Books for 2012

*Updated 1/31. A bit less ambitious, but a bit less terrifying ;)

I've decided to make a list of all the books I want to read this year. I think this is the first time I've ever done this, surprisingly enough. I'm going to see if I can do 20. I bet I could do more, but I'd rather start low and do better ;)

So here it is, in no particular order:

-The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (gotta reread it before the movie!)

-Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

-The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

-The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins (that counts for three!)

-Emma by Jane Austen (possibly the only Austen I haven't read)

-One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

-Moby Dick by Herman Melville

-Prodigal God by Tim Keller

-Middlemarch by George Eliot (I loved this book in college, and now can't remember anything about it)

-The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

-A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

-The Shack by William Young

-Dracula by Bram Stoker (it's been on my bookshelf for a couple of years now. Got it at a garage sale for fifty cents. Might as well...)

-Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne

-Travelling Mercies by Anne Lamott

-Atonement by Ian McEwan

-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (because I've never read it and that's weird)

-My Name is Hope by John Mark Comer

Ambitious, right? I'll always be an English major in my heart.

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.