I made a goal to read all of those books you were supposed to have read in high school. In a shocking turn of events, all of them are awesome! I adored The Great Gatsby (and semi-autobiographical Tender is the Night), Persuasion (and the slew of other Austen books), Crime and Punishment (bonus two paragraph bio on Dostoyevsky whose father was killed by serfs pouring vodka down his throat), Sherlock Holmes, Narnia, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre (those Bronte sisters are crazy!!), Gone with the Wind, Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Letter (bonus: James’ literary notes in the margin…love stealing all these books from home)…. Sad to say I couldn’t finish Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Of course, I start feeling good about myself and am reminded that I also read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants last year. And that The Hunger Games led to my month obsession with a fictional character (is it my fault that Peeta is the perfect man?). Also note that as I finished Mockingjay and brought it to my roommate to read, she said “were you crying” and I said “yes! I hate this book” and flung it in her direction. I felt the same way about Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but still managed to read the second one in the series and share idiotic details about it to my roommate as she was driving on our road trip home from Savannah. She asked me to stop sharing.
All of this pales to a few days after the Bar exam when I was flying to China and decided to begin reading the final installment of the exciting Twilight Saga as I waited for my plane to arrive. While deeply engulfed in the wedding scene of Breaking Dawn I found it odd that no one had boarded yet. Then they said my name over the speaker and I went to go see what was up and they said “so…do you want to board the plane?” and I realized that even though I was sitting 15 feet away I had missed an entire plane boarding. And thus we see how Twilight almost made me miss my trip to China.
In summary: I encourage you to discover the beautiful world of classic literature. Also, is Harry Potter considered a classic yet?
harry potter is definitely a classic. Good job reading all the other classics, what a great goal.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Rachel. I just finished reading "Persuasion" a few days ago and I really liked it, too. BYU is doing a stage adaptation of it in a few months, and since I've liked other plays by this playwright, I thought I'd find out if I like Austen's version first. Anyway . . . glad you've enjoyed your journey into the classics. And there's nothing wrong with being a fan of Peeta. :)
ReplyDeleteMy goal is far from over! Next up: War and Peace. I am scared.
ReplyDeleteYay for reading great books! I struggled through Portrait of the Artist and if it had not been required reading, it would have ended up in the trash can. Jane Eyre was my favorite book growing up. I'm impressed with you and all your crazy reading:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list of books. I have to stick with books on tape as I drive. If you need any more books from here, let me know and I will ship them. Also: Plastics pictures, please.
ReplyDeleteWar and peace is amazing, no need to fear. One of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI wrote notes in The Scarlet Letter? I'm pretty sure I didn't actually read a single assigned book in high school, so this is unlikely.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a copy of The Hunger Games I can borrow? I'm on a waiting list of about 55 at the library...
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