The 306 Greatest Books #96 - The Wind in the Willows

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. This book can be found on the BBC and Observer Book Lists.

This is not what I was expecting when I started it. At first I was expecting a kiddy story about a bunch of animals. Well, there was a bunch of animals, but it definitely was not kiddy. The story was very well written, not shying away from the larger, more adult, words when appropriate. The story at times seemed to be about random misadventures of a group of animals, but through the story you can grasp a common thread going through four of them. My main problem with the story is that I felt unfulfilled afterwards. A character like Mole really grew from the beginning of the story, where he was rather naive, to the end, where he was able to stand up for himself and help lead a revolt. Although, a counterpoint to that is the character of Toad, who did not grow at all and actually seemed to devolve through the progress of the story. All through the story I was waiting for him to get his just desserts in the end, however it never came. Even his supposed humbling at the end seemed fake; like he didn't actually feel any remorse over what he had done. So in regards to the Toad story arc, I can't really recommend this book because it was a real disappointment when all was said and done.

Posting for my friend

My friend asked me to pass this along from her blog:

Here's the Deal:


I need your help!

Okay all 4 people who read this, I need help! I submitted an entry to a contest through The Canyons. Have you heard of it? It's good, look it up.

I submitted quite late so I have little time to get votes. That's where you come in. Please go to the link and find my video titled "Adventure Everyday"--you'll see my face too, and vote and view! (It's important to do both.)

http://howdoyoumountain.com/your-mountain/6

You might have to navigate a bit if the order changes...

Share on Facebook, email, whatever! I need votes quick. Send to your contact list, ask your students to vote, beg strangers.

If I win, you can come stay in my suite at the Waldorf Astoria...

Kimberlee
 
Look for this picture:
 

100 Greatest Romance Movies - #50: Shakespeare in Love

This is my entry for the 50th Greatest Romance Movie - Shakespeare in Love. You can check this movie out along with all the other 100 Greatest Romances over at my website.

This is actually a very sweet movie that follows the (fictional?) writing of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. I think the plot line was very well done, interspersing lines from Romeo and Juliet into the the actual movie as inspiration for the play itself. You would think that something like that would feel forced but I think they pulled it off rather well. The movie also has humor interspersed throughout the movie but not too much that it would be considered a comedy. All in all I think a must watch if you are in the mood for a nice romantic movie.

2010 Personal Updates - November Edition

10 months in, quite a bit late this time.

1. Finish first draft of my novel -
January 1st - 1st third done
February 1st - Nothing new
March 1st - Nothing
April 1st - Nothing
May 1st - Nothing
June 1st - Nothing
July 1st - Nothing
August 1st - I actually did start working on this. Reread over part of section 1
September 1st - Nothing new
October 1st - Nothing New
November 1st - Nothing new

2. Drop weight to 167
January 1st - 175.0
February 1st - 176.0
March 1st - 176.0
April 1st - 176.6
May 1st - 176.6
June 1st - 169.2 - Apparently walking around with Gummy Bear non-stop is a good weight loss plan.
July 1st - 170.0
August 1st - 170.2
September 1st - 172.2
October 1st - 173.4
November 1st - 174.2


3. Balance our budget
January 1st - Things are looking up for this year
February 1st - Working over the winter break helped, a $1700 car repair bill did not
March 1st - Going the wrong way, another car bill as well as a new carpet and apparently I owe on my taxes, great.
April 1st - Working out those extra expenses a little bit at a time
May 1st - Still working it out
June 1st - Getting closer
July 1st - Bah
August 1st - Still bah
September 1st - Still bah
October 1st - Since the desktop went on the fritz I have been keeping a close eye on this
November 1st - Yea, prolly not going to happen this year :-(


a. Pay credit card
January 1st - Only one card left
February 1st - Still one card left
March 1st - Still on to go
April 1st - Still working on the one
May 1st - One
June 1st - One
July 1st - One to go but I made a large payment on it last month
August 1st - One
September 1st - One
October 1st - One
November 1st - One


4. Read a total of 100 of the greatest books on my lists
January 1st - Current count 86
February 1st - In the middle of Canterbury Tales
March 1st - Took a break from Canterbury Tales, time to get back
April 1st - Finished Canterbury Tales. 13 left to go. Reading Madame Bovary now
May 1st - Finished Madame Bovary. 12 left to go. Reading The Maltese Falcon now
June 1st - Finished The Maltese Falcon and The Twits. 10 left to go. Reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory now
July 1st - Finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 9 left to go. Not sure what to read next, I have a couple of choices lined up.
August 1st - Finished Matilda. 8 left to go.
September 1st - Finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Charlotte's Web. 6 left to go.
October 1st - Finished The Secret Garden. 5 left to go.
November 1st - No time to finish a book, still 5 to go.


5. Finish 2 more movies on my Geological Movie Review
January 1st - Look to start 2 new movies
February 1st - Nothing done on this
March 1st - Nothing done
April 1st - Nothing done
May 1st - Nothing
June 1st -Nothing
July 1st - Started working on Earthquake!
August 1st - In the middle of one
September 1st - Nothing new
October 1st - Nothing new
November 1st - Nothing


a. Also update the last two I did
January 1st - One out of 3 up to par
February 1st - Nothing done on this
March 1st - Nothing done
April 1st - Nothing done
May 1st - Nothing
June 1st - Nothing
July 1st - Nothing
August 1st - Got the first 2 parts of Armageddon out
September 1st - Finished Armadeddon. 1 left to do.
October 1st - Nothing New
November 1st - Nothing

Other items of interest:
Other than school and Halloween there has nothing of interest to report. Hopefully once this semester is over I will have more time for my research as well as other things.