Mom and I were figuring up my subjects for school and when we will finish up the necessary courses, when it dawned on us that I could/possibly will graduate a year early (in 2011). I will only have to spend one more year learning in a formal education, and then I can continue to learn day by day and let the winds of knowledge take me for an enjoyable ride.

We have also been dog sitting Bently, of the house of Noble Rose Press, while they were away.  Like the last time we watched him, I have grown to think him adorable even more…though I am still borderline on my feelings for little bitty dogs.

And I just received my yarn for the above project a few days ago. It will be a 4-H project and go into my hope chest when it is finished. Aren’t they adorable?

Since our school year started this past Monday, we thought the best thing would be to jump right back into literature, one of my favourite subjects. We started with Hemingway, whose “plainspoken, no frills writing style became so famous that is is was (and still is) frequently parodied“.

My first thoughts after reading his biography, were “I hope I can read through one of his books” due to the reviews I read. I read the two, of the two books we had gotten from the library, and I ended up reading The Old Man and The Sea-the safer choice. Apparently his books are manly and have questionable content including sensuality and language.

It is true…Hemingway wrote in a plainspoken, no frills style. Sentences are simple and straight to the point. You read the lines and that is it, with an occasional pondering or two. To me, he didn’t seem like the great writer people spoke of for it was just too plain for me, which is probably why people like him. He is a simple writer for easy, relaxing reading. The Old Man And The Sea won a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

I also want to say that the title says it all…The Old Man And The Sea was indeed about an old man and the sea. If you love to hear about fishing techniques, survival tips, and rough adventures, this book will entertain you.

This is probably my first and last Hemingway book. Sorry.

A new addition has been added to our home and we already love him for his beautiful insight on such tiny things. It is our new microscope for our home education. It arrived on Tuesday and already we have looked closely at flowers, pieces of fabric, drops of vegetable soup and water, a sunflower seed, a thorn,a piece of fuzz, a frosted flake, and all are so unique and beautiful in their own way.

We can hardly wait to use our new friend with the Apologia Biology Course which I have been yearning to study for a year now. And with our microscope I will definitely be able to comprehend things better, for I am quite a visual person.

For the last two weeks I have been constantly entertained by another work of Victor Hugo’s. After reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame and getting the feel of Hugo’s writing style, I was eager to begin another work of his. And what better to choose than Les Miserables, and also because it was a requirement for school:)

I found Les Miserables extremely entertaining. The plot was excellent and the characters were so beautifully interwoven to make a tapestry of suspense and emotion. Each character was carved to fit the reader’s desires and their actions and situations would bring out the deepness of their emotions.

What I liked: I enjoyed this more than the Hunchback of N.D. because of the absence of lust and the presence of love. Characters were darker in the previous book and certain parts were awkward to read. However in Les Miserables the characters are deep, and heartfelt in all of their actions.

What I didn’t like: the only thing was during the battle between the revolutionaries and the guards was a little hazy for me since I had just a tad bit of trouble keeping the french names straight and trying to remember the characters they were mentioning. Embarrassing, but true.

Now that the book is finished, I can start the movie. Mom wouldn’t let me watch the move until the entire book was finished. Now, I am glad that she set the literary standard.

This little paraphrase will sum up how I felt with the plot line and the book in general… “I finished a 501 page book in less than a week“. I was captivated by the intense story line from the very beginning. My family can tell when I am in a good book for you can only see my fingers gripping the binding instead of my face. While my fa-mi-ly had noodle making lessons I confess that I buried my intellectual mentality into ciphering the words of Hugo instead of paying close attention. That seems to happen a lot to me. For instance in algebra, when Mom and I were trying to figure a problem and she said that I could I relax for a few minutes…those minutes were spent gripping “Quasimodo” as we called it.

I will not burden you with reading the story line, for it is indeed intense and time consuming, however I will leave you with my overall review of the book.

In a moral sense, The Hunchback of Notre Dame has some unconventional views upon salvation, the use of God’s holy name, and sensuality. When referencing to salvation, the book gives the tone that Christians are weak mice like creatures who are so focused on God that fun is absolutely out of the question or they are truly deep dark creatures with insanity running in their veins. That does not bother me as much as the other two notes, for I know the truth. Upon God’s holy name, blasphemy is used in almost every chapter although it is not too excessive, yet once is more than necessary. And as to sensuality, there are 2 or 3 instances where characters give into their lust for one another, but Hugo deals with these moments with poise. His writing is not too descriptive but he does inform the reader what is happening. I was disappointed however in the frequent musings of lust in a certain character.

However, in a literature sense, I thoroughly enjoyed the speed and drama of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Almost every page held yet another formula that deepened the reader’s view to every character. The story features upon some well rounded characters whose mental and verbal dialogue give insight into their descriptions. Quasimodo, the  “main character in the background” is beautiful in his thoughtfulness and even though Hugo gives endless descriptions of his hideousness, the reader does grow to love Quasimodo’s compassionate and thoughtful nature.

I must also say that the last paragraph of the book is beautiful in its mortal description.

Homeschooling: the type of education where one can wash the dog in between cultural geography and physical science and still be able to have a successful day

“Learning is more important than grades.”

One of my favourite quotes from Little House on the Prairie is the above. I believe Pa says it to either Mary or Laura in the episode of Four Eyes. When I was public schooled back in my younger years, the center of my schooling was the grades, it would not matter if I didn’t know a thing but if I somehow made good grades it would be alright. But when we started my schooling at home in the comforts of true learning, the learning was the most important. Since the joys of educating at home, learning has meant more and is such a wonderful opportunity.