No News is Good News??? And News on Me!

So for about a month I really haven't paid attention to the news. So I am kind of clueless about what's going on and you know what I have proved a theory, "Ignorance is Bliss". It is kind of true. Not knowing what is going on in the world for a few weeks is pretty nice. I remembered when I did watch the news constantly, literally every day, I would feel aggravated for at least 1-2 hours of the day. And you know why???? Because there are so many idiots out there that want power, are greedy and in the process decided to screw around with the world.

For this month I have just been focusing on myself. I haven't even watched Glenn Beck and I admire the man, even though I don't entirely agree with everything he believes in. I haven't watched Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, etc. at all. Only occasionally do I look on Drudge Report, but I could not tell you what I had read. The last thing I remember reading was when they compared Michelle Obama to Marie Antoinette....it had something to do with the fact that she was going onb way to many vacations and that as a result she was dragging secret services everywhere, which was costing taxpapers....there it is.

Other then that I haven't followed anything. It has been nice.

At the same time though I do still want to follow the news, I have always been one of those people that believe that a person should be informed about what's going on and that there is no such thing as too much information. It is hard though becuase I become aggravated and depressed by the fact that there are so many selfish people out there.

That's one of the parts about myself that I want to work on, that I can be informed, make decisions, and learn about the world myself (using my own knowledge and logic) and reach the truth. All the while I want to still be able to be happy and have some sense of hope and faith that this situation that we are in will become better.

I could never be apathetic about this or anything for the matter. For me being apathetic is the worst sin ever. So I can't become this kind of person otherwise I would be a hypocrite.

So that is one of the things I will be working on in the next month.

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As of news for my life there are new things going on, I will be signing up for classes this week and I will be starting classes next week. I'm kind of excited. I know I will be taking English classes, maybe an art class or history class. To be honest I have no idea, but I will find out soon.

I hope things work out at my new school, I will be definitly trying to join some organizations and do some volunteer work. Hopefully I could maybe get a part time job there.

I have been helping my brother with his homework, which has been definitly an expereince. He has autism so it has been a challenge, but I'm glad for the bonding.

Well I got to go look at classes. Wish me luck!

Marie Antoinette's Hidden Life

So I have just finished another book!!! Yah go me!

Ok now here is the info about it

Title: The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette: A Novel
Author: Carolly Erickson

Mass Market Paperback: 341 pages (plus 14-16 pages for reading group questions)

Publisher: St. Matrin's Griffins, New York

Genere: Fiction/Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

For all of those that love the French Revolution Era, Marie Antoinette, or just French History in general. This is a great book.

Carolly Erickson, author of 20 biographies writes the historical fiction The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette: A Novel. It is, of course, writen like a diary. The story line is that this Diary was left behind in her prision cell as she was going to her death. The reason she wanted people to know her side of the story. This book shows Antoinette in a light that for some of us, history has not shown. We will learn to see her as a young girl that had to leave her culture, country, and family behind and go off to France to get married to a man she never met. Upon her arrival she is met with disdain, distrust, and confusion. She doesn't know who to trust and has to learn of all the customs, while at the same time looked down upon because of her heritage. Despite all of this she stays strong and learns her way. Dealing with a timid husband and a failing kingdom, we see the strength of Marie Antoinette being displayed in this historical fiction.

It has a prolgue and chapters, which was one of the few reasons why the rating was lower. I think that having the chapters in there was a little off, seeing how this was said that this would be in diary form. It can help space out the Diary entires and mark a change in the topic and what is going on, but if she had kept it in just in the diary form, I think it would have been better. The reason why it would have been better is because I want to be lost in the book and be able to use my imagination and imagine that this is literally a diary taken from the prison cell where Marie Antionette spent her last days. I know it isn't but I want to be able to get lost in the book for a while.

Althought there have been debates over the book by Marie Antionette fans about some of the characters that don't exist and some of the events that didn't take place. Please remember that this is historical fiction, this is not an accurate telliong of it. It's not a non fiction book, it is fiction.

Overall this book gets 4 out of 5 stars. It was creativly done, written well, and very enjoyable. Defintly a book for those that love historical fiction.

Books I have Read and Want to Read #1

I have a lot of books. I want to read all the books that exist. I had a goal to finish about 10 books by the end of this summer.

This is What I have Read so far:

1. The Bad Queen ~Carolyn Meyer
2. A Child of Hitler~ Alfons Heck
3. Sybil ~ Flora Rheat Schreiber
   

...I need to get a move on. Although with taking classes and reading a lot there, I'm sure its understandable that I have read beyond that class.

Here are the books that I want to read that I have so far:

1. Rebel Women of the Gold Rush: Extrodinary Achievements and Daring Adventures ~ Rich Mole
2. Remember the Ladies: The First Women's Rights Convention ~ Norma Johnston
3. Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White ~ David Barton
4. Samuel Adams: A Life ~ Ira Stoll
5. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Loves Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them ~ Francine Prose (love the last name...fitting for the book)
6. Ladies of Liberty: The Women who Shaped our Nation ~ Cokie Roberts
7. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream ~ Barack Obama ( I can't believe I'm going to read this but I can't critcize a book if I haven't read it, even though I know I might gage from reading it)
8. The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity ~ Wm. Paul Young
9. Republic ~ Plato
10. Vanity Fair ~ William Makepeace Thackeray
11. Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
12. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies ~ Jared Diamond
13. George Washington's Sacred Fire ~ Peter A. Lillback with Jerry Newcombs
14. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Read Between the Lines
15. A Severe Mercy (With Eighteen Letters)~ Sheldon Vanauken
16. Narrative of the Life of Federick Douglass, an American Slave~ Federick Douglass
17. My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams ~ Edited by Margaret A. Hogan & C. James Taylor
18. The Color Purple ~ Alice Walker
19. The Three Musketeers ~ Alexandre Dumas
20. The Man in the Iron Mask ~ Alexandre Dumas
21. The Guardian ~ Nicholas Sparks
22. The Princess Bride: S. Morganstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure ~ William Goldman
23. A Tale of Two Cities ~ Charles Dickens
24. What Could He Be Thinking? : How a Man's Mind Really Works ~ Michael Gurian
25. The Lovely Bones ~ Alice Sebold
26. Essential Dialogues of Plato
27. Dracula ~ Bram Stoker
28. Grimm's Fiary Tales
29. Eight Plays (all by Henrik Ibsen)
30. Cold Sassy Tree ~ Olive Ann Burns
    

So these are the list of books I want to try to get to this summer...I know I need to get going. And if you are wondering I have more books then the ones listed above...I just know I can't list all of them.

The Books that I am reading are:

1. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writer's ~ Christopher Vogler
2. The Overton Window ~ Glenn Beck
3. Founding Mothers: The Women who Raised our Nation ~ Cokie Roberts
4. The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette ~ Carolly Erickson

So I hope I will be able to get to this. I was thinking about writing a book review on the books I have read...but I have to get to the reading for my class tomorrow. Maybe I will do that later tonight before I go to bed.