Ancient Nonfiction- Sex and Vegetables

So, it's not really ancient, but it's in the public domain so it's pretty damn old. Vegetarianism and Occultism by C. W. Leadbeater and Sex: Avoided Subjects Discussed in Plain English by Henry Stanton were both interesting, if not entirely factual reads.

Veggie:

First, I thought it was hilarious how the author referred to the eating meat. Such as:

"The consumption of corpses"

"Feasting upon the flesh of dead animals"

"Defiling oneself with animals"

"Consuming decaying flesh"

And other stuff like that. I'm a vegetarian myself, but I don't run around screaming at people "HOW DARE YOU DEFILE YOURSELF BY CONSUMING THE CARCASSES OF DEAD BEINGS!" Which is essentially what this book did at times.

Honestly though, the arguments were kind of weak. Leadbeater gave examples of cultures that have thrived without meat, but they were often vague is there was usually a counter example of a culture that ate meat. And the health reasons were largely crap (ex. eating meat will cause your body to fill up with nitrogen), as the science just wasn't all that sound. Also, the "occult" part really wasn't witchcraft-related, like I expected it to be. It just referred to the "hidden" (occult) benefits of vegetarianism. I was expecting it to be about the spirits of the dead animals, at the very least. But nope. Just about more health/peace of mind benefits.

The tone was also amusing, as it was clearly written as a sort of pamphlet/instruction manual. Plus, it was written in the early 1900s, so it had slightly different language shtuff.

Overall, an interesting read, and an amusing one, but not a great one.

Sex:

Earlier this year, I read Bonk: A Scientific Study of Sex by Mary Roach. Reading an early-1900s version of a somewhat shocking sex-info book was interesting. It certainly was far less scientific, but it was interesting to learn the perspective from back then. Honestly, most of the book read like a sex-ed textbook. It covered a lot of stuff that is taught in schools. Some parts, however, where certainly different and interesting. There was some very mild sexism (shockingly mild, considering the time period), but overall, it was excellent. Those who know me are aware that I don't mind sexism in books anyway. The book was split up into a few sections, regarding boys and girls at different stages, STDs, love, marriage, and more. I thought that it was really well organized and well written, simple, yet effective for it's time. I tried to jot down notes as I listened (audiobook- yay librivox) so that I would have things to say in this post. SO:

Mix of interesting facts, quotes, and inaccuracies.

• "We may eat ever so many beefsteaks without acquiring any of the characteristics of an ox." (On why people can have sex without becoming sex-crazed animals)
• "At nine months, the fetus is thrust from the laboratory of nature in which it was born." (just found this funny)
• Apparently, masturbation is really bad for guys until age 16. Then it becomes good for them.
• Also, tight pants are bad for boys' game.
• "Sliding down banisters, for examples, provides a titillation." (Examples of how young boys masturbate)
• Masturbation causes epilepsy.
• Puberty is delayed by cold weather.
• Ever since the world war, girls have been more independent and promiscuous. (I suppose this is actually fairly accurate.)
• Girls who go to coed schools are sluts. (according to scientific studies...)
• Pregnant women should read "literature of a lofty nature" in order to have smart babies.
• If a pregnant woman eats enough fruit, childbirth won't hurt at all.
• Pouring mercury on your body is a good cure for syphilis.

The last section, which was actually about sex and love, was the best part. It approached the subject from a very modern point of view, with limited sexism (aside from comments about how women should expect to have to please there husbands, and men should attempt to avoid shocking their wives with their acts/needs... which was slightly funny). Basically, the author said that good sex is great, but a marriage needs more than that. Once you get old, he asserted, sex drive decreases. If that's all you ever had in your marriage, things will not go well from there. He talked about good conversation, and shared interests, and stuff of that sort. I thought it was a nice way to end.

Also, I find it somewhat amusing, for some reason, that he was the wife of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It sort of makes sense. Women's rights and sex education to all... they go together fairly well, I suppose.

I will be writing a total Series of Unfortunate Events post, likely Wednesday or Thursday, and will probably write about No Exit on whichever day I don't choose. And I also need to read 2 additional books to hit 100. Those write ups will likely be posted on Friday. Then, on New Year's Day, I'll write something special and summation-y... I just haven't decided what yet.

Total Book Count: 96 (I'm gonna make it to 100!)

NonFiction: 27 (28.1%)

An Extremely Belated Post Regarding Water and Elephants

Yes, yes, I am finally going to talk about Water for Elephants. But first:

There is someone, a person who uses internet explorer, who follows the link on my facebook and checks this blog about 5 times a week. I admit, I wonder who cares enough to consistently check this thing. I mean, my writing is far from phenomenal and you can't see how strikingly good-looking I am from behind a computer screen (har). So, uh, Hi. Who are you? Or you don't have to tell me. Jeez, I was just curious. Please don't get offended. Come back.

Damn, I'm weird.

But, yes, I appreciate the views and knowing that someone cares about this at least a little bit.

...........

So, I started to write this on the 14th and then saved it as a draft. I suck at updating this blog.

So now, 2 weeks after I started this blog and 7 weeks after I finished the Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen, here it goes. I'm just going to bullet this, since I don't remember my exact thoughts enough to really write anything formal (because... you know... this blog is typically so formal). BAM:

*WFE was a NaNoWriMo novel, and at times, it does feel like one. Certain passages feel like word wars- parts where she just wanted to write and add fluff and get words down.

*I hate when people try to make this novel symbolic. It was written to entertain. The elephant is not a symbol of world peace or something. Gawd. (Note: I read this book for English class.)

*I thought that the portrayal of Jacob (main dude) was really good when he was young, but pretty awful when he was old. It was just terribly stereotypical (which is common of NaNoWriMo novels. This is not a good thing.) and not interesting to read.

*I overall thought that the old-Jacob parts were poorly written, but I like the premise. Once again, shifting time periods of characters between chapters is common for NaNoWriMo, as it's an easy way to up your word count and avoid writer's block (I should know, I did it this year). I thought that it worked well in this novel because it brought into question the validity of young Jacob's story. Old Jacob was... old. And forgetful. What if, the reader may wonder, the story he tells is mere fabrication? Or just a confused version of the truth. The passage in which the nurse Rosemary explains to old Jacob that sometimes old folks remember things wrong and appear to be lying strengthens this.

Also, I liked how the alternating chapters connected. How some part of the previous chapter would be immediately referenced in the next (Like when Young Jacob calls "Rosie" at the end of the chapter and old Jacob awakens to hearing "Rosemary." Or other, cleverer ones that I don't remember.)

But, like I said, other than those bits the old Jacob parts were poorly written, stereotypical, and annoying.

*It vaguely reminds me of the novel Kristina Horner wrote for NaNoWriMo last year. Not that I read it. It was just about carnivals. And it was a NaNo Novel. So yeah, similarity stops there.

*I thought that August was a little stereotypical too. But I didn't mind it as much.

*The chick annoyed me. Marlena. She just didn't seem very... deep. A little bit of a flat character.

*Young Jacob was awesome. I would like him irl.

*It was clear that Gruen did a lot of research, and I liked feeling like I was learning. Plus, I loved all of the Great Depression references. (as a proud member of Academic Decathlon)

*I am excited for the movie. I like Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson.

*Overall, it was a fun read, and a good book. Yay.

Total Book Count: 92 (Yeah... a lot to catch up on)

NonFic: 27 (29.3%)

Moving Away from Preteen Towards Demented Child

I was in a bad mood. This weekend was just freaking stressful (college apps... gah), and I did not feel like challenging myself with anything actually intellectually stimulating. So I read more books absurdly under my reading level!

During NaNoWriMo, Lemony Snicket wrote one of the pep talks. There were a dozen or so pep talks released over the course of the month. I only read two of them, John Green's and Snicket's. Reading Snicket's talk made me really miss the Series of Unfortunate Events. So I started looking around Lemony Snicket's website to see if he'd written anything new. He has.

But before I could start something new, I decided that I had to reread the series. Which is why I read The Bad Beginning and The Reptile Room this weekend.

Yes, they are children's books, I am aware of that. And yes, they are unfortunate and not the typical books that one would gravitate towards in times of stress and anxiety. But, I love them. They are comfort books. They were the first series that I became obsessed with to the point where I started frequenting fan sites and writing essays on my theories. The Series of Unfortunate Eventswas my first Harry Potter series.

The two books themselves were very good. I'd forgotten about a lot of stuff. The plot points I remembered for the most part, but I didn't remember all of the little references to side characters. (OMG Bruce is in the end of Reptile Room and he appears in a later book! Theory time!) I had also forgotten about Snicket's habit of defining words within the text. I like it. It's an excellent way to subtly teach children vocabulary.

I like Violet and Klaus and Sunny. I grew up with them. Or, at least, I spent a lot of 5th and 6th grade being obsessed with them. At the same time though, it feels kind of stupid to summarize the plots here. I've read them enough that I know I won't forget. I'm going to continue to work my way through the series, and I should have some more interesting posts when I can start theorizing again. The earlier books are pretty devoid of material that is usable in theories.

Also, I feel weird referring to "Lemony Snicket" as Snicket. His real name is Daniel Handler. I feel like I should refer to him as "Handler." But I guess he likes his pen name, and it serves a purpose.

I swear, I'll get around to No Exit and Water for Elephants. Soon. And I'll finish my Vegetarianism and Occultism audiobook this week. 'Tis my goal.

Total: 83
NonFic: 25 (30.1%)

Being a Preteen Again

I know that I still need to talk about Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen and No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre, but those two books can wait.

I finished NaNoWriMo 2 days ahead of schedule, on the 28th. I'm much happier with this book than the one I wrote last year, and I really want to finish writing in (it will probably require more like 80,000 words to complete). I'm going to give myself a week-long break though, because my wrists are absolutely killing me from typing so much. I should, theoretically, have more time to read, though I fear I won't be hitting 100 books this year. It's a bit depressing, but I guess I'll survive.

I was a bit under the weather this weekend and just needed something simple and pointless to read, so I turned to First Test by Tamora Pierce. It's the first book in the third series within Tamora Pierce's larger Tortall series. I've always liked it, although I'm not typically a fan of fantasy. It was the same as I remembered it, although I found myself expecting things from the first series (the Alanna series) to happen in this book.
Basically, First Test is about a girl named Kelandry living in the realm of Tortall. She decides that she want to be a knight, even though she is a girl. She is put on "probation" and allowed to train as a page for one year to prove herself. It's a pretty typical girl-power, middle school novel, but it's well written and I liked it. I needed something mindless. And I needed to write about something mindless, not something like No Exit that requires a bit more thought.
I like that it's a cute little, everyone wins story. The girl gets to stay on as a page, she's no longer on probation, and she beats the bullies and shtuff. I needed a positive read. Can you tell I'm a wee bit overworked.
Sorry for the lack of interesting words (and shtuff) in this post. I really don't have much to say about this book, and I am exhausted. Expect more young adult fiction soon. I might actually reread the series of unfortunate events. I am just tired, and I need stuff that reminds me of my childhood, when I wasn't so busy all the time.

Much love to my readers, who seem to exist, if only in small numbers. Feel free to comment. I will love you more.

Total: 81
NonFic: 25 (30.8%)