Right Down To The Good Stuff

Well, 3 days ago, I returned both Philippa Gregory books, The Constant Princess and The Virgin's Lover. I didn't like TCP and I after attempting to take in 150 pages of TVL, there was something still to be desired. Neither of these books had the flare of The Other Boleyn Girl, with all the intricate weaving of plot that, as a reader, made me continue reading. With TVL, I expected something to happen, something sinister, but there was no mystery, no complexity, nothing...even after getting through a quarter of the novel.

My litmus test for books is now whether I can manage to read 40 pages in a day. I've found that if I can't do that, I must not be interested in the book and should just stop reading it, because it's more a chore to read than pleasure.

So, back to the library I went and I came out with not one, not two, but 5 books. My closest library is under construction and so until now, I hadn't discovered their huge biography section. This section is a wealth of knowledge and once I saw books on Marilyn Monroe, Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII, and Queen Elizabeth I, I just had to have them all! My college professors always knew so much thanks to these kinds of books, ones that paint an interesting portrait of a life long ago.

Currently, I am reading a fabulous book: The Last Days of King Henry VIII: Conspiracy, Treason and Heresy at the Court of the Dying Tyrant. I'm absolutely amazed at everything that went on during his reign. With all the prim and proper churchie-ness that went on, it must have been earthshattering to see a king have six wives, behead/burn hundreds of thousands of people, reform the church by breaking away from the Pope, tax the people to fund what I'd consider "pissing contests" with France and Scotland, all the while Henry VIII is grotesquely fat and morbidly ill.

Reading about Henry VIII reminds me so much of George W. Bush. His cabinet was like Henry VIII's Privy Council. Get in with them to be rewarded with contracts, land, money, etc. Ridiculous pissing contest wars certainly ring a bell - hello Iraq. Okay, we don't behead anyone or burn anyone at the stake anymore. Now we have fancy places like Gitmo and fun little things called rendition. We may have elected our modern day "Privy Council" representatives, but it's still the same old bullshit after 500 years!

The Other Boleyn Girl - The Movie!

So, I finished The Other Boleyn Girl about 2 weeks ago. I loved it! I'm absolutely fascinated by Henry VIII, not to mention the cunning and manipulative nature of Anne Boleyn. The book embellishes on the actual events, but the truth is that somehow, Anne Boleyn convinced Henry VIII to divorce his legally bound wife and queen by basically denouncing the Pope and Catholic Church! It's sort of like Monica Lewinsky going up to Bill Clinton (while he was in office) and saying, "Hey, divorce Hillary and make me your new First Lady!"

Tonight, I watched The Other Boleyn Girl...the movie, with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman. The costumes were beautiful. I would have loved to live during that time period - the headdresses, the long sweeping dresses...it's right up my alley. But the plot was nowhere near the complexity of the book. I think movie producers shouldn't bother making a movie if it doesn't accurately capture the plot of the book. The movie made Mary Boleyn's marriage to William Stafford a footnote, even though their relationship takes up a good 200 pages of the novel. They skipped the birth of Mary's first child, Catherine, and went straight to her second child, aptly named Henry. They didn't broaden the depth of Anne's character by showing how she manipulated Henry VIII to send Queen Katherine of Aragon out of the castles nor shown that she might have had a hand in killing high-ranking members of the court and church to get herself the title of Queen. And when she was Queen, they didn't show what a bitch she was to those around her, specifically Mary. The characters were undeveloped, the plot wanting, and the pieces they added that never happened seemed out of step and half-assed.

I took out two more of Philippa Gregory's novels - The Constant Princess and The Virgin Queen. I put down TCP because after 75 pages, I just couldn't get into it. The book didn't have the energy and fluidity that The Other Boleyn Girl possessed. However, The Virgin Queen is pretty good. I'm not sure where I stand on it yet. I'm still trying to figure out some of the lineage of the time. There's too many Mary's and Wikipedia is ZERO HELP in figuring out who's who. I know Henry VII had a daughter named Mary....then Henry VIII had Bloody Mary...then there's Mary Queen of Scots, daughter of Mary of Guise and James V of Scotland....it's so crazy. But the book references Princess Mary and I have no idea which Mary it's referring to. They really need to come up with more original names!

On a tangent, I'm really proud of myself this year. I've read a considerable amount of books compared to last year. In 2008, I have read the following -
1. The Contender by Robert Lipsyte.
2. Teenagers Preparing For the Real World
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
4. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
5. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Wow...I need to read more!

Update Update

So, it's been almost 1 month and I'm at the last 10 pages of The Other Boleyn Girl. I've loved this story since I first started reading it and I can't wait to see how it ends. My husband has kindly moved the movie version up to near the top of our Netflix queue. It seems like the movie will be nothing like the book.

I think I'll be picking up another one of Philippa Gregory's books when I return this one. Once I find an author I like, I tend to continue reading their books. The problem is...usually the books I read don't live up to the first one I've read of theirs.

It looks like I'll be going to the library tomorrow to pick a new book, before I head off to the supermarket for some Thanksgiving shopping.

Oh, Canada!

My husband, mother-in-law, and I are heading out to Vancouver, Canada this holiday season. I'm pretty ill equipped for Canadian weather and it sort of bothers me that I need to buy all sorts of special clothes for this 2 week excursion. So, I'm trying to buy things that I can still use at home, where it's at least 30 degrees warmer and lacks daily snow showers. Fleece is always good - I've added fleece gloves, headband/earwarmer, jacket, and vests to my Amazon wishlist. I like Amazon because I can get a decent discount on my purchases. You see, I absolutely despise change - pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters - they're just dead weight in my wallet. So, I put them in a jar and once a year, I go over to the local Coinstar machine, dump it all in, and get an Amazon gift certificate. It's one of the options for the Coinstar payout and they don't take any fees for it. So, all that dead weight becomes usable money.

I bought some tall boots. They're supposed to be super warm and the bottoms look nice enough that I think I might get away with wearing them at school (I'm a teacher) under my dress pants.

I can't wait until they come. I can't wait until Canada!

Election Day

Yes, I voted. I'm in that lazy 18-30 age group, but I've voted at least once a year since I could vote. I'm always happy to vote, although I'm skeptical that anything is really going to change and change for the better. I'm also skeptical that the electronic voting machine I used that has no paper trail will actually record my vote accurately.

Today is not only election day, but I have now had The Other Boleyn Girl for 1 week. In 1 week, I have read 200 pages! This is a record for me! I've chosen to read and not had to read for grad school or anything else. I'm reading for me. I've held up my book to show my students that I read. They're all impressed. I think many teachers do not do as they ask their students to do.

Well, until tomorrow...

More reading time ahead...

I found out that I don't have to go into work tomorrow. Unfortunately, as always, there is work that needs to be done. My car needs to go through state inspection and I don't get another "free day" like I'll have tomorrow. I made the appointment, but apparently, I'll have to wait at the dealership for 4 hours while the inspection and a recall are completed.

There is a shuttle that will drive within 10 miles...and I do live within 10 miles of the dealership (barely...9.4 miles!). I don't exactly trust the shuttle because who knows how reliable it is. Not that I really want to wait at the dealership with my PSP and my book. It's hard to read a book when they've got a TV blaring and some lady chatting it up on her cell phone next to me. And I'm sure the TV will be blaring election coverage.

Oh well...I suppose it does beat being at a professional in-service day like all the regular teachers!

Rich Background

It seems like to write a book of The Other Boleyn Girl caliber, you need to have a really rich educational background. I think Philippa Gregory is some sort of history professor or something along those lines. I'm pretty average. I wonder if I can still write great literature being average. Hmm...

Free Time!

I had almost 4 hours of reading time today. I'm up to page 115 in The Other Boleyn Girl. I'm so proud of myself for reading again. It's a great way to pass the time in between teaching classes. I'm also really enjoying the story. Some of the terminology is very interesting...piss pot, "courses," lady in waiting... I wonder how historically accurate this story is and if the author researched the whole time period before writing it. I read the fictional account of Marilyn Monroe's life in Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates and I know Ms. Oates did some fascinating research on Monroe before writing that novel.

I'm glad it'll be Friday tomorrow. PAY DAY. And Halloween. Halloween just won't be the same without lots of candy. I prefer buying my candy after Halloween when it all goes on sale. Oh, yeah, sure, candy is on sale now...but I mean REALLY on sale!! 80% off!! 90% off!!

Peaceful

I am 50 pages into The Other Boleyn Girl. I had about 2 hours today to read and so I made the most of it. So far, I'm intrigued. There's something very peaceful about reading this book...and about reading in general. It's a nice break from the computer and tv screens that dominate my life. I feel a lot better after reading. I now understand that whole late 1800's escapism through reading movement. What can I say? I'd have been a great 1800's lady, though I do love my showers :-D

The Other Boleyn Girl

Well, I took the plunge. After a long day of teaching, I managed to drive over to the library and grab The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. It's a big book to read in the 2 weeks they've given me to read it. It's probably the most grown-up book I've read in a while. Usually, I try to read a lot of Young Adult books or classics just to keep up with school curricula. Ah well, we'll see how I do!

Reading Accomplishments

Dilemma - I'm lazy. Very very lazy. I'm a substitute teacher and when I come home (as most teachers do), I don't want to do anything. But I have this wonderful thing called "free time" at work. Some of these teachers have up to an hour and a half of "prep time" but I really don't need to prep so I have "free time" to do as I please. I can't do anything internet related because it would probably violate some weird usage policy. So, as a soon-to-be English teacher, I like spending my "free time" reading.

In September, I read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It's a classic and since I'm into these militaristic/"utopian" books, it was right up my alley. It was a good book and I'd love to be teaching it to a group of students one day!

This month, I finished Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. I'm not usually a science fiction reader, but it was on our bookshelf and since I needed something to read, I put it in my bag. The concept of this book was amazing!! "Aliens" come down to Earth in huge ships, but never show their face for 150 years. They create world peace by the sheer massiveness of their ships hovering over Earth cities. But something's not quite right...why won't the aliens show their face? What do they have planned for Earth?? I'm not going to spoil the rest, but it was excellent!!

Now I'm out of books to read and I have a choice - buy a book or get one from the library. I should be a fan of the library, but the fact that I have to return it by a certain date adversely affects my ability to read the book. I like enjoying a book on my time, not on the library's. Oh, and remember...I'm lazy. Having to go to the library to get a book and again to return it...what a pain. It's probably not worth $10 to buy a book that I may or may not like, only to read it once, and then have it land on my overcrowded bookshelf.