Surprise! I’m still here! And it has been since June since I posted here. My goodness! I suppose this is more of a quarterly blog now. So let’s see. Since June, I’ve been camping with my folks, to DC for the 60th anniversary of US2 shindig, NYC for US2 midterms and Denver for a UMW conference. One could say I have been busy. Or forgetful. I’m going to go with both.
Anyways, it’s been over a year since I started and I am a year older. And maybe even a year smarter. Which means it is about time to start figuring out where I will be going next year. Thankfully I have a decent enough plan: masters of social work. Somewhere in the south. Hooray filling out applications! But it feels good to have a plan. And as always I have my backup backup backup backup plan of being a truck driver. Good old plan Z!
So as the title says, there is a change in the seasons. Partly because it dropped 20 degrees between yesterday and today and partly because it is time to think about the next season of where I am going. Very strange!
Also, this is going to be a blog entry and a half. The half entry is What Marjorie Thinks about The Casual Vacancy. It’s sort of relevant. Ish.
In case you have been living under a rock, JK Rowling wrote a new book called The Casual Vacancy. It came out about a month ago. So as background, I went to the midnight releases of the Harry Potter books as far back as they had them. I dressed up. Have read them all at least four times. I got my picture taken at Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station.
So I think JK Rowling is the best. And yes, Casual Vacancy is jarringly different from the squeaky-clean exploits of Harry, Ron and Hermione. But there are very clear connections. The Dursleys are everywhere in Pagford, the village where everything takes place. There are small-minded people who fear The Other and are frankly rather petty. There is also child abuse, neglect, drugs, sex and other Shocking and Scandalous things.
But there is also redemption and honesty and goofy teenagers doing goofy teenager stuff. And her characters, as always, are spot on! So all in all, it is a good book. Not fantastic, as my sisters might tease me, but good. The one element that is missing is humor. There’s no Fred and George. No Professor McGonnagall whispering to Peeves “it unscrews the other way!” But no book is perfect, I suppose. Still. It didn’t have to be that dreary! But it is an intriguing look into how Nice, Middle Class People deal with things that are not nice. Like the death of a council member and the various scandals surrounding it. Or the slums and rehab clinic in their district. So much small town drama in one book. Which brings me to the end of what I can say without spoiling it, which I have a habit of doing. So if you do read it, let me know what you think!
Marjorie's Mission Montage 