The Hunger Games

I know I have been absent of late. Some of what I have been doing is reading this book and its two sequels. I can't stop! My sister suggested them to me back in the fall, and then we saw the trailer for the movie when we went to see Breaking Dawn Part I. I had them on audio book and started listening shortly afterwards. I also have them on my ereader and have read them as well; yes, I actually found the time to read them with my eyes and not just my ears while I am cleaning because I wanted to have the visual of seeing the words on the pages.

I think what I love most about these books is how much I identify with Katniss, the main character. I love her strength and her love for family. She is resourceful and keeps moving forward even in the face of death and despair. She doesn't know how to give up. Even when she thinks all hope is lost, she does eventually find a way to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I also love the love story. It is one love triangle that I don't find forced or trite. She genuinely loves both Gale and Peeta for the right reasons and for different reasons. I love Peeta's goodness, how he's genuinely altruistic and always wants what's best for Katniss. I love the strength and stability that Gale brings into her life. I love how much both Gale and Peeta not only love Katniss, but they love Prim and  her mother too.

So in my absence from my blog, I have thought I should write about The Hunger Games many times. Then the movie came out yesterday. My guy has also read the books at my suggestion, and he actually loved them too, which is saying a lot since he doesn't actually love fiction novelly kinds of stories. We decided since we were both sans children on Saturday night that we should go to see the movie. I have to say it is one of the best film adaptations of a book I have seen in a long time.

Spoiler Alert: I want to talk about some of the specifics that I loved, so I may give away parts of the movie...

I thought they did an excellent job in bringing the characters and the world of the books to life. I loved that they stayed so true to Suzanne Collins' world of Panem.

I was listening to the radio on Thursday morning and they had on Mr. Moviefone, a film critic, to review the movie. He didn't like the movie very much, and he wanted the costumes in the Capitol to not be so garish. The female dj, Denise, asked him if he had read the books. His reply was "that's why we have movies, so we don't have to read." My reply to him is get off the air you illerate idiot! The whole reason to have the Capitol appear garish is to show how ridiculous they really are, to show how far removed they are from the people of the Districts: the very people whose children they pluck from their homes every year and send into the arena to murder one another.

I loved that they had the behind the scenes during the games. I was wondering how they were going to show some of the book because so much of the book occurs inside Katniss' head. With the behind the scenes scenes as it were, they show the inner workings of the game makers and Haymitch making the deals that would help Katniss and Peeta in the arena.

I loved Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. I didn't know much about her before the movies came out. I have seen her on David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon in the past week. She actually seems like a normal, grounded person who just happens to have landed herself a life-changing movie role. She embodies Katniss so wholeheartedly. I think one of my favorite scenes is when she is about to enter the games. She is in the launch room with Cinna, her stylist, and she is visibly shaking. When she goes into the tube that will transport her up into the arena, the tube closes and her hands fly to the clear glass. There is visible fear in her eyes as she silently pleads with Cinna to help her even though she knows at this point, she is on her own.

 I wasn't sure I was going to like Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. I mostly remember him from The Bridge to Terabithia, which he is good in, but left me feeling like he was too young and maybe not big enough in stature to pull off the strong yet loving character of Peeta Mellark. However, I was pleasantly surprised. His eyes show all the depth of emotion that I read into Peeta. His soft voice gives voice to the Peeta I have come to know and love in the books. He plays it exactly right.

I love that Stanley Tucci is Ceasar Flickerman, the TV host for the Capitol. He is, as in all his movies, transformed into the character and fully embodies the Capitol host with all the compassion, warmth, and entertainment value that Collins wrote into him in her novels.

Woody Harrelson does an excellent job as Haymitch, the District 12 mentor. Lenny Kravitz as Cinna is spot on as well. Elizabeth Banks does a great job as Effie. She isn't even recognizable as Elizabeth Banks what with all that Capitol garishness!

(WARNING: This is the big spoiler alert paragraph!) There were a few things I would have liked to have seen although I know that they can only put in so much for a movie. I miss Madge, Katniss' friend from District 12 and the mayor's daughter. I also felt like the ending should have been a little more drawn out. When Katniss and Peeta are up on the cornucopia and Cato is already there, I missed the part in the book when Cato actually runs past them as he flees from the wolf muttations. Then when Peeta finally knocks him down into the wolf pack, in the movie, Katniss kills him right away. Part of the agony in the book is when Katniss and Peeta spend that night on top of the cornucopia listening to Cato suffer until morning when Katniss finally kills him in mercy. I also would have liked for the ending part where they find out they were not going to be allowed to both live, to have been a little more drawn out; it feels hurried up like ok we have to bring this to a close. I would have liked for that to actually be a little more dramatic. Also in the book at that part, they are both so wounded and exhausted, but in the movie, they actually both look relatively ok. They don't have Peeta lose his leg; although, it isn't a pivotal part to the plot of the next two books, so I suppose that will be ok.

Overall, I found it exquisite. I definitely want to see it again. I have Hannah reading and listening along to the book right now. She is just to the part where Katniss comes back from the feast with the medicine and she and Peeta are just hanging out in the cave for a day or so. I do miss that part a little in the movie as well since that is when Peeta starts to finally win over Katniss for real although she won't admit that to herself at that point in the books. Again, I get it though; it wouldn't make for an interesting movie to have all that laying about while they just hang out in the cave. I think I will take Hannah as soon as she is done reading the book. I told her she wouldn't want to spoil it by seeing the movie first when she is so far along in the book.

I am already looking forward to Catching Fire as a movie. I am starting to speculate as to whom they might cast for some of the roles, especially Finnick O'Dair, just please don't let it be Robert Pattinson! I think of the three Catching Fire is my favorite book, although you can't have the second book without the first.

I know I have been an absent blogger lately. I just have to get my tax items ready first and then I promise to try to write more sooner rather than later!

Boys Should Be Boys

Boys Should Be Boys by Meg Meeker, M.D.

I saw this book at the same housecleaning client’s home as The Six Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make. They read good things!

I read this book because I don’t know boys. I was raised with all girls: two sisters, all but two girl cousins, and a plethora of aunts. Then I had a son and no husband around for teaching all of those man code things!

Before reading this book, I felt lost about how to raise my precious little Fred!

After reading this book, I really feel empowered! I feel like I can actually do this! Actually raise my son into manhood!

There were a couple of key items that were major AHA’s for me:

1.       That boys must be transitioned into manhood;

2.       And that boys need organized religion.

Dr. Meeker says that the Number One Mistake parents make in raising boys is that they do not transition boys into men. This is why we have all of those man-boys running around out there. (Oh yes, you know what a man-boy is! You know; those men who are never truly responsible, independent or generally mature!) Boys will not transition themselves into manhood; they need their parents’ guidance in order for it to happen at all, not just effectively, and pretty much past the age of 25 if it hasn't been nurtured into happening, it never will. She gives all kinds of suggestions for making this happen from service projects to managing their own money and chores around the home.

Dr. Meeker feels organized religion is so important that a huge portion of the book is dedicated to the topic. She says it does not have to be one specific religion; it can be anything: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, or even Islam. What matters is the moral compass that organized religion provides for a boy. It isn’t that the parents cannot also teach religion, but religious teaching within a church, synagogue, or mosque can provide role models and more than just what can be taught at home.

As the title suggests, Meeker does also spend a lot of the book talking about giving boys the opportunity to run, play, and imagine while they are playing outside or roughhousing or just being boys! It cannot be underestimated that boys just need time to be boys.

This is another highly recommended book, especially for parents of boys, teachers, or anyone who works with children.





The Six Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make

I saw this book at one of my housecleaning client’s home and thought it would be a good one for Hannah to read just because it would be good information. Then for school she has six book reports this year. The first one was fiction and the second one has to be nonfiction. I thought about having her do a biography for the nonfiction, but when I looked at the list for the whole year, a biography will be required during their third trimester.

Hannah does not love reading. I find that I have to prod and pry her to read. It is hard for this prolific reader to have a child that cannot find reading for pleasure on her to do list ever!

For her fiction book report, I let her read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer because I also have it on cd. I put the book on her Zune (mp3 player) and she had to read along to the book while she listened. It worked pretty well except that she started a little late, and we had to do marathon reading and a big cram session to get the book report done on time.

I found The Six Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make at the library on cd and paper. I do think I will end up buying our own copy because the book form has some extra exercises and illustrations that are not included on the cd’s. I listened to the cds and just finished so that I can help Hannah with discussion and with getting her book report completed. I have found that it is hard for me to help her on books that I haven’t read as well. She seems to need a lot of assistance with finding reference quotes and general comprehension.

Sean Covey is the son of Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Sean also has a teen version of his father’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. He starts out the Six Decisions with a review of his seven habits as they are interrelated with the six decisions. I also checked out The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens on cd and will let you know how it is when I am finished.

So the six decisions Sean Covey covers in his book are

1.       School

2.       Friends

3.       Parents

4.       Sex and Dating

5.       Addictions

6.       Self Worth

He does a wonderful job of talking about the high road in each of these areas. His delivery is very accessible for teen and pre-teen readers. He talks about that we all will make mistakes, but smart people learn from their mistakes and really smart people learn from the mistakes of others. He gives examples of teens who struggle in each area as well as examples of teens who are successful in each area.

I was a little wary of the section on sex and dating when I saw it was one of the decisions list, but it is handled very well. He comes at it from a standpoint based solely on principles and the consequences of making poor sex and dating choices. There is no explicit sex education, only what can happen as far as STD’s and unplanned pregnancies. He also addresses the emotional consequences of having sex as a teen. I really liked that he not only addressed sex but how to date and how to choose a good dating partner. He gives tips on what to do on dates so that sex doesn’t even have to be an issue. He gives some good phrases for teens to use when/if they are pressured to have sex. Overall I was pleased with the chapter.

For each of the decisions he talks about teens and people in general being made up of four parts: heart, mind, body, and soul. He addresses each of the parts for each of the decisions.

I would highly recommend this book for teens and preteens. I actually thought I wish I would have had this as a teen for myself. I think that might be why I didn’t ever have successful dating experiences; no one ever taught me how. I was making mental notes all the while I was listening!

Eat, Pray, Love

How much do I love this book?

 I cannot even begin to say all the ways this book has touched my heart. It is ironic because I had put off reading it for a while, especially after seeing the movie. The movie is all right, but she comes off as fairly selfish, and I just could not understand how she walked away from her marriage like she did. In the book, of course, she goes into so much more detail and her journey is so self-revelatory that I can see where she is coming from much better. I still think that I would have stuck with my marriage if I were her, even though it was not the best relationship, but having gone through a sad and painful divorce myself, I do also understand why she would not want to be married anymore. One thing Liz Gilbert says is that she would rather live an imperfect life of her own rather than a perfect version of someone else's idea of her life. I know that feeling myself, especially as someone who grew up Christian and even though my husband was unfaithful, I have been shunned by people in the church because of my marital status. I would have saved my own marriage had it been possible, but my husband had no desire to repair things and you cannot have a relationship with only one person. I have had people suggest that I could have/should have done more before and after the end of the marriage.

When I was a little girl, my mom brought home this Sandi Patti cassette tape, and we listened to it mostly in the car on long road trips. It was a live concert Sandi Patti gave and in it she went through her own musical history of different people she wanted to be like when she grew up such as Karen Carpenter or Barbara Streisand. She sang different versions of Jesus Loves Me  as if she were one of these great singers. She said, "I didn't just want to be like Barbara Streisand; I wanted to BE Barbara Streisand!" And then she proceeded to sing Jesus Loves Me as if she were singing People. Well, I don't want to just be like Liz Gilbert; I want to BE Liz Gilbert!

I don't mean that I want to travel to three different countries in a year to find pleasure, God, and balance in my life. I do like to travel, but I don't like to be away from home for that long. I also could not practically be gone from my home and children for a year either. What I do want to be is someone who shares her life with others in the hopes that some life lessons could be passed on. I haven't always lived the easiest life, but I believe that I have been through what I have been through in order to be more empathetic to and for others. Liz Gilbert is so raw and honest in her book. She talks about so many of the things that I have been searching for in my life, especially when she speaks of finding God, cultivating relationships, and finding purpose in her life. I don't know; maybe I am not really all that knowledgeable or interesting, but I do know that ever since I started this blog all I want to write about is personal versus housecleaning or parenting tips, which were my original topics of intent.

I have not written as much as I want because I keep stopping myself. I hesitate because I am afraid... afraid of being judged, afraid of giving away too much personal information, and afraid that I am really not all that interesting or that others really don't want or need to read about my personal reflections on this life so far. 

I would say a word of caution to those considering reading this book. If you are not interested in finding out more about yourself, I would not recommend this book. I am not saying that with any sarcasm. If you are truly happy with who you are and don't have a wandering, seeking, or searching mind, I just do not think that you would get as much out of this book. In addition, if you are someone who is extremely conservative in your religious views and do not have an open mind as to ways to communicate with and/or find God, then I think you might be offended by some of her thoughts on these topics.

I am on my third time through in less than a month, and each time, I have an aha moment about something new. I will think about whether I want to share more about myself and how that might manifest itself in this blog. However, I would love to write and/or publish a book someday just like Liz Gilbert!

Finding It

I recently finished Valerie Bertinelli's second book, Finding It. It is the follow up to her book, Losing It. I liked this second book quite a lot better than her first book. She talks a lot about how to maintain weight loss and even how to maintain that peacefulness in life. She does give detailed information about how she was able to get her body into the shape she wanted in order to appear in a bikini for one of her Jenny Craig commercials.

I am not sure I should have read this book when I did in life as I am finding myself at my heaviest weight ever not pregnant. I mean it is good information for someone like me who does want to get off some of the extra weight through exercise and eating right, but I also have an obsessive personality, so I find myself thinking about this almost all the time. I think I am driving my family a little crazy with my new obsession over weight when my body really does not look that bad. My legs are more shapely than they have been since high school, and I do not really feel that I appear to be all that chunky. I don't have a magazine cover ready body for sure, but I am an avearage person. I do have body image problems, which were not helped by the fact that I just went to Las Vegas with my best friend from high school, who still barely weighs 100 pounds and is about as thick as my pinky finger. (In her defense, her body is just built that way. She eats all the time and that is just her lucky lot in life to have that cute little body!) My sister tries to remind that anyone would feel chunky standing next to my best friend.  

I run almost every night on my treadmill. I try to eat right; although admittedly, I have a sweet tooth. I have found myself trying to be more aware of what I put in my mouth. I have cut way back on drinking soda pop and eating candy. It helped me to lose a couple of pounds in a week.

Bertinelli states in her book that she feels that her plan is doable for the average woman. The problem I have with that is that while she is a single, working mom similar to me, she is also not like me. Her job is to be a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. She doesn't have to work a regular work week, and she can afford to hire a personal trainer who kept her on track and pushed her to be able to fit into a bikini with a nice shapely body. He also fit her with a computer device called a Body Bug, which read her every movement and calculated how many calories she ate versus how many she burned. Again, something that I do not think I could afford to purchase. I do believe that the average woman could do a modified version of her plan and get her weight down to a manageable amount, however, I do not have time to go on a 45 minute run every morning nor do I have the financial resources to hire the top of the line trainer with all of his fancy gadgets. I think she means well, but it still comes across as not quite as accessible as she would think.

I think overall the book was an enjoyable read, much more so than I found her first book. I think one needs to take the parts that work for you and put those into practice as much as you can while still living in your own reality. 

Losing It

I just finished reading Losing It by Valerie Bertinelli. It was an interesting read. I usually find it interesting to hear about the more glamorous lives of others. I am a little conflicted about how she presented some things, especially her obsession with her weight. I understand that she is four inches shorter than me and that weight standards are different in Hollywood than in the real world, but I just had a hard time identifying with her when she felt fat at 123 pounds. Even when she was up in the 140's and 150's, I could not empathize with her. In the end, she does say that she understands that some people are not fat at 150 or 160, but it felt fat to her and she had trouble getting jobs at a heavier weight. It didn't make me feel better about my weight which sits there between 150 and 160, mostly I just felt like a fatty, fatty after hearing her story. I did some extra sits up and exercising tonight!

It was interesting to hear her story of her relationship with Eddie Van Halen. I could really identify with her feeling like it had been a mistake to get married in the first place, but trying everything to make it work. In the end, though, the only person she could help or take care of was herself.

I liked the parts where she talked about being a mom. I think that she is a great mom. She seemed to always think of the best interests of her son over everything else.

I would recommend this book to others. I liked it. It isn't one that I loved, but it was not bad.