I have to be honest and say that I rarely read books that are non-fiction. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I spent fours year in college reading only textbooks and since then I feel like I've been trying to catch up on reading fiction. It has been almost four years since I graduated (how time flies!) so I think I'm slowing down in the fiction department and hopefully can achieve some sort of balance.
In the last month I joined a book club! Only I wasn't able to read the first book and I missed the first meeting. However, I am better prepared this time because I've already read the book for November and have the book for December in my hot little hands. No more will I end up on a long waiting list!
This may seem like a very ADHD blog post but I'm going to pull it all together with this sentence: The book I had to read for my book club for November was non-fiction and this post is a review for that book. So, here it goes:
I was surprised by this book because 1) the title made it sound like a fiction book and 2) I don't know very much about science. After getting over the first point, I came to realize that I didn't have to know much about science because Skloot explains it all in an easy way. She does this because she's trying to tell a story about science and human rights.
Henrietta Lacks, a black woman, went to a hospital in the 1950's because she had cancer. They treated her and took a sample of her cells without her consent (times were different back then). These cells did what no other cells at that time had done: they survived. They didn't die right away, in fact they kept growing. Since then Henrietta's cells, now named HeLa cells, have been used by scientists all over the world to help find cures for any number of diseases. They were also sent up into space to see how human cells would react in an anti-gravity atmosphere. Crazy, right?
So now your asking yourself, "Why didn't I learn about this in science class?" That's where Skloot comes in. She asked herself, "Who is this woman?" and the answer is heart-breaking. Henrietta ending up dying, leaving a whole family behind who had no idea of the impact she was making on science. In fact, her cells are being sold around the world for ridiculous amounts of money while her children could barely afford to go the local doctor.
This book asks a lot of questions about racial and ethcial issues surrounding medical research. Are the cells still yours if not a part of you anymore? Aren't they just considered waste? What if someone makes millions off of your "waste"? In the end Henrietta's daughter just wants her mother to be recognized and appreciated.
This story about the advancements of science and a family's struggle to understand it all is a good read. It makes you think about how there is so much in the world you don't know about...
The Wakeful Dreamer
In my search for truth, beauty, freedom, and love in the world wide web I have hit a snag: cute animal videos on youtube. I'm not proud of it but I have had some pretty good laughs an "awww!" moments. If you've been there you know what I mean.
I've kind of fallen in love with this cat:
And now for something complete different: My Monday posts have a theme song! My husband heard it on the radio today and it's just perfect. It's called Manic Monday by The Bangles.
I'm posting an acoustic version because the orginal music video is from the 80's and it is weird (don't say I didn't warn you if you look it up yourself!):
Hopefully these videos inspire you to relax and have a "funday."
The Wakeful Dreamer
I'm not slacking on purpose, I promise, but I'm in between books right now. I'm not sure when I'll ever get finish the Harry Potter Series because I feel like someone has taken out the book and will never give back ever... am I impatient or what?
I did start another book but just the other day and I don't want to do a whole blog post on 1/4 of a book. It would be unfair to the book and you.
So instead, you get to tell me about what your reading! Comment away. Tell me what is keeping your interest right now because I know I'm not the only one reading out here in the world.
At least I hope so...
The Wakeful Dreamer
Alright, I can tell you're already thinking one of three things:
1. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HAVEN'T READ THESE BOOKS YET?!?!?!?!?!?!?
2. Aren't you a little old to be reading these books? *insert eye brow raise here*
3. What does Pt. One mean? *insert quizzical expression here*
Okay, everyone settle down, I'll answer everything in turn. To answer the first question... I'm not very good with very popular things. When something hits world wide status and everyone loses their minds over it, I immediately become very skeptical. I walk around it and wonder things like: Why is it so popular? Should it be this popular? Is it really that good or is everyone just agreeing with everyone else to be cool? These are thoughts that spin around my mind for anything that is overly popular.
So this is the reason I'm reading it now, in my old age, because it took this long to decide that I wanted to read it. I realize these are children's books but if I have never mentioned it before I do love juvenile fiction. Also, I believe that you can't force yourself to read a book if you are really going to enjoy it (When I was in college, there were so many books I couldn't even like because I had to rush through them for assignments).
To answer your final question, Pt. One means literally Part One... because I was only able to read the first three books before I hit a snag in my plan. The plan was this: The movies are over, therefore everyone who likes them would have read them/owned them by now. Right? Wrong. I'm waiting for the library to call my and say that the 13 year-old boy (this is who I imagine it is), who has been taking forever to read the next book, has finally returned it. However, if he reads the book after that I may be waiting for much longer than I expected. And if you have ever been stuck in the middle of a series you know how painful waiting can be...
I'm assuming you are still reading and are thinking something along the lines of: "Is the review even in this blog post?!?" You're in luck it starts. right. now!
I started reading these books with a general idea of how the story went. I may have avoided them because of their popularity but I'm not totally out of the loop. I also saw the first four movies. Not that movies are anything like the books they claim to be based from. However, while read I was reminded of things I has seen and was surprised at least the first three were done fairly well.
When I started reading the books I was instantly struck with two thoughts: 1. I couldn't believe how well they were written for young kids and 2. I couldn't believe how British they were.
Again, I do realize they are written for a younger audience but sometimes books that include magic can be written poorly. The images that we have in our minds of witches and wizards can take a variety of forms. It's almost Halloween so I see cheesy and slightly scary wart-faced, green-skinned witches in every store. Wizards are almost always portrayed as old men with blue robes and a pointy hat. J.K Rowling does an excellent job of shedding those old images with new ones, where witches are just female wizards who are very bright and wizards can be young boys with lightning bolts on their foreheads or have bright red hair.
Because I had seen the movies, I was already aware that the books were set in England but I just wasn't prepared because... I love British humor in it's dry witty form. I laughed so hard at certain parts. The books were also funny because they reminded me of my childhood. Would I scarf down on jelly beans and think exploding things with firecrackers was fun? You bet.
Maybe I don't have an evil villain out to get me because I defeated him before I could form a sentence but that's what books are for, to stretch our imagination. There is good and evil in this world and kids are aware of this fact as well. Having books that show good overcome evil, where the kid is the hero, helps us understand that evil doesn't have to win just because you are young. J.K. Rowling also outlines in her books that friendship, loyalty and love are good to have on your side if your planning on defeating evil.
So if your interested in these books give them a read. If you're not sure about them, take your time and do your research. I did. If you have any questions about them (the first three) comment below or send me an message in the For Me? section. Oh, and maybe take all the books out from the library at once so your not stuck in the middle... Pt. Two to come as soon as it can!
The Wakeful Dreamer
So the reason there was no review on Thursday was because of a road trip... I'm in the middle of a series right now anyways, so it all works out.
Sorry if you were really looking forward to a review but I hope that you have a good long weekend all the same...
The Wakeful Dreamer
So by now I think you understand that I like stories. However, what you may not have known is that I also really, really like music. This may not seem like a strange combination considering they both have a lot in common, like: words, grammar, and punctuation, to name a few.
I do love all music but my favorite songs are what I like to refer to as story songs. You can argue that every song tells some sort of story but some songs just don't make the cut. For some reason if two books have very similar plots we call it plagiarism but if two songs talk about the exact things but have different beats, we can love them both... especially if they are about love and dancing.
Anyways, enough of my pet peeves, what I really want to share with you is two of my favorite story songs. The first is a classic example of a story song:
This second song is great because it tells a great story on it's own but what about the hidden meanings?!? I love the theories that are out there...
Whether you are reading a good book or listening to a great song I hope your Monday can end well...
The Wakeful Dreamer
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