Titles Revisited

Something amazing happens when you reread books. They're so familiar and yet so different. The words haven't changed, the book hasn't changed, but you have. You approach it with a different outlook on life and more life experience under your belt. Books that you once thought were the bee's knees may actually be kind of lame. Yet other old favorites are even richer the second time around. They're old, dear friends who welcome you into their home without any pretensions and don't care if you help yourself to their tea stash or fall asleep on the couch. They just fetch the milk and sugar and throw a blanket over you.

I just finished reading Brideshead Revisited, and I just know it's going to be one of those books that begs for a second go. I'm so glad I didn't read it till now. I've learned a lot in the past year and a half about reading critically and I found a lot of meaning in it, but I can just sense with my reader spidey senses that there is even more to unpack. Rereading Brideshead promises to be a totally different experience from rereading The Chronicles of Narnia or Princess Academy. For those books, the story-world just comes rushing back and it feels like I've returned home. I don't think I'd call Brideshead "home" -- it has a magic of a different sort about it -- but I would call it a keeper. I'm still making sense of the last page. I read it aloud to myself a second time, trying to fully understand it, but there's so much... May I just say that Charles Ryder is the English version of Nick Carraway? I'll admit there are numerous differences between the two, but there were some parts of the book that screamed Gatsby to me. Also, I am going to buy myself a teddy bear and name it Aloysius. Oh, and future husband take note: The English knew how to dress. Looking over screenshots from the two film adaptations, I'm practically drooling over the tweed. Oh yes. Tweed jackets and amazing waistcoats are most definitely in order.

Love the quirkiness of this cover. Mine is still very pretty, though.

I've written a review on Goodreads, which I would encourage you to check out. Spoiler free, I promise!

I'm planning to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn next, if I can find enough time before school. Hopefully this summer I will be able to reread some favorite titles. Persuasion and Peter Pan are at the top of my list. I am also hoping to get biographies on Jane Austen and J.M. Barrie. Not only do I love their books, but they interest me as individuals and I gobble up every bit of trivia on the two I can find.

* Note: Brideshead does have more mature themes. The content isn't overly explicit and everything contributed to the larger whole, but younger readers take note.

images: one

The Idea of the Century

When you're feeling down, I would highly recommend you look up people's stories concerning their interactions with characters at Disney. Too cute for words.

I could go on for hours about every second of the interactions I had when my family went on our first and only trip to Disney World two summers ago, but I will just sum it up: It was awesome. I spazzed over Belle and I might have shouted on accident. I gushed to Naveen and Tiana that I had seen their movie over twenty times. I got a picture with the adorable Flynn Rider. My sister and I chased after Peter Pan, who we missed, unfortunately. (I plan to go back to Disney, walk right up to him, declare my intentions to become a lost girl, and show him my best crow.) I'm telling you, meeting the characters at Disney is one of the most fun things I've ever done.

*smolder* My hair was so short 2 years ago. Wow.

I have lots more pictures but you probably don't want to see all of them, Plus, I look like I'm 10. Flynn/Eugene is enough.

So basically, I've had the idea of the century. We make Literature World... and we populate it with literature themed rides and GREAT CHARACTERS OF LITERATURE INTERACTIONS.

Picture this.

Big Brothers posters, everywhere.

The Huck Finn Log Flume. Instead of logs, you're on rafts.

The Gatsby Rollercoaster. In that flashy yellow car with Daisy at the wheel.

Fahrenheit 451 Ride. Your car is chased by the mechanical hound!

Meet-and-greet with Darcy and Elizabeth. Push Lizzy out of the way, and flirt with the gent.

The Haunted House. Featuring the ghosts of King Hamlet and Catherine Earnshaw.

Narnia Train Ride. You start in a train station in England, then you're in Narnia, summoned by Susan's horn!

Now let's add more books.

Attend a ball at the pavilion! Beware Keeper; If you're lucky, Bradford will ask you for a spin.

Play paintball Hunger Games!

Come to the bonfire! Tell mountain stories. Dance with ribbons. Learn to quarryspeak.

What do y'all think? Any ideas for this amusement park? The above are only the tip of iceberg!

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT.

I don't know if you've ever run around your house screaming, but I certainly have. Because guess what?

The sequel to Princess Academy just came out.

*SQUEEEEE!*

I made a meme. Idk why, but they just seem to be able to convey my emotions better... and my facial expression.

Do you wanna see it in all of its glory? Of course you do! Here's a picture:

Miri is so grown up... and pretty... and that is totally a miri flower in her hair.

Pardon the fangirling, but Princess Academy was my FAVORITE book as a girl. I read it a trillion times. I tried to quarry-speak like Miri. I fell head over heels in love over my first literary crush, Peder (who smelled like bread and had a name based off of "Peter" before it was cool). It was one of those books that seemed so real to me. I never dreamed Shannon Hale would write a sequel. 



Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting... until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she "should "help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city. Picking up where "Princess Academy "left off, this incredible stand-alone story celebrates the joys of friendship, the delight of romance, and the fate of a beloved fairy tale kingdom.

New crush? Who could ever in a million years replace Peder!? Miri, darling: HE SMELLS LIKE BREAD AND CUTS STUFF OUT OF LINDER. MARRY HIM NOWWWW. I should probably be more worried about these "frightening plans", but alas... Speaking of must-have books, check out my To Read list. The following have been bumped up in terms of priority. Sorry, The Scarlet Pimpernel. It's nothing personal.

My good friend Marlene has been singing this books praises for some time now. I've been meaning to pick up a copy ever since I got hooked on the blog of the lovely Heather Dixon, called Story Monster. The night I discovered her blog, I stayed up til midnight reading old posts. She's hysterical and adorable and I can hardly wait to read this book.

Rick Riordan follows a format: realistic characters, loads of wit, plenty of plot twists, and a whole ton of randomness. I'm currently reading The Serpent's Shadow from The Kane Chronicles, his series based on Egyptian mythology. As awesome as Carter and Sadie Kane and the gang are, nothing can compare with my besties Percy Jackson and Annabeth. When the Percy Jackson series ended, I was brokenhearted. Then he wrote The Heroes of Olympus series, which was like P.J. meets a whole cast of new, awesome characters. So addictive. The cliff-hanger endings are terrible. I stayed up til the early morning hours, forced to read in the bathroom (my sister could no longer stand my reading light), and finished The Son of Neptune. MAJOR CLIFF-HANGER. I've waited a year for this book, and I'm blimey well gonna read it before my friend Kate can spoil it all... I give Jason, Frank, Piper, Leo, blahblahlbah EVERYONE permission to die, except for Percy and Annabeth. End rant.

Writing Update: College essays. I don't want to talk about it. Too painful. Another day.

What are you reading? Any sequels you're excited for? Recognize any of the titles above? The comments await you. *deep bow*