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January 2008 - Posts

• Ten Books That Influenced Me

   I stole this post idea from Jordyn :-) I'm going to talk about ten books that have in some way influenced me. In no particular order and without any further ado:

  1. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce.  This is the book that I think really made me into the reader I am today. I mean, I'd been a voracious reader since I discovered the Babysitters' Club when I was six, so I can't really explain why I think this book changed me as a reader, but it did. It made me want more!
     
  2. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling. Cliche'? Yes. True? Yes. I discovered this book when my third-grade teacher began reading it aloud to the class. Harry Potter rapidly became a big part of my life, and of pop culture! The reason this book is important is because the Harry Potter characters are the ones I grew up with. I fell in love with these books at the age of eight, and at sixteen I waited in line last summer for hours to get the seventh and final book at midnight (and then I stayed up all night to finish it, and then I cried). I look back on other books with fondness, and don't stop liking them, but I don't think I've ever actively loved any other series for so long, rereading it and speculating and everything!
  3. Bras & Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski. It's not the book itself that influenced me; that was fun but not particularly memorable, except for one reason: it was the first book I reviewed on my book blog back in July 2006. Since then, I've gotten the chance to read tons of books I wouldn't have otherwise (and share my opinions on them!), become a part of a great community of YA lit bloggers, and gotten to meet (for the most part, online, but in a few cases, actual real-life meeting) some of my favorite authors! So that's pretty awesome.
  4. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer. This book made me want to be a waitress! Okay, so that's not the reason it influenced me so much (though that's true). Hope is a great character, and she's stuck with me for years. This book is one that ranks high on my all-time favorites list (obviously different from the 'books that influenced me' list), and has consistently since I first read it. It also lead me to discover one of my favorite authors. And it made me change my name to "October" in eighth grade, but that's another story.
     
  5. Go Figure by Jo Edwards. If you know this book, you'll think this might be ridiculous and stupid, that it's just fluff. And, yeah, it's a pretty fluffy book in some respects, but it also changed my whole attitude about body image. I don't want to go into detail--that's kind of personal, and I'm not ready to share that, at least not right now--but it is important to me.
  6. Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn. Every time I read this book, I am just so, so impressed with it's awesomeness. Like Hope, Cyd Charisse is a character I love, but they are completely different. Cyd Charisse is something of an inspiration; she's tough, she's herself, but she's also remarkably real for a fictional character! Also, this book makes me want to go to San Francisco. Or at least listen to the Vanessa Carlton song.
  7. When I Was Older by Garret Freymann-Weyr. Aside from introducing me to one of my favorite authors, this book made me want to go to New York City, a lot. Since I am all about travelling, books that make me want to go somewhere get extra points.
     
  8. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I love Stargirl. She's a character so totally not afraid to be herself. Though myself isn't quite as odd as hers, I don't think, she's still one of my role models. There's a sequel to this book out now, but I haven't been able to bring myself to read it yet, afraid it might ruin the original.
  9. So Far From Malabar by Joy De Weese Wehen. It's been ages since I read this book, so I don't remember all the details too well. It really really made me want to go to India, though. But looking back on it, I don't think it was actually very good, but I loved it at the time. Also it may have been kind of racist (I am not a racist).
     
  10. Greater Than Angels by Carol Matas. This book started my love of history! I adored this book, and it made me want to read more about history--starting with World War II Fiction, then branching out to WWII non-fiction, and then finally just loving history in general the way I do now!
  11. Red. As Jordyn said, this doesn't really need explanation.

  Yes, I know that was eleven, not ten. I've never been the best at following rules, anyway.
  
  Posted Jan 19 2008, 12:35 AM by jocelynp with 3 comment(s)

• *** Cheney Is Voldemort

   I said this to a couple of my friends in the car yesterday. They thought I was kidding or being overly dramatic. I was completely serious. *** Cheney is Voldemort.

  Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic but he did it secretly; he didn't declare himself Minister of Magic, he just controlled said Minister. He killed and tortured lots of people. He was evil. 

  *** Cheney is not the President, but the real President is too stupid to think for himself. His brain has a name: *** Cheney. *** Cheney controls the government. He is the evil puppetmaster. He condones torture. He has killed tens of thousands of people, civillians, through the war in Iraq. And he's just as power-hungry as Voldemort ever was. The executive branch has made huge power grabs in recent years, making it by far the most powerful. And the most powerful person in the executive branch is *** Cheney.

  *** Cheney is arguably the most powerful person in American history. This administration has taken more power than any other I can think of, a student of both AP US History and AP US Government and Politics. I mean, I know what I'm talking about. I read TIME, US News & World Report, and the New York Times. This administration is certainly one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, and *** Cheney is the driving force behind it all.

  This, quite frankly, is terrifying. The man is evil to the bone. Evil and bloodthirsty and powerhungry. He makes me want to run away to Sweden. He is Voldemort. He is in charge of us all, and we do nothing. We are the "good Germans" in World War II!  Sitting here, doing nothing, while innocent people die because we have elected the real-life equivalent of Voldemort to rule us! Thank God for his health problems, that he's not running for president. I would honestly leave the country. I've been research cheap flights out. $322 to Kiev. 

  America has a tradition of a peaceful transition of power. At the end of his eight years, *** Cheney will probably step down peacefully. But...I have that nagging fear. That nagging fear that he will try to take over the government. Is this ridiculous? Probably. But I wouldn't rule it out.
  

  The CIA will probably show up at my house tomorrow and take me to a secret detention center in Afghanistan to use illegal torture techniques on me for writing this. 

  Posted Jan 11 2008, 01:09 AM by jocelynp with 2 comment(s)

• Political Post #1

  I don't know what else to call this, because I'm just going to basically tell you all where I stand politically before going into more detail in future posts. I love the idea of this, all of us doing political posts, because I'm really interested in politics. I want to work in politics (maybe in the United Nations), and will probably study either political science or international relations in college. Right now in school, I'm taking AP US Government and Politics online, and while it's not the greatest class ever, the subject is interesting.
  

  I'm very liberal, politically. I am pro-choice. I believe in liberal immigration reform--that is to say, letting more people into the country in the first place and creating an amnesty policy for those already here, rather than deporting millions and building a physical barrier to Mexican immigration (which is ridiculous and stupid...but that's another post). I am an environmentalist. I hate George Bush and *** Cheney. I want universal healthcare. Etc. 

  I will not be able to vote in the 2008 elections, unfortunately. I'll still be five months away from being eighteen. My best friend will, though--he's already registered. And he's not as into politics as I am--doesn't read the news so much. So I get to influence his vote! I also run a kids' voting booth, to teach younger kids about democracy. The apathy I saw this year (it was just city elections, but those are still really important, just less publicised) was really sad.

  If you're old enough to vote, please, do so! Democracy is important. We all claim to love our freedom and want to protect our democracy...But so few Americans vote. So few even bother to register to vote! It's really awful. If you love your country and your freedom and our democratic republican ideals, then vote!  

   

  Posted Jan 01 2008, 01:24 AM by jocelynp with no comments

• Happy 2008!

  Happy 2008, everybody! 2007 was a pretty good year for me--I traveled overseas for the first time, I kept up my good school record, I got a job, I had a lot of fun times with my friends, and, oh yeah, I got published! Even if it wasn't great for you, well, it's over now, and on to 2008! New year's resolutions or goals of any sort, anyone? I have some, kind of.

  In 2008:

  I want to read 365 books. This was a goal in 2007, too, but I only got to about 300. So I'm trying it again!

  I want to finish a novel. Or at least a 50,000 word manuscript--I've been thinking maybe interconnected short stories? Whatever it turns out to be, I want to finish one. Some people do it in a month (NaNoWriMo), but I'm giving myself a year, so I'd better do this one!

  I want to be a better blogger--at least one or two posts a week here (at least one political post a week--political blogging per Amy's request), and better in a lot of ways on my other blog (my book blog--what I want to do there in 2008, well, check it out if you're interested: teenbookreview.wordpress.com).

  I want to write in my journal more often. Once or twice a week. And longer entries.

  I want to  take up roller skating. I ice skate, getting pretty good, actually, and there's little I love more than the feeling of going around the rink, ice under my blades, it's just, wow, amazing. Unfortunately, there's not a permanent rink in my town, so I'm going to try roller skating/blading, something I've never done extensively. I mean, there were a few birthday parties here and there, but that's it.

  I want to keep my books more organised and my room cleaner!

  I want to go at least once place exciting. I love travel, and in 2007 I did quite a bit--England, Gibraltar, New York City, Spain, and Morocco. Nothing of that scale is planned for '08, but I still want to go at least one place exciting, if only for a few days. I was thinking Chicago or Toronto, maybe over Spring Break. Or maybe California. I've never been to California. That Vanessa Carlton song always makes me want to go to San Francisco. Or maybe back to New York again, as I loved it so much. Hmm. Possibilities!

  I want to budget my money better. Saving for a big trip in 2009, and I don't have much in the bank. I'm going to stop going out as much. Or at least convince my friends to do free things with me. Also stop buying so many books.  

  I want to be a happier person. Happiness is always good. I've found some of it lately, and I want to work on that--work on not worrying about what other people think all the time and being happy with who I am.

  I want to work harder in school and keep my straight-A record, as well as a score over 2200 on the SAT. 

  So, yeah, that's it. New Year's Resolutions, I guess, although I prefer to call them goals, because these are things I'm trying to do, not that I've resolved to do, because I mean, I'm not going to be devastated if I don't complete them all. They're things I'm working for, but that's it. What about you guys? Any goals for 2k8?

  Posted Jan 01 2008, 01:08 AM by jocelynp with 1 comment(s)