The rules of being a bum are...

Well, I lied...there aren't any rules. But I have been a bum the past week. I meant to get some stitching done on my WIP Four Elements, but that idea was put aside as I read several books and watched two 'classic' movies.

My progress last week:

Read:
1. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton
2. Kira-Kira - Cynthia Kadohata
3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

Watched:
1. Oliver Twist - Masterpiece Theatre 1999
2. The House of Mirth - 2000

See, I had some productivity last week, but not with stitching. I had been reading The House of Mirth for awhile. Usually, it doesn't take me so long to finish a book, but since I was only reading it on my break and after work while waiting for my carpool ride I wasn't getting much accomplished. I finally got it finished last Monday....and....was depressed.

The book, if you haven't read it, revolves around Lily Bart, a poor, young lady who relies on her wealthy aunt to stay afloat in the rich society of New York in the early 1900s. The novel follows her rise and fall within the excessive world of the wealthy. As a ward, she has nothing to recommend herself, but her beauty and youth. The only two characters who love her are her cousin Gerty and her friend Mr. Selden. In the end, she accidentally overdoses on sleeping drops. Sadly, it was before she had a chance to go to Selden and tell him how she felt. Grrr....

Kira-Kira is a Newbery award winning kids novel about a Japanese-American family in the 1950s. The novel tells the story of Katie and her older sister Lynn. It follows their daily lives in Georgia and how they are interrupted by Lynn's illness, lymphoma. Kira-kira was the first word that Lynn taught her sister when they were little girls. In the end, Katie realizes that Lynn tried to always see the kira kira or glittery side to life through everything. It was a good book despite yet another sad ending.

The next book I read was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I quite liked the story of Dr. Jekyll's pursuit of separating the body into two personalities. I think in the beginning he was trying to see if he could separate the good and bad aspects of the human personality for the benefit of mankind. Throughout many experiments he succeeds in separating his personality; he names his 'darker' side, Mr. Hyde. He controls the transformation between the two personalities by taking a tonic of sorts. In the end, he loses control of Mr. Hyde and the transformations happen without the aid of a tonic. Of course, in the end...both personalities die. I don't think either were suppose to live without the other despite Dr. Jekyll's theories.

As my first encounter with Robert Louis Stevenson, I enjoyed it. It was well written and played out for such a small novel.

After reading these books, I rented Oliver Twist and The House of Mirth from my local library. I love $1 dvds....you can't beat that price ;)

Ah, Oliver Twist. Has anyone read this book besides myself?? Surely someone in my audience has ;) As I've admitted before, I love Charles Dickens. I fell in love with his novels when I was a freshman in high school and read Great Expectations for an English class book report. I was the only student to pick that book out of a list of other great classics.

I never understood why Oliver Twist is considered a 'kids' book. Yes, the protagonist of the novel is young Oliver, but the subject matter of the novel is far from children-friendly. Prostitution, theft, anti-Semitism, murder, and child abuse play a part in this novel!

The movie produced by Masterpiece Theatre was very well-played. The only thing I didn't like was the beginning. According to the host, part I of the movie is an expanded story of Oliver's parents and their history. In the book, his parents' history isn't known to him until the very last chapters. His step-brother, Monks, tells the story of what he knows and Mr. Brownlow supplies the rest. In order for the movie to make 'sense' the director decided that the parents' story should be played out and expanded with lots of dialogue and intrigue. They even have Mr. Leeford (Oliver's father) being murdered by his wife?!?!? Hmm....

The same sort of odd twists happen in The House of Mirth. I didn't really like this version. To me, Lily was a young lady who was accustomed to wealth, but hated the world she lived in and would have rather lived simply without all the 'fake-ness' that came along with the wealthy world. I hated the fact that at the end of the movie, Lily overdoses on the sleeping drops on purpose!!!!!!! The book ending is far better and more tragic to my sensibilities. She writes out a check to George Dorset for $10,000 to pay off her debts. That money is all she has inherited from her aunt who passed away. She plans on seeing Selden the next day to declare her feelings. She takes the sleeping drops to calm herself and get some sleep. It was accidental. Selden comes the next day to see her to declare himself as well and finds his cousin, Gerty, mourning Lily's passing. Not at all like the movie ending, which made one think that she overdosed because she could not keep her inheritance.

Well, enough on books! I will post later on hopefully (fingers crossed) some stitching or at least something related to it.

Have a great week! Happy stitching ^___^