What I Read: A Lesson Before Dying

 3/5 Pineapples

(Back to pineapples we go :))

I wanted nothing more than to love this book.

Ernest Gaines wowed me with "A Long Day in November." I walked away from that story thinking, "dang, I wish I could write like that." I walked away from A Lesson Before Dying thinking "wait...what happened?"

After I've thought about it for a few days I can't help but think... nothing.

It's the plot's fault. The characters were solid, the language great. But it wasn't until chapter 21 that I felt like things started happening. Twenty-one out of 31 chapters. Before that chapter, the book was mostly about the narrator, Grant Wiggins. Grant whines and complains about being "stuck" in his community and wants nothing more than to just marry his girlfriend and leave Louisiana. It's a very flat story line, and not what I read this book to hear about.

I read this book because I wanted to know about Jefferson, the young African-American sentenced to death for, essentially, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wanted to better understand incarceration of young black men in the 1940s in order to put the problem today in perspective. Alas, that did not happen.

Until chapter 21, Jefferson wants nothing to do with people. He sits in his cell feeling sorry for himself (rightfully so), but hurts the people who love him. I really didn't like his character through the first two-thirds of the book. The sympathy I felt for him at the beginning was swept away by his selfishness.

Then, all of a sudden, his death date is set. And BAM- Jefferson is a new man. Just like that.

I was really confused why he suddenly talked to Grant, why he suddenly decided he was willing to eat, and why he suddenly stopped calling himself a pig over and over. The rising action to this climax simply wasn't there, since Gaines had spent most of the time on Grant and his woes.

After those first 20 chapters, however, I did get into the book. Jefferson became sympathetic, Grant took his "Nick Carraway" role, and I started to feel something for these people. By the end of the book, I was left frustrated and anxious. I can't exactly explain why (no spoilers here :)), but looking at the end of Jefferson's story, I wondered if American injustice will ever change.

The end was the only glimmer that helped me to understand today's messed up "justice" system. Gaines wrote this in 1993; he wanted readers to look at more than just the 1940s south. Yet due to this book's "first-draft" feel, I didn't get the powerful takeaway I expected.

What do you think of A Lesson Before Dying? I might be the only crazy person for feeling this way about a classic, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Below the Line:

• My "back-to-school" series is coming at you next week! I'm starting with a college post freshmen are definitely going to want to check out.
• Went on a reading spree the past few days while I was traveling. Look for a We Were Liars review coming soon!
• I had a half-day trip to San Francisco while I was in California this past week. It was a ton of fun! But my goodness, those hills...unlike any hills this Hoosier has ever seen. Let me know if you'd like to see a post on this trip below :)

Traveling Woes

I was going to write about my grandparent's farm. It's a beautiful, beautiful place that I love very dearly. I wanted to share it with all of you as I do, in word and picture. But I want to spend time on that, since it is so important to me. And time is not something I exactly have, because of this:

Yup. Those are boarding passes. And no, I didn't collect them. They are all from Sunday, in my attempt to get to San Jose with my boss for a conference. I say "attempt" because it took this many boarding passes (only two used) and a car to get to our destination.

Delayed, missed flight, delayed, cancelled, five-hour drive. I wasn't reunited with my bag until this afternoon, much to my chagrin. There was much rejoicing in the kingdom when we were reunited.

So needless to say, my recent travel was (is) exhausting. I've been up since 6:45 am eastern time Sunday. I am looking forward to nestling myself in my bed and sleeping as soon as this post is done! So I thought I would just give you a few brief takeaways from my experience these past 40 hours (give or take):

• ALWAYS pack an extra outfit in your carry-on. My mom had me do this for years, and today it finally came in handy. We jumped around on so many planes, our bags ended up stuck at the airport without us. Fortunately, I had an outfit in my carry-on I could change into today. I just felt so much cleaner and ready to face the day sans sleep with fresh clothes.
• NEVER bring just one book on the plane. Just don't. I don't care if your book is 800 pages and you just started it. You never know how long you're actually going to spend in airports. I know better, and yet I only brought one book on the plane that I finished in two hours. Always have back-up reading material, and delays and layovers become more manageable.
• NEVER yell at the customer service agents. It's not their fault, and they're trying to help you. It's not like they said, "oh, whoever yells the loudest, we'll give her a first-class seat on the next flight out of here, even if we have to kick someone off!" No one says that. No one (who would?). Just be patient, and all will be resolved.
• Finally, ALWAYS stay positive. After a previous bad flight experience this summer, I started this trip accepting the fact all might not go as planned. It makes things a lot easier to be ready to respond to sudden changes positively instead of getting frustrated. My boss and I managed to make it to our destination simply by being ready to jump around and not letting things we can't change get to us.

So those are the four major things I've taken from this rough-rider worthy experience. What flight woes have you endured, and what did you learn from them?

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Below the Line

• This post was written with a rough two-ish hours of sleep. Please forgive any proofreading errors/things that just plain don't make sense :)

My Jane Austen Collection

The first classic novel I ever truly fell in love with was Pride and Prejudice. I needed a book for my tenth grade English class for our reading time (don't ask me why 16-year-olds had reading time in an honors English class). My friend Jessica offered her copy of Pride and Prejudice, and I took it thinking, "in desperate times..." While I didn't get very far in the 42 minutes I had to read it, I was immediately intrigued by the book. After borrowing friends and family's copies a couple of times, I bought my own. Now, as you can see, I am the proud owner of four Jane Austen books: two copies of Pride and Prejudice, one copy of Emma, and a collection of four books (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion). Why Jane Austen, you ask? I really love Austen's writing. Her way of story telling involves me in the story (and allows me to forgive her for unnecessary long descriptions ;)). Plus, her history has always intrigued me, and I can't help but wish she wrote an autobiography.

• First up is The Works of Jane Austen. My dad got this for me when Borders was going out of business with my Christmas copy of Pride and Prejudice (below). I was excited to get this, because I wanted to read more of Austen's work and this way I didn't have to buy her entire collection. I started reading Emma in this book and loved it so much I went out and bought a copy of just that novel at Half Price Books. I'm hoping to start reading Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion next summer when I can carry this around.
• Next is my "beautiful" copy of Pride and Prejudice. I wanted a pretty copy not just for my high school senior pictures, but also since my first copy was a cheap version with a sickly looking woman on the front. I haven't read this yet, mostly because I can't quite bare to break the spine. I know it's not a really expensive copy or anything; but I like knowing I have this pristine copy on my shelf I can always just look at, if I wanted to.
• And then we have the "much-loved" copy of Pride and Prejudice (you know you like a book when you own two copies of it- three counting The Works). I read this for school, so it's filled with my annotations and underlining. One day, I might do a whole post on the things I've written in those margins (I tend to talk to the characters and I can get very sassy). As the spine shows, I've poured through this a lot. I also read this twice, which is saying a lot for me.
• Finally, we have Emma. I read this last summer as my second Austen novel, and I really liked it. Yes, Emma can get on your nerves. But that's why I like it, and that was Austen's intention. This book is not quite as beat up since I didn't need to re-read, write in, and dog-ear it like I did  Pride and Prejudice. With the YouTube series Emma Approved almost coming to an end, however, I am thinking about rereading this. In all my spare time ;)

I'm hoping to grow this collection once I have more time to actually read (that time will come, right? Right?). Austen is an amazing author and has every right to have her novels named as classics.

What is your favorite Jane Austen book? What authors are taking up extra space on your bookshelves?

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Below the Line:

• Happy August! Summer has gone by so fast...
• I learned how to can this week! Of course, I was most excited about the pickles :) But I was also really fascinated how the lids suction to the jars when they hit the cold air after cooking in the hot water.
• You think fruits and vegetables taste one way; and then you eat locally grown fruits and veggies and your entire worldview changes (this applies to pork and beef, too).

Thoughts on Procrastination

...I'll get to them later. Just kidding! ;)

I just finished reading The Art of Procrastination, a tiny little book about one philosopher's experience with "structured procrastination," or putting off big tasks in favor of completing small (and frequently insignificant) ones. John Perry, a philosophy professor at Stanford, wittily puts fellow procrastinators to ease about the habit. He also offers tips, such as "horizontal organization" or teaming up with non-procrastinators for projects.

The book is only 92 pages long and Perry's writing style makes the reading go quickly. Although, I have to admit, I set time aside to read this instead of using it to procrastinate.

But it got me thinking about my own procrastination. The level Perry describes in his book makes me anxious. Not meeting deadlines? Just thinking about it makes me tense! I do put things off, but never for so long that I "get behind" or end up asking for extensions.

College doesn't like procrastinators. Every semester a professor wags her finger and says "I don't give extensions! Use your time wisely." I highlight every due date, put them into my planner, and count back how many days it will take for me to complete the assignment. Perry, I have a feeling, would not go to such lengths.

But procrastination doesn't have to be a bad thing. It's a great motivator for me. I do much better work at the last minute than I do when I start early. My favorite papers don't come from a week of writing. They come from frantic writing the morning before the paper is due (always leave time to edit!). I feel more inspired when I'm under pressure to complete an assignment.

Of course, that isn't true for everyone. My friend Hattie finishes things weeks before their due, and does very well on them. She often ends up with more "guilt-free" time than me, but that's okay. We all have our own way of getting things done. That's really what Perry made me think about; procrastinators aren't inherently bad people. They just have a different way of getting things done.

And as long as things get done (and done well), does how they get done really matter?

How do you procrastinate, or does the thought of putting off tasks make you cringe? Any advice for college procrastinators?

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Woot woot, Below the Line!

• If you'd like to see more about John Perry and his book, take a peek at his website!
• I did a little tweaking on the blog this weekend. See if you can tell what's new!
• Any of you bloggers? I'd love to check out your blog. Leave a comment below so I can find your site.
• A corn question: do you eat corn-on-the-cob horizontally, like a squirrel, or all the way around? My family was discussing this yesterday :)