O Captain! My Captain!

Today, I learned the heartbreaking news that Robin Williams died.

 I think I have felt this death so acutely because, to me,  it represents the end of innocence and youth. Williams was such a big part of my childhood, with movies like Jumanji, Aladdin, and Mrs. Doubtfire--which was actually super inappropriate for me to watch. I watched it anyway, and I liked it a lot. Oh, and Hook. And Dead Poet's Society. I guess that's quite a list of favorites.

I have memories of watching Hook with my sister and cousins. I wished we could all fly and have magical, invisible food fights and see mermaids with bright green hair. I remember dreaming that Jumanji was really possible--that elephants and pelicans could come out of a board game, and we could skip school to save the town.

Then in high school, I watched Dead Poet's Society. Of course, I loved it; any movie that encourages children and young people to read will always have my heart. It was in this movie that I was introduced to the phrase Carpe diem. Seize the day. This phrase has always challenged me to look past the seemingly mundane and find the extraordinary in everyday life. For my college graduation, my mother bought me shoes that say Carpe diem on them. I still wear those shoes today.

It breaks my heart to realize someone like Robin Williams--someone who brought me so much joy and laughter and fun--was a person who struggled with depression. But I am so grateful for the time he had here and the part he played in my younger days.

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won

--excerpt from Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain"

My Great Gain: A Poem

My Great Gain

I kept your name, and I kept your ring;

I got our daughter and your things--

Your grandpa’s knives, your mom’s dishes,

With your future dreams and wishes.


I kept our friends, church, and car

I kept your life’s savings so far.


You can keep your broken heart,

The still, beating muscle, torn apart.

Learn if it will work again;

It’s up to you to start the mend.

The Hunger Games.

DISCLAIMER:: If you have not had the pleasure of reading this book yet and are really, really wanting to, I suggest that you STOP reading this entry!! I don't want to spoil anything for you, and if you are one of the few who haven't checked out this trilogy yet, well, get off my site and go buy the books and get to it!

For those of you who may not be aware of the story line behind Suzanne Collins' books, here's some background information for you. The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel set in the future. America as we know it has fragmented into different sections-or districts-according to the valuable resource in which each area specializes. The country is subdued by a tyrannical government called the Capitol, which keeps Panem in place by enforcing a yearly Hunger Games tournament, in which children ages 12-18 enter into combat with each other and fight to the death. Not a very bright, cheery storyline, I know.

First of all, I wanted to say that though it won't be my main focus, there will be times in this review when I compare the Suzanne Collins book to the movie adaptation. I can't help it; I recently re-watched the movie at the cheap theater here in town, so the differences are glaringly obvious and fresh in my mind right now!

The first thing you notice about this book is that it is told from the viewpoint of Katniss, a 16-year-old tribute from District 12, which is arguably modern-day Appalachia. When Katniss tells us about growing up in District 12 and her everyday fight to provide for her family, you get a very impersonal, no-nonsense tone. She is blunt with her descriptions of killing her own game and breaking the law to do so. Katniss speaks in sentence fragments throughout most of the first few chapters, which only adds to the bleak, detached tone.

I think this tone changes as soon as Katniss volunteers as tribute and leaves her home with Peeta to compete in the Games. She at first is threatened by Peeta's kindness--probably because she hasn't experienced that from anyone since her father died. She doesn't know what to do with the kind "boy with the bread"; this doesn't really change by the end of the book, either! At any rate, her interactions with Peeta bring out a more personable tone from the character of Katniss.

Some see this book as another tale of the bravery of children and the triumph of the underdog. We should note that this book is also about the protest of  government and social revolution. It's important to remember this when you read it, because you begin to see how Katniss rebels against the Capitol. For example, when another tribute named Rue dies and Katniss arranges flowers around the dead girl's body, she has not only forged a relationship with her enemy in the Games, but has also showed all of Panem that she doesn't care what her actions signify; she just wants to honor the dead. This act follows with District 11 (Rue's district) sending her bread when Katniss desperately needs it. I'm not sure that the movie accurately portrays how dangerous these actions are and the domino effect of rebellion that Katniss has begun. This gift of bread marks the first time in Hunger Games history that a district has sent another district's tribute aid in a time of need, which is a HUGE deal.

I just really, really love these books. I love them in the sense that Katniss, a teenager, starts a rebellion in her society and causes her country to band together as they have not in decades. I adore them because love and purity triumph all, not dominance and politics. It's important to realize the power of children and the underdog in literature: you can picture Harry Potter and his triumph over Lord Voldemort, or Frodo and his destruction of the evil ring of power.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite passages in the book. In Chapter 18, after Katniss has sung Rue to her eternal slumber, and the girl has died:

"The words are easy and soothing, promising tomorrow will be more hopeful than this awful piece of time we call today".

To Be Someone

Good morrrrrrrrrrrning, Vietnammmmmmmm!!

Ok, most of you may not have gotten that reference, but it was Robin Williams in "Good Morning, Vietnam", obviously...anyway, moving on to my first Kindle book review!

I read To Be Someone by Louise Voss. It is considered contemporary fiction, and I would probably classify it as a drama with comedic quality. I really, really liked it. I've noticed that the contemporary fiction that I've read lately tends to be very emotionally driven, dramatic, and has snippets of existentialism in the story. To Be Someone was no different.

Voss tells the story of Helena, a British, washed up ex-pop star. She's fallen on some hard times, having lost her lifelong best friend to cancer in the past few months; on top of all that, she craves the overwhelming attention she once had from her fans. Alas, she feels the only option she has is to create her life's soundtrack, if you will, with songs from her biggest life moments and reasons why these songs mean so much to her. After Helena plays these songs on her radio show, she decides she will kill herself. Pretty bleak, I know.

I chose to read this because of the whole life soundtrack concept. I have often thought about which songs I would choose that define me and times in my life,  but I find that a very difficult task to go about! Although it got kind of old reading about Helena and her "woe is me" outlook on the fleeing fame in her life, using music as a memoir is just fascinating.

Now, since this book was written in the perspective of an aged British popstar, I had not heard of most of the artists, except perhaps David Bowie and The Cure. I ended up researching several of the titles on Youtube, so it was educational experience as well as just for fun.

I would definitely recommend this book. If you don't mind reading stories that have a sense of darkness and bleak outlook at times, then you could definitely go for this book! I promise; there's light at the end of the tunnel for Helena. :)


In a couple days, I'll have a review of a children's book and probably more of a journal entry about an issue that's been on my mind recently. Also, look for a Song or Quote of the Day!

Thanks for stopping by!

the beginning, a very good place to start.

Hello humans!

So I've decided to FINALLY start my own blog! I used to keep a livejournal back in high school, but I mostly got on there when I was super bored and would rather mess around than do my homework. Wait, who am I kidding--I had homework done before school was even let out for the day!

Anyway. I recently bought myself a Kindle, so I wanted to create a blog in which I post reviews for at least two books, perhaps every week-10 days or so. As of yet, I have only downloaded the free Kindle books, so these are probably what I will be blogging about. I plan on reviewing one adult book of a particular genre and one children's book, since children's literature is one of my passions. Just to warn you: my favorite genres tend to be romantic comedy and fantasy, so I will probably be writing about those mostly. I will try to include other genres, such as contemporary fiction and maybe even some mystery or horror every once in a while. We shall see!!

Additionally, I'll be posting random thoughts I have. I love writing out what's on my mind, so I'll probably use this blog as a forum to do just that. I ask for your patience in advance, as I tend to be very passionate about most subjects! :)

I will also probably include a Song or Lyric of the Day for each blog. These are for your entertainment, but I may write out my own personal thoughts and feelings evoked by certain songs. Once again, please forgive me for my sentimentality, as music is a VERY huge part of my life.


Speaking of which, here is my Song of the Day:

I chose Weezer's "Holiday", because 1. Weezer is one of my all-time favorite '90s bands, and 2. I want nothing more than to be on holiday, especially with all this ridiculous rain we've had lately.


I hope you enjoy my blog! I'll post my first review(s) in the next week or so.

Thanks for stopping by!