My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Saturday I read My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares. First and foremost I'd like to point out that I read this book in one day. Do you know how long it has been since I was able to read an entire book in one glorious day!! Well, my son is almost three so it's been, at a minimum, three years! This involved a lot of strategy and luck. When my son would eat a snack, eat lunch, or get enthralled in a puzzle I'd sneak in a chapter. Thankfully the chapters are pretty short, so that was helpful, I hate stopping mid-chapter. Then, my son fell asleep and had the longest, most peaceful nap on record. He awoke with 10 pages left to read and mid-chapter! We headed over to my parents house to watch football and while the grandparents doted over their only grandchild, I inhaled the last ten pages of the book.

This is the first novel by Ann Brashares I have read. I have not read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, nor have I seen the movie, while I have heard that it is very good, I simply was not attracted to the storyline. Here is the synopsis for My Name is Memory:

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. For all the times that he and Sophia have been connected throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart.
But just when Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally awakens to the secret of their shared past, the mysterious force that has always separated them reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

The story started off a bit slow to me, but the concept is so intriguing that I pushed through. It really didn't take long for it to start rolling and I found myself being pulled forward. It's funny now that I've started writing again how I think of the different paths I would have taken had I written the book. The middle of the novel is fascinating, I really am enthralled with her concept of reincarnation, time, and Daniel's undying (pardon the pun) love for his Sophia.

I felt that three quarters of the way through writing Ms. Brashares storyline veered from her original plan. I think it veered into a much more in-depth story and philosophy than she thought it would, which is good, but the end came abruptly and did not give her enough time to develop some ideas and characters or the reader enough time to soak it in. It's one of those endings that makes you grunt, "NO!!" This "give me more" reaction is great and what every writer wants from their reader, but damn!

I have seen rumors on the web that this is going to be a trilogy, but I have not found confirmation on Ann Brashares' website. I certainly hope it is, I hope there is at least one sequel to play out what is happening. Perhaps I'll dabble in a little fan-fiction and write my own sequel. Nah, I'll just try to concentrate on finishing mine - it's all written in my head, it's the getting it on paper that's the tough part. Well, finding the time to get it on paper. Yes, I could have done that instead of reading, but I find reading inspirational to my own writing and when I get in a rut it reignites my enthusiasm and I am off again...

Life's 100 Photographs that Changed the World

This weekend I read Life's 100 Photographs That Changed the World. What an amazing collection of work, it itself is a piece of art. The photos are inspiring, depressing, confusing, sickening, and most importantly, thought provoking.

I agree with the introduction, it's very difficult to pick a top 100, but the ones chosen do not fall short of their goal. If I still taught high school, I would develop not just a lesson plan, but an entire course section on this collection and concept. There are so many wonderful lessons that can be taught and learned from this book.

The "Society" section is what gripped me the most. Yes, these photos changed the world at the time of their publishing, but I do not think their purpose has come to an end. What affected me the most was the fact that all  of these photos, dating back to the 1700's still play a role in our society in many forms. I always thought the purpose of sitting through dreadfully boring, monotone history lectures (why can't teachers make it more like the History Channel?) was to learn from past mistakes, to continue to grow as people, as a deep thinking, caring, productive citizen of the human race. Many of these poignant photos demonstrate that we are not evolving. Our technology may be evolving, our means to an end may be evolving, but we continue to make the same mistakes again and again.

There are many beautiful aspects of people and humanity. People do possess the ability to care, to nurture, to be philosophical, and brilliant and creative and loving. Yet, they also have the ability to destroy others, to be cruel, arrogant, and evil. In fact, all the evils of society are the fault of the human race. I often feel the evil winning in society and find that I envy those who, no matter what is happening in their lives or the world, are permanently surrounded by sunshine. They must take amazing drugs.

I hope you find time in your busy schedule (who isn't busy these days?) to seek out this collection, find a quiet place where you can reflect on whatever emotion or thought you find provoked by these images and join me in contemplating how to make people see the the repetition of the evils of the past in our present.

Here are some of the photos.