Who wants to be a Craker?

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Holy smokes.... This is a beautiful book. Oryx and Crake is the second book that I have read by Margaret Atwood. The first book of hers that I read was the Handmaid's Tale. I loved that book and treasured it. I savored every word. I reread pages as to fully lap up her words. I was nervous to read this book because I was so enchanted by Margaret after the Handmaid's Tale.

I chose Oryx and Crake as my second Atwood read because I knew this book had dystopian elements in the plot and I know my own affection towards books about utopian or dystopian society. Oryx and Crake did NOT disappoint.

This book starts out slow because you have no idea where Margaret is going in the first few chapters. However, knowing the beauty of her other book, I stuck with it because I knew where it went was going to be wonderful.

Long story short: Snowman is the watcher of the Crakers. Crake is Jimmy's (Snowman) best friend growing up and Oryx... well that is a funny story so I will let Margaret tell you. Crake is a genius (leaning toward Aspergers Syndrome) and pretty much decides that he is going to rule the world. The book starts at the end of this dystopian fantasy and we flip flop between the story of Snowman and Jimmy as we learn how the Earth got to be in this disastrous state. The story is interesting, smart and keeps the interest of the reader. Again, I read this so slow because I wanted to savor the story.

Now I will be immersed in Communication Theories as per my doctorate class schedule requires but I think there is more Atwood in my future.

I highly recommend this book as well as the Handmaid's Tale. I will post my old review of that book a little bit later when I am feeling more up to par.

PS I liked this book so much I am thinking about naming children/pets after Orxy and Crake. Either or haha :)

9/11

The kids I teach were born after the September 11th tragedy. They have no idea about what happened on that fateful day. Not even a moment of silence at my school. In my opinion, there was not enough done by the media and towns to commemorate this day. 9/11 needs to be remembered. Yes, it's hard to see and remember. Yes, we have moved on as a country. But we need to be reminded that we are not invincible. We need to be reminded that we are a proud country. We need to be reminded that we should be a cohesive entity. A friend of mine and I had our own 9/11 memorial as we watched countless documentaries about that day. I hope we never forget the men and women that died on that day.

Currently Reading: Oryx and Crate by Margaret Atwood (Freakin awesome distopian society book)
Next Book: The Cell: Inside the 9/11 plot by John Miller
Then: only education books from now until next summer :)