Yummy for my mind...

Finally read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I bought it a couple of weeks ago, and I actually put off starting it and read some other stuff instead because I knew once I started it meant the book would be over sooner rather than later. I really liked it and wanted it to be longer. Every word, ever sentence, every page was good writing and the characters were real. Yes, I know it's a children's book, but Gaiman could kick J.K. Rowling's butt, easy! Don't get me wrong, I like Harry Potter, but I will take a one-off Neil Gaiman over the entire Potter series. He's just that good!

Afghanistan, those burkha days...

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Sons (Khalen Hosseini). It is by the same guy who wrote The Kite Runner. It was so sad and so good. It ended leaving you invested in the characters so that you wanted to know more about what happened to them. I do not know what it would be like to live in that kind of a culture, where women are chattel and valued only as bearers of sons. This book, if it is a true telling, confirmed for me my fears about what the burkha means. If just one woman is wearing it because her husband/father has made her then that is one woman too many. I realize some may wear it because they want to. But how can we be sure the choice is a free one? How can we not fear that the cloth covers bruises and broken teeth? It would be one thing if the men were also wearing such things, but it is clearly so one sided. Shiver. What will those men do with the parental rights granted by Bill 44? Will they keep their daughters home and prevent them from being educated? That is the fear I have.

A Few More

I just finished the Walterdale book - For Love, Not Money by Wayne Arthurson. I was not sure how it was going to be, but I really enjoyed it. It did wish there was a little more recent history in proportion to the early years, but it was written well and the early stories were captivating. Wayne did a nice job with the 3 threads woven into the book. There is one that is primarily chronological (but which doesn't quite reach the present in any depth...); there is one that follows the production Sinbad from auditions to close (which focuses intensely on a small set of the present Walterdale members); and there is one that deals with emerging themes (and that occasionally touches on more recent history). It makes me hope for a sequel in 10-15 years with perhaps some stories from people actively engaged in Walterdale now. Perhaps we should have some controversies during my term so that a good tale from it can be included!

I am also listed 3 times in the book (as director, playwright and dramaturge) and I appear in one photo from Black Hearts in the Green Room. Crimes of the Heart also has a nice picture included. There are some people who are in far more photos than others. It is kind of like a high school year book that way.

I Can't Remember All of Them....

I forget about this one so it's been a while. Anyhow, here are a few I remember. I have read a few scripts for the season selection. I don't want to say what exactly but you will know five of them when the season is announced. I also read the last two scripts required for Drama 103 - How I Learned to Drive and Top Dog/Under Dog. I am currently reading A Lion Among Men (third in the Wicked series). I just finished the 2 most recent of the J.D Robb ... in Death series (Salvation in Death and Promises in Death). I haven't really felt like I have had a lot of time for reading lately (that is, reading outside the curriculum for my drama class). Too busy.

Wickedly Rolling Along...

Too busy to race through books, I am now reading Son of a Witch, the second of the Wicked Series by Gregory Maguire. I like Wicked for the most part. Some of it went off on these political tangents and it lost focus in the latter third, but I liked it. I am hoping Son of a Witch gains more push soon.

Plays and more plays...

I read Major Barbara, Cloud Nine and Scorched. These are 3 of my plays for Drama 103. I also started reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire. It has been sitting next to my bed for awhile and I finally picked it up and started. Not bad so far. Tonight I will go and see Scorched at the Citadel. The script was really good so I am hopeful.

Homework Reading...

I am halfway through Major Barbara (GBS) as required for my Drama 103 Class which starts this Tuesday. I am not sure what we need to read first, but I started with this one because it was listed first on the reading list. I still need to find one of the texts and hopefully it will be in at the bookstore this week or next. Hopefully that won't be the first one.