"From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
'After all this time?'
'Always.' said Snape." (687)
(New York: Scholastic, 2007)
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block
My friend Shalece lent me this book. The title and the cover made me hesitant to even start it, but I'm so glad I did. Utterly luminous, sensual, and shimmering. You can't read this and not feel optimistic and happy to be alive, even with all the shadows.
Part that struck me as beautiful:
"Raphael [...] rode his bicycle through sunlight and wind chimes and bird shadows to Cherokee's house." (165)
Truth:
"'I think people leave here before we think they're gone.' Weetzie whispers as she looks at the picture. 'And when you're with them you know it. Part of you knows it -- that they've left. But you dont let yourself really accept it. And then later you think about it and you know you knew.'" (269)
I like this bit here because it's a good representation of the style and thoughtfulness that each page holds:
"All up and down the avenue shivering junkies are selling things. Ugster vinyl pumps, Partridge Family records, plastic daisy jewelry, old postcards. Where do they get this stuff? It's a magpie Christmas market.
'Look at that man.' Charlie says
I see a hungry face.
'No. With your camera.'
I look through my camera at the man and I can almost feel the veins in my own arms twitch-switching with wanting. In a way the junkies aren't so much different from me or maybe from everybody.
I guess in a way Angel Juan is my fix and I've been jonesing for him. If he were a needle I'd be shooting up just like these jittery junkies. I'd be flooding my veins with Angel Juan. When we made love it felt like that.
And doing it can be almost as dangerous as shooting up if you think about it.
And I wasn't the only one sad and lonely and freaked. There was a whole city of people. Some had to sell other people's postcards on the street just to buy a needle full of junk so they wouldn't shatter like the mirror I smashed with a hammer in Charlie Bat's apartment." (332)
(New York: HarperCollins, 1998)
Part that struck me as beautiful:
"Raphael [...] rode his bicycle through sunlight and wind chimes and bird shadows to Cherokee's house." (165)
Truth:
"'I think people leave here before we think they're gone.' Weetzie whispers as she looks at the picture. 'And when you're with them you know it. Part of you knows it -- that they've left. But you dont let yourself really accept it. And then later you think about it and you know you knew.'" (269)
I like this bit here because it's a good representation of the style and thoughtfulness that each page holds:
"All up and down the avenue shivering junkies are selling things. Ugster vinyl pumps, Partridge Family records, plastic daisy jewelry, old postcards. Where do they get this stuff? It's a magpie Christmas market.
'Look at that man.' Charlie says
I see a hungry face.
'No. With your camera.'
I look through my camera at the man and I can almost feel the veins in my own arms twitch-switching with wanting. In a way the junkies aren't so much different from me or maybe from everybody.
I guess in a way Angel Juan is my fix and I've been jonesing for him. If he were a needle I'd be shooting up just like these jittery junkies. I'd be flooding my veins with Angel Juan. When we made love it felt like that.
And doing it can be almost as dangerous as shooting up if you think about it.
And I wasn't the only one sad and lonely and freaked. There was a whole city of people. Some had to sell other people's postcards on the street just to buy a needle full of junk so they wouldn't shatter like the mirror I smashed with a hammer in Charlie Bat's apartment." (332)
(New York: HarperCollins, 1998)
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
From a letter written by McCandless to his friend:
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." (57)
(New York: Anchor Books, 1997)
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." (57)
(New York: Anchor Books, 1997)
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