I am the first to admit that math was never my strong suit. I have always been a book person. But the last few years I have enjoyed hearing about the celebrations of "Pi Day" on March 14th. There is even a website, Pi Day, which has a countdown clock. There are discussions about why people like Pi including poetic statements such as "Pi is a magical loophole in our assumed and intuitive structures….lovelovelove". There are even Pi day songs with lyrics such as "Oh number Pi, Oh number Pi, your digits are unending" (Sung to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree"). Today, I saw students walking into school carrying cakes and pies. Who knew that math could be both fun and tasty?
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Piece of Pi
I am the first to admit that math was never my strong suit. I have always been a book person. But the last few years I have enjoyed hearing about the celebrations of "Pi Day" on March 14th. There is even a website, Pi Day, which has a countdown clock. There are discussions about why people like Pi including poetic statements such as "Pi is a magical loophole in our assumed and intuitive structures….lovelovelove". There are even Pi day songs with lyrics such as "Oh number Pi, Oh number Pi, your digits are unending" (Sung to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree"). Today, I saw students walking into school carrying cakes and pies. Who knew that math could be both fun and tasty?
Friday, March 6, 2009
In Praise of Old Books
Jaqueline Winspear is the wonderful author of the Maisie Dobbs series and one of my favorite authors. She and five other authors write a terrific blog called Naked Authors.com. Recently she wrote about her visit to the Boston Public Library. I know that this is a long quote, but her sentiments about books and bookstores and libraries made me smile on a gloomy, gray, March day. Ms. Winspear says:
"Now, this is a library-goers library, a place with thousands of books that seem to scream, 'Come in, read, research, study, learn, travel to far places, meander back in time, stretch the gray matter, pull me off the shelves and have your way with me.' And as I was sitting at my desk, surrounded by a pile of books on the social history of Beacon Hill, I thought, 'Why would anyone want a Kindle?' (Or something similar). Well, having slogged a couple of hefty books off and on one ‘plane or another, I can see why, however, there is something about those older tomes, something about a place so steeped in intellectual curiosity, that underlines the importance of the book. And later, as I braced myself and went out into the cold air, I realized that it had to do with what we are really tapping into when we open a book, whether we are immersed in study or reading for pleasure. We are accessing a direct line to a vein of storytelling that goes back centuries, and the fact that we can pick up a book – old technology, if ever I saw it – speaks to that legacy. I was using books that will never be available on a Kindle, and to turn their weary but still-up-to-the-job pages made me ache with pleasure. We are so lucky to have libraries, so fortunate to have bookshops, and we have been blessed with books. I just wish more people would come in from the cold and seek the warmth of they offer to the very soul of a person. I've always felt a sense of belonging, in a library - a belonging that warms the cockles of my heart."
"Now, this is a library-goers library, a place with thousands of books that seem to scream, 'Come in, read, research, study, learn, travel to far places, meander back in time, stretch the gray matter, pull me off the shelves and have your way with me.' And as I was sitting at my desk, surrounded by a pile of books on the social history of Beacon Hill, I thought, 'Why would anyone want a Kindle?' (Or something similar). Well, having slogged a couple of hefty books off and on one ‘plane or another, I can see why, however, there is something about those older tomes, something about a place so steeped in intellectual curiosity, that underlines the importance of the book. And later, as I braced myself and went out into the cold air, I realized that it had to do with what we are really tapping into when we open a book, whether we are immersed in study or reading for pleasure. We are accessing a direct line to a vein of storytelling that goes back centuries, and the fact that we can pick up a book – old technology, if ever I saw it – speaks to that legacy. I was using books that will never be available on a Kindle, and to turn their weary but still-up-to-the-job pages made me ache with pleasure. We are so lucky to have libraries, so fortunate to have bookshops, and we have been blessed with books. I just wish more people would come in from the cold and seek the warmth of they offer to the very soul of a person. I've always felt a sense of belonging, in a library - a belonging that warms the cockles of my heart."
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Many Faces of Jane
I just love Jane Austen. Her books are like mashed potatoes on a snowy day, filling and comforting. I have read and re-read all of her books many times. I don't really have a favorite, but lately I have been intrigued by the many different ways in which you may consume the classic, Pride and Prejudice. Of course, there is always my favorite, the Penguin Classic paperback, but you may be suprised at the appearances this timeless story makes in different packages.
There are the movies, both the classic version with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier and the more recent version with Keira Knightly. In 1995, the BBC produced a wonderfully long and luxurious (6 hours!) version of the book in a miniseries starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Mr Firth again reprised his role as Mr. Darcy in the modern day take on this story in Bridget Jones Diary.
Now, coming in April we can look forward to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, a story described as "the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action". I think I hear Jane Austen whirling in her grave....Finally, I found the following site that condenses the plot of Pride and Prejudice into a Facebook Status Update page. Austenbook lists the changes in relationships and announces the events that drive the plot. My favorite listing is "Lydia Bennet and Kitty Bennet joined the group 1,000,000 Strong Against the Officers Leaving Meryton {join!}".
So you can choose your Pride and Prejudice.....black and white or color, with or without zombies. For me, give me a rainy day, lots of tea and the 6 hour miniseries. I know I almost know it by heart, but it always draws me in.
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