DC to MB, the glory days.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you a travelogue update.

 

In case you hadn't noticed, I have recently been participating in activities which do not include reading. However, last week I was able to read and engage in such consuming activities.

I have the heart and soul of a traveler. Last week, I went on a most wonderful adventure with my best friend, M.

As we are of the ripe age of 21, this was the very first trip that either of us had taken without parents or family members or classmates. It was a very exciting time for both of us.

We left for the airport on Saturday, July 18, 2015 with so much bubbling excitement! Little did we know that that excitement would be squashed by the wonderful announcement at our gate that our flight had been cancelled. We were left to spend the night at a hotel in Detroit, which was an experience; let me tell you.

In the morning, we finally made it to Washington, DC. If there is one thing I love about history, it's American history. Ever since I spent those many months in that grade 11 American History class, I've wanted to take a travel to Mr. Obama's place of residence. There is just so much history there. If only we could have stayed a month, although I fear even that wouldn't have been enough.

One of my favourite things was sitting across the street from the Washington Monument and thinking about all the television shows and movies that I've seen that are based in DC. Just think of all the people who have stood right here in this very spot. Magical, I tell you! Magical!

National Treasure was one of the many movies that we watched on repeat as children. There were so many moments during the day where we observed places that became settings in the movie. That will remain one of my all time favourite movies, even if Mr. B (grade 11 American History teacher) claims it's historically inaccurate. (We were all appalled that he wouldn't let us watch that movie in class.)

Anywho, we visited Mr. Obama's White House, but were surprised that he didn't come outside to greet us. All those people showed up and he didn't even come out of that big white house. The nerve, I say!

We were off to a rather slow start, but the road trip portion of the adventure began on Monday, July 20.

In our rented Toyota Prius, we started the journey south. There were many beautiful things to see as we travelled through the countryside. M chose a path that would take us through the various little towns between Washington, DC and Myrtle Beach; instead of living the fast paced life of a freeway-er.

As we took a wonderfully long time to exit DC, we had not travelled nearly as far as we had hoped the first day. That is not altogether terrible. We were on vacation after all.

We stayed the night in Kitty Hawk, NC. That is just on the edge of the Outerbanks; which are a fantastically beautiful place to travel through. You may have some issues with catching ferries though. Don't worry, there is always the Jolly Roger to entertain your traveling soul as you wait three hours for the next ferry.

We finally arrived in Myrtle Beach at 10pm on Tuesday, July 21. I would normally prefer to be driving during the daytime, but I must say; it was quite a sight to be welcomed into MB with bright lights and excited vacationers. They have a lovely night life there. If you have a vehicle, why not cruise up and down North Ocean Blvd for a few hours every nigh? Traffic pileup at 10pm? Not a problem.

The air that surrounds a vacation destination is one that would make our little Ltown jealous if it were to ever see such a place.

After two and a half spectacularly vacationy days in MB, I was ready to stay forever. Unfortunately, reality took hold of my mind and made me get on the airplane to come home.

Side note: if you ever book a trip where you arrive at the Atlanta airport with only a 50 minute layover, re-evaluate your life. It was enough time, but there are better things in life than rushing from gate C55 to gate B7 in the hopes that you will make it in time. Just leave yourself some room, enjoy your travel.

After arriving home at midnight on Friday, July 24 I felt like I needed a vacation to recuperate from my vacation. We packed so much into 7 days. The week felt like forever, but I wouldn't have changed any of it.

 

One day, I'll be back, this is t-bear signing off

France is Sweet

Book 26 - A book that was originally written in a different language

Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky

"Suite Française (French; "The French Suite") is the title of a planned sequence of five novels by Irène Némirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian-Jewish origin. In July 1942, having just completed the first two of the series, Némirovsky was arrested as a Jew and detained at Pithiviers and then Auschwitz, where she died. The notebook containing the two novels was preserved by her daughters but not examined until 1998. They were published in a single volume entitled Suite Française in 2004."

-This quote brought to you by the most reliable, Wikipedia.

 

As you may have noticed, summer is here.

I was all gung-ho when the end of June arrived, and then July hit. There was little I could do to assist the progress of my challenge.

When one is too busy with friends to read, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Oma would be proud of my socialness.

I greatly enjoyed spending time with this novel. It was hard to read a lot in one sitting, as I was constantly on the move, but I rather loved traveling through France with the characters.

As Wikipedia kindly described, this novel is just two of the, potentially, five novels. The first series is called Storm in June which follows the lives of different families from varying social classes, fleeing Paris after hearing news of an invasion from Germany. It was interesting to see that even though there was a war going on, social class was still a major part of life. It could determine whether or not you have a place to stay, have food to eat or are even able to escape the impending invasion at all.

We are faced with every day situations, "have we packed all the linen?", "is the silver in the trunk?"; amid the people who are more concerned about saving their lives, and the lives of their family members, than saving their valuables.

Some people made it out of Paris before the invasion, some left and then returned after not reaching their destination, only to find Paris untouched and rather empty.

The second series is called Dolce which is centered around the lives of different classes of people who live in the same town. The series starts with an occupation by a troop of German soldiers.

At first all the residents of the town do not appreciate anything that involves the German's. Slowly, certain groups start to become more comfortable with their new arrangements.

The children are the first to be welcoming to the troops, followed by the ladies who are excited about the presence of men who aren't from their town. I rather enjoyed the opinions of the townsfolk regarding the mannerisms and traditions of the German's. Although many people grew very comfortable with the German soldiers, they could always take a moment to harshly judge the German way of life; therefore, proclaiming the correctness which is the French way.

These series' were wonderfully helpful in portraying what life was like to be running from dangers and what it was like to be held hostage in your own hometown. There was quite a large amount of seriousness to the tales, but there was also an appropriate amount of humour, which is always welcome.

If you happen to be looking for a novel which was originally written in a different language, look no further, I have found one for you! But really, read it. There is history, war, romance, humour and even a bit of suspensefullness. In other words, there is something for everyone!

 

Travelers, start your packing! this is t-bear signing off

Once again...

Book 25 - A book with nonhuman characters

silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

...we have returned to the saga. 

After much pressure from a certain peer, I read the third novel in the hush, hush series.

To say that I didn't like it, would be false. I may have enjoyed this one more than the first two novels in the series. Isn't that fantastic? The idea that a sequel can be better than the first and foremost, is a rather rare term in Hollywood. This is why I just absolutely love books so much. 

J.K. Rowling,  Lemony Snicket and Uncle Rick (just to name a few) have clearly shown us that a sequel can be as good as, if not better, than the original. Ms. Fitzpatrick may now place herself in that club; as I feel that she deserves it. 

Nonhuman characters.

Well, considering the novel is based around fallen angels and Nephilim, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that there are a whole host of nonhuman characters within its pages. In this part of the series, the main character comes even closer to the nonhumanness than was ever expected. I'm not going to say anymore, you'll just have to read to find out what I'm talking about. 

With an added twist, the main character is faced with the terrible task of placing herself back into her life after amnesia is forced upon her by the people who kidnapped her. (You may think these are spoilers, but we learn such things within the first 15 pages; so don't get your knickers in a knot)

I have to say, I sometimes wish I could forget certain novels that I have read just for the pleasure of returning to their pages with entirely new love. However, there are usually serious reasons for forgetting one's memories, so maybe we'll just stick with our current situation.

I really thought I would write more about the storyline but I just can't. The spoilers would be too much, especially if you haven't even taken the lovely opportunity to read the first two novels. 

I suppose I must bid thee adieu, bedtime is approaching. Best to not be caught off guard when that wonderful time arrives. 

Composed following a very tiring night of two's beach vball, this is t-bear signing off

Not your typical breakfast

Book 24 - A book with a color (the challenge is obviously 'Merican) in the title

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

You may be sitting there thinking, "she's getting tired of reading novels". Not the case.

I took to the Google to find a book with a colour in the title and was not satisfied with the results. 

When the Internet failed, I took to the two bookshelves we have in the living room. One bookshelf largely consists of photo albums, Christian devotional and song books, and Ma and Pa's small collection of novels. After searching through Papa's westerns and Moma's romances, I was unable to locate a colourfully titled novel.

I arrived at the next bookshelf with little hope left in my heart. With Moma at my side, we knelt to the floor to observe the two bottom shelves; which are the only shelves with books on them. The second last shelf is Dr. Seuss, Berenstain Bears, and an assortment of Disney fairy tales. The bottom shelf is Can You See What I see?, I Spy, and a collection of other children's books too tall to fit on the shelf above it. 

The choice became, Green Eggs and Ham or One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Now I haven't read the latter in quite a while so I can't be sure which was the better choice. 

If you have never sat with Dr. Seuss, then I'm pretty sure you didn't have a childhood. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book, here is a brief summary.

Our Main Character (who remains nameless throughout the story) is reading quietly when interrupted by Sam who is insistent that Our Main Character try some green eggs and ham. This commences a long trial of Sam asking Our Main Character if he would eat green eggs and ham in/on various modes of transportation or with various types of animals. Poor Sam becomes rather dispirited by the attitude of Our Main Character who won't even try the green eggs and ham.

I was rather discouraged by the dismal air during the first part of the book. I stuck it out till the end, which was a very good thing. Not five pages from the end there is an unexpected plot twist. I don't want to spoil it for you; I just want to make sure you realize that the tone of the story is brightened by the time one meets the conclusion. 

With wonderful illustrations and fantastic rhyming, I really don't understand why anyone would deny loving Dr. Seuss books. That is to say, everyone loves them, some people just tend to deny that they do. 

"She's not fat, she's husky" remarks while looking at Garf, this is t-bear signing off

the FWD movement

Book 23 - A book based on a true story

 

The Freedom Writers Diary

 

I must say, I am embarrassed to share that I have had this novel on my bookshelf for five years and still haven't read it. I really don't know why, because I've recently discovered that it's a wonderful story.

I went to a Christian high school where every year we chose a Prayer Partner who we wrote letters to, drew pictures for and prayed for; from September to December. When Christmas time came around, we were given a theme for what our gift to our Prayer Partner was supposed to be. That year, our theme was thrift stores. We have an MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) store in town which is where I did my shopping.

Anywho, whoever got my name that year wrote a letter to me every single day. I had my suspicions about their identity over the course of the semester, but I didn't truly find out until the evening of Christmas Party. When we were to gather our gifts and deliver them to our Prayer Partner, I finally came face to face with one of my suspicions.

If you haven't already guessed, I received this novel from my Prayer Partner. I was (and have been) told many times that it is a really good read, but I have never actually taken the time to sit and hold it in my hands.

For those of you who haven't heard of their story before:

The Freedom Writers are a group of 150 students who come from various races and mostly live in below par situations in Long Beach, California. They have been classified as "unteachable, at-risk" students who are more familiar with street gun fights than the insides of textbooks. There is more racism in their lives than there is love.

Ms. Gruwell is fresh out of college and, as a newbie, is given the task of teaching these students.

Over the course of these students four years in high school they are taught how they can change their world beginning by simply writing about their lives in a diary. After reading stories such as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo, and meeting people who have lived in hiding during times of civil unrest in their own countries, the students begin to find parallels between their lives in Long Beach and the stories of their visitors.

I really enjoyed that the story was told only using diary entries from the students and Ms. Gruwell. We wouldn't have received the information in nearly the same way if a third party had told the story. The reader is able to share all the emotions of the writer when a story is written in such a personal way.

There are so many excellent things to learn from the lives of the Freedom Writers. If you get the opportunity to read this novel, please do.

 

this is t-bear signing off

My Sarah Dessen fangirl moment.

Book 22 - A book published this year

 

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

 

To kickoff, if I ever get to BookCon (which will happen) Sarah Dessen had better be there. I will bring all her books and have them all autographed because she is just that spectacular. (The same goes for Rick Riordan.)

Actually, spectacular is not the word. That's correct, there is no word to describe that which is Sarah Dessen.

Anywho, the novel was published in the wonderfully busy year of 2015, which makes it a perfect candidate for the challenge of "a book published this year".

I was a little surprised to find that I had a hard time participating in any activities which didn't include reading, over the past few days. There is this comatose state which one enters into when within the tight grasp of a novel written by Ms. Dessen. It has been awhile since I've read any of her novels. I completely forgot how entirely wonderful it feels to be held captive by the words of another.

There aren't extravagant or complex storylines in her novels. They don't involve inhuman creatures; as in walkers of the night. They are just so very real life that it draws you in and makes you want to stay there forever.

It is a rather interest concept that a fictional storyline can be thought of as completely non-fictional. Although, I live for the moments which take me farthest from reality, I also find a very comfortable home in the lives of characters who have been where I've been. Even though I am continually growing farther from my teenage years, I still enjoy a little flashback to what was, and how I'm happier being past that which was.

If you have ever read a Sarah Dessen novel, you will easily see the reoccurring themes of the cute teenage love story, the difficult relationship between main character and guardian(s) and the ever present discovery of oneself after a time of consuming hardships. The ideas which Sarah translates onto paper are normal things which occur in the lives of teenagers and I think this may be why many people so wholeheartedly identify with the characters.

If you haven't already guessed, I recommend this novel and all of Sarah Dessen's other novels. Read them. Seriously. Do it.

Take a day to be Garf, we all need those, this it t-bear signing off

It's still a story.

Book 21 - A book written by an author with your same initials

Medicine River by Thomas King

It is a truth not so universally known that Google is not always your friend.

I had the pleasure of discovering this truth as I sat down at this very laptop to search for an author with similar initials to my own. After much searching and little finding, I took to the book store. If there is one thing that will brighten the day, it is Chapters.

With M by my side, we headed to the "K" section of the store. Sitting three whole steps above the rest of the store, under the FICTION sign, we browsed. Not only did we find authors with the same initials, we found them in abundance.

I settled on this novel. If you hadn't already guessed, I did not know anything about this author before embarking on the journey that is his novel.

Mr. King is a Canadian author who lives not four hours from my humble abode. He is of Cherokee and Greek descent which are too areas of life that I am rather fascinated by; but that's a chat for another day.

The novel was much different from many that I have read in the past. There always seems to be a point to the novel, there is a direction that we're traveling. Throughout the novel we come across different parts of the main characters life that are carrying us to the ultimate climax, then right along to the peaceful concluding finale.

If I didn't know that the novel was a work of fiction, I would have thought it was a memoir. We didn't seem to be trying to accomplish anything from start to finish. The entire novel was a series of stories, present and past, that occurred in the life of the main character.

But maybe that's the point. The novel doesn't need to have a direction. In 249 pages we got to spend time in the life of someone very different from ourselves. After all, walking in anothers shoes is a very important journey to take in life. 

I enjoyed taking this journey, although, half way through I got a little discouraged because of the whole "no point to the story" idea. I really liked the fact that the story was set in Alberta and Toronto and that I was able to recognize some of the places they were talking about. 

It is a rather wonderful feeling of being connected to someone through the artistry that is words.

Canada, eh? this is t-bear signing off