Gone With the Wind

I finished Gone With the Wind today. What an amazing book. I'd seen the movie many times, so I knew the story well, but reading the book gave me such greater insight into the background and history of why everyone hated Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. I will admit that many times over the past few weeks, I've said aloud to my roommate - 'I want to marry Rhett Butler.'

Here's why - he loves Scarlett despite herself. And she's no great prize. She's stubborn and arrogant and mean. She marries men for every reason but love, but he tells her that he wants her more than he's ever wanted anything. I laughed, I cried, I looked up Civil War history. I will say that growing up in North Carolina, I know a lot about the Civil War and I'm not ignorant enough to believe that it was purely over slavery like so many in our country still believe. If you are interested in learning more about the Civil War and hearing it from the Confederate side, this is the book for you. I just think that seeing it all through the eyes of Scarlett and Rhett taught me a lot about love and motives and mostly about loving people in spite of their weakness.

If you haven't read it, get it and read it ASAP. I cannot recommend it enough.

David Copperfield - the book, not the magician.

A few years ago when I was studying abroad in England, David Copperfield was on my list of books to read in my Victorian Literature class. As I never received the book list before the first day of class, I missed out on reading David Copperfield. I read all of the other books for class - there were about 6 of them if I remember correctly and all 808 pages of David Copperfield were banished to my bookshelf for the next 5 years. This year I made a goal to read it along with some other books that had been sitting on my shelf for way too long. I really loved the story and to be honest, after reading a book every day for almost 4 months, I felt like I was losing a friend when the last page rolled around. I have to say though - it put me to sleep almost every time I read it. So yeah - not a page turner, but if you're into the classics, give this one a try.

Are you There God? It's Me, Stephanie

I saw this book on the Time's All Time 100 Novels list a few months ago, so I "mooched" it and within a few days, it was in my hands. It only took me a few days of light reading to get through and I have to say that maybe I'm just not 11 anymore and so I'm not sure what exactly about this novel helped it make the list. I do understand that it was probably the first of its kind and that no tween books had been written before to help a girl realistically understand their soon-to-be pubescent life. That's all I'm really going to say about it because I'm sure that most of you have read it and if you haven't by this point in your life, let's be honest. There are better books out there. Don't get me wrong. I just would rather spend my time reading books about something that I maybe relate to at this point in my life.

Tuesdays with Morrie

I'm a little late in reading this book, but better late than never, right? I found it at Goodwill a few months ago and while I don't think it quite lived up to its hype, I still cried at the end. I did appreciate the lessons that the book taught, i.e. that most of us don't take full advantage of the life that we've been given until its too late. Very insightful and it was a nice, easy read.

Now back to "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" by Italo Calvino...I needed a bit of a break.

The Undomestic Goddess

After reading Madame Curie last week, I was ready to read something mindless. Reading about Marie Curie was interesting and motivating for sure, but I heck...I was going on a relaxing weekend vacation and I wanted something easy. Sophie Kinsella is the author of some other books I'd heard of, so I thought I'd give it a go.

So...if you're expecting some insightful review here, just quit reading and get back to work, because it was just a cute, fun book. Samantha is a workaholic lawyer in London who makes a big mistake at work, runs away and finds herself as a housekeeper in the country before she knows it (and like all Chick Lit, finds love along the way). Honestly, if you're going on vacation before the summer ends, pick it up. Its all about being happy by your own standards instead of the world's. And who can't say "amen" to that?

Happy Monday, everyone.

PS - I'll be blogging about my weekend soon, so stay tuned.

Marie Curie

Early this morning I finished a book that I had been reading for a few weeks called Madame Curie. A friend of mine told me about the book a few months ago and days later, my Grandmother started telling me about the same book; how it was her very favorite book. Since I trust the opinions of these two women, I decided to check it out. I got the book (for free so that I didn't break the promise I made myself) from bookmooch and started reading it. Her work ethic is the most impressive thing about this woman. Sure, she's smart, but holy cow. She lived her entire life overworked and underfed by choice; just because she loved science and all that it offered her. Another amazing thing about the book is that it was written by her daughter, Eve. What an honorable way to have a biography written; by someone who loves and respects you. Marie Curie is the only person to have received 2 Nobel Prizes in different sciences (1 in physics, the other in chemistry), and she discovered Radium which has helped in the fight against cancer since the beginning of this century. Definitely a woman worth knowing more about. I think we could all use a little dose of her work ethic and her ability to serve those around her. The love that she had for her husband is touching; I'll even admit that I cried a bit while reading it. Definitely didn't expect that. So yea. Go read it.

Howard's End & Never Let Me GO

For some reason, I've really been into reading lately. Maybe its because of my resolution to not buy any new books until I finish the ones I have. In the past week, I've been able to cross two of the books off of my list.
I read Howard's End by E.M. Forster first. This book was written at the beginning of the 20th Century and it was definitely one of those books that even though it took me a while to get through, I wasn't completely gripped. I didn't really care what happened to all the characters; I just wanted the story to end. Don't get me wrong; it wasn't that I didn't like the story. It was very complex and interesting. I just didn't relate in any way. I guess I'm realizing more and more that my criteria for really enjoying a book is the following:
1. I must relate to it in some way.
2. I have to learn an important lesson.
3. I must laugh and/or cry.
Not all of these things must be present, but at least one of them has to be if I'm going to really enjoy a book. As far as Howard's End is concerned, it is really a commentary on hypocrisy among the bourgeoisie in British society at the time it was written. Considering that I didn't live in the UK then and I don't know a whole lot about what was going on at the time: Bo-ring. If you want to see a plot summary, click here.
I did watch the movie though with Roommate and it was beautifully made. It won some Academy Awards, so if you haven't seen it and you don't mind semi-depressing British novels, check it out. :) Based on my newly-developed rating system, I give it 1 of 4 stars. I can't give it a 0 of 3 because I didn't hate it. I just didn't like it. Only my opinion though; maybe you will.

Moving on.

The next book I read is called "Never Let Me Go" and its written by Kazuo Ishiguro who is also a British author. The story is quite different from the previous novel and while I don't want to give away too information since the real story is revealed chapter by chapter, I'll tell you that there are major science fiction undertones, but written like your average novel about normal things.
It was heartbreaking, but I didn't cry. It just made me sad. Sad in a way that I didn't expect, but I felt more void of hope for the characters than I have in any other novel that I've ever read. 3 of 4 stars. Read it. What if this is what our world came to? Terrifying.

Bookworm

So last night, I took Roommate with me to the East Bay to a little Goodbye party for my friend Erin. Erin just graduated with her Masters degree in Marriage & Family Therapy, but has decided to take a break for a while and be a river guide on the American river this summer in Auburn. Sounds like a great idea to me! Might as well avoid adulthood as long as possible, right?
Well, on the way over to San Ramon, Roommate and I started talking about books and how much we love them. How we can't fathom how anyone could hate reading. I mean...I was an English literature major in college, so its no big surprise that I feel the way I do. Roommate was/is an Illustrator (which I guess is still artsy) so I was semi surprised. It was a breath of fresh air to be able to talk to someone who is as passionate about books as I am. I dated a guy once who saw a shelf full of books in my room and said "Wow; I don't think I've read that many books in my entire life." My response was "Umm..those are the books I've read just this semester." Yeah...big surprise that one didn't work out.
One of my favorite things EVER is to talk to people about books. I love recommending books to people and hearing what they thought of them. (Which reminds me...Mom, have you read that book that I let you borrow yet? Quit making excuses and read it!) So at the very bottom of the sidebar, I'm going to start my list of book recommendations. Instead of you emailing me, asking me what books you should read next, reference my list. If you want a more detailed explanation of the books on the list or want a list of books that I have read and hated, I guess you'll still have to email me. Oh...AND if you want to email me with books that you absolutely loved, maybe I'll make a list for that too. I LOVE book recommendations, so email away, friends!

Finally Finished

I decided to finish my book today when I got home from work. This book was written in 1899 and based on the period in which it was published, I'm surprised that it became as popular as it did. The main issue of the book is the liberation of women and how the main character resists to conform to the norms of society. And if that doesn't make you excited to read this book, I don't know what could. ha. Its a bittersweet love story and since I'm a bit of a conservative feminist, I thought it was an easy and enjoyable read.

London is the Best City in America

Today I finished the book "London is the Best City in America" by Laura Dave. I loved the last book that I read, but this one may be my favorite of the year so far. (And as an FYI, after I finish my next book, I'll be able to mark something off of my new years resolutions list.)
Even halfway into the book, I wasn't quite sure where the author was going with the characters. She held my attention right until the end and the overall message still has me thinking. Here is my favorite part of the book; the part that really drives it home.

"When you were little, you were always saying that Josh got to make all the choices because he was older. 'Why does he get to make all the decisions around here, Mom?' you'd say. 'How is that fair?' So for your seventh birthday, your father said you could pick where we went on the summer trip. You could pick any city in America as far away as Seattle, as close as Manhattan. You know which city you picked?"
I knew it without her even saying that much. I'd always known it, and I was starting to understand something else too--where she was going with this. What I wouldn't allow myself to see before now.
"London," I said.
"London," she repeated. "And the thing was, it didn't matter how many times I told you that we weren't paying for four plane tickets to London. That a driving trip was the only option. It was like you couldn't see anything else. And when even Dad took out that map and tried to explain to you that London wasn't even in America, you just kept arguing with him. "But I want to go to London. It's the best city in America. I'll only go there.' For weeks around here. You were like a broken record."
"Where did we end up going instead that year?" I said, trying to remember. I couldn't recall it.
"Hershey, Pennsylvania...which you loved. You turned to your father the very first day there and said , 'Dad, I think Hershey, Pennsylvania, is even better than London would have been.'"
Hershey. All I could visualize with any certainty was the car ride up there, sitting behind my father in the backseat, staring sullenly at the back of his head. "Really? I said that?"
"No." She shook her head. "You complained the entire time. 'This restaurant isn't London. This candy store isn't London. Over here, this isn't London either.'"
"How can I not remember?"
She shrugged, picking up her fork again, fixing a bite for me this time. "You were too busy complaining."
...
But she didn't reach for my hand, or lean farther forward so she could touch my face. She just shrugged, "What happened the day I met your father," she said, "is that you have to choose. For better or for worse. You have to choose what your life is going to look like."
I tried to swallow, tried to think of what I wanted to say, what I was really thinking. "I just don't feel like I have good choices yet," I said. "It makes it hard to give up the old ones."
She waved me off. "Well. You're behind all that anyway," she said. "You're still stuck on the same part you were stuck on at seven."
"What part is that?"
"The part where you need to choose among the choices that are there, and not the ones that aren't anymore. At least not how you need them to be. You're still suck on some imaginary idea you have of how it could have been. You need to think about how it is now. And how you want it to be."

Wow. Talk about some good advice. LOVED this book. Get a copy or borrow mine today.

UPDATE: Just found out that this book is going to be a movie starring the ever lovely Reese Witherspoon. I'm getting giddy just thinking about how amazing that could be. :)

Book Review: Briar Rose

Last night I finished reading Briar Rose by Robert Coover. I didn't really get it through most of the book until I got to the end and realized that the entire was Postmodern. To get more details on what Postmodernism really is, click here. Because of this, it was frustrating and enlightening. The whole book is from the view point of Sleeping Beauty and what she dreams her prince will be like when he finally comes to her rescue. As a child, Sleeping Beauty was my favorite Disney movie, but I'd have to say that this book definitely wasn't my favorite. Reading something that is never definitive can be very frustrating to say the least.