We’ve
decked the halls, sung of old acquaintances and if they should be forgot, and
begun our new resolutions. It is
time for Leia’s year in review.
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| Inspector Kemp and the villagers of Transylvania. I am on the far right. |
Early 2014 found me back at Columbia Entertainment Company, performing
in Young Frankenstein. I felt compelled to this show because
1) I’m a theater nerd, 2) I teach Frankenstein, and 3) I have to support a
fellow Brooks (even though Mel changed his given last name). I got to work with some old friends
again, make a new friendship with a former student, and forge new relationships
with some incredibly talented people.
Through some of my theater friends I learned of a movie being shot in
Columbia by a fellow MU graduate, and I got to cross off “being an extra on a
film shoot” from my bucket list.
ADDicted stars Kathleen Quinlan (who my friend Danielle and I got to
stand right behind!) and Gil Bellows (Tommy from The Shawshank Redemption) is
scheduled to be released in 2015.
As
always, most of my life is spent at Hickman High School where I began my 15th
year in September. I am at the point where I have been teaching almost as long
as my students have been alive, which is an existential conundrum because I
feel like I just started this adult thing. But I am almost halfway to retirement, so I guess I have
been in the “real” world for a while!
In addition to World Literature (English 10), I added a new prep in the
2014-2015 year with Contemporary Literature for seniors. So far I have enjoyed this class, but
once senioritis kicks in full force next semester, I may change my toon!
Along
with the later half of 2013, this was the year of the wedding for me. On New Year’s Eve I watched my former
student teacher Kate Eady tie the knot in Columbia. I had a slight reprieve until May when my friends Ryan and
Kara Nesbitt got hitched in St. Louis.
Then came June…with three weddings! Two more Kates – my theater buddy Kate Manion and my
co-worker Katie LeVota wed in Columbia, while I gained a new cousin when Carrie
Noonan wed Scott Bokal in St. Louis.
I had just enough time to celebrate my birthday and Fourth of July
before another theater friend and neighbor Elizabeth Schuster married Eric
Brown. If Macy’s or Bed, Bath, and
Beyond had frequent flier cards, I would have been a platinum member! It has been a great honor to watch so
many wonderful people make their lifelong commitments to one another.
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| Treena and I before zip-lining with Arenal Volcano behind us. |
I finally got to add another stamp in my passport this
summer when Treena and I ventured to Costa Rica for a week. Navigating the roads which do not have
signs was quite an endeavor.
Treena will argue that I wasn’t very successful in my Ponce de Leon
attempts to guide our journey, but I beg to differ! We spent the first part of the week in Samara at the beach
where we snorkled, surfed, and stayed in a tree house. We literally were steps from the beach
so we were living la pura vida! We
then ventured north to La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano area. I experienced my first “thril-seeking”
adventure when we went zip-lining.
While jumping out of planes hold no interest for me, zip-lining was
incredible! We also hiked to Cerro
Chato – a dormant volcano next to our hotel. The trip was supposed to last 2-4 hours. It took me almost 5 because it was not
a hike but a climb! After that
adventure I definitely needed the trip to the hot springs we took the next day.
I
wish you all joy, hope, peace, and happiness in 2015. And of course, I wish you a year full of good reads. Here are my 10 recommendations for your
to-read list. Because the
first entry is actually 5 books, I kind of cheated with this list. These are not just books I read this
year, but I have read them all!
(*
indicates book club selections)
1. Game of Thrones – Fire and Ice Series by George R.R. Martin Yes, there are 5 books. Yes, they are ridiculously long (I
bought it for my ipad and it is almost 8500 pages in the digital format). Yes, Martin needs some series editing
help. So why am I included these
books on my list? Because they are
incredibly engaging. It is a
fantasy story that spans multiple countries, many main characters, political
intrigue, liars and deceivers, manipulators, and dragons. You’ve got to love dragons!
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| Book Club: The Kitchen House, June 2014 |
2. 2. *The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom:
When a 7 year-old from Ireland gets
orphaned on
her passage to the United States, she
becomes an
indentured servant in antebellum
Virginia, so she
grows up and identifies with the
slaves, even with
her blonde hair and fair skin. I read this book in
about a week because the story is so
engaging.
3. Bossypants by Tina Fey : I sort of feel like I
cheated in “reading” this one because I listened
to
the audio version (thanks Aunt Barb), but when
you
have the author
telling her own story in her
distinct voice and you laugh aloud while driving
by yourself, you know it is a good read. The
young teen angst, the trials of being an intelligent
women, the ridiculous
situations you find yourself
in that sound completely
fictional, but they are
totally real – it’s all in this book. I feel like Tina
Fey and I would totally hang out if only we
lived in the same town…
4. Much Ado About Nothing:
This is my absolute favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. It has the star-crossed lover theme of Romeo and Juliet without the suicidal
ending, the jealousy-fueled behavior of Othello
with no murders, and the strong female characters of The Tempest without the cross-dressing. Beatrice may be one of my all time favorite characters
because she is sassy and bold.
5. *The Circle by
Dave Eggers: It seems like
dystopian novels are everywhere, but this one is not that far in the distant
future. The main character takes a
job at the Circle – a Facebook, Google, Twitter hybrid that literally controls
the world. As she gains
responsibilities, more computer monitors are added to her desk so she can
virtually interact with more and more people.
6. Divergent by Veronica Roth:
This series brought back the joys of my youth when I couldn’t read a
book fast enough. I started the
series after seeing the movie (a rarity for me) and I finished all three books
in two weeks. This was in the
middle of the school year! The
plot is engaging, the characters have flaws and virtues, and the main character
being a kick butt woman is pretty cool too!
7. *The Weight of Blood
by Laura McHugh: A Columbia,
Missouri author wrote this compelling story set in the Ozarks. It reminds me of Winter’s Bone with a teenager as the main character, searching for
the truth about her mother.
8. A Lesson Before Dying by
Ernest Gaines: Gaines’ story of a
young black man, Jefferson, on death row for a crime he didn’t commit in rural
Louisiana in the 1940s paints a very real picture of the complexities of race
relations and how the past continues to haunt.
9. Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen: Let’s face it – Mr.
Darcey is sort of realistic literary fantasy man. He’s full of flaws, he says the wrong things, and he is
willing to defy his family for love.
And Elizabeth Bennett is his equal – quick with a witty retort, devoted
to her not-always-deserving family, and stubborn to no end.
10. *China Dolls by Lisa See:
Honestly, I liked Snowflower and
the Secret Fan more, but China Dolls
is more accessible. Three girls,
each hiding secrets, meet, work together, and live together in San
Francisco. Japan’s invasion of
China, World War II, and Japanese internment camps all affect these women, forever
shaping their relationships.
Leia
