Sunday, August 14, 2011

Weekend Gettaway and Delirium

This weekend the hubs and I took a much needed getaway to Chattanooga, TN. Thanks to their (Chattanooga) visitor bureau tv ads here in Nashville - and only being two hours away - we were "lured in" and were not disappointed in the least!


 The commercial that is shown almost every time I turn the TV on...



If you are planning a trip to good 'ole Chattanooga.... Definitely recommend staying at one of the Bed and Breakfasts (there are 3 or 4) at the Bluff View Art District. It is within walking distance to almost everything we wanted to do! 


 (Our cozy home)




Anywho - more posts later about our adventure! I did want to talk a little bit about one of the books I just finished reading. I am apart of an awesome book club comprised of many girlies from work. We are currently reading "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver.


Three things about me and books...
1. I love to read
2. I love to read science fiction
3. I am a speed reader.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, I really enjoyed this book! 439 pages down in two days (and I enjoyed my vaca!) and I can truly say I am looking forward to the next installment.  A dystopian-eque story, I was intrigued by the premise. Since I read just a little, I think I am going to start including my reviews of books I have enjoyed under "Fav Reads" at the top of the page. Won't include the review just yet... since we haven't talked about it in the BC (book club) here is a personal summary....


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With a simple cure, wars have ceased to exist, divorces have decreased incrementally throughout the nation, and people are living happily - safe from sadness, extreme feelings, and from love.

The cure saved people from "amor deliria nervosa", delirium, or the sickness. 

Lena would be cured from ever experiencing this illness in a few short months, at the age of 18. Her mother had suffered and had taken her own life after three unsuccessful attempts to recieve “cure."

The United States was different than it had been a mere 100 years earlier. Oil and electricity is rationed, life is not easy. Citizens became unhappy, unsettled, and wars broke out. Since the radical discovery of a minor brain procedure to cure citizens of amor deliria nervosa, however, the United States was able to prosper. Instead of succumbing to anxiety, distress, and sadness (all side effects of amor deliria nervosa), after a series of tests and an evaluation, the government is able to delineate life tracks for all of the populous. College, spouse, and jobs are selected for each person (with personal input of course) and everyone can go about living their lives, stress free and happy. 

Lena lived with her aunt and cousins. Lena’s sister, Rachel, had been cured a few years earlier, and now had a lovely husband, family, and job. Lena was looking forward to the cure, so she would never have to suffer as her mother had, or the countless stories that she had heard about. Happiness was what she wanted, or at least she thought it was happiness.

Lena’s best friend Hana was nervous about the cure. Uttering the phrase, “You’ll never know happiness unless you know sadness,” Hana was worrying Lena. During an afternoon run with Hana, an encounter with a lab security guard, Alex, was initially too close for comfort. If the two girls continued to stray from the safety guidelines outlined for them, their lives would be less than pleasant. Little did Lena know, that the “cured” Alex would end up changing her life forever.

New truths began to unweave Lena’s thoughts about her own life, and everything that she had once believed to be true. As her day for the cure draws closer, Lena realizes that she has never felt so far away from wanting the treatment. All of these safe guards that had been developed by the government supposedly meant to protect her, were actually keeping her prisoner. Life and love developed a new meaning when she was with Alex, and Lena soon realizes that she does not want to be cured from love, because then she would be cured from living... but perhaps it's too late.



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If you liked Hunger Games... I think you will like this one too. :)



1 comment:

Unknown said...

What a beautiful place to stay!