Have a Good Read This Christmas Eve

This novel is a bit on the lengthy side, but it takes no time at all to plow through. It’s easy to get into, and will have you hooked by the first couple of pages. The gripping storyline includes love, betrayal, death, and, best of all, drama!

Not much for the Middle-Aged melodramas? Not to worry. Perhaps a more adventurous love story would strike your fancy. Give Annette Curtis Klause’s Blood and Chocolate a try. This is basically the exact opposite of Twilight, only strikingly similar at the same time. Instead of a male vampire falling in love with a useless mortal, Blood and Chocolate tells the story of a mysterious young werewolf who falls in love with a human boy intended to be her lunch. The two fall madly in love and face many challenges as their two worlds collide in an epic adventure. But take caution in opening up this work in the midst of finals week: you simply will not be able to put it down!

If you’d rather depart from the romance genre altogether, then Adriana Trigiani’s newest coming of age novel Viola will deliver the perfect dose of teenage angst, while at the same providing encouraging insights into the world of friendship and growing up. Shipped away from her beloved hometown of Brooklyn to a glum boarding school in the outskirts of an Indiana town, Viola is faced with a whole new world that she feels completely ill-equipped to handle. A talented film-maker, she gradually learns to stop seeing and living life through her screen and open herself up to the new experiences and friendships that await her.

If you find yourself in the mood for some classical delight, but cannot face diving into something quite as hefty as War and Peace, go for The Princess Bride. If you have seen the movie, then you know how entertaining the plot twists and character developments are. And Christmastime is always a little more enjoyable with a bit of Buttercup romance in the air. Another, perhaps heavier, romance is the newly-turned-motion-picture The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This novel could certainly be considered more of a drama than William Goldman’s The Princess Bride, as it deals with the lessons of love and loss that a young couple encounters during their somewhat fated journey. A box of tissues might be a good idea if you pick this one up.

For more of a science fiction thriller, give Inkheart a go. The popular first installment of the planned Inkworld Trilogy, takes the reader through the many adventures of twelve-year-old Meggie Folchart, whose father possesses a special power of turning stories he reads aloud into real life. Lucky Meggie gets to travel to exotic places she reads about in books, such as Italy and many parts of Europe. If you ever were a fan of the animated film The Page Master as a little kid, this is the book for you. Another novel with a similar feel, C.S. Lewis’s famous children’s adventure tale The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, takes the reader through the closet of four young orphans, and into a magical world caught in eternal winter. It becomes the mission of this brave lot to bring the world of Narnia back to its original enchanting existence.

Some historical fiction might be the way to go if you don’t feel up to the time travelling and mythical creatures. Ann Rinaldi’s Time Enough for Drums is the story of 13-year-old Jemima Emerson living in Revolutionary War America. She finds herself torn between just about every member of her family, each of whom seems to be supporting a different war party: Patriots, Whigs, British officer, militiaman, and Continental Army soldier. This is a good read for those suffering the typical holiday season family squabbles that are typical of the holiday season.

Several decades after Jemima, comes Old Derry, the chubby old man in Edward Lear’s A Book of Nonsense. This charming collection of children’s tales is actually a compilation of limerick’s published sequentially in early nineteenth century England. Do not let the “children’s tales” turn you away, because each of Lear’s snappy poems is packed with clever twists and allusions that a wide range of age groups can appreciate.

So, now that you have a good list of choices for some great holiday reads, hit up your local bookstore – or Christmas wish list – and wipe your brain clean of any finals residue. Happy holidays!

Summer Trips 2009: England and Scotland

Platform 9 and Three Quarters. Big Ben. The city of London. Castles and fortresses. And kilts galore! That was what I and other students had the opportunity to enjoy on the unforgettable school trip to England and Scotland.

There were several aspects of the trip that I thoroughly took pleasure in. For one, I have always been fascinated by European architecture. I was lucky enough to see not only famous buildings and sites, like the Westminster Abbey, but was also very exposed to the everyday architecture of the city of London. The group saw many fascinating sites while on the trip, including Big Ben, the London Tower, the Millennium Bridge, the Globe Theater, Hampton Court, Edinburgh Castle and more. Even while we were at one of the fortresses, we got to watch the Guard celebrate the Queen’s birthday by doing the 21 Gun Salute. Earlier that week, we even saw the queen drive by with her escort!

Generally speaking, learning history on your summer vacation isn’t exactly enjoyable. I certainly don’t see my friends reading history books in their spare time. However, this trip contained a vast amount of history, all of which was fascinating and intriguing to the group. For example, there is a whole room dedicated the wives Henry VIII had at Hampton’s Court. He didn’t like one of his wives and went to the lengths of saying she practiced witchery so she would be killed. We also went on many tours, my favorite being a murder mystery tour of a villain that was never caught but is assumed to be part of the Royal Family.

As the original theme of the trip was Harry Potter, we were very fortunate to see some famous sites from the movie. On our visit to Oxford College, we learned that the school’s library was used as the library in the movies. Also, we were all ecstatic to see the room on campus which the filmmakers used for the infirmary. Our group took a stroll one night down Diagon Alley, and even attempted to board the Hogwart’s Express on Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Ask anyone that knows me and I’m a theater girl at heart, so it’s no wonder that the most memorable part of the trip was seeing the production of Wicked in London. It amazes me day in and day out what our techies here at Pres can do, but I was truly blown off my feet when I saw the elaborate costumes and set for the show. I was in awe for the entire evening  and I know it’s a night I will never forget.

Overall, the trip was one of the most beneficial and enjoyable parts of my life. Tons of people dream to go to Europe, and the few girls from our school that attended the trip really got the grand tour.