New Layout (I'M WORKING ON IT) and Holla! At my Homeboys

So yeah.... I'm working on the layout. I think the upper banner (which is brown, currently, to anyone who is reading this in a few days/weeks when it will likely be different) look amateurish and pixel-y. And plus....brown is a kind of gross color. But I was trying to work around the picture of me in the attic full of books. So awkward brown it was.

But, I suppose, this is supposed to be a book blog above all else. So yeah. Othello by William Shakespeare, brought to you by my AP English class.

Throughout the play, the characters, especially Othello, frequently use the words "holla" and "ho." Which leads to some amusing English class discussions about how "gansta" Othello is. But really, I think that it gets more attention than it usually would simply because Othello is basically the only black Shakespeare character. I think it's somewhat unfortunate that this play is often solely remembered for being the one "with a black guy." Because really, it's a decent play and it should be remembered for more than that by high school students.

Still though.... it's not my favorite. I really liked Iago, the evil, plotting villain in the play, but other than that, I didn't particularly like the rest of the characters.Othello was a jealous bore who jumped to conclusions too quickly (legit too quickly to be possible, see below). Desdemona was...boring and a stupid female. Although I do admire her loyalty to her husband to an extent. Emilia was probably the character I liked most after Iago. She at least had some substance to her. And I appreciated her take on how woman can be lustful and disloyal, just as men can. It was nice to hear, especially considering the time period.

The entire play takes place in the span of, at the most, three days. And that's if one generaously assumes that some of the days aren't touched on at all. So essentially, Desdemona is accused of cheating on Othello within 24 hours of their marriage, and killed within 24 hours after that.
There is no way that is possible. She simply wouldn't have time which is one of the things that makes this play so unbelievable. Even if Desdemona was one hell of a hour....damn. That'd be fast.
I can't imagine that Shakespeare could have seriously made such a grave error in the time scheme of his play. I mean.... it was kinda his job, and he's alleged to have been pretty good at it.
Maybe, some have suggested, in between Act III scenes iii and iv, Desdemona waited for over a week before interceding for Cassio to Othello. But this really wouldn't make sense, considering the urgency of what she had to say, and considering that no mention of this is made.
Another funny thing.... the war. It couldn't have possibly progressed so fast. It essentially went from fairly intense to over in 24 hours as well. I don't even know that ships could travel that quickly.
Also, Bianca (the whore) tells Cassio that he has been away from her for a week. So he would have had to have been in the city for at least a week.
Ack. Time makes my head hurt. Maybe all of these subtle inaccuracies and impossibilities were Shakespeare's way of saying, yes, time did elapse, you just weren't entirely savvy to where. In the larger scheme of things, it really doesn't matter, but it would have been Nice for Mr. William to make it a bit easier for us high school readers.

Total Book Count: 20 (I swear I'll start reading after AP tests)
NonFic: 2 (10%)

FOR NARNIA! And Russia....

I am a failure of a blogger, I know. I am lazy, often, and I have let this blog sit un-updated for a month.
So what spurred me to actually get my act together and blog today? My Russian reader. Yes, you. I get a notification every time you search "oomboo2.blogspot.com" on yandex.ru (don't worry it just tells me that a search was made, not who you actually are). And every time you, Russian blog reader, visit this and I haven't updated, I feel bad. Because I'm super flattered that you actually seek out my new posts. It makes me happy. So this post is for you. <3 
Привет! Спасибо Вам за заботу!


I was talking to a girl at my UPenn preview (oh yeah, did I mention I got into the University of Pennsylvania? The ivy... not Penn State.... not that there's anything wrong with Penn State.... I'm just clarifying.... because I'm going to UPenn... kthnxbye.) and she was talking about how everyone in her school is reverting back to middle-school drama in the face of college. Basically, Freudian style regression in addition to senioritis.
Although I haven't had any middle-school-esque drama, I've certainly been regressing somewhat.


I read the entire chronicles of Narnia series over the past month. I think I read them for the first time roughly 7 years ago, when I was in 5th grade. That's probably a little sad.


But, I do love these books. They make me happy and they remind me of happier times in my life when things were simpler and decisions were easy.


SO, my thoughts on the world of Narnia, split up by book*, then in general.


The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
This book is probably not my favorite in the series, but I like it solely because it's the first. And there's a certain amount of....sentimentalism associated with the first and the last book in the series.
I like meeting the characters, especially Lucy and Aslan, whom I love. Peter is....eh.... a little boring. And Edmund is just a loser in the first book. Susan I absolutely can't stand. In any of the books. She's such an uppity bitch. Gah.
Also, the fawn, Mr. Tumnus kind of reminds me of Hagrid from Harry Potter. I mean, Hagrid is always amazingly loyal while Tumnus is kind of a shmuck.... but I more so think that the reaction each character is supposed to illicit is similar. Everyone loves Hagrid, and I think Mr. Tumnus is supposed to be lovable as well. But like Hagrid, I cannot stand Tumnus. Annoying fawn.
The plot of this book, being the first, is probably the most simplistic because so much needs to be explained. So I don't adore the story, although I find it interesting. Perhaps excluding the last book, it has the most religious symbolism, which is always intriguing. Because Aslan=Jesus and he's sacrificed and stuff. I like that.


Prince Caspian
I love this book because of how it starts out- with young Prince Caspian, rather than the Pevensie children, secretly learning about Old Narnia. I like the concept of forgotten lands and folklore that comes true. I don't particularly like the battle scenes in this book as the seem a little cliche, although they do give Edmund a chance to redeem himself a bit (I tend to like Edmund more and more as the books go on). Mostly, I like the travels of the Pevensie children at Cair Paravel (their old castle) and the set-up story of Caspian.


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
This book, I think is my favorite in the series. As I've always disliked Susan and I've never cared about Peter, I enjoyed having a break from them in this book. Lucy is adorable, Edmund is suddenly a...dude, and Eustace (their cousin) is amusingly obnoxious. I also think it's the most diverse story. Throughout the book, the group of children,  on board with Prince Caspian, venture out into the sea to find the lost Lords of Narnia. Every island that the group travels to has a new story, which keeps the book from ever dragging. And the idea of so many lost and forgotten stories and forgotten fates is interesting.


The Silver Chair
I'd like to take a moment to say that the sexism in this series is really evident, but then again, they were published in the middle of the century when sexism was more acceptable. The girls are never allowed to fight in the battles as they are deemed "too delicate" and several comments are made about how women are meant to be mothers and homemakers. It's annoying, but doesn't detract too much from the actual book. I just don't like the idea of impressionable children reading these books and thinking that women can't be strong.
I mention this under The Silver Chair because it's the first book that has a stronger and not simply adorable female character. Jill Pole, a friend of Edmund from the last book, still isn't exactly a strong heroine, but she at least isn't sweet and angelic like Lucy. She has some...spunk.
But really, Jane and Edmund are the only things I like about this book. The rest is...very juvenile and boring. I know it's a children's series, but I think that this book is more immature, boring, and fairy-tale like than the others.


The Horse and His Boy
Okay, I take it back, The Dawn Treader might not be my favorite. Or at least not by a lot. I like The Horse and His Boy because it's distinctly different than the other books in that it isn't centered in Narnia. Plus, there's a legit female badass in it, Aravis, who is an aristocrat-turned-runaway.
I like how this book kind of challenges ideas of superiority, as the main boy character Shasta, must learn that he's no better than his horse, Bree. Likewise, Aravis, who is super cocky in the beginning, must learn that she's not better than Shasta simply because she is wealthy.
This book reminds me a bit of some of Tamora Pierce's work. Tamora Pierce wrote a few series about girl warriors and night in a magical land called Tortall. In the Tortall series, there is a group of people called the Bahzir, who are the people of the dessert. The Horse and His Boy focuses mainly on the dessert people, the Calormen, who are not a part of Narnia (which is very similar to Pierce's Tortall). I thought that this parallel was interesting.


The Magician's Nephew
This book, I think, is the sweetest. I'm not sure actually why I mentally characterize it as sweet...but it just is. It's about two children, Diggory and Polly, sort of discovering/creating Narnia thanks to their somewhat evil (but more greedy and stupid) Uncle's magic. I think it's cool to read it second to last because suddenly, so much about Narnia begins to make sense. Because the reader finally understands the history of thinks like the lamppost where the Pevensies first enter Narnia. Also, it's cool to learn that Diggory Kirke, who is the main character in this book, is actually the uncle whom the Pevensie children live with in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It brings all of the books together.


The Last Battle
Okay.... I didn't actually reread this one. Somehow, I got lazy and failed to finish rereading the series. But I swear, I'll read it soon and write up a blog post about it. I pinky promise.


Final Thoughts
All in all, I really do love this series. It makes me smile, and reminds me of my childhood, and allows me to get lost in a fantasy world. Sometimes I wish that there were fantasy books like this, sweet fantasy books about children, written for adults. Because I'd love to see a story this great written about at a higher level.
Recommended. For sure.


Total Book Count: 20
Total Nonfiction: 2 (10%)


*Note, I always read the Narnia series in the order that they were written in, not in chronological order, as they are marketed. C. S. Lewis always said that he thought they should be read as he wrote them. And I respect that. Plus, I think they're better that way.