This book would especially not be good for that particular old prude who looks down her nose at “humorist” works (you know who I’m talking about.) However, for all those out there looking for a laugh, fans of Moore, and anyone who takes art a little less than seriously, have a go at Sacre Bleu!

 

 

*Sorry. I could not come up with a quipy title. It seems like there should be one staring me in the face, but, alas, my mind is a blank.

What is Love?

While talking to my mom Thursday morning, she sprung a doozy of a question on me. Seemingly out of the blue she asked if I am in love.

Background:

1. Yes, friends, family, people of the Internet, I have a boyfriend.

2. Apparently it was my dad who asked the question. This struck me as odd since we don’t talk about these things. Instead we shoot things or disagree on politics. I guess my mom is slowly filling him in. Interestingly, when I called him this afternoon, specifically to see if he’d mention anything, he only told me to drink in moderation (I was on my way to a wedding and I’m pretty sure my dad thinks I’m a lush, but that’s a post for another day.)

Anyway, I didn’t know how to answer this question. I’ve never been in love. Sure, I love my parents. I love my friends. I love my students and I love my dogs. But I’ve never experienced that totally different kind of love. Love with a capital L.

How do you know? My mom said you know when you know, which was entirely unhelpful.

After my mom posed the question, two songs* immediately came to mind. Haddaway’s “What is Love” and “That’s How You Know” from Disney’s Enchanted.

Haddaway **

The first song describes my fear of love (baby don’t hurt me…). I have a hard time getting too emotionally invested in just about anything because I fear the hurt that will come when things don’t work out. Even applying to colleges I was afraid to love one too much, in case I didn’t get accepted. Perhaps this is because I only applied to really good schools. I didn’t have a safety school. I had one good match school and several reach schools. As it turns out, I think I ended up much happier at the good match school than I ever would have been at the East Coast schools my heart was set one. But even in that situation I was determined to not set my heart one particular East Coast school. Whether or not that worked in practice is up for debate (I still hold a soft spot for Boston College).

If I get this afraid of rejection from a team of administrators, just think about how terrifying rejection from a boy is for me…

Enchanted

However, the Enchanted song reminds me (okay, maybe not remind since I’ve never been in this situation, but it reminds me of what the movies and books and my friends tell me) of the wonderfulness and excitement of love. I desperately want to feel this feeling but I’m afraid my fear will hold me back.

Perhaps it is the stoic Norwegian in me rearing its placid head. Maybe it’s a confidence issue. Who knows. I will say that I am, and probably always will be, a very even-keeled person, emotionally. My swim coach used to rag on me nonstop at swim meets to show emotion behind the block. I always wanted to tell him, I was excited and pumped about my race. I just didn’t show it by jumping all over the place behind the blocks, or splashing myself with water (never understood the tradition). My calm stretching and weird little goggle traditions were my own displays of excitement.

I guess this post really has no purpose except to talk myself thorough my feelings. Oh, and to brag about my boyfriend. He’s sweet and romantic (he remembered on our first date that I complained about the lack of stars and told me, once we have the time he is going to take me somewhere we can see all the stars). Yet he’s “manly” and athletic (6’2″ hockey player!!!) while being intelligent (hello scientist!).

So yes, I am excited. I think he could be my first real love, but taking that emotional step is huge for me. And that is terrifying.

*I apologize. I forgot/wordpress changed and I don’t know how to embed videos anymore.

**If you watch/listen to all 10 hours of the Haddaway SNL skit I will simultaneously love you and judge you…

Digging Prehistory

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel; page count 512.

I actually listened to the audio version, read by Sandra Burr. It was fantastic!

This book, the first in the Earth’s Children Series, was amazing! I can’t believe it took me so long to read it. This first book was originally published in 1980, and Auel finished the series last summer with the publication of the sixth and final book, The Land of the Painted Caves.

The story, the series in fact, follows Ayla, a prehistoric woman traversing through Europe about 30,000 years ago. Clan of the Cave Bear opens with an earthquake which destroys five-year-old Ayla’s home and her family. The child travels alone for a few days, encountering a cave lion along the way, before finally collapsing from exhaustion. She is picked up and rejuvenated by a neanderthal medicine woman traveling with her clan. The medicine woman is allowed to keep the girl even though Ayla is an “Other” (Homo sapien sapien.)

Auel breathes such life and depth into her characters. I love the differences she has created between “Others” and the Neanderthals. I was hooked from the moment I popped the CD in my car. Her landscapes are probably the most stunning thing. She makes it very easy to picture the surroundings. The crispness of the air, the color of the leaves. All of it is very well done.

The brilliance of Auel, however, isn’t in her writing style, which is certainly far above par; it’s in her research. It’s apparent the writer took a lot of time to research and get her facts straight. I appreciate any author who shows a reverence for facts, while making it accessible in fiction. Having read several previous books about human evolution, and watching numerous documentaries on the topic, I can say with some certainty that the history (prehistory?) quite accurate. (I mean, except for the obvious, albeit brief, dip into fantasy, but it’s so small and done so well, that I’ll overlook that bit.) Well, done, Auel!

Needless to say, I’ll definitely be reading the rest of this series. Although I may take a bit of a break in between installations for other books.

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If you are interested in more about human evolution, I recommend these sites: http://humanorigins.si.edu/  and https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html

in ol’ new york

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye; page count 411.

I love this book! I honestly don’t want to write too much about the plot because I don’t want to accidentally give the game away, so I will just sum-up only the first couple of chapters.

an awesome book you should read

1845, New York City. A young bartender, Timothy Wilde, leaves work with his head going ’round plans to marry a lady he is smitten with when a fire rampages through downtown Manhattan obliterating everything he owns. Suddenly finding himself with neither home nor job nor prospects, Wilde takes a job in the newly established New York Police Department monitoring the infamous Sixth Ward.

(The Sixth Ward encompassed most of the brothels, hovels and crime dens in New York City until after the Civil War. It was the location Five Points. Or for movie buffs, the setting for Gangs of New York.)

If that’s not enough to make you want to read this book, let me gush for a moment. The story is artfully crafted to keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s incredibly well-written, sucking you into the grime of a nineteenth century metropolis. The characters are immensely lovable and realistic. Included is a bunch a newsboys so fantastic, I want to carry them around in my pocket. Faye’s attention to detail is just staggering.

Seriously, read this book. Read it if you like crime or mystery novels. Read it if you like historical novels. Read it if you like well-written characters. Read it if you like New York City. I promise you will not regret it.

Much Ado About eBooks

I’ve been reading a whole lot about eBooks lately. Mostly due to the lawsuit over antitrust charges and collusion between Apple and 5 major publishers: Hatchette, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Macmillan, and Penguin. Here’s an article to sum up the whole debackle: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/la-fi-tn-apple-ebook-antitrust-qa-20120411,0,701352.story

I can't even handle all the ado about eBooks!

While this is really out of my personal scope, I ran across this blogpost with a solution to the whole mess, that seems like it would be better for everyone in the long run. Which, of course, means it probably won’t happen.

 

Another interesting eBook phenomenon is that people seem to read more because of eReaders. Check out the latest findings from the Pew Research Center: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/04/04/the-rise-of-e-reading/

All of that is a bit off-topic, but I am interested in the ramifications of technology on reading. I thought others might be, as well. Apologies if you’re not interested in that. What I really wanted to write about was my limited experience with eBooks.

Once again on a search for a slightly saucier book, I turned this time to my library’s online collection of eBooks. I do not have an eReader, only my smart phone, so I’m afraid that’s the only way I’ve been able to read eBooks so far. I must say, I’m not terribly impressed. Perhaps I’m missing out because I do not have the “E ink” like on Nooks or Kindles, but my eyes do seem to get tired more quickly reading on my phone rather than printed words. True, reading in the dark is easier, but I still prefer the “feel” of my eyes after reading printed pages with a lamp than the glow of my phone.

To be fair, when I lived in a city with public transportation, I did download a few collections of short stories that I could read while waiting for aforementioned transport. This came in particularly handy when I forgot to carry a real book with me. I can certainly see how that’s a fun feature. However, if i had a real eReader, I’d probably still have the same forgetting problem.

Perhaps the biggest thing eReaders have going for them is the ability to store so many books on such a light-weight device. For those of use who tend to read multiple books at once, or fast readers going on vacation, this would be a big selling point. Look at all that space you just saved in your purse/luggage! They are so thin and lightweight, even the most monogamous reader would save space carrying an eReader over a normal book.

The thing that bothers me the most is the “lack of  spatial navigability,” or the fact that it’s difficult if not impossible to remember at what location in the book you read a particular passage. I had no idea how often I used this particular function of my brain until I began reading eBooks. I use this quite a bit when doing research. I’ll read a book. Then when I wish to go back to a particular quote, I merely flip back through book because I can remember about how far along in the book the quote was, and I can almost always remember where on the page. I even do this now for blogging or book recommending purposes. However, this is impossible to do with an eBook. True, spatial memory may be more attainable with a real eReader, since one would have a larger screen and more division on the page. However, I am unconvinced that navigability would work as well in electronic over print form. On the other hand, perhaps text searching would make this issue null. Back to the first hand, what if you remembered the general idea of a passage, but not the exact wording? Then text searching would be of no help.

I am even more concerned about spatial navigability when it comes to eReaders in the classroom. Several schools have started giving kids eReaders instead of textbooks. I am particularly curious about how this study will turn out: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/middle_school_students_in_sout.html Although, I’m not entirely sure if that study will include reading comprehension or just reading time in general.

I did read the eBook at a quicker pace, and I have heard others talk about that particular benefit of eBooks. I’ve even met some people who did not read for pleasure before, but do now because they got an eReader. I remain skeptical, however. I wonder if their new-found love of reading is actually that they like reading, or just that they like new technology and this will die down. (Much akin to when a kid gets a shiny new toy.) I hope not. As concerned as I am about some of the finer points about learning involved with eReaders, I would much prefer people read more in whatever capacity than less.

Personally, reading at a faster pace and carrying ease does not make up for the issues I have with eBooks, or at least eBooks on my smartphone. As the song says,  I carry spines. At least for now.

I’d really like to hear from you all. Let the discussion begin! Have any of you come to a decision about eBooks? Do you have particular favorite devices or features? Is there a reason you will always stay with print? Do you prefer print for some books and electronic for others? Are there any interesting articles or studies you have read about eBooks?

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For slightly more information on how our brains process spatial memory, check out the TED Talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd71719_G8Y