I LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING

Today is my last PRABE entry.  It is a bittersweet feeling for me because I worry I will stop being as faithful about reading as I am when I have this assignment.  Having the assignment of 90 minutes of pleasure reading for the most part is wonderful and I am thankful for it because some weeks it can be very difficult to find the time or energy to devote to pleasure reading.  I have practically given up knitting since I returned to school and mostly due to guilt.   The constant pressure to be studying and working on homework makes it difficult to pick up my needles and yarn when I do have the opportunity to sit still.  To have someone take away the guilt and encourage me to keep another one of my hobbies is of great value to me.  When I attended college the first time and was only working part time I knocked out books like I was a reading fool and I am not referring to my text books.  I think I have grown as a reader because I have found myself reading books I would not have been opened to before I returned to school.  I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid because I am going to be a teacher soon and I want to be in the know for the popular books students are reading today (and I wanted to see the movie).  Now I find myself reading Hunger Games, a book I never would have considered before and thus far it’s a great book.  Expanding my mind and being open to a variety of genres I hope will help me relate to my students and show them my passion for reading and continually growing and learning.  My husband and I realized we have not been going on as many bookstore dates as we used to and we miss it.  It is a very economical date option and we always have a great time.  
 

Monday, December 5 – Friday, December 9 (10 - 15 minutes daily)

So excited because a wonderful lady I know was in the paper on Thursday with her picture and an entire article dedicated to her.  I bought my wedding dress from her and she has an amazing talent for knowing the right dress for her customers.  Her name is Reni and she is from Germany.  I think she is wonderful because she made me feel special and that she cared for me.  I appreciated her honesty and for each dress I tried on, I told her what I liked and did not like about the dress.  From that information she was able to quickly find the world’s most beautiful dress for me.  She knows all her dresses by heart so trying on dresses is an efficient experience, and she brought all the dresses to me.  I am not trying to be an advertisement for her I am just recalling a wonderful memory and I am so happy her greatness was put in print!

Saturday, December 10 (40 minutes)

Today my husband and I went on a bookstore date.  I read a few children’s books and started a book about a woman who loves Little House on the Prairie, but I really want to finish Jane Eyre.  Since it’s a classic so I know it will be at most any bookstore I go to.  I am disappointed I haven’t finished it by now, and I am thinking over break I should be able to finish it and watch the movie.  Thankfully, the wedding gets cancelled because (I knew it!) Mr. Rochester is a weirdo and bad guy.  He is still married to Grace Poole and she is insane, literally.  It makes since he doesn’t want to be married to her anymore, but even with his bad choice in a first wife I still don’t like him.  Jane knows she needs to leave and she isn’t sure where to go or what to do next.  I am interested to see where the story is headed next. 

BEING THANKFUL BEYOND THANKSGIVING

Tuesday, November 29 - Friday, December 2 (10 - 20 minutes daily)

Each week I read the newspaper and try to think focus on articles that capture my attention or get me thinking about topics beyond my world.  This week it just seemed to be regular drama and wrong doings.  However, the newspaper does a daily story about a family in need and I find myself thinking about the families and wondering about them.  They’re a reminder that there are everyday people struggling to get by and praying to get some relief so they can pay their bills.  I find myself often complaining about what I don’t have, and I think I am happier when I spend more of my time thinking about what I do have. 

Monday, November 28 (30 minutes)

This week I started wondering about Jane again.  Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane after he led her to believe that he was going to marry another woman.  Then he tries to change her by buying her expensive dresses and covering her in jewelry.  On one hand it makes sense because that is how woman of his rank live.  However, he is marrying below his level and she is a simple woman of routine and little money.  He also plans to send away Jane’s pet, Adele, to boarding school and who is part of Jane’s family now.  I was surprised to see that Mrs. Fairfax was not happy about Jane getting engaged to Mr. Rochester.  I agree with Mrs. Fairfax, but this was the first time she has said anything negative about him and it is obvious that she is privy to more than she normally lets on.  Then Jane and Mr. Rochester got in an argument the morning after their engagement and rarely speak to each other until now the day before the wedding.  I cannot stand Mr. Rochester’s games, manipulation and authoritative comments.  Jane is continually lamenting over how much she loves him, but my psychology side says she only thinks she loves him and does not know what a proper relationship with a male would be.  If I didn’t want to see the movie, I think I would have given up on Jane before finishing the book.

AN INTERESTING VARIETY

Monday, November 21, 2011 (20 minutes)

Hours before Jane’s aunt dies she reveals to Jane that Jane has an uncle who wanted to take her in and put her in his will.  Jane’s aunt told him she had died and she wanted Jane to tell her uncle that she was alive.  Jane forgave her aunt and asked for her aunt’s forgiveness, and even on her deathbed Jane’s aunt was cold hearted to her.  After her aunt’s death Jane stayed behind for three weeks to help her cousins.  I found it strange that Jane did not write to her uncle right away. 

Monday, November 21 & Tuesday, November 22 (10 minutes daily)

Since my co-worker gives me his newspaper I was only able to read it a couple of days this week.   

Friday, November 25 (1 hour +)

Went to the bookstore on Friday night and I was able to finish the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid that I started a few weeks ago.  I’m still debating my thoughts about the book, which is kind of silly sounding because it was a bit of a surface story.  I think I a holding my thoughts until I can watch the movie.  Then I started The Hunger Games, and I didn’t think it was my kind of story line, but it caught me right away.  Plus the movies are coming out in few months so I need to get going.  It kind of reminded me of the stories I had read about life for Jews during WWII, but with a futuristic storyline. 

Saturday, November 26 (1 hour+)

We were visiting the family and my father-in-law bought a book called Hard Work by Roy Williams.  I’ve been a KU fan as long as I can remember and I have always liked Roy Williams so I picked it up.  I had no idea he had such a rough and tough childhood and he really overcame a lot thanks to his high school coaches and teachers.  I was able to read up through his first coaching job.  Next time we visit I won’t have to worry if I forget to bring a book. 

SUNDAY EVENING POST

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of November 14 (10-15 minutes every day)

This week I read my daily Wichita Eagle and the story that caught my attention this week was about Wichita considering closing five elementary schools, “in favor of larger schools that draw students from areas well beyond their current boundaries” (Tobias, 2011).  The idea is that the smaller schools would close and bigger schools would be “expanded.”  Currently, it is just a proposal that the school board is considering with many parents concerned about their children not being able to attend their neighborhood school. 

Source:

Tobias, S. (2011, November 17). Kids could travel farther. The Wichita Eagle, p. 1A

Friday, November 18 (20 minutes)

A friend gave me her People magazine after she finished reading it.  I really enjoyed the article about Gabrielle Giffords.  She has an inspiring story of persevering and hope and she kind of makes me want to get out and do something. 

Saturday, November 20, 2011 (30 minutes)

Didn’t get to read as much of Jane Eyre as I would have liked, and when I was at the bookstore I saw the movie on the shelf so I have to get on the ball.  Hopefully, with Thanksgiving I can get a bit more reading in.  Jane is still at her aunt’s house with the sisters Eliza and Georgiana and they are awful.  Her aunt has not died yet and I am not sure where things are going to go from here. 

BOOKSTORE DATE

Monday, November 7 – Friday, November 11 (10-15 minutes every day)

I try to read a bit of the Wichita Eagle every day and thus far I’ve been successful, but life is getting very busy so I hope I can stick with it.

Saturday, November 12 (1 hour plus)

Headed to the bookstore with my husband and I had a great time.  We used to go on bookstore dates all the time and now we have to drive a bit to get to a good bookstore, it’s sad.  We usually go into a bookstore and head opposite directions and then meet up and discuss our findings.  Today I headed to the kids section and had a great time being that annoying person who bursts out loud laughing.  Below is a listing of the books I read and now highly recommend:

-          Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

-          You Will Be My Friend by Peter Brown

-          Splat the Cat: Back to School by Rob Scotton

-          Skippyjon Jones: Class Action by Judy Schachner

-          Skippyjon Jones: And the Big Bones

-          Skippyjon Jones: In Mummy Trouble

-          Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Spice

-          Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

I only got half way through Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but my husband thought he had the book in his classroom and said I could borrow his copy to finish the book.  My husband bought a book about K2 and I always love listening to him tell me about books he is reading. 

Reading to Relax

Monday, October 31 – Friday, November 4 (10-15 minutes every day)

I was able to get the Wichita Eagle newspaper from friends and co-workers every day this week which was really nice because I often don’t have time to catch the local news.  The only story that really caught my eye was a story about student loan debt and how many students have major loan debt straight out of college and even for years after college.  On one hand it was nice to know my husband and I aren’t the only couples with lots of student loan debt and on the other hand it was really frustrating and disappointing. 

Saturday, November 5 (45 minutes)

So I was in Oklahoma for a race and right before going to bed there was an earthquake and with all the excitement I could not go to sleep.  Needing to get a good night’s rest for the run I whipped out my kindle to catch up on some Jane Eyre until I got relaxed enough to fall asleep.  Mr. Rochester tells Jane he is going to propose to another woman and meanwhile, Jane’s mean aunt who sent her away is dying and calling out for Jane. 

I'M A JANEITE

Monday, October 24 (45 minutes)

In my Jane Eyre readings this week things took an unexpected turn.  The story got kind of weird and Mr. Rochester dressed up like an old fortune teller lady and made all his female guests and Jane get their fortune told.  By the way no one knew it was Mr. Rochester, but he did reveal himself to Jane.   I guess I didn’t see this coming because Jane is religious and she was excited to see the fortune teller (before she knew it was Mr. Rochester) and I would think a religious person would not want to get mixed up with a fortune teller.  The thing is, even though I don’t really like this part of the story I kind of really want to know what happens next. 

Friday, October 28 (20 minutes)

I had a really stressful day, I had to take a big test and I didn’t feel like reading something where I had to think or pay attention.  I splurged and bought myself a chi tea latte and a People magazine.  The only article I really got into was the one about the daughter-in-law of Bernie Madoff.  She is speaking out because Ruth and Andrew Madoff (Bernie’s wife and his living son) have a book out about their side of the story.  Anyway, she talks about her husband Mark who committed suicide due to shame of his father and how she is coping with her two young children.

Sunday, October 30 (30 minutes)

So my favorite yarn store twitted that they had a limited stash of Interweave Knits – Jane Austin special edition left and thought they’d be out by the end of the weekend.   Let me back up a bit.  Knitting is a big hobby of mine that has gone on the backburner since I started school.  I just can’t do it all.  I usually guilt myself out of knitting, and by that I mean every time I consider knitting I tell myself, if I have time to knit, I have time for homework.  I’m my own mom.  My husband and I had already decided that our cruiser ride would be our workout for the day and we just couldn’t decide where we wanted to ride.  Thankfully I saw that tweet because after we cruised to the yarn store I got one of the last ones.  It had lots of patterns that fit Jane’s time and that would look good on a modern girl like me.  It also has lots of articles about knitting and Jane Austin.  After we picked up my magazine my husband was cold and hungry so we biked over to the coffee shop to get him fed and I got to read my new magazine.  It was a wonderfully guilt free afternoon. 

DONNER LAKE

Thursday, October 20, 2011 (2 hours)

This week I was able to visit Donner Lake in California and the Donner Museum.  I have always been intrigued by the story of the Donner party since my Dad told me about it when I was a little girl.  The museum had a video about the Donner party I think it was from the first year there was color film and told the gist of what happened, but it was hard to connect with.  The Museum had a bookstore and I talked to the Park Ranger about which of the books she recommended.  She said the one I was looking at, Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West by Ethan Rarick was a good read with the latest dig findings.  She was right it had lots of information about the area and what it was like to join a wagon train and why anyone would want to uproot their lives and move across the country.  I decided to give my Dad the book as a souvenir so I read as much of it as I could before I gave it to him (also knowing I could borrow it when he was finished). 

Flying home was a bunch of hurry up and wait so when I was flying I read my books and when I was in more of the hurry up and wait mode I caught up on my magazines.  I still had a People magazine to catch up on from the previous week with the main story being about Amanda Knox. 

HURRY UP AND READ

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 (2 hours)

The title of this week’s post is in relation to a phrase I like to use when flying, and specifically being at the airport consists of having to “hurry up and wait.”  And now that I am back on my 90 minutes of reading I was excited to have the opportunity to be at the airport and on the plane reading.  I do not like to get into a focused reading until I am in the air flying because there are too many distractions for me; number one is looking out the window and seeing the world.  Once we got above the clouds I was able to snuggle up with Jane Eyre and delve into her world.  She is really in love with Mr. Rochester and knows nothing can come of it because he is her boss and she is of a much lower class.  She finds it difficult to not daydream or wish he was not around more.  When he does return it is with many guests and he is busy entertaining them. 

Waiting in the terminal I prefer to read something a bit simpler so I caught up on the last two People magazines my friends gave me.  Not too much exciting stuff, but one little article that did catch my eye was a book for making crafts with your cat.  Key word “with” your cat, not “for” your cat.  Many of the crafts are felting projects.  I know a bit about felting because I knit and felting is taking something knitted or crocheted and putting it into water and agitating it.  The crafts are not exactly knitted because the “fiber” is from your cat’s hair (which would be difficult to spin and knit into yarn).  I didn’t know whether to laugh or buy the book.  The book is Crafting with Cat Hair, by Kaori Tsutaya. 

Back in the Saddle Again

Monday, October 3 (15 minutes)

My husband’s Bicycling magazine came in and he kept telling me I need to read an article about riding through France.  Of course many articles talk about bicycling and France, but this was about a woman and her family who bicycled through the Loire Valley that has “400-plus-mile network of (bicycle) paths and somnolent back roads called the Loire a Velo, a route that has become a magnet for small, quirky, cycling-friendly inns” (p. 72).  And when I read that I knew why my husband thought of me.  Along the way they road past vineyards, wheat fields, and best of all castles; it felt like the most romantic article I had ever read.   Not the kissing, flowers kind of romantic, but the rolling hills, glass of wine, touring hundreds of years old chateaus and castles on a bicycle.  Driving through the country can be scenic, but the details of life fly by at 60 miles an hour, there is just something about bicycling and making one’s own way along the roads.  This article has had me dreaming ever since I read it.

Friday, October 7 (35 minutes) and Saturday, October 8 (30 minutes)

I hate to admit it, but I put Jane Eyre aside when I finished my last reading class.  I’ve been doing catch up ever since.  When Jane saved Mr. Rochester he left town and Jane is frustrated he has not done more to figure out who tried to hurt him.  Jane attempts to carry on and figure out what happened.  I have to get on the ball with this because my husband said he saw the movie on the new releases rack at the video store so the pressure is on. 

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (about 10 – 15 minutes daily)

I don’t have too much to note about this, but my co-worker gives me the Wichita Eagle every weekday except Wednesday and I usually read whatever headline or side story catches my attention.  There was a really interesting article about Steve Jobs this week and I had no idea about him being adopted, it kind of brings to light the question of nature verses nurture. 

THE SPIRIT BEAR

Of all my readings for this week one article caught my attention and I enjoyed learning about an animal I had never seen or heard of before.  This month in National Geographic, there is an article (with lots of pictures of course) titled “Spirit Bear” by Bruce Barcott, about a type of black bear whose fur is the color white, called the Spirit Bear.  It’s due to a recessive gene, “the same gene associated with red hair and fair skin in humans” (p. 46). Bears are my favorite animal so naturally I was intrigued by an article about bears.  The pictures are very beautiful because the Spirit bears live in the British Columbia rainforest with beautiful green, mossy trees and ground coverings.  The Spirit bear’s white fur does give them advantage when fishing during the day because “the salmon are less concerned about a white object as seen from below the surface” (p. 47).  There is a great picture of two black bears (one has white fur and the other has black fur) fighting over a fishing spot in the river.  The First Nations did hunt the black furred black bears, but they never hunted the white furred black bears.  The article does not explain why the First Nations did not hunt the Spirit bears, but it is believed the First Nations saved the lives of the Spirit bears because they never spoke of them to European fur hunters.  In fact the First Nations do not normally talk about Spirit bears, the article calls it an early form of “environmental protection” (p. 41).  The pictures really captured the article for me and the Spirit bear seems to be a hidden treasure of North America. 

RUNNING FREE

I forgot my kindle at home this week so I didn’t get to read any more about Jane.  I mostly read the newspaper, caught up on my William and Kate happenings, and my husband’s Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines.  Runner’s World had an article I found very intriguing, titled “A Fresh Start” about a running club called Running Free, for women prisoners at the Topeka Correctional Facility in Kansas.   They train on the basketball court running laps and even have races including a marathon on a .8 mile prison track.  One prisoner named Michelle Eicher commented, “When I first got here, I was pretty resentful…but the club let me see that maybe there is some humanity left me after all.”  No taxpayer money has been used to pay for this running club and the inmates raise money for local charities from their prison jobs and they pay for the races entries just like other runners do.  The inmates have raised $35,000 for the local charities.  Bill Cummings, the deputy warden explained, “The women are learning things that those of us who run have known for years…How to connect to the community, handle set-backs, build up for an event – these skills have been of incredible benefit to the women.”   It’s one of those stories I can’t get out of my mind.  I am really glad that running and the discipline of running are bringing hope and “humanity” to women who took a wrong turn in life.  It’s the kind of thing we need from our prison system. 

PICTURE BOOKS

This week Jane saves Mr. Rochester’s life when someone tries to kill him by setting his room on fire.  Mr. Rochester suspects that it is one of the servants, but has asked Jane to keep their suspect a secret.  This is driving Jane crazy and she doesn’t know why he wants to keep it a secret.  My friend gave me his National Geographic and my husband and I were arguing over who got to read it first.  Even though I won the magazine I had a hard time meeting my pleasure reading minimum, I just wasn’t in the mood to read what I had.  Normally, I am quite the opposite; spending too much time pleasure reading and not getting to read everything I want to read.  I spent most of my time reading half of the articles mostly looking at the pictures. 

MY BUMMEL

 This week I think Jane is starting to “like” Mr. Rochester, as in maybe love him.  I still don’t like him even though she her perspective about him is changing.  I am really enjoying reading on my kindle, especially since I bought an overpriced cover and am now not so worried about dropping it. 

What I really want to talk about is a book called, “Three Men on the Bummel,” by Jerome K. Jerome.  But let me start somewhere else…last night my husband and I went to my parents’ house for dinner to catch up on the Tour de France.  (If you don’t already know the Tour de France is a bike tour across France with rides, called stages, almost every day over a variety of terrains with an average of 100 miles per stage.  It’s exciting to watch the cyclist get up to 60mph going down sharp switch backs and there are the most beautiful helicopter aerial views of France’s beautiful mountains, country-side, castles, churches and chateaus.  It’s the only sport I know that you get the thrill of competition as well as a feeling of being cultured simultaneously.)  Anyway after we finished our tour talk, my parents said they were excited to tell me about something.  They said they were listening to this book on CD called, “Three Men on the Bummel.”  First, a bummel, is a journey without an end my parents explained.   It’s about three British men who are biking across parts of Europe during the early 1900’s, with one man on a single bike and the other two on a tandem bike, taking turns.  The reader has a British accent and my parents said they’re not sure if the story would have the same effect if they had just read the book.  They described the book so well and with such enthusiasm that Zach and I were ready to start listening to it right then.  In the book the author describes how human intention always surpasses what humans actually do.  For example, the evening before riding the men discuss how they want to rise at five in the morning, eat breakfast and ride before the heat of the day.  However, when five am arrives, temptation leads one man to sleep to six and dally until seven for breakfast.  My father noted that when he biked across Kansas last year, every night they would state their intentions and the next morning someone would sleep in so they would end up riding in the heat of the day.  “You battle the same biking problems in 1900 as you do today, over 100 years later,” my dad humorously, half seriously noted.  So I went home and bought the book and got the auto, so I can compare.  It starts off a bit slow, but it’s worth the detail to hear the joke.  Sorry, for all the tour talk I just wanted to illustrate what a fun evening it was with lots of colorful discussion. 

NO MORE BOOKENDS

It’s been an exciting week for me because my pleasure reading has just gone to the next level!  I got a kindle for my birthday and I love it!  Especially since I didn’t ask for it and it was a total surprise (I love gift surprises) I am pretty sure I gasped when pulled it out of the wrapping.  And the cherry on top was a night light that attaches to it so I can read before bed without bothering my husband.  After uploading my bible, I was on the search for the books I am currently reading.  Many of the classics are free and to my delight Jane Eyre and Tess of the d’urbervilles, and next on my list is Little Dorrit!  I’ve been exploring using my Bible and keeping up with Jane.  This week Jane is frustrating me.  Jane’s student is French and French is her first language so she often speaks to Jane in French.  However there is no translation provided (not in the back of the book either).  I will admit I have not researched this any farther than flipping to the back of the book, but just that over and over again is disruptive to my flow of reading.  Also, Jane responds to her in French and Mr. Rochester also speaks French.  I guess there is a bit of context clues but not much to go off of.  My mom said she read Jane Eyre in her book club and the French without translation frustrated her group as well.

A LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO HOME

Another royal week for me!  With Will and Kate coming state side next month, Kate was on the cover of People magazine so I picked one up at the grocery store to enjoy with my salad at lunch on Friday.  I love looking at her fabulous outfits and beautiful fascinators.  Since I have been able to travel to England I have been relishing in the recent focus on the royal family and London.  And People magazine has one of the few cross-word puzzles I can actually finish.

            Even though in my Jane Eyre readings this week the story took a bittersweet turn I couldn’t help, but laugh.  I love Jane’s perspective on things and how she talks to the reader.  It kind of reminds me of myself except older English.  Jane writes, “Have I not described a pleasant site for a dwelling, when I speak of it as bosomed in hill and wood, and rising from the verge of a stream?  Assuredly, pleasant enough: but whether healthy or not is another question.” Reading this passage is not funny per say, but when I relate it to myself it’s pretty accurate.  It’s like when I go into great detail to tell my husband a story about something that has happened to me and he gives me the “Get to the point” look.  Then I get hurt feelings and say something like, “I am trying to make you feel as if you’re there so you can appreciate my story.”  And we agree that we’re just at an impasse in our storytelling.

In this chapter Jane started to speak more directly to the reader than in previous chapters.  When I was in college I took a creative writing class.  And although I loved my class and we called ourselves “The Piranhas of Love” the class just made me realize my limited writing abilities.  I had a difficult time writing stories in third person; and truly being descriptive from an outside perspective.  Jane talks directly to the reader and I kind of love it.  It makes me sort of believe if I want to write a great novel I could write it in first person and be descriptive.  At least the girls would like it! 

PASS THE ALOE!

                I guess I could say today’s readings were literally burned into me! This week my husband and I found ourselves pool side and when I am at the pool I like to catch up on my magazine happenings. I was able to get a lovely sunburn and magazine shadow outline on my thigh from my pool side lounging.  Reapply, Reapply, Reapply!  Anyhow, Vanity Fair, featured William and Kate or formally known as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, catching me up on insider royal wedding details and how they are adding Kensington to their list of homes to be used when they are in London. 

                This week Jane Eyre befriends Helen Burns.  Helen is an older girl at school and Jane looks up to her because of her self-discipline and quick comprehension of lessons.  One teacher is constantly scrutinizing Helen and often publicly humiliates her or gives her lashings across the neck with a switch.  Helen does not cry or blush with embarrassment during these public displays embarrassment.  When Jane questions Helen about how she feels about this her response is, “it is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you; and besides, the Bible bids us return good for evil.”  Both Jane and I are perplexed and did not see this response coming.  Where will Bronte take this character?  Helen is opposite of Jane at this point, Jane resents her cruel aunt whereas Helen endures her injustices.  From where I am at right now in the novel, the question that comes to my mind is when to stand up for injustice and when to endure? 

OUR REALITIES

                I wouldn’t say I had a bad week, but I would say I spent much of it wishing things were different, maybe that I lived somewhere else or that I would not have to work so hard.  In other words I was feeling sorry for myself and even though I am really into my Jane Eyre novel I would read the same page a couple of times before I would finally be able to let go of my daily grind and fall into Jane’s.  This week Jane finally stands up to her aunt and is sent away to a boarding school for girls.  The school is very rigid and the girls are dressed very plainly with terrible burnt porridge, and lots of bible reciting.   I can almost hear Pink Floyd in the back ground singing, Another Brick in the Wall.  Still it is comfort and stress release to be a fly on the wall in Jane’s world rather than my own.

            My co-worker gives me all of his newspapers and magazines after he is finished reading them, and this week I got, National Geographic.  I was excited to open it because the headline this month was, “The Birth of Religion: The World’s First Temple.”  Upon opening the magazine my eyes caught a picture of a young Indian girl looking into the camera being carried by an older man, a very sweet image.  However the sweetness of the picture was quickly changed once I read the caption, “Long after midnight, five year old Rajani is roused from sleep and carried by her uncle to her wedding.  Child marriage is illegal in India, so ceremonies are often held in the wee hours of the morning.  It becomes a secret the whole village keeps, explained one farmer.”  The article went on to explain the lack of education among these young women and so the cycle continues.  I must also include that there are some girls breaking free of this tradition and going to the police and the court systems to get divorces or tell on their parents before they are married under age.  In some areas even though it is illegal it is still considered somewhat acceptable for girls of puberty age to be eligible to get married.  The reason for these young marriages is for families to get out of debt from other families or to be guaranteed into a good family (such as Rajani, “By tradition, the young bride is expected to live at home until puberty, when a second ceremony transfers her to her husband.”)  This really puts things into perspective because my life is quite the opposite of these young girls and yet I expect and want so much more. 




SUMMER HAPPENINGS

I hit the pool today with reading materials in tow.  Expecting it to be packed with lots of splashing, my husband I were prepared for craziness only to see there were only two other girls there and we had our choice of all pool chairs.  I must add the sun was behind a blanket of clouds with a strong amount of wind gusts from 30 - 45mph.  My husband's Runner's World magazine arrived the other day and Kathleen Sebelius (former Kansas governor and currently Health and Human Services Secretary) was their back page featured runner.  She runs about five days a week running totaling about 15 - 20 miles.  My favorite quote from her was, "I've got guys on the security detail that run with me. Over the course of a year and a half, some of them have had to stop running because of various injuries.  I keep teasing them because I'm much older and still running." It’s my plan to be a life-long runner so I like little stories like hers.  I caught up on the latest runner yoga moves, speed workouts and healthy foods to try.  The other article that got me thinking was a man who lost his shoulder and arm after surviving a flesh eating disease.  Prior to his illness he had been on track for his running goals, specifically wanting to make a certain time at the Bolder Boulder 10k.  After much rehabilitation he was able to walk the Bolder Boulder 10k and then the next year he was able to run it.  Today (May 31) he is running the 10k with the goal of winning his age group.  My husband and I really wanted to run that particular race this year, but were not able to make it happen.  I wonder how he did and I hope he made his goal time. 

When I was able to find the time or energy this week I was squeezing in little bits of Jane Eyre, which I am loving.  My husband asked me to tell him the story line and when I did it did not sound that exciting, but I have always enjoyed stories that are somewhat real in the day to day happenings.  So far Jane, who is considered a nuisance to her caregiver Aunt is locked up in a room when her cousin cries wolf and gets her in trouble.  While up there plotting how she will starve herself due to the injustices she lives with, she sees a bright light and becomes terribly ill.  I am interested to see where this story will go.  Another reason I picked up Jane Eyre is a couple of weeks ago Diane Rehm had author Syrie James who recently published, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte on her radio talk show.  I thought it was a good interview and I was intrigued by the story Syrie told saying that when Charlotte submitted her novel to publishers she used the unisex name of Currer Bell.  The novel was well received until it was revealed that Currer Bell was a woman, critics changed their tune saying it was as good as a woman could write.  We'll see about that!

Wishing this had been my view today when looking up from my readings!

BRITANNIA

     I dubbed this title Britannia because I am an American girl, yet I highly value and appreciate my British literature readings of this week; the two of us side by side coming together.  I've had Jane Eyre sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of months now and the other day I saw a movie preview for it, so I thought I better get to reading.  Yes, I am one of those who reads the book first and then complains how the movie changed things or left out x,y,z of the story.  I have a wonderful Mr. Darcy of my own who puts up with it all and listens to my thoughts or questions days after we've watched the movie.  Anyway, I started the book the other night.  (I must back up this post one more time).  When I was in college my British Literature professor always made us read the introductions to our classic poems and novels, we even took quizzes over the introductions.  I disliked this very much and decided I would not read the introductions after his classes.  When I opened my book, I read a good 15 pages when I flipped the page to see that oops, I had read the introduction.  Not that I did not know I was reading the introduction I just forgot about my not reading the introduction rule.  Once I actually started the novel, Jane Eyre it was a much easier read than I had expected.  I read Withering Heights in high school and again in college, (don't worry, I know that Withering Heights is by Charlotte's sister Emily) but I found the language of the time very difficult to read so I expected Jane Eyre to be the same.  Maybe it is all the Masterpiece Theater I have been watching, or maybe I am more practiced since then, but I was very comfortable with the language of the novel. 
    My other British indulgence this week was a Time Magazine special edition of the Royal Wedding.  I have been able to visit London twice and one of my favorite sights was Westminster Abbey, and my husband and I saw the Queen and Prince Philip (drive by) at Buckingham Palace. So of course I was thrilled when Prince William and beautiful Catherine decided to get married at Westminster Abbey.  I liked the Time magazine edition because I of course had already read all the gossip and watched the wedding, but the article I read, "The Royal We," by Catherine Mayer, a writer from London wrote about the wedding from a British perspective.  And the pictures were very beautiful as well. 
     I consider myself to be a moody reader (imagine a mood ring, not a difficult woman).  I have about four books on my night stand so that I can read according to my mood or attention span I have at the time. My bias grandma says I am smart because I read so many books at the same time, but I think it keeps me interested in reading.  Sometimes I just need to let the day melt away and I do not want to have to struggle through a book, I want something easy and fun to read.  Other times a more difficult book may be more riveting and have me on the edge of my seat for what is going to happen next. 

Until next time, keep reading!