The Stand Read-A-Long: Check-In #3

It's time to check in once again on The Stand!  I'm going to leave the questions pretty generic this time around.  The final two check-ins will have more direct questions!

Where are you currently at in the book (e.g., page, chapter, description)?

I am currently on page 323 of 1153 or Chapter 36.

What are your thoughts so far?

I have not gotten very far this week because I have set the book aside for a while to finish my book club selection for our monthly meeting next week.  It has been a nice break, but I am very excited to get back into the swing of The Stand because surprisingly, I miss it.  Not sure what there is to miss since I'm still in the midst of Captain Trip's outbreak.  And, I'm now suffering from many allergy symptoms, including a stuffy nose, coughing, sneezing, etc.  I think as long as I don't get stuck in a tunnel, I will be able to keep my anxiety at a manageable level!!

What I believe I truly miss is the characters.  Like I have said many times before, I believe that King has a knack for developing his characters.  And, I simply miss the characters!  I can't wait to continue on their journey as they travel across the states!  I will be diving back in this weekend, so until next time . . .

Don't forget to follow our read-a-long conversations on Twitter at #readthestand (don't make me look like I'm talking all to myself there please!!).

And, as a reminder, here are the dates for our final check-ins:

• Saturday, May 8th
• Monday, May 17th:  Wrap-Up!

Fairy Tale Fridays: One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe

This week's selection for Fairy Tale Fridays was One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes by The Brothers Grimm.  I'm going to try something a little different this week in summarizing this tale, so bear with me as I list the important points of this story . . .

3 sisters

1 Eye:  Oldest

2 Eyes:  Middle Child

3 Eyes:  Youngest

1 Hateful Mother

1 Wise Woman

1 Special Goat

Middle child with 2 eyes is the outcast because she looks the same as everyone else.

The mother and sisters treat the middle child poorly, leaving only the scraps for her to eat and making her do all the work.

The wise woman helps the middle child and the goat provides her with whatever she needs, both in life and in death.

Based on this very brief synopsis, it brings me to see quite a few similarities between this tale and one we read in the past . . . Cinderella.  One daughter is the outcast, but of course she has a little help from nature to assist in a happy ending!  However, there are quite a bit of differences this time around in One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes. 

In this tale, the one child who looks like the majority is the one that is singled out.  It is the one that is the middle child that receives the harsh punishments and cruel treatments.  Two-eyes also just happens to be this mother's biological child.  And, last but not least, the heroine in this story forgives and forgets in the end.  In many of the tales that I have read, these are completely opposite of the "norm."  Typically, the one who is different is the one that is the outcast.  The extremes, meaning the youngest and the oldest, are usually the ones that are targeted or featured in the tales.  Cruel treatment is usually a result of mixed families (e.g., step-children and -mothers).  And, something terrible happens to those who do the punishing, and we do not hear anything about them again.

Of all these differences, the one that I keep returning to over and over again is that Two-Eyes takes in her sisters at the end of the story.  She completely forgives and forgets.  As the last sentence in my version states,

"Two-eyes however, made them welcome, and was kind to them, and took care of them, so that they both with all their hearts repented the evil that they had done their sister in youth."

This is what I like to think is the true happy ending!  Despite the poor choices made, despite the harm that was done, kindness and love is stronger than evil and will always win out in the end.  Granted, the story is a bit on the odd side, but I truly like this one!  For some reason, I always have!

What did you think of this week's tale?  Did you come up with a different moral?


UPCOMING TALES:

Friday, May 7th:  The Three Bears by Robert Southey

Friday, May 14th:  The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Traditional Tale)
Friday, May 21st:  The Philosopher's Stone by Hans Christian Andersen

Friday, May 28th:  The Twelve Brothers by The Brothers Grimm 

Fairy Tale Fridays: The Butterfly

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe

I decided to randomly choose this week's selection to help in expanding our exposure to Andersen's tales.  I looked at this short tale and knew it was one that I had not read or even heard of.  One of my purposes behind doing this weekly event was to explore a variety of fairy tales . . . ones that we are familiar with and ones that we are not . . . ones that make us smile, ones that might even make us cringe, and ones that just make us wonder!  This week's selection, The Butterfly left me in the last category.

Here's my brief synopsis of this short tale . . . The butterfly wants to marry and the lucky recipient of his proposal will be a flower.  Unfortunately, there are just too many flowers to choose from!  He asks for help from the camomile.  He offends her and then moves onto the daunting task of finding his mate . . . snowdrops have no personality, linden blossoms were small and came from a large family, sweet peas did not age well . . . and this continues until he just gets too old and simply never gets married.

The Butterfly is really a very sad tale.  I'm not really sure what the moral is even supposed to be.  My first thought is . . . Don't be picky in your mate.  Then, I got to thinking maybe . . . Don't interact with the big guys that are just so different from us.  I really could not come up with a great moral that I liked, but I did come up with one specific quote that I do want to take away . . .

"But to live is not enough.  One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."

How do I interpret this?  I like to think that it means that we must not just go through the motions in life.  We can live day to day, week to week, getting stuck in the rut . . . BUT, we must take time to soak in the sunshine, realize the good things in our life, and simply stop to smell the roses!  There is so much that we can miss in life, little things we don't really appreciate . . . until they are no longer there or available to us.

How will you choose to live?  What is one of those small things you appreciate that others tend to overlook?  And, of course, what did you take away from this tale?  Was it something completely different?


UPCOMING TALES:

Friday, April 30th:  One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three Eyes by Brothers Grimm

Friday, May 7th:  The Three Bears by Robert Southey

Friday, May 14th:  The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Traditional Tale)
Friday, May 21st:  The Philosopher's Stone by Hans Christian Andersen

The Stand Read-A-Long: Check-In #2

It's that time again to check in on our read-a-thon for The Stand!!!  I've listed only a couple of questions for this week, so just go with it and be creative!  I'm curious to know where everyone is at and what you all think!!

Where are you currently at in the book (e.g., page, chapter, description)?


I am currently on page 286 of 1153 or Chapter 34.

What are your thoughts so far?


I am still enjoying the book, particularly many of the characters.  I really like Stu Redman, Frannie Goldsmith, and of course, Nick Andros.  They all seem to have a good heart, even despite their flaws.  I also love to hate Randall Flagg and Lloyd . . . and, I'm about to start the chapter where the Trashcan Man is introduced.  I remember truly disliking this latter character in my first read of the book.

The focus on the superflu, particularly when it compares to Swine Flu (which it actually does in this book!), is disturbing.  I work on a college campus and witnessed just this last fall quarantines of student populations, fear of the outbreak of this virus, and the many symptoms being spread in my office alone.  Then, you have those days, where you are sitting in your car at Walmart and the cream of the crop comes hacking at your door, attempting to get into his own car.  Coughing without covering, spitting, and completely making me wince!  Nasty and particularly disconcerting when I happen to be in the middle of deaths from dear "Captain Tripps"!  I don't remember being this disgusted on my first read of The Stand!  But, then again, maybe I was a bit more naive to what can spread . . . I didn't feel that quarantines of the simple flu could be so real and spread like mad.  Now, I hear a simple sneeze and I'm grabbing for my anti-bacterial gel and my Lysol wipes to begin disinfecting!!  Blah!!!!

What are your thoughts currently?

Fairy Tale Fridays: A New, Modern Tale

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe

This week's selection for Fairy Tale Friday was your choice of a modern version of a classic fairy tale.  I personally had a blast with this one, so you may see this type of selection show up again another time or two.  I chose to highlight two books this week because one is the sequel to the other.  Without further ado . . . 

Rapunzel's Revenge is a modern-day tale of a fairy tale classic in a graphic novel form.  It incorporates a multitude of tales beyond the title character, but Rapunzel is the true hero in this adventure.  


Shannon and Dean Hale spin their own tale of Rapunzel, even staying true to the character Gothel; however, they create a strong female character that you grow to love through her independence and determination.


In Part 2, we meet Jack, a witty gentlemen that I liked in an instant (and I believe Rapunzel did too).  Together they work together to rescue Rapunzel's real mother and bring justice to the region.


Beyond the story itself, Rapunzel's Revenge contains beautiful illustrations, resulting in an amazing story filled with love, adventure, and lots of humor.  I definitely recommend this one!

Shannon and Dean Hale continue their tale of Rapunzel and Jack in the recent release of Calamity Jack.  This time, the two enter Jack's world, discover more of his past, and learn what led him to meet Rapunzel in the first tale.


As Jack and Rapunzel reach Jack's hometown, they quickly discover that the city has been overrun by the ant people and his mother has been kidnapped by a giant.  And, this all began thanks to a beanstalk, a beanstalk that originated with Jack.


Calamity Jack is filled with more wit, more adventure, and more love.  I do not believe it was as strong as the first, but the two are a companionship I do not want to live without!  I would love to own my own copies someday because it is worth more than one re-read!


Which modern classic tales did you read this week?


UPCOMING TALES:

Friday, April 23rd:  The Butterfly by Hans Christian Andersen

Friday, April 30th:  One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three Eyes by Brothers Grimm

Friday, May 7th:  The Three Bears by Robert Southey

Friday, May 14th:  The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Traditional Tale)

The Stand Read-A-Long: Check-In #1

It's time to check-in on our read-a-long of The Stand by Stephen King.  I have listed a few questions for you below.  Please feel free to answer any and all of them.  I have just included my answers here this time.

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What page/chapter are you currently on?

I am currently on page 33 of 1153 pages OR Chapter 5!  Not very far yet, but I hope to make much more progress this week!

What are your thoughts so far?

I have been drawn in right away once again with this story.  I love the "real" feel to the characters, their good side and their flaws.  At first, I was a bit bothered by one particular piece of language, but it truly proves the character that uses it, so I was more willing to tolerate it at least for the sake of developing the character more to his "potential."

The flu portrayed is very scary, particularly because I work with college students on a daily basis . . . a population that recently had an outbreak of swine flu this last fall!!!  King has a way of taking on this everyday event, something we experience every year, and exploring the dark side.  It's this realism, not the gory details, that effects me the most!  It makes me think . . . "What if . . ."

Which character draws you in the most?

Even during my first read, I was drawn to Stu Redman . . . maybe it is his sad story, maybe it is strength (despite the tragedy), maybe it is something different altogether.  I really don't know!  Maybe when I read a little further I will be able to pinpoint it a bit more.  I'm really not that far yet!!  

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There is still time to join us in reading The Stand!  If you would like to, sign in here!

Fairy Tale Fridays: Little Red-Cap (aka Little Red Riding Hood)

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe

I am once again posting Fairy Tale Fridays late and I want to apologize profusely here . . . Sorry, sorry, sorry!!  I am feeling a turn-a-round.  I even already have next week's FTF already written!!  


With that out of the way, let's move on to one of the most well-known fairy tales, Little Red-Cap or what is more commonly known as Little Red Riding Hood.  Little Red is known because of her red clothing, whether it be a cap or a cape or a cloak, depending on the version you are reading.  She has a great relationship with her grandmother, who just so happens to have given her the red cap.  One day, she hits the road to take some treats to her grandmother, meets the wolf, and ends up in an unexpected predicament . . . both the grandmother and Little Red end up in the stomach of a sleeping wolf!  Of course, the woodsman comes to the rescue and cuts them out still in one piece, saving the day and allowing all (but the wolf) to live happily ever after!


This is one of the more prevalent stories in my inspiration for FTF, The Book of Lost Things.  As I was reading further into the research for this book, I came to discover that Little Red Riding Hood has many sexual undertones!  What?!?!  Once I read more about it, these undertones did become more clear to me, but I don't know if I would have ever caught this on my own.  In a nutshell, the wolf can be symbolized as a man, ready to eat up the sweet and innocent Little Red!


What I have found to be the most interesting about this tale is all the different versions or adaptations or references over the years.  In fact, there is this website known as the Little Red Riding Hood Project, compiled via University of Southern Mississippi and edited by Michael N. Salda.  It contains 16 versions of the tale along with amazing images of the books and stories themselves. As I perused these different versions, I came to discover that in some, Little Red is simply eaten up.  In others, she is eaten and then rescued by some version of the woodsman.  And, as in my own personal copy, she survives thanks to the woodsman, but then encounters another wolf on a later trip and once again succeeds and survives.  There are a multitude of similarities, but the endings and most intriguing, the morals all pretty much differ! . . . Don't talk to strange man.   . . . Never stray from the path. . . . Listen to your mother/elders. . . . Be cautious of those animals within us . . . That is just a few that I've come across and can think of!!


Which "moral" of Little Red-Cap do you like the best?  What are your thoughts in regards to the sexual undertones mentioned above?


UPCOMING TALES:

Friday, April 16th: New, modern version of a classic tale 

Friday, April 23rd:  The Butterfly by Hans Christian Andersen

Friday, April 30th:  One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three Eyes by Brothers Grimm

Friday, May 7th:  The Three Bears by Robert Southey

Sunday Synopsis: April 4, 2010

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:  This will be my FINAL weekly Sunday Synopsis post!  I will be moving to a monthly wrap-up of some sort, but will not be doing it at the beginning or end of the month!  I will probably do it around the middle somewhere, so be watching for this new change.  I just felt that there is so little change from week to week these days, that more can be accomplished during the time that I write these.  I am not sure if I will be continuing with this same format, but it will probably be pretty close.

I also have not yet posted my monthly features:  Literary Locals and Reading Challenge Check-in.  These are coming later this week!  In case you did not hear, I had a bit of a fall last weekend that really had me accomplishing little!!  I am feeling better, but still have my painful days.  I'm hoping these will get few and far between over the next couple of weeks!

So, enjoy my shortened final weekly synopsis and see you back here later this week for some more book-ish talk!!

DISCUSSIONS:

• Fairy Tale Fridays:  The Ugly Duckling
• Fairy Tale Fridays:  The Goose with the Golden Eggs
• The Stand Read-A-Long:  The Beginning
• The Stand Read-A-Long:  My Answers to the Beginning Questions

REVIEWS:  None

CURRENTLY READING:

• Magic Tree House #5:  Night of the Ninjas by Mary Pope Osborne (page 48 of 69)
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (page 308 of 509)
• The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova (audio; disc 9 of 17) 

BOOKS RECEIVED:

• The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason (library book sale)
• Little Black Ant on Park Street by Janet Halfmann (unsolicited by publisher)

 REVIEWS TO COME:

• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• Magic Tree House #4:  Pirates Past Noon by Mary Pope Osborne
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan*
• Magic Tree House #3:  Mummies in the Morning by Mary Pope Osborne
• Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale*
• Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale*
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
• Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart
• Magic Tree House #2:  The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Magic Tree House #1:  Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne
• Only in New York, Darling by Virginie Sommet
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Shimmer by David Morrell
• Royal Blood by Rona Sharon
• The End of the Beginning by Avi
• Matchless by Gregory Maguire
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson & Ned Rust
• King by Right of Blood and Might by Anna L. Walls
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Arthur's Audio Favorites Volume 2 by Marc Brown
• A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
• Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker
• George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
• Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World by Tracy Kidder
• Fool by Christopher Moore
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
• The Little Island by Golden MacDonald and Leonard Weisgard
• Black and White by David Macauley
• Mei Li by Thomas Handforth
• Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Rocky Mountain Snow Ghosts by Patti Hurst
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary
• Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Survival of the Fittest by Jonathan Kellerman
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• S is for Save the Planet by Brad Herzog
• The Ugly Duckling by Jerry Pinkney

HOPE YOU HAD A HAPPY EASTER!!

The Stand Read-A-Long: My Answers to the Beginning Questions

I would like to take a few minutes to answer the questions I posed in The Stand Read-A-Long:  The Beginning.  Enjoy!

Will this be your first read of The Stand by Stephen King or a re-read?  If you are choosing not to read  this book, why?  Does just the word King make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up?  :)

As I mentioned back in one of my original posts, I am reading The Stand for the second time.  

If this is a re-read, what has drawn you back to the book for a second (or more) time?

For my reason on re-reading this book, you can refer to my announcement post for details; however, in a nutshell, I want to see if this books holds up to being one of my favorites after many years of making this proclamation.

Whether you know the story or not, which location would you prefer if you were a survivor of a gruesome plague:  Boulder, Colorado or Las Vegas, Nevada?

I'm not a desert person, but rather a mountain person . . . I'm going with Boulder, Colorado!

The Stand Read-A-Long: The Beginning

It is time to begin The Stand Read-A-Long!!!!  After much thinking (and flipping through this HUGE book), I have decided to move this read-a-long to six weeks for those who are not speed readers (like myself)!!  Instead of reading for the entire month of April, I will be moving it until the middle of May.  So, for those who may not be able to start right away, those who take a while reading it, etc., we can all read it together and share thoughts wherever we may be!

I thought we could do a short little questionnaire to begin the Read-A-Long.  If you plan to participate or consciously are NOT participating for one reason or another, answer the following questions and share your initial thoughts before we crack the book (or get too far if you have already started).  Post the permalink of your answers in the Mr. Linky below and let's begin the adventure together!!

1. Will this be your first read of The Stand by Stephen King or a re-read?  If you are choosing not to read  this book, why?  Does just the word King make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up?  :)
2. If this is a re-read, what has drawn you back to the book for a second (or more) time?
3. Whether you know the story or not, which location would you prefer if you were a survivor of a gruesome plague:  Boulder, Colorado or Las Vegas, Nevada?

I will also leave you with a calendar of future check-ins for this event.  Don't forget to check back on these dates or follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #readthestand.

• Monday, April 12th
• Wednesday, April 21st
• Thursday, April 29th
• Saturday, May 8th
• Monday, May 17th:  Wrap-Up!

If you have not yet signed up and would like to read along with me, click here.

Fairy Tale Fridays: The Goose with the Golden Eggs

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe

I am extremely late in posting Fairy Tale Fridays this week for a variety of reasons, but it all boils down to an accident and crazy week!  I fell down some cement stairs last Sunday and have been very, very sore and healing slowly.  It hurt to sit, it hurt to walk, it hurt to do pretty much anything!!  BUT, I am feeling better . . . just in time for my hubby's birthday this week, major cleaning before a visit with my mother-in-law, and of course, Easter!  Wow!!  Now that I've got that out of the way, I will move on to our weekly selection!!


This week's selection was The Goose with the Golden Eggs.  I know that there are many versions out there, but I stuck with Aesop's version and because it is short, I have reproduced it for you below, including the moral:

There was once a man who was lucky enough to own a goose that laid him a golden egg every day.  However, since the process was so slow and since he wanted the entire treasure at once, he became dissatisfied and eventually killed the goose.  After cutting her open, he found her to be just what any other goose would be.

The more you want, the more you stand to lose.

What a sad end to a goose that only gave such treasure!  I believe this is a fable that attempts to demonstrate the benefits of delayed gratification and the importance of patience.  For me, this version just does not do it for me.  I like the basis, but believe that I have read versions that I have preferred more . . . just cannot remember which ones they may be!  


Do you have any recommendations?


UPCOMING TALES:

Friday, April 9th:  Little Red-Cap by Brothers Grimm (aka Little Red Riding Hood)

Friday, April 16th: New, modern version of a classic tale 

Friday, April 23rd:  The Butterfly by Hans Christian Andersen

Friday, April 30th:  One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three Eyes by Brothers Grimm