Adventures in Reading: "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexadre Dumas

Sorry for the long break, ya'll, but I was reading a big ol' book.

The Count of Monte Cristo. Such a good movie!

But how many people do you know who have actually read the book?

(The abridged version doesn't count here, people.)

Well, I may now join their ranks! As you may recall, my former roommate and dear friend was concerned by the odd pattern my reading life had taken on in terms of suicidal characters, so I was instructed to read "The Count".

At first, I was genuinely a bit nervous. The last classic "tome" I had read was just...the pits. And this book was almost 500 pages longer! The thing is, "The Count of Monte Cristo" is so good!

I have really liked the Jim Caviezel movie version of this book since it came out. The movie does follow the book to some extent, but at one point while reading, I had to let go of any expectations that they were really the same story overall. I think of them as two different stories.

I loved reading this book. So much so, that I actually stopped reading it for a few days toward the end because I didn't want it to be over. It's well-written and engaging and kept me interested for several weeks.

Oh...and there was one suicide, which gave me a very odd sense of satisfaction. I won't gloat for too long though, friend ;)

Live!

I will not die an unlived life.

I will not live in fear

of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days,

to allow my living to open me,

to make me less afraid,

more accessible;

to loosen my heart

until it becomes a wing,

a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance,

to live so that which came to me as seed

goes to the next as blossom,

and that which came to me as blossom,

goes on as fruit.

-- Dawn Markova

NaNoWriMo 2:Electric Boogaloo

It's NaNoWriMo Eve!

Honestly, it's not even my goal to write a whole novel this year. I just want to spend more time on writing. So here's to some motivation without the pressure.

Adventures in Reading: "The Last Dickens" By Matthew Pearl

I'm not actually going to say a whole lot about this book. It was a fairly light, intriguing historical fiction mystery, similar to the other Pearl book I read. It was entertaining, and I think it cost me less than $5 thanks to Borders going out of business.

If you like historical fiction, you'll probably like this!

Adventures in Reading: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

It's such a well known reference that I really don't even need to expand on what the story is about. And I think that's what fascinates me so much about it.

The story is short and simple, yet it has become a prominent and ubiquitous symbol of the good and evil resident in each of us. I realize that this is not the only story to discuss similar ideas, but it is one of the few that has stuck so soundly to the conscious of our culture that almost anyone would understand the reference if it were mentioned.

Isn't that amazing? 125 year after that story was published, we're still talking about it. It is engrained in our cultural dialogue.

On some level, I think this is what all writers are striving toward: creating something that is enduring and relevant. Finding a way to express something within us that is universal.

Oh...Hello there!

Well hello, blog! Long time no...anything.

Seeing as this is the first post I've made in about four months, you would think I would have a LOT to say about all the reading and writing I've been up to. Well, you would be mistaken.

For several reasons, I haven't actually done much reading or writing during my blog absence. That seems really strange to me, but when I look back at the last few months, life has been FULL! I actually have been reading during this time, but it has all been rereading, so there isn't really much to say about it. As for writing...after I found out that I would not be going to grad school this fall, I just didn't feel much like working on anything. I have been feeling much more inspired to start again, though, so hopefully that will see some fruition in the near future.

I believe the pace of life has begun to slow down a bit again, and with that, my desire to read and write are picking back up.

So, since Borders is going out of business (boo!), I now have a lovely little stack of books to get through (yay!), which means that I should be updating this little online archive a bit more often. Hope to talk with you again, SOON, blog :)

Oh, and about "The Count of Monte Cristo"...my former roommate noticed the strange pattern that every book I had read since moving into my then-new house had something to do with suicide. He thought I needed a break from that, so he recommended his favorite book, which he promised was suicide-free. Unfortunately, the library needed it back before I could get very far into it. Luckily for me, though, I found an inexpensive copy and plan to pick that back up fairly soon.

Another tome...

For reasons I will explain in a later post, my roommate got to pick the next book I would read after "Ethan Frome". So I am currently reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. Since the book is 1,462 pages long, I obviously won't be posting about it for a while.

Hopefully I'll come up with some things to write about in the interim. Otherwise, it's going to be a while...

Adventures in Reading: "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton

I really loved "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. A reference to "Ethan Frome" by my high school English teacher is actually the first I ever heard of Wharton, and for some reason it stuck with me. When I was wandering around the library a week or so ago and came across "Ethan Frome" on the shelf, I knew it was finally time.

Wharton's writing is just perfect. "Ethan Frome" is very short, about one hundred pages, so it could be considered more of a long short story than a novel, I suppose. And in my opinion, those are much more difficult to write. A short story writer must craft a story that is engaging and compelling, while being concise and to-the-point at the same time. Anyway...

"Ethan Frome" is the story of the title character, and how he came to be the broken man he is at the beginning of the story. The bulk of the story is told through a flashback, and recounts the tragic romance between Frome and his wife's cousin Mattie. Wharton's description of the tension and anticipation between all of the characters and the dynamics the contribute to their circumstances is spot on, and makes the entire story move at a steady pace.

Since the story is so short, I don't want to say too much about it as to give anything away, but I would definitely recommend this one. It will only take a couple of hours to read, and it's well worth it.

Adventures in Reading: "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" By Junot Diaz

I've tried to write this post three or four times now. I'm not sure why it's taking me so long. Anyway...

This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. I mean, if that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is. I was also told by several people that I had to read it, and I think I actually boxed out a librarian in order to check it out. And it didn't disappoint. It's vivid and heartbreaking and funny and disturbing. Never boring.

The story of Oscar is told by an unnamed narrator who we eventually learn is a character in the story. The narration is deceptively casual, using slang (a lot of which is in spanish), footnotes and references to science fiction and fantasy literature. However, despite the informal feeling of the narration, the story is tight and rarely dull or dragging.

The book is broken up into several parts which focus on Oscar, his sister or his mother, and how their stories weave together. Their stories are heavily influenced by their Dominican heritage, and their family's belief that they live under a curse. Because of the skipping around between characters, there tend to be gaps in the story, though these are mostly filled in by the end. You have to focus on each individual story as it's told and trust that the narrator will give you the whole story by the end.

There is also quite a bit of Dominican history scattered throughout the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It's not always an easy read, both because of content and structure, but it's definitely worth the time and effort.

** I feel like this post is missing something, but I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe that's why it's taken me so long to actually write this post. I probably waited too long between finishing the book and sitting down to type this. If I come up with some sort of epiphany about what else I need to say about it, I'll come back and edit it.

A Prayer

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of my enemy. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

- Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

Adventures in Reading: "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

I wish books didn't make me feel so woozy.

This book was not always easy to get through. The writing is engaging and honest. The content is heavy. And toward the end there's a lot of blood, which caused some serious flashbacks and unwanted fainty feelings. Ugh.

However, I think the thing that I enjoy most about the book is its truth. Not only is the story itself fairly autobiographical, but the sense of suffocating in the open air, the internal disconnect, the fear of not being able to trust your own mind...these are things that real people struggle with every day. There were times when I was frustrated during this book, when I felt the hopelessness of Esther Greenwood and, like her, just wanted it to end. Whether this effect was intended by the author or not, I can't say. But looking back, I would say that the tension created by this feeling makes the novel even more believable and worthwhile in the end.

Despite her gradual breakdown, I love that Esther never sounds insane. As a narrator, she is trustworthy, and this is what allows the novel to function. I understand why this book is essentially a classic. It speaks to the place in all of us that is broken and unsure and searching.

And now, I'll leave you with my favorite passage:

"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story.

From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and other fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out.

I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, staring to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinke and go black, and one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet."

Oh and also this part:

"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart.

I am. I am. I am."

No time!

I have three books sitting on my couch. I want to read all of them. I'm also right in the middle of moving. Well, let's be honest: I'm right at the end of moving, which means my life is in a state complete chaos for the next four days.

So, I will continue to read "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath as often as I have time (aka, probably not again until Tuesday), and I will wait as patiently as possible to get to my other books as soon as this is all over.

I hate moving packing.

Motto

"If you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done."

That's my motto for 2011. My main areas of focus are really letting God control my life, and being financially independent. So far, I'm off to a good start.

Big step

I just submitted (and paid for) my application to graduate school. All that's left to do is finish editing my writing sample and send that in. Oh, and cross my fingers that my transcripts and letters of recommendation get in on time.

Feeling excited, relieved, nervous....

I'll keep you posted!