Friday, August 28, 2009

The Miles Between

by Mary E. Pearson

The Miles Between is a lovely, touching, life-changing book. It's about the struggles of a teenage girl who feels that the world is never fair. It's full of spontaneity, surprises, and more.

This book is also about coincidences and fate. It brought up and discussed an interesting point: are there such things as coincidences, luck, fate, etc.? I learned a lot of fun facts about coincidences in history which I never knew before, and I loved how the author tried to constantly emphasize certain dates, names, and words.

The final thing that I think really made this book stand out was the main character, Destiny. Throughout the book, my heart constantly went out to her as she struggled with her past and her emotions. *minor spoiler* However, as I found out near the end, Destiny wasn't a very reliable narrator. There is a shocking plot twist at the end -- Pearson is an absolute genius to have pulled that one off. *end minor spoiler*

Overall, The Miles Between is a lovely, lovely book. It's one of Mary E. Pearson's best works, and readers of all ages will definitely enjoy it.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Asylum for the Verbally Insane

Author unknown

I got this from Maya and found it pretty interesting:

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?

If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren’t invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly,

Boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing,
Grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?

Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all
But one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
Should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.

And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
In which your house can burn up as it burns down,
In which you fill in a form by filling it out,
And in which an alarm goes off by going on.
And, in closing, if Father is Pop,
How come Mother’s not Mop?

Sunday, August 23, 2009

As You Like It (Shakespeare Challenge #3)

by William Shakespeare

Out of all the Shakespeare plays I've read so far, I think As You Like It was my favorite. It was funny, witty, and the easiest to follow. The story was intriguing and especially entertaining for me, since I knew "stuff" that the characters didn't know.

Just like Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It had nonsensical characters who boasted about their education and intelligence, but were actually (in my opinion) quite stupid. The way the characters argued and discussed about random, silly things made the whole play very enjoyable. (I also learned about a million different ways to say "I want to kill you" in Shakespearean language.)

Overall, a delightful, quirky must-read. Highly recommended -- you won't be disappointed!

My post on the Shakespeare Challenge
Shakespeare Challenge specifics
My review of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Challenge #1)
My review of Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Challenge #2)

Friday, August 21, 2009

Thank You


I'd like to thank everyone who commented on my previous birthday post -- you guys are great and really brightened my day. I'd also like to give special thanks to Beth Kephart, Lorie Ann Grover, Summermoon, Q, bookbutterfly, cuileann, Danielle, and Maya for all their kind posts and birthday cards (and thank you for organizing everything, Maya!). I am incredibly lucky to have such a great sister and so many great friends in the blogging world. :-)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

I'm fourteen!!


Happy birthday to me...

Thursday, August 06, 2009

FYI...

Tomorrow, I'm leaving on vacation to New York and Washington D.C. I don't know if I'll get Internet anywhere, so I don't know if I can post. I haven't scheduled any posts, but you can expect lots of pictures when I get back.

See you in two weeks!

Monday, August 03, 2009

Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Challenge #2)

by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing was funny, witty, silly, and very entertaining. There were several sub-plots which weaved into the main plot, ranging from mischievous to funny to scheming.There were a lot of puns and double meanings scattered throughout the play, which were really fun to read. I thought that most of the characters were pretty stupid and hypocritical and arrogant, but I guess that's the point of the whole play: making a whole fuss about nothing. The annoying characters added to the whole feel, and it was clear that Shakespeare really tried to emphasize their personalities through their words.

The thing I liked about Much Ado About Nothing was that it was sweet and short; unlike Romeo and Juliet, nothing dragged and I finished it quickly. I think that making it longer would have just made it too unbearable -- the plot was silly enough as it is. Overall, a quick, fun play that I absolutely enjoyed.

P.S.-- I'm going with As You Like It for my last play. Thank you for all your suggestions... I'll be reading a lot of those plays in English for the next couple of years, and I definitely will be checking out the other plays I won't be reading as part of school.

My post on the Shakespeare Challenge
Shakespeare Challenge specifics
My review of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Challenge #1)