Eat Pray Love

{via.}

Or, Get Out of My Head Elizabeth Gilbert.

When I first wrote that, I originally wrote “Get out of my heart,” which is maybe what I actually meant, but I’m not quite sure yet, having put down this book literally less than ten minutes ago (as I write this).

To say that I devoured this book would be appropriate, especially given part of the title. To say that I breathed it in, examined it, and exhaled the unnecessary parts, would be accurate.

I put off reading Eat Pray Love for a long time. I heard of it when it was first released, but being something like fifteen or sixteen at the time, was almost definitely too young for it. I would have comprehended the plot, certainly, I might have maybe related to certain aspects of the book, but certainly not in the way I did now.

Which is to say that the entire time I read it (in under 24 hours – I paused only to help a good friend pick out an outfit for a wedding and to get just enough sleep to function), I was thinking, “GET OUT OF MY HEAD ELIZABETH GILBERT.”

Which is, really, the highest compliment I can give this book. Any book. This has happened to me a few times before, namely with Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. All three of these books have made me alternately laugh, cry, and be overwhelmed with a sense of companionship and of meeting a soul-friend, which if you’ve never had a soul-friend, someone who reached down into the deepest parts of you and met you on a level of yourself you didn’t know existed, then hope or pray you find one soon.

The way Eat Pray Love made me sit up and go “Yes – someone else gets it,” even when I’m not quite sure what it is, astounded me. No, I haven’t been divorced. No, I haven’t chilled with a medicine man in Bali or lived in an Ashram in India or gone on a No Carb Left Behind experiment in Italy, but I have cried my heart out on my floor multiple nights in a row and lost myself entirely in a relationship and been heartbroken and bitter and desperate and wondered how the fuck I got to where I am. How Liz Gilbert goes about acknowledging these parts of her life and then solving them on her own terms is wonderful in an indescribable way.

That’s a lie. Little in this world is indescribable. All else I’ll choose to say though is this: Buy this book now. Put it on your bookshelf, remember that it’s there. Read it someday when you’re going through a time of self-discovery and change, when you need someone to be a soul-friend, even if you’ve never actually met.

{These opinions are my own. No one paid or asked me to write this and I mean every word I say about this book.}

Earth Day, Dr. Seuss Style

As many of you know, I'm reading a list of 50 books that have been banned for political, religious, or ridiculous reasons over time. Books like Forever, by Judy Blume (my review) because they detailed a girl's decision about whether or not to become sexually active, or The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, which is about a battle between God and Satan through two men (my review).

Well, I just recently read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, which was banned because it's an allegory for poor treatment of Earth and loggers in California didn't like that so much. It's a story about the greedy Onceler who comes to the Lorax's territory and begins cutting down truffula trees, using the tops to make "thneeds" out of them, something *everyone* needs. He goes out of control, cutting down all the trees, polluting the air, and destroying the habitats of various types of fantastical creatures. The Lorax tries to warn him that he's hurting everyone numerous times, but the Onceler goes right on with his industry. Finally, the truffula trees are gone and everyone leaves, and all he's left with is a pile of rocks that say "Unless..."

Unless we do something. Yeah, this is an Earth Day post. I'm not a hippie-tree-hugger by any means, guys. I'm not going to move into a tree once I get to UC Berkeley. But I think that even when this book was published in 1971, Dr. Seuss brought up a good point. If we're not careful, we'll ruin this Earth for future generations. So, let's do our part. I'm not asking you to bomb a manufacturing plant (in fact, please don't do that), but let's use ceramic mugs instead of plastic cups for our coffee in the morning and carpool to work/school/the movies. I'm not saying that we should ban cars or wear only hemp or whatever. I don't know how much I believe in global warming (I'm not a scientist, I can't look at those figures for myself and draw my own conclusions), but I know for sure that the coral reefs off the coast of Australia are dying, and I know for sure that we're deforesting the Amazon at an alarming rate, and those are beautiful creatures, God's creatures, that need a place to live too.

Think about that today. When our kids are born, and their kids, I want the world to be just as beautiful as it is today, if not more so. I don't want it to look dark and sad like it does where the Onceler lives.

A Little Review For You

So, as you guys know by now, part of my 101 in 1001 list is to finish reading this list of 50 banned books. And I'm already 21 in! Get excited. This past week, I finally finished reading The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, and let me tell you: it was intense. I won't lie, it was not an easy read. I know summer is coming up, but this is not beach material, people! If you choose to read this, read it when you have time to actually sit down and think through what you're reading and understand it.

This is a story about God and the devil, set in a magical realm where they fight a battle of sorts through the fantastical experiences of the two main characters. Saladin Chamcha and Gibreel Farishta are both Muslim actors who are on a place that happens to be hijacked on it's way to England. Their adventure begins as they fall to Earth together after the plane blows up, landing off the coast of England, miraculously alive but greatly transformed. The book takes on a mystical element after that, telling mainly the story of Chamcha and Farishta and their lives after the terrorist hijacking, but also numerous other subplots that intertwine, confusing a reader that doesn't pay attention carefully. But that's what Rushdie wanted.

The book utilizes contemporary issues, basing characters off of real people and places. The title refers to what are known as the satanic verses, a group of alleged Qur'anic that allowed for prayers to be made to three pagan goddesses, Allat, Uzza, and Manat. This is what makes the book controversial: Muslims consider these references blasphemous. The book was banned in India, caused unrest in the UK, and was the subject of an all out riot in Pakistan in 1989. Following the riot, the Ayatollah Ruholla Komeini, Supreme Leader of Iran (and a Shi'a Muslim scholar) issued a fatwa against Rushdie, meaning that any good Muslim was technically supposed to do whatever possible to kill him or ensure he was killed. Hot. Damn. Of course, the British police weren't going to allow this to happen and Rushdie remains safe to this day. The same can't be said of all his publishers though -- the fatwa was against them as well, and several have been injured and even killed because of this book. Komeini has since passed away and the hype seems to have died down some, though the book is still banned in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Thailand.

Rushdie, honestly, is a brilliant story-teller. There were parts I had to reread to understand, but I think that's more a tribute to his genius and says more about how easily distracted I am than anything. Definitely add this to your To Read list. I've already added the rest of his novels. :)

Weekend Whoop!

Yeah, that's right, I'm still continuing this one! Join in, Aggie or not! (If you do, leave a link to your post in the comment section!) Whoooop! = RED ASS AWESOME EVENTS.
Tsssss = Lame events that sound like things t-sips would do.

Friday: Finished the obnoxious amount of tests I had last week (though I definitely tried to write my essay in the same style I write my blog entries... HELLO, FAILING GRADE), then went to Houston to see my lovely friend The Cynical Optimist (by the way, if you haven't clicked on the link to read her blog yet, even though I've mentioned her DOZENS OF TIMES YOU LAZY BUMS, you should). And we had a part-ay. Good times. Whoooop! I also got to sort-of meet my penpal from AUSTRALIA, Zoe MacLean, though it wasn't so much 'meet' as 'exchange emails and addresses.' EXCITING, RIGHT? Yeah, I know, you're jealous. Thanks, Teacups in Peony. :) Whoooop!

Saturday: The Cynical Optimist and I hung out at Agora, a really delicious coffee/wine bar, then went thrift store shopping. :) Hello, favorite things ever. Whoooop! I had to drive back to CS that afternoon though, which was NOT COOL. Tsssss! But I got to hang out with a bunch of people that I normally don't get to because they all go to school back home but were in CS for the weekend, so it evened out. :) I did get some weirdbad (yeah, weirdbad, all one word. Go with it.) news that night though. That'll have to be it's own post later though.

Sunday: I studied all morning, (tsssss), but then I went to lunch with aforementioned friends-from-back-home at a really good Sisch-Kabob (SP?!) place that I had never tried, but should have tried much sooner. We hung out, I found out that one of them has had a secret girlfriend for three years (UHM, WHAT?! I'm still in shock), it was all around good. Whoooop! Unfortunately, Mr. Man's dog ran away this afternoon, so we're a little bummed about that. Tsssss! I'm hoping she turns up though. I also always get together with some girls from Phi Lamb at 8 on Sundays for a Bible study, which I am LOVING. If you're looking for one to do, try Bad Girls Of The Bible, by Liz Curtis Higgins. It's a fun read, and very enlightening. :)

How were y'all's weekends?

Forever, Judy Blume

Today, I sat down and read Judy Blume's Forever. It's number three on this list of 50 banned books that last September I added to my list of 101 in 1001. :) I'm going to be right up front with you -- I didn't really enjoy it. It wasn't bad, or anything; it was a good story, one most girls can relate to. But it was definitely written to be aimed to young teenagers (we're talking 15, 16, maybe 17), and definitely written with a low vocabulary so anyone can relate. Complaining aside though, I can tell why it was banned. Beyond the few drug references and the underage drinking (though, I don't know if 18 was already underage when the book was written back in the 70s), the book deals very bluntly and heavily with sex. The story is about a girl's first love -- they meet as seniors in high school, fall in love, and start talking about having sex. He already has, but she's still a virgin and wants to wait. Most of the rest of the book details their parents' interference, how their physical relationship develops and her thoughts on whether or not she wants to have sex. Of course, the fact that they're seniors in high school comes into play, and a big conflict (if you can call it that) is how they'll stay together after graduation.

All in all, that book is very plain-jane in terms of the style of writing. Any senior in high school could have written it straight from her diary. I don't know if I'd recommend it, except to maybe a girl already on Katherine's train of thought who needs advice but won't listen to her parents or any other real person.

Have any of y'all read it?

1066: The Year of Conquest

Okay, so I'm such a nerd that I actually enjoy reading textbooks. And you know what? I'm PROUD of that.

But, this is one y'all should read too if you have even the least bit of interest in English history -- kings, queens, court intrigue, wars, etc.

It technically isn't a textbook, though my English History class is using it as one. It's a tiny little book (think 4 by 7 inches) of 201 pages that is so interesting I finished it in two days. It's called 1066: The Year of Conquest (but you could have guessed that from the title of this entry) by David Howarth. He's funny, bluntly honest about the messier, lustful, dangerous, and hilarious parts of history, and makes it interesting. It isn't all memorizing dates (because it happens all in one year) or locations, and he delves into how people actually acted in 1066. People in this book have a personality and you'll find yourself passionately hating some and falling in love with others. You'll hardly remember you're learning anything.

Home Again

So, I'm settling back in at home and it feels great. I'm back to working "too much" (I love my job, honestly), writing, drinking waaaay too much coffee (I've been to starbucks/Buon Giornio's four times in the past 24 hours), and just being happy. I'm not doing so well on that list of 50 banned books that I wanted to read, but I have been reading a lot. I read The Prince by Machiavelli, which Cyndi let me borrow, I'm almost done with Jackie after Jack: Portrait of the Lady by Christopher Andersen, which has been a great book about the mysterious Jackie O. Both books are definitely ones I'd recommend, especially if you're interested in politics at all. I also, without consulting the list, ordered blink by Malcolm Gladwell and Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J Dubner. So I'll probably start on those tonight while I'm working from 2:30 - 9. My friend Kevin, the one who was nice enough to give me a ride home on Saturday, is also going to start helping me learn guitar soon, so that's really awesome. Maybe this time I'll actually learn. How great would that be? I found some of the people I met randomly on vacation on facebook, so now we're all friends and hopefully I'll be able to keep in touch with them.

On top of all the wonderful reading and working and getting paid (I forgot to go deposit my paycheck! Dang it!), I've been going to this Bible study recently that my friend Jenny started, which has been really great. It's been cool to have a group of friends I can talk God with because not all of my friends are religious so bringing it up can occasionally turn kind of awkward. I've been having a lot of conversations about God with a lot of people recently that I would have never expected to talk with me about it though, so maybe it's a sign that I need to be more comfortable talking about it.

Well, it's time to grab lunch and head to work. Hooray. Have a great day, everyone. :)

Seize the day

I know I’ve mentioned this before – carpe diem and the whole idea that goes along with that – but I feel like I haven’t been living it recently. If you’re friends with me on Facebook or have been seeing my tweets recently, you know that I’ve spent most of the past two weeks counting down to when I’ll be back in College Station. It took me until just now to realize that that is not living in the moment. I always say that one should be grateful for what they have and live every day to the fullest, but I’ve spent the greater part of the past fourteen days doing exactly the opposite of that – I’ve been going to bed too early, sleeping too late, spending too much of my time on Facebook, working too much, playing too little, worrying too much, being outside too little, planning too much, having fun too little, counting down too often. I’ve been living too little.

I won’t be long and drawn out (it’s time to go out and play!) – but I’m saying right here right now that I’m making goals for everyday – I’m not planning, but committing. I know I won’t be able to accomplish all of them everyday, and I never know what order I’ll do them in, that’s for sure, but I’m going to try.

- Read a little bit of a book everyday. Related: try to read this list of 50 banned books by the
end of the summer.
- Learn something new everyday.
- Take a picture everyday.
- Have fun everyday.
- Do something for someone else everyday.
- Be impulsive.
- Work hard and play hard.
- Write everyday.
- Talk to a family member everyday.
- Read the good book everyday.

I know things will interfere – there will be days at the lake and vacations and parties and sicknesses and other things that will take away from one or more of those things – but I’ll classify most of those things as having fun and playing hard and let them slide. I’m going to live and learn.

Carpe diem.

(photo thanks to http://treehugger.com)