Free Essays on Wedded Bliss

Marriage was once considered a sacred union of two people and their lives into one inseparable unit. The months before the wedding are filled with preparations and decisions – what will the bride wear or where will the reception occur? However, over the years, an alternate route has developed, a method requiring little to no preparation at all. A traditional wedding plagued by â€Å"The Wedding March† and large bridal parties and family has also been replaced by a ceremony characterized by insincerity and mass production. Andrea Lee’s â€Å"The Wedding† and Joan Didion’s â€Å"Marrying Absurd† contrasts the plight of the modern-day wedding. Couples wait for more than two years after engagement to conduct a wedding ceremony in efforts to have the â€Å"perfect† traditional wedding. Hundreds of preparations must be made, from choosing a bridal dress to invitations to limousine rental. The couple in â€Å"The Wedding† carefully chose their attire and the setting for the joyous occasion. Their guests met them at the Palace of Weddings, â€Å"a nineteenth-century mansion on a quiet tree-lined street (Lee 91).† They even made plans to have live music performed â€Å"by a trio of musicians,† which cost extra (Lee 92). On the other hand, weddings performed in Las Vegas like those in â€Å"Marrying Absurd† are entirely different. There is no need for preparation. A bride may wear a brightly colored mini-dress if she chooses and not be deemed as tawdry. Las Vegas weddings exchange formal procedure for convenience. â€Å"I got it [the ceremony] down from five to three minutes,† b ragged one justice of the peace who once united more than sixty people in one night (Didion 87). It is a wedding – not a fast-food restaurant. The involvement of family and friends assists in making the day a wonderful memory. In â€Å"The Wedding,† family and close friends were involved with preparation even minutes before the ceremony and serve as comfo... Free Essays on Wedded Bliss Free Essays on Wedded Bliss Marriage was once considered a sacred union of two people and their lives into one inseparable unit. The months before the wedding are filled with preparations and decisions – what will the bride wear or where will the reception occur? However, over the years, an alternate route has developed, a method requiring little to no preparation at all. A traditional wedding plagued by â€Å"The Wedding March† and large bridal parties and family has also been replaced by a ceremony characterized by insincerity and mass production. Andrea Lee’s â€Å"The Wedding† and Joan Didion’s â€Å"Marrying Absurd† contrasts the plight of the modern-day wedding. Couples wait for more than two years after engagement to conduct a wedding ceremony in efforts to have the â€Å"perfect† traditional wedding. Hundreds of preparations must be made, from choosing a bridal dress to invitations to limousine rental. The couple in â€Å"The Wedding† carefully chose their attire and the setting for the joyous occasion. Their guests met them at the Palace of Weddings, â€Å"a nineteenth-century mansion on a quiet tree-lined street (Lee 91).† They even made plans to have live music performed â€Å"by a trio of musicians,† which cost extra (Lee 92). On the other hand, weddings performed in Las Vegas like those in â€Å"Marrying Absurd† are entirely different. There is no need for preparation. A bride may wear a brightly colored mini-dress if she chooses and not be deemed as tawdry. Las Vegas weddings exchange formal procedure for convenience. â€Å"I got it [the ceremony] down from five to three minutes,† b ragged one justice of the peace who once united more than sixty people in one night (Didion 87). It is a wedding – not a fast-food restaurant. The involvement of family and friends assists in making the day a wonderful memory. In â€Å"The Wedding,† family and close friends were involved with preparation even minutes before the ceremony and serve as comfo...

Top 10 Websites for Book Lovers

Top 10 Websites for Book Lovers Top 10 Websites for Book Lovers Top 10 Websites for Book Lovers By Sharon There is something magical about reading books. Whether you like fiction or non-fiction, fantasy or sci-fi, there are many books out there. Still, it isn’t always easy to make a trip to the bookstore or library to find that specific book that you are looking for. If you find yourself itching for a new read, reviews, or discussion, here are 10 websites that every book lover should check out. 1. Goodreads Goodreads is one of the best websites for booklovers that want to read the latest reviews, interviews, feedback, and plot discussion. Look, most of us called R+L=J in â€Å"A Song of Ice and Fire.† All the clues were there, but if you didn’t, you could have easily have read that theory on Goodreads. Where are we going with this? You should use Goodreads if you want all the details about books, new and old, and want to discuss them with other likeminded individuals. 2. Project Gutenberg Who doesn’t love free books? Project Gutenberg is the oldest and largest collections of free books on the Internet. To date, it boasts well over 49,000 titles and it continues to grow each year. The project aims to publish all books that have surpassed their copyright dates. The website even caters to audiobooks fans seeing as it has a large collection of them readily available. 3. Amazon You might think this is a lame one to feature in a book lover’s list, but is it? Amazon completely changed the book market and made books more affordable and accessible. Sure, Barnes Noble had a warm vibe, but let’s not kid ourselves, they overcharged for their books. There is something special about ordering a book and having it delivered to your doorstep in 1-2 days. It is because of this that Amazon has been featured on this list. 4. Whichbook Whichbook won’t win any design awards, but it works. This website helps you choose what book to read next. Users can interact with several personality sliders to help them decide what book they should read next. The sliders include happy and sad, funny and serious, safe, and disturbing, gentle and violent, and many others. The website also offers other ways to help you screen news books. If you ever find yourself struggling to pick your next book to read, let Whichbook help you choose. 5. ReadPrint ReadPrint is a lot like the Project Gutenberg. It features a lot of free books that can be downloaded and accessed across all of your devices. Topics include classics like Shakespeare all the way to science fiction. 6. Google Book Search Google is considered the king of search. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they would be featured on a list that is designed to help you find book-friendly websites. What makes Google Book Search neat is the fact that you can search for specific lines of text from a book and it will tell you various locations where you can buy it. Google’s database also features free works like books, magazines, journals, and various e-books. 7. Indie Store Finder Are you craving that small bookstore feel? Indie Store Finder is the perfect tool for any book lover that is located in the United States. Simply plug in your zip code and Indie Store Finder will provide you with a list of all nearby independent book stores. 8. AddAll.com Look, it’s perfectly fine to want to find the best price for the books you buy. Who wants to pay more, especially if you are buying a book that is mass produced? AddAll.com lets you compare books across the various major book retailers, helping you find one that is close to you and cheap. Users can search by title, shipping destination, price, and state. 9. Comics Alliance Comic books count as books, alright? They have the word book in their name. Jokes aside, the Comics Alliance is a great website for comic book lovers. It features the latest news, releases, opinions, merchandise, and much more. Comics Alliance really is the be-all-end-all of comic books. You’ll never be out of the loop when it comes to comic books if you bookmark this website. 10. Book Cover Archive While you should never judge a book by its cover, you can admire beautiful book covers for the art that they are. In our fast-paced world, it is important to slow down and admire true artistic beauty. The Book Cover Archive features thousands of book covers organized categorically by title, subjects, authors, and several other unusual categories. If you think we missed an important website, feel free to let us know below. We’d love to know what other websites exist out there for book lovers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Book Reviews category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, Whether"Gratitude" or "Gratefulness"?5 Ways to Reduce Use of Prepositions