Updates On My Life

I know I have been MIA for much too long. I don't really have an excuse - there has been a hell of a lot to talk about!

Firstly I am officially an adult and purchased a brand new car - a Kia Sorrento on the first of September. That was a stressful day - my little Ford Escort was dying a slow and undignified death, and my parents were tired of me complaining about it. So my mom flew down from Albuquerque to help me in the wasp's nest that is a new car lot - and I signed the paperwork (surprisingly) on my own credit. That was something that I didn't quite understand: I have beautiful credit yes, but I make very little dough - much of which goes to my rent. If I were them I wouldn't approve myself without a co-signer, but they trust me. I guess I should learn to trust myself...

Then later that week, on the 6th, my laptop died. I kept getting an error message that was a blue screen on the start-up, and wouldn't even go into Windows. I must admit I haven't really been treating it that well for the latter part of these few weeks because it kept freezing and seizing. I was one PMS-y day away from throwing it against the wall. This is the 2nd PC I have had in 4 years. I think they should last a bit longer than that.... so I went to Best Buy and after very little debate bought (read: financed) a MacBook Pro. I love it, and it is so easy to use and intuitive! I wish I had it sooner!!!!

So within a week I had to buy a new car and new laptop. I am doing my best to bring us out of this recession!

I also transferred from the International base of flying to the Domestic base of flying. I have been having a really great time with a lot of fun crews and exploring new cities...I went to Salt Lake City twice already, a beautiful place that I hadn't ever been to. It actually reminds me of home a lot...

Also I started a book club - one of my Life Goals - and the first meeting is tonight. I am so excited, and I actually think I did a pretty good job of book selection this time - there is lots to discuss in "Portrait of an Unknown Woman" - the role of women in society, the father/daughter relationship, Church and power, etc. Yay!

That about catches everyone up. I really need to stay on top on my blog! There should be a poke option like on FaceBook....

The Tudors

For those of you who haven't seen The Tudors on Showtime, let me tell you, you are missing some good stuff. I have become a little obsessed with this series, so much so that I watched the first two season on DVD within a week. That was about 20 hours of sitting-on-the-edge-of-the-sofa-entertainment. Jonathon Rhys Meyers plays an amazing Henry VIII, and Natalie Dormer (pictured above) is his Queen Anne. The costumes, the music, the sets, the exteriors, the s-e-x! I didn't realize I had such an interest in this part of British history, and now that I know, there is so much to learn.

At the beginning of this year I read Philipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl about Anne Boleyn's sister, Mary. I read that within a few days. Her writing style is amazing, and I have come to adore historical fiction because of Gregory. And then, non-revving to Japan at the end of May I started watching The Tudors because it's part of the 777's entertainment system, and the first four episodes are available. I was amazed. I wanted more. After I got home from my trip, I went to BN.com and bought the first two seasons immediately (luckily there was a buy two DVDs, get one free sale going on, so I also got 'The Duchess' for free...).

Anyhow, I also did some research and found out that I had started reading Gregory's Tudor series out of order, as she started with The Constant Princess, about Katharine of Aragon. I started to read this book next, and learned a lot about her. The Showtime series paints her as a pushover, but Gregory doesn't - she, as the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, comes from a line of warring spirits.

The next book in the series (after The Other Boleyn Girl) is The Boleyn Inheritance, about Henry's search for a wife after Jane Seymour's death. Henry is entombed next to Jane, and is said to favor her as his best and most loved wife, because she actually bore him a son; but she dies within a couple weeks of the birth. The way this is handled in the Showtime series is tragic. Henry does eventually go through three more wives after Jane, one of which he beheads (Kitty Howard)...

Right now I am reading The Queen's Fool, and I must say that it isn't on par with the rest of Gregory's novels. I think it is because it is through a made-up narrator - a girl named Hannah Greene who is a jester in the court of Queen Mary (Henry's daughter by Katharine of Aragon). I also find the plot between Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth annoying, and I am actually not certain if I will read The Virgin's Lover (about Queen Elizabeth) because of it. The Showtime series portrays Lady Mary as such a pious and piteous creature so desperate for her father's love, I can't help but take her side in the novels.

The Showtime series has opened up my eyes to many things. For instance, I never knew about the Pilgrimage of Grace before it was a major plot in season three. Speaking of season three, seeing as how it isn't on DVD yet, and I don't have cable, this took a heck of a lot of patience with watchthetudors.com. I told you I was obsessed. Also, I suppose I knew, but it never really sunk in, that had Henry had a boy with Katharine (which he did, but died in infancy) he never would have tried like a madman to have sons with woman after woman, and the Reformation would not have taken hold in Britain as it did. Henry was a second son, and was actually being schooled for the Church before his elder brother Arthur died and he became King instead. He even wrote pamphlets against Luther along with Sir Thomas More in his early reign. He needed an heir, and Anne manipulated that into being the greatest proponent for the Reformation, and ensured her and her family's rise. I am just spellbound by the inner-workings of this...

Another of the key-figures in this is Sir Thomas More. I cannot begin to tell you how much his story touched me. I don't remember him in any of Gregory's books, but maybe then I wasn't paying attention. But in the series, season two, the episode where he is martyred is my favorite. Is that morbid? It is really a turning point for Henry because More was his best friend and his closest advisor, and he was executed for not pledging an oath saying that his marriage to Anne was valid and that Henry was the head of the Church in England, and not the Pope. I found, at Half-Price Books, a book by Vanora Bennett called Portrait of an Unknown Woman about More's family that I can't wait to read.

On my first trip to London, almost three years ago, I went to the Tower of London. I haven't been back since, but I am inspired to go again. Since my visit they have installed a tribute to Queen Anne and Queen Katharine Howard, and others who were beheaded there - a kind of glass pillow looking thing with an indentation like someone is sleeping on it. :)

I'm alive

Yes, I am. I just haven't had much to say, I suppose....

I just wanted to let everyone know about a great blog I stumbled upon, however - At Home With Books. It is really inspiring to me - basically something I want to turn my own blog into. Hope you all enjoy!

http://athomewithbooks.blogspot.com/

Books for the New Year *updated*

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am a failure in my 2008 New Year's Resolution. It was to read 50 books in a year - all the way through. Yes, I read a lot, but I did not make this seemingly easy goal. I always have a stack of books by my bed, couch, in my suitcase, purse; and a list of books in my head that I need to purchase at Half Price Books (if they are old or out of print) or Barnes & Noble (if they are new or I just want that little thrill of a fresh smelling book). I go to the bookstore to relax. It is a place where I am myself. I am a complete nerd. I'll admit it. I love books. And all these gadgetry things like eBooks and Kindles and such are blasphemous to me. But that's another issue entirely. The problem I seem to have is that I start a book and I read about 75% of it before I decide it sucks and I shouldn't waste my time on it and then I realize that I could have been using that valuable reading time with a great book. So although I have easily started probably 80 books in 2008, I only actually finished 37. Here's the list.

1) The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn 304p
2) Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes 304p
3) Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck 288p
4) The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble 429p
5) Year in the World by Frances Mayes 420p
6) Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden 448p
7) A Year Without Made in China by Sara Bondgiorni 256p
8) Bad Dogs Have More Fun by John Grogan 247p
9) Silk by Alessandro Baricco 132p
10) Swan by Frances Mayes 323p
11) Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter 356p
12) Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield 224p
13) The Red Pony by John Steinbeck 112p
14) Catholicism for Dummies by John Triglio et al 414p
15) Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick 265p
16) How to be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life by Melissa Hellstern 195p
17) Now That You Are a Catholic by John J. Kenny C.S.P. 119p
18) 100 Words to Make You Sound Smart by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionary 118p
19) Bringing Tuscany Home by Frances Mayes 228p
20) Sex Begins in the Kitchen by Dr. Kevin Leman 272p
21) The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved by Matthew Kelly 272p
22) The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger 180p
23) Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble 425p
24) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice 349p
25) It's All Greek to Me! by John Mole 342p
26) Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote 111p
27) Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella 310p
28) Weddings from the Heart by Daphne Rose Kingma 188p
29) The 100 Simple Secrets of Great Relationships by David Niven 223p
30) Nickle and Dimed; On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich 230p
31) The Friendship Test by Elizabeth Noble 437p
32) Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding 271p
33) Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Hanry Dana, Jr. 405p
34) Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler 291p
35) A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly 256p
36) People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 372p
37) Audrey Style by Pamela Clarke Keogh 240p
------------------------------------------------------------
Total 10,356 pages read.


The literary year of 2008 made me realize a few things. First, always stick with your favorite authors. Mine happen to include Frances Mayes. I read Under the Tuscan Sun a few years ago and it was such an inspirational work (unlike the movie - so unlike the movie), and that stuck in my head as one of the authors that I would aspire to be like, if I were to write - which I intend to later on in life. In fact, I want her life - part-time English professor during the school year, living in Tuscany enjoying La Bella Vita and writing on her time off! So in 2008 I read almost everything else she has ever written. And it has deepened my admiration for her style. Swan is her first piece of fiction to be published, and I must say that I am in awe.

Also, don't just read books for their length (or lack thereof). I thought I would throw in a few 100 paged classics in there because they were easy to read and I should have read them anyhow (The Red Pony by Steinbeck is especially in my brain at this point). Yeah, that is a f*cked up piece of literature, and I do not see how 100 pages can illicit such emotional and psychological damage in myself, and be required 5th grade reading in a lot of schools. I do not recommend, unless you want to alternatively cry yourself to sleep and lie awake for a few nights.

Also, learn what you like to read, and do not rely on others for suggestions. I should have really trusted my gut on this one: Confessions of a Shopaholic. This title was thrown out as a suggestion for me to read because apparently people know of my obsession with Tiffany's, and therefore think they know me. When I located it at Barnes & Noble my instinct told me "lowest-common-denominator drivel," and to go peruse the British history section; but I didn't, and guess what? I was right, and am currently kicking myself for not reading Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire all the while. Confessions of a Shopaholic sucked, but I felt obliged to read it, so I trudged through. I hate chick-lit. Any book that one can buy at a CVS or Walgreen's probably isn't good literature and probably won't expand your mind. I work with a lot of misinformed people out there who believe that Nicholas Sparks is a novelist on par with Dickens. Uh, if there are any - ANY - Nicholas Sparks books on your bookshelves at this moment, I encourage you to rethink that decision. Please. (As a side note, the book about Tiffany, My Summer at Tiffany, was a great memoir of a girl in the 60s who interned there. Wonderful read! And completely on a different level then Confessions of a Shopaholic).

I must admit that I have a Jane Austen addiction. It began vaguely my sophomore year of college when I read Mansfield Park in depth and watched Patricia Rozema's film. Since then I have taken college courses about her works, seen every movie, and basically read everything there is to read about Jane Austen and her wonderful works of fiction, which explains the preponderance of Jane Austen-type titles appearing on the list (Me and Mr. Darcy, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, and Bridget Jones's Diary). I can't help myself. Okay, and post script here, I am totally aware of the fact that Jones's is grammatically wrong. But it is the title. You would think that the bigwigs at Penguin Publishing would catch something as obvious as that...

I have discovered in 2008 one of the most moving, lyrical and beautiful books ever written. One of my now all time favorites. Silk. I read it in one sitting. God! It is poetry. It is love. It is music for the soul. I love it. The best part is, it was originally written in Italian! This book is a translation! I can only imagine how exquisite it is in its original tongue, like Neruda's poetry. And the film, though, not up to par with the book, is amazing in it's cinematography and ambitious in it's tone as well. Silk. Silk. Silk. Rapturous Silk!

I also in 2008 have revisited my Catholic roots. Several books have helped me rediscover faith in God, and although it probably makes me seem dense, I really rather enjoyed Catholicism for Dummies. One of my lifetime goals is to eventually get through the Bible. I know, I know. I have tried so many times. The Old Testament always gets me though, with all the histories and lists of names. I try. I have several bibles in fact, and the most interesting one I have found, and have been reading throughout 2008, though not completed to make THE LIST is my Catholic Women's Devotional NRSV. Very nice, and divided into a daily reading and brings out the women's roles in the bible. Highly recommended.

I had the absolute pleasure of reading It's All Greek to Me! on my week and a half long journey through Greece this past summer. I must tell you that this was probably the funniest book I have read, and my mom kept looking at me weird on the plane when I would laugh my loud laugh. She finally just said, "read it to me!" one night, so I started over from the beginning and read aloud to her and it was a great bonding experience. This is a hysterical book, and I tell you that it added so much to my travels. Highly recommended.

I discovered by accident another author that I had to read everything by this year, and that is Elizabeth Noble. She is a Brit, and her works are so good, it's embarrassing that I chose her first book, The Reading Group, because I liked that there was a dog on the cover.

Two Years Before the Mast is a work that I would not ordinarily pick up, but it was on a subject that I knew nothing of, and wanted to learn about- sailing. This is sailing in its most antiquated terms; with spars, masts, rigs, mizzens, forecastles and jibs, on a ship that sets sail around Cape Horn for California in the 1830s. It is a memoir of a man quite famous in his day, and very much a man's book. My dad, a 27 year veteran of the Navy, was quite proud of his daughter when he learned of my reading this book.

Memoirs of a Geisha I decided to read because Todd told me he was reading it, and I wanted to start a sort of long-distance book club. That didn't really work out, because I finished it like 3 weeks sooner than he did, but this book is amazing, nonetheless. The movie didn't do it justice. I was born in Japan, and moved away when I was 2 and a half, so I always feel like there is a part of my subconscious that is influenced in some way by their culture, that I just don't see yet. I love learning the little details of the geisha's life. But there was something that really bothered me about this book - in the end Sayuri is at this tropical island and she says she sees pineapples growing on trees. That really brought me out of the book, I had to reread that sentence about four times to make sure I read it right. I think that's like a general science question in Trivial Pursuit. Pineapples do not grow on trees!

Anyhow, my New Year's Resolution for 2009 is the same as it was for 2008. I have already read Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl (and tremendously enjoyed it.....I seem to have a thing for historical fiction). Right now I am reading Passion by Jude Morgan which is about the Romantic poets i.e. Byron, Shelley, and Keats, and the love affairs that inspired them. And let me tell you the title lives up to the story! I still have a long list of books to read, and I'll keep you all posted.