Ignorant Historian

Read. Read. Read-a-thon All Day Long!

Anyone who knows me in real life could probably guess what I’m doing this weekend.

And anyone who only knows me through this blog would have a mighty good chance of guessing it as well.

I’ll be reading.

Reading in the Read.Read Read-a-thon.

Here’s what I’ll be reading (no, not all of it!):

Click on the picture for the titles.  And no, don’t pay attention to the fact that there is a whole OTHER stack of library books behind those for this weekend.

I hope you all have wonderful weekends, too!

“If I truly believed the rapture was “imminent,” as Liberty’s official doctrinal statement says, I think I’d do things a lot differently.  I might not buy green bananas, for starters.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 99

“I know I’m not trustworthy. How likely is it that the world is true if I’m not?” – Liar by Justine Larbalestier, p. 84-85

“I saw I was better at appreciating art than producing it.” - 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton, p. 155

“We’re not stupid, we’re just poor!  And we have a right to want to insist on this distinction.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 275

“But it was crazy of me to expect that I could situate myself among these people twenty-four hours a day, befriend them, and adopt their mannerisms without also internalizing and grappling with their beliefs.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 96

“We thought we had such problems.  How were we to know we were happy?” - The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 51

“I had this secular/liberal paranoia that when evangelical students were among themselves, they spent their time huddled in dark rooms, organizing anti-abortion protests and plotting theocratic takeover.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 38

“Making things seem a way they aren’t is making them better.” – Mr. Curtain (the bad guy) in The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 292

“I would like to be ignorant.  Then I would not know how ignorant I was.” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 263

“When they write poems or sing songs in the West, they speak for all humanity.  They’re human beings–but we’re just Muslims.  When we write something, it’s just called ethnic poetry.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 279

“The moment of betrayal is the worst, the moment when you know beyond any doubt that you’ve been betrayed: that some other human being has wished you that much evil.  It was like being in an elevator cut loose at the top.  Falling, falling, falling, and not knowing when you will hit.” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 193

“They’re supposed to stop me lying.  Yet they believe everything I tell them.” Liar by Justine Larbalestier, p. 11

“But one thing has become clear: these Liberty students had no ulterior motive.  They simply can’t contain their love for God.  They’re happy to be believers, and they’re telling the world.” – Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 64

“Don’t laugh at the spinsters, dear girls, for often very tender, tragical romances are hidden away in the hearts that beat so quietly under the sober gowns, and many silent sacrifices of youth, health, ambition, love itself, make the faded faces beautiful in God’s sight.” – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, p. 526

“You can be anything you want to be, his parents told him, but they lie.d  Truth was, an enormous breach existed between one’s ambitions and one’s reality.” – 31 hours by Masha Hamilton, p. 59

“Destroy grammasites with extreme prejudice — and shun any men with amorous intentions.” – Miss Havisham in Well of Losts Plots by Jasper Fforde, p. 187

“But if unhappiness were a genuine reason for suicide, half the women in Turkey would be killing themselves.” – deputy governor in Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 14

“It can’t be easy being an amalgamation of all that has been written before.” – Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, p. 46

“But now, because we’ve fallen under the spell of the West, we’ve forgotten our own stories.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 78

“I don’t want to be alone on this planet they call earth.” – “Taking Chances” as sung by the Glee cast

“At times like these he had felt most guilty; all he’d wanted was to forget about Turkey and everything and go home and read books.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 175

“Most of them were too unhappy to sleep; they took pleasure in knowing that the cigarettes they smoked were killing them; they began sentences, only to let their voices trail off as they remembered how pointless it was to carry on; they watched television not because they liked or enjoyed the programs but because they couldn’t bear to hear about their fellows’ depression, and television helped to shut them out; what they really wanted was to die, but they didn’t think themselves worthy of suicide.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 194-195 [sorry for 2 quotes about suicide...it's a theme in Snow, not in my thoughts]

“Still, whenever she awakened in the wee hours, she wanted nothing more than to breathe in time with another human body — a desire that pointed to a primitive quality in her, she thought, one not suited to this modern life.” – 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton, p. 1-2

“Don’t worry.  Love that blooms this fast is just as fast to wither.” - Ipek in Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 211

So, this weekend was an interesting one.  I’ve been sick since Thursday (just a cold, I think), so I ended up not working or doing much else.  Worked out alright, though, because I did the Read-a-thon, and ended up reading the entire, long weekend.  It’s a little weird to be back in the real world!  If you’re curious what all I read, you can read my post about it here.  I read 6 1/2 books in 3 days!  In all the reading I’ve done lately, here are some gem quotes I pulled out:

“I don’t know if I was happy that day–those tense and edgy feelings were getting stronger and stronger–but I do know that I’ve never been happy sense.” – Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, p. 54

“Bah…Turkey’s for the birds.  Only uncool people go to Turkey.” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 126

“Unless we come to grips with the fact that we’re of precisely the same stock as Dodd and Stalin and Mao, we’ll never get over thinking that we deserve better.” – If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, p. 76

“If I’d had anything fun to do, I don’t think I would ever have read as much as I did.” - The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 175

“Who but us [survivors] has the audacity to admit we are no match for a world in need of redemption?  We choose how much we will carry away with us from the fire.  Everyone else pretends they can’t even see the ashes.” – Josef in White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner

“…it doesn’t take away your fears, it only lies to you about them, makes you temporary believe you don’t have them.  And I know it’s a lie, but what a powerful one!  Maybe I’m not who I always thought myself to be, maybe I’m the sort of person who will do anything to hear what I want to believe.” - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 367

“Recording what we’ve done, in words, on paper, it’s got to be our way of telling ourselves that we mean something, that we matter, that the things we’ve done here made a difference.” – Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

“Worshipers came and went as they pleased, prayed according to how they felt most happy, and mingled freely with other GSD members.  It enjoyed moderate success, but what God actually thought of it no one ever really knew.” - Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, p. 223

“The face of evil is frighteningly ordinary.” – Chuck Colson, quoted in If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, p. 134

“It seems if there were a formula to fix life, Jesus would have told us what it was.” - Searching for God Knows what by Don Miller, p. 10

“He hasn’t accepted his death.  He is already fighting hard to stay alive.  Which also means that kind Peeta Mellark, the boy who gave me the bread, is fighting hard to kill me.” - Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 60

“I realized then that I didn’t understand anything.  I read all the books I could.” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 32

“Greed often helps people think of reasons they might not discover on their own.” - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 115

“The regime had understood that one person leaving her house while asking herself, ‘Are my trousers long enough?  Is my veil in place?  Can my make-up be seen?  Are they going to whip me?’ no longer asks herself, ‘Where is my freedom of thought?  Where is my freedom of speech?  My life, is it livable?  What’s going on in the political prisons?’ ” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 302

“Marriage, like spinach and opera, was something I had never thought I would like.” – Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, p. 93

” ‘You know how to kill.’
‘Not people,’ I say.
‘How different can it be, really?’ says Gale grimly.
The awful thing is that if I can forget they’re people, it will be no different.” – Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 40

Obviously not me, but I understand his read-anywhere attitude.

I’m a reader.

Not that that’s anything new to most people that know me.  After all, I’m the chick that carries a book with her everywhere she goes.  I’m the one who is always referring things back to one book or another.  I’m the one who would oftentimes rather be home alone reading than out with friends.

What I mean when I say that “I’m a reader” is something more than that.

If there is any writing within in my eyesight, I must read it.  That’s why it bugs me when they put signs on the back of bathroom stall doors.  Every time I go to the bathroom at work (and with the quantities of water I drink, that’s a lot), I have to read the paragraph about how one should flush the toilet and not make a mess of the bathroom.

If there’s a cereal box or other package on the table while I’m eating, I read it.  All of it, including the nutrition facts that I just might prefer to ignore.  I think this is why I know that a can of Dr Pepper has 40 grams of sugar.  I wonder if this is why my mom always put cereal in Tupperware containers.

Perhaps my tendency to read everything in site is why I prefer to have a book with me.  If the reading material around me is scarce (and usually boring), who wants to read it over and over again?

Photo by Jayel Aheram

“If what a person wants is his life, he tends to be quiet about wanting anything else.  Once the life begins to seem secure, one feels the freedom to complain.”  - Ann Patchett, Bel Canto, p. 56

“Good arguments will not convince anyone who is not open to being convinced.” – Frank Turek, Correct, Not Politically Correct, p. 8

“I suppose it’s terribly sexist of me assuming that all of the terrorists were male. It’s a modern world, after all. One should suppose a girl can grow up to be a terrorist just as easily as a boy.” – Messner, character in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, p. 147

“Many have become immune to Christianity by contracting a mild and unbiblical form of it.” – Randy Alcorn, If God is Good, p. 35

“Americans have a bad habit of thinking like Americans.” – Roxanne Coss, character in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, p. 222

“Anyone who observed us would conclude the purpose of all academic discussion was to provide the grounds for becoming further entrenched in our original positions.” – Richard Russo, Straight Man, p. 201

“You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do [the jurors] need to know?” – Kathy O’Brien, character in Monster by Walter Dean Myers

“In our reckless pursuit of self-gratification we impose upon ourselves gnawing emptiness rather than the joy and contentment that comes in loving God and others.” Randy Alcorn, If God is Good, p. 64

“If the Bible tells us what life is and how to live it, then biblical literacy isn’t an option. I need it. We all do.” – Rachel Starr Thompson, “What We Don’t Know”

Since I’ve watched a lot of House recently (as of today I’ll have seen them all, except for the first season, since Blockbuster doesn’t carry it), I thought I’d do a special all-House quote post.  I’ve said it before, but remember that I find these quotes intriguing, though I don’t necessarily agree with them.

‘People have the right to be happy.” – Foreman in “The Greater Good”

“It’s just a job now.  The fairy tale ended a long time ago.” – a priest, “Unfaithful”

“Rational arguments don’t usually work on religious people.  Otherwise there wouldn’t be any religious people.” – House, “The Right Stuff”

“If the wonder’s gone when the truth is known, there never was any wonder.” – House, “You Don’t Want to Know”

I feel like a fairly literary, cultured person.  Sure I may watch a bit too much reality television and listen to too much Black Eyed Peas, but I get a regular intake of literature as old as our country and music from the Renaissance.  But there is one part of “culture” and literature that I just. don’t. get.  (And no, I’m not talking about opera, though I suppose I could be.)

Ready?

I don’t like poetry.

Maybe it’s more that I don’t get poetry.  I like symbolism and imagery and the like, so I guess I like poetic language, but not actual poetry.  Sometimes I want to ask, “Just exactly what are you trying to say, and can you please just say it?”  Perhaps it’s the rationalist in me that doesn’t like the fluff.

Can you help me out?  If you enjoy poetry, what’s your favorite poem/poet?  What do you like about it?

Photo by MShades

It’s been a while since I’ve shared with you some quotes…I haven’t done as much reading as I used to!  Chalk it up to summer laziness, I guess.  As evidenced by the two 24 quotes.

“With what we’ve been through in the last 18 hours, I’m sure he’s pulled in 10 different directions.” – Mike Novak
“We were and in some ways still are on the brink of war. I’m the commander in chief. When I call, there is only one direction.” – President David Palmer, 24, Day 2, 3:00 AM

“If you believe not me, read here in this book, and for the truth of what is expressed therein, behold, all is confimred by the blood of Him that made it.” John Bunyan, Pilgrim Progress, p. 5

“I wish people–including me–had a more visceral reaction to reading.” – A. J. Jacobs, The Know-It-All, p. 211

“Li only needed the simplicity of routine to keep her spirit satisfied.” – Gail Tsukiyama, The Women of the Silk, p. 229

“Don’t play dead before you have to.” – Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, p. 75

“Now that I’m sitting in that chair…I’m starting to wonder if I’m the right person to lead this country.” – President Wayne Palmer
“That’s an irrelevant question, sir.” – Tom Lennox
“Excuse me?”
“You will lead this country whether you want to or not. You are the president.” – 24, Day 6, 6:00 AM

“I want to leave a lasting impression on the world.” – Eric Harris’s journal (one of the Columbine shooters)