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Labels:
Blogs,
College,
grad school
So like i don't have enough going on in my life, inspiration struck for a new blog and i couldn't stop myself. Allow me to introduce my companion blog: The History Chick: A Girls Guide to Grad School. What i was thinking when i decided to do this, well actually thats the subject of the first post. This blog will contain everything you ever wanted to know (and a lot that you didn't) about life in Grad School.
Pity Me.
Labels:
Books,
History
Welcome to Under the Covers, where i will be reviewing books i have read. Some will be chicklit, some will be History texts, some will just be crap I stumbled upon. But it's my blog and i'll do as i please. Hopefully I will inspire some of you to pick up these books (as apparently you're literate since you're reading this).So first up, trashy romance disguised as historical fiction disguised as research.
TITLE: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
AUTHOR: Lauren Willig
GENRE:Adventure/Chick Lit/Spy Novel/Historical Romance/Comedy
SUMMARY: Nothing goes right for Eloise. The one day she wears her new suede boots, it rains cats and dogs. When the subway stops short, she's always the one thrown into some stranger's lap. Plus, she's had more than her share of misfortune in the way of love. In fact, after she realizes romantic heroes are a thing of the past, she decides it's time for a fresh start.
Setting off for England, Eloise is determined to finish her dissertation on the dashing pair of spies, the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. But what she discovers is something the finest historians have missed: the secret history of the Pink Carnation -- the most elusive spy of all time. As she works to unmask this obscure spy, Eloise stumbles across answers to all kinds of questions. How did the Pink Carnation save England from Napoleon? What became of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian? And will Eloise Kelly escape her bad luck and find a living, breathing hero all her own?
ROSE'S REVIEW: So the summary is slightly misleading. It implies that the main focus of the book is Eloise and its set in modern day England, it's not. The Bulk of the work is actually set in 1800's France and England. The main characters are actually Amy and Richard (otherwise known as the Purple Gentian). There are a few chapters spliced in that are Eloise and her quest for dissertation material. Eloise serves as the narrator, walking readers through the story, and making a few wrong turns along the way. I made several of the same wrong leaps as Eloise did when i read the book.
So Amy is a young women who gets trapped in a rural village in England with her mother, while the French revolution is going on. Her father and brother stay in France. After her father ( a minor noble) is executed during the reign of terror Amy dreams of going back to France to join up with the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and then the Purple Gentian. She finally gets her chance one Napoleon is in power and her brother sends for her. Amy, her cousin Jane and their supervisor Miss Gwen set off for France and chaos ensues. Amy desperately tries to figure out who the Purple Gentian is and manages to get mixed up along the way. So what does this have to do with the Pink Carnation? Everything but you have to read the book to figure it out.
I love this book. Lauren Willig writes interesting complex characters in a vivid and accurate presentation of 1800's France. She should she has her PHD in history from Harvard. Eloise strikes a cord with me because i understand the plight of finding primary resources and writing historical work. Amy is charming and funny and makes all the mistakes a girl would make all while falling in love with the man she set out to find all along. When the group finally makes a stand against Napoleon it is witty and thoroughly original. The subsequent sequels are just as good and you get drawn into the League of the Pink Carnation and Eloise's struggles. This is one of the few book series i can't wait for the next book to come out in.
GRADE: A
Labels:
Music
New broke this morning that Fall Out Boy was pushing back their new CD release six weeks because they felt it releasing it on election day was "gimmicky". In honor (and sadness) over this i thought i'd post the upcoming Fall Cd's I'm looking forward too:
~Taylor Swift, Fearless (Nov.11th)- After a huge debut album, one of country music's reigning princesses is releasing a follow-up to her triple platinum self titled CD. The first single Love Story is a catchy pop-country hit about what else a love story. The song is thoroughly addictive (Hear it here) and if this CD is anything like her first it will be going platinum in no time.
~All-American Rejects, When the World Comes Down (Nov. 18th)- I didn't even know AAR were releasing a new CD until a couple weeks ago when i was looking up the new Fall Out Boy album. This is the follow up to double platinum Move Along which is a staple in my CD collection. AAR is by far one of my favorite bands and I recommend seeing them live if you get the chance (and you don't mind cussing). The lead off single, Gives You Hell, is going to be the new ode to ex's everywhere. Why this song hasn't hit mainstream radio yet is mystery to me because i think its going to be a hit. Musically, however, the song is a bit of a departure from the classic AAR sound. It's a good different though and I will be definitely be picking up the CD on release day so you can look forward to my review.
~David Cook, David Cook (Nov. 18th)- The highly anticipated debut CD from American Idol season seven winner. It's nice to have an American Idol who actually falls into my frame of music. While i love Carrie Underwood, I have always been more of a Rock girl than anything else. The first single the heavy rock ballad Light On sounds very reminiscent of bands like Our Lady Peace and Live (which is no surprise since Light On was written by Chris Cornell). Cook is staying true to the music he portrayed on the show which will resonate with his fans, but it feels like American Idol is making sure those songs are marketable. They don't want another idol losing their record labels (*cough Taylor Hicks cough*). The downside is that this CD is being released a week after David Archuleta's bringing on more comparisons and competition between the two guys. There is more than enough room for both of them.
~Fall Out Boy, Folie a Deux (Dec. 16th)-The fifth studio album for the leading emo-rock kings. They continue the habit of picking ridiculously cool titles for their Cd's. Folie A Deux is french for a madness shared by two (their previous Cd Infinity on High was a Van Gogh reference). The lead-off single with a catchy chorus is the aptly titled I Don't Care which is basically making a mockery of the way Pop Culture is today. I am amazed at the way Fall Out Boy pumps out Cd's. Folie A Deux is coming out a mere 10 months after Infinity on High. Between recording, touring, and getting married I don't know how the boys in Fall Out Boy find time for sleep. I'm exicted for the new CD any way the do it and i'm sure all of their fans feel the same way.
In other music related news: They are re-releasing the Wicked Soundtrack for the musicals fifth anniversary. The Two disc set includes the original soundtrack as well as a second disc with previously unheard songs that didn't make the actual show, songs from the German and Japanese versions, as well as Dance mix of Defying Gravity.
Also, i just picked up Linkin Park's 2007 album Minutes to Midnight and i'm wondering why i didn't pick it up sooner. It's a growth from Hybrid Theory and Meteora in a good way. It has alot of the classic rap/rock mash up but they have evolved more into rock realm. The potent ballad Leave Out all the Rest is the first time a Linkin Park song almost made me cry. I think if i had to pick out a song for my funeral this would be it.
Labels:
History
It's that time of the year again: voting season. And like every presidential election i am going to implore you to get out and vote. I don't care if you vote for McCain or Obama or Big Bird but go out and vote. Our forefathers gave their lives to give us the opportunity to have control over our government. So that we can actually make decisions about how our country is run rather than having some monarch or dictator tell us what is best for us. We have the power to decide what we think is best for the country by exercising our power over the government.
Get Involved, Get registered. If you're a NC resident you can register from home at this website: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/. Not voting is like spitting on the graves of all the Americans who died to give us these rights, which at the time was a pretty radical idea. Honor your forefathers get out and vote this November 4th.
