I've already been busy reading for most of the day, which is good because I have a very busy evening ahead of me.
I'm reading my first George Eliot book right now, Middlemarch
. I'm really enjoying it even though it is a challenging (and long) book. I've been considering hosting a George Eliot challenge. If there is anyone interested in that please let me know. It would be a light challenge, probably only one book and a movie.
I'm also reading The Moon, Come to Earth: Dispatches from Lisbon
by Philip Graham. The book is a travelog about Graham's year in Lisbon with his wife and daughter. It's a quick read with some really beautiful passages and great questions about place and travel. I'm about halfway down with it.
I spent about nine hours reading yesterday (mostly homework) so I'm kind of taking a lighter day today. I have three meetings to go to tonight so I will be very busy for the rest of the day.
This week I plan on continuing the books I've already mentioned as well as finish The Lover
by Marguerite Duras. I will probably pick up another book but I haven't decided which yet.
I was a very bad reader last week. Lots of things are to blame, it was the week before Thanksgiving break and I just wanted to relax. I did finish Philip Graham's The Moon, Come to Earth. I also attended his reading at Prairie Lights. Graham is very gregarious, I enjoyed his reading. He read three dispatches from the book though, which took quite a long time. I'm always more interested in hearing authors talk about their books than read from them.
The book that has taken up most of my time is George Eliot's Middlemarch, which I plan to finish tomorrow. If I haven't mentioned it before, I will mention it again: Middlemarch is a beast. It's a multi-plot novel with what seems like one thousand characters. It takes me a long time to read, but thanks to a couple 4-8 AM shifts at work I am almost finished with it. I'm really enjoying it too, but that doesn't surprise me. Eliot is a genius.
Today I plan on finishing The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, I am obsessed with Charlotte Bronte and I'm always iffy on books that make the authors the characters. I am happy to say that I have not been able to put it down. James has really done a great job researching all the Brontes and I like how she documents her research in the back of the book. There are footnotes in this, which I know have put some people off, but I kind of like them. Some are unnecessary to me because I know enough about the 19th century, but some of them are helpful and interesting. The character that has interested me most is Branwell. I knew that he was a drunkard but James creates a fully developed character out of a man that has always baffled me.
Next week I plan on reading A LOT because I will just be sitting at home anyway. Books I plan to read are The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, The White Garden by Stephanie Barron, and Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? by Thomas Kohnstamm.
I have finally finished George Eliot's Middlemarch and I feel kind of melancholy. It is based in England, 1832.The novel creates a web of several characters. There are sisters Dorothea and Celia, and their suitors and eventual husbands as well as Doctor Lydgate and his cold wife Rosamond, and finally the lower class Mary Garth and her two suitors, Fred and Mr. Farebrother. I became attached to all of these characters because Eliot does an incredible job of creating characters that are full of life and who we can empathize with. I was particularly drawn to Dorothea who has the desire to do something truly great but is unable to because she is a woman. Instead she tries to live through her husband, and the elderly and ugly Mr. Casaubon. Casaubon has been spending his whole life working on one project, the Key to all Mythologies. Towards the end of his life he begins to realize that his project is hopeless, which makes him very bitter towards Dorothea who is interested in his project and asks many questions about it. Like many people, Casaubon takes the inquiries as attacks. Will Ladislaw, who is young, rebellious, and romantic, is angry that Casuabon and Dorothea are married. Will and Casaubon are cousins, although Casaubon really acts like more of uncle to Will. Will thinks that Casaubon is sucking the life from Dorothea, and sees that she is brave, courageous, and extremely intelligent. Dorothea becomes very unhappy in her marriage to Casaubon, but won't allow herself to show the anger she feels because it would be going against her wifely duties.
Lydgate is also in an unhappy marriage with Rosamond. Rosamond is beautiful and believes that all men are in love with her, which in some cases is true. She pretty much tricks Lydgate into marrying her and expects him to be wealthy and take her away from Middlemarch. Instead, Lydgate loses all of his money because he dotes on his wife and is trying to start a practice in Middlemarch. Rosamond is demanding and selfish, Lydgate is the first person who has tried to put her in her place. Even though Rosamond has her problems, I still managed to feel some empathy for her. She is just trying to escape a town where she knows everyone and be something better. The overall theme in the relationships of all these characters is unfulfilled ambition. They all have something they desire, but they can never reach the exact version of what they want. I could really relate to this.
Some parts of the book I didn't enjoy as much as others. There were many passages about politics and banking. I know quite a bit about Victorian politics but it was a trial for me to get through these sections. By far my favorite parts of the book were between Dorothea and Will Ladislaw, their relationship fascinated me and was so different from all the other characters in the book because they each had the ability to see past what they selfishly wanted. Middlemarch really even rivals Jane Eyre for me, it is unlike any book I have ever read. If you have the ability to push through an 800 page novel then this is a great one to pick up.
Pub. Date: September 2008 (1872) Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Format: Paperback, 904pp
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Yesterday I went to Northside Book Market in Iowa City, otherwise known as the Haunted Book Shop. It was a spur of the moment stop-in but I'm so glad I went there! I got a nice stack of book, five for $20.
Included in my list is Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy, Romola by George Eliot (which is impossible to find), Rotten Reviews Edited by Bill Henderson, The Bronte Sisters Quiz and Puzzle Book by Maggie Lane, and a copy of Jane Eyre from 1943 which I could not resist because it has fabulous illustrations. It's missing the dust cover, but you will see that you hardly need the dust cover when I show the what is on the cover of this book.
If you have read Jane Eyre then you will know that this is a representation of Lowood school, where Jane lives before she moves to Thornfield Hall. There are several other fabulous illustrations in this book and the type is double column rather than full page.
So if you couldn't tell already, I am super excited about this book because I am such a Jane Eyre lover. Thanks for listening, I think the book is pretty cool even if you don't like Jane Eyre. The illustrations are super creepy and I wonder if Dame Darcy looked at this book at all when she was making The Illustrated Jane Eyre, which I also own. I see a lot of similarities in the illustrations.
This week I posted reviews of The Jungle and Blue Bloods and a video about The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I asked a few questions about class presentations and posted a link to a funny post on Stereotyping Readers By Author. And since today is the last day of February I am going to post a list of all the books I read in February. I'm including one that I haven't finished yet, but will finish today or tomorrow so I basically read the whole book in February.
1. Love Letters of Great Women edited by Ursula Doyle (A) 2. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (D) 3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (B) 4. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (B) 5. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz (C) 6. Ophelia Joined The Group Maidens Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook by Sarah Schmelling (A) 7. Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (A) 8. Now and Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
So far I have read 18 books in 2010, I wanted to get to 20 this month but February is a short month. I know I'll make it up during a light month. Tomorrow is my job interview, wish me luck!
Ah I feel like whenever I put this list in writing I want to go back and change something. So perhaps this isn't a perfected list of all-time favorite books but I will try my best.
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I just really love this book and every time I read it I find something new. The main reason I love Jane Eyre is that it's a book that grows with you. Every time I've read it's been a different experience, my focus changes and I read a different story. 2. On the Road by Jack Kerouc. This was my favorite book through most of high school. I have wanderlust and I was always attracted to Kerouac's free, uncaring attitude. 3. Notes From No Man's Land by Eula Biss. Okay, I'm really going to shut up about this book soon, but I just love these essays. It's a wonderful collection and I remember reading the essays in it multiple times and still not wanting to put the book down. 4. Middlemarch by George Eliot. I read this last year for class and one look at the size of it made me want to run away. It's actually a really engaging multiplot Victorian novel that made me experience an array of emotions. 5. Moments of Being by Virginia Woolf. Woolf's personal essays and stories. I think this was actually the first book I read for my Virginia Woolf class and I loved learning about this famous author in such a personal way. 6. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I read a ton of Nick Hornby in high school but this book has always been the one that stood out to me. It chronicles a group of people who met on the top of a building, all intending to kill themselves. They decide to wait a year and then see if they still want to die. 7. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Every time I sit down with this graphic novel I want to read it from cover-to-cover. I love the simple images because they say so much about what the characters feel and it's amazing how many actions she can show in just a few panels. 8. Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman. Chuck Klosterman is another author I was really into in high school and I just recently got a newer book by him since I haven't been keeping up since I got out of high school. Not really sure why that was because Killing Yourself to Live is a fantastic book about rock stars and how they are more successful in death. He talks about a ton of music I hate in this book and I still loved it. So there you go. 9. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. This was a childhood favorite of mine. Anne was weird and kind of magical almost. Not that she had magical powers but she just had a special personality. This is one of the few books that has really stuck with me through my whole life. I need to reread it soon. 10. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I'll be honest, I still have 100 pages left in this book but I honestly think it is one of my favorite books of all-time. I would move it higher up on the list but I feel that would be unfair since I still haven't finished it. When I picked up Middlesex I thought it was going to be a bit of a chore, but I've been surprised by how excited I got with this book.
Honestly though, I don't think some of these books are my favorite books of all-time because I just haven't read ten books that made me go WOW! yet. There are a lot of books I love but when I think of favorite books of all-time I think of books that made a serious imprint on my life and that I really enjoyed. I think maybe I've read six books like that. Time will tell what my favorites really are. What are some of your favorites? You can join the conversation at The Broke and the Bookish!
I know I already did a post at the end of my one hour, but I didn't include any stats so I figured I'd just include them here.
But first, mini challenges! I couldn't resist I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read's mini-challenge to make a soundtrack for a chapter of the book you are reading. I just finished Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and I wanted to pick a song to be playing during the scenes where Guy Montag and Clarisse McClellan are talking and Montag starts to realize that something is really wrong with the world. The song I chose is Something to Talk About by Badly Drawn Boy, which was actually mad for the soundtrack of the movie About A Boy which is a great book by British author Nick Hornby. So I got very literary on this one.
This song might sound a little too peppy to be on a soundtrack for Fahrenheit 451, but can imagine it being really cool in a movie for the scene, especially since I see Clarisse as being a soft but strong character.
And I'm also going to do 'Til We Read Again's And The Nominees Are challenge.
Favorite Female Character in a book: Marian Halcombe from the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Favorite Male Character in a book: Henry DeTamble from The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Favorite Side Kick in a book: I really like Dick in High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, is he a sidekick? Favorite Couple in a Book: Jane and Rochester in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Favorite Book Series: Right now probably The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen Favorite Author: As far as authors I have read multiple books by... I'd probably have to say Virginia Woolf Favorite Book Cover: I really like the cover of The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova Favorite Book of 2009: Middlemarch by George Eliot, which is a book I read in 2009
And lastly, I'll do a kick rundown: Title of book(s) read since last update: Fahrentheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Number of books read since you started: 1 Pages read since last update: 179 Running total of pages read since you started: 179 Amount of time spent reading since last update: 3.5 Running total of time spent reading since you started: 3.5 Mini-challenges completed: Miss Remmers' Kick-off Challenge, I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read's Soundtrack Challenge, and 'Til We Read Again's And The Nominees Are challenge.
I felt like posting today, but really had nothing to post since I'm a bit defunct right now and I'm trying to save up reviews for when I get back in school. I saw this post at Books and Movies this week and decided to do this myself!
Book next to your bed right now:Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine, Armadale by Wilki Collins, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Favorite series: Recently my favorite series is probably The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen. Otherwise probably Harry Potter. Favorite book:Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Middlemarch by George Eliot, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. The one book you would have with you if stranded on a desert island: Right now I'd say Shirley by Charlotte Bronte as it is quite long and I have yet to read it. Book/series you would take with you on a long flight: Well I just went on a fairly short flight and I took The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen on my flight in (great plane reading!) and I took The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (not so great plane reading, but still enjoyable). If I were going on another flight tomorrow I would take Just Kids by Patti Smith. I just got it and after listening to her on Bookworm with Michael Silverblatt I'm really excited to read it. Worst book you were made to read in school: No contest: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. That book made me question my love of reading. Book that everyone should be made to read in school:The Stranger by Albert Camus. Book that everyone should read, period:The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Favorite character: Mr. Rochester. Best villain: Count Fosco in The Woman in White. Favorite concept series: I'll tell you as soon as you tell me what a concept series is. Favorite invented world: I'm not sure if it's really an invented world but it's definitely a different world. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. Most beautifully written book:The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Funniest book:Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float was hilarious.
Top Ten Tuesday is a new meme at The Broke and Bookish. This week's top ten is top ten desert island picks, or what books would you take if you were stranded on a desert island.
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I've read this book three times and I could read again and again never getting sick of it. Definitely desert island worthy. (I'd actually bring the illustrated version with pictures by Dame Darcy) 2. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I love this and I think it'd be nice to have at least one graphic novel with my while I was stranded, in case I decided to start drawing in a cave or something. 3. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. This collection isn't my favorite by Klosterman but it is hilarious and I know I'd be laughing out loud the whole time I was reading it, which I'd probably need if I was stranded. I mean, who else is going to make me laugh? Plus my copy is signed, so if I crazed Klosterman fan with a boat appeared I might be able to use it to barter. 4. The Next American Essay Ed. by John D'Agata. I've actually had to read several selections from this for two classes but there is so much to explore in it. It's a whopper of essays, some I love, some I hate, and all of them I'd like to get to know better. 5. Middlemarch by George Eliot. This novel is huge and I read it last fall for a class. I loved the book then, but since I was reading so many other things for school I don't think I really gave it the attention it deserved. 6. Notes From No Man's Land by Eula Biss. Favorite essay collection. Ever. Will read it until I die. 7. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. I figure a lot of her poems are about being alone so maybe I'd find some solace in this book. 8. Moments of Being by Virginia Woolf. I have read a lot of Woolf but for me nothing is better than her autobiographical works. 9. Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby. I haven't actually read this but I'm a huge fan of Nick Hornby and his (returned!) column. He always delivers laughs and deep thinking so I'm sure I would enjoy this one. 10. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Okay, I really gave a lot of thought to this one, but it's so romantic and depressing I think I'd just have to take it with me. You know something to keep you one your toes on a desert island. Besides snakes and sharks and the like.
So what would you pick? Join in at The Broke and Bookish!
I've been thinking a lot lately about being embarrassed about reading certain books. I'm definitely guilty of it, and it seems like there are times and places where I'm okay with reading different things. When I'm at work I don't care if I'm reading The Luxe or some other hardly literary book. I don't think I would feel comfortable reading that in the English Philosophy building, although things are starting to change for me with reading. Since I've started this blog I've started to care less about only reading great literature and care more about just reading. When I was a kid I read nonstop because I loved stories, not because I wanted everyone to think I was super smart and cool. I do miss the days in elementary school when reading was the cool thing to do though.
Maybe part of the change has been my job tutoring. When I pick books for the kids I don't necessarily pick books that are going to expand their mind, but I pick books that I know they will be interested in. That's the best way to expand their minds right? So what's wrong with reading The Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron or The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen.
I was really ashamed last year by how little I was reading. Second semester I read a lot, but they were all books for class. When I look back at the books I tried to read during the semester it doesn't surprise me that I didn't finish many. How was I supposed to pay attention to a book that took me 2 minutes per page when I was exhausted from school and work? I've definitely changed my reading habits this semester. I am reading a lot of books, and I'm interested in all of them. They might be a little silly sometimes, but I don't watch a lot of television and that is what most people do to relax from homework.
I love to do analysis of literature, I'll admit it. I love reading novels by Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf, and George Eliot. Part of me thinks that if I read only these books though my brain will just fry itself. I was so worn out after reading Middlemarch that I just had to escape into something else for awhile. Something simpler, but not bad. I can't read a bad book, I just can't do it. And plot is usually not enough to get me through a book, I have to fall in love with the characters.
This week's Booking Through Thursday is all of these questions!
1. Favorite childhood book? Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes was my favorite picture book. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery was my favorite chapter bok.
2. What are you reading right now? In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Best American Essays 2008, and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.
3. What books do you have on request at the library? Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion.
4. Bad book habit? Putting them down on the table with the spine up.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? The Catcher in the Rye, About a Mountain by John D'Agata, Sleeping Naked is Green by Vanessa Farguharson, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
6. Do you have an e-reader? Yes, I have a nook.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? Several, although lately I've been focusing more on one at a time.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? Oh yeah, I read a lot more and I'm more conscious about what I think while I'm reading.
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?) The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year? Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? Not very often.
12. What is your reading comfort zone? Genres I know I can count on like literary nonfiction, graphic novels, young adult series, and classics.
13. Can you read on the bus? Yeah I do it all the time.
14. Favorite place to read? Outside as long as I don't have the sun to my back.
15. What is your policy on book lending? I'll lend to anyone I'm friends with.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books? I used to but now I use bookmarks and sticky notes.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? Often.
18. Not even with text books? Still do it here.
19. What is your favorite language to read in? English though I can read some French.
20. What makes you love a book? Strong female characters, strong characters of any kind, detailed description but not flowery language.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? If I come away from a book thinking it either changed the way I look at something or helped me learn a lot about a subject or life.
22. Favorite genre? Literary nonfiction.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?) Current literary fiction.
24. Favorite biography? Wild Child: Life with Jim Morrison by Linda Ashcroft.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book? I've read fitness walking books and study books.
26. Favorite cookbook? Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
28. Favorite reading snack? Popcorn or oranges.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I think I expected too much from it.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book? Depends on the critic. I usually agree with book reviews from the Believer. Bookmarks is more touch and go.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I feel that I always give reasons for why I don't like a book so I don't mind giving negative reviews. I try to find something good even in books I dont like.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose? Dutch.
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? Middlemarch by George Eliot.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin? Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
35. Favorite Poet? Emily Dickinson.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time? I didn't have a library card until last week (I know, I know!) but including the university library I would say about 3 or 4.
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread? Frequently when I was younger, which is why I didn't get a library card again until last week.
38. Favorite fictional character? I have way too many! One I always remember fondly is Marcus in About a Boy by Nick Hornby.
39. Favorite fictional villain? Lydia Gwilt from Armadale by Wilkie Collins.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? Some literary nonfiction and historical fiction.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading. Three or four months probably.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish. Most recently I have been very challenged by Surviving Paradise. Not sure if I'll finish it or not.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? Noise, other conversations, my own nagging thoughts.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel? Jane Eyre! The PBS version.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation? I wasn't too fond of The Lightning Thief.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time? Oh boy, no clue. Definitely upwards $150 dollars.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it? Not that often, surprisingly.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through? Boring plot.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized? I like to keep them on shelves, but in no particular order.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? I prefer to keep them.
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? Gone With the Wind, even though I said I'd read it by the end of the summer.
52. Name a book that made you angry. I can name an essay that made me angry. Ticket to the Fair by David Foster Wallace.
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did? I wasn't sure if I'd like Candy Girl by Diablo Cody and really enjoyed it.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t? Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading? The Luxe series.
I spent the majority of my time reading this week, but I lost some steam towards the end. I finished Sandra Gulland's The Last Great Dance on Earth, George Eliot's Middlemarch, and Syrie James' The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte. Click on the titles of the books to read my reviews.
I read all of those while I was still at school, and once Thanksgiving came I got busy with other things. I have started Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Thomas Kohnstamm's Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? So far I am really enjoying the former and not enjoying the latter. Hopefully I will finish both of those this week. I would also like to start The White Garden by Stephanie Barron.
The next two weeks are going to be pretty awful for me because I have three papers to write and a creative writing portfolio due. On the bright side, I am approaching this in a good way, at least I think so. I am going to spend one hour on each thing every night. I think this will work because the easiest ones are due first and the hardest ones are due last, so I should spend the right amount of time on every one. The other good thing about this is that four hours of homework is the last amount of homework I've had all semester. Hurrah!
I just got back to my dorm room now and I am amazingly relieved to be in it. I wasn't looking forward to coming back because I have so much work to get done. Now that I'm back I know I will be able to focus.
Last by not least, I am going to take a homework break next week and participate in Dreadlock Girl's Readathon. It is Saturday, December 5, and if anyone else would like to spend a day reading I suggest you join too!
1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy I'm going to have to agree with Jamie on this one, this ginormous doorstop is the book I am most scared of. I don't really have plans of reading it right now. 2. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray I've had this book for about four years and have never gotten around to reading it. It's so long and the language makes me a little sleepy. 3. Middlemarch by George Eliot I had to read this multi-plot 800+ page novel for a Victorian literature class and was terrified to start it. I'm so glad I read it though because it turned out to be one of my favorite books. 4. Speak, Memory by Vladmir Nabokov I wasn't terrified of Lolita when I read it, but the experience of reading it has me afraid of Speak, Memory, Nabokov's autobiography. I read a selection from it for a writing class and was a little dense about some of the imagery. I think I would be able to tackle something like this in a group of people who could talk it out with me. 5. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust Proust, need I say more? 6. Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence I've wanted to read something by Lawrence ever since I read How to Read Literature Like a Professor, but I think the book kind of scared me of it at the same time. 7. The Shining by Stephen King I don't read scary books and I've never read anything by Stephen King. Every time I think about this book I think of when Rachel was reading it on Friends and how freaked out she got. I get scared fairly easily so I'm sure I would too. 8. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris This is basically for the same reasons as number seven, except for I've seen the movie of this and I was terrified for months afterward. 9. The Waves by Virginia Woolf I'm running out of stuff to read by Woolf, but this one I just keep putting off. My professor went into detail about what a challenging book it is and I just don't think I'm ready for it. 10. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez I know a lot of people who loved this and a lot of people who hated it. I know it will be challenging but I also feel like I should read it.
Have you read any of these? Join in the fun or check out other lists at The Broke and Bookish.
My tumble down the stairs last week required me to go to parents over the weekend; therefore, I didn't get as much reading done as I had planned. That being said, here is what I'm reading right now and what I plan to read this week. J.Kaye's Book Blog is the source of my What I'm Reading Mondays is J.Kaye's Book Blog.
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere
by Jan Morris. I am finishing this book today for my travel writing class. The first half was not what I expected at all but I'm enjoying the second half more. It is about the city of Trieste which is in Italy (although it is unknown by most Italians).
A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett is my first book for Shelf Discovery. I wanted to finish it over the weekend but it just didn't happen. I am enjoying it though. I grew up watching the movie and it is similar but the differences really change the way you understand the story.
I am embarking on a journey with George Eliot's Middlemarch starting today. It will be a very long journey, but I am looking forward to it.
I'm planning on reading The Lover
by Marguerite Duras later this week for the November Novella Challenge. I started this book once before and didn't finish it, even though I really liked it. So hopefully that will get done this week.
