Anna Karenina (Man, this really is a long book!)

After a bit of reading, Kitty still isn't better! And yes, I actually have been reading the book, not just lazing off on it. Now she's in a spa in Germany... Spoiled girl... What she does at the spa really isn't all that important to the story either either. She makes a non-important friend (to the story), makes another non-important friend and upsets his wife and her idol turns out to be a pompous, stubby woman... So, if you like Kitty, then woo, this would be great reading for you! As for me, I don't particularly care. I mean, I get that Kitty's important to the story, so characterizing her is important, but she's just not one of my favorite characters. That's all!

On another note, the chemistry between Anna and Vronsky is finally realized by others besides the pair. You see, Anna and her husband, Karenin, go to an outing where Vronsky just happens to be. Of course, at this point EVERYONE knows that he loves Anna. Even the woman who once praised Anna now can't wait to gossip about her because they've all realized how much Vronsky loves Anna, even if he's never let it slip. Anyways, at the outing, Anna takes a special consideration for every word Vronsky says and actually weeps for him when he slips! This is just all to obvious, and her husband finally notices it, though how could he not when, on the ride back, Anna confesses her love for Vronsky to him?! He, of course, was furious, but she did tell him that she hated him as well and that the only reason she's staying is for their son. However, the two finally agree to at least act like a couple as to not destroy their image until they can find a proper solution to the problem. You know, I wish that divorces today were like that--Civil. If only it would happen... It's too bad! I would add to this, but what happens later kinda destroys my dream of ideal divorces, since Karenin decides to make Anna suffer by never allowing her a divorce... But you know... Well... There's nothing to know to add to that... So, that's all for now! And seriously, don't dismiss my point just because the book contradicts it! It's still nice to think about!

Anna Karenina: The illness of love

In the book, the weirdest thing has happened! Kitty has suddenly fallen ill. It started right after the ball, when Vronsky seemed to like Anna rather than Kitty, who had refused Levin for Vronsky. Kitty's family consults many doctors, none able to find anything wrong with her except for the visible symptoms, none of which leading to a diagnosis. However, Dolly doesn't seem to think that the problem is medical, and insists on talking to Kitty. It takes a while, but finally Kitty breakdown crying, and Dolly learns that she was right--the problem wasn't medical but emotional. Other things happen after this, such as rumors going around about Anna's relationship with Vronsky and her husband confronting her, but these events aren't of all that much importance to me. You see, when Kitty's illness came up, I started wondering, is it really possible for someone to get sick because of love?

I know that it's possible to become sick because of stress, but not because of love... I always thought that being "love sick" wasn't a real thing. I actually spent a couple of hours researching this to see what was right: the book or my instincts. However, all I could find on the subject was sexual addiction and songs. This made me believe that my first instincts on the subject were right. After all, if it was an actual sickness, then there would be some webpage about it somewhere, like there is for stress! Now I am lead to believe that Kitty isn't sick because of love rather than stress. She feels that she must make a good match, and choosing between making a good match and her feelings was hard, but she choose making a match when instead of accepting Levin, whom it's obvious she has real feelings for, she denied him for Vronsky, whom her mother believed would make a better match. But when Vronsky developed feelings for Anna rather than her, Kitty got sick. It makes sense that this is stress, since Kitty feels stress to find a good match but now both of her matches are gone.

Anna Karenina, A deeper look

It's about time I start truthfully stating my opinions about this book. For one thing, I'm actually not a big fan of this book. The point of view is very confusing, as well as, admittedly, some of the words. The language is annoying too--fancy and delicate but yet to me it's still a knot of a spider web, so fragile that I'm not sure I can untangle it and so twisted that I'm not sure if I could, even if it was the toughest of ropes. I find that life is like this as well, though like with this book, I'm just pushing it upon myself. Pushing myself to read this, pushing myself to take extra classes, pushing myself away... And the more I think about it, the more I realize that the only reason why I'm reading this tangled book is that my life is tangled as well, and all I'm doing is reading this book, trying to make sense of it as if it's my life. In a way, that's what the book is about too. I mean, the characters are all just trying to deal with their emotions, and yet they don't even understand what those truly are for they're stuck untangling the spider web with me.

If you're wondering why I'm writing this entry so early in the week, when I couldn't have possibly read too many more pages in the book, that's a simple answer. For those who know me, they could get it from the first paragraph. For those who don't, I'll just tell you so you aren't caught up with me. It's because while I haven't read a billion pages yet, or reread come to think of it, I have realized something about myself and about the book. I've realized that there are certain things in my life that I have screwed up, that I need to fix, that I have distorted in such a way that I might need help doing so. But I've also realized that I've been judging the characters too harshly from this book as well, writing them off as immature, harsh, bitchy (for the lack of a better word), insecure, weaklings, and so many other things. Yet, when I think about it, every person on this planet has at least one of those traits, and even if they hide it, it's still true. And every person has messed-up his or her own life in unique ways, but we can't do it alone. Only together can we fix our mistakes, and I believe that the characters in Anna Karenina are going to learn this lesson since while the book itself may be about adultery, the characters aren't all grouped together to represent this one idea since each individual isn't the same. So I need to reevaluate these characters, whom I wish I could apologize to for being so mean to them. And for Anna Karenina herself... I need to take her off the pedestal. Just because the book is named after her and she's the main character doesn't mean that she's not flawed and needs to fix her own life in her own way. It doesn't mean that she isn't lonely from being so adored but not truly loved, as she is when everyone gushes over her but doesn't see her for what she truly is, for the woman who thinks about her friend's suitor way too much, to the point where she confuses herself even though she's a married woman. But if you're still confused on why I'm writing this right here, right now, it's just simply because I watched too much TV and somehow realized things about myself and the book I'm reading while doing it--then I just didn't want to let the mood, my ideas or my realization go to waste while I just do the rest of my homework.

There is is, my blog entry for the week. I hope you don't mark it down just because it's unconventional.

Anna Karenina: Yet Another Blog Entrty

Many things have happened in the book so far, but when Anna Karenina came into the story still intrigues me, and therefore I'm just going to talk about this one scene where Anna went to talk to Dolly as soon as she could, trying to comfort as well as well as hear out the distressed maiden. After all, Anna knew why she was invited to her brother's house in the first place--to make things between him and his wife, Dolly, alright again. You see, he cheated on Dolly with his children's governess, which, for those who don't know, is like a modern day nanny. But why would he do such a terrible thing? What in the world could possibly justify cheating on your wife, and with your children's governess no less? For the first part of the book, this question goes unanswered, leaving the reader to hate the current "main character", Stiva, who seems like a pompous jackass... at least he did to me. Anyways, when Anna came into the picture and gathered both sides of the story, it all came together, and the picture of Stiva as a brutally honest man who admitted to himself that he didn't love his wife's body anymore, had an affair, and now doesn't regret having the affair but just regrets hurting his wife. Truthfully, I still don't like him, but now Anna has opened up a new side of him, breathing life into Stiva by showing his ideas, as well as Dolly's, in a different light. Having Anna there gives the book a new life, and it's changed so benevolently that even the language has seemed to change. For now that's all I want to say about the book, since all I can think about is Anna as a character.

Looking Back...

Throughout the quarter, like all the other students in my english class, I've had to write in this blog. However, all of our blogs are different and I guess this particular assignment is suppose to prove that. Anyways, I really didn't notice all too much about my observations, which are what I noticed while reading my books. Well, other than I seem to value characters more than the actual plot, setting or really, anything else about that book. I mean, I dropped Change of Heart by Jodi Picult because the characters were two dimensional. However, that's not all I think about when I think of the past quarter.

Because thinking of the past quarter makes me think of the future one and what may be accomplished in it. For example, as a blogger of my reading experiences, I would like to say more positive things about my books--it always seems like I'm critisizing them when I write my blog entries. But then again, maybe because I'm critisizing them, I'm actually interested in what I'm saying... Or maybe I just have to find a book that I love so much that I can't critisize it all that much. Anyways, looking at the blogs themselves, I think that they're as detailed as I'd like them to be, though it seems that for each entry I just go off on a tandom and write about what really interests me about the book at the point, which is typically one thing said in different ways and related to different things. Don't get me wrong, it keeps me writing considering I actually care about what I'm writing, but still, I could improve that a bit. Otherwise, I actually think my blogs are pretty good. So, until next week when I start talking about actual books again, see you later!

Anna Karenina: Wherever the hell I am in this book

Finally! Anna Karenina has arrived! And no, I'm not being sarcastic. In the book, she's finally arrived as a character. Apparently she's a friend of Vronsky's mother. It's actually weird how everyone knows each other... I mean, the story starts with Stiva, who's married to Dolly. He's friends with Levin, who loves Dolly's sister, Kitty. However, he has a rival for Kitty's heart: Vronsky. And of course, Vronsky's mother just happens to be friends with Anna, Stiva's sister. Whoever doesn't find this weird is just weird themselves. But anyways, after he meets Anna, someone dies--a worker is run over by a train. Of course, she finds this as a bad omen, just as the reader should: it seems to be a foreshadow for the rest of the book considering the book is suppose to be about adultery. And yes, I did look up the basic theme of the book before I started reading it.

Anna Karenina: The Begining

I'm not so sure what I'm going to call entries after this one, considering Anna Karenina is such a long book and a lot of the book can be considered the beginning. Yet, I really don't care all that much... Anyways, I've read Part 1 of Anna Karenina, which is chapters I through XVII or, for those people who don't know what that means, 1 through 17. While that may seem like a lot, take into mind that there are 7 parts, each with about thirty chapters each. So yes, the chapters are very short. Anyways, even after reading all these chapters, I've yet to meet this book's namesake: Anna Karenina herself. While learning about Levin, Kitty, Stephen (aka Stiva), Dolly, Vronsky, Nikolai and Konznyshev is interesting, I really just want to know about Anna Karenina. I mean, I'm already halfway through Part 1 and she still hasn't been introduced! I'm starting to question why the book is named after her at all if she comes into the story so late, for a main character that is. This in itself makes me want to read the book more, since Leo Tolstoy's writing style in interesting. I espically love the point of view. I mean, most books now days are written in limited third person or first person, simply because of psychology: modern readers are interested in knowing the psychology behind the characters and want to relate. However, at the time Leo Tolstoy was writing, readers were more interested in the third person omnicient point of view, hence he wrote in that style. Not having read anything quite like it, I read it at first just beause of this. But while I was timid at the begining because it was written in third person omnicent, now I want to read it simply because of the point of view. I'm not sure exactly why, but this point of view really appeals to me. Maybe it's because I don't have to worry about whether I have to trust the narrator or not, or maybe it's because the writer can switch characters without a hitch. Either way, I find it simply amazing and yet another good aspect about this book. Other than that, I don't think I'll have much to say until Anna Karenina herself is introduced. So tata for now!

Starting Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

While I was looking for a new book the other day, my dad recommended this book to me. Being the teenager I am, at first I didn't even know what this famous book was. Yet, when I learned where and when it was written, I was suddenly interested. However, I didn't ask about the storyline at all and just dove right into the novel. Right away I was suspended in a dream, the first line even captivating me with it's jarring words: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". To me these words seemed weird words to start a book with, making me read the line a couple of times. Finally, I got past my surprise and jumped into the book, long names and all. The first character I met was Prince Stephen Arkadyevinch Oblonsky--trying saying that name five times fast! He himself is an intriguing character, brutally honest to himself and the others around him. He's certain more interesting than his wife, Dolly. She's a pitiful creature who's trying to deal with the fact that her husband was having an affair, trying to make believe that she'll leave him even when she loves him too much to do so; while she's a relatable character that probably attracts readers, I just don't like her. She's too much of a sob-story for me to like her. Anyways, getting off the topic of Dolly, it intrigues me that I haven't met Anna Karenina yet. While I'm only on page twenty since I've reread about every page I've read, she's suppose to be the main character. So why haven't I met her yet? With that question I bid you ado, for I have other homework to do.

Dropping Change of Heart

While this is an unconventional blog entry, I just have to drop the book. As I explained last time, the characters are really 2-dimensional. I mean, the characters don't grow at all! And as I've explained to my English teacher and my friend, Kristen, when I read a book I read it for the characters. That's why I just can't continue reading this book! So, Kristen, if you're reading this, you're welcome to tell me the ending because I want to know what it is but I can't stand reading this book any longer. And Ms. Bandman, I'm sorry about dropping a book. The last time I did this was when I read "The Life of Pi", which was in what, 7th grade? Anyways, I'm sorry but I just can't read a book with characters that never grow.

Change of Heart Entry # 2: Critsizing Time!

I've got to say, this book has gotten interesting. But for some reason, I don't want to talk about that. Instead, I'd rather talk about the thoughts this book provokes by using Shay. I mean, here we are, in other people's points of view (the best being Lucius in my opinion) watching Shay, a convicted murder, preform miracles in prison such as bringing a bird back to life and turning the water in the plumbing to wine. While these acts make the reader question religion, they also make Jodi Picoult seem like a bit of a showoff as a writer, proving that she can have a character do all of these amazing feats and still write a good book. This undertone leaves a bad taste for me, though not enough where I'd want to stop reading the book. However, it did make me stop reading for a while. You see, I'm one of those people who will read for hours on end until I have to do something, or I get knocked down from my cloud. These moments did just that, making me want to put down the book for a little while. After all, who likes it when an author does things like that? Well, I know that I don't. Maybe that's why the book is never in Shay's point of view (at least so far anyways), but is instead in the POV of Maggie, Lucius and other characters.

Talking about the characters, they all seem to be undeveloped, even my favorite, Lucius. Because in my opinion, Jodi Picoult seems to be describing the characters and breathing life into them, hooking the reader at first, but then shows no development or growth at all, making each chapter more boring than the last. In addition, the only character that's relatable is Maggie. I mean, most people can't relate to the cliche sob story June and Claire went through, not many people are priests questioning their faith like Michael, and I'm pretty sure that most people reading this book aren't convicted murders like Lucius (though if a convicted murder is reading this book, I'd definitely want to meet him or her). So if you can't relate to Maggie's feeling of wanting to prove herself, then you can't relate to any of the characters in this book at all. This is enough to make readers drop the book, if they can't find anything else to be interested in that is. While I myself have found an interest in Lucius (who wouldn't be interested in a gay guy who killed his lover because he was cheating on him?), that may not be the case for others and it makes me wonder what Jodi Picoult was thinking while she was developing her characters.

So there we go, those are what I consider to be the bad points of the book so far. That doesn't mean that I don't like the book, I would have dropped it if I didn't like it, and it doesn't mean that I have nothing good to say about the book, these are just some complaints about the book so far. Anyone who would like to disagree with me can go right ahead, since after all, each person has her own opinion. So for now this is Rebecca Fishman, finishing her blog entry! And wondering, besides what Jodi Picoult was thinking when she didn't develop her character, why news anchors talk in third person when "signing off".

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult: Ze Start

I stole this book from my friend, Kristen's, blog. Actually, I've been hearing a lot about how great of an author Jodi Picoult is and when I saw this book there, and read her review, I just knew I had to read it. Now,about 100 pages into it--I haven't had much time to read this week--I have to say, I'm glad I saw that blog post. Jodi Picoult really is as fantastic of an author as her reputation dictates. I especially love how she keeps going to different points of view each chapter! It really moves things along and gives me a taste of each character's thoughts. So far I've only been in the minds of Lucius, June, Maggie and Michael, but it's still amazing. And for some reason, I really seem to love the chapters in Lucius's point of view. I'm sure exactly why though, I mean, Lucius is a convicted criminal who killed his lover because he was cheating on Lucius. For some reason, this "crime of passion" intrigues me, and so does Lucius. As a character I find him enthralling and want to know more. But who wouldn't want to know more about a felon who paints pictures of the guy he murdered, just because he misses him, not for any sick reason. Or maybe he interests me since he's gay. After all, how many gay criminals do you know? All I know is what I want to know more about Lucius. Not June, Shay, Claire or Michael, but Lucius. I hope his personality and past gets explored more throughout the book.

Now, before I go, I have a question about the book for anyone who's actually read it and looking at this blog post (though I doubt that's anybody): What was the point of doing a chapter in Maggie's point of view? Is she going to become a main character later? Well, I don't expect anyone to just tell me, so of course I'm gonna continue reading. But we'll discuss this later young lady! ... Or man.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

In the land of Ixia, a girl named Yelena is about to be killed for the murder of the son of a high ranking general, until Valex, the Commander's first in command, gives her a chance to live, as the Commander's food taster. Put on the spot, Yelena chooses possible, uncertain death by poison over death of execution. And so the story goes from there, Maria V. Snyder enchanting the reader with every twist and turn of the Poison Study.

Truthfully, this isn't the first time I read the Poison Study. Yelena's such a charming character that I just had to read the book again. When I first read the book I was surprised, Yelena is such an unexpected heroine. As the underdog, she has to prove that she's a survivor to herself as well as Valex and the Commander. She appealed to me since her character was very relatable, being a headstrong girl who isn't going to lie down and let someone else abuse her but also knows when to accept someone else's orders. However, she wasn't the only character that was intreguing. Valex is also an interesting character, in his own ways. While Yelena is the underdog, Valex was her overseer, trusted by the most powerful people in Ixia. With power comes responsibility, which Valex seems to handle well, also knowing enough to keep a shroud of mystery around him, allowing no one in his inner circle for the mostpart. Yet who he trusts makes him even more myserious. The same goes for Yelena, who befriended Ari and Janco, the two guardsmen who taught Yelena how to fight and are minor, but unreplaceable. They not only lighten up the mood, created by Valek's seriousness, but keep the reader flipping through the pages of the book, just as Valek and Yelena do.

The story itself isn't that original, but the characters and techniques Maria V. Snyder uses while writing the book prove to be more than enough to make the Poison Study a fantastic read. I myself couldn't help myself, even the second time reading the book, and finished in one night each and every time. In fact, I plan on reading the other two books in the series, Magic Study and Fire Study, as well as the books Assassin Study and Power Study, Assassin Study being about Valek and Power Study being about Ari and Janco. In addition, there is a spin-off series, The Storm Glass series, which I hope to read as well. Anyways, I give this book a 5/5 and reccomend this book to all fantasy lovers.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

Although this is an unconventional way to start a blog post about a book, I just have to say this here and now: The Forever War was one of the best books I've ever read; and if you know me, then you'll know that I read a lot of books. As William Gibson, the author of Neuormancer and Spook Country said, "To say that The Forever War is the best science fiction war novel ever written is to damn it with faint praise. It is, for all its techno-extrapolative brilliance, as fine and woundingly genuine a war story as any I've ever read." Do you wanna know why The Forever War is such a great book in my eyes, William Gibson's eyes and the eyes of others? Well, obviously you have to read the book for that. But you can get a short glimpse now, just read on.

First off is the most noticeably great thing about The Forever War is the main character, William Mandella. The story is told in his point of view, his voice resonating with every word on the page; he's brought to life in the pages, and brings the story to life along with him. As you're reading the book you can almost imagine yourself in his place, thinking and doing as he does while he battles through the unusual circumstances of his life--whether it's a connection through his emotions or the war, William hooks the reader on a personal level. You follow his story as he goes from Private to General, being the one of the only people to survive the war from start to finish. When he finds his lover, Margay, you feel his happiness and when he looses her, you feel his anguish. When he becomes a general, you feel his unrest and when the book ends, you see how he's changed. This is William's story, this is William's book, Joe Haldeman was just his voice. However, William wasn't the only thing that made me reread this book 3 times which yes, I actually did.

The ideas presented in the book are so controversial, so interesting, that the reader has to stop and think about them. What if we colonized other planets? What would happen if the entire world came under one government? As the population grew larger, what would be used as population control? Questions such as these present themselves in the book, and while Joe Haldeman provides his answer for each question and William gives his opinion, the reader faces mind-bending ideas.

In addition to these fantastic features about the book, The Forever War has even more to offer. While it is a Science Fiction book, written in 1974, the story and ideas present are timeless. However, more so than those, the metaphor is a more important aspect of the book. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, The Forever War is a giant metaphor for the Vietnam War; placing it in the future just broadens its effect. Each page, each word, can be directed back towards the Vietnam War. Just for that reason, and that reason alone, the story takes a new meaning. Seeing it in the light of a futuristic metaphor allows the reader to really think about life and war, as William proves that war holds no glory, just as the Vietnam War didn't.

While some pages of the book seem boring, as in every book, The Future War by Joe Haldeman is a fantastic science fiction war novel. In fact, fantastic isn't a good enough word for this book. I highly recommend this book to science fiction lovers, war novel fans, idealists and just about anyone who likes to think.