Mailbox Mondays

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 20, 2009
Posted in Mail Box Mondays | 9 Comments

It didn’t look like I was going to receive any goodies this week. However, when I opened my mail box today, there were two books, which I won from fellow bloggers. Yippee!

I won this from Wendy of Caribousmom. Thanks so much to Wendy!

I won this book from Jessica of The Blue Stockings. Thanks a bunch Jessica!

Jan 09

19

Short Story Monday: A Night At the Opera by Janet Frame

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 19, 2009
Posted in Janet Frame • Short Story Read in 2009 | 9 Comments

A Childhood Memory

The narrator starts by telling us about her little trip to the movie theatre with other children to see A Night At the Opera, starring the Marx Brothers. She said, “We acted the cliché’. We melted with laughter.” She described Harpo Marx as “a dumb sad man with hair like wheat and round eyes like paddling pools.” Later she wondered why they laughed so much.

She goes on to describe years later, that she was in a refractory, called Park House. It was the part of a hospital set aside for people with mental health problems. She said, “disturbed”. It was a locked facility. She goes on to describe how nicely decorated the hospital for regular patients was, It was so welcoming, “Like a country retreat”.

Then we find out how dark and dreary the refractory was. There was not much to do there except for a walked outside for the few privileged, non-violent patients. Even then they were taken threw hidden please so that the rest of the hospital would have to see them. Bedtime was at 6:00.

One day it was announced that things were going to change. There was to be films showed in the day room, after the more violent patients went to bed. The first film was to be.. you guessed it A Night At the Opera.

When I was finished reading the story, I wasn’t sure how I felt. After a few days something made me think of it. Maybe it was something a client said. For those of you who don’t know, I am a social worker in the field of mental health. Whatever it was, I started re-examining the story in my head.

Park House was horrid, like most institutions of that time. Now a day’s most people are living in the community with assistance as they need it or in group homes. Mental illness isn’t swept under the carpet anymore. That’s it, what I was feeling from the story was frustration. I think that may be in part what Frame wanted her readers to feel.

Janet Frame’s writing was brilliant. Her language electrifying. With less than four pages her story was surprisingly well developed. I highly recommend it.

4/5

Janet Frame was from New Zeeland, 1924-2004. This short story was found among Janet Frame’s papers after her death in 2004. It was published in The New Yorker. You can read it here.

Jan 09

18

The Chunkster Challenge 2009

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 18, 2009
Posted in 2009 CHALLENGES | 9 Comments

January 14, 2009- November 15th, 2009

Hosted by Dana at Feelin’ Chunky

I know what your all thinking, “has Teddy lost it”? Well yes and no. LOL! I actually three chunksters that I really need to read soon because they are ARC’s.

Here are the rules as outlined by Dana:

A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) Don’t complain folks, I read all thousands of pages of the Twilight series and they were good, but not a challenge. A chunkster should be a challenge.

*If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more I asked around and the average LT book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.

*No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn’t seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.

I’m going with the second option:

Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? – this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 3-5 Chunksters over the next ten months.

These are the three books I plan to read (more could be added later and I am allowed to change the list):

1. ~~Stealing Athena by Karen Essex-464 pages~~

2. ~~The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick- 568 pages~~

3. ~~Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly~~

4. The Help By Kathryn Stockett