Pride and Prejudice - Quarter way through!

It may seem like I hate this book because I haven't written in so long and now that I do I am only a quarter of the way through, but it is actually one of my favorites so far. Life is betting busier with the holiday season and there seems to be less and less time to curl up by the fire with a mug of tea and a good book.

The thing that I love so much about this book is that it is light-hearted and funny. So many of the other books on the list are so deep and take forever to be interested in. This one had my attention from the very first (and very famous) line : It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. What a loaded statement!

I liked the discussion about the difference between pride and vanity. So often those two words are used to mean the same thing when in fact they are quite different. Many times I feel like pride is a negative attribute and something that should be hidden if it be felt, however the way it is explained make me want to seek out those things that make me feel pride. Its not a pompous or boastful thing, it is something to be recognized and praised.

And of course I am enthralled by the way in which Austen writes. I am not even trying to hold back in thinking the same way she writes. Hopefully this weekend will allow for some time to be spent reading.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This is more my speed for the month of December. I have loved Jane Austen movies since I can remember so I am assuming I will thoroughly love this book (book are always better than the movies, right??). The only downside to reading books from this era is that I start speaking like the characters and everyone I encounter thinks I'm a wacko. All worth it! Here's the summary:

Next to the exhortation at the beginning of Moby-Dick, "Call me Ishmael," the first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice must be among the most quoted in literature. And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground.

Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree.

Super excited about this one!

The Fountainhead Interrupted

I tried many many times to get into this book but my brain would not have it. I must have read the first chapter eight times and every time I was finished I could not remember what had happened. Rather than suffering through another attempt I am going to put it back on the shelf and save for another, more studious day. I think that I have been reading too many books from a male point of view so I think I need to switch it up and read a more female book. So round one, Fountainhead has won.

The Foutainhead by Ayn Rand

Yikes! This is going to be a doozie! Longest book that I am atempting thus far so I am praying that its interesting.

Here is the very vague summary:

The Fountainhead has become an enduring piece of literature, more popular now than when published in 1943. On the surface, it is a story of one man, Howard Roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, Peter Keating, and a newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey. But the book addresses a number of universal themes: the strength of the individual, the tug between good and evil, the threat of fascism. The confrontation of those themes, along with the amazing stroke of Rand's writing, combine to give this book its enduring influence.



Here we go!



Brave New World - Finished!

What an amazing book! I absolutely loved it!

Vocabulary:
Sepulchral: this word wasn't in the dictionary so I think that maybe Huxley made this word up.
Magnanimity: generosity

My favorite passage of the book is this:
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
For some reason this passage really moved me.

I am on board with John Savage in terms of how struggle, misery, and strife shape a person's life. Its a little scary to think about how the world today seems to be on the path towards being more like the 'civilized world'. These days, many unpleasantness can be avoided quite easily. The requirement for people these days to struggle is fading away. We can hire people to do our housework, start our cars from inside the house so that its warm when we get in, take a pill to get all our vitamins, drink a fancy cocktail to forget about our stresses. So much pain and stress can be surpassed just by using modern day technology. It seems like Huxley's book was a warning to society to stay authentic, to feel every emotion, a warning that society obvious has not headed to.

I think that the lesson in this book was to appreciate the fact that we can make our own choices. Not all of them will be brilliant decisions but they are what makes us human. Life is meant to be lived and although it may seem tempting to live without all things unpleasant, it would be a false life.

Brave New World - Half way through!

I still a little unsure about this book, Sci-Fi has never been my thing. But it is definitely interesting and new to me.

Vocabulary:

Pneumatic -

1. Of or relating to air or other gases.

2. Of or relating to pneumatics.

Galvantic: Of or relating to direct-current electricity, especially when produced chemically.

I laughed when Bernard was pondering the "black two-in-one" on his neighbours face, meaning a uni-brow. I thought that it was such a funny name for a uni-brow and that Bernard was so put off by it.

I wish I knew if the Malpais Huxley is talking about is Malpais, Costa Rica. It would be cool because thats where I'm planning my 2011 vacation.

Back to reading!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Since Dracula was such a long book I chose the shortest of the three books I have at home, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This will be the first Science Fiction book that I've ever read so I'm quite on the fence. It has never been a genre that I have been drawn to but I'm hoping this book will surprise me. Especially since there seems to be many Sci-Fis on the list. Here is the summary:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a classic science fiction work that continues to be a significant warning to our society today. Tony Britton, the reader, does an excellent job of portraying clinical detachment as the true nature of the human incubators is revealed. The tone lightens during the vacation to the wilderness and the contrast is even more striking. Each character is given a separate personality by Britton's voices. As the story moves from clinical detachment to the human interest of Bernard, the nonconformist, and John, the "Savage," listeners are drawn more deeply into the plot. Finally, the reasoned tones of the Controller explain away all of John's arguments against the civilization, leading to John's death as he cannot reconcile his beliefs to theirs.



Here we go!

Dracula - Finished!

LACONICALLY: Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

PHLEGMATIC: Having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional.

ADAMANTINE:

1. Made of or resembling adamant.

2. Having the hardness or luster of a diamond.

3. Unyielding; inflexible

 

SOJOURN: A temporary stay; a brief period of residence.

Near the end I found this book to get a little boring

Dracula - Half Way Through!

I think it might have been a bad idea to read this book during the spookiest holiday of the year. I've been having nightmares every night and am now just reading this book in the daylight. Therefore this read is taking me a little longer than anticipated, however not due to lack of interest on my behalf.

I found that the beginning of this book quite confusing only because of the numerous names and whereabouts of places that Jonathon Harker travelled to and from.

There are many sayings that are used (ei. to know her is to love her) that I thought were more modern than this book from the 1800s.

I love the way that this book is written, through journal entries and letters. I've never read any book that has done this before so I am finding it really interesting.

Reticent: inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech

Idolatrous:  of or relating to idolatry: the worship of a physical object as a god

Salient: moving by leaps or springs

Prodigious:

1: being an omen :  b : resembling or befitting a prodigy

2: exciting amazement or wonder

3: extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree

Languidly:

1: drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion

2: sluggish in character or disposition

3: lacking force or quickness of movement

Eminence: a position of prominence or superiority

Better get back to reading before it gets too late! Right now I'm so sad that Lucy died but my gut is telling me that she is simply in a vampire state and is going to wake up and start tormenting the people of England.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I honour of Hallowe'en I have chosen a spooky book. I always thought that the Dracula character was invented more recently just for Hallowe'en, not that he was a historic literary character. Here is the summary:

Jonathan Harker is travelling to Castle Dracula to see the Transylvanian noble, Count Dracula. He is begged by locals not to go there, because on the eve of St George's Day, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will come full sway. But business must be done, so Jonathan makes his way to the Castle - and then his nightmare begins. His beloved wife Meena and other lost souls have fallen under the Count's horrifying spell. Dracula must be destroyed . . .

I get scared so easily so I am nervous about this one getting the best of me. I guess its time to toughen up though because looking through the list again, I see that there are many other books that look like they are terrifying.

A High Wind in Jamaica - Finished!

I loved this book right through to the very end. I thought that the adventure and plot were really exciting and that it really showed the resilience of a child. Especially in the end when the writer said that there would be no way or telling Emily apart from any of her schoolmates despite what she had been through.

More words I didn't know:

ALACRITY:

1. Cheerful willingness; eagerness.

2. Speed or quickness; celerity.

ENNUI: Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom

TIMOROUS: Full of apprehensiveness; timid.

IMPUDENCE:

1. The quality of being offensively bold.

2. Offensively bold behavior.

Such a great book, easy to read and a cute story. I wish I could celebrate finishing it with a trip to
Jamaica but that is out of the question!

A High Wind in Jamaica - Halfway Point

So far a beautiful and whimsically written book. I love the way that Hughes writes about the children, I feel like he really understands how the mind of a child works.

I was so happy to find out that the original Captains letter to their parents was a lie. I was confused when I read it and then looked at how many pages I had left to read. That would have made for a weird book if what he was saying was the truth. I strongly dislike the original captain. He is weak and self centered and a liar. Its weird that I like the pirate captain much more than the original one.

I was disappointed that the children were not more upset about John's death. I don't this it matters how old you are, if your brother were to die I think that you would have a much stronger reaction than they did. I feel like I, the reader was more upset than his siblings and friends. I also find it weird that the kids don't realize that something is very wrong and that they have been abducted by pirates. I guess that they are in their own little world and without their parents there to tell them they are in danger, they are completely unaware.

This book reminds me a lot of Life of Pi so far. It is mainly about the world of a child, much like Life of Pi and also the writer uses beautiful vocabulary just like Yann Martel. Here are a few words I didn't know, that I hope to remember:

EMANCIPATION: To free from bondage, oppression, or restraint; liberate.

JALOUSIES: A blind or shutter having adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the passage of air and light.

INFERNAL: Of or relating to a lower world of the dead.

APOPLEXY: Sudden impairment of neurological function, especially that resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage; a stroke.

MADEIRA:  A fortified dessert wine, especially from the island of Madeira. (mmm.. I want to try this!)

BILIOUS:

a. Characterized by an excess secretion of bile.

b. Relating to, characterized by, or experiencing gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gallbladder.

c. Appearing as if affected by such a disorder; sickly.

Can't wait to see what happens!

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes

It's about time I read something off the list that I've never heard of before so I have chosen A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes. I'm excited because I've never head anything about this one by the cover looks kinda cute. Here is the summary:

A High Wind in Jamaica - the classic novel of childhood in which Richard Hughes describes with perfect insight not only the adventures of a family of children caught up in the company of pirates but also, with magical clarity, the tropical landscape the children leave behind them and the endless ocean which they must cross.

Sounds like a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and Swiss Family Robinson. Time to get reading!

A Farewell to Arms - Finished!

Just finished reading A Farewell to Arms and I am so unbelievably sad. I did not have any clue that Catherine was going to die. I am not happy about it. Mr. Henry and her were so happy and their life together was so romantic.

A part of the book that I loved is when Mr Henry was playing billiards with the old man, Count Greffi, and they were discussing the issue of wisdom. Count Greffi said, "That is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful". This really made me think.

It seems like all of the great loves that I've been reading about end in tragedy. I am super excited to finally read a love story in which the couple gets to live happily ever after.

It seems like in order for that to happen, I'm going to go to a whole other set of classics that include Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Thank goodness for Disney!

I love the way that Hemingway writes and I am thrilled that there are three other Hemingway books on the list!

A Farewell to Arms - Book 1 and 2

I am completely obsessed with this book! I have not been able to put it down ever since I started reading. I can even feel myself reading slower now because I don't want the love between the Lieutenant and Miss. Barkley to end. Even the first chapter had me hooked with Hemingway's beautiful and descriptive way of writing. It is almost like reading poetry.

I'm really surprised that I have enjoyed this book so much because I usually hate most stories that have anything to do with war times. However, I love that the war brought these together and yet at the same time is an obstacle for their love to continue. The intense way that she describes how much she loves him reminds me of the love affair between Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights. I just am addicted to that passionate can't-live-without-you love. Even though the book was set back in the first world war, I can relate to their relationship and the way they sneak around to hide it.

As of now Catherine is pregnant and I'm a little worried about her drinking alcohol. I guess they didn't know any better then, but still I am concerned for her baby.

Now he is of to the front and my heart aches for Catherine. She must be so lonely and I hope there is a way that she and their baby can join him shortly.

This book is also making me want to go to Italy so badly. Every time he mentions a new town I am Googling it and then checking out hotels. Most places look gorgeous but I am always slightly disappointed that the actual photos don't measure up the Hemingway's descriptions.

I know I'm not writing my thoughts as thoroughly as I did with my first few books, but I find that I get so swept away that I forget to write my little sticky notes. Afterwards all I remember is how I felt while I was reading. I'll try for the next parts to write my notes but at the same time I'm not going to be severe about it because the whole idea of this project was to enjoy myself!

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Next in my project is A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. I chose this one because the guy that owns the used book shop where I buy all of my books said that this one doesn't come along very often. All I know about this book is that it is a war novel. I've never read one like this but I do know that I am not a fan of war movies. Hopefully this is different. Here's the summary:

The best American novel to emerge out of World War 1, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his love for a beautiful English nurse. Hemingway's frank portrayal of the love between Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley. caught in the inexorable sweep of war, glows with an intensity unrivaled in modern literature, while his description of the German attack of Caporetto - of lines of tired men marching in the rain, hungry, weary, and demoralized - bears comparison to Stendhal's depiction of the retreat from Waterloo. A story of love and pain, of loyalty and desertion, of serene beauty amidst a world of chaos, A Farewell to Arms represents a new romanticism for Hemingway. Richer in language, more subtle in expression, and emotionally astute, it also symbolizes Hemingway's farewell, as Malcolm Cowley remarked, to an attitude, a time, and a literary method.

I'm excited about this one because reading an Ernest Hemingway sounds very smart.

Of Mice and Men - Finished!

This book was the sweetest, saddest story that I've read in a long time. The relationship between Lennie and George was precious and their bond was so strong. Lennie seemed like such a well meaning man and George had a heart of gold for taking him under his wing.

The only thing that I didn't like was that Steinbeck kept using the N word through the whole book, but I do understand that it helped shape the story and kept it true to the time in which it was written.

I hated that Lennie had to die but I think that George did the right thing. Had he not killed Lennie in the most humane way he could imagine, the other men would have ripped him to shreds and caused him immense amounts of pain. I had a feeling that it would come to that when Candy said that he wished it had been him that had shot his dog. I'm glad that Slim had the intuition to know that George was so upset and did what he felt he needed to do to best protect his best friend.

I found it hard to see a lesson in this one. I guess it could be that you should hold on as long as you can until you can't help somebody anymore. Or that although the solution to a problem is horrible, it can still sometimes be the right thing to do.

Not much vocab except for one:

MOLLIFIED:

1. To calm in temper or feeling; soothe.

2. To lessen in intensity; temper.

3. To reduce the rigidity of; soften.

It sure was nice to have an easy read after struggling through some of the previous ones. On to something longer!

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Time for an easy read! A girl at work raves about this cute little story so I am excited to get to it. Here's the summary:

This is a great american novel of loneliness, of love and need, of homeless and rootless men who have nothing but each other. It is timeless and as relevent today as two young men on the highway hitching a ride to California.

I love young men and California! Should be a good one!

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Finished!

After reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, I am happier than ever about this little reading project. First of all, this is a book that I never would have considered reading, and second of all, if I had, I am certain that I would have given up on it after the first ten pages. Knowing that by reading this book cover to cover, I was reaching my goal kept me turning the pages.

That being said, it was not my favorite book by a long shot. However, I did appreciate the messages of personal freedom, self discovery, and following your true path. At first, Stephen was a character whose weakness annoyed me but it was cool to see the transition that he made throughout the story. In the beginning of the book he is observing everyone around him in a very meek manner and is quoting the words of famous artists and scholars. I thought that it was so interesting that the last section of the book is written in journal form. Although the writing isn't as polished as the rest of the book, it is very authentically Stephen. After years of struggling and searching for who he is, Stephen Dedalus finally found his own voice.

I love page 65 when Stephen is realizing just how alienated he is and shows his longing to find himself, his own soul.

"He wanted to meet in the real world the unsubstantial image which his soul so constantly beheld. He did not know where to seek it or how, but a premonition which led him on told him that this image would, without any overt act of his, encounter him. They would meet quietly as if they had known each other and had made their tryst, perhaps at one of the gates or in some more secret place. They would be alone, surrounded by darkness and silence: and in that moment of supreme tenderness he would be transfigured. He would fade into something impalpable under her eyes and then in a moment he would be transfigured. Weakness and timidity and inexperience would fall from him in that magic moment."

I thought that he was talking about meeting who he was destined to be and I liked it because it showed that he recognized that he was weak and timid. However, he could also be talking being with a girl for the first time. I can't tell which it is.

It is interesting that Stephen does everything that he feels he is supposed to do and is devoted to the church and lives by all of its principles, but in doing so has become colorless. "I have amended my life, have I not", he says. This is where I began to get excited about the decisions he was about to make.

I think that there are many lessons in this book. I learned to listen to your own mind and choose your own beliefs, ideas, and paths. Do not just accept what you are told. We are all meant to follow our own paths regardless of what you are told and taught. Above all, find your own voice.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Chapter One

First chapter is finished and I am still undecided on how I like this book.

First of all, I'm not a huge fan of books with only a few long chapters. I'd much rather have a tonne of short chapters so that I can read a little bit here and there. Kinda of a weird thing about me but its just the way it is. Deal with it. (Or I will).

I find that its a lot easier to read than Wuthering Heights however I am enjoying the story less. It seems to be based on religion and politics in Ireland in the 1900s. The characters in the book are so intense on their beliefs that I couldn't help but think that there were actually other underlying issues. But as far as I can tell, this is what they are most passionate about. It reminds me a bit of my Pa going nuts and screaming over family dinners about hockey.

I do like Stephen but I feel so sorry for him most of the time. He seems like such a misunderstood, introverted, and dumbstruck boy. I am rooting for him and am hoping that grows into a much stronger and aware man who knows himself much more than he does now.

Back to reading!
I'm hoping that in the next few chapters a love story evolves because once those reveal themselves I can get pretty hooked on a book.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

The next book I'm reading is A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. I am excited about his one because James Joyce is from Ireland, just like my family on my fathers side is. He is writing in a time when my grandfather James was alive so I'm hoping to get a bit of insight into what growing up was like for him. This is the first book I had to purchase and luckily found it straight away at the used book store. I'm hoping to get all of these books second hand, not only to keep costs down but I love the feel of an old book.

So here's the summary!

Set in Ireland in the late nineteenth century, Portrait is a semi-autobiographical novel about the education of a young Irishman, Stephen Dedalus, whose background has much in common with Joyce’s. Stephen’s education includes not only his formal schooling but also his moral, emotional, and intellectual development as he observes and reacts to the world around him. At the center of the story is Stephen’s rejection of his Roman Catholic upbringing and his growing confidence as a writer. But the book’s significance does not lie only in its portrayal of a sensitive and complex young man or in its use of autobiographical detail. More than this, Portrait is Joyce’s deliberate attempt to create a new kind of novel that does not rely on conventional narrative techniques.

Rather than telling a story with a coherent plot and a traditional beginning, middle, and end, Joyce presents selected decisive moments in the life of his hero without the kind of transitional material that marked most novels written up to that time. The “portrait” of the title is actually a series of portraits, each showing Stephen at a different stage of development. And, although this story is told in a third-person narrative, it is filtered through Stephen’s consciousness. Finally, the book can be read as Joyce’s artistic manifesto and a declaration of independence—independence from what Joyce considered the restrictive social background of Catholic Ireland and from the conventions that had previously governed the novel as a literary genre. More than eighty years after its publication, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man continues to be regarded as a central text of early twentiethcentury modernism.

I'm armed with my glossary of Irish words and Latin phrases and am ready to rock. So excited about this one as it was on all three of the lists that I combined. Must be good if so many people think highly of it!

Wuthering Heights - Finished!

Despite a rough start to the book, once I got into it, it seemed to fly by in no time.

I just love the old style that Emily writes in. Once in a while there were phrases that I didn't understand but most of it I absorbed quite well, especially after the first few chapters. I've even noticed that my thoughts are starting to sound more like the prose in the book. I love it, I feel so connected to that era.

The love between Heathcliff and Catherine is so deep and powerful that it will continue long after they have both died. I find this love to be admirable however both of them possess character traits that are not at all desirable. I've never read a book before where I dislike the two main characters more, yet wish that they could find a way to be together and be happy.

I wish that someday I am able to experience the intense love that they feel, however not the immense torment that goes with it. My favorite quote is when Heathcliff says to Catherone, "I have not broken your heart - you have broken it - and in breaking it, you have broken mine". this must have hit Catherine like a tonne of bricks. The regret that she felt was so intense that I could feel it for her.

I'm shocked by how seriously everyone in this book regards their marriages. Even though Catherine doesn't even like who Edgar is, she never seriously considers leaving him to be with the man that she truly loves, or even to have a sneaky affair with him on the side. And after young Cathy is forced to marry Linton, she tends to him like a dutiful and loving wife, despite the fact that their hate for each other is mutual.

Overall, a beautiful read. I think that the greatest lesson that this book has to offer is that not matter what, above all things, you must always follow your deepest heart when making choices. If you stay true to your soul you will live a life full of peace. Making a choice out of greed or ego will certainly come back to haunt you.

Wuthering Heights - One third read!

Well after struggling through the first three chapters I broke down and bought the Coles Notes. I felt stupid buying it because it means that I wasn't smart enough to make it through the actual book, but now I am so happy I did. It had a plot summary which gave me huge insight into what the whole book was about. Before reading it, I felt like I was watching a movie without seeing the preview first. Reading the Coles version of the chapter after I've read the actual chapter has helped to cement in my mind what went on. This was more important for the first three chapter when I was so confused but as I get into the love story between Catherine and Heathcliff I could understand through only Emily's words. I don't know if I'm just getting used to the aged writing style or that the Coles Notes are really working.

I really began to love the Heathcliff/Catherine relationship when Catherines's father died and the two of them consoled each other and talked of what Heaven was like. That scene was so touching and so pure that it brought a tear to my eye. Their bond seems to be so strong and I love how they always have each other's back.

I said in my first Wuthering Heights post that I couldn't understand why Heathcliff was such a romantic hero. This is because at that time (pre-Coles Notes) I wasn't aware that the love story had already unfolded. Now I can see the charm in Heathcliff that Catherine undoubtedly saw as well. Mischievous, strong, beautiful, fun, and always up for an adventure. I am fascinated by how strong his love for Catherine is. The flip side of that is that as hard as he loves, he hates just the same. He is a passionate man and his emotions are always severe.

The one thing in the book that I will NEVER understand is what the hell Joseph is saying. Even when I read out loud I cannot understand anything that comes out of his mouth. So I just skip it and hope that it wasn't very important.

A character that I have great sympathy for is Isabella, Edgar's sister. I feel like she is a good person but is so second rate. Never the star, never too exciting. always just accepting what she can get. I actually feel sorry for all of the Isabellas of the world that will never be somebody's first choice. It just makes me really sad.

The Coles Notes also had a big section on the life of Emily Bronte which made me want to read Wuthering Heights even more than I had. Learning about what a strong-willed, passionate, brilliant woman she was completely intrigued me and made me want to read every word she wrote out of respect for who she was. She seems like someone who was ahead of her times and some that I would have liked to have known.

I'm not going to do any vocab for this book as it seems quite outdated and I'm sure if I tried using those words in my day to day life people wound think I was out of my mind.

So far I am completely obsessed with this book. I can't get enough of it and I am overly excited to get home from work tonight, pour a glass of wine and dive right back in!

Wuthering Heights - Few chapters in

This book is so difficult to read! I've only just started it but I find that I keep having to reread each page just to understand what's going on. I have read a book this old in so long so I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the language.

I thought that Heathrow was supposed to be this romantic hero but so far, from what I can tell, he is a huge jerk. Old, divorced, and miserable. I'm curious to see how the love story unfolds.

I hope that once I get wrapped up in the relationship aspect of the book, it will be much more fun and exciting to read!

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights is the only other book of the list that I already own so its up next! I'm excited about this one because I've heard good things about it from my co-workers. I've tried to read it before but had a difficult time because I had to keep flipping back to the Explanatory Notes to make sense of what I was reading. This time I'm going to use a little more patience and hopefully end up enjoying it.

'Wuthering Heights was hewn in a wild workshop, with simple tools, out of homely materials', wrote Charlotte Bronte in her preface to the second edition of her sister's book, two years after Emily's death in 1848. Unlike Charlotte's Jane Eyre, Emily's Wuthering Heights had had a discouraging start. First published in 1847, and set amongst the wild Yorkshire moors, with the vindictive, passionate character of Heathcliff dominating the story, the book must have appeared rough and strange. But the power of the communication between Heathcliff and Catherine, set alongside the weaker characters - the civilized but passionless wise, down-to-earth housekeeper who witnessed the tragic events, soon made Wuthering Heights on the the most popular of all English novels. 

So the back of the book doesn't give much away so I guess I'll just have to dive right in!

Life of Pi - Finished!

Pi has been rescued and is finally safe. I was so happy when he got rescued and felt so much relief for him that he was finally on dry, non-carnivorous land. No longer do I have to read about the  frustrating ways that he had to find 'food'and the awful things he ate that made me, a faithful vegetarian, nauseous every time.

I just can't believe the way this book ended. It confused me at first and then left me feeling sad and disgusted. My first reaction to reading Pi's second version of the story was that this poor, worn out boy had to make up a fake story just to get these goons to believe him. I was furious that the investigators wouldn't even open their minds to the possibility that the story was true. It wasn't until one of the officers commented on the similarities between the two stories that I realized that the second may actually be the true story. It breaks my heart to think that it is and that Pi was so traumatized by his ordeal that he had to escape in his mind to an alternate, and yet still tragic story. Instantly, it went from being a difficult yet whimsical adventure to a gruesome, cannibalistic tale. The fact that he would have had to see his own mother being murdered tears me apart. I still don't want to believe that there were actual people on the lifeboat, but I think that in my gut I know that its true.

It did bring me comfort that in the end that the officer, who quite clearly did not believe Pi's original story wrote in his report, 'Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and none in the company of an adult Bengal tiger.'

More words:

JUGGERNAUT (noun) : 1. any large, overpowering, destructive force or object, as was, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team 2. anything requiring blind devotion or cruel sacrifice

CONJECTURE (noun, verb) : 1. the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence or proof 2. an opinion or theory so formed or expressed; guess; speculation

I'm so happy that I've completed my first book so I can proudly display it on my bookshelf!

Life of Pi - One Third Remaining

Wow! I understand now why this book gathers such high praise. I can't put it down!

Although the beginning part left me feeling like I knew nothing of religions, I did some research and I can now say that I can tell you the differences and similarities of each one that the book refers to. I was confused about the difference between Muslim and Islam, but little did I know there are the same. A Muslim is someone who follows the Islam faith. In looking into this faith I do see that the very basis of it is devotion and brotherhood, not what is portrayed in the media. Like all religions, there seems to be a small fraction of devotees that have contorted its meaning into something more hateful and sinister than originally intended.

There are many references to Mrs. Gandhi, mainly in Pi's parents discussions. I had never heard of her so I went to straight to Wiki to find out more. Turns out she was the first and only female Prime Minister that India has ever had. There was much controversy about her politics and she was eventually assassinated in 1984 at the age of 66. I found lots of arguments for and against her but it says that she lowered poverty in India by 20% while she was in office, so in my opinion she was pretty good at her job. The mention of her in the book just sounds like a typical parents having political debates in front of their child.

Richard Parker is a Royal Bengal tiger?? Didn't see that one coming. I just thought that I had blanked out while reading and missed the part about a man by that name.

It was upon realizing that there is a tiger, a zebra, a oran-utan, and a hyena on the boat that I looked into whether or not this is actually a true story. Not only is it completely made up, but no where in the book or on the front or back cover does it claim to be a true story. I don't know how I got it in my head that this was true, but I'm sure it has something to do with the high caliber of Martel's art.

Sometimes when I'm reading I think that the words sound like a poem. Like if read out loud it would rhyme or at the very least follow a beautiful beat.

LOVE Chapter 56. Its my favorite so far in the book! I understand that Pi's fear is a more mortal fear than that which we all face on a day to day basis, but I think that the message is transferable. I think its so cool how he describes fear as the enemy taking out opponents left and right. As someone who is scared a lot of the time about bad choices, failure, other people's opinions, etc. I found it to be an interesting way to look at fear. Especially when he says, 'You dismiss your last allies: hope and trust. There, you've defeated yourself. Fear, which is but an impression, has triumphed over you'.

Here are some words I learned. I would love to know if the author just knows all these words of if he's constantly using the thesaurus.

ESPLANADE (noun) : a level open space of ground; a public walk or roadway, often along a shore

CATALEPSY (noun) : a condition characterized by lack of response to external stimuli and by muscular rigidity so that limbs remain in whatever position they are placed

FORMIDABLE (adjective) : 1. causing fear, apprehension, or dread. 2. of discouraging or awesome strength, size, difficulty; intimidating. 3. arousing feelings of awe or admiration because of strength 4. of great strength, forceful, powerful

INCONGRUOUS (adjective) : 1. out of keeping or place; inappropriate, unbecoming. 2. not harmonious in character; lacking harmony of parts. 3. inconsistent

MARAUD (verb) : to roam or go around in quest of plunder; make a raid for booty (what???)

SUPPLICATION (noun) : an act or instance of supplicating; humble prayer, entreaty, or petition

PERSNICKETY (adjective) : 1. overparticular, fussy. 2. snobbish or having the aloof attitude of a snob

Beckon is a word that I know but I'd forgotten about. I LOVE that word and will try to use it daily.

Right now Pi and Richard Parker are battling a huge storm, so I better get back to them!

Life of Pi - Quarter Way Mark

Well, I'm half way to half way through Life of Pi and I'm really enjoying it. I was happily surprised that the author is from Canada and that there are many references to this great country.

I must say that until I hit Chapter 16, I sort of felt like I was reading a Zoology textbook, not that its a bad thing, but just wasn't what I was expecting. I loved the way each of the animals was described and the facts on some of them. It made me want to head straight to the zoo, or at the very least Wikipedia each one of them. That was until I realized that I had been to the Calgary Zoo just a month ago with my mom and my god siblings and hadn't felt the way that Pi felt. The author did such a good job describing the animals the way that an eight year old would have seen them, not a 27 year old babysitter who was more interested in getting to the cafeteria.

The book made me consider my own opinion of zoos, which until this point had been fairly wishy washy. I had always felt a tinge of guilt about how much I loved going to see all of the caged animals. Little did I know, these animals feel more comfort, security, and peacefulness in their new habitats than they could ever feel out in the wild unknown.

It took a little longer than I am comfortable to admit to figure out the the italicized chapters are the authors notes on hearing Pi's story. I loved reading about the shrine that the author observed at Pi's home. I spent a month living in an Ashram in Hawaii and spent many hours praying and meditating to shrines just like the one described in the book. I don't know why it feels so good to read something that feels familiar, it gives me such a cozy feeling. I feel very lucky that because of experiences I have had, I can visualize the beauty and importance of a shrine.

I'm not a very religious person, I basically just believe in love. This book talks quite a bit about different religions and its making me realize how little I know and I want to do some research on a few of them. The book says, "I challenge anyone to understand Islam, its spirit, and not to love it. It is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion." I will take that challenge because lately, the news coverage of this religion has not been positive. New York is dealing with the monumental debate of whether or not to build a Muslim center 2 blocks from Ground Zero. People are protesting, people are threatening to burn Qu'arans, people are spewing hate. Everyday I hear different politicians and religious leaders argue that Islam is a religion based on hate and violence since the beginning of time. I'm curious to see what Wiki thinks of this.

I have no idea what Chapter 21 is about. Totally lost despite having reread it 20 times.

One of my favorite quotes so far is, "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation"

I've always considered myself a great reader so I was taken a little off guard when I came across several (actually more like many) words that I had never read before. Rather than feeling like a huge dunce, I'm just going to look at it as an opportunity to expand my vocabulary. Here are some that I'm hoping will stick in my memory for a while:

1. INDOLENT (adjective) : having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful

2. HOVEL (noun) : a small, very humble dwelling house; a wretched hut, any dirty, disorganized dwelling

3. ANTHROPOMORPHIZE (verb) : to ascribe human form or attributes to and animal, plant, material object, etc. (I love this word because I do this to my dog Sophie all the time!)

4. IMPIOUS (adjective) : not pious or religious; lacking reverence for god, religious practices, etc.;ungodly; disrespectful

5. PETULANT (adjective) : moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance (a petulant toss of the head)

I'm excited to keep reading and get to the actual meat of the story, so far it just seems to be a lot of set up. Reading about this young boy who is so enthralled by religion and wanting to know and love God is making me think a lot about my own religion, or lack thereof. If the book pulls through on its promise though, there is a good chance that I will end up believing in God by the end of it.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I chose to read Life of Pi by Yann Martel simply because it was one of the two books from the list that I already owned, although I've never read it. Here's the story according to the back cover of the book:

"After the sinking of a cargo ship, a single solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the surface of the wild, blue Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, an orang-utan, a zebra with a broken leg, a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger and Pi Patel, a 16-year-old Indian boy. The stage is set for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction in the recent years, a novel of such rare and wondrous storytelling that it may, as one character claims, make you believe in God. Can a reader reasonably ask for anything more?"

Good question. I will answer it 354 pages from now.

The Official List!

Well apparently an ultimate list of the top 100 novels doesnt exist. I found many lists on the internet that claim to be the ultimate list however they are all made up of different books. So I've decided to combine three of the lists that looked the best to me.

The first list is the Modern Library Board's list. This list was featured in Time magazine and is one that I came across numerous times in my search. The second is the Modern Library Reader's list and this was a list that was compliled from the votes of over 400,000 avid readers. The last list is on that I found online that claimed to be a list of the top 100 classics. After a quick look through it, I realized that it named quite a few of the books that I had been disappointed not to see on the first two lists. Luckily there were some books that were on two or all of the lists.

So on the down side, my little project has just gotten a LOT bigger and more daunting, but on the up side, I have many more exciting books that I have the privilage of reading. So here is the official list!

1)      1984 – George Orwell

2)      A Bend in the River – V.S. Naipaul

3)      A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess

4)      A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

5)      A Dance to the Music of Time (series) – Anthony Powell

6)      A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway

7)      A Handful of Dust – Evelyn Waugh

8)      A High Wind in Jamaica – Richard Hughes

9)      A House for Mr. Biswas – V.S. Naipaul

10)  A Passage to India – E.M. Foster

11)  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce

12)  A Prayer for Owen  Meany – John Irving

13)  A Room with a View – E.M. Forster

14)  A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

15)  Absalom, Absalom! – William Faulkner

16)  All Quiet of the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque

17)  All the Kings Men – Robert Penn Warren

18)  An American Tragedy – Theodore Dreiser

19)  Angels and Demons – Dan Brown

20)  Angle of Repose – Wallace Stegner

21)  Animal Farm – George Orwell

22)  Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

23)  Anne of Green Gables -L.M. Montgomery

24)  Anthem – Ayn Rand

25)  Appointment in Samarra – John O’Hara

26)  Arrowsmith – Sinclair Lewis

27)  As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner

28)  A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

29)  At Swim-Two-Birds – Flann O’Brien

30)  At the Mountains of Madness – H.P. Lovecraft

31)  Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

32)  Atonement – Ian McEwan

33)  Battlefield Earth – L. Ron Hubbard

34)  Beloved – Toni Morrison

35)  Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy

36)  Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

37)  Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh

38)  Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

39)  Citizen of the Galaxy – Robert Heinlein

40)  Crime and Punishment -Fyodor Dostoevsky

41)  Darkness at Noon – Arthur Koestler

42)  David Copperfield -Charles Dickens

43)  Death Comes For the Archbishop – Willa Cather

44)  Deliverance – James Dickey

45)  Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes

46)  Double Star – Robert Heinlein

47)  Dracula - Bram Stoker

48)  Dune – Frank Herbert

49)  East of Eden - John Steinbeck

50)  Emma - Jane Austen

51)  Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card

52)  Farenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

53)  Fear - L. Ron Hubbard

54)  Fifth Business – Robertson Davies

55)  Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

56)  Finnegan’s Wake – James Joyce

57)  For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway

58)  Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

59)  From Here to Eternity – James Jones

60)  Go Tell It On the Mountain – James Baldwin

61)  Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

62)  Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon

63)  Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

64)  Green Mantle – Charles de Lint

65)  Guilty Pleasures – Laurell K. Hamilton

66)  Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling

67)  Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

68)  Henderson the Rain King – Saul Bellow

69)  His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman

70)  Howards End – E. M. Forster

71)  I, Claudius – Robert Graves

72)  Illusions – Richard Bach

73)  Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison

74)  Ironweed – William Kennedy

75)  It – Stephen King

76)  Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

77)  Kim – Rudyard Kipling

78)  Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

79)  Life of Pi - Yann Martel

80)  Light In August – William Faulkner

81)  Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

82)  Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

83)  Lord Jim – Joseph Conrad

84)  Lord of the Flies – William Golding

85)  Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien

86)  Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

87)  Loving – Henry Green

88)  Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

89)  Main Street – Sinclair Lewis

90)  Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

91)  Memory and Dream – Charles de Lint

92)  Middlemarch - George Eliot

93)  Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

94)  Mission Earth – L. Ron Hubbard

95)  Moby Dick - Herman Melville

96)  Moonheart – Charles de Lint

97)  Mulengro – Charles de Lint

98)  My Antonia – Willa Cather

99)  Mythago Wood – Robert Holdstock

100)          Naked Lunch – William S. Burroughs

101)          Native Son – Richard Wright

102)          Nostromo – Joseph Conrad

103)          Of Human Bondage – W. Somerset Maugham

104)          Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

105)          On the Beach – Nevil Shute

106)          On the Road – Jack Kerouac

107)          One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey

108)          One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

109)          One Lonely Night – Mickey Spillane

110)          Pale Fire – Vladimir Nabokov

111)          Parade’s End – Madox Ford

112)          Persuasion - Jane Austen

113)          Point Counter Point – Aldous Huxley

114)          Portnoy’s Complaint – Philip Roth

115)          Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

116)          Ragtime – E.L. Doctorow

117)          Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier

118)          Remembrance of Things Past - Marcel Proust

119)          Scoop – Evelyn Waugh

120)          Shane – Jack Schaefer

121)          Sister Carrie – Theodore Dreiser

122)          Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut

123)          Someplace to be Flying – Charles de Lint

124)          Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury

125)          Sometimes a Great Notion – Ken Kesey

126)          Sons and Lovers – D.H. Lawrence

127)          Sophie’s Choice – William Styron

128)          Starship Troopers – Robert Heinlein

129)          Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein

130)          Suttree – Cormac McCarthy

131)          Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald

132)          Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

133)          The Adventures of Augie March – Saul Bellow

134)          The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

135)          The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

136)          The Alexandra Quartet – Lawrence Durell

137)          The Ambassadors – Henry James

138)          The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

139)          The Bridge of San Luis – Thornton Wilder

140)          The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky

141)          The Call of the Wild – Jack London

142)          The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

143)          The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis

144)          The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

145)          The Cunning Man – Robertson Davies

146)          The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

147)          The Day of the Locust – Nathanael West

148)          The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

149)          The Death of the Heart – Elizabeth Bowen

150)          The Door into Summer – Robert Heinlein

151)          The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand

152)          The French Lieutenant’s Women – John Fowles

153)          The Ginger Man – J.P. Donleavy

154)          The Golden Bowl – Henry James

155)          The Good Soldier – Madox Ford

156)          The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

157)          The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

158)          The Handmaids Tale – Margret Atwood

159)          The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson

160)          The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers

161)          The Heart of the Matter – Graham Greene

162)          The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

163)          The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

164)          The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton

165)          The Hunt for Red October – Tom Clancy

166)          The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky

167)          The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

168)          The Little Country – Charles de Lint

169)          The Magnificent Ambersons – Booth Tarkington

170)          The Magnus – John Fowles

171)          The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett

172)          The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

173)          The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert Heinlein

174)          The Moviegoer – Walker Percy

175)          The Naked and the Dead – Norman Mailer

176)          The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

177)          The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

178)          The Old Wives’ Tale – Arnold Bennett

179)          The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

180)          The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

181)          The Postman Always Rings Twice – James M. Cain

182)          The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark

183)          The Puppet Masters – Robert Heinlein

184)          The Rainbow – D.H. Lawrence

185)          The Recognitions – William Gaddis

186)          The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie

187)          The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

188)          The Secret Agent – Joseph Conrad

189)          The Sheltering Sky – Paul Bowles

190)          The Sound and the Fury – William Faulkner

191)          The Stand – Stephen King

192)          The Stranger - Albert Camus

193)          The Studs Lonigan Trilogy – James T. Farrell

194)         The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

195)         The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

196)          The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

197)          The Trial - Franz Kafka

198)          The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

199)          The Wapshot Chronicles – John Cheever

200)          The Way of All Flesh – Samuel Butler

201)          The Wings of the Dove – Henry James

202)          The Wood Wife – Terri Windling

203)          The World According to Garp – John Irving

204)          The Worm Ouroboros – E.R. Eddison

205)          To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

206)          To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf

207)          Tobacco Road – Erskine Caldwell

208)          Trader – Charles de Lint

209)          Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller

210)          Trustee from the Toolroom – Nevil Shute

211)          U.S.A. (trilogy) – John Dos Passos

212)          Ulysses – James Joyce

213)          Under the Net – Iris Murdoch

214)          Under the Volcano – Malcolm Lowry

215)          V. – Thomas Pynchon

216)          War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

217)          Watership Down – Richard Adams

218)          We the Living – Ayn Rand

219)          Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys

220)          Winesburg, Ohio – Sherwood Anderson

221)          Wise Blood – Flannery O’Conner

222)          Women In Love – D.H. Lawrence

223)          Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

224)          Yarrow – Charles de Lint

225)          Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Pirsig

226)          Zuleika Dobson – Max Beerbohm

Its HUGE! I have a lot of reading ahead of me and most of the titles are completely unfamiliar to me. Quite a few I recognize from when they were made into movies. Soon enough I will have my very own opinion on each and every one of them!

So excited to get started!