The following blog entry was written by Sarah Solomon, an intern here at READ.

When most people hear the word sonnet, they automatically think of William Shakespeare, and for good reason. However, the sonnet was around way before Shakespeare was born, and continued to be modernized after his death.

What makes sonnets different from other types of poetry is their distinct structure. Sonnets have a set number of lines and an organized rhyme scheme. However, there are different types of sonnets, such as the English sonnet, the Italian sonnet, and other variations.

Shakespeare usually wrote English sonnets, which have 14 lines and a rhyme scheme of:
[ABAB CDCD EFEF GG]
Each letter corresponds to the last word of each line. So the first and third lines will rhyme, the second and fourth lines will rhyme, etc.

But you have probably already seen many Shakespeare sonnets. Here are some other ones you might not have seen. Sir Thomas Wyatt was born in 1503, and wrote sonnets way before Shakespeare. Here is one, entitled "Farewell love and all thy laws forever"

Farewell, love, and all thy laws forever,
Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more.
Senec and Plato call me from thy lore
To perfect wealth, my wit for to endeavor.
In blind error when I did persever,
Thy sharp repulse that pricketh aye so sore
Taught me in trifles that I set no store,
But scape forth, since liberty is lever.
Therefore, farewell, go trouble younger hearts,
And in me claim no more authority;
With idle youth go use thy property,
And thereon spend thy many brittle darts.
For hitherto though I have lost my time,
Me list no longer rotten boughs to climb.

— Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542)

This is an Italian sonnet. Though the rhyme scheme of an Italian sonnet is somewhat flexible, the first eight lines are
[ABBA ABBA]

More modern sonnets are a lot freer with their rhyme schemes, and the poems are not as structured overall as the more classical ones. Edna St. Vincent Millay lived from 1892 to 1950--not so long ago. Here is a sonnet she wrote, entitled "Only until this cigarette is ended"

Only until this cigarette is ended,
A little moment at the end of all,
While on the floor the quiet ashes fall,
And in the firelight to a lance extended,
Bizarrely with the jazzing music blended,
The broken shadow dances on the wall,
I will permit my memory to recall
The vision of you, by all my dreams attended.
And then adieu, -- farewell! -- the dream is done.
Yours is a face of which I can forget
The colour and the features, every one,
The words not ever, and the smiles not yet;
But in your day this moment is the sun
Upon a hill, after the sun has set.

—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

There are other structural elements to sonnets, such as the literal structure of ideas (like an essay) and the rhythm of the words (enunciation). But that would be a whole other story.

Try writing your own sonnet!
It's harder than it looks!

The following blog entry was written by Sarah Solomon, an intern here at READ. 

Cast a cold eye

On life, on death.

Horseman, pass by!

 

This is the famous epitaph of William Butler Yeats, whose birthday would have been yesterday, June 13.

Poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats was an Anglo-Irishman born in Ireland in 1865. This means that he was in the Protestant ruling class in Ireland, as opposed to the Catholic lower class. In his early years he was very interested in mysticism and occultism, but later on his poetry became more realistic.

 

Most of his life, Yeats was in love with Maud Gonne, an Irish nationalist who did not return Yeats' feelings. Yeats was so desperate to be with her, he ended up proposing to her five times!

 

Yeats won the Nobel Prize in December of 1923. He is known as a symbolist poet, because most of his poetry uses symbols in order to create meaning.

 

He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven

 - William Butler Yeats

 

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

 

 

The following blog entry was written by Sarah Solomon, an intern here at READ.

Today is Maurice Sendak's 80th birthday, so let's take some time to admire the illustrious illustrations he has done.

Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn on June 10th, 1928. As soon as he saw Fantasia by Walt Disney when he was 12 years old, he knew he wanted to become an illustrator.

He started illustrating other authors' children's books, and learned how to adjust his style of drawing to the other authors' writings. After a while he started writing and illustrating his own books. His two most famous works are Where the Wild Things Are (1963) and In the Night Kitchen (1970), both children's books.

Both of these books have a common theme. The protagonist, a young boy, is bored or fed up with his waking life so he travels to an imaginary place.

In Where the Wild Things Are, Max gets in trouble with his mom and is punished by being sent to his room with no supper. There his bedroom turns into a forest, and he travels to where the wild things are:

That very night in Max's room a forest grew
and grew-
and grew until his ceiling hung with vines
and the walls became the world all around
and on ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max
and he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks
and almost over a year
to where the wild things are.

In In The Night Kitchen, Mickey dreams that he is baked into a cake by three bakers and then flies a plane made out of bread dough to the top of a giant bottle of milk. Mickey is completely naked for most of the book, and because of that, In the Night Kitchen became the 25th most challenged book between 1990 and 2000 according to the American Library Association's "list of challenged and banned books".

Both of these books have distinct illustrations with ferocious colors and beautiful drawings. Check 'em out!

Where The Wild Things Are

 

In The Night Kitchen

The following blog entry was written by Sarah Solomon, an intern here at READ.

Poetry can be read for pleasure, but have you ever heard of poetry being used as punishment?

25 partygoers in Middlebury, Vermont hadn't heard of that either until they were signed up for a mandatory poetry session as punishment for breaking into Robert Frost's house at the Homer Noble Farm. Breaking into a famous poets’ house is usually not a good idea.

A 17-year-old employee of Middlebury College thought it would be fun to hang out at Robert Frost's house, so he decided to throw a party. Over 50 people showed up, and by the end of the party there was broken china, broken windows, and a chair tossed in the fireplace. The total damage to the house was estimated at $10,600. That's a lot of money!

As punishment for those who wished to wipe their criminal records clean, two sessions of "Frost Instruction" were administered, each lead by Jay Parini, a professor at Middlebury College.

Parini used Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" to teach the students a lesson. Parini said that in this poem, the speaker is deciding between making one of two choices. Parini believes that this applies directly to the students' behavior – each must make a choice as to how they want to live his or her life.

The Road Not Taken
  - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Actually, this poem is often misread. Most people believe this poem to be about making the right choices in life. However, Frost's underlying meaning is significantly different.

In fact, the speaker in the poem is relating to the listener that the choice he made just so happened to lead him to where he is now, and if he had taken the other path he probably wouldn't have ended up so differently. In the last stanza the speaker is implying that one day in the future when he is telling his story, he will try to teach a lesson and say that the certain path he took made all the difference, even though he might not believe it.

Click here to read the CNN article on the Homer Noble Farm break in.

In a recent Animals issue of READ, we asked you what you thought about the play, Babylon's Ark. Here are a few 9th graders' responses from Bourgade Catholic High School in Phoenix, Ariz.

The Babylon's Ark story was harsh. What they did to the animals was mean and not healthy. The people trying to help them were very kind and respectful but the owner of the zoo didn't care.
     Animals should just be treated as humans. Be kind to them because they have a life too. They live on earth not just to be treated as a pet that you can kick around. They are here to bring life to us and joy, and they are friends.
     -- Jennifer Guzman

The animals are sick, hungry, and dehydrated. The Iraqis took over the zoo and they are making it a base. This was all caused by war. Now with the Iraqis out of the zoo there are people from the U.S. that are trying to help out the animals. They are having a tough time because most of the animals are really sick.
     I think that it is a great thing that people are helping out the animals at the zoo. Now with the troops helping them out there will be no more Iraqis able to enter the zoo and kill the remaining animals. I still think it is dangerous for the people at the zoo. They hear a lot of guns and one of those bullets can hit you and you can die.
     If it was my zoo I would have bulletproof walls and it would be blocked off so no Iraqis can come in and use it for a base. I would also put bombs where there are no animals because that is were the Iraqis would hide and it will blow them up.
     -- Blake Comella

If it was my zoo I would never abandon my animals. I would always care to them and make sure they are getting the same requirements as other zoos or better. So if someone tried to take over my zoo and turn it into a base. I would do everything in my power to stop them and make sure all the animals are safe.
     -- Vince Fielder

I would set a zoo up by, first hiring people that love animals and are not scared of them. Second, they have to be cheap And third, they have to know what there doing... if not, get out of here. I would set up some crazy electric fence so no animals can get out and no one can get in and steal any either. 
     -- Kristopher Verdugo

If I had a zoo I would separate the animals into groups and give the animals a theme I would pick the theme depending on the animal. I would keep the birds in one big cage so they can fly around. I would also have timers for the food so every three hours the food will fall on the floor.
     I would put the fish in a clear tank and make it look like the ocean, and I would also clean the tank every three days.
     I would clean the zoo every Sunday and clean the cages every day. I am going to give the animals a good meal and feed them lunch and dinner.
     I would hire trainers to train the animals so they can not attack the people. I would throw toys in the cages for the animals so they can play with them. I would give the animals a bath and dry them. I would also hire veterinarians to check the animals health, and make sure they have all there shots.
     -- A.J. Magdaleno

I started reading The Horse and the Boy this weekend. It is one of the seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. In the anthology I am reading, the order of the books is as follows: 1) The Magician's Nephew, 2) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, 3) The Horse and His Boy, 4) Prince Caspian, 5) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 6) The Silver Chair, 7) The Last Battle. A little amazon.com research just told me that the publishers of this anthology put them in this order because it is chronological.

One Canadian reviewer named "Godly Gadfly" says on amazon.com: "The chronological order makes the books more strictly allegorical than they really were intended to be..."

Another reviewer, C.N. White from Raleigh, N.C. says: "...reading these books in chronological order spoils all of the surprise and magic out of the first visit to Narnia (in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe), because we already know what's going on. ... Things don't always need to be put in chronological order. If you're going to read them, please read them in the correct order: 1) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, 2) Prince Caspian, 3) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 4) The Silver Chair, 5) The Horse and His Boy, 6) The Magician's Nephew, and 7) The Last Battle"

I was wondering why Hollywood skipped The Magican's Nephew and started with The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe! Now it makes sense! They were being smart! What a concept!

I wish I had known about this before I started reading these books. It's too late for me. If you have any intention of picking up the Narnia Anthology (and you should, it's great!), please heed the advice of these intelligent readers.

It's really a shame that the publisher chose to put the bookss in the wrong order in the anthology. Chronology isn't always the best way to do things.

Sidenote: I told my 2 year old nephew that I was reading a book where there are talking horses. He refused to believe me. "No!" he said. I assured him that it was true and he just shook his head and walked away.

Coming to WORD tomorrow: One class' reaction to Babylon's Ark, a Center Stage play in READ. Stay tuned...

It was announced last week that the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be produced as not one but TWO blockbuster movies! That means that, including Book 6 we get three more Harry films! Yay!

Personally, I think this is a very smart idea. Deathly Hallows was one of the best books I have ever read and Hollywood's decision to make it a two-parter should give us a very clear, very detailed on-screen image to compliment our entire literary experience. I can't wait!

Film 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is set for theatrical release on November 21, 2008

Film 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One is set for theatrical release (hopefully) the following November (2009)

And, assuming all goes well and "You-Know-Who" doeesn't wreck everything...

Film 8: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part Two will come out in May, 2010.

Friends, I do believe this deserves a "Boo" and a "Yah".

BOO YAH!

Here is a phony bologna movie trailer someone put together on Youtube. It shows a bunch of old Harry Potter movie clips but is still a good way to get you amped.

This is a very important question that I often ask people around me. Sure it's nice to get to know someone a little better, as shown by their choice of books. But really, I ask because I'm selfish. BECAUSE I always need something to read. And I like to go to people whose taste I trust. Just a few months ago, Audra gave me a good recommendation: Disgrace by JM Coetzee. Bryon and Deb once made me read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon. All good recommendations!

And to tell you the truth, I really like to push my own agenda, too. I mean, I like to get people to read my favorite books. I made Bryon read The Poisonwood Bible and he got sucked into it. (Audra, Deb, Amy, what about you? I thought we all were going to bond over this book.)

Well, I just found a new way to get book suggestions and push, I mean recommend my own. It's goodreads.com, where all types of readers list, review, and recommend books. I feel that my reading possibilities have broadened more than I could ever think. And I get to count all the books I've read.

So far, I'm up to 140 that I remember. Here's to many more!

Happy Leap Year Everybody!

Well actually, it's leap year all year. I guess today is Leap Year Day? Can I get a ruling on this?

Anywho, by now you should have READ's special Time Travel issue in your classroom. It's weird because we worked on that in the past.... and now, here you are, in the present, reading it. Whoa. Cosmic man.

Well, how do you like it? Feel free to give your two cents by clicking COMMENTS below or emailing us at word@weeklyreader.com.

We have already received one observation from a very intelligent class at Holy Cross Lutheran School in Wichita, Kansas. Their teacher, Ms. Vanwey, writes

"My 7^th  graders were in a tiz concerning Time Will Tell! How did the author add together 24 and 25 to come up with 60 as the age Jon was when he came back to 2008."

Well, that's a very good question. Our math is all screwed up! When Jon Pacone returns to 2008, he should be 49, not 60! Our only sorry excuse is that we stink at math. But someone on our end definitely should have caught this oversight. All apologies to time travelers everywhere.

Also, the question was stated of whether or not Jon would have been living two different lives at once. The first being the first time he lived through those years, and the second being his return to the past self living those years. Hmm... well... you see... um... time travel is a very tricky thing involving lots of compound theories and... um... holy cow! Look! Quick! Behind you! There's a flying cow!

Moo.

Well, at least Billy Pilgrim can time travel with class.
So it goes.

The following interviews were conducted by Weekly Reader Senior Edition editor, Laura McClure.

 

This year’s Caldecott and Newbery medal winning books transport readers into the past. Newbery-winning book, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz, explores life in the Middle Ages. Caldecott-winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick takes place in the early 1900s in France. Weekly Reader talked with both authors about their success stories. Here’s what they had to say:

 

Q&A with Brian Selznick
Weekly Reader: Which came first--the words or the illustrations?

Brian Selznick: It started just as a written story. … I thought maybe [there would be] one drawing a chapter or some spot illustrations. While I was working on the book, I started watching all these old movies and I thought it would be interesting to try to tell the story [with images] like an old movie.

 

WR: How long did it take to finish the book?

BS: I worked on the whole book for about 2 1/2 years, [including] a year to do sketches. … On a good day I could finish two complete drawings. I made them all one-quarter the size that you see in the book. … When you blow up a drawing, … it makes everything softer and lighter, like old movie stills.

 

WR: Do you see yourself in Hugo, the main character?

BS: I definitely do. … When I was a kid, I really loved to draw and to make things. Hugo is actually much better with his hands then I was as a kid. I remember being frustrated with what my hands couldn’t do.

 

WR: What advice do you have for aspiring authors or illustrators?

BS: The most important thing is to just write about or draw the things that really interest you. … A reader or someone looking at pictures very often can tell whether or not the person making the thing loved it and was really interested in it.

 

Q&A with Laura Amy Schlitz

Weekly Reader: What inspired you to write this book of monologues and dialogues?

Laura Amy Schlitz: The children [at the school where I am a librarian] study the middle ages. … They give their imaginations to it and I wanted them to have a dramatic piece [to perform] so I wrote those short plays, those monologues for them and they’ve been performing them for many years now.

 

This book shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Middle Ages. Why did you decide to show all aspects?

I think when you know about the Middle Ages, you can’t help realizing what a dangerous and difficult time that was. … Suppose it’s winter and you get your feet wet. You don’t have another pair of shoes. If you get frostbite, you’ll go lame. … Those are facts [of life in the Middle Ages], but it doesn’t follow that the people were all miserable. They also had hope and good days and aspirations.

 

What do you hope readers take away from this book?

I would like to think that readers can imagine that time, but I think what I want most is for readers to be able to have the excitement of pretending to be somebody else. The thrill of performing the pieces in front  of the audience—I want the readers to get the applause.

 

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a chapter book now, I’m on chapter 29 but I don’t yet know the end, I don’t know how far am I from the end and I’m just trusting that the end exists somewhere and that I will find it.

Why, hello there, fellow WORDians. How's everyone doing? Did you catch American Idol last night? I was mostly in and out of the room when it was on, but I did manage to catch that guy with the dreadlocks. He's totally my favorite right now, and it's not just because I think he's adorable. Which is he. But anyway...

With all this Idol watching, I'll admit, I haven't been able to make it to the library in awhile. Actually, I can't just blame my predilection for cheesy reality shows taking up all my time. (Although American Idol is the number one show in the country, so while you're scoffing at me for admitting I watch the show, percentage-wise, I think it's safe to assume that at least some of you watch it as well.) I also haven't been to the library in awhile because I usually end up at a bookstore and buy my books. However, this is an expensive habit, especially since I usually read the books I buy once, and then put them on a shelf and never look at them again. (Except for when I read them over and over.)

I should go to the library more. But apparently libraries are a little different than they used to be. That's right. They're not just for borrowing books anymore. Or even for borrowing cds and dvds. They're for playing video games.

That's not a typo.

Video games!

A library in Michigan has started hosting video game parties! Can you believe it? I used to get shushed for whispering a little too loudly while working on a research paper with a buddy. And now kids are playing video games there!

I guess anything that can draw people into the library is a good thing--but what about the serious readers? I don't think I'd be able to do research or sit in a corner with a good book if people were playing Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution next to me.

What do you think? Do you go to the library for the books, or for the social experience?

Yesterday was February 1st. Oh hey! I guess that means today is Groundhog Day! Cool! Does anyone know if he saw his shadow?

But that's not what I came here to talk about today. Please bear with me. I'm easily distracted. Oh look, a puppy!

Um.

I finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy yesterday. I have nothing good to say about it except that it won the Pulitzer... so I guess someone somewhere must have liked it. Wherever you are, I'd really like to have a conversation with you. I just don't understand what you were thinking. Maybe it's just me?

Moving right along...

Last night I started the mammoth experience that is Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. I'm not going to lie. I was scared. I've been looking forward to this since I got the new translation for Christmas... but I've also been dreading it. I don't want to be the guy in the Challenge that says, "Um, yeah, I quit." And besides that, I also don't want to be the guy who misses out on this classic literature because of some weak notion that "it's too hard. Wah." Oh stop it.

I cracked open the book around 9:00 last night. Gingerly, I turned the first few pages. I stared at the title page for a good minute or so, thinking to myself: "After you turn this page, Bry, there's no turning back." Hmm... well maybe it wasn't as dramatic as all that after all. But the title page was very pretty and yes, even inviting.

The next few pages flew by pretty easily as well. The copyright information, and Table of Contents were a breeze. No sweat! Bring it Tolstoy!

Then came the introduction...

"If the world could write by itself, it would write like Tolstoy."
    -- Isaac Babel

Nice! What a flattering quote! What else?

I kept reading. (Incidentally, the introduction was written by the translator, Richard Pevear.)

"War and Peace is the most famous and at the same time the most daunting of Russian novels..."  oh boy ... "as vast as Russia itself and as long to cross from one end to the other. Yet if one makes the journey, the sights seen and the people met on the way mark one's life forever."

Ahh. My fellow WORD enthusiasts, can I just tell you what a breath of fresh air this was? No, not that. What am I trying to say? ... These first words, found here in the introduction, gave me not only a sense of hope and excitement for the next 1200+ pages, it also brought me directly out of my nervous funk and into the world of this sweeping Russian literature.

The rest of the introduction talked about Tolstoy as a man. Who he was and how he wrote. I'll save this for future bloggy posts as I can see this one is getting a little long and I want to tell you about the beginning of Volume One, Part One.

That's right. You heard me. VOLUME ONE. This book is so massive, it has actual Volumes. Ha! You gotta love it!

I read the first 25 pages of Volume One, Part One last night. I was surprised at how much fun it was! Seriously surprised! At first, I had a little trouble with the character names and the French... oh yes, the characters in this part anyway, speak some French and the translations are in footnotes at the bottom of the page. Sheesh! You get used to that too though.

Rather than go on and tell you the story so far, I'll just say that I am now over my fears and look forward to this great read. It's probably one of the toughest books I have ever tackled. But every once and again you have to challenge yourself. In literature and in life. OK, that was cheesy. I'm just inspired and excited, that's all. And I'm going to go read some more now.

How you doin, Alicia and Audra??

Word.

I was just thinking. (Yes, I tend to do that occasionally. But don't worry, it doesn't happen too frequently.) Have you ever read a book more than once? And not just twice, or even three times, but so many times that the binding is all cracked and the pages are in danger of falling out and you could probably recite it line for line?

I'm asking because right now I'm re-reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding for about the zillionth time. (I've also read Bridget Jones's Diary a zillion times as well. The first one is better, but Edge of Reason has its charm.) It's partially because I haven't had a chance to go to the book store in awhile, and partially because if I don't have something to read on the train I'll fall asleep and miss my stop and not be able to come in and blog for all of you, and I don't want all of you crying. I just can't handle that pressure! But anyway, I'm mostly re-reading it for the zillionth time because, well, I love it. I do. I know every joke, and I cry at the same parts every time. But I still love it. And I never get bored reading it.

It's a really weird phenomenon.

Seriously, right? I mean, I'm sure you all have read a book multiple times, and it didn't bring you any less pleasure. Maybe, if you were older when you read it again, you were able to appreciate it on a different level. Maybe it brings you comfort. Of maybe it's just an awesome book. But it's weird, because I don't think there's any other type of medium where this can be replicated.

Movies can be watched multiple times and still be enjoyable, but I feel like you need more time in between each viewing. If not, it gets a little tedious.

TV shows definitely can't be watched multiple times. For example, I love the show Lost (which starts again today, by the way, and I'm so excited!), and yesterday, last year's season finale was on. Now, I tried to watch it to get pumped for today. But, after just a few minutes, I had to turn it off. Not even Josh Holloway could keep my attention. I would much rather have been reading my book!

Now, if a hottie like Josh Holloway cannot keep my attention on a second viewing, well, then that gets my attention. It just goes to show you how much pleasure you can get from a favorite book.

So, what's your favorite book that you've read ten bajillion times? What do you like about it? Are you excited for Lost? We can compare our theories tomorrow.

I finished reading An Arsonist's Guide To Writers Homes In New England. It was good. I wasn't thrilled with the ending though. You know how no matter how much you dislike a protagonist, you still have to root for him/her? Well this is one of those books that really pushes your likability limit. I kept wanting to grab the main character and shake him, screaming, "What's wrong with you? Why don't you just tell your wife the truth?"

Well ok then, so now what? The great War & Peace challenge doesn't start til February 1. Seeing that I can't wait that long to read another book, I started reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy last night. So far it's about a post-apocalyptic world. A boy and his father are walking down a road. Woo Hoo. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2007. After reading the first 50 pages, I can't for the life of me see why. I'm hoping it gets better. I think I heard somewhere that there are cannibals in it.

Shrug. I'll have to get back to you.

Word.

Well, we've been talking about doing this for a couple weeks now. I guess you've gone and made it official and there's no backing out, eh? Well alrighty then. I'm in. Looking forward to it. I don't really know what we're getting ourselves into here... but it should be interesting.

I too got the new translation of War and Peace for Christmas. This is probably the best way to do it: a friendly race amongst bloggers. Let's help each other through it. And NO CLIFF NOTES! Hee hee.

February 1st it is...

Word.

Oh Alicia, what have you done?

This is one of the books on my list of "Oh Em Gee, I better not die in a tragic accident before I get a chance to read this book." It is also on my list of "Hm, I can't take that on the subway," and "Wow, this heavy book doesn't fit in my clutch." But, despite the fashion dilemma it poses, I am up for the challenge. I have a mad love affair with the Russians and it's about time I took this book head-on. Richard Pevear is a brilliant translator and did a wonderful job with another of my favorite Russian books, The Master and Margarita.

BTW: Here's a one line summary of War and Peace, for those of you who don't mind a plot spoiler.

 

Within the 1,296 pages of War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy wrote these words, "The strongest of all warriors are these two, "Time and Patience." I don't know where this quote exists within the 1,296 pages, but I'm going to find out. And I'm feeling like Mr. Tolstoy was thinking of his future readers when he wrote this quote.

He's right. I'm going to need Time and Patience--and lots of it--to get through this book. Tolstoy forgot one other thing: superior arm strength. I have the massive tome in my hands as we speak. It's heavy. It's bulky. It's bigger than my cat.

So why do I want to do this? Well I wanted to test my literary muscles. It's been so long since I've read anything even nearly this long. And with the buzz about the new translation of War and Peace by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, I found my challenge. Plus, my sister got me the book for Christmas.

All I need now is a little Time and ... (you know). It's going to be hard now that I have a full plate of work, school, etc. etc. etc. I really question whether I can do it. (Thoughtful pause)

Wait, (thoughtful pause over) I have an idea. This is great. I have just the incentive I need. A race to finish War and Peace!

OK, calling my fellow bloggers, Bryon, Audra, Deb, and Jess! Who's in? Come on I dare you!

Check back soon to see whom the contestants and terms of the race will be. For now, I'm going to rest my arm.

Say it isn't so.

In the saddest news since Barbie left Ken, today it was announced that one of comic books' most beloved couples, Peter Parker and Mary Jane are breaking up.

No!

I wonder what went wrong in the relationship. Did Spidey leave his webs all over the house? Was MJ just not as exciting as she used to be?

It's so sad when fictional characters break up. (And no, that's not sarcasm.) Even though they aren't real, people are invested in these relationships, and it's kind of sort of, well, heartbreaking. When people are little, they imagine what their significant other will be like, and often hope the story will be like one of their favorite literary romances. Or maybe that's just me? Well anyway ...

There are so many great couples in literature and comics. Superman and Lois Lane. There's everyone's classic choice, Romeo and Juliet. (Although I do hope you take the romance figuratively, in the sense that they do everything in their power to be together and that love is the only thing that matters. The whole "both people end up dead and everything ends in tragedy" thing is a little much for a real-life romance.) There's Scarlett and Rhett from Gone With the Wind. Oh, and Jennifer Cavalleri and Oliver Barrett IV from Love Story. (Although that romance ends in tragedy as well.) The list goes on and on.

My favorite literary couple is Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones's Diary. (Actually, they're just a modern version of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, which is also a super-romantic couple.) And no, I don't just love them because Colin Firth plays Mark in the movie and he's completely gorgeous. (Although that doesn't hurt.) It's just that Mark comes to her rescue and is always there for her and you just know that he really loves her ... swoon.

Anyway, what are some of your favorite literary couples, and why do you like them? What do you think of the breakup of Peter Parker and Mary Jane? And are you just as upset as I am that a fictional couple just broke up? I really thought those crazy kids could make it work. Well, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to eat a pint of ice cream and blast some Alanis Morissette ...

We all know plagiarism is bad. And since this is a reading and writing blog, plagiarism probably ranks up there with murder in terms of evilness. OK, maybe not murder. But it is bad. And according to some, Jessica Seinfeld, wife of Jerry, allegedly plagiarized her cookbook Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food. And she's being compared to assassins.

Allegedly (We must be sure not to assign blame until it is proven one way or the other. After all, I certainly cannot afford to get sued. Especially by someone with pockets as deep as Seinfeld.), the book was eerily similar to The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine.

Did she do it? I don't know. Both cookbooks involve finding ways to get kids to eat healthy. Both came out around the same time. Both have really, really, really long names. (I mean seriously, the cookbook names sound like the titles of emo songs or something. Come on Fall Out Boy, "Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows)" is too long for the name of a song! But I digress.) But is it plagiarism?

Maybe it's just a coincidence. The world is fraught with similar products. Look at Coke and Pepsi. Or ... other things that are similar, which I can't seem to think of right now. But there are plenty.

If Mrs. Seinfeld did in fact plagiarize the idea, she should be punished, and not just because she's rich and I'm jealous. (Although I am.) Plagiarism is bad. We've established this already. I don't know if I would say it's as bad as being an assassin. Well a literal assassin anyway. Wait a minute. If you're a plagiarist, aren't you technically a literal assassin, because you're killing something literary? OK, that's a stretch, I know, but I totally just blew my mind with that.

Well anyway, has anyone actually seen these two cookbooks? Are they that similar? Would you eat your vegetables if they were hidden in something delicious? I would probably end up picking them out and hiding them in the couch cushions or something, but that's just me. Anyway, don't plagiarize, kids!

That's weird that you mentioned that story yesterday, Jessica. Well, not too weird because it's news. But let me tell you why it's at least a little strange...

I just started reading this book called An Arsonists's Guide To Writers' Homes in New England. Now before anyone gets worried about my mental health, let me say that it is a work of fiction by Brock Clarke (author of Ordinary White Boy). So far, it's quite good. It's about this dude who burned down the Emily Dickinson house in Amherst, killed two people (accidentally? I don't know yet), went to jail for ten years, got out, married, and had a couple kids before the "real trouble started". That's where I am now. Chapter Two. It only seems like a lot of stuff was packed into Chapter One because it was. That's all. But it worked. I like Clarke's voice. He seems to have biting shades of Chuck Palahniuk (arthor of Fight Club, Haunted, and more).

So the weirdness was that you wrote about true-to-life deviant vandals at Frost's house while I was reading about an imaginary dude burning down Dickinson's.

Fire and ice. Heh. Word.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-from "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

Well, apparently Mr. Frost wasn't the only one who took a road less traveled.

According to a story on CNN, teens broke into the poet's house. (Don't worry, he wasn't harmed. He wasn't even there, because, well, he's been dead since 1963.) The vandals had a crazy house party, and they destroyed everything in the historic landmark.

How could they do that? Don't they have any respect for the four-time Pulitzer Prize winner? I know I do. I don't care much for poetry. (With the exception of Shel Silverstein, because he's awesome. I mean, seriously. I dare you to read The Giving Tree without shedding a tear. Go on, I can wait.) But even I quote from "The Road Not Taken." It's such a meaningful, thought-provoking, insightful ... excuse me, I'm getting a little ver clempt. (That means "choked up," bubbala.)

I'm sure if you haven't heard of "The Road Not Taken," you've read--and quoted, maybe without even realizing--other poems by Frost. How about "Nothing Gold Can Stay"? You totally have. And if not, tell your teachers you should be reading some Frost. At best you'll get some brownie points for wanting to learn more about poetry and a great American poet, and you'll enrich your brain. At worst ... well, no. There's no "at worst."

But back to the matter at hand, how could those vandals do such a thing? Maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they didn't know it was Frost's house. But still ... I say it's unforgivable!

And when the vandals get caught--which they will--it will be, ahem, poetic justice.

The following blog entry was written by Meredith Matthews, the editor of Current Health magazine.

Spend Your Holidays in Persepolis
Not Persepolis the place--an ancient city from the Persian Empire. I'm talking about Persepolis the movie, based on the graphic novels of the same name (it opens on December 25). The book's author, Marjane Satrapi, co-directed the film adaptation.

 

I was lucky enough to see an advance screening, along with a WORD alumnus, Sandhya