HP Numero Uno

I'm taking French semester. Level two. Even though I took four years in high school. And it's hard guys.

I have a hard enough time pronouncing english words and remembering them and how to spell. So adding a new language.... C'est très difficile. 






Since I pretty much learned how to talk and the english language besides the constant language around me..... through reading, I thought maybe I was approaching French wrong.




I know it'll take a long time to trudge through- since I'll have to look up a lot of words and think a lot more than normal, but I bough Harry Potter And the Sorcerer's Stone in French!!

Made me very happy to get it in the mail.

Isn't the cover cute?!?






PS. Is the fact that I put the post title in spanish an indication of my French proficiency? 

Out of Print

As lover of books, as I'm sure many of you are, I hope you appreciate these T-shirts. 

If I was a t-shirt girl, I'd be all over this. And even as not a t-shirt girl, I may be requesting one for my birthday.

I discovered this wonderful site while reading Pancakes and French Fries post about it.

Here for the shop.

What one would you get? I think I'd snag a Slaughterhouse-Five personally. 

Scarlett v. Katherine

So for my Shakespeare class we were watching the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton version of Taming of the Shrew, (Which was totally hilarious and wonderful if you haven't seen it) and the entire time I knew that Katherine (Elizabeth Taylor) reminded me of someone.

It bugged me the first half of the movie, and then it totally clicked!


um hello! Katherine= Scarlett !!










but the it's not until the end of the movie when she is "tamed" that she realizes that she can get a lot more by doing what he wants.

I know there is controversy over whether Katherine actually believed her last speech or was just saying it, but personally from how the movie depicted her, I interpret it as if Scarlett was saying that to Rhett. It's not that she believes it, because honestly I don't think you can break either of their spirits, but that Scarlett was willing to do anything in order to be successful and safe and taken care of. I think Katherine is the same way.

Plus throughout that entire movie the quote from My Big Fat Greek Wedding kept popping into my head:

 "The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants"

If Katherine's husband Petruchio thought she was totally submissive to him, she could totally influence him more and be more in charge than if he was suspicious, because let's face it, woman in that time had very little individual power.

Jane Austen

Now I am pretty sure all of you are familiar with Austen (at least one movie if you haven't read her). I *love* her books, Persuasion is my personal favorite so far. Something about the past regret and all that angst.

I was watching The Jane Austen Book Club with my sister tonight (can you believe she has an english degree and has NEVER read an Austen??), and it inspired me to read Sense and Sensibility one I have yet to read though I just finished Mansfield Park last night and was planning on a different book and would rather re-read Persuasion. 

 I don't always love each part of Austen's novels, but something always makes me want to come back to the stories-- I just need to make it through all of them so I can start over again! (The only one I have read twice is Pride and Prejudice because I couldn't remember the differences between the book and movie anymore.) So when I finish Sense and Sensibility, the only Austen's I will not have read is Northanger Abbey and Lady Susan. Any of you read those two yet?

So, to get to my point, what is your favorite Austen and which is your favorite movie version?? (can be different than the book)

I have already said which movie version is my favorite... 2005s Pride and Prejudice.

*Sigh* It just never gets old.

PS. Has anyone read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?? I always hear good things about it, but I could never bring myself to buy it. I *did* however read the first page in Borders.

As soon as finals are over

I will most likely be watching this a few times. I just want to live in that movie. It would be pretty awesome. My cousin can come too and play the music (because she totally can, and it makes me extremely jealous)

And trying to tackle this. Yes, remember when I started reading it?  apparently I can't read it much during the school year.

And finishing this anyone else read this because it was on Lost? Just me? Sweet.

PS. Lost starts on February 2nd for its final season! Anyone else extremely excited/sad??

Hope all of you are farther along in your Christmas shopping than I am!

Audiobooks: Yey or nay?

I signed up for Audible about a month ago, thinking it would help me absorb more from certain books I was planning on reading.

The thing is, I cannot pay attention unless I'm reading the book at the same time. I actually don't have a problem with this, just think it's odd since I can follow podcasts and short stories like The Moth (awesome by the way) just fine. It's literally only novels.


So even though I'm really enjoying my audiobook of Ulysses *and yes, I am still reading it* so far I think I'll cancel my membership because $14 a month (which gets you a book, or a discounted price on other books) is not worth it when I can usually just read them fine.

But to get to the real reason of this post... any recommendations for my last audiobook credit?? What are you guys reading??

If you want to test it out and see if you are odd like me you can sign up and get a free two week membership and a free audiobook! (Just make sure to cancel your membership so that you don't get charged)


Happy reading!

PS. Are any of you doing NaNoWriMo?? I'm totally behind! So much for trying to finish Ulysses this month!

Banned Book Week

starts tomorrow!!

{image from the ALA website}

Some of my favorite books are on that list (lists by author or book title), and I'm currently reading a book that is on that list also. I always find it so crazy that so many great books are challenged so often, and were even burned!

Any of your favorites on there?

Last Computer Update....(hopefully)

I was wayy too depressed about being computer-less the last week to blog.... ok not really, it was just a pain to sit in my sister's room on the desktop that is always almost breaking whilst the sun beats down my back.

anywho... apparently my logic board failed again or some

other nonsense, so they had to take it back for another3-5 days. aaand because of the weekend that was another day that it would be delayed in the shipping process. Shipping?? What is that you say? Yes, indeed you heard right.

they shipped it to me, so that my lazy butt would

n't be dragged 35 minuted across the land of stop

lights to claim it. AMAZINGNESS. and of course it was fixed again for free.

(I am thrilled to have my mac back which is why I am going to be posting multiple entries in a row)

In other news, I have been trying to read as many classics as possible so that I feel like I know something about what they are saying in Gilmore Girls. For reals.

I recently read Miss Lonelyhearts/ The Day of the Locu

st by Nathaniel West, as recommended by my AP lit teacher senior year.

This weekend I also read Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler, which is about a political figure imprisioned in Russia during the Stalin trials of the 1930s.

So now I am starting on Ulysses by James Joyce. I'm not gonn

a lie, I am pretty intimidated. So we shall see if it en

ds up being as treacherous a read as Moby Dick (which suprisingly isn't even boring when I think about it, maybe I'm easily amused?)

Computer Update

So I finally got my computer back....

At first the cost to replace the keyboard was going to be $150.

The guy was super nice and said he wouldn't charge us for the service since it was an eazy peezy job. That made it$64.

Steal right??

Well they called me the next day to break the bad news to me.

Apple Store: Were you having any problems with the screen? the pixelations?

Me: Nooooo.....

Apple store: Well we discovered a problem with the computer, but since you didn't have any problems we will take care of the charge. It should take about five days because we are sending it to a different facility.

Me: ok, no problem.

Apple store: ......Did you happen to back up your computer before you brought it in?

Me: uhhhh no?

Apple store: Well there is a chance that they hard drive could be completely wiped out, but we will try to back it up here.

Me: *Thinking: Why did I just decide to organize my entire photo library a day before I brought it in??* Ok, well thank you!

Well my sister picked it up for me today....

Verdict: YES! No hard drive wiped out!

the best part? With all the repairs it ought to have been upwards of $350 but they are taking care of everything. Like I don't even have to pay for the new keyboard.

So like the credit card commercials:

Getting a new keyboard: $150

Keyboard minus service charges: $64

Fixing computer: $350

Waiting five days for your computer because they broke it: Priceless

Hmmm.... I guess when they make up those ads it sounds better......

I LOVE apple. That is why everyone should buy mac instead of PC.

Oh and because they are way more awesome anyways.

Tomorrow I am off with the family to see the King Tut exhibit in SanFran.

Hopefully I finish Atlas Shrugged by tomorrow, I have been reading it for like 12 hours a day. Which if it doesn't sound all impressive, take into consideration that I sleep for like 10 hours a night.

Man, every time I read something with a new philosophy or approach to life, I have NO idea what to think or believe. And let me tell you---this is a +1,000 page book of teey-tiny print chock full of a way to approach life.

Good Day Sunshine

Listening to the Beatles, I am looking out at the window at the cloudy sky. There goes my tanning plans for today, but it leaves me to edit some blog stuff. And that means its nice and cool to do some exercise in the backyard!

I know, I know, the picture behind my header is neither of roses or peaches, but they seem so happy and bring the feeling of sunshine and spring and happiness. So I'm keeping it there. For now at least. 

Right now I'm waiting for my The Complete Novels of Jane Austen Wordsworth Library Collection which is supposed to be a really nice copy.  I looove nice copies of books! It was a good price on Amazon too, I just had to wait a few months for it : )

This last weekend I cleaned out our garage and went through boxes of old books from my parents high school and college years. It's so interesting to read all the comments people left them and seeing their pictures! We really see how much we look like them and how similar we were at the same age. I hope my kids will one day love to read through my yearbooks and see all of my pictures and see how much fun my friends and I had at homecoming and annual school events!

Gosh I miss spirit week, and St. Francis day and community lunches. Even the uniforms! (I loved basically wearing pjs to school for four years.)