#BooksWithBeddes: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Title: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane                              *link goes to my Goodreads review*

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This may be the book nerd in me, but I've always wanted to be part of a book club. I love reading books, but it's even better when you can share books with other people and talk about your thoughts and feelings. It makes me think more deeply about the things I read and helps broaden my literary taste and helps me see things from other people's perspectives. 

Book clubs are tricky, because it seems really daunting to start one, but then again if you don't start one, you have to wait to be invited to one. When I moved to my first official job, somehow (I don't really remember) but somehow I got invited to a book club and I loved it. I got to know more people in the community, I was surrounded by other readers, and we discussed books! Dream come true. 

This is the explanation behind  this book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It was this month's book club book, and a little different than the ones we've read before. First of all, it's a children's book, I would say 8-10 year old. But it's so good. I love saying that because at first, I was a little skeptical about reading it. Not that I couldn't, just why would I want to? I'm glad to say, this little book changed my mind.

Simply put, it's about a china rabbit who is cold and uncaring. He is separated from his owner and goes on many different kinds of adventures and learns about love along the way. So sweet and so much heart. This would be a lovely bedtime book, to read a chapter each night with a child. Some day, right? 

Swoon-worthy

I found this from a friend's FB. Thank goodness for FB, right? How would we find anything cool without it? Well, I don't know much about these boys. I am guessing they are Italian. Yes, I know, my detective skills are astounding. They sound much more mature than they look.
Mmmmm. Italians. Especially ones that can sing.
This reminds me of a book (like everything does, right?)
It's called the The Silent Gondoliers by the same guy who wrote the Princess Bride novel. It's an interesting fairy tale. I recommend it if you are in need of a short story.
Actually, the only thing it has in common with the video is Italians and the song, 'O Solo Mio'.
But hey sometimes, that is all you need.

Jellies!

 So...today was fun! Besides the fact that is was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and WARM outside, I also got the apartment (somewhat) organized and decorated.

My paternal grandparents came down to visit and spoiled us. I got bubbles for Easter!!! (As you can see, I was much more enthused about the bubbles than I was about the Easter candy or Easter monies.)

dang, I love bubbles

My grandparents treated us to dinner and then groceries, because we are poor college students. (When I say "we" I mean, my sister and I. No, I do not go around using the imperial "we" to refer to the single entity of moi) While we were at Smith's, look what I found in the promotional/seasonal aisle: That's right, jelly flats! No longer is this type of shoe only an elementary school-girl luxury. I can have them too!! And only for five dollars. Mmmm. That is my kind of deal. Anything that is cheap and brightly colored. And plastic.

While I know my shoes are clear and not technically brightly colored, the possibility was there. There were pink, purple, green, blue, and even black ones! So many decisions. I chose the clear ones because A: they will go with EVERYTHING and B: I can pretend I'm Cinderella going to the ball in my glass slippers every. day.

 

I can't get a really good shot of them because they are on my feet and florescent lighting is the bane of all photographers and it's one-freaking-thirty in the morning. I normally don't stay up this late. Oh wait, I'm done with school. I can stay up as long as I like! Well, what do you know...

 

So, so, so excited for summer and these jelly shoes. I'm telling you...Cinderella every day.

"Who Dances in Glass Shoes?!"

It's funny how fairy tales make you believe the impossible.
I am all about fabulous footwear and making a statement....
But seriously?

Glass Shoes?
On what planet has that ever been a good idea?
Ok, so I watched "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" with Brandy as Cinderella.
And that is why I was thinking about glass shoes.
Also, I would really like to have Whitney's hair. It's a fro and it has gold sparkly ringlets in it. Who wouldn't want to rock that?
Back to fairytales.
It is amazing to me that the same stories are found the world over. Every society has a version of the Cinderella story, which obviously means:
~girls over all the world have waited for their prince charmings
~seeing as there are still plenty of people on this planet, they must have found them and had lots of children to prove it.
~if thousands of other girls found prince charming and happily ever afters, then it can't be THAT hard.
But we are NOT talking about boys or dating or marriage or other such nonsense because I have things to do and people to see.
Right?
;)

The Story Behind the Story

So again, I have been thinking recently. About a lot of things, but mostly branching off from my last post and Karina's rebuttal (Tale As Old As Time). If you haven't had a chance to read our discussion, you should. It's interesting and makes you think. Why wouldn't you want to do that?

:)

Anyways, going along with the dangers of Romanticism. It's true that it can distort your view of the world, IF you let it. As Karina said, "you can find whatever you are looking for in a good book." Literature is so dependent on what the reader brings to the book. Someone who doesn't read a lot or is exposed to a wide variety of learning won't make all the connections that someone else will. I guess this is what it means to be literate. This does not mean that you can read. Being literate is so much more complex than just knowing what the words on the page mean. It means knowing the backstory, the references and allusions that would take a lifetime to explain. Being literate means that you can carry on a conversation with anyone in any major regardless of your interest or expertise. This means that you know things and are willing to learn more. And literate people are the best people to be friends with and talk to because the breadth and depth of your conversation is so much greater than anything else in the world.

However, even if you feel Romanticism has ruined life as you know it and there are no real happy endings anywhere, then you need to look again. All stories have underlying values and meanings. Regardless of what happens on the surface, if you can get to the center of the story then that is the lesson that needs to be learned. An example of this is folklore. I went to a lecture about Hugh Nibley and folklore. Most people tend to group folktales, myths, legends and fairytales all under the same umbrella of untruthfulness (with varying degrees). The lecturer had a different way of looking at it though.

Every person is unique and every story is the same way. Even though everything is unique and separate, it is held together by a common center. Call it universal truths or what you will. But these stories always tell the truth. "Just because something didn't happen doesn't mean it isn't true." ~Leonard Arrington Stories always provide a faithful representation of what the teller believed happened and these stories are a mirror of the cultural value sphere that the listeners live in.

So in that sense, all the stories are true. And if you were to find the central truth, the thing which each story is trying to convey, than you would find a happy ending of your own creation. I believe that everything that is good, beautiful and true comes from my Heavenly Father. So when I find truth in the little things around me (even in my fairytales) I can take that truth, incorporate it in my life and in the end come out a better person than I was before.

Which, I think, is the general purpose of this life.

:)

Fairytales and Happy Endings?

I've been thinking recently. I am convinced that there are no happy stories that are considered 'literature'. Trust me. Look at all of the classics and pick out a story that ends happily.

Why are there no happy stories?

Or maybe stories don't end happy or sad but rather we are just expected them to end happy.
You can thank Disney for this one. :) Don't get me wrong; I love Disney and fairytales and folklore, but I do think there is some merit in NOT teaching them so explicitly.

Maybe a little background:
In my American Literature class, we started talking about W.D. Howell's, who in the words of my teacher, 'was the MAN' in the late 19th century. He could make or break any writer's career. Since he was a nice guy, he mostly helped people. Still, if you were going to impress anyone, you wanted to impress Howell. Well, Howell believed that romanticism was dangerous because it changes the way we view the world. When we expect happy endings we aren't happy with real life. That is why all of the Disney princess stories end with the marriage. There is no way to portray real life with romantically. It just doesn't work.

I guess that is what has been on my mind recently. Especially in the BYU atmosphere. Mormon boys and girls grow up with an ideal. And they spend all of this time looking for this ideal, but the fact of the matter is, it doesn't exist. Yes, we strive for perfection and the celestial kingdom, and I believe everyone should work towards that but that doesn't mean you are going to find your heaven on earth right now, right here. We are taught to act a certain way and to look for certain attributes we find attractive. Who decided these things? Why are they so embedded in the culture?

I am just as guilty as everyone else. As Nay would describe, I go for the "obviously attractive" men. Tall, dark, handsome. I guess I do. But why? There is no such thing as a perfect man. So why look so hard? What if the guy I end up with is short, blonde, or not-so-razor-commercial-handsome?

The truth is: It will still be OK.

Good things! And even if everything doesn't turn out how you or I plan, I figure we will find our own kinds of happy endings, in the end.

Askeladden og Smørbukk

Goodness, I can't believe the semester is halfway over. I love, love, love my classes. My favorite one, believe it or not, is my Norwegian Literature class. It is combined with the Danish Lit. class because the languages are so similar, and Denmark controlled Norway for ages. (norway is better...grumble, grumble...) anyways, so for a large majority of the class we have been reading Danish stuff, which, you know, is cool, but ah yes, we just started "nasjionalromatikken" which is the Romantic period in Norway. And there are these two men, Asbjornsen and Moe, they are the equivalent of the Grimms Brother in Germany, well they went to the backcountry of Norway and collected all of these fantastic folk and fairy tales. I love this. I love fairy tales. And fairy tales in foreign languages are even better. Askeladden translates roughly into "the ash lad" which is like Cinderella. He is slightly different though, as he has many adventures, but there are plenty of similarities, trust me. We watched an old school stop-motion animation movie about Askeladden yesterday and I was in heaven. Ah Norge! Dette er det best sted i hele

verden!

Smørbukk is another character, translated into butterball, but he is this adorable kid who has adventures too. He just likes to eat...

Anyways.

That is my geek out moment for the week.

:) Cheers and Happy Halloween!

One snowflake, two...three snowflake, four...

...now you'll see 'The Snow Queen', if you count a million more...

This is the Snow Queen, a story by Hans Christian Andersen and it was made into several different versions. This one I have showcased for you today is a 1957 Soviet Union version that my childhood is based on. I love this story. I couldn't tell you exactly why, but I do, I do, I do. So if you ever get the chance to see it, don't judge it too harshly. It is amazing in its own special way...

and winter is coming...BTW

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?

so the other day, I packed an apple for lunch. So when I got hungry (around lunch time) I pulled it out and bit into it... And the fruit was the whitest I can remember eating. I was like whoa! I feel like Snow White eating her apple...
.......
... I wonder when my prince will come? :)