by Joshua Braff
I often wonder how autobiographical some books are. Did the author use this experience as an opportunity to heal parts of his childhood? Did a little digging and he’s the second of four siblings. Older brother, Adam, himself, younger sister and youngest brother. Seems pretty familiar. Parents remarried and his father was an attorney who did stage work…
But all I can really say is what a horrible father. And quite a selfish mother as well. I can understand her trying to escape and gain a sense of self, but it seems like she did it at the expense of her children. She’d run off to all these conferences and enjoy this life of purpose, but meanwhile, she would just dump her children with their abusive father so she could go off and enjoy her interests. And it wasn’t even like she gave them any tools to deal with him. Just off she went.
I liked the way the book ended. You don’t really know where that boy is running, but you get the sense that he’s not running for anyone else but himself this time. I liked how his older brother had to tell him that it was his time to go and that he had to go alone. Sometimes you can’t save anyone else but yourself. But I think what was different about what he did and what his mother did was that he admitted it. And it was never his responsibility to save his brother. It was just fact that it was his time to move on. But he did try and help Jacob find his own way.
“‘I get to go alone.’”
“I look down at the floor, trying not to cry, trying to see who I am without this parachute I’ve stitched. And it’s vicious I’m afraid, this lonesome I taste.”
by Chris Crutcher
Wow, what an intense book. I have to admit, I’m glad they have a new cover out for it. I didn’t really get how the main character is a Japanese-black-white teen, but the cover picture is a pure white guy. I mean at least they got it right with the C on the letter jacket (unless they decided to portray Mike), but in the end TJ doesn’t even get a letter. Anyway, small technicality, but I’m glad that they have updated the cover to be a little more correct.
It’s pretty unbelievable the amount of hate in this world. And it’s great to see books being published that talk about race and hate and abuse in such an upfront and honest way. You can see how Crutcher’s experience as a social worker has really led to some profound insight that people might never really be exposed to, except in the darkest of places. I wonder how much of this is his own personal means of therapy. That maybe somehow he writes of the horrors he’s witnessed to try and pay something forward. I wish these books were more popular, I don’t even know if they’re on the shelf at work.
It was pretty heartbreaking how Heidi wanted to try and scrub away her color. How someone would feel so small that they were threatened by the existence of a little girl. And then try and kill her. But I think a lot of this stuff can’t be made up, it happens everyday.
“My parents have always encouraged me to be loud when I run into racism, but I can’t count on racism being loud when it runs into me.”
by Sara Zarr
I really like what she decides to write about. Her books aren’t fluffy, they aren’t shallow, yet at the same time she hasn’t crossed into this sick territory where everything is extreme. I think she writes about realities that could affect any one of us at some point in our lives. I hope she continues to write and that more and more people pick up her books. None of them are so overwhelming to make the bestsellers lists, but they’re solid and good. Sweethearts I think is her best so far.
I really like how in this story she challenges faith. I remember when I was younger I just believed. I got confirmed and went to church and sang my little heart out. I even went to extra youth groups (although looking back that might have been more of a social decision). But when my mom died, all those assumptions, all that supposed faith, were challenged. And I kind of never went back.
I remember once my cousin Max told me that he didn’t go to church because of faith, he went because of community. And at the time I thought it was ironic that you had to pretend to believe in order to be a part of something. It makes me wonder, how much else do we pretend to support or believe so that we belong?
“I wish I understood what happened between then and now. I wish there was a way to put your finger on the map of life and trace backwards, to figure out exactly when things had changed so much…”
“That life is never really private, that it’s something other people look at and wonder about and make their conclusions based on what really might just be the tip of the iceberg.”
by Sara Zarr
I really like her stuff. And this book makes me think of lives I’ll never live. Mistakes that I may never make, but at times, you feel like they could have been your own. It kind of made me think of my own family. Diane and Brian have such a different relationship with my dad than I do and I think it’s because I don’t back down, I don’t muck around in the details. I’ve learned that over time all you really have to do sometimes is not back down. Speak your mind and not give up. I guess that’s how I do it with my dad. That’s how I did it with Casey. And I’m really glad I stuck with it, because a life without family would be a pretty lonely life.
And I do wonder, is there an expiry date on forgiveness? Is there ever a point when you can’t go back and confront someone who has hurt you? Sometimes I really wondered about that with the Reconciliation attempts they were doing in South Africa. Could forgiveness and the witnessing of sins be enough to move on? Can that make things right? I don’t think I’ve ever been asked for forgiveness, I know I have asked for it in the past. But I wonder, how long are you even able to hold on to things before they destroy you?
“And you will, eventually. Only, don’t mistake a new place for a new you. I’ve done that more than once. You asked me before why I stay here. Maybe that’s why,” he said, “now that I think about it. Might as well deal with myself right here. It’s as good a place as any.”
by Franz Wisner
I found the book pretty interesting and it was fun to see him gradually, almost by accident fall in love with Tracy. There never seemed to be a secret ingredient or even a tipping point, where Franz all of a sudden is in love. You almost wonder, how DO people know they’re in love? I liked how he and Tracy really got to know each other through emails over the course of 6-8 weeks. And perhaps, he’s right, they were only able to fall in love by not being overwhelmed or distracted by the physical or easy aspects of a young relationship. Only through communication, was he able to fall in love with her. That’s kind of the way G and I were, we met, hung out for 2 weeks and then did 1 year of long distance. It was tough, but I think I really knew him at the end of that first year.
My favorite aspect of the book though was learning about all the dating and courting experiences around the world. My only criticism is, can anyone EVER really know and understand a people enough to say that THIS is how they are? I’ve lived in places for years and never really feel confident in knowing a place, a culture, a people. And it was very obvious that these were not objective accounts. But it was all fascinating. I even got a bit of research for our project: New Zealand has the 4th highest chlamydia rates in the world.
“For me, love is if I am happy and you are happy, we can share. But if you are not happy, you can share nothing.”
TV: I love how Billy Chapel doesn’t realize until the 8th inning that he could be pitching the perfect game. It was like he was so focused on reminiscing his life and all the roads that brought him to this point where he has make a decision, that he tuned out all the counting.
This movie gives me goosebumps and I love the way the whole team carries Billy after the 8th inning. They all pull together to accomplish something great.
But the best part of the movie is the sports commentator. He’s so poetic and brings everything into context. Billy’s life, his career and the greater good of baseball.
“I’ll miss you the most scarecrow.”
“The cathedral that is Yankee Stadium, belongs to a Chapel.”
by Michael J Fox
I thought this book was a little bit too much of an open ramble by Fox. I thought he went on a bit too long about how great he was for having gotten an education at the “School of Hard Knocks” rather than a formal high school. And his little chapter lessons, such as Geography and Physics, just felt like random things that somewhat related to these topics.
But I liked some of the quotes that were in the book and it was interesting to learn a little about his life.
“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” – John Wooden
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” – John Wooden
“Is what anyone else thinks of me really any of my business?”
So good. I think David Slade did a great job. I should have known, Hard Candy was fantastic. I wish he was doing Breaking Dawn as well, but I guess we’ll have to see how the other guy does.
But I thought this film was really well balanced between filling in the blanks of what was happening in Seattle and what was going on in Forks. It was fun to see parts of The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner in there. The dialogue was funny, the characters stayed true to the books, the music was amazing and the fight scenes were awesome.
I don’t think there was enough emotional strive between Bella and Jacob. I think it could have been a little bit more intense. And really, the more you see Edward and how he behaves, you kind of wonder, why did Bella pick him? He’s kind of controlling and manipulative, huh? I’m kind of interested in this book I saw called Bella Should Have Dumped Edward.
“This isn’t the time to make hard and fast decisions. This is the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere. Fall in love. A lot. Major in philosophy because there’s no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind and change it again, because nothing is permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can. That way some day when they ask what we want to be, we won’t have to guess, we’ll know.”
