Different is Good!

If you’re like me, in high school you were forced to read books that you were told were “classics” like Billy Bud or Silas Marner.  And, you suffered through them, mostly hating them.  You may have been one of the lucky few who got to read something close to interesting, but for the most part you were completely turned off.  (I remember tucking my Stephen King paperback inside my English book during class reading time.)  Poe and Shakespeare were the only ones who caught my imagination.  If I am completely honest, the only reason Shakespeare got a second glance was because my 10^th grade English teacher told us to look for the bawdy jokes in “Romeo and Juliet.”  Brilliant man!  So, I tried really hard not to include all the “classics” that most kids read in high school (and hate) and stick to those that we read, or wish we read, in our childhood, adolescence and adulthood that make us think, wince, laugh out loud, reminisce, cry and generally enjoy. To that end, you’ll find my list pretty eclectic (and long!) but one that can be easily adaptable to any age group. 

Here it is already week three of 2012, and I’m finding the best way to end the day is to read to one or more of my kids, especially those books that I find so comforting and wonderful myself.  But, in keeping with the spirit of trying something new, I’ve tried hard to put in loads of children’s literature that I haven’t read myself (which is quite a lot, since I was obsessed with the occult, horror and sci-fi when I was a kid).  This week’s choices are a result of this conscious decision to go in a different direction.  Consider The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. 

First off, you’re right! “The Waste Land” is not a book, but a poem.  It’s included on my list for several reasons, and the first of which is this: T.S. Eliot was a tortured soul and a literary genius, whose great works are often hidden behind his most famous work, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”  This is a shame, because Eliot is so much more, I’ve found.  Second, “The Waste Land” is often quoted in other works and I’ve always been curious about the poem, but not enough to actually read and dissect it.  Third, I’ve always stood in awe of those people who have had a classical education (learned in Latin and Greek among other cool and equally daunting subjects) and used that education throughout their art with such mastery that a horrible feeling of complete ignorance overcomes me whenever I encounter it, so I wanted to “crack the code” so to speak. Finally, this blog is supposed to stimulate people (namely myself) to more critical thought and nothing, I believe, takes more brain power than poetry!



How creepy is this cover?

Now, you may be remembering the long lectures and boring, drool-inducing explanations that I, too, was subjected to and unfortunately, ended up being mind-numbed to and turned off of classic fiction, poetry, plays and essays.  This was a big hurdle for me to overcome.  But, I found the most wonderful website to work through this poem, and if you decide to read “The Waste Land,” which I fervently hope you do, please go here http://world.std.com/~raparker/exploring/thewasteland/table/explore6.html to have it all become crystal clear in an easy to read, easy to understand format!  I found out so much that I didn’t know and, even though I didn’t subscribe to the couple of critically accepted theories behind the poem, I learned enough to come up with my own theory, which can I won’t elaborate on in this blog (I don’t want to influence any future reader with my opinions). I’ll say this, though:  what may look like a bunch of nonsense strewn together is actually an intensely personal revelation disguised by Eliot as something altogether different – something only an expert at concealment and undeniable genius intellect could pull off.  As you read, consider it was published in 1922, but the themes of disillusionment, religious conflict, and passion thwarted by societal norms, can still be applied today. I’d love to hear your interpretations!



The illustrations are PERFECT!



Brake…switch gears….and full steam ahead to: Roald Dahl – a staple among the children’s lit greats – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Fantstic Mr. Fox,  and, of course, James and the Giant Peach.  I do love the way that Dahl writes and brings his characters to life, making you a believer amidst some pretty fantastical circumstances.  Poor James, a small boy whose parents are killed in a freak accident, goes to live with his evil aunties and after much suffering encounters a silly little man promising him an end to all his problems if James only follows his directions.  Of course, it all goes awry and James is caught up in a wonderful, glorious adventure that leads him and his new “friends” to new lives.  What a blast this was to read aloud and give voice to such funny and endearing characters! This short book moves at a fast pace designed to keep little ones interested and entertained, but with such a unique story that parents will be just as charmed as their children.  It was a great pleasure to read this to my daughter, who really liked it. (Little critic that she is though, declared emphatically that The Fantastic Mr. Fox was “better.”)

Sidenote:  It’s funny what kids take away from childhood books. In re-reading this with my daughter, I found I had completely forgotten about the fact the aunties perish when the peach rolls over them, but remembered with fondness the fact that Miss Spider spun all the peach’s inhabitants a hammock in which to sleep!  The same goes for all the PG movies I watched as a kid – so many happy memories, but when I watch them with my kids, I think, “Wow…did they just say the D-word 4 times in a row? I don’t remember that!”  But, my kids never bat an eye – doesn’t make the least impression on them.  Go figure.  On the flip side, I can trace my intense fear of sharks back to this book. (‘Course it didn’t hurt the same summer I read it, my older sister hummed the Jaws theme while I was swimming with her in the Atlantic Ocean!)   

Sadly, I haven’t finished The Last of the Mohicans and cannot, in all good conscience, report to you my review!  I’ll have to post twice this week, instead.  I’ll also put in this blog post my theory about “The Waste Land”. 

Keep Reading!!

Next Week:         Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut

                                    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne

                                    The Story of Ferdinand – Munro Leaf

First Classics Post - A whole lotta Sci-Fi!

           This week has been an eye-opener in more ways than one.  I found that I am a faster reader than I thought, but that I take FOREVER to read aloud to my daughter.  It’s those voices!!  I just can’t read to her without making up some kind of crazy voice for each character and it makes reading S – L – O – W, but it’s so much fun that I can’t quit doing it.  To get a feel for what this week’s been like, check out the journal I’ve been keeping: 

January 1, 2012   Yea! Now I can start reading the very first classics book of 2012!  I picked these three for this week – 1984 by George Orwell, the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  Okay, I admit it, on Christmas I got a color Nook and I started reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz early on the Nook.  Oh my goodness, I so love my Nook!!!! 

January 2, 2012   Gotten through probably 50 pages or so in 1984 and we’re on chapter 3 in Wizard of Oz.  I am just so excited to be reading to my girl one of my most favorite books ever (and my VERY favorite movie ever).  She’s really liking it – course she’s seen the movie, and it pretty much follows the first part of the book.  I’ll see when they get to Oz what she thinks, but so far, so good!

January 3, 2012   Chapter 6 in Wizard.  Not quite yet halfway through 1984 and gotten through just a little of 451.  Panic is fluttering around the edges of my brain…what if I can’t finish them all?!

January 4, 2012   Couldn’t read in Wizard because we got home too late and didn’t want a grumpy girl in the morning.  Permission to read ahead DENIED.  Read only 10 pages in 1984 before falling asleep in clothes, with glasses on, over the top of the bedcovers amidst two loads of clean, but unfolded (and now rumpled) clothing.  I’m feeling very unoptimistic about my chances here. 

January 5, 2012   Read during lunch and resolved to FINISH 1984 tonight and write down my impressions.  Getting the girl ready for bed by 7 and reading Wizard for one whole hour tonight – maybe we can get through meeting Oz.  451 is on hold until tomorrow night.  I’m determined to do this!!

January 6, 2012   Only got to page 211 (out of 314) in 1984 last night, but got all the way to Chapter 11 in Wizard – halfway!!  Man, 1984 is crazy good, but so difficult to read easily – I keep stopping to yell things out to my hubby.  “Hey…listen to this…’Even the humblest Party member is expected to be competent, industrious, and even intelligent within narrow limits, but it is also necessary that he should be a credulous and ignorant fanatic whose prevailing moods are fear, hatred, adulation, and orgiastic triumph.’  Doesn’t that sound like FOX News’s target audience?”  I’m definitely going to finish 1984 tonight and work through at least 5 chapters of Wizard.  I only have tonight and tomorrow to finish ALL of them.  Good Grief!  I’ve really got to be sure to stagger these well enough so that I am not hating doing this.  I want to learn, but I don’t want it to be like Finals Week!  Next week I’ve got to make it a little bit easier!

January 7, 2012   Holy Moses!  We have 8 more chapters in Wizard to read!!  Finished with the others and feel slightly depressed and discombobulated. 

January 8, 2012   Still feeling a little sad.  Reading Wizard like mad.  Still have three chapters to go!!!  My blog will be LATE! Disappointed, but can’t make the girl stay up any longer.  I can’t believe how much longer it takes to read aloud!  My throat hurts from doing the King Monkey voice.  Need hot chocolate.

January 9, 2012   The sweet pea wasn’t the best behaved and had to lose out on the last two chapters! Read ahead, though and am going to post the blog today, anyway.  Feeling better and got the next three books – The Last of the Mohicans is HUGE! 

            I never realized the work and planning that goes into reading all these books, plus writing a consistent blog about all this.  It’s overwhelming – which may be one of the reasons why I’m late in posting this very first one!  On to the reviews….   



What a great cover this is!



            My daughter has loved reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and we stopped a lot to talk about how it was different from the movie and why. (She loved acting out the charm the Wicked Witch of the West says to call the Winged Monkeys).  I was actually surprised to see how much DID make it into the movie, but then, I’ve seen the movie at least once a year without fail and the last time I read the book, I think I was 10 (I will not go into how long ago that was).  I have to say, as much as I absolutely love the movie, the book was better.  I do love how the Winged Monkeys tell their story (reminiscent of Greek mythology) and that Oz is different for each of the travelers.  I’d forgotten the beauty of the language and the specialness of all the characters.  If it has been years since you’ve read this book, it’s totally worth it to read it for yourself or to your kids so that they can appreciate the quirky little people and scenarios that make the book something so supremely special! 

            I have to say my decision to read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 on the same week was pure chance as I had absolutely no idea they were both stories about the future.  I knew of George Orwell and thought this was a story about the future, but really knew nothing else.  Ray Bradbury I knew from Something Wicked This Way Comes, a big favorite of mine, so I thought 451 may be sci-fi-ish.  But, really, I didn’t know what I was getting into, especially with 1984.    



The back and front covers - look at that camera!



            Let me say right off that I liked both books, but in different ways.  When I first started reading 1984, I felt that I knew how it was going to end, and so settled in to read a good story of man’s ability to persevere through hardship, oppression and war – all the while keeping humanity intact and hope on the horizon.  Midway through, I realized that I had no idea what was going on and I had to put it down and mentally re-assess so that I wouldn’t read mad (there’s nothing worse than getting mad at a character or an author so much so that you are unable to finish the story).  After clearing things up, I went back to it and finished it pretty quickly.  My poor husband (as you can kinda see from the journal entry above) had to stand proxy and listen to me read to him those parts that I felt were important and wanted to argue with Orwell or Winston, the main character (it didn’t go well – I lost and then sulked loudly).   Since finishing the book, my subconscious will not let it go and I keep coming up with arguments (most of which my husband refuses to even listen to now).  So, you may be asking…is it worth it?  Was it good?  And, my answer is Yes, Yes, Yes!  Read this book and argue with your spouse, your mother, your father, your teacher, your librarian – criticize it, hate it, love it – whatever it takes to make you think.  Orwell would approve, I’m sure of it. 



A powerful image!



            A friend of mine, who upon hearing I was going to read Fahrenheit 451, actually jumped up and down with delight and said I would love it.  I completely trust her, since she’s an assistant librarian and knows of what she speaks.   This time was no exception.  I did love it.  I loved the entire book.  I wanted to read it again as soon as I was done.  You’d think being such a lover of books I wouldn’t appreciate the fact that the entire book revolves around the banning and burning of books, but the plot doesn’t make the book.  I believe the plot is secondary to the message (I so wanted to put that as Message) that knowledge is salvation – not that you get that in your face from the beginning.  Of course not!  Bradbury subtlety uses his characters to deliver it.  Oh, the characters!  The beautiful, fantastic, deep, lovely characters! It isn’t until the end that you see where Bradbury’s been leading you the whole time and then, WHAM, you are caught – you are a believer!  The reader of 451 becomes a “Reader.” I hereby nominate this book for “the list that doesn’t exist” – those books that should be on the high school English teacher’s curriculum, but aren’t.

All three of these books should be at your local library - one thing that this week has made me appreciate even more is the fact that anyone can go into a library and pick up a book and read.  Never forget how lucky we are and LOVE your library!!

Wish List

Technically, this isn’t a review.  Technically speaking, this is “a brag” That is, it is the act of storytelling by a parent who thinks her kid is the best in the world and should get credit for all the super cute stuff she does.  So, getting into the holiday spirit, I submit my six-year-old daughter’s list to Santa. To avoid any undue confusion, I also transcribe it and give a parent’s interpretation.   Happy Holidays!  



Look at the hearts on the list and on the envelope (below)! So cute!



Christmas list

1.        Coo Go (Fur Real Friends, Cookie)

I don’t know why she calls it this – it may be she’s already named a toy she doesn’t even have.  (Say it out loud - doesn't it sound like "Cujo?"  Just another reason why this will not be making it down the chimney)  This is the fake dog that loudly acts like a dog except without the more annoying aspects of a real live dog like feeding it, taking it outside for poop breaks, vet bills, de-worming, etc.- actually this is sounding better than I first thought.

2.       American Girl

This is, for those who don’t have daughters, sisters or wives, the expensive 1-foot high doll that not only has clothes, accessories, furniture, books and pets, but also huge stores in Chicago and New York City with hospitals, hair salons and, of course, shopping.  Some of the dolls have their very own historical eras – no lie, people.

3.       Girl Stripes

Okay, this one is weird.  You see, my daughter was given a stuffed zebra when she was just a baby (by my mother, actually) and his name is Stripes.  Apparently Stripes has a burning desire for a sister.  Ironically, my daughter has also expressed this same wish only a few billion times.  This may, in fact, be some sort of delusional last-ditch effort to secure at least some kind of sister, OR, it may be that she just wants a girl zebra, since I have repeatedly told her that Stripes is a boy, and it doesn’t matter if she calls him “Stripette,” - he’s still a boy. 

4.       Aqua Mat

This one is actually MY contribution to this list.  Mainly this has to do with the fact that we call her “The Destructor” behind her back.  She has had more crayons, markers, pencils, pens and other writing utensils taken away from her before her 4^th birthday than most people use their entire lives.  The ban is still in effect, and this is my way of compromising with her – “Here honey, you can draw, just do it on this nice mat instead of on yourself, the walls, the cat, the furniture, etc.” 

5.        Monster High Dolls

Here’s an original idea – take monsters like werewolves, vampires, zombies and other scary creatures and turn them into high schoolers and name the school “Monster High.”  Make an animated television show out of how they deal with all their teen-aged angst as well as cope with their monster-ness and market the show and the dolls to young and pre-teen girls.  Goody. 

6.       DVD Arthur Christmas

She’s confused….it’s actually coming out in theaters right now, but because she saw it on a commercial – it’s got to be on the list. 

7.        tv in room (television in her bedroom)

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha – not going to happen.

8.        Hello kitty sheets

No idea where this came from, but read on…there seems to be a theme happening.

9.        Hello Kitty Animal

Besides the fact that Hello Kitty actually is an animal, I’m not sure where she’s going with this.

10.    Hamster

Ah yes, the girl who can’t take care of her dirty clothes wants a real, live animal to take care of.  No way am I going through another pet funeral. 

11.    Kittin  (kitten)

See 7 and 10 in that order.

12.   Hats

This is common behavior, and goes a little like this – I’m going to be extremely vague about what I want so I can blame Mother whenever it doesn’t end up being exactly right.  Therefore – see 7.

13.    Mittins (mittens)

See 12.

14.    Scarf

See 12 – What’s up with all the cold weather gear anyway?  We live in TN, but she acts like there’s a blizzard coming. 

15.    Pillow pet Peewee Pillow Pets (Pee Wee Pillow Pets)

These are the stuffed animals that can also fold up into an adorable animal like pillow – no doubt you have heard the song (it’s playing in my head right now:  “pillow - dum dum - pet!”) and seen the infomercial at least 12 dozen times. Now, this child already has a pillow pet.  Granted, she does use it a lot, but I suspect the real reason behind this request is so she can use these pillow pets as props when she sets up her “schoolroom.” 

16.    Big pillow pet.

See 15.  She’s consistent, I grant you that. 

17.   ?

I have absolutely no idea what she wrote on this line.  Therefore, I am going use my special parent license to interpret it as “wooden castle blocks.”

18.   Balls

What?! 

19.    Calinder to Santa

I can only guess that she means for me to make Santa a photo calendar with photos of her, of course.  I doubt this is something the big guy will cherish like say, I would, so instead I’ll have her make a small card to go with Santa’s usual yummy chocolate chunk cookies and milk.

Upcoming: Loving the Classics in 2012

I started this little writing experiment in the hopes that it would jump start my other writing projects and give me an outlet for my many [loud and varied] opinions - sort of the Andy Rooney of books kind of thing [RIP Andy].  I've found a couple of difficulties, though, like:

I want to read EVERYTHING; and
I want to blog about EVERYTHING

Complete overload - and that's not how blog posts happen. They usually happen when I get so sick of seeing the reminder pop-up on my screen that I take my entire lunch to write something up and post - usually without proofing it or using the handy spellcheck button.  And I call myself a semi-amateur-quasi-writer person! Shameful.

So, the thought came to me that I need a hook - something that will not only reel me into an organized state of mind, but will also reel in the readers.  Thus, my brilliant idea about doing a whole year of reading and blogging about classic literature for 2012.

Once the idea was born, I quickly started to research, which is my most favorite phase of any project, and found that there are some books that are considered "classics" by everyone, and then there are those that may make some lists, but not others.  What a bummer - no perfect instant list on the Internet just waiting to be found? Ah...what's a blogger to do, but create her own!

I'm not going to post my list right now because it is a work in progress, but I feel it safe to say that it is HUGE, and I really need to narrow it down - why does this seem familiar - oh yeah, that was my problem to begin with!  I'm going to try to limit it to *gasp* 100 -125 books....*re-gasp* If that sounds enormous, then think on this - I started with 175, and it's been torture to strike some off the list. Okay, I haven't really struck any book off the list yet, and I get upset just thinking about taking any off - but I will!  I must!

In any case, I've included on my list some absolutely non-negotiable classics like As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, as well as more contemporary critical and commercial successes like Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.  And it's not just adult lit, either.  I'm also including young adult and children's literature!  I'll be able to re-read some of my favorites like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, but the best thing about this whole plan is that I'll be sharing them with my kids at the same time - AND they won't grow up believing that Walt Disney wrote The Jungle Books! [Rudyard Kipling, and it wasn't even animated!]

To top it all off, I've created a twitter account, @Book_Love_Buzz so I can tweet the blogs and info about what's going to be the craziest, funniest, most chaotic and sentimental year-long classics quest, ever! [And that's not even the first month, people]


Meanwhile, back in 2011...

 

Treat...and a Trick!





What better way to get in the Halloween mood than by reading Dracula by Bram Stoker? [I read it for free at www.Literature.org!]  I wondered if I would be really scared because since the age of 14 after reading Salem’s Lot by Stephen King and going to sleep for a month with a cross under my pillow, vampires tend to scare me.  But, I needn’t have worried - I really liked it, particularly the way the story was told by using different journal entries by different characters and compiling them to tell a story that was, at times, a little creepy.  It never got full-on scary, though.  I did fall just a little bit in love with the Dr. Van Helsing character in the book [I tend to gravitate towards the eccentric genius type].

The story moves along pretty briskly and the descriptions, dialogue and multiple points of view are expertly delivered.  I greatly enjoyed Mina’s journal entries, and felt that her side of the story was the soul of the book, while Dr. Jack Sewerd’s was the backbone.  [What else?  I mean, she’s a woman in love and he’s a psychiatrist].  Mina is clearly a smart, independent woman and it shows in her journal entries and her willingness to help the men hunt down the Count and kill him.  I was surprised at the depth of the two main female characters, Mina and Lucy, and their “modern-ness.”  I also found it ironic that the more the men played to the stereotype of men-as-protectors, the more harm came to the women.  Even more surprising [and endearing] was Dr. Van Helsing’s continuous praise of Mina as a strong, smart woman, who should be held as a standard of excellence among society.  The end of the book was rather abrupt, but satisfying.  Even though I didn’t think the book itself was scary, the more I thought about the characters and the story, the more frightened I felt.  I suppose the true test for a horror story is whether the reader’s imagination takes hold of the idea and takes it to the next level.  Count Dracula is a cultural icon and while vampires are all the rage now, there’s a certain simplicity to this book and Stoker’s Dracula character that makes it far more appealing and frightening than anything more recent.    

All through the book, I kept picturing Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing because he was the only character I really remembered from the 1992 movie, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.  So, I felt a good bit of anticipation before settling back to watch the movie.  Now, some people [my son, my husband, my friends, my mother….okay – a lot of people] think I am too hard on movies adapted from books.  I admit I am a purist when it comes to adaptations, but I thought I had mellowed quite a bit [thanks Harry Potter], and was prepared to take some deviation as par for the course.  Well, if it had only been some deviation, I could have gotten over it, I think, but this was a travesty!  I say that, but then I recall the early nineties as being a wasteland when it came to most fashion, music and anything else requiring creative thought.  This movie is no exception.  I’m sure they thought they were being super artsy when Dracula’s shadow does strange things, but in the book, Count Dracula doesn’t even HAVE a shadow.  That’s just one example. 



One of the few scenes with Mina and Lucy fully clothed



Really, you could probably classify this movie as soft porn, what with the women kissing, bared breasts and moaning for no apparent reason, etc.  Ridiculous!  Needless to say, it didn’t follow the book closely at all.  It should have been called “A Vampire’s Kiss:  Mina And Lucy’s Erotic Adventure With An Ancient Vampire Turned Young”.  What’s worse is that I absolutely loathed Anthony Hopkins’s portrayal of Van Helsing!  He was pretentious, overbearing, snobbish and a complete ass – nothing like the book! 



           My advice is skip the movie unless you’re a huge fan of seeing Winona Ryder in revealing dresses and watching her breasts heave, or you want to see a young Keanu Reeves playing something besides a time-traveling buffoon [well, he’s still a buffoon, but he doesn’t get to meet Abe Lincoln in this flick].  If you want a good read that isn’t gory or in-your-face scary, then Dracula is for you.  If you like Dracula, here’s another fantastic read on vampires and Count Dracula - The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. 


Great Book - little scary, though



A Woman of Independent Means

     A fellow member of a writing group is the owner of an online bookstore, and he recently had a huge sale at his warehouse.  One of the books I purchased was A Woman of Independent Means, 2oth Anniversary Edition by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey.  The title seemed vaguely familiar to me and the blurb on the back intrigued me, since I am fascinated by history and books – not necessarily in that order.   Also, the fact that the entire book was written in the format of letters really fascinated me.  The review on Amazon.com says this of the book and of Bess Steed Garner, the main character:

“From the early 1900s through the 1960s, we accompany Bess as she endures life's trials and triumphs with unfailing courage and indomitable spirit: the sacrifices love sometimes requires of the heart, the flaws and rewards of marriage, the often-tested bond between mother and child, and the will to defy a society that demands conformity.”



Money? Yes.  Likeable?  No.

 

     Needless to say, I had high hopes for this book.  I thought this character would be quite the radical – someone who defied the stereotype and was more than a wife and mother. 

     I was wrong.  So, so wrong!

     This woman, Bess Steed Garner, only aspired to be the “perfect” upper class wife and mother – one obsessed with money, status and only a part-time caretaker to her children.  Combine that with the woman’s narcissistic personality and you get a character that I immediately disliked.  I mean, this lady writes her husband’s obituary and then sends it to a paper in her former hometown with a cover letter that instructs the editor to print it in the society pages because he was such an influential person.   Bess asked her dying father’s nurse to leave his bedside and come back to help her instead!  She forced her aunt, who had taken in her father and raised him as her own, to go into a nursing home.  She sold the aunt’s home and made her aunt sign over all her antique furniture to Bess in payment for the nursing home care and then had the audacity to write her aunt and tell her that she was being petulant about living in a nursing home!  Bess asked her housekeeper to delay her vacation in order to decorate Bess’s house for the holidays not for Bess and the children, but for Bess’s friend who would be staying in the house alone, without them.  Bess alienated her children, especially her daughter, and forced them to do as she wanted instead of finding their own places in life.  She did nothing with her money except build houses, decorate them and go to Europe on vacations.  She didn’t do anything special or help others.  Bess absolutely expected to be catered to and resisted any effort made to try to let her know she wasn’t the center of the universe.  

     The author wrote in the preface to this edition that the book was based on her grandmother.  After reading it, I thought “Wow. This was not a tribute to that woman.  How could she have thought she was writing it as one?”

     Not long after I finished the book, I was on the phone with my mother and asked her if she had read it and she said that she had and liked it.  I laughed and said, “Well, it must be a generational thing because I absolutely loathed that woman and was grateful I didn’t have her as a mother!  You may not have had any money to speak of, but you sure did more for your kids than Bess ever did!”     

     I was so relieved to finish that book.      

Diet?!…I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Diet!

Ah, the holidays!  There’s nothing like having to rush out to Dollar General 30 minutes before dusk on Halloween night only to discover that the only candy left is the “bad” kind because somehow all the Twix, Butterfingers, Hershey bars and Snickers have disappeared from the candy bowl at home (“and it was scarcely odd, because they’d eaten every one” – The Walrus & the Carpenter, Lewis Carroll)

Therefore, I have resolved the following:                                      

1.      Not to buy Halloween candy until October 30th;

2.      Walk at least 30 minutes a day; and

3.      Start back on The Dukan Diet. 

I love this cover! Makes me want to go to Paris

Yes, I was one of the millions of sheep, who bought the book after finding out Kate Middleton used the diet to lose weight before her wedding to Prince William in April, 2011.  [baaaaaa].  But, what is more surprising than me being a fad follower and royal watcher is that this diet actually works exactly like it says in the book!  I am living proof, I tell ya’. 

Here’s the catch, though, this is not a diet you can stop and start whenever you want. In order to have long-lasting effects, you have to follow through.  I started the first phase, “Attack,” in early May of this year, and got through it reasonably well with a loss of about 8 lbs.  Pretty good, but the best thing was the belly fat that I tend to accumulate was melting away! Then, I hit the “Cruise” phase and all hell broke loose! I just didn’t make an effort to remember to alternate days of pure protein and protein with vegetables. And, I missed fruit. And, it got hot and I couldn’t walk anymore because it was like walking on the surface of the sun. And, I have many other excuses, but none of them come close to the truth, which is that I just didn’t want to do it anymore.  But, I’m starting again so I pulled the book out and re-read it. 

Dr. Pierre Dukan, the diet developer and author of The Dukan Diet, gives easy to understand examples and directives as well as provides short chapter summaries. Because the diet is four phases:  Attack, Cruise, Consolidation and Permanent Stabilization, the book’s format is easy to follow and especially easy to reference with recipes and menus located at the back of the book. 

I liked Dr. Dukan’s writing style and his ability to tell his story in a compelling way – the preface “A Decisive Encounter, or the Man Who Only Liked Meat” was one of the reasons I bought the book. Dr. Dukan presents complicated, and what has been so often contradictory information in a way that is organized, simplified and helpful. I liked that he presented his theory first and then gives general nutritional information in only about 20 pages, since some books [ahem..Atkins..cough] take FOREVER to actually get to the point – the diet!  Not only does Dukan present the diet quickly, but he also puts the most obvious questions and answers to them within the phase section.  If you just want a refresher, then you can check out the chapter summary breakdowns instead.   

A short book (263 pages) with easy to understand concepts and directions describing a way of losing weight that actually works! Pick up The Dukan Diet and it will persuade you to make a change.