TSS - March Mystery Madness [and such]

You know I remember when I was a kid the days seemed to drag by.  Seriously.  And I remember the "old folks" always saying that when you get older the time will fly by.  Yeah, I didn't really believe them UNTIL NOW. 

It's March?  Are you kidding me?!

If you've visited much before you know what March means...

-Hunger Games The Movie (FINALLY)

- St. Patrick's Day (totally one of the best holidays determined by my pals AND it's on a Saturday!)

- Bloggiesta! (ole)

aaaaaaannnnd!

March Mystery Madness.

I'm especially stoked about this one because I have read hardly any mysteries in my life.  Especially classics, like Christie and Sayers and ummmm, Nancy Drew!  This month I plan to correct that.  I did a post a few weeks ago about what I was looking forward to reading.

So, I invited everyone and anyone interested to join me.  I haven't created any sort of stages because I know so little about the genre (maybe if I love it as many others then I'll do this again next year...we shall see).  Bottom line, I do have a post that you can access via my left side bar to link your reviews of mystery books in March.  At the end of the month, I'll create a post devoted solely on all mystery reviews.

Roots - The Last of It

Yes, yes, if a student tried to turn this in to me I would either (a) not accept it and speak to them about responsibility or (b) accept it begrudgingly after a LECTURE on responsibility and possibly a percentage taken off depending on their reasons.

Suffice to say I have been busy like it's nobody's business these past couple of days, and it appears to be a nonstop whirlwind for the next couple of weeks.  I will have a lovely Saturday School post next Saturday (it is my hopes at least) lamenting why this year has been UBER stressful, but until then -

Onward with Roots.

First, how many of you who have read this totally dug some African narrative and then as soon as it hit the wonderful U.S. of A. your interest slowly plummeted until its splattered on a cotton field?  Does anyone know when the accused plagiarism actually stopped? 

I wasn't terribly impressed with the third section; quite honestly, Chicken George was not a character that I felt for and the other slaves were so brushed by that they were more of a quick meet n' greet with no substance.

And then!  This last section just seriously left me in the land of wah-wah.  In fact it was like Haley was afraid of turning this into a monster of a book (sometimes size does matter) and just sorta wrapped things up.  For a while there I felt like I was reading the Bible - you know that chapter where everything is he begat this person who begat that person and you finish it thinking to yourself: man where IS the aleve?  I'm gonna be honest, I did me some skimming.

So, overall impression of the book?  The first part with our beloved African slave, Kunte - FIVE STARS and a LOVED IT.  And the second half, what I've been fondly referring to as AK (after kunte) in my head - ONE POINT FIVE STARS.  *le sigh*  If you follow me on goodreads, I gave Roots a solid three.

Til next time.  Behave yourselves.

March Mystery Madness

Argh!  GUYS!  I'm so far behind I'm seriously swimming with the sharks AND drowning. [1]

But, I wanted to get this up since it's ALREADY March 2nd. 

For those of you who are participating in the March Madness, when you finish a mystery read and review (whether on your blog or via goodreads or librarything) link it in the comments of this post.  At the end of the month I'll compile all of the reviews and post them.

Spread the love, book nerds!

Cheers!

______
[1] I haven't even written my last Roots readalong post.  Argh!

Roots RAL (3)

Chapters 60 - 90 - SPOILERS FOR SURE

I am loving this book **so** much.  I seriously am glad that I've pushed myself to read it and can't wait to watch the mini series (maybe over spring break?).  We have a copy of it at my school, although I'm surprised because I think that the material in one large dose might be too hard for our students.  I mean, hell, I've been reading Night John by Gary Paulsen with my students and they are completely ignorant to most of slavery's history, including before and after the Civil War.

Tangent.  My b.

Unfortunately I'm not really in the writing mood but know if I procrastinate this much later I'll never get it done. 

I've really enjoyed Kunta and am sad because we've moved away from his story.  I cannot reiterate how thankful I am that Haley continued to make his reaction to the other blacks authentic.  I understood the incredible frustration and confusion, to want to be a part of a community but still be disgusted by some of its practices, even if the practices are out of ignorance.  He didn't betray Kunte as a character (a person?) with high fives and welcome to the slave tribe man hugs.

Also, there were some passages that really stuck with me.  This one in particular:


"I heard Massa Jefferson say slavery jes' bad for white folks as for us'ns, an' he 'gree wid Massa Hamilton it's jes' too much nachel diff'rence fo' white an' black folks ever to learn to live wid one 'nother peaceful. Dey say Massa Jefferson want to see us set free, but not stickin' roun' dis country takin' po' white folks' jobs - he favor shippin' us back to Africa, gradual, widout big fuss an' mess."

Immediately I thought: dang, how far have we really come.  Both sincerely and well, facetiously.  I mean, people STILL have ignorant biases about culture and stereotypes.  My guess is right now the universal negativity is geared toward the middle east, and maybe not so much the stupid "oh their terrorists" (which yes, it's disturbing and disgusting how many students will make this comment because they've HEARD IT FROM HOME)...but moreso not understand because of their religious differences.  And quite honestly, didn't it strike anyone else reading this that the white folk were the most concerned with bringing in Africanism voodoo shizat.  (I'm thinking of Kunte counting the moons and rains in his gourd to keep track of his age). BUT ALSO what this passage made me think of is immigrants and how everyone (why that's not a hyperbole is it?) is all we can't have THESE PEOPLE taking our jobs...and in the above quote one of the significant reasons for shipping the black back to Africa was the job factor.  So what gives?

Finally, as I mentioned, we lose our time with Kunte and begin to get acquainted with his daughter a wee bit, but mostly his grandson, George.  Ugh.  I had such a terrible time reading about the cock fights.  *cringe* Any type of animal abuse disgusts me.  And also, I know for a fact students in my school - moreso their parents - have taken part in cock fights so having these visuals to go with the student faces.  Just stab my eyes out, will you.

So that's it.  We'll see you on the flipside.

One Day

Title: One Day
Author: David Nicholls
Pub: 2010 (audio);
Length: 16 hours; 23 minutes
Genre: Contemporary; Realistic; Romance; Fiction
Etc:   Read by Anna Bentinck

LOVE the concept of this book something fierce:  take ONE DAY from TWO PEOPLE'S LIVES for a random amount of years and observe it in a snapshot.  Seriously! Kudos for Mr. Nicholls for writing a book like this.  It is such a curious way of looking at someone'(s)' life and honestly I wish I had been clever enough to think of it.  I mean, not to write.  Gawd knows I have no desire to become a writer.  But, how nifty would it have been if I had a collection of letters to myself or a pictures of a day: same day different year?  Yeah, yeah, I surely could START doing it now.  But, *le sigh*, let's face it.  I'm a dreamer with no follow through.  Oh arch nemesis of mine!

So now you know I loved the concept hard but let me tell you the Truth about the book itself.  It lost its magic after the novelty.  The characters were blerg and oftentimes I wanted to b1tchslap our dear Dexter.  Plus...Dex and Em; Em and Dex.  Seriously?  Ad naseum.

Come, I will tell you why.  But firstly, let me make it obvious: there will be spoilers. So, if you haven't seen the movie OR read the book BUT plan to do one or the other, move along. - - - >

Okay.  Dexter.  Seriously?  Does a guy like Dex exist?  He's SUCH an arse. Oooh looky me, I'm famous. I'm on the tele.  COME ON Nicholls.  I just can't believe that someone can be that irredeemable for that many years of his life.  When did he finally grow up?  When he was forty?  Sure, sure money might make others more selfish than us middle class folks, but even when his mom is on her death bed?!  Yeah, yeah, tell me that everyone handles grief differently. I get that, but still!  Dex is handsdown one of the most detestable characters I've ever had to bear.

Which leads me to bring up Emma.  Emma wasn't terrible, she wasn't plain, but she was a little whacked with her affection for Dexter.  Once again, I continued to ask myself who pines for a man for that many years?  I'm all about crushes, you guys, but this was some hardcore pining that only left her devastated.

It's like the premise was to show polar opposites and how their friendship and love could survive the test of time.    Except, realistically it was more about the redemption of Dexter.  And I think he spent way too much time offering sacrifices and praying to Narcissus.

The obvious question that you are probably asking yourself then is: why continuing listening for over thirteen hours?  The answer is simple enough...even though the characters didn't interest me, the writing was actually pretty good, the dialogue chipper, and the storyteller was British (which always makes my ears warm and tingling).

TSS - Audio books REAL books?

You guys! I know I'm going to incite some strong feelings with this statement and so I want to put forth that I truly have NOTHING against audio books and this is just a general-me-thinks-this-way sorta post and meant as nothing else.  You know, like, I'm not bashing the audio scene because fact is, since my workout spot is about twenty minutes away from my school, I've been lovin' some audios fiercely. It's just, I don't GET the same book nerdiness from audios as I do with book-books.  My thoughts are pretty much floaters in this galaxy of my brain so I'm gonna attempt a list.

1. I can't write in audios.  I don't always write in my books, but I do flag the hell out of them.  If a book is well-loved you will see little posty-flags galore.  I found quickly while listening to a classic many moons ago that I couldn't do it.  I wanted to flag great convos or one-liners.  #fail

2. I can't reread the page.  So do you know how hard it was for me, whilst driving, to skip back a few "paragraphs" while listening to One Day on my way to working out? I couldn't multitask without nearly running off the side of the road and by the time I got to a stop light I was too far ahead to care. #fail

3. My head doesn't swim.  I know this is an odd one.  Swim?  What in the world does she mean by swim?  But the best way I can describe it is, after reading some books, I feel like I'm floating around in my head making connections and doing dive bombs.  It's weird, but I associate reading as a very fluid experience.

4. I can't hold it.  This is pretty obvious.  I can't hug it or throw it or shove it in my bag.

5. I have a hard time reviewing them.  Maybe this is because I'm not naturally an audible learner but after listening to audio books, especially LONG ones (One Day was about 13 or so discs), I only remember the gist of the book.  The overall feeling. Kinda like remember a book that you read years ago and you might have even ADORED it but it's still sorta play-doughy?  Yeah, it's like that.


You see, when I think of audio books, I think of storytelling.  The reader engulfs me with their voice and I'm transported back to the days of childhood when my mom would read to me before bed.  It's experiential for me but on a different level.

Saturday School - Kids Say the Darndest Things...

A few weeks back we took our students on a field trip to the Slave Narratives, a contemporary dance performance.  This opportunity came at the perfect time: the end of January. Introduce Black History Month AND a cultural experience?  Yes please!

Along with a brief overview of the history of slavery, I spent a day teaching the students about etiquette.  Our team shared our expectations for the trip: students needed to be well dressed (most importantly the boys' jeans needed not hang off of their butts!); when performances were over there should be an applause; absolutely no gum chewing or talking. And absolutely NO TEXTING.  You know, the basics. 

So the day of the trip our kids were coming dressed their best and we piled into two buses trekking down to the historical district of a neighboring county.  We make it there, do a quick mouth check as they exit the bus (what?  like we're gonna trust them completely to not have gum) and off into the theatre we go.

The kids are amazing! Seriously, they're filing into the rows quietly, even if a bit excited that the seats cushions move up and down like the movies.   As I'm sitting down, I'm thinking I can't be prouder.  And then I hear:

"Miss!  Miss!  I can't sit here!!" one of my louder girls shout out in the row in front of me as she jumps out of the seat.

"Why?" I look up a mixture of confusion and shock at her adamant exclamation.  Seriously, I'm thinking of all of the possibilities.  Was there something ON the chair?

"Someone DIED here!!" she continues and her matter-of-factness causes two other kids to sorta jump out of their seats.

"What in the world are you TALKING about? How do you KNOW someone died?' Seriously?  I'm so freakin' confused.

"Right here.  On the chair.  It says: IN MEMORY OF --- [whomever's name I can't remember]"

And folks.  She is standing there, mouth open, SHOCKED that they would just post something so gross as that, waiting for me to DO SOMETHING.

I try not to laugh.  Really.  I do.  Maybe I snort or smirkkle (think a vocal smirk?).  I then proceed to use it as a teachable moment and explain how this person was probably a supporter of the theatre and thus the family HONORED their life, NOT announced their death during a production.

Of course, I had to promise multiple times I was telling the truth before she (and the others) sat down. 

Roots RAL #2

 

[Oh yeah there's a helluva lot of spoilers.  Read with caution!]

YOU GUYS! This was hands down THE MOST DIFFICULT AND HORRIFIC reading that I've willingly put myself through since...GAWD...who knows when!?

S'kay, Kunta gets attacked in the wilderness and captured by White Man.  After a severe beating, he finds himself in cramped quarters with bunches of other moaning and groaning Africans. There is this scene when Kunta shamefully can no longer hold his bowels that was gut wrenching. 

And it's like this...I remember lessons on what slave ships were like.  But the lessons were stale, lifeless, unaffecting.  Hearing Kunta's anguish and being engulfed in the desperate and disgusting prose of rancid stench and foul excrement EVERYWHERE made me want to gag.  Oh and the sores.  And the moans of those injured.  And then what?  Dysentery? What was that gastrointestinal THING going on? It's a wonder any fight for life was left.

Yeah, that went on for chapters!  And then the ship lands and Kunta gets sold.

Man, Kunta.  Such a fierce spirited boy.  Of course he runs many times.  And gets captured.  And then runs again. Until they finally HACK OFF PART OF HIS FOOT.  Geezus. 

Kunta has a hard time finding his place amongst this New World experience. The other blacks on the plantation don't really trust him, or quite frankly even know what to make of him.  And Kunta?  Well he just doesn't GET IT.  Why do these blacks think it's okay to live how they do?  Why aren't they fighting back? Why do they seem content?  Big questions.

Plus, there's some communication issues.  Kunta doesn't really know the white man's language and is resistant to using it.

Eventually, he does end up making some relationships on the plantation and is even relieved because it's been so long since he's communicated with anyone.  And he realizes he needs that humanity.

Kunta ends up "moving up" in the world of slavery (and man I can't believe I even typed that!!)  He becomes his newest master's driver.  This is not a strenuous job and there's many bonuses.  Kunta travels, appears to eat better, and finds bits of fascinating information.  Also he makes this amazingly brilliant observation about the white man's world:

It took him a long time, and a great many more parties, to realize that they [the white folks] didn't live that way, that it was all strangely unreal, a kind of beautiful dream the white folks were having , a lie they were telling themselves: that goodness can come from badness, that it's possible to be civilized with one another without treating as human beings those who blood, sweat, and mother's milk made possible the life of privilege they led. (320)

Also? Yay that Kunta finally finds another African to talk to.  That's where I left off, peeps.  Until next Wednesday...