Thesis Music

I do not know how many of you visit author websites/blogs, but I have noticed that more and more authors are talking about the music they listen to while writing. Some make playlists of what they listened to while writing particular books, while others talk about a a song that they identify with one of their characters. It is fascinating, in my opinion, how true it is. The connection between music, words, and feelings is something I could write on endlessly but, never fear, that is not what I am going to do to you today.

Music helps me to think, to drown out distractions so that I can focus better on what I am writing or what I am reading. And, as the authors I just mentioned, I have found that I gravitate towards music that seems to meld with whatever I am working on, especially when I am writing. What am I writing? My thesis, in case you are reading the blog for the first time. Did I intentionally set out to have a play list of music that helps me to write about Beowulf, biblical exegesis, allegory, monsters, and Anglo-Saxon monasticism? Of course not. The fact that one has come to exist is very, very funny to me. That is the main reason I am sharing this with you. I do not think you care, really, but it is funny to think that listening to certain music helps me to write about such things. Some are predictable, while others are much more surprising. Without further ado, here is, more or less, the music that fuels my thesis.

The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack. I do not think this one is much of a surprise. If this does not make you think of a heroic age where men and monsters live side-by-side then your imagination has been stunted and needs to nurtured so that it can make proper connections. Solemn, stately, and hopeful - the tone of any good epic.










Gregorian Chants. I adore Gregorian chants. The beauty of human voices, unaccompanied by instrument or digital enhancement gives me chills each time I hear it. This helps me to get in a monastic mindset. These chants capture the complexity, depth, and beauty of the monastic life that the majority of modern readers (well, people really, not just readers) do not understand.











Led Zeppelin. This one does not make a whole lot of sense, but I don't really care. Something about Robert Plant's voice just energizes me and helps me to write like a crazy person. Sometimes I find myself typing in time to Jimmy Page's guitar solos. Just kidding. I can't type that fast. But seriously. The Immigrant Song? I could listen to that on repeat.










X by Ed Sheeran. I did not realize I was an Ed Sheeran fan until the Grammys, but there it is. I have been listening to this album while writing the part of my thesis about authorship in Anglo-Saxon England. Do the two have anything in common? No, not one thing. Does the album help me to focus and tune out the millions of distractions clamoring for my attention? Yes, most definitely.









Needtobreathe. This is one of my favorite bands. I have all of their albums and listen to them on shuffle while I am reading. Their sound is unique and soothing, helping me to be unconsciously happy while reading, thereby helping me to read more. I love reading, but academic reading can be so dry. These guys help me to get through it.









The George Frideric Handel station on Spotify. The hugeness of his sound (nice and technical, I know) really helps me to focus on what exactly I am writing. The audience I am writing for is small, but I believe that what I have is important and necessary to understanding the unique, wonderful complexity that is Beowulf. This station is full of songs that are aware of their own importance. Does that make sense to you? Probably not. I fully recognize how my thesis has driven me to delusions.




Does anyone else have songs or playlists for books or writing? If so, I would genuinely love to hear them. Hope you were entertained by this post and have not become afraid to be my friend. I'm told everything will go back to normal once my thesis is finished.

A Bookish Place: Bookstory | Cluj, Romania

Not sure if y'all have noticed or not (I hope you have!), but Lesley Anne and I have been seriously MIA this past month. Okay, more like past 6 weeks, but who's counting? We have not forgotten about the blog but it has not been a priority due to other, overwhelming projects, a.k.a my thesis. Y'all. It is so hard to write a thesis. I finally had to knuckle down and write or it was never going to get done. Research is much more fun than actually writing. Anyways, my rough draft is with my committee at the moment so I am (kind of) free to catch up on life.

I have been in Oradea, Romania these past 2 weeks visiting my best friend and her sweet family. Actually, the only sweet people in her family are her children. The rest are very sarcastic and like to make fun of people, but they kind of grow on you. Anyways, it was the best trip. I happened to be over there on Women's Day, which pretty much everywhere else in the world celebrates except America. I have never been given so many flowers in my life. It was great. True story - we were pulled over in downtown Cluj by police officers so that they could give us flowers and our picture was taken for the paper. They also gave us a voucher for a defensive driving course which we pretended was not sexist at all. You win some, you lose some.

(Geez, sorry I'm so chatty. Apparently I missed blogging.)

Ashley and I left the kids with Kalep (thanks, Kalep!) and drove to Cluj, a city that is about 2.5 hours east of Oradea and it is seriously beautiful. It is exactly what you picture when you think of a European city.

Ash and I were walking along one of the streets and came across a book store. Of course I made her go in. She is not really a reader but she is a great friend, so she humored me. Turns out the bookstore was a hidden gem. The English section was small, but I was not even expecting them to have an English section so it was a nice surprise. In addition to Romanian and English, they also had books in Hungarian and German. As you can see, it was really cute on the inside.

Ash and I spent the most time in the children's section because her family runs an after-school program for the kids in the village they live in. The education system in Romania is not the best, and the farther you are from the city the worse it gets. In addition, they work with Roma (gypsy) children, too, who are severely marginalized. Education is the key to changing not only these kids' lives, but their communities, society, and country.

Ash was telling me how they have not been able to find a lot of good books for the kids when we went downstairs (yes, it was a two-story bookstore!) and found two walls, covered floor to ceiling in kids and teen books. We literally spent 45 minutes down there just going through books. I have never had as much fun picking out books as I did in that store. Ashley wants to build a library for the kids but has had trouble finding good books that the kids could actually read. This bookstore was, literally, filled with books for these kids and I got help pick some out. Going through the books and helping to decide which stories these kids should hear, should read was the best.

Of course, I had to go with the fantasy classics. Ashley was telling me that these kids do not have much imagination because it has never been taught to them. I was floored. Most of their parents can't read, and if they can, they do not have the money for books and it is not cheap to travel to the city where they library is (and some of them probably would not even be allowed in). The majority of them never leave the area surrounding their village so they do not know how big the world is. This is unacceptable. To help start the library I chose The Little Prince, Prince Caspian, and The Hobbit. I was especially excited about The Hobbit because it is the same edition I got for my niece and nephews.

I can honestly say it was the best time I have ever spent in a bookstore. There were tons of books I wanted to get for the kids but did not have the money on me to do so. I will be talking with our book club about how we can help build their library and if you, too, want to help let me know in the comment section and I will tell you how. I could write post after post about my trip, but this was definitely one of the highlights. If you would like more information about the after-school program and other programs my friend and her family run, please check out their website here.

I hope this post made you want to travel, buy books, and help out kids. I mean, how much more perfect could life get?

Top Ten Books on Jenny's Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is books on our Spring To-Be-Read list. Pretty straight forward and an easy topic as my TBR list is always overflowing. These books are not in any particular order other than the fact that they are highest on my list.

1. Shadow Scale | Rachel Hartman
2. The Praise of Folly | Erasmus
3. All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr
4. The Cloud of Unknowing | Anonymous
5. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald | Therese Anne Fowler
6. Prudence | Gail Carriger
7. The Gracekeepers | Kirsty Logan
8. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch | Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
9. Antigone | Sophocles
10. The Canterbury Tales | Chaucer

Top Ten Fantasy Books Jenny Can't Believe She Hasn't Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week the topic is about books you have not read in a specific genre. I (Jenny) chose fantasy because, in case you haven't noticed, I am a huge fantasy fan. If you have any fantasy books to recommend, I would love it!

[Disclaimer: These are not all books I am necessarily dying to read, but as someone who loves the fantasy genre it is surprising that I haven't read them. I would like to read all of them eventually, if only to know for sure that I do not love them. I have poor impulse control -  or insatiable curiosity (that sounds better!) - so I like to read even a part of books that I probably won't like, just to make sure I really won't like them. It's like a disease.]

1. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
2. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
3. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
4. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
5. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
6. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
7. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
8. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
9. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
10. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

Jenny Reviews: Innocence by Dean Koontz + Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer

I am doing another two-for-one today because both of these books are A) really good and B) really hard to rate. They have nothing in common, but the fact that I read them back-to-back has gotten me thinking (always a dangerous thing) about rating and reviews and what makes a good/great book. This post is part book review and part musing.

The Vitals

Innocence by Dean Koontz
Release Date: 10 December 2013
Page Count: 480
Genre: 
Target Audience: Adult
Series: No
Source and Format: Lesley Anne; Paperback
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (From Goodreads)
In Innocence, Dean Koontz blends mystery, suspense, and acute insight into the human soul in a masterfully told tale that will resonate with readers forever.

He lives in solitude beneath the city, an exile from society, which will destroy him if he is ever seen. She dwells in seclusion, a fugitive from enemies who will do her harm if she is ever found. But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance--and nothing less than destiny--has brought them together in a world whose hour of reckoning is fast approaching.

Notes on Innocence

1. The writing is phenomenal. This is my first book by Koontz and it will definitely not be my last. He has gone on my list of "Authors I Read Because of How They Write". This list contains authors such as Elizabeth Kostova and Kate Morton. The way they string words together is marvelous.

2. The story was odd. I am still not sure if I like it or if I am ambivalent. It starts out really engaging and pulls you in immediately. By the end I was wondering if Koontz is beyond brilliant or simply ran out of steam. I cannot tell you much without spoiling it, but the reason behind the main characters ostracization from society is... original. Kind of hard to wrap your head around. BUT society's reaction to this is spot on and the reason I am leaning towards Koontz being brilliant. 

3. How do I rate this book?! The writing is wonderful. The characters are engaging, for the most part. The commentary on human nature is inspired. The storyline is just a little off. I ended up giving it 4 stars because I did enjoy it, for the most part, and the writing is perfect. It seems I have a higher tolerance for mediocre storytelling when the storyteller is a master of language.

Overall Diagnosis

The Vitals

Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer

Release Date: 2 April 2013

Page Count: 384

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Target Audience: Adult

Series: No

Source and Format: Purchased; Kindle e-Book
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (From Goodreads)

Queenie Wake, a country girl from North Star, Texas, has just been fired from her job as a chef for not allowing a customer to use ketchup. Again. Now the only place she has to go is home to North Star. She can hope, maybe things will be different. Maybe her family's reputation as those Wake women will have been forgotten. It's been years since her mother-notorious for stealing your man, your car, and your rent money-was killed. And her sister, who as a teenager was branded as a gold-digging harlot after having a baby with local golden boy Wes McKay, is now the mother of the captain of the high school football team. It can't be that bad…

Who knew that people in small town Texas had such long memories? And of course Queenie wishes that her memory were a little spottier when feelings for her high school love, Everett Coburn, resurface. He broke her heart and made her leave town-can she risk her heart again?

At least she has a new job-sure it's cooking last meals for death row inmates but at least they don't complain!

But when secrets from the past emerge, will Queenie be able to stick by her family or will she leave home again? A fun-filled, touching story of food, football, and fooling around.

Notes on Nowhere But Home

1. This was a wonderful story. The characters are so real and I want to be friends with them. The story was unique and yet easy to relate to (at least for me). The humor was one of my favorite parts. This is one of those books that makes you happy for no particular reason.

2. The plot had a couple of holes that were filled a bit too conveniently for me. Some of the ways that information was revealed was too easy and unrealistic. This kept me from loving the book.

3. How do I rate this book? I enjoyed the story immensely but was disappointed in the way things were so easily resolved. No lie, all people had to do was talk to one another, just once, and most issues were resolved. Now, I realize this is probably a clever way of showing how communication is so important but it was just a little too easy. I highly recommend it but I do not love it.

Overall Diagnosis 

Do y'all see why it was so hard to rate these books? How do you decide the number of stars when a book is really great but just didn't appeal to you personally? Or what do you do when you love a story but was not impressed with the way it is resolved? 

Lesley Anne Reviews: Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

The Vitals

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
Release Date: December 31, 2012
Page Count: 369
Genre: Contemporary
Target Audience: Adult
Series: Standalone
Source and Format: Library; Audiobook
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (From Goodreads)
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Notes on Me Before You

It has been really difficult for me to put my thoughts on this book into words. Jenny can confirm this review has been sitting as a draft in our queue for forever. It was probably driving her crazy. I know it was driving ME crazy. So in an attempt to preserve our sanity, I'm finally making myself finish my thoughts on Me Before You, and I hope I can do it justice.

I can honestly say I have never read a novel like this, and the subject matter dealt with is something I have not quickly forgotten, nor will I ever forget. This is the kind of book that stays with you for a long time after you turn the final page, no matter how you feel about it at the conclusion. I finished this book last Fall, and somehow I've managed to think about it fairly often since then. For that reason alone most people would be intrigued to pick up this novel, but I did have a few issues with it that kept me from calling it a favorite.

Lou Clark, the main character, is a 26-year-old who is content with her job at a local cafe called The Buttered Bun. At the opening of the novel, she is shocked to find out the cafe is closing (not a spoiler, promise!) and she must find other means of employment, as she is still living at home with her family and they rely heavily on her income to sustain their standard of living. She resorts to using a staffing agency to find a new position, and ultimately accepts a job as a caretaker for quadriplegic Will Traynor.

What I loved about Lou is that she felt so REAL to me. Her insecurities, her mistakes, and her complacency were so true-to-life and refreshing to read about in a heroine. There were times when she drove me nuts and I badly wanted to shake her out of her stupidity, but that only made her feel more authentic to me. It also helps that this is the first novel I've read in a LONG time where the main character was my age. Obviously, MCs in young adult novels are mostly in their teens, while main characters in adult novels average age 40+, leaving the twenty-something crowd without a lot of books about people their age. The publishing industry has tried to address this deficiency with the New Adult genre, but we won't go there, lest you want to hear me rant. To read a book about a character in the same stage of life as me, wrestling with the same questions and struggling with the same fears, was a welcome surprise and very refreshing. So thank you, JoJo Moyes, for that!

The banter between Will and Lou also had its moments of brilliance and I really enjoyed the unconventional nature of their relationship. They certainly had a lot to learn about each other, and in turn, discovered a lot about themselves. One of my all-time favorite fictional moments EVER happens between these two, specifically during Lou's birthday celebration. Such a sweet, sweet moment. :) There's so much anticipation and build-up in this book when it comes to Will and Lou, which leads me to one of my biggest issues with Me Before You.

This is 100 percent my fault, but here it is nonetheless: I hyped up this book in my head WAY too much. Pretty much every review I read about it or mention of it on Twitter had me prepared for a heart-wrenching, life-changing, tearjerker of a novel. And call me heartless, but that was not my reaction at all to this book. In fact, I would say it was quite the opposite for me. I still had an emotional response, but it leaned more towards the angry and frustrated side of the spectrum than anything else. And no, I didn't read this book because I wanted a good cry, but I did feel like maybe I missed something that had everyone else in tears but made me ready for some fighting words. Like I said, this frustration is due to misguided expectations on my own part, and not necessarily a fault with the book itself. But as a warning, if you do decide to pick up this book, be prepared to feel strongly one way or the other, and don't be surprised if you want to chuck the book across the room, like me.

So am I glad I read Me Before You? It certainly opened my eyes to several things I was clueless about, and made me think about what I would do if I were in someone else's shoes in a seemingly helpless situation. Ultimately, it solidified my beliefs on suffering and that purpose can take on many shapes and forms in our lives. I know I'm being really vague about this, but I don't want to take away from the experience of reading the book for yourself if you haven't picked it up yet. So my answer is yes, I'm glad I read Me Before You, though I probably won't read it again. And if you have read it, PLEASE let me know so we can chat. This book has me itching to discuss!

Memorable Quotes
“You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

“Push yourself. Don't settle. Just live well. Just LIVE.”

Overall Diagnosis

Get A Second Opinion

• Alexa from Alexa Loves Books: "Me Before You was certainly an enjoyable, gripping novel that had me from nearly the very first page. The book had me feeling all sorts of things, with glee, anger and sorrow being chief among all others."

• Asheley from Into the Hall of Books: "Me Before You is one of the most discussable adult contemporary books I think I've ever read. It seems like everyone will likely have an opinion on some of the events that are included in the story. Whatever your opinions, however you feel, this book is one that is worth taking the time to read if you enjoy books that spark discussion and make you think."

Top Ten Books Our Book Club Would Love to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is about book club books, which of course is perfect since Lesley Anne and I happen to be part of a book club. We asked the ladies to help us out with the list and I know most of you are going to be jealous at the quality of our book club. It is okay. You should start your own! The number of ladies out there who want to be part of a book club is really staggering, once you start asking around. I hope this list encourages you to make room in your life for literature and friendships.

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling | 2. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai | 3. Wild by Cheryl Strayed | 4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte | 5. Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot | 6. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler | 7. Splintered by A.G. Howard | 8. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr | 9. Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General by Bill O'Reilly | 10. The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst