And, after school is done, what is better than enjoying God's creation?
Monday, November 15, 2010
Jules Verne and Beautiful Weather
Have you ever read Around the World in Eighty Days? To my own chagrin, I never have. But, working with the Berry kids has given me some opportunity to delve into its riches. I sense another book being added to my pile...
And, after school is done, what is better than enjoying God's creation?
And, after school is done, what is better than enjoying God's creation?
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9 comments:
And what's so darn stressful about having another book on the pile?
How did I know that you would comment on my book pile? ;) My education is important to me. If I see my pile growing exponentially (especially if I don't have a lot of time to devote to reading), then I feel stressed that I am neglecting my education. Is that introspective enough? :O)
But just imagine the tears if the pile didn't grow and you were able to reach the bottom!
I've actually not read it either, so perhaps I'll add it to my ever-growing pile, too. But it will lower in my pile than "John Adams" and the "PIG to the Founding Fathers" which seem to be sneaking their way to the top as we finish the HBO mini-series. :)
Must
Finish
"George Washington's Sacred Fire"
First!
(Why, oh why, did it have to be well over 1,000 pages? The same point was easily made in less than 300 pages in "Washington's God"!!!)
Speaking of good education... Sometimes it's almost painful. But worth it in the end. :)
Oh, and on an entirely different note, did you know HBO made another mini-series about WW2 that focuses on the Pacific arena? They have it at Sam's, but I've not seen any reviews.
Laura:
Well, nobody (I hope) is standing over you with a shock prod forcing you to read all this stuff on the grounds that you should not "neglect your education." And similarly, nobody is forcing you to do all the stuff that's taking time away from you being able to read as much as you might like. So if you feel stress about how you spend your time, then ask yourself whether you might perhaps be forcing yourself to do things you don't really want to do. Just my two cents.
Kiri:
The PIG to the Founding Fathers is one of the best in the series, and I've been stalled at pp. 100 of George Washington's Sacred Fire since August (and will likely continue to be stalled there for a while, now that I have completed my collection of Turtledove's "Settling Accounts" alternate-history tetralogy).
Dad gave me a copy of The Pacific's soundtrack (Hans Zimmer is da bomb), but he said he wasn't impressed with the series. He wasn't specific (usually, when he is about a WWII film, it's to critique things like the fact that by 1944 Tom Hanks' character in Saving Private Ryan would never have been able to fire his Tommy gun into the Tiger tank in the final battle scene because by then the Germans were installing bulletproof glass on that part of the vehicle), but his general critique tended to agree with what everyone else seems to say about the series: It isn't as good as Band of Brothers because it's too boring in certain parts, and because you follow one or two characters rather than everybody in the unit.
Kiri,
No, I don’t think there would be any tears if I reached the bottom of my pile. I would be really excited… to start a new pile! I keep telling myself, “NO MORE BOOKS! Until you finish your stack.” Now did that stop me from purchasing Catcher in the Rye at B&N? Nope. But, isn’t it the idea that counts? :P (Did I tell you I hope to do a compare and contrast between CR and Lord of the Flies? That’s assuming I finish my stack.) Wouldn’t it be epic if I finished them all before the New Year? I can always dream…
John Adams is fabulous! We still have two episodes left, but I love it just the same. I have my dad’s copy of the book on my shelf… but I don’t consider it part of my pile… yet… And the book the B's gave me about Abigail Adams may come first. She is my new hero. :)
I haven’t read much on George Washington. Sorry the book is “such a bummer”… “But fair is fair”… “oh yeah.” Can you tell my brain is fried?
I *have* heard of the Pacific. Stephen Ambrose’s son (Hugh?) wrote the book, I believe. I haven’t seen any reviews either. Charity just reviewed BoB. A little late for us, yeah?
Bobby,
You’re right. Nobody (but my own self discipline) is standing over me. I want to read more. Sometimes, it’s my own frivolity that makes me neglect my reading, and other times, important responsibilities get in the way. And because I’m not an official student anymore, reading isn’t my full time calling. :O) So, I’m not forcing myself to do anything that I don’t want to do… except perhaps my duty… which should be a joy anyway not a burden. So, I guess I should stop complaining? ;)
Meh. I didn't want to imply that. I was just curious why you would choose the word "stressful" to describe a recreational activity.
Hahaha, Bobby. I'm sorry that I'm not communicating well... I meant that neglecting reading is stressful... not the reading itself. Though, my reading isn't always recreational. Sometimes it is hard work. Good work. But hard nonetheless.
No, you communicated the distinction clearly. Or at least, I interpreted it the way you intended it, which I suppose is the same thing. I just meant that, if it's something that should be *fun* to do, then it's kinda self-defeating to think about organizing the activity as something that's *not* fun.
Take weddings, for instance. They're supposed to be joyous occasions where the focus is on how two people make each other happy. But typically, because of perfectionist fantasies on the part of the bride, the planning stage turns into a miserable affair in which everybody is wiggin' out over whether the candles, the colors, and the caterer are all in lockstep. Those things add flair, but what really makes or breaks a wedding is the social performance of its stars, as everyone knows who's ever been to even one reception. If everybody would just keep in mind that that they're laying the plans for a happy occasion, then most the logistics of most hitchings would probably go off without a hitch as people took all the inevitable problems in stride.
A recreational activity doesn't have to be easy to be recreational, either. Most people engage in a hobby (or a career that they enjoy) because they find it moderately challenging. I mean, that's why you yourself say that you think hard reading is good reading, right?
*loud sigh* I had a well-thought through comment written, but I left it in the start bar for one of those moments that turns out to be more like 24 hours and now it's gone... So here's the quick-rewrite that only touches the highlights and is not nearly as worth reading. :P
I just think you need to make more piles. That way your *coughs and whispers* left-brained mind *back to regular voice* can have the satisfaction of checking off the completion of each pile. After all, that's really what bugs you, right? Not feeling like you've completed the task since the pile is always growing. I feel your pain, dealing with it by never viewing the pile as an entity, but rather each book as something to be enjoyed and checked off. :)
Usually I LOVE reading about Washington, but GW's SF is about his religion, a topic I already covered a few years back. So this feels like been-there, done-that... But I'm trying to be a good daughter. Selfishly, I want to pick my own reading and focus on currently most fascinates me, but Daddy's assigned reading is good for me. And I'll see it even more clearly when I've finished this monstrosity of a book. :)
Tee hee hee. Charity's BoB review did come a little late, didn't it? But I'm not sorry we saw it. Are you? I've been thinking we should start WW2 night up again. But our daddies were discussing finishing John Adams together. And then there's Demographic Winter/Bomb... So perhaps WW2 will have to stay on hold a teensy bit longer...
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