summer reading 09, part 2

i try to wait until i've at least read more than one book before reviewing some -- here are the latest two...

the street by ann petry. this book was first published in the 1940s, the time period in which it is set. i found that intriguing because most books i read about that time period were written more recently. i discovered this book because the first few paragraphs were used for the prose essay on this year's AP English Literature exam. when i was at the AP scoring, the nearby bookstore had this book on sale, so I bought it. it's about an African-American woman trying to raise her son on a street stricken with poverty and violence. she dreams of a better life for her son and tries hard to accomplish it, although she has little money and little opportunity to make more. the racial tension in this novel is thick, moreso than many books I've read from that time period -- it's so much that, at times, I felt the need to defend my race! However, the book was great. The view switches between the characters, ranging from the mother, the creepy Super, the strange lady who lives with him, and the son. the ending is a total shock and a nice break from the books that put a pretty pink bow on their nice, expected endings.

the pact by jodi picoult. ok, let me just say that any lover of reading needs to try one of picoult's books. she'll probably start getting more attention because she wrote the book my sister's keeper, which is now in the theaters, starring cameron diaz. but she's fantastic. this book is about two teenagers who decide to have a suicide pact - however, in the beginning of the book, one of them is dead and one of them is not. of course, the living child is accused of murder. the rest of the book switches from present tense, with the trial and struggles of the family, to the past tense, with the relationship of the two teens. in a crazy twist, the teens are actually lifelong friends, due to their parents being best friends & neighbors. it's a page turner. as all of hers, it's a long book that you'll read in just a few days because you can't put it down.

that's it for now. i may actually try to tackle a Dickens' novel next, a recommendation from a Dickens' expert friend of mine. we'll see....

happy reading!

marrying into the "georges"

since we got married (a month ago today!), several people have teased Jesse that he was lucky to have married into the george family. in our town, that means marrying into wealth and status.
however, today, jesse discovered -- and i rediscovered -- what it really means to be a part of the george family.

today, we celebrated the life of my great aunt, gloria george, at her funeral. mom mom, as we called her, was an incredibly generous and patient woman who has suffered from Alzheimer's for years. her son (one of 9 children!) gave a beautiful eulogy in her memory, throughout which he made me so proud to be part of the george family.

one reason was his story about his parents. i learned today that mom mom's husband, known as daddy doc, was the first Lebanese doctor in the state of KY. he came to KY with no connections, no money, and no solid education, but he graduated med school and became a doctor (who probably delivered the majority of marion county back in the day!). according to his son, whenever someone asked daddy doc how he managed it, he said, "gloria." his wife. what an incredible love.

in the funeral, one of the grandchildren also mentioned that mom mom never got mad, except when hearing of the hardships in Lebanon (the country) from the news. they prayed that we would never forget where we came from. and that is yet another reason i'm proud to be in the george family. we love our lebanese heritage. it's important to us. (our bereavement dinner had much more than the typical mac 'n cheese and fried chicken. we had piles and piles of lebanese dishes). i'm proud of my heritage.

being a george means so, so much more than people think. it means high expectations, in every part of our lives. it means strong family connections, regardless if you're a first cousin or an in-law. it means strength, confidence, intelligence, faith, and love. and for all of that, i am proud.

so people are right - jesse is lucky to have married a george. but for so many different reasons than they think.

Summer Reading 09, part 1

Last year, I reviewed the books I read over the summer and several people actually used my comments when choosing books for themselves, so, I thought I'd give it a shot again this year. After all, one of my favorite parts about summer break is having time to read for pleasure!
So far, this summer, I haven't read many new books, but I'll comment on the ones I have read...
The Color of Water - this book is a memoir written by a black man in dedication to his white mother. it's a fantastic memoir that describes his struggles growing up as a mixed child and his embarrassment of his white mother who seemed completely clueless that she didn't fit in at their "black" neighborhood. I saw this book at Barnes & Noble recently on a "summer reading" table so I must not be the only person recommending it!
The Last Girls - I actually found this book on my bookshelf and took it on my honeymoon. Evidently, Jesse had bought it and never got past the first few pages. I, however, loved it. It is a "girl's book" though (a print version of a chic flick). The narrator changes among a group of women as it tells their stories from college until their adult lives. In college they were best friends, but their lives have taken very different paths as they grew up. I really enjoyed the book though.

Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince & Deathly Hallows. I'm sorry. I had to put it on here. See, every time a movie comes out, I reread the book first. And that usually hooks me until I have to finish the series. So i recently read the last two books of the Potter series (again). And still, they're incredible. If you haven't tried them yet, DO IT. Great reads....

Stay tuned! I'm still reading!

so comes love

everyone keeps asking me if i'm nervous. nervous something goes wrong. what if the videographer doesn't show up? what if it's raining? what if you forget something?

in response to that, i quote e.e. cummings:

let all go - the
big small middling
tall bigger really
the biggest and all
things - let all go
dear
so comes love.


i can't wait to marry you jesse.

the best of both worlds

note: this post is not about miley cyrus. or hannah montana.

every sunday night, i sit on the couch and grade papers to the sound of jesse interviewing coaches for the sports section. and today, it hit me: i've found the best of both worlds.

within the series of guys I've crushed on or dated -- even the friends I've made -- there's been two totally separate groups: the athletes and the artists. after growing up surrounded by basketball, sports runs in my blood (but not in my bones.... not an athletic bone in my body). i'm drawn to the intensity, companionship and competitiveness that comes with sports. however, when i tried to date the sportsy guys, i ended up dating cocky guys who'd rather do a keg stand than take me on a date.
then there were the artists. the ones who appreciated my love of literature. i was drawn to their creativity, open minds, and serenity. however, when i tried to date the artsy guys, i ended up dating lazy guys who'd rather smoke a joint than take me on a date.
i've struggled with this personality conflict my entire life, never really "fitting in" with either group. but i just realized something -- jesse fits in the middle with me. he's a sports nut and an artist. and he's equally passionate about both. no wonder we get along so well.

the end of an era

as the wedding draws nearer, people frequently ask me, "are you getting nervous?"

i don't understand that. what do i have to be nervous about? and if i was nervous - wouldn't that be a bad sign? i'm not nervous at all. however, there is another emotion sneaking up on me for which i was completely unprepared: sadness. a sentimental kind of sadness.
really, i think it's a mourning for the "single" life i've led for so long. not the "single" part of it, but the living-alone, being independent, part of it.

see, seven years ago, i packed my boxes and Moe and I moved home. the two of us lived in an apartment together for two years, then i bought my own house and we moved yet again. for 7 years, it's been just the 2 of us. we make great roommates. we like a little bit of attention and then we're done. we like our own space - our own quiet time. love me but leave me alone. we get it.

and for 5 years, i've made my own little home. i've decorated my house with pictures of my friends and family. i've let mtv blare from my television for more hours than i'd ever care to admit. i've picked my own bedspreads, shower curtains, and dishes. i've spent several saturday mornings in bed with a good book and complete quiet.

now, all of that is changing. we're adding to the mix. and i'm THRILLED for that (i don't think anyone who knows me has any question about that) but i do have to stop for a minute and let myself be sentimental. it's been real, single life, but it's time to move on to bigger and better things.

mr moe jangles

i sat here typing a post about my sweet cat, Moe, when suddenly I was attacked with a coughing fit. i started choking (on absolutely nothing) so badly it scared me and jesse. as jesse ran over to check on me, and i still tried to catch my breath, i looked up - and there was moe, staring at me with concern (and yes, i swear, you can read emotion on my cat's face!), with his tail straight in the hair. he was as concerned about me as jesse.
total coincidence that i was typing a post about how much i love cats over dogs(yes, i know, i'm in the minority here) and was prepared to defend their loyalty and love when moe put into action what i was trying to put into words.
when moe isn't protecting me, he's loving me. the picture below is one jesse took when he caught moe and i enjoying an afternoon nap together... moe is curled up against my legs....

historical literature

I have recently developed a fascination with literature set in the deep South during the time of Jim Crow laws, Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights. It started with Ernest Gaines' "A Lesson Before Dying" (which I read for entertainment and immediately added it to my list of required reading for AP English) and then another Gaines' novel, "A Gathering of Old Men." Both of these books focus on the lives of African American men during that time period, revealing the injustice they suffered with the law and the loyalty they had to each other.
Then, I read (and watched) "Secret Life of Bees." This book focuses mostly on strong African-American women who own a honey-making business. However, there is a constant reminder of "where they stand" in society throughout the novel - for example, one woman bets beaten to a pulp for wanting to register to vote; a young boy gets kidnapped and beaten for days because he went to the movies with a white girl.
My recent book purchase is "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett (awesome book so far!). This one focuses on African-American women who work as maids for middle-upper class white women. There are three narrators, two of whom are maids and one of whom is a white woman who wants to change the treatment of African-Americans. Her friends, though, are starting an intiative to require all homes to have a separated bathroom for the "colored" maids. They discuss openly that they don't want to "mix" with those people (all while getting their tea glasses refilled by one of "those people"). Meanwhile, the maids go home to hear of constant violence and fear, due to KKK members fighting the integration and a mayor who blatantly states that separation of races is important and will never change in his town.
The more I read, the more fired up I get. I cannot believe that these events and these attitudes were popular in such recent history. It is appalling to me that human beings were treated that way. I'm glad we've come so far, but when I get lost in the book, the characters seem real, until I stop reading and I feel so angry about it all. Angry for these African-American women who raised the white children from childbirth... until they grew old enough to fall prey to the racist beliefs and actions. Angry at these white women who do nothing but gossip and go to meetings while demeaning and demoralizing their "maids." Did we really act like that??
I am so lucky that I was not raised to be racist -- I would have missed out on some incredible people in my life. But the sad thing is, racism isn't dead. And really, neither is separation of races. It's not law now, but it still happens everywhere you look. I look forward to the day when people are just people. Not black people or white people. I hope I live to see it, or at least, my children do. And they help make it that way.

On a sidenote: I think that if I could've been taught history strictly through novels, it would have been so interesting to me.