To Infinity And Beyond!

I just watched a documentary on the History Channel about light speed, and it blew my mind, basically. And it reminded me of two books I've read, and also reminded me just how ridiculously cool science fiction is. Not to mention, I've just started to plot out a new science fiction book of my own.
Anyway, the most interesting part about the documentary was the possiblities it presented for space travel. Really, it said that the amount of energy required to move at the speed of light is infinite, so therefore, it would be impossible to move that fast, although scientists have been able to send particles close to that speed. And, according to Einstein, it's impossible to move any faster than light speed, as put forth by his theory of relativity. Now, I'm not going to pretend like I understand even the slightest bit of the theory of relativity at all...I'm a very curious person, but I always feel like scientists take the excitement out of discovery by giving things these long, boring names (like one of the galaxies they talked about didn't even have a name, just a combination of letters and numbers) and attaching all these weird numbers and equations to them. Now I'm rambling. The point though, is that light bends around objects and space and time are "stretchy", and furthermore, if a person traveling at lightspeed were to run in circles around a person who is in normal human time, the person in the middle would age much faster than the person in lightspeed. Which is exactly what the scientist who got sent to planet Treason in the book "Treason" by Orson Scott Card must have figured out, because all of his descendents were able to control their own personal times to speed up or slow down according to their own will power, so could make a moment last for years or spend many years in one moment. Although, I think that the fast moving people aged faster in the book, because they were spending their own personal allotted time. I'm not sure how that worked exactly. But, I can say that "Treason" is a surprisingly good read, if you can get past the weirdness of the main character and how his body starts growing extra parts. Which, I'm still reading the book on characterization that I mentioned in my last post, but Card did mention in the section that talked about how main characters are often the reflection of the author, that he wrote a book and one of his friends that read it commented: "Wow, you must really hate your body." And he said that it was true that he did have a negative view on his own body which translated into, I think, this story about a boy who can't control the fact that his genes have hardwired him into becoming a many-limbed monster, hated by his father, the king. It's a pretty good story, even though I've just realized that apparently the time idea works just the opposite of the way it really would in real life. But that's fiction for you!

Alright, I've got more to say on this lightspeed topic, but I want a break in this post, otherwise, it'll be too long. In Part II, however, I'm going to talk about one of my all-time favorites, "A Wrinkle in Time," which also has a lot to do with space travel.

Freely Giving Your Best Gifts

"Our objective as storytellers and writers isn't to make money--there are faster and easier ways of doing that. Our objective is to change people by putting our stories in their memory; to make the world better by bringing other people face to face with reality, or giving them a vision of hope, or whatever other form our truthtelling might take. You want the widest possible audience to receive this message; when you use your best skills to open up your story to other readers, you aren't 'pandering to the masses,' you're freely giving your best gifts." --Orson Scott Card

People keep asking me: "Why would you go to Virginia for school?" See, the guy that wrote that quote teaches there.

I really do believe in writing and stories and that it can change people. It can be something as simple as just changing someone's mood. I know that if I'm in a bad mood, sometimes all I really need is a good scifi book, and it'll change my whole outlook on the day because let's face it, life never gets as bad in real life as it does in scifi novels. It can even be as grand as reading parables in the scriptures--something that can change your life. A story doesn't have to have really happened to be true. Fiction is a mirror through which we can examine real life. It's a glimpse into someone else's perception, which helps us to forget ourselves for a moment, and in doing so, find ourselves.

The quote at the beginning of this post comes from a book I'm reading by Orson Scott Card called Characters and Viewpoint. Normally, I don't really like How-to writing books, because I feel like everyone has a story and can tell a story, and I don't like being told how I should say something that's in my own heart. So it was really a combination of me not being ready to move onto another book after finishing Catching Fire, because I'm still not over it (is anyone really surprised about the lack of boyfriends in my life?), and still needing something to read. But I am actually finding this book really insightful. I'm not sure that's what you're supposed to get out of a how-to book.

One of the things Card brings up, and I've often had the same thought, that we are, in effect, telling our own story through what we write. And it's true that in the novel I've written, I see more of me in the main character than I had intended, which is scary because she's so rash and immature and melodramatic. What can I say? If I were to list some of my bad qualities, those would make it to the top ten. Also, I used to read up on Harry Potter a lot, and therefore I've also read a lot about JK Rowling and her thoughts on the books. It may surprise some people to discover that a lot of Harry Potter is actually about religion, especially the last book. She said that she had a lot of confusion about religion and had done a lot of soul searching. In the end, there are at least two direct quotes from the Bible in the final book ("for where your treasure is, there will be your heart also," "death shall be the last enemy that is conquered"), and ultimately, the whole series is about gaining that complete and unconditional love for people that leads you to be willing to lay down your very life for them. I think it's interesting that for someone who felt like she needed religion, the Harry Potter books are what resulted.

There are so many other amazing examples of fantastic books, and I think it helps people like me to process life when I read or when I write. It certainly does a lot to calm my nerves and soothe my frustrations.

There's so much that can be done through writing, and I love that because that's exactly what I want to do.

Twilight

Sorry about the double poetry posting. Couldn't help it. I wrote some more poems, but I don't know if I want to post them just yet. Not that it matters, because I have like 3 followers, but someday, this blog will be more awesome.

Anyway, back to the job at hand, and why I decided to make this blog. Basically, I love reading because it makes you think, you know, besides all the other awesome benefits of an escape and all that. But it really makes me think about life. Which is why Twilight makes the list of books I will discuss.

Now, at first, I didn't want to read it, because it had been my experience in middle school, whenever I was looking for a new book to read (this is when I discovered Madeline L'Engle), if ever I picked up a vampire story, it was completely saturated in sexual overtones with lots of things my little 12-year-old mind didn't comprehend. But I never actually read any beyond the summary or the little tag lines, because even they were dirty. So I started hearing about this Twilight book when I moved up to Snow College, and there was this girl in my ward who was reading it, and then I heard that the author, Stephanie Meyer, was LDS. And then my roommates read them and really liked them, so I thought, hey, what the heck, right?

The first book...well, let's just say that I'm not a mushy romance kind of person. And at least 80% of the book is spent detailing Edward's perfect features. Bleh. It's not that I didn't imagine a very attractive man in my mind, which is fine, I mean, I like attractive men, but that was it. He was just good-looking, and had this weird chemical attraction to the main character.

The following two books were much better. Partly because in the second book, Jacob actually had a personality, unlike Edward (hence why I was always a Jacob fan), and then also because Stephanie Meyer upped the action--which I love. I mean really, if I'm reading a story about werewolves and vampires, there better darn well be some sweet action scenes. I love a good romance, but only if it's more like an accessory to the overall outfit of action and adventure.

Anyway, mostly I wanted to focus on the Edward phenomenon. Why are so many girls attracted to him? He is the world's most boring character--you know, except for the part when he's super creepy and watches Bella sleep. The protectiveness he feels for Bella is attractive, I'll give him that, but seriously, that's it. And I hate that everyone idealizes him as "the perfect man." Because there is no universal "perfect man." There's the man that's best for you, but your perfect man should in no way align with my perfect man.

Perfection is boring to me. I mean, if the person you met was already perfect, then how could you learn and grow together? After all, "love is what you go through together."

I was talking to my really good friend the other day, and he said that if you don't think someone has faults, then you don't know them well enough. The trick is, once you learn what their faults are, you love them anyway. And he's a really good example of that. I really never approved of the romance between him and his girl, but since he told me that, I just couldn't help but feel happy for them. That is beautiful.

Everyone has faults, so Edward is completely unrealistic and flat as a character. And why would you ever want to fall in love with someone like that? True love is knowing that someone is imperfect, but loving them anyway.

And that, my friends, is why Twilight is not better than Harry Potter. Ha ha.

sunbreak

Dappled sunlight streams through
Layered stories of green
That's us and how we are
And what we'll never be
There's always hope that the spring will
Overtake this chill in the air
As I watched the rain gently disrupt the puddles
I realized how beautiful it was to me
Everlasting ripples in such a small pool
Sometimes we like to hear ourselves talk
But me, I'd rather just hear you talk
Because your voice is comfortable like sleeping
And your laugh is like a clear blue day
But I'm still in a rainstorm on my balcony
Just dreaming again
I wonder if it'll ever stop raining
Will the puddles turn to dark, raging oceans
That sweep me away?
Taking me to foreign lands
Where the air is always hazy
Choking memories of the sun

In.More.Color or To Whom It May Concern

You treat life like a distant.lover
In a constant state of love.unrequited
Teal.compassion leaks from your star.streaming.eyes
You can feel the pull of the world on your tender.heart
Tearing with claws of cold.steel basically.black.and.white
Yet you can see the hurt of the monster
Deep in bubbling.earth's.crust
Seeing your downfall is like watching a gentle.angel
Tragically.beautiful
Glowing.innocence fading into dark.pathways
You were always dark.somehow
Your brilliance is not easily observed
Not with the shifty eyes of heartless.judges
Throwing your soul in with the.eyeless
Never knowing that you only see the world
In.more.color

so so so hungry

Well, folks. I finished the Hunger Games today. About half an hour ago in fact. And I can't even believe how amazing it was. At first, I had a hard time reading it because it is a YA novel and I had just finished another amazing novel called The Name of the Wind, and the writing in HG is way less complex, and I've never been a fan of first person (although that's the way Ella Enchanted is written), or present tense. But, it still hooked me.
From the very beginning it had a very Ender's Game and Lord of the Flies feel to it, except in this case, it was from the point of view of a girl, which seems to be an uncommon occurrence in SciFi books. Yet, it's just so unexpected how it works out. I'm dying to get my hands on Catching Fire now.
I was sitting alone in my living room just now, eating it all up, and shouting for joy at the good parts and cringing at the bad parts. And nervous, still nervous to see what happens in the next book. I can't say too much about it without revealing the plot--which at one point I decided was completely predictable, and then it totally threw me for a loop.

I just want to recommend this book to anyone who wants to read an awesome book. But really. It's fantastic-o!

Ella

It seems fitting that I would start with Ella Enchanted. This was the book that started the reading fire in my life. It's complete with everything you'd ever want in a book: adventure, romance, humor, and a headstrong main character. I was in fifth grade when I read it for the first time. I think it was a Christmas present from my Mom (I love it when she gives me books for Christmas). I distinctly remember sitting in that classroom that reeked of ferret stench, during quiet reading time, and laughing out loud, and then looking around to see if anyone had heard me. It was kind of embarrassing, but not as bad as that time during quiet reading time when I overheard some girls talking about how ugly my shoes were. It was a rough time.

Anyway, back to Ella. I know I said I don't want to summarize too much, but I think it's obvious just from the title that this is a Cinderella story. That being said, I've read it several times since, and it always strikes me just how lovable Ella is and how despicable her wicked stepfamily is. So you're just rooting for Ella to overcome it all in the end. And let's not forget Char. I hate it when people suggest that I just haven't met my "Prince Charming" yet, because then I just get this image of an Edward-like man who's every bit as dull as Edward Cullen and whose only redeeming quality is his clean-cut good looks. Yuck. But I'll talk about Twilight another time. The point I'm trying to make is that if Prince Charming was more like Char from Ella Enchanted, then he'd actually be a guy I'd like to meet. He sees in Ella what the readers see, her determination, her wittiness, and even her silliness, and he loves her for it. Oh man, I love it. I recommend this book...mostly just to females though.

I also met Gail Carson Levine, the author, one time. When I was at Snow College, some friends and I just happened to in Provo at the time of the Life, the Universe, and Everything Conference, and I went up to BYU, hoping to see her when she gave her keynote address. But I had to run to the bathroom right before I sat down. There was this short little lady with gray hair washing her hands when I came in, and then two ladies walked past me and whispered, "That's her! That's Gail Carson Levine!" So, I pretended I had to wash my hands too and glanced at her name tag. Sure enough, it was her. I said, "You're Gail Carson Levine?" and she said, "Yes I am," and I said "Oh, I love Ella Enchanted! It's my favorite book!" and she said "Thank you," and left.

Now I realize she probably felt awkward about running into a fan in the bathroom...but I can still say now that I met her!