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or, So Lonely I Wish the People Could Stay Underwater

I have no intention of giving in and joining the ever-growing ranks who are reading Twilight Saga. I have no interest and any inkling of interest I had was slain by the sheer volume of requests I receive daily about these books. It is too much. And that is a common relationship I have with books. Once an author or title reaches uber-popular status, I lose all notions of reading them. This silliness has kept me from reading Christopher Moore, Chuck Palahniuk, Augusten Burroughs, and even the latest David Sedaris book. George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Robert Ludlum, and Ian Fleming all make a similar list, but it is the subject matter I really don’t care for. I’ve only recently decided that it is okay to read Harry Potter and His Dark Materials books, but I’ll still keep it a bit quiet when I do. I don’t really know why that is, but I recognize that it is a bit silly.

Perhaps the best thing to do in this situation is to list all the authors who I am only avoiding because of their ridiculous popularity and read one title by each and be done with it. They do have to be popular for a reason, right? Although, that is the same sort of illogic that could get me into some trouble, if I was to start reading Janet Evanovich or J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). I’ll just try to not make that sort of mistake.

Meanwhile, as they say*, I’ve finished The Monsters of Templeton. It is amazingly well written. I’d pretty much recommend it to anyone. I did find that on those nights when I was really sleepy, but not so much to fall asleep, and I would try to read a chapter of Lauren Groff’s book, I would easily get confused or lost in her genealogical trek. By the end, there were a few ends that were tied up in surprising ways (for me). That didn’t make the book any less enjoyable. Far from it.

*”meanwhile, as they say…” is uttered by Julia Child during one of shows. Makes me smile.Continue Reading

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Summer reappeared briefly (I assume). It was a beautiful July 31, all of which I spent at work. Even during my lunch, I stayed inside enjoying soup I hoped would chase away the cold I’m desperately trying to not get. Thanks to the pusher at work today who slipped me a Mucinex D. It was a glorious hour of medicine-head bliss, perhaps the best hour of my day.

Of all worthless endeavors, I have appointed myself Ambassador to Serendipity, compiling information and researching release dates for the entire series penned by Stephen Cosgrove and illustrated with doe-eyed critters by Robin James. To me, they epitomize childhood in a way and I’d like information to be more readily available. To that end, I am reading, rereading, and analyzing. Many of the books have been rewritten more recently, prompting comparison between original and revised editions. Every single book is either sappy or preachy, but in an excellent way. They represent purity and simplicity and messages children don’t often get in such straightforward ways. It might even be interesting to work on a book about the series, offering histories and information for each book, as well as memories of the books by those who enjoyed them as a piece of childhood like I did.

Stephen Cosgrove’s Website

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It is December 20th, the shortest day of the year. In places like Fairbanks and Barrow, this is a much bigger deal than it is here in Anchorage, but our days are short enough. The sun will rise at 10:14 and will set at 3:42. To make matters darker, today will be a cloudy day. And actually, that is quite alright with me. Clouds mean warmer air — relief from the negative numbers is far more important to me at the moment than relief from the darkness. As I write this, it is -8° outside. That is the lowest I recall so far this year, but it has hardly been much warmer for several days.

I finished Winkie . It was excellent to the very end. I think I convince myself to not read books because I am rarely satisfied the ending of them. It isn’t the endings themselves, but a realization that I am never going to know what happens to these characters next. Winkie was no different. I will get over it and over the next week, I will realize how much I enjoyed the book. Go pick up a copy; it is well worth your time. Next on my list was to be The World Without Us, but I finished before I had a chance to purchase the new book. I will move on to Holidays On Ice.Continue Reading

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Trapped Inside

“A particular bear sees a particular this.” — Clifford Chase

I’ve been reading Winkie, the tale of a teddy bear who is alive. This could easily be a silly childish story, but instead it is haunting and almost sad. I am finding myself identifying with the bear oddly, even though I can’t begin to relate. He is unable to interact with those around him, but feels pain and acts as a witness while the various children who own him grow up. The many years Winkie spends feeling unloved are heartbreaking and I just want to reach out and give him a hug, which can apparently solve all of his problems. Currently, he has just “lost” his last owner, Cliff. Cliff was the second of the six owners to name him, changing him from Marie to Winkie. Somehow the new name connected with his soul and he felt that Winkie is who he had always been. Cliff is older now and hardly pays attention to Winkie. The poor bear, sitting on a shelf, longs to be hugged or touched or talked to or looked at, but he knows that the time has come when he won’t have any other children to love him.

It is exciting to see where this story will go, given the events at the begining of the book (the present). The story opens with Winkie lying in a cabin, emotionally drained and lost. The cabin is surrounded by police searching for a terrorist bomber suspected to live there. Winkie, able to walk and talk, does as he is told and exits the building with his little paws up. After a lot of commotion and commands, shots are fired, one of which strikes Winkie, knocking him to the ground.

At the hospital, the doctors and nurses, sworn to do their jobs, play at reviving the stuffed bear, using all the equipment they can. Winkie refuses to speak to any of them and there is an assumption that he is a female. One nurse, who sneaks in to sew up his wounds, can tell otherwise. Françoise and Winkie enjoy time together, but he never speaks to her either. After waking up his guard, she is arrested in connection with the terrorist attacks because she is Egyptian. Despite her U.S. citizenship, she is linked based on her previous country’s supposed ideals.

Winkie is finally in prison in the story. He was sent to a women’s prison at first, but after Françoise is sent to the same block as he, Winkie is sent to a men’s prison and charged with impersonating a woman. All of this seems quite silly, but I hope it is leading somewhere. Winkie faces so many charges that it took the judge five hours and fourteen minutes to read them all. Among them are one hundred twenty four counts of attempted murder, treason, conspiring to overthrow the United States government, and teaching evolution in schools.

This is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. I will keep you posted on my progress.Continue Reading

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I’m feeling a little blah. I don’t think there is any reason for it actually. As soon as I get some batteries for my camera, I will post some pics of my new place. I’ve spent a lot of time working on making it feel like home. I’m still a little lonely here and I’ve been quite tired because of the lack of light, but I think things are really improving. I’ll stop whining about it again.

I finished another great book. The Pirates! In An Adventure with Ahab by Gideon Defoe was just as hilarious as his first book, The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists. Read them; they are awesome.

Every time I start to doubt people, they surprise me. I have terrific friends.

I want a boyfriend.Continue Reading

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Alexander Supertramp

I finally finished reading Brendan Wolf by Brian Malloy. I didn’t throw it across the breakroom like I wanted to either. It frustrated me, but the events that upset me were ones that were obvious from the beginning. I think it was worth my investing in the lives of these characters though.

Throughout the book there are references to Alexander Supertramp, the name Christopher McCandless gave himself while traveling around the country. Alexander Supertramp died in Denali of starvation in 1992.

Brendan Wolf has assumed this name and his real name isn’t revealed until the end of the book. He is hopelessly obsessed with Alexander and the books Alexander loved. He reads them — devours them — over and over.

The plot of the book is a scheme hatched up by his brother and sister-in-law. The plan is to steal money from a donation truck during the March For the Unborn, an anti-abortion rally. Brendan has to become a trusted member of the group in charge of the rally, Babies First, and get a spot as a driver during the rally. Meanwhile, his personal life has started to get in the way. He ends up living with Marv, an older man who Brendan has refused to sleep with, but who had a stroke during an argument about a living arangement. Brendan feels guilty and takes care of Marv when he is released to his home. He is also falling in love with Sean, a hopeless romantic who only knows Brendan by the name Pierre Bezukhov.

This is an amusing read, but one that begs for a sequel. I want to know more about these characters.Continue Reading

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I am currently reading The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. I have read it a number of times before… Bill Bryson is such an excellent writer. This time around, the book seems to have rekindled my love of words (I had hardly noticed my interest had waned). It is almost enough to make me continue my education and get a real degree. Almost.

I think returning to school frightens me a little. Not the actual school part… that seems now that it would be easy, but I will have to figure out what I would want to do afterwards. I want to write, but question my talent lately. It all seems very difficult sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I am not upset about any of this. I am just being realistic about it. I am on the verge of 28 and have done nothing professionally with my writing. That can be considered quite old to get started.

I think it is good for me to question myself and ponder these things. It will make be a better person in the end, regardless of were it takes me. Writing, as one of the few passions I have, should be where I turn to when I need to release part of my soul. Too often, however, it seems that it just isn’t enough to get me to do anything about my life. We’ll see.Continue Reading