yoga

i've been doing the bikram yoga for a while now in prague, and i had a great workout on sunday. i think i'm still exhausted from it! for the last few times, i have been doing the pregnancy series and since it is modified it feels less thorough. but also i have been going to czech-speaking classes, which means i haven't gotten the instructor's little reminders for each pose (the non-modified ones). sunday's was an english class, and i really made an effort for each pose, and it felt great.

Anne's House of Dreams

Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i don't know why i can't stop reading this series, but here i am at book #5. i don't even really like anne, and my eyes glaze over when montgomery starts describing the flowers or the trees or the rocks or whatever in her super-romantic style.

i guess i just want to know what happens to anne. and the peripheral characters are charming.

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Freedom

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

i liked it a lot. i remember it getting a lot of flack when it was released, but i don't remember exactly what people disliked about it.

sure, there were some things that went too far or seemed over-exaggerated. but just like in 'the corrections', the horrible thought processes and decisions that the characters make are just too close to home to dismiss the book. there were several points during reading at which i was physically uncomfortable because i recognized my own terrible patterns in this or that character. that's not easy to do for a writer, but franzen nails it.

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Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i was hoping to really like this book, but i admit that it wasn't too satisfying. i read part of it in high school, and found it too boring to finish then. it wasn't much different now, though i really did start to pick up speed at the end because i wanted to know what happened. but the character of raskolnikov is so repellent, and the redemption is so silly! it feels unfinished somehow.

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Conqueror

Conqueror by Conn Iggulden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

a good ending to an enjoyable series.

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