The Outsiders

I seen this book at my grocery store Meijer along with other classics. I haven't read this one yet so I threw it into the basket. When I got home the back said that it was a young adult book. Ugh! Young adult?? I'm glad I read it though. Because now I can say that I have read it even though I'm thirty years to late. There was a movie based on this book to.

I give this book three stars. It was good/average. I could sense what was to happen next. The author is a woman and had written the book while in high school and got published on her graduation day! Wow, what an awesome present! In an interview, she said that she liked just her initials being used on her book covers for privacy reasons. The Outsiders was publishd in 1967.

I loved the names in the story. The main character and narrator of the story was Ponyboy. His brothers names were Sodapop and Darrel. Ponyboy was 14. Sodapop 16 and Darrel 18. Their folks died in a car accident so Darrel took the fatherly roll. Sodapop quit school and Darrel worked. Ponyboy was still in school.

The story was basically about two gangs. The Greasers from the East side and the Socs (Socials) were from the West. Greasers were poor and rebels. They wore black leather jackets with long hair combed back with grease. The Socs were rich and preppy. They drove Mustangs, Sting Rays and Corvettes. They would rumble right along with the Greasers.

I believe Ponyboy was a leader and not a follower. Ponyboy living on the East side automatically made him a Greaser. He was the only one in the gang who liked movies. He would participate in rumbles. He liked to draw. He ranaway with his friend after his friend did something horrible. Ponyboy was in Track at his school. I believe Ponyboy made some mistakes by following the gang and because of his youth. But he was going to continue to be interested in the things that he liked even if his fellow gang members didn't like them.

Ponyboy seen some heavy stuff being in a gang and all at such a young age. Still he was trying to find his own way through life. He didn't want to be bad and he wanted to rise above being in a gang. He looked forward to a day when he was just a normal person living his life without being in a gang.

There was a point when Ponyboy was physically and emotionally hurt and was in need of TLC. And it was nice to read that the brothers were nurturing their youngest brother back to health. I was unsure if Ponyboy was suffering emotionally until the story told you that the brothers were telling Ponyboy that he had been through a lot. The story showed how attentive they were to their little brothers well being. I don't know why I didn't catch onto Ponyboy being affected emotionally with all the trauma that was going on around him. I guess because the story was telling us about Ponyboy being hurt physically.

The story ended with hope. I like endings like that. There so realistic. You don't get all the answers at the end of the story. It doesn't have that..'and they lived happily ever after' feel at the end. Yet it ends with a good feeling that there is hope in the future. I like that.
I thought this book was a little expensive. I seen at WalMart they had the same set-up with some classics. WalMarts were at least a buck more. I guess Meijer does have lower prices. =)

I am now reading 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell. It's also a short book so I will be back soon with that book review. Keep up with your summer reading!

Happy reading to you all!

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde~

I really liked the book. Therefore, I have this book ****four stars. It was very good. I wish it was a little bit of a longer. Reading such long novels for the past two books is probably why I thought this one to be short. But I'm glad I read it. I have been wanting to read this book for awhile now.

This book did keep my interest in what was coming around the corner, so to speak. I love books like that.

I also loved the setting of the book taking place in London. You really did feel the cool, damp, dark, misty, fogginess as the author took you down the streets of London. Loved that feel to it. It did add the tone to the story. It wasn't a spooky story but strange I guess is a good way to describe this book.

Robert Louis Stevenson's book was said that it could have been about the modern killer at that time of Jack the Ripper.

This book would be excellent for a book club. Don't want to tell you the whole story but here are a few questions that I will leave you with. Did Dr. Jekyll really want to be bad? Is that why Dr. Jekyll created a potion? Because as the story went on, it said that there was a time when Dr. Jekyll was beginning to like the bad ways of Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll was beginning to feel this tugging to live out his life more as Mr. Hyde than Dr. Jekyll. But because of what happened at the end of the story, one might have changed their minds. I don't know. It would be a great book up for discussion with friends or a book club.

I wasn't positive that I had understood the end of the story. So I reread a couple of paragraphs at the end. Then to make sure I understood it, I took a quiz on the Cliffs Notes web page. I have the link in my blog's side bar. And yep, I understood it correctly. I only missed two questions on the quiz. That quiz was fun to do too. I'll have to do that again with my next read.

Until next time,

Happy reading!

Anne

Dracula

I give 'Dracula' three stars. It was ONLY "good," and I'll explain. This book really did nothing for me as a reader. It did not grasp my attention. I wouldn't say that I was bored with the book. It's just that I didn't learn anything new of the story that I haven't already seen in the movies. So this book was tough to rate because of that. Because who hasn't seen the movie first? Exactly. We all know of the garlic and crucifixes.
I was really put off at first by the fact that this book was written in diary form. I almost didn't purchase it because of that reason. As I began to read, it didn't matter in the slightest. It still felt like I was reading a story.
On the back cover of the book, it says that today's critics see the story of Dracula having undertones of Victorian repression of the erotic and the fear of a womans sexuality. This is the reason why most people want to read this book.
I didn't like the fact that there was no explanation as to how Count Dracula came to be. As book lover's know, we LOVE detail! The last couple of chapters were very suspenseful and I loved how the book ended. I usually don't like how classic literature books end.
There were some spirituality to the story which wasn't surprising considering that Count Dracula was an evil creature. It's usually good vs. evil. I have to say that I gave out a little yelp when the men in the story used the Catholic Host to ward off Count Dracula. Obviously this story isn't true but it still made me feel that way about the Host. Catholics know that you are to recieve the Host immediately by mouth as soon as you recieve it. I can only imagine what Catholics thought of at the time that 'Dracula' was published, back in 1897. 'Dracula' has never been out of publication. Wow. Amazing.
Charlotte Stoker wrote her son Bram Stoker a letter and told him that she thought that his book 'Dracula' was just as good as Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstein.' She went on to say that her son's novel had originality and terror and that Poe was no where to be found! Yikes!! Edgar Allan Poe died when Bram was two. Hey, you can't blame a Mom supporting her son!
I thought that this story was very original if not genius for the author to come up with such and imaginative creature. It really is amazing. And the author did a fabulous job convincing the reader that Count Dracula was real. Mr. Stoker has you asking yourself, "There's no vampires right?" No! And thank God for that!! Just what we DON'T need in this life, Vampires!! Also the author makes you question if you would kill anyone. No! Absolutely NOT!! But would you kill the Un-Dead to set their souls free?! Hey wait a minute and lets get into "reality!" Thank goodness that there are NO such things as Vampires!! You can see the men struggling with this in the story. As if the story was real or something.
It makes you wonder about these author's who write about such dark stories. I find myself asking this question to myself, "Was so-and-so (an author) demented in real life? Hey it makes me wonder. If not, it goes to show their amazing talent in their creative writing, to say the least.
I hope you all enjoyed my review.
Happy reading!
Anne

Moby Dick

Wow. What can I say after that book. It was long. It was challenging. And have to say, that this is the only book that I have been really proud of myself for reading. I was elated when I had finished it and that I stuck it out to the end. I was definitely going to finish it, no matter how long the book was or how long it took me to read.
For some reason I have always been drawn to the subject of anything to do with the water. When I first picked up Moby Dick and seen how long it was, then I'd set it back down. But every time I'd go to the book store, I would pick it up and put it back down. Until one day I said, "That's it! I'm reading Moby Dick!"
I gave this classic book five stars and rated it on excellent. I have rated books excellent for the plots before. But Moby Dick I rated it excellent for it's true genre for which the book is....classic literature. It was the best classic literature book that I have ever read. Also, in my opinion the best written in classic literature, so far to this date.
Being a woman, I didn't know if I'd know anything about the subject of boating and all of that and wondering if I'd be able to follow the terminology of boating. So I was feeling a little skittish about that. But from the very first chapter, I was completely hooked. And I'm a woman! Maybe I thought Moby Dick is a book geared toward men. I loved how the chapters were short. There are some that are long. I really liked the short chapters. I read classic literature differently than a regular novel. I read it slower so that I can absorb everything into my mind, so that I am sure that I'm understanding it. When I came across a difficult chapter in Moby Dick, I knew that I would be through with it soon. It's like you get these little breaks throughout the book. I don't know. It helped me to not get so overwhelmed.
But most of the chapters in Moby Dick, there are consecutive chapters that were about whaling. That was difficult to read. It could get boring. But I learned that prier to reading the book, so I knew it was coming and knew what to expect. So that did help. But the whaling chapters took part for most of the book. But like I said, the chapters were short. Thank you Herman Melville! Thank you for thinking of readers like me. And he did. The author wrote Moby Dick in a way were I could understand what I was reading. There were a few parts, but not many, that I did not understand but went along reading.
Could Moby Dick do without all of the whaling chapters? I really don't think it could. To me, that's what made this book so classic. To take that out, would have changed it into some novel full of plots. Believe it or not, the focus was on Moby Dick for much of the book, even though much of the book had details of whaling.
Some critics were saying Herman Melville was showing off, because in real life he was a whales men. His father had taught him early on as a boy about whaling. There is no doubt that Mr. Melville was very knowledgeable in that subject. Was he showing off in Moby Dick? In my opinion, yes, I think he was to some extent. But aren't you suppose to write about what you know? And he written it in a way, where I was able to understand what I was reading. I was getting it. I understood it. Because I think I was a little intimidated in reading the book. So when I was understanding it, I think that's when I was really proud of myself. What an accomplishment to read Moby Dick, in my opinion. I can now say...I read Moby Dick! I've always pictured some guy from the 1800's smoking a pipe while reading Moby Dick in a winged backed chair in front of a fireplace, drinking Scotch or something. Also, I learned that Moby Dick wasn't some guy. He was the whale.
I learned that when people hear the quote, "It's me Ishmael." They know this qu0te comes from Moby Dick and that quote comes from the first sentence in Moby Dick.
I hope you enjoyed my book review on Moby Dick. I would encourage everyone who loves classic literature as I do, to make time in reading this classic book.
Happy Reading, Anne

Checking in...

Hello. I'm just checking in. I'm still reading Moby Dick. I'm on page 446. I got about another 200 pages go. I'm really trying to get this book done. I feel like I haven't been reading anything because this book is so loooonnnngggg. But I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I will be so glad when I have this one behind me. There are so many books I want to read. I wish I could read faster. But I tend to read slow, I think. I wish I could read a book a day. That would be awesome. But anyway, I'm just letting you know that I'm still here and reading.
Happy reading! Anne

The Awakening

I absolutely loved this book. And I'm so glad that my daughter sent it my way to read because I wouldn't have probably of ever read it. For one, it was not on my list of my books to read.

I gave this book five stars. I thought it was an excellent read. The story was very believable. The time table was very romantic. And it really showed through especially because of the wealth Edna and her husband Leonce had. They had a lot of beautiful things. I loved how they took trips in the summer to Grand Isle. It was like a little community of people showing up every summer with little tiny houses strewn around. The sea was why everyone went there. People would enjoy swimming in the sea during the day. And at night they would stroll down by the sea to see the moon light glistening off of the sea. Very romantic indeed.

It would be very romantic for a married couple. But not very romantic for Edna and Leonce. They were more like friends. Edna started having feelings for another man, Robert at Grand Isle. And then right before the end of the summer was over, Robert was leaving for Mexico and it completely crushed and devastated Edna. The story didn't portray that they were having sex, just that they had strong feeling for each other. When Edna, Leonce and the two children got back to their home in New Orleans, Edna still remained depressed about Robert's leaving.

Edna's husband Leonce had to take a long trip away for a few months. It was work related. The maid that usually watched the children took the children to her own house to care for them while Leonce was gone. So Edna had all this time to be by herself in this huge home. She filled her time with visiting some friends that also went to Grand Isle in the summer. Some of them lived in her home town.

Edna had met another man Alcee Arobin at the horse races. He was a friend of a friend. She was now starting to have feelings for this fella as well.

Some time went by before Edna ran into Robert at a mutual friends house. He said he just got back the day before. Edna was upset that he hadn't contacted her the second he got back.

Edna ran into Robert again in someones sitting garden. Then at another time when he went to her new home and told her that he had always loved her but knew that he could never have her because she was a married woman. In the meantime, someone knocked on the door and told Edna that one of her friends needed some help. Robert stayed behind at her house. But when Edna returned, Robert had left a letter saying goodbye and that he loved her. She stayed up all night in turmoil.

The very next day, she went back to the house that her and husband lived in. The husband still lived there but Edna moved into a smaller house by herself, while her husband was gone on his work related trip and was still gone. Edna also threw a moving out party and sent the bill to her husband. The house was being renovated while Leonce was gone. But for some reason, Edna went to the house to go swimming down by the beach after being up all night. She kept swimming further and further out and did not look back. She grew more tired. She just learned to swim the summer before at Grand Isle. And she drowned. That's how the story ended.

This book was very controversial for Kate Chopin the author. This book was first published in 1899. Kate Chopin wrote a few books before 'The Awakening.' And this ended up being her last book she wrote. Society did not except this book and it was banned from libraries and schools. They didn't like the ending for the fact that Edna committed suicide. Which I do not understand. I read 'Ethan Frome' before and it ended where the two characters wanted to take their own lives because they couldn't be together. But the suicide attempt failed and the woman became paralyzed. Ethan Frome and his wife ended up taking care of the young mistress. Bizarre, but that was the ending. So why did they give Kate Chopin such a hard time about her book, 'The Awakening?' Kate Chopin never wrote another book because of the rejection of 'The Awakening.' Which is sad because I think she was a very good writer. Even though Kate Chopin didn't elaborate on the feelings Edna was having, you still knew that Edna was falling in love with another man. Where as Edith Wharton's book, 'Ethan Frome,' elaborated more on the feelings of falling in love with a lover. So what's the big deal, why did they give Kate Chopin such a hard time? Imagine all the great books that woman could have written. I think she writes beautifully. The story moves along very quickly which I like. It doesn't languish on and on.

Anyhow, what I did not like about the story was that she had no love toward her husband. She loved her children but could not commit to raising them. And the obvious, that Edna committed suicide. I know that it's just a fictional story but I've been married for 20 years and love my children. My family are my whole life. If I didn't have them, what would be the point in living? I would never ever think of suicide. How selfish. Edna's children needed her. Divorce your husband but don't leave your kids by committing suicide. I'm talking about the story as if were true or something but I could see this story happening in today's society.

None the less, this book was excellent! I'm so glad that it was suggested to me by my daughter. Thanks Jess! I'm on my way to the book store to find me another classic. I'm so excited, I wonder which book I'll begin next. Whatever it is, I'll be sure to post it here on my blog so you'll know to.

Happy reading everyone!

The Great Gatsby

I thought that this book was just fair in my book. I was disappointed with this read. I thought the plot was to basic and to lame, quite frankly. The story really did nothing for me. It was just about some people living in New York.
What I did like about the story was that the author kept you in suspense of who Jay Gatsby was to like the middle of the book. And then he was introduced into the story and you had no idea it was coming. Clever.
Another part that I did not like about the book was that I had a hard time figuring out what character was speaking in the book. I would pick up the book the next day and wonder who in the hell that character was and when did that character come into play? Did I miss something the other day? I would have to go back a couple pages and find out who was speaking and then try to find where that character came into the story. I never really had to do that before. And there wasn't even that many characters. Wuthering Heights had a lot of characters. But with careful reading, you were able to still follow. But this book, I was finding that part very frustrating. It's one of those books that you really do have to read a good chunk before you can put it down for a day. It wasn't easy to pick back up and follow along.
And then the ending was like that to. I had a hard time understanding what happened to Jay Gatsby. Who died? Was it Gatsby or another character but then the author made it clear who it was. So maybe that part in the end was intended to be that way. Who knows. Only F. Scott Fitzgerald I guess. I'm glad that I borrowed this book and didn't have to pay for it though. This book was $14 bucks. Some of the classic books can be fairly pricey.
But none the less. I probably would read another one of his books. He is suppose to be a great writer. It was a nice change to have a classic story taking place in America. And Fitzgerald is an American writer.
Like I said. I don't think that this was one of my favorites this year but I'm glad I read it. Now I can say that I had read it. And everyone should. Just for the fact that it is a classic.
So there you have it. My little book review on the ole' Great Gatsby. On to the next book!

Happy reading, Anne

Edith Stein

After I read 'The Diary of A Young Girl, by Anne Frank, I wanted to get started reading another book that has been on hold for a few months now. In the back of my mind, I remembered that I had a Edith Stein book that I have never read. I didn't know if I wanted to read anymore, at the time being, on WWII. The subject is hard for me to understand and so damn sad. But I knew, if I didn't read it now, I probably would not had picked it up any time soon. Now I am so glad that I did decide to pick up the book to read it.

Before I finished this book though, I watched Schindler's List.

That came out when I was in my 20's so I really wanted to watch it again to see if I could learn more about WWII, and perhaps to try and understand it better. Come to find out, this was a true story. I know that WWII is a true story but I mean the movie Schindler's List is a true story! There was a German man named Oscar Schindler and it is true that he made a List of Jews. He did his best to make sure that these Jews 'listed' were to come to work for him in his factory so that the Jews wouldn't have to go to the concentration camps. This guy was hero! Although at the end of the movie, he did have to run away when the war ended because he still was seen as a war criminal who made the Jews work for free. But this saved these Jews lives.

Schindler was making money off of the Jews and was very rich. I don't really understand that part. And in turn he, would give some Jews gifts to give to the Nazi personnel to remove a Jew from harms way, if the Nazi seen that a particular Jew needed to die or was upsetting the Nazi's in anyway. Removing the Jew to Schindler's factory for safety. There was one part when Schindler talked privately to a Jew woman who was frightened for her life. I forgot his name, but some Nazi officer kept a Jew woman for himself to do the domestic affairs. The woman says that the Nazi officer shoots woman for no reason and was so afraid that he would kill her. Schindler told her that the officer 'liked' her and that he wouldn't do that. Schindler basically told her that she knows what she has to do to keep safe. Schindler did what he could do for the woman. Which there wasn't much he could do.

The movie was almost 3 1/2 hours long, but I'm so glad I watched it again. Another movie comes to mind that I would like to see again, is 'The Pianist'. That to is about WWII. If there are any other movies that you would like to recommend, please do. I would really like to watch them.

Any how. Getting on with my book review on Edith Stein.

I am so glad that I did pick up this book. I learned more about WWII. Didn't think I would. I also was a little hesitant to pick up this book because it's one of my Catholic books and I wasn't in the mood to read it. But I thought that I would pick it up to read it as a history book and not so much as a Catholic book. And it did seem to work that way. Although being Catholic, helped me understand more of the Catholic side to the story. I was thinking that I wouldn't probably write a review on this book, because it wasn't a classic book. But now that I have read it, it definitely is a classic book and everyone should read it.

Edith Stein was a Jew who became a Catholic nun. The story tells you how upset and her family was about her becoming Catholic. Especially at a time of what was going on in the world! World War II. Jews seen that Christians were their persecutors. The Stein family felt very betrayed by Edith. Edith Stein's Mother was very upset about her youngest daughter wanting to become Catholic.

But before Edith choose to follow the Catholic faith, she first went through years of education and was quite smart. She was a very, highly educated woman. Very intelligent.

In my opinion, that is what lead Edith to the Catholic faith. She was always seeking the truth in her education. So it would seem fitting that she would go down that path. Even if it meant upsetting her family. Her whole life was based on finding the truth. But her family were very dear to her to her heart.

Edith even wanted to become a nun but didn't tell her mother for like 12 years. But then Edith knew that she couldn't wait any longer. She had to be honest with her family. She went home to announce to her family what her plans were. Edith's Mom was very hurt. The last three years of Edith's Mom's life, Edith was living at the convent and did not see her Mom before she died. Edith was very upset about this. They did keep some contact through letters but not many.

A Bishop stood up for the Jews and told the Nazi group how they shouldn't treat the Jews this way. Just because of that, the Nazi's had all Catholics who were Jews arrested in that particular area. And and you can guess, the fate of that instance got Edith Stein arrested. Edith Stein's sister Rosa became a nun to after their mother died. The two sisters were arrested together. The two sister were sent right to the death camps. They were told that they were going to be showered off for lice and to fold and lay their clothes neatly, so they could pick them up after the shower. Well, there was no shower. They were gassed and killed. The book does get somewhat gruesome after this but I'm not going to write about those horrendous details. It doesn't need to be talked about here.

Pope John Paul II declared Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) a saint in 1987. The Stein family was invited and they all attended. Even to this day, the Stein family struggles with the fact that Edith Stein is now a Saint in the Catholic church.

In this book, four woman, Edith Stein, Simone Weil, Anne Frank and Etty Hillesum have all been said to have kept a diary during their times of struggle doing WWII. I believe that they are all Jewish except for Edith Stein who became Catholic. I know Anne Frank was because I just read her diary. I just found it kind of neat because I to keep a diary.

The whole Holocaust topic is just so sad. But I did give this book four stars for very good. Even though it is sad. We all need to know the history of WWII so that we can pass it down to our children. It does need to be remembered. I just want to say that what happened to the Jews during WWII was devastating. But it wasn't just an injustice to the Jews. It was a injustice for the whole human race. We all are made from one God. No matter what there religion or beliefs. No one deserves to be treated the way that the Jewish people were.

The book reminds me that Pope John Paul II suffered himself from the Nazi's when they occupied Polish. Wasn't he in hiding to? I thought I read that somewhere. Maybe I can read up on that again some other day. So that helped the communication with the Catholics and the Jewish people. Also during his first trip to Poland as Pope, back in 1979, he visited Auschwitz where Edith Stein died. It was the first time a Pope had visited a concentration camp. Also Pope John Paul II was the first pope to have entered a synagogue in 1986 where he prayed.

Edith Stein reminded me of myself following the Catholic faith as an adult. I really enjoyed learning about WWII but also learning about her as a person. She was brave and courage's. Always kept her cool under pressure and fear for that matter. Always wanted to help people first before herself. She came to love the Lord with all of her heart, soul and mind. She says that prayer kept her faith strong so that she could remain close to the Lord at the most difficult time in history of her era. I'm so glad that Pope John Paul II made Teresa Benedicta of the Cross a Saint.

The Diary of A Young Girl

Wow. What do I say after this read? I've heard of Anne Frank. I know it was some how related to WWII. Didn't really know much of her story or her diary for that matter. As I got closer to the end of the book, I naturally was wondering what happens at the end? Did she and her family get caught? And I started to get a funny feeling that the end of the book wasn't going to end happy. I had a hard time finishing this book, because I just didn't want to know this young girls fate and her family's for that matter. But I knew I had to finish it. What was said in the book was something that had already happened.

After the diary, there was a section at the end of the book about the aftermath of what happened to Anne Frank and her family. Yeah, it did not end good. It also gave you a little history of the decades leading up the to WWII. I have to admit, that I don't know to much about WWII. It has a lot to do with with the fact, that I just don't understand a lot about it. Even when I read about the history of WWII, I admit that it's very confusing to me. But I try to understand it.

One of the big questions that were coming to mind while reading this book was...where were the Americans? Why were the Jewish people suffering like this? Why weren't the Americans helping them? From my understanding, they got into the war much later.

But anyway, I do have to get to my review about the book. This blog is about book reviews and not about history lessons. But how could I not add something to this post considering the dynamics of what's behind this girls diary.

I hope that my book review does not upset anyone. But I just want to give my review strictly on the book, and not so much of the sadness of what happened to the Jewish people, Anne Frank and the Frank family.

I thought that the diary kind of dragged on in some areas. Also she was very opinionated with the others she was in hiding with. She had her family, another family, and another friend who was close to the family. But I guess being in hiding for two years is pretty much what you focus on, each other. And even herself. She was very much attuned to how she behaved as well. What was right, what was wrong. When she acted poorly, she said that it was because the older people in the house didn't know who she really was. Anne also felt that she couldn't trust anyone to how she really wanted to act and be. Anne felt that she had to put up this other persona. The person Anne really wanted to be, she said she couldn't because the others would think that something was wrong with her. So she had to go along and act like she didn't have a care in the world.

There were times in Anne's diary where she questioned her love for her mother. Personally, I think it was that she was a teenager and she needed to be her own person other than her parents child. And how does a teenager get to do that when their all trapped in the same hiding space for over two years? 25 months. Anne felt very alone, which is understandable when they were all in hiding. There was another couple staying in hiding with the Franks and they had a son about two or three years older than Anne which soon blossomed into a crush. The boys name was Peter. But after some time, Anne had to admit that she didn't really care for Peter. He was to needy and wasn't really coming into his own manhood. Anne also said that she found him rather boring. He didn't like to communicate his feeling to her and that frustrated Anne tremendously. Because she wanted him to open up more, so that their relationship could have more meaning. Although Anne says in the diary that they have talked about some very intimate details together and that she would not be writing about it in her diary. There was even kissing among the two of them. I think personally, that they forced this crush to make the days more interesting. These people were very bored.

Anne was a very, bright, smart, brave, courageous, intelligent, and so full of hope. This young girl surely is an inspiration to me. When I look at my daily life and look at the hell that she and her family and friends had to go through. It makes one feel grateful. And she to was very grateful for hers and her family's safety at the time they were in hiding. She felt a tremendous guilt for living comfortably in hiding compared the her fellow Jewish community, being lead off to die. And Anne's family were struggling for good food and had poor living conditions. And pretty much, the non stop bombing over the 25 months they were in hiding. But Anne was so grateful for what they did have. Anne also writes in her diary how grateful she was for her family's friends who would bring the family in hiding, food. Sometimes treats and flowers. These people risked their own lives to help the two families in hiding. Anne was tremendously grateful to them.

On the book it self, I gave this book four stars...very good. I'm just judging the book and not what happened to the two families. Because there is nothing to judge among the sheer hell the Jewish people had to go through. At the end of this book, it said that an estimated six million Jewish people were murdered. That number is astonishing to me. Six million people! Men, woman and children. Where is the justice for these people? Where? A little of my Catholic side it coming out; I'm surprised that God just didn't end the whole damn earth than. What if that were the Catholics being rounded up like cattle to be slaughtered? Or some other religion? Or for no religion at all. Maybe because of the color of your hair or eyes. Maybe there won't be any justice in this life time. And I will just leave it at that.

There are so many excerpts that I want to type but I can't possibly type them all. I'll just have to choose a couple.

Here's the first...

When someone comes in from outside, with the wind in their clothes and the cold on their faces, then I could bury my head in the blankets to stop myself thinking: "When will we be granted the privilege of smelling fresh air?" And because I must not bury my head in the blankets, but the reverse-I must keep my head high and be brave, the thoughts will come, not once, but oh, countless times. Believe me, if you have been shut up for a year and a half, it can get too much for you some days. In spite of all justice and thankfulness, you can't crush your feelings. Cycling, dancing, whistling, looking out into the world, feeling young, to know that I'm free-that's what I long for, still, I mustn't show it, because I sometimes think if all eight of us began to pity ourselves, or went about with discontented faces, where would it lead us? I sometimes ask myself, "Would anyone, either Jew or non-Jew, understand this about me, that I am simply a young girl badly in need of some rollicking fun?" I don't know, and I couldn't talk about it to anyone, because then I know I should cry. Crying can bring such relief.

Here's the second excerpt...

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of Nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.

Third excerpt...

A thought:

We miss so much here, so very much and for so long now: I miss it too, just as you do. I'm not talking of outward things, for we are looked after in that way; no, I mean the inward things. Like you, I long for freedom and fresh air, but I believe now that we have ample compensation for our privations. I realized this quite suddenly when I sat in front of the window this morning. I mean inward compensation.

When I looked outside right into the depth of Nature and God, then I was happy, really happy. And Peter, so long as I have that happiness here, the joy in nature, health and a lot more besides, all the while one has that,

one can always recapture happiness.

Riches can all be lost, but that happiness in your own heart can only be veiled, and it will still bring out happiness again, as long as you live. As long as you can look fearlessly up into the heavens, as long as you know that you are pure within, and that you will still find happiness.

I don't know about you, but these excerpts were very touching to me. In Anne's diary, she says, "Although I tell you a lot, still, even so, you only know very little of our lives." Before I end this post, I have to just add one more excerpt...

Again and again I ask myself, would it not have been better for us all if we had not gone into hiding, and if we were dead now and not going through all this misery, especially as we shouldn't be running our protectors into danger any more. But we all recoil from these thoughts too, for we still love life; we haven't yet forgotten the voice of nature, we still hope, hope about everything. I hope something will happen soon now, shooting if need be-nothing can crush us more that this restlessness. Let the end come, even if it is hard: then at least we shall know whether we are finally going to win through or go under." (Anne Frank always ends her entries writing...) Yours, Anne

Of Mice and Men

This was a short novel. I pretty much read this book in one day. I had this book for awhile and I'm glad I picked it up and read it. Now I can say that I read it.

I gave this book a good/average rating. I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read. It had some disturbing parts about killing animals and then another human being. And then Lennie getting killed himself by his own friend George.

I was sort of surprised of some of the details of the book when I had read the spark notes afterward. It said that there were signs in the book of Lennie's fate. By Candy's dog being killed by some other man, instead of himself. The dog being killed would be Lennie. And the man killing the dog would come to be George killing Lennie. I didn't get that connection when I was reading this story.

I did not care for the ending. I guess because George ended up killing his friend Lennie. I kind of got a feel that it was leading up to the fact that Lennie was going to get shot but I didn't think that his ole pal George would it.

It did tell in the story that Lennie went into hiding at place where George had told him to go if he ever did anything really bad. George told Lennie that he would meet him there in the brush, when the time came.

At the end of the story when the men suspected that Lennie killed Curley's wife, they all went after him with guns. They told George that he was to go with them so that they wouldn't think that he was involved with the killing himself.

So when it was told at the end of the story that George had met up with Lennie in the shrubs, and that there were the sounds of the men coming up from the background, I assumed that George was told to go on ahead and point Lennie out to them at the place of the hiding and that they would shoot Lennie. But as we know, George told Lennie to look over across the river and that he would tell him a story again about the two of them finding their own land.

Then as Lennie was gazing over the river and listening to the story, George shot Lennie in the back of the head. I wish it would of been one of the other men and not George. Because George was suppose to be his friend. But I didn't write the story.

This is the first book that I read from John Steinbeck. Would reading this book make me want to run out to read another one of his book's? Probably not. But there is another book of his that I've been wanting to read, The Grapes of Wrath. Maybe one day that book will come across my path. I have several books that I have to read first because their borrowed from my daughter.

So there you have it. My brief book review. I hope my book reviews don't deter anyone from reading this book. I still think that this is a classic book and it's a must read! Also this book was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. So you really do want to read the book.

Please comment. I would love to hear from you. What's your take on the book?

Happy reading....Anne

The Story of My Life/ Helen Keller

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
My rating *****Excellent.
~~~~~~~
I absolutely loved this biography of Helen Keller. This is the best book that I have read this year, hands down.

I love biography's. I have also read a lot on the lives of the saints. The words of Helen Keller touched the depths of my soul. Wow, how do I even begin this book review. I highlighted a lot of quotes and things that touched me in this book. I just finished this book to so this book is fresh in my mind. If you have not read this book yet, (I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't) please do so. You will carry this story with you for the rest of your life. I was even thinking about reading it to my young son.
This story was mostly what Ms. Keller accomplished in her life up to college age. It wasn't about feeling sorry for her because she was deaf and blind. It was about what she and her teacher Ms. Sullivan had to endure to fulfill Ms. Keller's dream and being and educated woman. And an educated woman she was! She was accepted into Radcliffe! Ms. Keller didn't want to be known as a dumb, deaf and blind girl. She admits that she was out of control when she was a young child because she said she felt frustrated because she was just in darkness and was very frustrating that she couldn't communicate to others. And her fits were the only thing she could do at the time. Ms. Sullivan taught Ms. Keller to communicate by writing words on the palm of her hand. Ms. Sullivan placed the doll into Helen's grasp and spelled out the word doll into the palm of her hand. That was the first word Helen Keller learned. And she understood the word and caught on easily. But the task was very overwhelming to Ms. Sullivan. My husband and I took turns writing words into each others palm and we couldn't understand what each of us were trying to write. In fact, we were way off. Try it. It's sounds easy, but it's not. Ms. Sullivan did her best to spell out whole lectures into Helen's palm in helping Helen into Radcliffe. The story was about Helen Keller obviously, but when you read about Ms. Sullivan, a few words came to mind. A hidden saint, behind Ms. Keller.
Half the book was letters Helen Keller had sent to her friends and family. You could see how much improved they become as time went on. Her letters were so pure and innocent like a child, even during her teenage and college years.
Helen Keller met a lot of distinguished people. Mark Twain being a friend of a friend.
I learned that Helen Keller was very educated. I also learned that her younger years was in the late 1800's. I didn't realize her life went back that far.
What I didn't like was that the book didn't get into to much detail about how she lived with being deaf and blind. Also this book did not talk about her whole life. It just went up to where she got into Radcliffe. At the end of the book, I did notice that Ms. Keller wrote another book about her later years. I would really like to read that one.
A few short excerpts;
Helen Keller stood outside after a snowstorm..."The rays of the sun fell upon the trees, so that the twigs sparkled like diamonds and dropped in showers when we touched them. So dazzling was the light, it penetrated even the darkness that veils my eyes."
..."We would get onto the tabagon, a boy would give us a shove, and off we went! Plunging through drifts, leaping hollows, swooping down upon the lake, we would shoot across it's gleaming surface to the opposite bank. What joy! What exhilarating madness! For one wild, glad moment we snapped the chain that binds us to earth, and joining hands with the winds we felt ourselves divine!"
Here Helen Keller talks about every ones struggles, not just hers..."But we keep on trying because we know that others have succeeded, and we are not willing to acknowledge defeat."
Here Helen Keller mentions how hard Radcliffe made it for her to take the pre exams to get into Radcliffe..."But if they unintentionally placed obstacles in my way, I have the consolation of knowing that I overcame them all."...I loved this! You go girl!
"Consequently, I did not do so well as I should have done, if Teacher had been allowed to read the Algebra and Geometry to me. But you must not think I blame any one. Of course they did not realize how difficult and perplexing they were making the examinations for me. How could they-they can see and hear, and I suppose they could not understand matters from my point of view".......
"For, after all, every one who wishes to gain true knowledge must climb the Hill Difficulty alone, and since there is no royal road to the summit, I must zigzag it in my own way."
"Knowledge is power."
"I loved 'Little Woman' because it gave me a sense of kinship with girls and boys who could see and hear."
"I use to say I did not like arithmetic very well, but now I have changed my mind. I see what a good and useful study it is, though I must confess my mind wanders from it sometimes! for, nice and useful as arithmetic is, it is not as interesting as a beautiful poem or a lovely story."
I'm taking this from a letter that she had written..."but dear Sir, a true soldier does not acknowledge defeat before the battle."
Look how beautiful Helen Keller's hand writing is. Her hand writing is better than mine!

As I mentioned, Helen Keller did get into Radcliffe। She and her Teacher, Ms. Sullivan went on many trips, seen many places and met a lot of people. Helen Keller mentions that once in New York, she visited Irving Washington's Sleepy Hollow. I read Sleepy Hollow this past summer. I wrote a post about how it's a real place in New York in my other blog. The link will take you there if your interested. http://peekaboostreet.blogspot.com/2009/08/country-tea-in-sleepy-hollow.html
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was inside a short story book that is shown in the previous post before this one।

I'm so happy that I came across this book at this time during the beginning of my reading on classic literature. Because I'm reading classic literature for more knowledge. So this book came at the perfect time for me.
Helen Keller was deaf and blind and was and is and will probably always be, way more intelligent than I am. What an inspiration she is to me.
I will end this post with another quote from Helen Keller.
"I am content that others should be wiser than I."
Happy reading and have a great day! Anne

On My Way To Radcliffe...Not

This first post will be a little bit about myself.
I was into Disney movies. Especially the classic ones that I did not watch as a child for some reason or another. Dumbo, etc.
Then I got into old movies. I watched the movies that I've always heard of but never got around to watching for whatever reason. Singing In the Rain, etc.
Then I found that I really had a love for old vintage things.
But soon found a new love for thrifty shopping. I could go shopping at vintage antique shops for hundreds of dollars, or I can buy cute thrifty stuff I like for just a few bucks! That is were I found this book....

The Treasure of American Short Stories. I bought this for only $2.99. And what a treasure this book truely was for me. Because it opened up my mind. And after I read some short stories out of this book, I went to the book store and picked up some classic literature. Books that I should have probably read by now in my life, but never did. I'm 40 years old. That is the focus of my reading right now.
I thought that Disney created Snow White but it was written by the Grimm's brother's. It's in the Grimm's Fairy Tale book that I bought. This brings to mind what someone close to me told me. "Everything comes from books." The not so popular, old classic black and white movies probably came from books. I'm starting to learn that now.
Am I on my way to Radcliffe? No probably not. Wouldn't want to be, I don't think. I'm just a high school drop out. Then I married a wonderful man and had beautiful kids. And yes I'm just a housewife. And all my spare time is going into my reading. I feel like I'm really studying. Ugh, I hated school. But don't tell my kids that! But I can teach myself with all this reading. My family laughs at me in all fun because I'm horrible in math. I told my hubby that I want to teach myself to be a math wizard one day. Hey, you just never know! "Knowledge is power."...Helen Keller.
And this is how this blog came to be. I thought that I could write reviews on all of these classic books that I have read and the ones yet to come through my hands.
I'd love to hear your comments to my posts as time goes by.
If I'm ever incorrect on anything, please feel free to point that out in a kindly manner. Hey, I'm learning to. Just like everyone else. And I would like to visit your blogs as well.
Happy reading! Anne