Friday, March 30, 2012

The 306 Greatest Books #103 - Anne of Green Gables

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. This book can be found on the BBC Book List.



This was one of the books that my daughter and I have been reading together. I have had this book for a little while and have been hesitant to read it because of it's length but we had just finished Little Women, so I figured this wouldn't be so bad. Well, I didn't really like this book. I hated the main character, Anne, for most of the book, and the secondary characters didn't really do it for me either. I felt that even when one of them died, I didn't feel too much for them. The problems were in the way this book was written. It was written about a little red-headed girl who couldn't shut up. And that is how it felt, you just wanted her to shut up for most of the book. As she progressed and got older through the book it got a bit better but I feel that the morals of the story were wrong in many instances (you shouldn't cry for people that go away or die because that is against your religion and other similar morals). It was an OK book in my opinion but nowhere near any of the greats that I have read on this list.

Friday, March 2, 2012

2012 Personal Goals - Month 2 Update

2nd Month is done and going well.

1. Finish first draft of my novel -
January 1st - 3rd year on the list. Lets see if I can do it this year. Starting point - 1st section first draft is done.
Months 1-2 Update - Nothing new

2. Drop weight to 167
January 1st - Again 3rd year on the list. I think I will have a little more time this year to get it done. Starting point - 182.1.
Month 1 Update - 181.7
Month 2 Update - 179.0


3 Read 2 of the Top Ten books on Zanes book list
January 1st - 3 books are left on the list. I am currently in the middle of War and Peace and hope to finish it by March.
Month 1 Update - Finished Book 3 of 4 in War and Peace.
Month 2 Update - Finished War and Peace. 1 book to go.

4. Read 7 books on the Sybervision Book List for a total of 75
January 1st - To get to a nice round number of 75 I want to finish 7 more books.
Month 1 Update - Reading War and Peace
Month 2 Update - Finished War and Peace. 6 books to go.

5. Read 7 books on the BBC Book List for a total of 45
January 1st - These are generally easier books to read, especially with Annabelle.
Month 1 Update - Reading Anne of Green Gables and War and Peace
Month 2 Update - Finished War and Peace. 6 books to go.

6. Update 2 Geologic Movie Reviews
January 1st - I have 1 update I need to do one one movie and a complete overhaul of the other.
Months 1-2 Update - Nothing new

7. Finish 1 more movie on my Geological Movie Review
January 1st - Look to do 1 more movie, most likely Earthquake!.
Months 1-2 Update - Nothing new


8. Watch 15 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (according to AFI)
January 1st - Current count 70 so 15 more will get me 1/2 way to the goal.
Month 1 Update - Watched High Noon. 14 more to go.
Month 2 Update - Watched Double Indemnity. 13 more to go.


9. (DONE) Do 1 Geological Fact for each month.
January 1st - This went over well last year so let's do it again.
Month 1 Update - I wanted to finish these early and release them as the months went by. I have 9 done so far. 3 left to go.
Month 2 Update - Finished the last 3. So this task is DONE!

10. Skin the top of the Hovercraft
January 1st - I finished working on the bottom last year so lets see if I can get the top done this year. And with my new garage heater I will be able to work during the colder months.
Months 1-2 Update - Nothing new


11. Catalogue, photograph, and organize Star Wars collection by CVI
January 1st - With Star Wars Celebration VI coming up in August I want to catalogue and photograph my collection to get ready to know anything I need to buy when I go.
Month 1 Update - Caught up on the pile of recent stuff but nothing else.
Month 2 Update - Nothing new


12. Do 1 major job each month on the "Things to Do for the House" list
January 1st - With an updated list we have 20 things that we want to do to get the house in tip-top shape.
Month 1 Update - Started working on some things but nothing finished
Month 2 Update - Finished putting boards in the attic and moving stuff up there. 1 task done, 11 to go.

Other items of note:
This was a very busy month with the Annual UFOP Meeting that I am planning getting into full swing, stuff for the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) becoming more prominent and urgent and my own research going along. But I have finished the first and second draft of my first publication and that will go out for review sometime in March. Overall, very busy but I think I have reached a settling down time period.