Rara Venenum

Book: #8
Title: The Poisonwood Bible
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Rating: 5/5
Pages: ?
Genre: Novel - Fiction

Excellent book. I've been wanting to read it for years and regret not picking it up at a Border's Outlet once when I saw it on clearance. Then, once Oprah got her Book Club fingers on it, it was impossible to find. Finally I picked it up used. It's been laying around the house but I decided to give it a look and I didn't put it down until the next morning.

Book: #9
Title: Quest for a Maid
Author: Frances Mary Hendry
Rating: 3/5
Pages: ?
Genre: Children's Historical Fantasy

Written for ages 9-13 based on facts surrounding the death of Alexander, King of Scotland and the fight of right to ascend the throne, eventually falling to Robert the Bruce. This story is about a  three youths caught up in the tumultuous events of those years. Magic, shipwrecks, a witch trial, misadventures, misunderstandings, a princess who does not want to be queen tossed in among the day to day living of that time period.

The Tall One -- Barbara Jefferis
Voyager -- Diana Gabaldson
The Calling - Catherine Whitney
Hunger's Brides -- W. Paul Anderson
A Writer's Intuition --  (I'm not sure on the title, I'll have to check. The book is currently in the kitchen.)

“Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightening travel in a straight line.” –Benoit Mandelbrot

Read.

My first car was the family 78 Thunderbird passed down to my brother and I. It was monstrous and heavy hunk of metal with electrical problems and it went from zero to 60 in about 5 minutes. The trick to get it started was to roll down the passenger window and jiggle it, then pull up hard on the driver's side seatbelt. It was like a built in theft system except I can't imagine anyone wanting the car except for maybe scrap metal.

The funniest story was that one day, we were all in the house doing our own thing and some stranger knocked on our door to let us know that the car was blocking the street. It had rolled down the driveway and into the street and we were unaware of it. My brother was embarrassed. I thought it was hysterically funny. Now, in addition to all the other little quirks of the car, it was important to put to parking break on when parked on an incline.

Instructions:

1. Copy this whole list into your journal.
2. Bold the things that you have in common with me.
3. Whatever you don't bold, replace with things about you.
-> I took this list from goldmourn. The bolds are things we have in common.

01. I have a fascination with the seedy underbelly of society.
02. I have a collection of political and art magazines purchased through the internet.
03. I wonder if I'll ever complete / create something that is worthwhile.
04. I am very bad about writing letters and responding to messages or emails from friends.
05. I wish that I would write as freely & as much to my friends & in my journals as I do to someone who doesn't care.
06. I have problems maintaining friendships due to reclusivity.
07. I talk aloud to myself.
08. I wish that I would stop procrastinating and get everything put away in it's place and my work room finished.
09. I love art supplies.
10. Riding my bicycle feels like freedom.
11. I have several rolls of undeveloped 35mm film from years ago.
12. I want to finish my bachelor's degree.
13. I had a full-time job one month before my 17th birthday.
14. I feel a strong compulsion to learn other languages.
15. I wanted to live in Europe -- France.
16. Because I love music so much, I sometimes worry that I will become deaf. (I am already legally deaf in my left ear with 90% hearing loss)
17. I am teaching myself Latin.
18. I have a lot to learn.
19. I genuinely don't understand why some people enjoy my company.
20. I enjoy reading Shakespeare.
21. I think it's important to make eye contact.
22. I think it's important to be direct and straightforward. I hate lying and being lied to.
23. I love receiving postcards.
24. I have a thing for boxes. I love boxes.
25. I like things to be neat and squared off on shelves or on tables. Books or boxes have to go in size from largest to smallest.
26. There's a lot of movies I want to watch someday.
27. There are also a lot of books I'd like to read someday but I know I won't be able to read them all.
28. I was a late bloomer.
29. I am an extremely private person.
30. I've done some traveling all over the US and I've been to Brazil.
31. If it were possible, I'd travel all over the world.
32. I prefer writing with mechanical pencils than using pens.
33. I've never been to outer space!
34. I'm too sentimental for my own good.
35. I love my friends. But I lost touch with many of them.
36. I love Pablo Neruda's poetry.
37. I love anne sexton's poetry more than sylvia plath's.
38. I have brain cells I never use. I'm sure.
39. I have more than one tarot deck.
40. I write in paper journals.
41. I love fruits & vegetables - all kinds!
42. I am prone to self-sabotage, as though part of me won't allow myself to be happy or successful.
43. I knew people who are addicted to hard drugs and / or alcohol.
44. I have come to learn there are many ways a person can self-destruct.
45.Since childhood, I define a space as mine and keep to it, uncomfortable in other's spaces. I "stay out of the way" even if it includes rooms like the kitchen and bathroom.
46. My gallbladder has been removed, likely due to binge eating and purging. (At age 20)
47. I miss my old lovers and wonder how they're doing and if they're happy where they are.
48. I'm still pissed off at my first lover. He's excluded from #47.
49. I am grateful for all that I've learned through the difficult experiences. I wish it hadn't been so painful.
50. I don't worry about repeating my mistakes, there's plenty of new ones to make.
51. I need more routine in my life.
52. I want to move out of state.
53. I like to blow bubbles.
54. I wish I had more self-control.
55. I believe mainstream / commercialized society does not want people to have self-control.
56. I almost like to be frightened - such as when I am walking in a bad part of town alone late at night.
57. I'm more anxious walking around during the day alone than I am at night.
58. I don't show much emotion.
59. I spent a lot of time being alone.
60. I don't mind being alone. I prefer to be alone. Contact with other people exhausts me.
61. I both care deeply for and loathe the human race.
62. I once had a dream with Jim Morrison in it.
63. I love hummus.
64. I have a lot of maps.
65. When I make mixtapes / cds / playlists, I tend to put many of the same songs on them nearly every time.
66. I love historical movies.
67. I have four chess sets.
68. I love to dance, even if I'm not any good at it.
69.I want to learn yoga and t'ai chi.
70. I have a "to-do" list constantly running in my head.
71. I usually prefer to leave a message than to talk to someone directly.
72. Sometimes I hang up before the message beep. Most people have call display anyway.
73. I am drawn to intellect and humour. and charisma and intimacy.
74. I'm drawn to artistic expression and people who are passionate.
75. I'm claustrophobic. If I feel trapped, I panic. If I feel I cannot get out of someplace, I panic. This includes having a cast on a broken limb.
76. I have nice friends that I do not see very often.
77. I am not a joiner. I love to observe and sometimes participate if I'm comfortable, but I won't commit.
78. I love old things.
79. I love swing sets.
80. I like wandering walks and not having definite destinations.
81. I love road trips without destinations.
82. I love quotes by famous people.
83. I often make notes in my books if there is something that strikes me or I feel a need to comment.
84. I feel like I don't belong anywhere. Where I used to live and where I live now.
85. My hair is always up in a bun or pony tail.
86. I've an acute sense of smell and associate specific smells with very particular feelings and people.
87. I think that fireflies are more spectacular than fireworks.
88. I find that if I learn too much about the actors in a movie or tv show, I'm not interested in the show anymore.
89. I have a love/hate relationship with the internet.
90. I would rather live alone.
91. For a long time, I've felt as though my life were put on hold.
93. I am thankful for the few who have decided to be part of my life.
94. I love my dog, a Lhasa Apso. Lhasas are the quirkiest and neatest pets. And I'm not really a dog person. I prefer cats.
95. The capacity to be cruel is as large as my capacity to be kind. This worries me.
96. I'm harder on myself than I have to be. Knowing this doesn't make anything less difficult.
97. I'm considered "agoraphobic," fear of open spaces, but I don't feel that adequately describes my problem. It's more like "anthrophobic._
98. I admire a lot of people from afar, but I don't feel a need to tell anyone that.
99. I want my life to be as exciting and adventurous as it once was.
100. I don't make "favourites" lists because they get too long or I can't decide what order is "right".

Book: #3
Title: Dragonfly in Amber (Book 2 of the Outlander series)
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Rating: 5/5
Pages: 752
Genre: Historical Fantasy

The story of Claire and Jamie Fraser continues and the story evolving around the disastrous events leading up to the battle at Culloden in Scotland. Never a slow moment, dozens of fascinating characters and locations filling out the spaces between the love story of Claire and Jamie in 18th century Europe. Much much better the second time through. One commenter said the second read was like reading in Technicolor. I have to agree. One of my all time favorite series at this stage in my life.


Book: #4
Title: The Tall One
Author: Barbara Jeffries
Rating: 5/5
Pages: approx. 400 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Twelfth Century, medieval

      Written about a woman in the twelfth century who manages to rise above the obstacles of birth and become a woman of some power and money in a time when women were chattel. It's an intriguing read about 12th century life, especially among the lowborn serfs and freemen that work the lands of the landed gentry. I liked it.

Book: #5
Title: The Ministrels Tale
Author: Berit Haahr
Rating: 3/5
Pages: approx. 200 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, juvenile/young adult, medieval

       I liked the tale of a young girl born in the time of England's Edward III who throws convention to the wind, runs away from a frightening betrothal to an old, uncouth lecher to become one of the King's Ministrels. Her journey is fraught with misfortune and close calls as she travels the 200 miles from her home to the apprenticeship school for Minstrels in Kent dressed as a young boy. It seems slightly unrealistic to think that even a young boy  let alone a 13 year old girl dressed as a boy could travel so far unaccosted. But regardless, the girl shows passion, drive, and dedication to what she feels is her life calling.


Book: #6
Title: Voyager(Book 3 of the Outlander series)
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Rating: 5/5
Pages: 880
Genre: Historical Fantasy

    Continues the story of Jamie and Claire Fraser 20 years after the battle at Culloden. Again, dozens of interesting characters and plenty of twists and turns. I love the interactions between the characters, they seem real, complex and well-developed. Second read in glorious Technicolor and many details I missed from the first time, I'm more aware of . Claire does irritate me quite a bit at the beginning of the novel but she redeems herself around midway when the steady flow and ebb of the Claire and Jamie saga picks steam. I am most disappointed with the reappearance of one character who, from all appearances appeared to be dead by book two shows up alive near the end.

Book: #7
Title: Castle of Otranto
Author: Horace Walpole
Rating: 3/5
Pages: approx- 200 pps
Genre: Historical Fantasy, gothic

Published originally 1764 and considered the one who established the "Gothic Novel " format/genre.
 
    Interesting read in the tone of Edgar Allen Poe and I even get a sense of the Shakespearean tragedy-- drama, death, deception, strange     twists,treachery, murder, betrayal and a touch of the supernatural.

  As a side anecdote, he is known to have coined the term "serendipity," which he said "he derived from a "silly fairy tale," The Three Princes of Serendip." (Wikipedia -- Horace Walpole)

Book: #1
Title: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Rating: 5/5
Pages: 896
Genre: Historical Fantasy

    I just finished re-reading OUTLANDER a few days ago and it's the first in a series of historical fantasy novels by Diana Gabaldon. I enjoyed it much more thoroughly the second read. The first time, in December, I first read it immediately after finishing "The Other Boleyn Girl" -- Philippa Gregory and I was annoyed that OUTLANDER was going to be another version of Gregory  with silly gratuitous "adult situations".   Romance novels are not my particularly favorite genre though I have read some standouts, especially in historical fiction. But, after being assured by a friend who recommended the book that it was an excellent read, eventually, I came to see how well written OUTLANDER was and I was hooked.
    It's one of those series of books I hate to read because it has to come to end eventually and we're left waiting for the next story or the writer ends the series. Either way, we're left wanting more.
    The characters in OUTLANDER are really well developed and relationships between characters are complex. The 18th century comes to life in her hands and seems very well researched. It has become one of my all time favorite series of books.

Book: #2
Title: The Forest Wife
Author: Theresa Tomlinson
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 170
Genre: Juvenile Fiction; Historical Fiction


    It's another take on the Robin Hood/Maid Marian tale from the 12th century except this tale focuses on Maid Marian and Robin or Robert is only a secondary character. It's a young adult read from probably 9-12 years. It's strong points are that Marian is a very strong and independent girl. Many of the women characters in this story are very strong and independent and the men definitely play a more secondary role, not because they're not important, but because the story isn't about them.
    The Forest Wife is a healer deep in the woods that people come to for healing or aid. She is well respected within the community as a sort of matriarch or "mother" figure. The story centers around the Forest Wife and a growing motley group of outcasts that find their way to her for one reason or another. I was surprised to find I really enjoyed this book. The characters seemed real to me and the relationships were reasonably complex. The Robin Hood/Maid Marian theme remains relevant throughout and other familiar characters such as Gisbourne, King John, King Richard, the Sheriff and the Crusades are in subdued counterpoint to the main story. It's an old story with a refreshing twist and a great book for girls if you're looking for an alternative to the damsel in distress.


   

I can't just can't resist the lure of the dark side. After all they have the best cookies:) , and dark, moody, broody, evil geniuses make me weak in the knees.