Fourth Time's the Charm? Not Quite.

Our class has just put forth the fourth (Ha!) draft of our eBook about the changes in reading in the digital age. We've come pretty far from where we were, but we've still got a lot of things to work on. For my class members, I've included below a few notes that I took while reading this build.

Before I go into individual chapters, the over-arching problem I've seen is that we need to do some editing! I noticed a lot of errors in this build. As we haven't yet had the copy editor go through the chapters, this is understandable, but I do think this should be our next step. I also agree with Shelby's post about it being a good idea for us to take one or two chapters and look at those alone so that we can do a sort of peer-edit. 

Class, I've numbered the notes 1 and 2 based on the order your chapter lies in the book, not on the order you may have written the chapters. Hopefully, I don't offend anyone. I just took quick notes so, as a general rule, just know that I thought all of the chapters really were well done! :)

Emily: 

1. I love the personal nature of this chapter. I really enjoyed reading it! 

2. I think this chapter needs a little bit more development or worded a little bit differently? I understood your stance but that could be because I know what we're aiming for, but I think you might need to clarify your argument. Again, I think the peer-edit might help this more because you'd have actual notes about what might need changed and so forth.

Saren: 

1. My immediate thoughts when reading your chapter were, "Sooooo good!" Haha. I really loved how you applied your analogy to Harry Potter.

2. I noticed in this one that you talked more about Amazon and I think you could find a way to plug in Dr. Burton's chapter about Amazon. Just a thought!

Lauren:

1. I think this is the perfect chapter to begin the Find section, but I think it would be good if you are more direct about it being a finding chapter in the beginning. Does that make sense?

2. I didn't get your second chapter!

eResearch for the eBook

When something is constantly on my mind, I constantly talk it through with friends and family. This eBook has been on my mind a lot the past few weeks. I talk to several people about it because it helps me get my ideas more firm. Where I struggle the most is through research, but as I did this assignment of creating an eBibliography I found that I haven't done as badly at researching as I thought. 

Escaping the Cinderella Complex through Self-Publishing

Amazon and Goodreads provide the ideal vehicle for a reader to become an author by giving the online users freedom to self-publish and advertise using the features that these digital platforms contain.

Social Graph:

I’ve actually talked to several of my friends about my chapter to see what they thought. A lot of my friends had never heard that authors could self-publish on Amazon. Before this project, I think I knew that you could, but not how. I think that makes this chapter especially important because people should be informed. I also talked to some friends that actually write on the side. A few of them had heard that they could self-publish and were really considering it.

As I’ve been writing this chapter and putting the class book into eBook format, I’ve had to learn even more about what goes into self-publishing. I think the experience I’m gaining by exploring how to put a book in eBook format gives me an advantage and a sort of authority on writing this chapter.

New Media:

There are a lot of sites that will put your book in eBook format for you. Unfortunately, most of them say “free to start” which basically means that “you can download your documents into our site, but to actually get it from us you must pay.”

There are also several eBooks on how to self-publish. I’ve used one that Amazon published called How to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon.com: Writing, Editing, Designing, Publishing, and Marketing.

Social Networks:

My mom uses Twitter a lot for her work so when I told her what I was writing about she immediately searched self-publishing articles on Twitter. She gave me quite a few. I actually used a quote for my chapter from this one. There are a lot of discussions out there about self-publishing.

Traditional Scholarly Sources:

I’m working on finding books about the history of self-publishing. I found an article somewhere about how self-publishing is the way it used to be done in the 19th century..I just need to find that article.

The Guardian: Winner of the Pulitzer prize

“America's Cinderella” by Jane Yolen

No Need to Cut Off Toes and Heels When You Have a Kindle Touch 

Unlike SparkNotes, the X-Ray feature creates an arsenal of contextual information about a story without damaging a reader’s ability to read and analyze a literary work on his or her own. This increases a reader’s desire to join the enriching world of the novel on the Kindle device.

Social Graph:

I have never met a single person that has not heard of SparkNotes. Even if they’ve never used it, I think it’s safe to assume that the majority of people that took high school English have heard of SparkNotes. The XRay feature is not as widespread. I’ve asked a few friends that have Kindles if they knew about the XRay feature and several have never known what that link lead to on the Kindle.

New Media:

There are android apps for SparkNotes now. This is worrisome in that students don’t even need to go out of their way to look up a book. They can easily access the cheat sheets on SparkNotes in the classroom for class discussions on their phones.

There are even more sites than SparkNotes too: Cliffs Notes, Schmoop, etc.

Social Networks:

Spark Notes’ tag line that it is the “Most Popular Study Guide” proves true as you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and even Vine. #SparkNotes, everybody.

There are several forums discussing the XRay feature on the Kindle.

Traditional Scholarly Sources:

“The Right Understanding: Teaching Literature in the Age of SparkNotes” by Alison Bach

Still working on finding more information here. I'm looking to find more books about the necessity of reading and analyzing literature. 

Good News: Kindle Readers Get to Keep Their Appendages!

CHAPTER TEMPLATE

BOOK PART

How the Kindle is affecting literary study in a very good way!

CHAPTER TITLE

No Need to Cut Off Toes and Heels When You Have a Kindle Touch at Your Fingertips

TWEETHIS

The X-Ray feature on the Kindle allows a reader to increase their comprehension of and ability to analyze a literary work rather than using sites like SparkNotes that provide a “cheat sheet” causing students to not read the literary work at all.

KEYWORDS

XRay, Kindle, Reading Comprehension

TOPICAL IMAGE

Maybe a picture of an xray on a kindle or a skeleton reading or this brain?

CONTENT PARAMETERS: DIGILITERARY VIA AMAZON-KINDLE-GOODREADS CONNECTION

Students are able to read a book on the Kindle and use the device to understand the novel rather than turning to sites that tell them everything – which causes a decrease in their ability to analyze a work of literature on their own.

LITERARY WORK

Grimm’s Fairy Tale, Cinderella

TRADITIONAL REFERENCES - (General Literary, Scholarly)
1. CEA Critic - “The Right Understanding”: Teaching Literature in the Age of SparkNotes
CEA Critic, Volume 76, Number 3, November 2014, pp. 273-277
by: Alison Bach

2. Computers in the Schools: Interdisciplinary Journal of Practice, Theory, and Applied Research
Volume 29, Issue 1-2, 2012
Special Issue: Signature Pedagogies Incorporating Technology

SOCIAL REFERENCES (current conversations, social media, interviews)

1. Discussion on Amazon about X-Ray feature:
http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx1SUCCCPG6ZVPG

2. Amazon User Guide

3. Ereader.com - http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2013/03/18/kindle-x-ray-feature-review-video/

CONTENT LAYOUT - Rough Outline of My Chapter

1. Cutting toes and heels is like cutting corners to “read” a book.
2. SparkNotes vs X Ray.
3. The things you can learn using the X Ray feature
4. Conclude: The Kindle device promotes reading comprehension which in turn promotes a motivation to read more.

Sample of my very rough draft:

Cutting Off Toes and Heels?

Researching Research

If Cinderella Was On a Magazine Cover

I haven’t done a research-type paper since high school (I’m 24 now!), so doing research for our class eBook about my chosen literary work has been a fun experience. With a few ideas boiling in my mind, I started my research process by logging into Brigham Young University's library website. I thought for sure that if I searched “Cinderella” I would find loads of articles analyzing the story – I wasn’t disappointed. One particular article about economics caught my attention because it referenced something called the “Cinderella Syndrome”, sometimes called the “Cinderella Complex” – which is the idea that a woman is strong and beautiful, but incapable of changing her situations without the help of a third party (typically a male). With this syndrome or complex in mind, my ideas for writing a chapter about self-publishing in the digital age began to take form. 

I decided that I want my chapter to argue that digital platforms such as the Kindle, Goodreads, and Amazon provide the way for the common individual to break free from the “Cinderella Syndrome”. For this to work, I needed (and still need) to research how to self-publish on Amazon. I went to Amazon and searched for eBooks about that particular topic, finding two that seem particularly helpful. One is titled How to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon.com: Writing, Editing, Designing, Publishing, and Marketing and the other is titled Transformations: Stories of Successes from Authors, Innovators, and Small Businesses Thriving on Amazon. Both are free Kindle downloads and both will help me with my chapter, but I think they can also help with publishing our class eBook.

After finding those eBooks, I knew that I would need some more scholarly knowledge about my specific literary work. I found a neat article by Jane Yolen, a teacher of writing and literature, titled “America’s ‘Cinderella” where she discusses how the popular folktale has been made to present Cinderella in a weak light, but that, based on the original stories, she is actually a strong-willed individual.

Push to Kindle

So far, I would say my research has been fairly easy. I’m excited to delve into the eBooks I found so that I can better shape my chapter. 

Random thought: If you haven’t used the “Push to Kindle” option on your computers, you really should! It makes researching online so much easier because you can send articles that might be helpful straight to your Kindle. I love it! (Click here to learn how to install the “Push to Kindle” option.)

My Desk Could Be So Cluttered Right Now

Brainstorming used to consist of lots of paper strewn all over my room, maybe a broken pencil or two (until I would find a pen and then the white out would surface), and a lot of going back and forth between books and more papers. Boy, am I glad for computers! I love this digital age. I was able to open up this blog to view each post made by my classmates, and open up a word document to type and edit my ideas to my heart's content. Oh, the bliss.

Without further delay, please see below for the draft of a possible Table of Contents for our class's ebook. (This is a very rough draft - eventually the language will be much more flowery.)


Table of Contents Draft

Entering the Digiliterary World

1. Saren Bennet, Finding a New Home Among Online Platforms
Getting acquainted with online platforms can be a foreign experience, but when done with an open and eager mind, readers can become their best selves and create a new home.

2. Shelby , Rotting Our Brains Has Become Broadening Our Horizons
 It is important to put aside our fears of the unknown and become digiliterary in order to enrich our literary experience.

3. Lauren Sullivan, Increased Access to Information Equals Increased Intelligence for the Individual
As readers are able to explore and utilize online platforms for literary study, they are increasing their knowledge; this increased knowledge enables individuals to shape society anew.

4. Nathan Scovill, Good Advertising vs Spoiler Alert
Online platforms introduce a story out-of-order: the pros and cons of this effect.

5. Leah Smart, Reconsuming the Classics
Amazon opens the Kindle reader to a variety of free ebook downloads; many of those free downloads are classics that readers can reread and replace old judgments.

Is the future looking Grimm, brothers (and sisters)?

Image:
http://inkmonster.net/blog/why-ash-maiden-the-original-cinderella-kicks-ass

Our English class is in the process of writing an ebook about using the Kindle, Goodreads, and Amazon. I have chosen to use the 1812 version of Cinderella by Jacob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm to illustrate my ideas for my chapter. Please let me know what you think!

1. To expound on my last post (click here to read), I can discuss the necessity of a bridge between the isolation of the Kindle and the socialization of Goodreads. It is crucial to a reader’s online identity that they know how to review and discuss the books they read. In the Grimm version of Cinderella, the stepmother and stepsisters mock Cinderella for wanting to attend the festival because she cannot dance. Later, when she does attend the ball, she is able to dance with the Prince – three nights in a row. How was this possible? She went from being the dish-washing, floor-sweeping, bird-talking girl to the elegant woman at the festival that could dance the night away with a Prince. When readers enter the online social world without the proper training, it isn’t always charming. Posting a thought online can damage a person’s credibility as a reviewer and tarnish a person’s online identity.

2. When we search something in Google, we leave a cookie behind – a footprint. Google is then able to show us ads based on our preferences. Goodreads is similar with the recommendations feature that is based on the books readers had read and rated. It is important for a reader to be selective in their choices so that they make the best use of this feature – otherwise, books are recommended that they have no interest in. The first two nights that Cinderella runs from the ball, she leaves nothing behind to give a clue for the Prince to find her. On the third night, the Prince pours pitch on the stairs that causes Cinderella’s shoe to get stuck – thus forcing her to leave a “footprint” (Ha!) behind. The Prince is then able to find her so he can marry her. In order to fully utilize Goodreads and Amazon, users must tailor their visits to the site to better the recommendations provided. It is vital that we leave our footprint behind.

Kindle Isolation to Goodreads Socialization

Image by Jantoo Cartoons
 Link to: {http://www.jantoo.com/cartoons/keywords/bookstore}

Imagine a day when instead of having to hop in the car and drive all the way to the bookstore to get a book, you can sit at home and find any book you might ever want on your very own electronic device. Imagine a day when instead of taking up space on your phone for the many wonderful books you’ve downloaded, you can download those books to their own device -- made especially for books and without the added distraction of Facebook or Gmail. Your imagination has become a reality because, ladies and gentlemen, Amazon Kindle lives!

The Amazon Kindle enables people to shop, browse, download, and read e-books and other digital media. Besides access to books, users can make notes on their device, highlight particularly striking passages, and organize their books into collections (No more searching forever on your walnut bookshelf to find that one book; that book is now just a couple finger taps away on your Kindle).

Now, some say hold on. While the Kindle shines as such an incredible device for avid readers, it can also be an isolating device. Nothing about the Kindle requires human-to-human contact. To buy a Kindle, all it takes is creating an Amazon account, pecking in credit card information, and finding the Kindle edition that’s right for you. To buy or download free books on the Kindle, first make sure that your Wifi connection works. Next, click the shopping cart icon and browse the millions of books in the Kindle bookstore. Click on a title that appeals to your taste, and it quickly downloads to your handheld device. Now, to read those books, all it takes is curling up on your bed, couch, or soft patch of grass and reading to your heart’s content. No human contact. No socialization.

Underneath Imperialism

In our class’s study of reviews for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, I have noticed a significant trend in the idea that Conrad’s sole purpose in writing the novel was to portray the evil nature of imperialism. While this is a valid argument, I would argue that Conrad’s purpose was less about imperialism itself and more about how the materialism of the people of England in the 19th century allowed for imperialism to prosper. Conrad shows the materialistic nature of multiple characters: the Swede captain discussing a man who hanged himself as if it's a common occurrence rather than a tragedy, the Doctor who exams Marlow making light of men being changed from the inside rather than the outside when "going out there", the two men plotting to hang a man for the purpose of keeping their positions. For the sake of length, let’s take a closer look at the two main characters, Marlow and Mr. Kurtz.

Materialism: a way of thinking that gives too much importance to material possessions.
Obviously, Dr. Pepper is more important to me than a friendship with my roommate.

As the main character and narrator of Heart of Darkness, Marlow begins his story by speaking of how he came to acquire his position as captain of a steamboat traveling down the Congo. He states that his desire to be captain was so great that he sought the influential help of his aunt in finding the position. When he received news that a position was open – because the previous captain was killed in a fight with a native – he showed no empathy toward the previous captain, but was instead excited to accept the captainship. In his conceit he even states, “I got my appointment – of course. I got it very quick.” Marlow was so enthralled with the mystery and adventure that awaited him in the Congo that he even ignored the conspiratorial feeling that began to pervade his mind when he signed the contract to not reveal “trade secrets”. Marlow’s materialism lands him in the Congo unprepared to witness the terrible on goings that occur.

Mr. Kurtz is a mystery to Marlow and the reader for most of the novel, but eventually we learn that he is a trader that has set himself as a leader over the natives by brutal force. Kurtz’ greed for ivory lead him to act in this uncivilized manner and eventually consumed Kurtz to the point where he suffered death by illness. His materialism is directly linked to imperialism because he becomes the worst sort of man in the “heart” of the Congo by mistreating the natives. Even when Kurtz was dying he said to Marlow, “this lot of ivory now is really mine. The Company did not pay for it. I collected it myself at a very great personal risk.” He spoke as a possessed soul – possessed with the greed for ivory and not a care for how he got it.

One Does Not Simply Write a Review

Trying to write a book review for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad was difficult because I was so worried about sounding like an idiot. I gladly did some perusing of others’ reviews on Amazon and Goodreads in order to get a better grasp on what makes a good review. I found that the best reviews contained at least one of three essential things – personality of the reviewer, quotes from the book, and a reason for the rating.

A personality is someone’s outlook on life, an attitude, a way of thinking and doing. I could take a book summary review and form an opinion of my own, but I’d rather read purposeful sentences written by another human being about why he or she loved or hated a book. A review should have a personalized view of what the book meant to you, the reader. 

Next to personality is the importance of quotes in a review. For example, a review that says something like “Heart of Darkness was dark, dreary, and powerful” doesn’t actually show that the reviewer read the book (SparkNotes, anyone?). Providing evidence from the text to show why it’s dark or why it’s powerful gives the author of the review credibility and an edge. I say edge because those quotes are typically preceded by or followed by a solid reason of how that specific quote affected the book reviewer’s life or how that specific quote centralized the main message of the book.

Last, but certainly not least, is that a good review must provide a reason for the rating. If I give a 1-star rating, I better back it up. For example, let’s say your friend walks into your room and asks, “How does this shirt look with these pants?” and all you say is “bad”. Your poor friend is going to walk away dejected and not sure why he or she doesn’t look good. But if you say “it doesn’t look good because your shirt is on backwards”, your friend is going to walk away with the decided purpose of fixing the problem. The same goes for a review; the rating given needs to be back up by good reasoning. Quotes and explanation of the quotes are great ways to provide that reasoning.

When I found reviews with these essentials, I automatically liked them. The personality aspect lead me to want to find out more about the author of the review. I went to profile pages of the reviewers and found that the most credible reviewers contained several books on their virtual bookshelves, but more specifically those bookshelves contained several different genres – this shows that the author of that review is experimental in their reading and will be able to compare and contrast different books. Another important aspect in a reviewer’s credibility is their “about me” section on their profile. It shows their level of education, their love of books, or even their love of critiquing books.

After my study of reviews I was ready to post my own review of Heart of Darkness on Amazon and Goodreads, and then Facebook via Goodreads. I tried engaging people in their reviews, but it’s all one-sided at this point, and I haven't received much feedback on either platform for my own review. I did, however, receive 3 “likes” on my Facebook (one from my sister and two from friends in Las Vegas)! Hey, it all starts somewhere. I also decided to join a network called Literature Network Forums so that I could try and get some more feedback on my specific review. I created a profile and posted a new thread on the forum called “Write a Book Review”. I got one comment! I thanked the commenter for his comment and asked him a question too, but haven’t heard back yet. I like this forum because you can also see how many people have viewed your thread or post (106 views for my review!).



It’s exciting and a little nerve-wracking to post a review because it shows a lot about who you are as a person. I tried to shape my review after the essentials I found in my research of good reviews. Here's a link to my review! Let me know what you think!

Metaphorically Speaking

In Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness, the use of simple yet powerful metaphors provides the link of understanding between the audience and Marlow, the main character. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow tells of his experiences traveling down the river through the wilds of the Congo to meet the mysterious man named Mr. Kurtz.

Try driving this blindfolded on a bumpy road.

Throughout Marlow’s story, he tries to convey what it was like to captain a steamboat in order to help his audience understand his awkward yet successful attempt. In one instance he says, “…I managed not to sink that steamboat on my first trip. It’s a wonder to me yet. Imagine a blindfolded man set to drive a van over a bad road.” It is such a simple metaphor but it is significant because cars were still a fairly new idea in the 19th century. In fact, “the early steam powered vehicles were so heavy that they were practical on a perfectly flat surface as strong as iron. A road thus made out of iron rails became the norm for the next hundred and twenty five years (http://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/cars/carhist.htm).” With the knowledge of steam powered vehicles and the up and coming development of the automobile in the 19th century, Marlow’s audience quickly comprehends the gravity of maneuvering an unfamiliar vehicle. Interestingly, this metaphor used in the 19th century still applies to readers today; it shows the mark of great literature over time that readers from different centuries can relate to the same metaphor.

This is just one example of a simple yet powerful metaphor from Heart of Darkness connecting the reader to Marlow, but Heart of Darkness as a whole contains several instances that readers can also relate to ideas in the world today.

For example, as we have been studying Writing about Literature in the Digital Age, Marlow’s story of finding a book on his journey provides an apt metaphor in regards to exploring Goodreads, Amazon, and the Kindle. Marlow talks about finding the book and how the mundane writings “made [him] forget the jungle and the pilgrims in a delicious sensation of having come upon something unmistakably real.” Goodreads and Amazon provide features that allow readers to discover new books every day. Readers can take the recommendations and findings from Goodreads and Amazon and immediately escape into the stories on their Kindles with “1-click” as Amazon says. Then as the readers delve into the stories, they are able to see others’ notes and highlights throughout the story just as Marlow did in his book. Marlow describes his excitement at finding notes in the book by stating, “Such a book being there was wonderful enough; but still more astounding were the notes penciled in the margin…I couldn’t believe my eyes!”

Heart of Darkness could easily have been a 300 page book, but due to Conrad’s narrative by the character of Marlow and Marlow's use of metaphors, the reader comprehends and experiences more of the story in a shorter amount of time than it would take to write out or depict the descriptions.

Connecting Through Common Misery

I love to read. But Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad was hard for me to get into. I’m the kind of person that likes to snuggle up on the couch and read for hours. When I tried to do that with this book, I knew immediately that I would fall asleep. I needed to find a way to read the book and actually be interested in it. And so, I decided to do something I had been planning to do for some time. I bought a gym membership. Reading while working out on the elliptical machine has always helped me focus and so I decided to try it out with Heart of Darkness. It worked! I was able to focus on the story and understand what was going on. I discovered a new love for the kindle as well. When you bring a hard copy of a book to the gym you have to hold it open on the treadmill or elliptical, but a kindle is small enough to be set on top of the machine so that you can read hands free.

Reading on an elliptical machine.
Link to: {http://karenrussell.typepad.com/my_lifejust_not_on_the_ro/2009/01/the-little-stuff.html}

Part of the assignment of reading Heart of Darkness was to look up reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. My favorite part of looking up reviews for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad on Amazon was the titles of the reviews. It was a blast! I found that I empathized so well with the people that hated the book and I respected those that loved the book. Some of the critical review titles actually made me laugh out loud. For example, here are some of my favorites:

"Well, that was depressing."

"Colonial misery, misery, and more misery."

"Classic?"

"The horror and the hope."

The reviews on Goodreads were much the same, but I found one comment on a review particularly helpful. A woman named Charlene wrote –

"In an effort to class up the joint, I listened to this audio book performed by Kenneth Branagh.

I say performed, because it wasn't just a plain reading of the story. He added depth to the observations and took what I might have found to be a boring story and breathed life into it.

I enjoyed this quite a bit and would recommend this audio version to anyone interested in this classic tale."

In all my searching of different editions of Heart of Darkness, I hadn't found an audiobook. Charlene’s comment really made me want to listen to Heart of Darkness rather than read it. We’ve recently been discussing in class the differences in reading something and seeing it performed. Heart of Darkness could be an amazing performance.

Finding the reviews and comments about Heart of Darkness on Amazon and Goodreads helped me to connect with strangers. I could relate to their opinions and I could understand more about the story through their love of the book. Amazon and Goodreads can also lead to new discoveries – like finding out about an audiobook for Heart of Darkness.

Words Are Worse Than Sticks And Stones

“You’re so ugly that you’ll never get asked to prom…”

Click here to read an excerpt of Nineteen Minutes

“Ew. Why would I like her? She has the ugliest thumbs!”

“You wait here. We’ll be right back.”

These are just a few of the statements said to me while growing up. In elementary school, I was ditched at recess and told that I would never date or go to prom. In middle school, some boys targeted me for sexual jokes. Bullying comes in many forms, but the most profound for me has been the use of hurtful words. This is why when I read Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes I felt such a unique pull to the main character, Peter Houghton.

Peter Houghton is a boy that was bullied so much in his life that one day he cracks and in just nineteen minutes, he walks into his high school and kills ten people. I am not saying that I ever had the desire to shoot any of the people that bullied me, but while I read the stories of Peter’s abuse, I couldn’t help but feel a small part of what he felt. The author, Jodi Picoult, writes this story in such a way that makes the reader question justice and the fairness of life. She takes the tough, real issues of school shootings, bullying, and abuse and unfolds a fictional story that leaves the reader feeling a sense of moral debate. One particular thought provoking quote from the book says –

“In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn; color your hair; watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.
In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world; or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.”

Nineteen Minutes is one of my favorite books because it made me think and, from that thinking, act. It would take a heartless person to read this book and still bully those that they feel are below them. One important lesson I learned from this book is that I can let what happens to me dictate my life or I can overcome those hurts and be better because of them.

Power of Pacing

The performance The Flight into Egypt done by the Foxwood Community Centre in the York Mystery Plays depicts the biblical story of the angel, Gabriel, visiting Joseph to tell him that he and Mary must flee with the baby Jesus. Unlike the other guilds that chose to use music and visual aids to engage the audience, the actors in The Flight into Egypt use purposeful humor, movement, and sound of voice to catch the audience’s interest.

The first line of the play is spoken by the angel, Gabriel, but in order to set up the scene, the audience sees Joseph working with a hammer at a table. He pauses in his hammering, looks at the audience, and wipes his brow. The audience laughs. Joseph continues to play on the audience’s sense of humor by snoring while Gabriel tries to wake him, granting Joseph more laughter. In some of the other plays, the humor that came from the performances was not from the play itself, but from mishaps. For example, God’s hat almost falls off in one performance that causes laughter in the audience. The Flight into Egypt differs in that the character portraying Joseph is acting as the audience might in their personal lives when faced with hard work and being woken up in the middle of the night.

Later, as Joseph is telling Mary to pack because they must flee, he responds to Mary’s displeasure and worry by saying –

Bere harm? No, I trow but small. But God is what I must care for all, for bed and back and all the pack that needs unto us. . .

As he continues to speak of being dependent on God, Joseph moves below the stage near the audience and walks to the donkey and back to the stage. In some of the other plays, when a character begins a long monologue, the audience is tempted to zone out, but Joseph's constant movement keeps the audience’s eyes on him. Joseph’s movement also keeps the audience from focusing on Mary’s packing in the background and diverting the attention away from his words.

At the end of the performance, Joseph, while holding the baby Jesus, speaks of how God will help them come to no harm. As Joseph speaks, his voice becomes louder and more emphatic until he is shouting. Think of when someone is in danger or in trouble, people often use a loud voice to grab their attention. The force behind Joseph’s words added to the sound of his voice, engages the audience in what he is saying and helps the audience to feel his attitude of going “with cheer”.

The dynamic nature of Joseph’s character is such that he is able to provide the humor as well as the primary message of the play - to trust in God. Interestingly, the pacing of humor, movement, and voice in the play show the audience Joseph’s character developing from a man without motivation to a man with a strong drive to do the will of God.

CHOOSE WISELY

Many might say that Fate is the antagonist of the play Oedipus because it decides Oedipus' life for him. I argue that Oedipus, while being the protagonist, is actually his own antagonist because of his tragic flaw of making rash decisions when faced with emotional turmoil.

In the middle of the play, Oedipus reveals how he came to be the King. He speaks of a drunk telling him that he was not the biological child of his parents (Plybus and Merope) and uses words like “irked”, “insult”, “rankled” and “scandal” to describe how the accusation made him feel. With these feelings threshing about inside himself, he decides to “privily without [his parents] leave” go to Apollo and find out for himself if what the drunk told him is true . When the truth is confirmed, he learns of the prophesy of his life. His rash decision to calm his troubled mind leads him to take his next step right into Fate’s hand. He flees his parents, and his land.

On his journey, he is almost run off the road by two men and because it “jostled” him, he gave in to the urge to hit the guy. Few civilized people lash out with such anger that they kill without hesitation, but Oedipus does. His inability to control his temper leads him to kill his real father. Thus, falling deeper into Fate's trap.

Later, when Oedipus finds his wife/mother, Jocasta, dead in her room, he gives a “maddened roar” and takes her down from the noose. In the very next moment he stabs his eyes out with her brooches. Again, his emotions get the better of him and he performs the irreversible act of making himself blind.

Oedipus after stabbing his eyes out
Image: {link to:http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/texts/Tragedy/OedipusRex.htm}

Oedipus makes his worst decisions in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, each of these decisions allows him to become the fulfillment of his prophesy. Before Oedipus makes these decisions, the prophesy is just words, but once he allows his blinding pain to guide his choices rather than logic or thought, he becomes the man that he is foretold to be. Oedipus, the protagonist, runs from the prophesy while Oedipus, the antagonist, makes decisions that bring the prophesy to fruition.

Oedipus, himself, actually notes this when he says that Apollo brought these things to pass,

But the right hand that dealt the blow

Was mine, none other.

Oedipus being his own antagonist plays perfectly into the purpose of a tragedy. Which is supposed to be thought-provoking and allow the individual in the audience to make comparisons to his or her own life. In this instance, everyone can relate to making irresponsible and irrational decisions when we feel heart broken or sad or angry. We can learn from this play by thinking before acting.

King of Elephants

Image: Indra riding Airavata
{link to: http://www.indianminiaturepaintings.co.uk/Marwar_Indra-Airavata_000610.html}

I love elephants. If you go into my room, you will see about 10 elephants; pictures, candles, and figurines. And so when we were told to write a poem about our own epic story or re-tell a myth, I decided to do a little bit of research on elephants. I found an interesting myth on the elephant from the Hindu religion. One very specific elephant is Airavata, the king of the elephants, believed to control the rain and to fly. He was completely white! He carried the god of weather and war, Indra, into battle to fight, Vritra, a serpent or dragon blocking the rivers. To defeat Vritra, Airavata reached his trunks (he had seven trunks and four tusks) into the water and sprayed the water to the clouds which killed Vritra (or stopped the drought). It is believed that Airavata stood in front of Indra's palace. I thought this was a pretty neat story. I hope you enjoy my sonnet!


King of Elephants


The melody of sacred hymns christened

My royal birth from the broken egg shells.

Whiter than a great waterfall glistens,

Pure and spotless, respected and special.



Airavata, they call me. King of the

Elephants – power of the rain and clouds.

Conveyor of the king of gods, Indra.

Mighty and battleworn, I trumpet loud!



Slipping my trunks into fathoms below

Sucking and guzzling and filling up full

‘Til about to burst, the water explodes

Reaching the skies, feeling gravity’s pull.



The enemy defeated, all’s restored,

To the palace, fly, there I stand adored.


I have to be honest. When we first got the assignment, I definitely misunderstood. I found a topic and wrote a super cute sonnet (also about elephants and also about a myth, but in a different context - ask me about it and I'll whip it out and read it to you). I shared it with lots of people because I was so proud! Of course, my bubble was burst when I realized I didn't quite follow the rules of the assignment. And so I wrote this one (let's hope I did it right!). I have now written 3 sonnets in 2 days. They may not be amazing or well-written, but that's still pretty amazing for someone who has never written a sonnet before! I think I actually enjoy writing sonnets...Cool!

The Irony of the Invincible Man

Image by genius.com

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was an author known to possess the “rebellious spirit” of his time. One of his most famous poems, “Ozymandias”, tells of a deserted and forsaken statue in the middle of the desert. The poem portrays the irony behind the attitude men have that they are powerful and immortal.

The second paragraph shows this by first inserting the quote on the pedestal of the statue. It reads,

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and  / despair!” (It is almost as if the statue itself is yelling into the void to force its greatness.)

The author then uses imagery to show the areas surrounding the statue. He writes,

“Nothing beside remains.” (Meaning that the city or people that created the great statue have left it to ruin.)

He uses words like “decay”, “colossal wreck”, and “bare” to describe the statue as having nothing of worth.

Shelley then describes the area around the statue by saying,

“The lone and level sands stretch far / away.” (His use of the term “level” means that even the wind, known to create waves and hills in the sand, has also deserted the statue.)

Together, the quote of the statue and the description of its current state and surrounding area

show the irony of men believing they are invincible, but time brings change and inevitably those men are forgotten. 

Click here to see Ozymandias performed by Alexander Feht - Interesting!

Instagram, and Tumblr, and Youtube! Oh, My!

Social media is like a Russian Matryoshka doll. At first look, it’s a pretty hand-painted wooden doll, but then you open it. Surprise, another pretty hand-painted wooden doll! And another and another. And the last one is so cute because it’s so tiny! (Oh, the joy of tiny things.) Every link we click is like opening that doll and finding something new.

Russian Matryoshka Doll
Image: link to {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll}

Poetry = Too Much Emotion

No chickens allowed in the Poet's Club.

I always seem to associate poetry with people that have too much emotion. For example, I have a friend that went on a blind date with a guy and after this one date, he wrote her a poem. Below is an excerpt:

Is she too calm for me?
Am I too much for her?
For how long can this interest last?

I’ve always wanted to be around a girl
Like her. So sweet and faithful.
Soft around the edges. Direct in mind.
So beautiful, so beautiful, benevolently kind.

For I am constantly pulled at by girls with a sense of adventure, constantly entertained
But drawn to one that is drawn to peace and feeling.
How much she has taught me.

I fear I will lose her, so I silently push her away.
To avoid the pain.
Because she’s not the one I would typically be with;
She feels the same.

What can I do for her happiness and joy?
Whatever she wants from me. Take it.

Is she too calm for me? Am I too much for her?
Or do we balance each other out?

Why do I care? Does she?

It doesn’t matter. I enjoyed my time while it lasted
With the girl, perhaps too good for me.

When I first read this, I immediately thought, RUN.

Oh, My Heart. . . This Could Get Intense

Several times over the years, I’ve heard my Mom say, “Jenna, you should get on Goodreads” or ask, “Hey, Jenna, have you checked out Goodreads?” Each time I would simply mumble something about having looked, but not being interested.

Boy, was I wrong! I have been a member of Goodreads for only a few days and I am already spending way too much time browsing new books and finding books that I had forgotten I read. I was also surprised to find that I have A LOT of friends on Goodreads. Several friends from years ago that I don’t talk to on a regular basis, but also several friends that I talk to all the time. I think the biggest surprise was finding out that my Mom’s profile photo is a picture of me in an old Halloween costume wearing a Mumu and a purple wig. Turns out I’ve been missing out on this incredible world!

The discoveries are endless!

As I was browsing books on a list titled “Books Everyone Should Read At Least Once”, I loved being able to click on a book that seemed interesting and see the many reviews given by my friends. I’ll be honest. I judge books by their covers all of the time. If the cover looks boring, I tend to have an immediate aversion to the book. My friends’ reviews of these seemingly boring books have helped me want to look past the cover and see what I can find within the pages. Now, I only wish I had the time on my hands to read, read, read! I have realized that I am way behind on the number of classical literature books that I have read. Gotta play catch up!

I look forward to exploring the many adventures that Goodreads has to offer. I sense an addiction coming on…

A Snob with a Knightley Complex

We have all had those times that we have been sitting in fast and testimony meeting and someone starts to cry as they bear their testimony. The voice starts out normal and then the rollercoaster begins. High and low. Wobbly. Sob. So spiritual, right? Wrong. At least not to my younger self. I used to be that young girl that laughed at those people. My parents started to know when I was listening in church when after church, I would mock those poor people. I was a brat. As I grew up I transitioned from brat to snob. This is why when I read Jane Austen’s Emma, I related so well to Emma. She was beautiful, popular, and good at everything. So was I! Unfortunately, it took some challenging friendships and betrayals to help me to see that I am not all that. I am normal. I have faults. I am weak.

Like most women, I loved Mr. Knightly in Emma. It has not been until the last few years as I served a mission and had “adult” struggles that I have truly appreciated his character. Mr. Knightly is most known for his good judgment. He is often found chiding Emma for her attitude towards those she deemed below her notice. Mr. Knightly is kind and mature. I feel that I am becoming more and more like Mr. Knightley and less like Emma as I strive to look outside of myself and love those around me.

I still have a special love for Emma because she had to learn the hard way just as I have had to learn the hard way that I am not above others. I have friends to be my Mr. Knightleys to keep me in line, but I also have myself to be my Mr. Knightley. I love that literature forces us to become the character and feel their emotions. I love escaping into a book and learning through the character’s experiences.

Because of literature, I am a reformed snob with a Knightley Complex.

Image by Bethany Carlyle-Abundo {link to www.mythirtyone.com​/gailabundo} via Renee Cohen Diggs {link to http://www.10cameliaway.etsy.com}