Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes

I've got to say, this has to be the most interesting book I've started all year! And yes, I'm reading all 1001 pages of it. Why? Because my dad gave me his version from college. That, and it's about a crazy guy who thinks he's a knight and rides around Spain trying to find his "princess" who, at this point, is most likely a prostitute. Who, after hearing that, wouldn't read this book? Besides the people that are illeterite and those who won't read anything over 200 pages of course. But, besides them--the party poopers--I think that most anyone would read this book! Plus, I bet there's some deeper meaning to it. I'm not exactly sure what yet, but hey, so far it's just about a crazy guy on a horse... Maybe the moral of the story is to live your life so you don't go completely bonkers? Or something else... Whatever the case may be, the story behind this book is so freakin awesome, that I don't think it can compare to ANYTHING else I've EVER read! Especially the scene where Don Quixote thought that the windmill was a giant and tried to kill it! Now, that was amazing! I swear, Cervantes is the best writer in the existance of the world (excluding Hemmingway, who is also fantastical) for writing this masterpiece!

Planet X by Michael jan Friedman

I'm not sure the exact title of this book, since on the binding and on the front page it says, "Star Trek the Next Generation X-Men Planet X," and while that may seem simple, after all, that whole thing could be a title... But I just have this feeling that it's not. So I'll just call it Planet X. It's short and simple, like the book itself. It didn't even take me a week to finish this book... it was only 265 pages after all. Plus, it was a page turner, for someone who likes X-Men or Star Trek that is--like me. You see, I'm obsessed with X-Men, Nightcrawler to be specific. I mean, who doesn't love a comical character who's blue, fuzzy, has elf ears, golden eyes, a pointed tail and only three fingers on each hand...and don't forget that he can teleport! The other characters are amazing too, like Kitty, Wolverine, Storm, all of whom were in this book. Of course, let's not discredit the amazing star trek characters as well, like Captain Picard and Commander Worf. And putting together all of these amazing characters was just... well.... amazing, for the lack of a better word! The way all of the characters interact is really cool to see, like how Picard has a crush on Storm and Wolverine is best friends with Worf! In addition, the storyline is fantasic! The X-Men having been transported to Picard's dimension because their machine broke (forgot exactly what it was or what it did, that was kinda confusing), which may have been because of Nightcrawler! You see, the staff on Picard's ship work on sending the X-Men home by exploring how their powers really work, and it was interesting to see how it would work with physics and chemistry in real life! And the way they all work together to salvage the situation on a far away planet where people are transforming into mutants, hunted by the government. Tying that to the X-Men and the Enterprise was just awesome, making the storyline an overall success. However, the tone of the book annoyed me, since it went from being complicated to really simple, which just lessened the overall effect of the book. But it was still an easy read, and something fun, a good break after just reading Anna Karenina. =]

FIN!!!!! (Of Anna Karenina)

I bet you never thought this day would come, when I finally finished Anna Karenina!!!!!! After slaving through the first part of the book, until I finally got the hang of the writing style and found some part of the story I liked--the well developed characters. And for all of those who want to know how it ends, I'll post it below. For everyone else... SPOILER ALERT!!!

It's been a while since my past post, but there's one basic thing that happened that's sooooo shocking, you'll never guess it!!! ... Anna died!!!!! Other than that, I'll just skip characters I haven't introduced to save you from confusion... Vronsky outfits and joins a group of volunteers to give Serbia military support (it's where people are typically exiled to) since nothing else in life matters to him anymore now that Anna died. Anna's ex husband, Karenin, takes custody of her daughter, and not only are Kitty and Levin married (I'm not sure if I've mentioned that), but they have an infant son named Mitya. Also, since Levin has become a father, he's been trying to find the meaning of life... Until he finally found his faith in God. Then a thunderstorm strikes and everyone rushes inside (they were all near Levin's house at this time), but Kitty and Mitya aren't inside. Levin goes crazy searching for them, until he finds them safely in the forest. His endless love for his son just confirms his faith and... the book ends there. Sorry if that was a bit of a ramble, I'm having a hard time putting things together today. But yeah, that's basically it. Next I'm moving on to a MUCH different book, it's a crossover between Star Trek and X-Men (Which is an AWESOME idea by the way) (I'm going to have soooo much fun with this book!!!). So, until next week... umm... bye! =]

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.