C.S. Lewis? You mean The Chronicles of Narnia guy?

When I first saw on the book list for this class that we would be reading a C.S. Lewis book I was quite excited. For the longest time, I always thought that C.S. Lewis was just the guy who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. Now, I was briefly aware of the fact that he had written other books besides that series, but I didn't really know what they were called or what they were about, or anything. All the people who hear me say that I've never read Mere Christianity ask if I'm even a real Christian. Apparently it's a big deal.
I've never heard of A Grief Observed until this class, though. And I AM LOVING IT. Even though this might not be one of his best novels (or so I've been told my true Lewis scholars), this makes me want to read more and more Lewis. I mean, if this is one of his "not so great" books, bring on the better ones! I can't wait to see how good Mere Christianity and The Great Divorce are.
There is something about A Grief Observed that makes me not want to put it down. I'm actually almost finished reading it for the second time. Perhaps it is Lewis' honesty? He has an ability to describe every detail of his pain in such a way that draws me in. It's in a different way than other books, though. Some of those cheesy romantic novels I read pull me in, too. They are hard to put down. But this sort of attraction towards A Grief Observed is new, and different. Maybe because it's not a "happy ending" of what I'm used to hearing about in books. It's painful. It's honest. It's real.

"We could almost say He sees because He loves, and therefore loves although He sees."

Continuing to learn more and more from this class,
Anna Marie

True connoisseur of fairytale endings

I really actually enjoyed this story...if you want to call it that. It's almost a story, I guess, but then again it's not because of Margaret Atwood's style of writing. I love how she sort of lets you read the different circumstances that can happen. It reminded Jennifer while we were in our discussion group about a book that she has read when she was younger that she really liked. It let you turn to a certain page if you wanted a certain thing to happen. Like it would say, "If you want Kathryn to go out with George instead of Nathan, turn to page 207," and "If you want Kathryn to go out with Nathan instead of George, turn to page 215." I loved that style of writing. I liked that you could choose what the characters were going to do. It sort of left you, as a writer, in control. But, on the other hand, I love that we never know what the author will throw at us when we aren't choosing the ending ourselves. It's frustrating to not get the ending that you want, but that's literature, and it's great.
I did not like the ending of all of these stories, except for A. Of course, I have grown up with the whole "fairytale" mindset, so I'm not too surprised that I didn't like the endings that turned out awful. I prefer books with love, and happiness and yes, fairytale endings. I know life doesn't turn out that way, and I know that murder and infidelity happen everyday.
But can you blame a girl for wanting something that she knows doesn't exist? It keeps that child inside of me alive and dreaming.
Favorite Quote: "So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun. True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it's the hardest to do anything with."
Maintaing a childish and dreaming heart,
Anna Marie

Kudos to Peter, Bethany, and Rufus

When Professor Corrigan said that there were different versions of "Frankie and Johnny", I became pretty curious. So, I went online and found other pretty interesting versions of this song. Lindsey Lohan did some messed up version of it. Pretty awful, it was. I mean, she could sing well, I guess, but part of her role in this movie was to sing the song wrong, so that part was pretty weird. Johnny Cash's version had different words, and I actually liked those words better! In his version, Johnny was loyal to his wife, he never "did her wrong" and Frankie didn't kill him. He did try and flirt with Frankie's sister, but she told him not to, and he never cheated on Frankie. It was a much happier ending, I must admit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai29_lB66Kk
This is a link to the Elvis Presley version of it. Apparently there was a movie called Frankie and Johnny that he was in, and the song kind of told the story of the movie. I liked this video because I could visually see the story of Frankie and Johnny while hearing the music....it was pretty cool. This actually makes me want to watch the movie by them. My question is if Johnny really does cheat on Frankie in the movie. In this clip that I’m sharing, they are performing the Frankie and Johnny song as a “skit” in inside of the movie. But I wonder if in the “real life” of the movie, Frankie really does cheat of Johnny. I think it would be pretty stupid in Johnny case after seeing how Frankie could possibly react.
I actually imagined that after the song was over, the audience realizes that Frankie really did shoot Johnny. That could be a neat twist to the movie.
But overall, the version we heard in class was my favorite. I like the folk style of the music.
Bottom line--Kudos Peter, Bethany, and Rufus.

Good 'ol bedtime stories.

I can remember laying in my bed when I was just a wee little tot and having my Mama read bedtime stories. They varied from The Berenstain Bears to a little girl living in Japan named "Toto Chan." But my favorite book that my Mom read to me was called "Love You Forever." It was about a mom and her son and the mother was talking about how she would hold her tiny baby son and rock him and tell him that she would love him forever. It shows the story of her son growing up, and the mother getting older until the very end when the mother is very old and fragile. The son is then holding his mother and rocking her, telling her that he would love her forever. It warmed my heart everytime.
Since I have been in middle school, literature has been incredibly intriguing to me. I've loved almost every book I have read. There is something about a good book that makes me want to read all day long. My most recent memories have been of "religious" books, as I guess you could call them. Lately, I have been trying harder to grow more in my faith, therefore I have been hearing about great books such as Blue Like Jazz by Donal Miller, and Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian.
My most recent love, though, is Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It is about falling in love with our amazing God and breaking free from the status quo of religious complancency. Francis Chan writes as if he's talking to you in a face to face conversation, so he makes it incredibly easy to read so you can dwell on what he's saying and not necessarily how he is saying it. Chan says, "Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything." I want to be changed. I want my world to be rocked by being completely and head over heels in love his Jesus. So, this book is great for me right now. PLEASE read it if you have not already.
Literature is greatly significant is every way. It is a way for people to express themselves. It is a way for people to communicate to the entire would around them. Just think about this next thought. Works of literature from the past, from hundreds of years ago, are alive today! The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bible, even the Swiss Family Robinson are all still here. The authors of these books, and many like them can communicate thier feelings, thoughts, and creativity to the present world. That is amazing! We don't only learn about our past, but we also see our present day layed for us in books. Just look at the shelves and shelves of books in Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million. Every work of literature will be around for my grandchilden and their grandchildren to read. How can any of this not be significant?