Sweet Thursday

Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday takes us back to Cannery Row after the war. He carries on with the same characters, but they, and the town, have been changed by the war. They're not quite the folks we've met before. But because of the way Steinbeck has written the two novels, and perhaps didn't initially intend for Cannery Row to have a sequel, Sweet Thursday  can still easily stand on it's own as a completely independent novel. 

Following the theme of Cannery Row,  the boys are trying to help Doc, this time, by marrying him off! It's easy to slip back into Steinbeck's world and really feel for his characters. He writes in such a real way; he's almost poetic and philosophical in his simplicity. It's amazing. I really liked Sweet Thursday, as I like everything I've read of Steinbeck so far. If you haven't delved into Steinbeck yet, it's about time you pick something up! Read on! 

Fun Fact: The novel was adapted into the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical Pipe Dream, which was nominated for nine Tony Awards. The movie version of the book's predecessor, Cannery Row, incorporates several of the story lines in Sweet Thursday

Flashback Friday: Middle School

Cass and I have been trying to de-junk the whole summer, so the other day I was going through my old files and getting ride of stuff I don't need. A lot of it was old school stuff that I have been hording. For real. Old notes from classes my freshman year at SUU. Don't worry, I got rid of a lot of it!! But I found myself missing school. I'm a little sad I don't get to buy new pencils and notebooks. I don't get to take exciting classes on interesting topics and have engaging discussions on them. [I'm over-glorifying school. Just a little] 

Instead, I get to go to middle school again.

Unfortunately, it's as a grown up. Too bad I can't go back to my middle school days. 

[which I'm also over-glorifying. who really wants to go back?]

Despite the acne and the drama, middle school was good. 

I may have looked like a dork, but I'll focus on the happy memories. :)

Alias Grace

I absolutely, 100% loooved this book!

Alias Grace is based on the true story of Grace Marks with a fictional narrative. In 1842, Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery were murdered. Grace Marks and James McDermott, servants of Kinnear, were convicted of the murder. Despite all this, Grace believes herself to be innocent. She doesn't remember the murder. And this novel reveals how, exactly, this came to be and how the murders were committed, as Grace tells her story, her memories, to psychiatrist Dr Jordan. [Not for reals, though, ya'll. This is a work of FICTION] Like Grace's quilt, her story has a pattern which slowly reveals itself to the reader.  It's a great book. Go check it out from your library. You'll love it. 

The Blind Assassin

"A fist is worth more than the sum of its fingers"

Set in present day Canada, we read the story of sisters Iris and Laura in flashbacks working their way to the present. It definitely resounds as a Margaret Atwood novel, but it mostly reminded my of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox.  It's a story within a story, not only of the present and finding the secrets of the past, but another story, of science fiction that resembles reality. There is, as always, a gradual revelation to the truth. 

I found The Blind Assassin to be rather captivating, and while I could put it down, it took some persuasion. It's a puzzle of a novel, and I highly recommend it!

Cannery Row

Alrighty, folks, we are back to Steinbeck. This time he takes us to Monterey, California during the Great Depression. We meet the scientist, Doc, the owner of The Bear Flag Restaurant [the local whorehouse], Dora, and the grocer, Lee Chong, as well as their crazy friends. Doc, Dora, and Lee Chong aren't so much the main characters so much as the important people in town as the people in charge. They're the dominant characters even  though they don't get much screen time. [Page Time?] The gang of crazy friends is what makes the book worth reading. The gang keeps trying, and failing, to do something nice  for Doc, who has never been anything but nice and helpful to them. All the characters in this novel work together and show the friendship of folks living in a small town. The whole of Cannery Row comes to life. The novel just feels so natural, not forced or fake at all. The people are real and I want to meet them!

The thing I like most about Steinbeck and his work is that his characters are so real and relateable to me as a reader. Cannery Row is no exception, and one of his better works in my opinion. I really liked it. And, apparently, he revisits these characters in Sweet Thursday, which I look forward to reading. Steinbeck writes about regular people, which brings a whole new dimension of enjoyability to his novels. I highly recommend reading his works, especially this one. It's worth the read!  

Scapin

I had never heard of Scapin before going to the show, but it turns out that the play-writes, Bill Irwin and Mark O'Donnell, adapted this from Moliere! And all they really did was modernize it; the concept, the story line, the characters, all that, is still basically the same. Also, I think there's room for improv/customization within the script, because some jokes were very topical and some were very local. It made it that much more fun!

Moliere's original title is Les Fourberies de Scapin, which literally translates to Scapin's Deceits, which gives you a pretty good idea of the basic structure, and hilarity, of the play.  Scapin also fits in well with Shakespearean comedies -- it had a content warning for double entendres and innuendos as well. It was really well done, with lots of audience involvement and character's speaking directly to us. The two best were, of course, David Ivers as Scapin and Matt Zambrano as Syvestre, the faithful sidekick. They worked very well together and made the show very enjoyable. If you want to "pee your pantaloons" laughing- you better get some tickets for Scapin!! 

my new toy!

I have always wanted one of these balls and am so excited that I finally got one! I like doing crunches on it a lot better than flat on the floor. It even came with a booklet of exercises which has been helpful! I've used it a few times already, hopefully I can keep it up!