Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a few days...I'm sick :( and my computer is in the shop, and I'm only at work for a few minutes. Just wanted to let you know that I'm not flaking... I'm busy reading, and I'll do a longer post tomorrow about how I think we should start our discussion! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!! xoxo Christine
Thursday, January 7, 2010
It's Thursday, almost Friday, and I'm sooo ready! So many of you have expressed interest in joining our book blog, which is fantastic! So while everyone acclimates and gets used to checking the blog, and while we decide on a first book (still need suggestions and input!!), I thought it would be a good idea for everyone to write a post introducing themselves, since many of you are strangers, soon to be friends! Post whatever you want and feel like writing about. Since all of you know me, I'm leaving this one up to ya'll :)
p.s. As a side-note, I DID pick up my copy of "To Kill A Mockingbird" last night and read the first chapter. It was somewhat sweet when I noticed I had written my name on the inside cover so as to claim it as my own! And right underneath me was my little brother's name...I guess he used my copy in highschool. For some reason that made me smile :) Anyway, I had nothing else going on, and after writing about Harper yesterday I just couldn't help myself but to start reading. If everyone's happy with that choice, why don't we go ahead and start the book? Thoughts? xoxo Christine
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Here we go!
I am so thrilled at your interest in starting a book blog/group! I think it will be an enjoyable experience for us all, and maybe more so for those who live in Sacramento since we will easily be able to attend "meetings," otherwise known as wine nights...
I digress...
I know not everyone has responded yet, however most of you are aware of my patience deficiency, and therefore understand why I am already on my second post just hours after my initial email. That said, we can get everyone up to date easily. I thought it would be a good time to discuss the more logistical aspects of a book blog, such as how we will choose books, at what times will we post, what will be post about, etc. As far as I'm concerned, I think we should post whenever something provokes us, whether it be while reading or a thought that pops into your head the next day. I think this should be a forum of not just interpretations of a book, but of any ideas or insights we glean from the reading itself. Maybe a passage led you to think about an old friend you've not talked to in years and inspired you to get into contact with them. Or perhaps a lesson learned by a character is a lesson learned by you? Tell us about it (if you like:). Moreover, what one member finds appealing, another may despise, and why not spend those 30 minutes (or two hours) you'd spend on facebook getting into a blogging "discussion of opposing ideas"? And lastly, post about a new restaurant you tried, a cool website, or interesting blog. They're are no rules...
Now, to decide on a book. That's daunting, right? I can think of a few ways to make those decisions. We could choose a genre and take turns picking a book within it. We could also each submit a book idea, and have it randomly chosen using one of the nifty online calculators. What about you? Comment and let me know your thoughts on this as well as everything else.
xoxo Christine
I digress...
I know not everyone has responded yet, however most of you are aware of my patience deficiency, and therefore understand why I am already on my second post just hours after my initial email. That said, we can get everyone up to date easily. I thought it would be a good time to discuss the more logistical aspects of a book blog, such as how we will choose books, at what times will we post, what will be post about, etc. As far as I'm concerned, I think we should post whenever something provokes us, whether it be while reading or a thought that pops into your head the next day. I think this should be a forum of not just interpretations of a book, but of any ideas or insights we glean from the reading itself. Maybe a passage led you to think about an old friend you've not talked to in years and inspired you to get into contact with them. Or perhaps a lesson learned by a character is a lesson learned by you? Tell us about it (if you like:). Moreover, what one member finds appealing, another may despise, and why not spend those 30 minutes (or two hours) you'd spend on facebook getting into a blogging "discussion of opposing ideas"? And lastly, post about a new restaurant you tried, a cool website, or interesting blog. They're are no rules...
Now, to decide on a book. That's daunting, right? I can think of a few ways to make those decisions. We could choose a genre and take turns picking a book within it. We could also each submit a book idea, and have it randomly chosen using one of the nifty online calculators. What about you? Comment and let me know your thoughts on this as well as everything else.
xoxo Christine
Say Hi to Harper
To start, Welcome! It's not just the start of a new year, but of a new decade, one which promises to bring new adventures, experiences, relationships, and greater knowledge to us all, and I'm so very grateful to share this new experience with all of you.
Literature has always fascinated me in that I can be so drawn to one book and yet so put off by another. That I can relate so closely with a certain character, yet feel so isolated by another. That an author's work can disturb me, but I can be fascinated with the author herself. Sometimes I feel so emotionally attached to a book that I'm genuinely disappointed when I turn the last page. I've felt connected in one or many ways to a specific character or situation, and the book has become a part of my daily life for however long it has taken me to read. Where I find myself thinking about it or relating it to situations currently occurring in my life, and when that experience is over, when the book is not able to read any more, I feel genuine loss. Amidst those feelings is the fantastic realization that a book can change something internally, that one person's imagination can create something that can alter your perceptions, feelings, and beliefs. To me, that is staggering. In a life where the everyday moves too fast, where I interact with the people closest to me through electronic means, and where I forget to have compassion for and connection with others, reading has the amazing ability to bring me back, to ground me. I hope that through this blog we can enhance what we all gain individually from reading by sharing those experiences with each other.
Now, as to the name...
Harper Lee is my favorite author, despite having authored only one published novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." This book had an enormous impact on me when I read it the first time in high school, and further so when I re-read it in college. But more on that later... The real reason I chose to name our blog "The Harper Diaries" is because of how we as a group mirror Harper as an individual.
Harper is an enigma. Her writing is brutally honest and brings awareness to so many issues of enormous importance today through sharing the life experiences of a little girl in the South named Scout. Harper thrived behind the scenes, yet her personality was strong and outward. She shared little of private life directly, yet it can be examined so clearly in her book. Harper was a woman of both strength and grace in a time when often only grace in women was admired. She was wise in her ways and gifted the world with a true masterpiece that will continue to inspire and teach for generations, but protected her individual life from us, allowing her to lead it the way in which she wished.
This balance is what inspired me to name us after Harper. I believe that contributing to the world around us yet not allowing ourselves to forget "me," is necessary to living a fulfilled life. All of Harper's qualities represent you and us. We are all so unique in many ways, yet I believe each of you pride yourself on your inner strength and outer grace, a quality that I so admire in you. You don't back down, but you don't push too hard unnecesarily. You pick your battles, but don't accept defeat. You have inquisitive minds and so much to share with others. Sadly, such discourse is often threatened by society's images for what a woman should be, do, and act like. Harper would have vehemently disagreed with those constraints and would so totally support an intellectual and graceful discourse between women like ourselves. Thus, I thought it so appropriate to name us, a collective of exquisite women, after a woman as exquisite as Harper.
Now, stop laughing at my rambling and Wednesday afternoon attempt at insight, and tell me what you think about "To Kill a Mockingbird" being our first book :)
Literature has always fascinated me in that I can be so drawn to one book and yet so put off by another. That I can relate so closely with a certain character, yet feel so isolated by another. That an author's work can disturb me, but I can be fascinated with the author herself. Sometimes I feel so emotionally attached to a book that I'm genuinely disappointed when I turn the last page. I've felt connected in one or many ways to a specific character or situation, and the book has become a part of my daily life for however long it has taken me to read. Where I find myself thinking about it or relating it to situations currently occurring in my life, and when that experience is over, when the book is not able to read any more, I feel genuine loss. Amidst those feelings is the fantastic realization that a book can change something internally, that one person's imagination can create something that can alter your perceptions, feelings, and beliefs. To me, that is staggering. In a life where the everyday moves too fast, where I interact with the people closest to me through electronic means, and where I forget to have compassion for and connection with others, reading has the amazing ability to bring me back, to ground me. I hope that through this blog we can enhance what we all gain individually from reading by sharing those experiences with each other.
Now, as to the name...
Harper Lee is my favorite author, despite having authored only one published novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." This book had an enormous impact on me when I read it the first time in high school, and further so when I re-read it in college. But more on that later... The real reason I chose to name our blog "The Harper Diaries" is because of how we as a group mirror Harper as an individual.
Harper is an enigma. Her writing is brutally honest and brings awareness to so many issues of enormous importance today through sharing the life experiences of a little girl in the South named Scout. Harper thrived behind the scenes, yet her personality was strong and outward. She shared little of private life directly, yet it can be examined so clearly in her book. Harper was a woman of both strength and grace in a time when often only grace in women was admired. She was wise in her ways and gifted the world with a true masterpiece that will continue to inspire and teach for generations, but protected her individual life from us, allowing her to lead it the way in which she wished.
This balance is what inspired me to name us after Harper. I believe that contributing to the world around us yet not allowing ourselves to forget "me," is necessary to living a fulfilled life. All of Harper's qualities represent you and us. We are all so unique in many ways, yet I believe each of you pride yourself on your inner strength and outer grace, a quality that I so admire in you. You don't back down, but you don't push too hard unnecesarily. You pick your battles, but don't accept defeat. You have inquisitive minds and so much to share with others. Sadly, such discourse is often threatened by society's images for what a woman should be, do, and act like. Harper would have vehemently disagreed with those constraints and would so totally support an intellectual and graceful discourse between women like ourselves. Thus, I thought it so appropriate to name us, a collective of exquisite women, after a woman as exquisite as Harper.
Now, stop laughing at my rambling and Wednesday afternoon attempt at insight, and tell me what you think about "To Kill a Mockingbird" being our first book :)
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