Reading Rendezvous: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Reading has been, and always will be, one of my top three favorite things to do, along with watching TV and writing (I wasn't kidding when I said I'm a couch potato). But I've been out of practice for a while. In case you weren't aware, high school is just one big mess of coffee, no sleep, headaches, drama, and of course, schoolwork.

But there was something special about this book, I could tell. So I carved time out of my Friday to read it. I sat in my bed around 8 o'clock at night... and I didn't put it down until I was finished at 1 AM.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a coming-of-age novel about Charlie, a fifteen-year-old entering his first year of high school. The book is formatted as a series of letters from Charlie to an anonymous stranger. It's about growing up, finding friends, falling in love, understanding family, experiencing the world, and confronting the past. It's about the interesting relationship between passivity and participation in life.

Charlie absolutely captured my heart. I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe that's the point. Charlie's outlook on life is so simple, but so emotionally deep and meaningful. He's a wallflower. He looks on at the world from the sidelines, and he understands everything. But with advice from a teacher, Charlie realizes he needs to stop spending all of his life in his thoughts and to start actively participating in life. So he embarks on a journey to do just that.

Be warned. This book covers some very dark and sometimes controversial material, and Charlie's thoughts and struggles to make sense of these things are part of the reason it is so good. Many heavy, emotional topics are discussed or stressed, including drugs, alcohol, sex, mental illness, abortion, homosexuality, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. I'd like to be quite frank with anyone reading this. As a Catholic, I believe certain things and will always uphold those certain beliefs. But the point of the author was not to make the novel revolve around the issues at hand. He's simply telling Charlie's story, and how Charlie reacts and interacts to and with the world. And at the end, they drop a veiled bomb on the reader that suddenly makes you understand why Charlie is the way he is.

This book is happy, and it is sad. It's beautiful, and it is dark. It's uplifting and inspiring, and it is just as equally devastating.

I cried at one point. If you know me, you know that I cry all the time in movies. I guess visually witnessing something prompts tears more effectively for me. But in books, it takes a lot to make me cry. But this book did the trick.

I think my goal in life is to see the world as Charlie does. To understand as he does. If my brain could work like his, I think then I'd really understand how such a mixed up and messed up world could be so dang beautiful.

SUGGESTED AGE OF READER: 15-16 (for some possibly uncomfortable sexual situations and mentions of very controversial issues)
MY PERSONAL RATING: 5/5 stars

~ Lacey :)

Quote of the Day: J. K. Rowling

I'm going to preface this post by saying I have always been and forever will be J. K. Rowling's Number One Fan. I picked up the first Harry Potter book in first grade, inhaled it, and then spent all of second and third grade completing what was then published of the series. And when the sixth and seventh novels were published, I pre-ordered them and read them both within twenty-four hours of them falling into my hands. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't come up for air. I just drowned in the world she had created.

For these reasons and much more, Rowling has been a huge influence and inspiration for a mere literary mortal such as myself. So naturally, many of her words have plucked at my heartstrings and played games with my mind. But this particular quote of hers spoke loudly to me:

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live life so cautiously that you might as well not have lived with all - in which case, you fail by default."

Everyone and their mother has heard a quote or two about how failure is unavoidable and about how failures can be an opportunity to start anew. But none of these other quotes really computed in my head. I think the reason this quote has wormed its way into my mind is because all the other quotes just go along the lines of "failure is normal, pick yourself up off the ground and start again". But Rowling goes even farther to say that if failure is not happening in your life because you are doing everything in your power to avoid such a fate, you are failing. She makes failure seem almost... beautiful. And for someone like me, who is so scared of breaking through my comfort zone, who is so afraid of rejection, who trembles at the very thought of making myself look stupid because I decided to reach for something a little higher than I usually do... that gives me a tremendous hope.

So I guess what Rowling means to say is... failure to fail is failure.

 It's a beautiful paradox, don't you think?

~ Lacey :)

Quote of the Day: Ernest Hemingway

For today's quote I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Ernest Hemingway. He's a renowned author, and although unfortunately I can't tell you I've read any of his books, I can tell you that he comes highly recommended by my book savvy father. Hemingway is actually his favorite author, so my dad probably won't let me graduate high school without reading some of his work.

One of his little drops of wisdom rang particularly true for me:

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

The thing about this quote is that it is just so, so, so true. I love writing. In fact, it is above all the number one thing that I know I have some degree of talent in that I wouldn't mind doing for the rest of my life. But writing involves a certain self-sacrifice. It doesn't matter whether it's fiction or non-fiction or poetry or whatever. True writing is emptying the contents of your soul onto a blank page and then veiling that unadulterated emotion behind words so that you don't scar your readers with the pure intensity of what's in your heart. Love, pain, hate, anger, joy....they're all a part of the human experience, a part of each and every one of us. Writing conveys that. Writing connects the author and the reader and it lets them know they're not alone. Writing, by this rationale, might possibly the most personal and intimate form of communication that the world has to offer.

And also, I think it'd be really, really cool to have a typewriter.

Food for thought.

~ Lacey

A Night at the Cinema: Les Miserables

You've probably heard all the die-hard fans out there raving and exulting and informing everyone they know about this movie, but I figured it was time for some input from someone who had no prior knowledge about the movie whatsoever. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. On Christmas Day, my best friend and I hopped in the car and took off for the nearest movie theater just in time to catch the 3:30 showing of Les Miserables (keep in mind I am far too lazy to put the proper accents on the appropriate letters of the title).

In case you're like me and you entered the theater with no earthly idea as to what was happening, here's a quick backstory:


The movie contains many subplots, but the main thread is the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean, who becomes a force of good in the world after getting a second chance at life. But he cannot escape his dark past, which surfaces in the form of Javert, a member of the French police who is determined to carry out his lawful duty to arrest Valjean for skipping parole and something else (which is vital to the plot and would be a potential spoiler if I told you). The movie, adopted from the musical adaptation of the original novel, follows Valjean's journey to do good and all of the roadblocks along the way.

 

So my initial reaction to the first five minutes of the movie was: Oh no. Are they going to be singing the ENTIRE time?

It was in fact a pure musical, with intermittent moments where characters spoke, but most often they were singing. And I'm not one for musicals usually, but let me tell you... once you get past the initial shock that they're seriously not going to stop singing... it's absolutely fantastic. (WARNING: These songs WILL get superglued to your brain. You will NOT get them out of your head. It's been a little over a week and I'm still bursting out into song).

Here's a list of things that made the movie so fantastic:

• Just take one look at the star-studded cast. In my opinion, Hugh Jackman was PERFECT for Valjean. Russel Crowe made for an intimidating Javert. Anne Hathaway made me cry with her stunning, flawless performance as the heartbreaking Fantine (certainly Oscar-worthy). Did anyone else know she could sing so beautifully? Because I surely didn't. And then there's Amanda Seyfried, who while doing nothing particularly extraordinary is perfect as sweet and innocent adult Cosette. Of course, I couldn't forget Helena Bonham Carter, who actually made me laugh out loud a couple times as the devious and eccentric Madame Thenardier.

          Oh, and the eye candy award goes to the one and only Aaron Tveit.

 

 

'NUFF SAID :-D

• The storyline was just so beautiful. I love a good redemption story, and Jean Valjean has the perfect tale of doing something good and righteous with your second chance. I was completely enamored with the entire plot, which was beautifully displayed in musical form. Truly, truly breathtaking. I won't lie, I cried. The movie was so good, in fact, that the original novel form of Les Miserables written by Victor Hugo is now on my Must-Read list. However, it's 1,500 pages long, so it's definitely a summer project.

• The attention to historical detail was unparalleled. Throughout the entire movie I really felt as if I had been transported back to the time of the French Revolution, and not the glorified version that you come up with in your brain when you read about it in textbooks. You really see the destitution, the depravity, and the hopelessness that many people endured. Honestly, it was a culture shock.

 

I have few to no bad things to say about this movie, other than that Javert's obsession with arresting Valjean never made complete sense with me. This could be a viewer's error; I might have missed an important piece of dialogue or something just didn't translate perfectly for me. But other than this small thing, I truly thought the film was amazing. Go see it.

 

MPAA RATING: PG-13

MY PERSONAL SUGGESTED AGE: 14-15

MY PERSONAL RATING: 9.5/10 stars

 

Happy viewing!

 

~ Lacey :)

Music Moment: Imagine Dragons

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an empty blog after years of seeing it filled to the brim with posts. Which is exactly why I am now writing my third post of the evening in an effort to not make my new creation look completely barren.

What am I here to talk about? Today, I delve into one of my current favorite music groups and their album. Ladies and gents, I am way too excited to introduce you to... *insert drumroll*... Imagine Dragons!

In particular, I am here to talk about their most recent album, Night Visions.

This music group is an American indie rock band that hails from Las Vegas, Nevada. If you check them out on iTunes, you'll see that they fall under the Alternative genre. This particular class of music is usually hit or miss for me, and in this instance it was a ginormous hit.

You might be thinking: Mkay, glad you like this random band, Lacey, but I've never heard of them and I am most certainly not interested. STOP RIGHT THERE. You probably have heard one or more of their songs and have just yet to identify the artist.

Their song It's Time can be heard in the trailer for the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Additionally, Radioactive can be heard in the trailer for the upcoming, sure-to-be-killer movie The Host.

Here are a couple of my favorite songs from the album. If you can't quite justify purchasing the whole album, you should at least download these:

• Radioactive: By FAR my favorite. The beat is so jarring and addictive and momentous, and it has such an intense vibe to it.
• Nothing Left to Say/Rocks: This song has an odd combination of two songs in one. It's kind of hard to explain until you listen to it first hand. The lyrics of this song were what got to me...although the actual music is phenomenal, as always.
• Demons: So. Dang. Catchy. And lyrical. That is all.

The other songs are all wonderfully crafted as well, and overall it is such an entertaining album. Certainly worth the buy, and it comes highly recommended!

RATING: 5/5 stars

~ Lacey :)

Quote of the Day: C. S. Lewis

Good evening, world!

Today I'd like to share my current life's motto. Given the fact that I am, as the blog says, pretty scatterbrained, this is naturally bound to change as I grow and find myself in new places throughout life. For now, however, it pretty much sums up my entire existence.

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."

I mean, yeah, sometimes I prefer coffee to tea, but other than that this quote is scarily accurate.

Side note: C. S. Lewis is one of my biggest inspirations in life, not only as a writer but as a person. He was full of such imagination, intelligence, wit, and faith, and for these reasons I will constantly use his words as guidance.

Until next time!

~ Lacey :)

Welcome to the Wonderful World of a Scatterbrained Redhead

Hi there, world!

If you're one of the few who used to read this blog, you may notice that all of my previous posts have been deleted. There are quite a few reasons for this.

1: They were all poems (that can get boring to people who need some variety in their lives).
2: They were all intensely personal poems written by yours truly, which is highly embarrassing and revealing.
3: I don't want any old geezer to read my personal poems that describe the innermost workings of my soul (for future reference, any you're-a-ginger-you-have-no-soul cracks will be completely futile, as I've heard them all).
4: There is so, so, so much more to me than poetry.

So get ready for a revamped blog filled with everything that makes me...well, me.

Have a fantastic second day of 2013!

-- Lacey :)