Word Shakers & Earth Quakers. ( Julia Makes a Promise )

So, here's the deal-io.

I feel it's only fair to warn you before you get too comfortable, that if you're the type who likes to read something all the way through, this may be an ideal time to go grab your chips, dip, and beanie bags

My bookworm bones are a' aching and i can feel a doosie brewing in the wind.

This, to say the least, is a post, on a blog, by a girl who likes to read, and has just finished her latest book.

To say the least.

The truth of the matter is this : this book has changed my life.






















http://rachelbateman.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/the-book-thief.jpg

THE BOOK THIEF.
 Markus Szusak 

I know that this book has gotten tons and TONS of attention. It was Numero Uno on the New York Times Best Seller List, and got rave reviews from pretty much every big newspaper and magazine that there is.
Rightfully so.
It is, if i may say so, THE SHIZZLE.
And that's really the highest honor i can bestow upon it.


Truthfully though, I struggle to find the right words to make it float.
I realize that makes little sense, but it is how i feel.
Anything without heart, and any words you may grasp at that do not have honesty growing within every inch of them simply do not belong in the same post, blog, conversation, or even UNIVERSE as The Book Thief.

The book takes place in Nazi Germany, during a time where Death is like an infectious disease, latching on to the souls of millions, seeping terror into their minds, and clogging their conscience. It records the life of Leisel Meminger, a young girl who, like so many others during that time, has her world sent spinning with conflict, grief, and fear, all while facing the trials and tribulations of growing up.

As previously stated, this book changed.my.life.
But not in the way we're, I think, used to as a society.
It did not demand anything of you. It didn't beat your conscience over the head until guilt was pouring out your eyes,ears, and nose.  Like passing old friends outside their porch on a warm summer's evening, it was open to you to partake, but required nothing more than a nod of the head for good will.  Rather, the words of The Book Thief strolled into my mind with ease. They sat down upon my brain cells, had a smoke, maybe whistled some tunes, and waited patiently, contently, for me to stumble upon them.

 This book left me with much to contemplate.  It reminded me of a woven blanket, with thread after thread after thread knotted, and criss-crossed, all of it interwoven within itself. It was beautiful to look at as a whole, and you could see the artistry there, even just on the surface. Then beneath that, still with just the naked eye, there was a plethora of patterns to be unveiled, and they all seemed to flow smoothly. The words in this book breathed. They had life. There was nothing stale or fake or plastered about them. You could tell, every single page, sentence, word, and letter was all from deep inside the soul.
Continuing with the blanket metaphor, this is where most people need to get out their magnifying glass, to peel off yet another layer in the parfait that is The Book Thief ( Its now a blanket parfait. I knew i could get food in there somehow ), and see the strands that make up each  level.
As you can see , this is not the type of book that ends up nestled in your lap as sounds of slumber escape from your lips and you take a quick nap.
Not at all.

Yet through all of that, through all of the meaning, and the soul-searching, one thing stood out the most.
And it was this:

Words.
        Are.
             Powerful.

 Heck, Hitler built an army, turned a civilized nation into a cult, and ostracized an entire people all with words.
He induced hatred .
                With words.
He spread fear.
                 With words.
 Yes, he killed people with gas chambers, and death camps, and starvation, and fire.
But he also killed them with words.


Let's be honest; he was a master craftsmen. One of the finest of his trade. He bent, shaped, and manipulated the words to do his bidding, then whispered them into the ears of the German people.

It seems fitting , really, to have so many books written about a dictator who's right hand man, and biggest weapon was the very thing that makes up books: ( have i said it enough yet?) words.

But are words to be feared because of this?
Or perhaps not words, but yielders of words , and word shakers?

After all, they sure tore apart the world's of countless humans during the Holocaust.

But i believe they can also heal.

A LIST OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF WORD POWER
They can sting.
And they can sear.
They can lift you up.
Or tear your every fiber aprt.
They can convince you to hate, or help you to love.
Words can  inspire you to save.
And they can save you.
They can also turn you into a mind-numbed jew hater hitler follower.
Words can breed fear.
And they can give you that feeling.
You know the one where you think your stomach just dropped to your knees.
Either that or it crawled out your chest.
Words can make you cry.
Laugh.
Seethe.
Smile.
and Hope.


I use them so much.
Most of us do.
 And i have to say, I am fully aware ( or atleast aware to some level) of their capacity, and their magic.
Words have healed me, inspired me, changed my life.. and made me who I am.

But they can be dangerous.
It's true.

So here's what I, not only propose, but also promise to myself.

To never
ever
ever
ever
EVER
( I think you get the jist )
 write a lie.
or rather, to never knowingly write something that is, or that i perceive to be, anything but the truth. 
UNLESS.
I have to do it in order to save a life.
( I had to add it. I take my oaths seriously)

I, Julia Lemons, do solemnly swear.

I want my writing to always come from my soul. And there are no lies in there. I will keep that place pure forever.

It's a daunting task to be sure. And while i promise it to myself, and propose it to all of you, I certainly don't insist on it. ( How can i really? I'm here, at my end of the world wide web, and your over there at yours. )
But i really, truly, and honestly  hope that you never ever ever EVER EVER  ( you got it)  forget the value of words. 

Yours Truly,
Julia Lemons


"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace."
                                                    -Buddha

DAY OF ZE EARTH!

First of all, some ..dum dum dum..NOTICES!
 Like that little board cute towns have that updates everyone with flyers for garage sales, lost pets, and odd jobs.


A)So in case anyone noticed, and was wondering about the foreign symbols I was blogging, I wasn't abducted by aliens. I made my first (failed) stab at mobile blogging, and obviously there were some malfunctions. 


B) Also in case you DIDN'T notice, there's something different about The Bookworm Chronicles. Something new.. something furry.. something all the way at the top of the page..*scrolls up*.. yes, that's right.
THE BUNNY CHRONICLES!
ever seen the little snack bar movie before the movie, like back in the day when you watched them on the roof of your car?
Well think of the bunny chronicles as a similar function.
Or just think of lots of cute bunny.
It has the same effect.


BE EXCITED!


Because you ( yes, you ) and Prince Twitch are going to get very very closely acquainted....
 *Suddenly feels need for evil laugh?*


MWAHAHAHAHHA!


.............................

Okay, now down to business ladies and gentlemen.

I'm sure we're all aware of a certain holiday that passed recently. We've all seen the commercials. The ads. The t-shirts. The articles. What was once just the chatter of a few tree huggers has swept the nation into a hub bub of "green" frenzy. It's now not only a cause for do-gooders, it's a sales pitch.

But how many of you actually celebrated the holiday we speak of, Earth Day? 

I know that everyone is busy, everyone's lives are crammed to the very last second with responsibilities.

But if you're one of those who turned their cheek to the reminders, or even just didn't have time, remember that it's never too late to do something for our awesome earth, the only planet (except possibly mars) awesome enough to support life.

And yes, The Bookworm did something too! I don't just talk the talk! I walk the walk.

I made the infamous dirt cups (yumyumyum)  , and sold them.

Profits went to The Conservation Fund, which was rated number one environmental charity on Squidoo.com .

 Go to http://www.conservationfund.org/who_we_are for more information!

                                          (Not actual Bookworm dirt cups)---------------->

If you're looking for ways to get your green on, here are some environmentally happening websites and blogs!

( Plus there's also this thing called Google.. I 'm  not sure if you've heard of it..)

-http://www.thegreenskeptic.com/

-http://www.practicalenvironmentalist.com/21-practical-ways-to-help-the-environment

-http://www.treehugger.com/           

-http://greenlagirl.com/  

-http://earthday.net/

So onward people of the earth! Hug your trees with a passion, kiss your dirt, marvel at your sky,  and love your earth, because it's the only one we have.

                                                             
"Reading surrounds us, labels us, defines us." Xerox PARC - Rich Gold
 Pictures from http://sandiegocooks.blogspot.com/2008/11/oreo-sand-dirt-cups.html





                                                                                             

The Twilight Saga Lives On.

Hey there.

In case you're wondering about the title of this post, let me enlighten you.

Unless you're living under a rock, you'd have to be a vegetable not to notice that whirlwind of vampire craze that has enclosed pop culture in it's grasp for the past couple of years. While Twilight was quite obviously one of the most popular forms of getting vampire high for a while, there's also True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, two prominent television series, as well as countless other novels set in a world festering with the un-dead.

But as our good friend Isaac Newton taught us, what goes up must come down. ( Or, the universal law of gravitation. )
If you have any faith at all in the scientific method, you'd probably agree with Mr.Newton. And in that case, you might think that, after hitting it's peak, it was time for the era of eternal dark-dwellers to gracefully retreat into their coffins.

Think Again.

I really cannot count the number of people I came across during my bookworm interviews who either had read, or were reading, any one of Stephenie Meyer's vampire/forbidden love novels in the Twilight Saga.
So, in case you were losing sleep over the thought that the fanged phenoms were going downhill, fear not.
It seems our thirst for the blood-thirsty is unquenchable, and our hunger for the power-hungery insatiable.

I actually read the first two books in the series, and while i didn't find them very well-written, they were quite addictive. But in a twisted, cocain addiction way rather than an addictive chocolate way.
A lot of it consisted of  going into great detail about how hot the vampires were; how Edward's chest glittered and his eyes smoldered.
It would get you all stirred up and then at the last second, remind you he was unattainable.
(Which of course only makes you want him more..)
I suppose what makes me really wary of them as an entirety is that, when shed in certain lights, the books could definitely be just some kinky dream the author had, now distributed to young girls and boys around the world.
But maybe I'm thinking too far into it.
After all, i did continue on to the sequel even after witnessing the perplexing, if not disturbing ways Meyer portrays Edward Cullen and his fellow vampires.There must have been something that lured me in.

Or maybe i'm just as weak as the next person, corrupted by shiny chested guys from ancient centuries.

                                                                                              community.livejournal.com 
What do you think?


"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader."
                -Margaret Fuller

Running into each other at the supermarket.

Now that we've gotten past the preliminaries, it's time for some bonding.
I know you've all been waiting with bated breath, so breathe easy ladies and gentlemen, new Bookworm Chronicle posts are here!

In my unwavering quest to connect the world of book lovers and expose myself ( and all of you ) to new books out there,i did a little interviewing an the ave. Here's your all access pass to the inside of what people are ( and aren't ) reading.

                                                        Our first interview was with a young woman working in a rather hip clothing store. She was eager to talk about the two books she was currently reading, and seemed quite an enthusiastic advocate of the world beyond the words . The initial book she discussed with us was part of the murder mystery series by James Patterson, called Alex Cross.

                                                                http://starvingwritersbooks.com/bookstore/images/IALEXCROSS.jpg
It is the penultimate one in the succession of gripping novels, written in short chapters with large,distinctive font. It goes under the title of I, Alex Cross, the name of the main character who holds readers captive with his chilling adventures of murder and mayhew throughout the seventeen different mysteries and enigmas. Although I have read just about every last one of the Nancy Drew novels, I must say that James Patterson's plots seem a bit more elaborate and gruesome than the usual thugs that the titian haired detective and her chums have to outwit. To give you some example of just how macabre things can get in Patterson's imagination, and to get some idea of what the critics think, I've quoted some Amazon users' about their thoughts on this perplexing tale.

"It should come as no surprise to returning readers that this story is peppered with bad language, sexual content, and violence throughout. Readers searching for some "light" mystery reading should keep on searching. However, if you long for a raw, engrossing thriller that will keep you churning pages long into the night, then I, Alex Cross is certainly for you."
- www.fictionaddict.com

"This book is good and the suspense is pretty consistent. I like that Alex does not miraculously get all the answers quickly in this one and I like that he is highly conflicted for the most part. This is well written - using Patterson's usual quick and easy chapters. Alex is well written and for fans of Alex Cross, this one makes me feel as though I understand him just a little bit more than the last book."
-www.bookshipper.blogspot.com

"James Patterson brings to the table, once again, all of his previous masterful talent and bold imagination. Although, some passages may disturb the squeamish, I was held captive throughout the entire book. I especially like the surprise ending. This may be one of Patterson's best efforts yet."
-"crazy about books"

There you have it. Straight from the mouths of some obvious advocates of the art of writing and the elation of reading. To quote young employee who was so kind as to allow us some of her time, " It was just a page - turner. " She has already recommended it to others, and well as her other book, Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels, which "was very informative and great to pass along to friends and family."

http://bellaonthebeach.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/master-your-metabolism-the-3-diet-secrets-to-naturally-balancing-your-hormones-for-a-hot-and-healthy-body-0307450732-l.jpg
To get another opinion on the dietary help book, i went back to good old Amazon and perused the comments.
Social Media Convert say this -
" Interesting book, though far too extreme for the average person. For example, we can't all afford 100 percent organic all the time nor can we completely avoid plastic wrap and related carrying containers. Also, the book contradicts itself in a lot of places. I suspect the editor was MIA when it came to cross referencing."

As a dancer, i am constantly updating myself with health articles and new discoveries, as our bodies are our means of expression. And while i try my best to seclude myself from "toxic" foods and chemicals, a tastey cake will always be delicious and I'll always love nerd candies. Some things are just inevitable.


Anyway, this is getting to be quite a novel, so I shall bid thee farewell until next time.
Any comments, concerns, questions, or actually any interest at all is greatly appreciated.
Good night, good luck, and happy reading.


" We read to know we are not alone "
                  - C.S. Lewis

The Following Small Talk.

Now it's time for a little nostalgia.

Gather round, boys, girls, men, and women, for a little storytime. Drag over your rocking chairs, pull out your pipes, and hunker down in your snuggies, slankets, or other such ridiculous yet ingenius combinations of comfort and clothing.

Once upon a time, in a land far far away.....

There was a mystical place, known by the name of "Odd job". It was the local convenience store, a place which not only sold double A batteries, but also lingerie, generic brand cereal,and flashlight radio clocks. It was also the birthplace of an avid bookworm, a reader from the heart, the spot where a young girl read her very first words.."Od..d ..jo..b?" Yes ladies and gentlemen, you guessed it. This humble bookworm is me, and those were the first words i ever read.I clearly remember my astonished mother whipping around so quickly from her spot in the drivers seat, that i thought for sure i had done something wrong. Alas, no punishment was doled out. Instead, my mother just looked at me and smiled, wearing that expression of pride that only a mother can wear. Soon after, it was clear that i was hooked. Every street sign, t-shirt, billboard, poster - it was all mine for the reading. Years later, and the passion still burns bright within me.
                   When i read a book, i read it. I mean mashed potatoes encrusted in the folds from Sunday's dinner. Corners damp from brushing my teeth while it's propped up against the sink. Sand in the binding from the bookworm joy of beach reading. I know, i know, it sounds like massacre to those of you who keep your books in a glass vacumm while they're eternally preserved. But i believe that my mental adoration for a book surpasses the physical trauma it's subjected to ( And yes, i dog-ear my pages. I hear the manic cries for my head outside my window already. )
                    So no matter whether you agree with my methods or whether your seething with unadulterated rage  from your spot in front of the computer screen, when it's down to the bolts and nuts of it, the Beatles know where it's at. All that counts is the love, of not only reading, but learning, expressing, sharing, and growing. And if you so vehemently disagree, drop a line and let me know.
                             Read on!
               

"Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life."
  -Mortimer J. Adler

The Awkward Introduction.

Books are like boyfriends.
There's ups and downs to being in a relationship with them. 
On one hand, you love them. They provide comfort , excitement, and a sense of safety. On the other, they can distract you from your responsibilities, keep you up late at night, and seclude you from the rest of the world. They can also disappoint you. 
Yet there's nothing like finding the perfect one.

In continuance with the boyfriend metaphor, this blog could be compared to an online dating service. It's a way to see what's out there,
( and also to find sympathy in the daily woes 
of the bookworm herself, *cough cough*, me )
I plan to interview everyone i know, as well as people i don't know, to see what's new in the book community. It's also my hope that you out there (whoever you are) will join in, commenting on the books mentioned and sharing whatever your reading. I'm sure along the way we'll encounter the good, the bad, and the ugly, but know its all worth when you settle down with a good book.

Read on!


"That is a good book which is opened with
expectation and closed in profit."
                   -Amos Bronson Alcott