The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars
John Green

Over the weekend, I read The Fault In Our Stars, which was amazing! Its the story of a cancer patient named Hazel Grace and the struggles she has to face as she fights her sickness. The book is told her perspective as she goes to support group and meets new people like Augustus Waters. I really really really liked this book. It was original, extreemly sad, and the characters were understandable - if not always relatable. I LOVED this book, the way it was written was beautiful and intelligent. Hazel's voice was funny and sarcastic and I loved her views on life, death and cancer. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction with the warning that it is extremely sad.

Slice of Life 5 maybe?

The shadow is almost twice the height of the mug. Here, there is not much light, the ceiling lights are dim and the windows face away from the noon sun. Giving off just enough light to catch on the grey metal, casting its shadow on the polished wood. The light of the window silhouettes the left side of the cup, the sharp contrast between the light and the dark is the only thing that separates the shadow from blending into the reflective wood, like what it did on the right side. Its strange that way, because of the light, the grey of the cup is caught into the wood and the tan of the table seems to be encased into the reflective metal along with the light and tan walls. In contrast, with the handle, and the lid, the only difference brought on by the changing light is the blue highlights that circle the rim, catching onto the textured handle and latch – like white chalk on black paper. The same color is reflected in the smooth wood of the table too. Just staring at the cup is dizzying, calming. Thoughts drift in and around the almost empty room. Focusing on everything. Everything and nothing.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98755929@N00/4696348888/">mats_60</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>   

Pride and Prejudice

My classic for this week was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Written in the early 1800s, not only was this book the story of two young(ish) people trying to discover their place in the world, but it was also an example of wealthy life in England. This book was really, really good and despite the language, it was really fun to read. Jane Austen is a funny, sarcastic writer who, even after two centuries was able to create a story that is well known and enjoyed. One of my absolute favorite parts of this book was just how relatable the characters were. Despite the different time fame and culture, you could really understand everything the characters were feeling, on a level. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone because I am quite mad at myself for not having read this book earlier in my lifetime.

Slice of Life 4

             Tonight is opening night. What we’ve been rehearsing for since last Saturday, the actors even more so. This time, instead of the empty risers there are chairs, chairs filled with almost a hundred people. Right now people have just started to trickle in from the gym. At first it is a rush, like a river after a storm but soon it mellows. Now, all of the early arrivers are pooling in the theatre; throwing clothing over certain chairs as to get the best seats and then standing up to converse with many acquaintances; parents, family, teachers. One or two of them are even taking pictures of the set, the bright flashes light up the back stage. With every minute the pool is getting bigger. More and more are arriving, groups coming dangerously close to the fragile set. Even now, some of the kids are getting impatient; they’re exited for the play and while talking with their friends may seem like an enjoyable activity, they easily tire of the conversation and fidget in their seats. Who would have thought that it would take so long for people to find seats for an hour long show. Its like a logic puzzle: if your child wants to sit with this group of friends and parents want to sit with their acquaintances than just how many seats must you save with your two jackets. Its all so loud, the more people that trickle in the more exclamations of “Sit here! We saved you a spot”. Frankly its all very amusing, the crowd has no idea of just how much there actors are freaking out or how many times we have had to yell at them to not run across the echoing gym floor. 

The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave
Rick Yancey













This week I read the 5th Wave by Rick Yancey and have decreed it one of the best books I have ever read; I've already gone online to discover that the movie rights have been sold and that the next book is coming out this fall. Its like a Sci Fi Hunger Games; except its also completely different and original. Imaging living on as the last human on earth the rest of your species has been already been eradicated by just four attacks. Even if there was another human left could you trust them or has the entire race been corrupted by the others? The entire plot is mind bending with ideas so strange it is hard to think about. This Sci Fi novel would probably be a two week endeavor but I recommend it. A lot.

Slice of Life 3

Theres always something wonderful about waking up to snow, especially on break. A silence that seems to blanket the world and everyone in it- slowing everyone down so that it is as though no one else exists. You wake up slow, often only for a brief moment to roll over, the crimson curtains casting that familiar rose colored hue across the entire room as the morning light shines through. its as though the world has no worries, nothing that needs doing. The silence is addicting. Often you just lay, soaking in the light and the quiet, staring up at the ceiling; your mind drifting randomly. And if asked about it later, you wouldn't remember what you thought about; if you thought anything at all. Maybe small moments and flashes, but those quiet moments in the morning would seem like a dream. For it seems  impossible for moments like that to be filled with so much peace.

The light is still red; that is what you think as you lay there. For how long have you sat, completely still in this waking dream. Time seems fluid, unknowable and for the time being, completely irrelevant, it could have been anywhere from a minute to an hour, maybe even more. And still, it seems impossible to sit up. But finally after what seems like hours or minutes of mental struggle you do. Feet chilled by the wood floor, you make your way over to those red curtains. The ones that make the real world so far away. Catching fistfuls of the rough fabric, you tear them away. Casting the room in a fiery glow as you wonder about the blanketed landscape. Ice melt drips right outside your window. Perhaps the dream is not over quite yet...