little bee

I just finished Little Bee by Chris Cleave and thought it was really well written, a bit sad and extremely moving. When I first started the book I couldn’t put it down and that’s when I knew I was really going to enjoy it because even though I love to read, my mind wanders at a mile a minute thinking about all sorts of mindless things - all the things I should be doing, things I want to be doing, wishing I could read faster so I could get through my never ending “to read” list, etc, etc. etc. However with this book my mind didn’t wander at all. After reading more than half of it in one sitting, it would be an understatement to say the book engaged me.

If you’ve heard anything about Little Bee you will know that the back cover gives you very little information about what the story is actually about. In fact, the most (or should I say – the least) you get to know is that the lives of two women are changed when they first meet and two years later they meet again. Yep, that’s it. Having said that, I don’t really want to reinforce the marketing tactic of this book, but I honestly can’t think of a way to explain the story without giving it totally away - and I definitely don't want to do that.

I love the way it’s written. I enjoyed how the events overlapped and easily flowed between the two women's perspectives. It truly is a touching and profound story. At times it can be difficult to read, but I kinda like when books are bit disturbing and the characters are a little haunted or troubled. However, the spirit of this story is about overcoming hardships. One of my favorite quotes puts it beautifully -- "We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived."

hip hits

• nightswimming – r.e.m.

this song is so very simple and beautiful. if you want to feel like you are seventeen again – take a listen.

• no birds today – cowboy junkies
  

this song feels like a grey day in late October. murky and filled with melancholy. not much of a shock since these are classic elements for most cowboy junkies songs.

• oh my love – john lennon
  

it’s easy for me to relate to this song. one of my most favorite john lennon songs. however don’t quote me on this because i’m sure i’ll say this more than once about nearly every john lennon song.

• oh! sweet nuthin’ – velvet underground
  

if you haven’t listened to anything by the velvets, please make this your first VU listening experience. Now, if we’re talking about having a Lou Reed experience, may i suggest “rock and roll” or “sweet jane”, which, may I add, was beautifully covered by cowboy junkies.

• run this town – jay-z, rihanna, kanye

i have two very favorite parts in this marvelous song. the first: “I break the rules so I don't care, so I keep doing my own thing, walking tall against the rain”. it’s a bit of a personal motto. the second: "yeah i'm talkin' five comma, six zeros, dot zero."

so it begins

Not that there needs to be any explaining – but I would just like to state for the record that this is my 3rd blogging attempt over the last 5 years. One can only hope that the "third time’s a charm" theory actually applies...if not, mark this down as just another failed attempt. This time however, I’m going to stay positive because when I look back at my old blog (which, by the way, I deleted in order to revamp this new gem!) - I realized the timing was never right. Coupled with this, cult astrologist Susan Miller suggests that at the end of this month, a communication project will be highly creative for Geminis. So the timing is right, the stars have aligned...I suppose I'm giving the "third time's a charm" theory a run for its money!

Blog attempt numero uno was when I had just finished my undergraduate degree - circa 2006. I was full of fresh ideas and ambition, and honestly...I mostly had a lot of time on my hands since I was in that “what do I do now?” phase of my life. Then I started working and the blogging about the books I was reading, music I was listening to, movies I was watching, and the clothes I was wearing came to a halt.

Blog attempt numero dos should not even be referred to as an attempt. In fact, I think it would be more appropriate to categorize it as a pseudo blogging attempt. I had just finished my Master’s Degree (circa 2009) and my brain was fried after writing my thesis and the first thing I wanted to do was pick up a non-school related book, since I hadn’t read anything that wasn’t school related in about 2 years. This quasi attempt was successful until I realized that not only did I not want to read a thesis or school related book - I didn't want to read AT ALL!! My eyes were going to pop out of my head and my brain was mush and all I kept thinking was - "how can I blog about books if I'm not reading any?"

And that brings us to blog attempt numero tres, which I’m hoping is the most successful, partly because it's not coinciding with some academic time in my life. I’d like to think that this is the perfect timing because I’m settled with my job and my life (for the most part), and I’m not so overwhelmed that it wouldn’t be too difficult to post a little something each day (well, actually it will more likely be a couple times a week or a couple times a month...because, come on, let’s be realistic – I don’t want to start making promises I can’t keep!).

Most of the blogs I’ve read always say something like “this blog will be about me talking about...insert: my cats, my kids, my diet, being a mom, being a feminist, books, movies, music, fashion, being a democrat, being a republican, knitting, sports, taking pictures of myself and pretending I'm a model, cars, etc, etc, etc”. This blog might just encompass all these things, well..except for the kids, cats, cars, being a mom, taking pictures of myself and pretending I'm a fashion model, and being a republican. I’d like to think that I could somehow narrow down what may be posted here – buuuut I can’t. I like too many things (and HATE too many things) to be that specific. My mind races with random thoughts constantly, so it would be nonsense for me to specify what kind of blog this will become. Plus, I don't want to censor all that that fun stuff! In fact, I don’t want to put any limits on it and I’d like to think that I’ll end up surprising myself with the things that are written in here.

But here's what I can tell you...I do like books and music and fashion and making fun of reality TV. Oh, and I can also say that this will not be a diary, I have one of those already -- under my bed.

Stay tuned…