The Heart of a Woman

I feel as if I go through ebbs and flows with my blogging. I get really passionate for a little while, then I get busy and forget all about it. However, the other day I realized, I am reading all of these books and have no record of it save Goodreads, but because I read so much, how can I possibly remember the plot of all the books I've read? Now that I have included audiobooks, I am really going to forget. Suffice to say, here I am, giving this another go. With a new job and more time on my hands, I am hoping I stick with this much more. With the encouragement of my fiancé and the many books I have acquired in the past two years since I last posted, I think we may have a bright future ahead of us.

Now, all the books I am currently reading are not on the 1001 Book list. For instance, I just bought five books from Amazon and none of them are on the list. I will be reading them as I go along. Now, I won't be blogging about some of the mysteries I read that are a part of a series such as Agatha Christie's Poirot series but stand alone books unless there is a book I read that is part of a series that I think people would really be interested in.

I just finished this morning, The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou. This is my second Angelou autobiography. The first one, which goes without saying, was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She wrote a series of autobiographies starting with Caged Bird and ending with Mom & Me & Mom. I received a copy of this book from a former coworker and this book happens to be in the middle of her life and covers a three year span. Her son, Guy, is a teenager and she moves him out to New York City where she becomes engaged to a bail bondsman but ends up falling in love with an African freedom fighter named Vus.

In this part of her life, we see Ms. Angelou getting more involved in the struggle for Black America for equality and their rightful place in society. In her previous biographies, Angelou has never been so immersed in black society as she was in New York City. She lived in a black community in Brooklyn, (the books starts off with her getting a place in Laurel Canyon, all white community so her son would go to the best school) gets involved in the Harlem Writers Guild, and gets a gig at the Apollo Theater. In the first half of this book, Angelou is the embodiment of a strong, black American woman. She gets her own job, provides for her son, goes toe to toe with racists and gets a job at SCLC and meets Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. As strong of a woman as she is, when she meets Vus, everything changes. He doesn't want her to work, he wants her to be a "good African wife". Angelou is in love with him at first and while she is not used to being home, keeping house and not working, she preservers. Guy has a father figure, Vus is a great provider who is out fighting for the African cause, to bring down colonialism and to help his brothers escaping from South Africa.

Angelou is bored in this period and I am amazed at her transformation. I always took her to be someone who would never take the backseat to a man, but I can imagine, at least in the beginning, this was a new role for her. She was no longer the breadwinner, but was on an allowance and being an exemplary African wife supporting her freedom fighter husband who provided for her and her child. Guy even called Vus "dad". This was my least favorite part of the book only because I was getting angry at Vus' treatment of her. He didn't want her to work, didn't want her to act in a play but only agreed to because another man said she should, and doesn't even pay the damn bills. Yet, she stays with him! And he whisks her off to Cairo, where he continues to cheat on her, still doesn't pay the bills, and allows her to get a job because a MAN said she should. That infuriated me. I realize it is a different culture but I felt personally victimized by her husband, as if he was doing all of this nonsense to me (which goes to show how GREAT of a writer Maya Angelou is). I love the way the book ends which leaves me wanting to read the rest of her books.

She is a great writer and I think everyone should have a required reading list with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings on it, which would hopefully spurn others to read the rest (I read so many books, I can't keep up). I gave this book four stars on Goodreads (you can find me there). I am trying to be more discerning with my ratings. I find I give five stars to lots of books, in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have. Great writing and such a quick, easy read.

I am currently listening to another biography on audiobook called Marie Antoinette: The Journey. This was the book that the movie starring Kirsten Dunst was based on. It's good so far, I won't be reviewing it but it's a pretty good listen. My next book is Watership Down, suggested by my fiancé. It's a little over 400 pages so I hope it's a good one. I also have the third book in Lost Illusions by Honore de Balzac to read to finish out the novel and then I have Glamorama which I have been trying to read for almost a year but the book is terrible. Why it's on the 1001 list, I can't even describe. I am halfway done but refuse to abandon. It will take me another year to read, I bet.

Until next time, happy reading!

A Midsummer Night's Dream but more like a cry for help!

This will be a English or Literature Professor's nightmare on my take of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Definitely not my favorite Shakespeare play and I think a lot of it has to do with because I never totally understood what the hell was going on. All the Shakespeare I've ever read has always been in an English class where my teacher for the most part had the competence to understand and teach us the meaning and the point of the play (well again, I don't remember too much from Hamlet, but Big Red was my teacher and anyone who has taken "Honors" English with her knows what I speak of). The version of the play that I had was published by the Royal Shakespeare Company and they did give pretty good notes but I found myself re-reading passages and trying to make sense of what was going on.

So what have I learned from this novel? That the fairies interfered with the humans? I really can't make a judgement on this novel except I need to talk to an English teacher who can walk me through it. Damn you Shakespeare!

Fortunately, I also read An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin that I think you all will enjoy. I also read One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie and I am still reading Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (I am 73% done, so almost there!) and I just started The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I have been on a British Literature kick so I will be going back to some American Literature for the time being! I will write my review of An Object of Beauty next week. In the meantime, if anyone has any insight on A Midsummer Night's Dream and would love to discuss, I would love it!

Until next time, happy reading!

Fifty Shades Freed or a Lousy Way to End the Series

THANK GOD for classic literature because I think my vocabulary regressed during the two weeks it took me to read the Fifty series. I mean, if the biggest word that you use just so happens to be "aptly" and you think that "my hot, beautiful husband" are the best adjectives ever, then congratulations, you've just read at your reading level! You get a gold star! I am not a literature snob, I promise (step 1 is denial) but holy hell, someone get this bitch a thesaurus. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: if I am able to guess what the next line in a book is going to be because all you do is repeat yourself, Sir, we have a major problem. I've said it to numerous people now that even the crappiest author of the crappiest series (Twilight, I am looking at you) at least makes an attempt to use different words (even if your sentences are quite elementary) but E.L. James doesn't even try to expand word usage. Not even a little bit. How many times can you say "hot husband" in one paragraph? Apparently a lot. I really believe the cause of this (and not because her writing SUCKS) but because these books were rushed to market and the editors share considerable blame as well because even people I talk to who don't necessarily read a lot, have made the same conclusions that E.L. James repeats herself, over and over. It's nauseating. Take a basic English lit course. If any of my Johnston peeps are reading this and took Mr. DiMeo for History I or II or even if they took a class with Mrs. Volante, you know that they would have desecrated a paper with that many words. I am talking about English at a high school level. Conclusion: E.L. James must write at the middle school level. I kid, because I hope that middle school kids don't write about erotica. I cringe.

Now, I am not saying that I am the best writer in the world by any means, BUT I am also not publishing my shit. For someone who is making millions upon millions, at least learn how to write at an adult level (I'm looking at you Stephanie Meyers). So, I will stop here at my ripping apart of E.L. James writing and we will talk about how much I hated Fifty Shades of Crap.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. Now mind you, I don't agree with the whole "Ana marries Grey after about 4 weeks together" bullshit. I'm sorry, this shit does not happen in real life. If it does, bitches get divorced in a few months. This ain't no happily ever after. This is more happily hopping on his dick for the next couple of years. Once that gets old, well, he'll find a new side piece because Ana whines this whole book. I want to job in and bitch slap the dumb out of her. You've married this rich guy (that you keep reminding me every chapter that he is rich, as if us plebeians didn't hear you the first 100 times) and you don't know if you can love him the way he needs to be or whatever else you are feeling. I feel as if Ana regresses in this book. She is not strong, she is stupid. So we have a raging lunatic trying to kill Grey on the loose, so it's a great idea not only head out on the town with Kate (who is so pretty and tan and happy, as we are reminded constantly) but it's also a great idea to meet with the psycho ex-sub who shows up at your work. Dumb bitch. She makes stupid decisions then cries when Christian completely goes psycho. Then they have sex. However, the sex is tired at this point. It's nothing new. It's the same shit. Only in the first few chapters is it even interesting, then it becomes boring and you've read it all before.

The plot, that could exist, emerges occasionally but is usually all over the place. Jack Hyde, Ana's former boss, is after them but seems to always be one step ahead and manages to escape. The plot seems to be forced in and never flows with the rest of the story. I wanted to throw up in my mouth because of all the rainbows and butterflies that seem to emanate from E.L. James though process. I'm sorry, you're suppose to be writing a story on this BSDM relationship, I really don't need you to tie everything up with a bow. I would've done without it. However, this is precisely what James does. Let's tie it all up people! See how happy BSDM couples can be! Ugh, gag me. As I said, there isn't too much positive to say about this book. Kate gets engaged to Elliot (really? after a few months of dating, he is a notorious womanizer!), Ana gets pregnant because she is a dumbass. I'm sorry that just got me so pissed. Any normal person who is taking birth control does not put off her SHOT so she doesn't get pregnant you stupid bitch. Ana tells Christian, Christian gets pissed. However, this is the rich part. When she tells him that she was pregnant, he tells her How can you get Pregnant, we've all known each other for 5 minutes! NO SHIT SHERLOCK! Why did you get married!?? UGH! There are not enough exclamation points to even begin to demonstrate how I feel. But no worries, James makes sure Hyde is caught (there is a kidnapping thrown in there), Christian accepts his new bundle of joy (whom Ana names Blimp until they know for sure what they are having). We get a cute epilogue that you can trudge through.

So positives? At the end of the novel ,we get Christian's perspective on his first 2 meetings with Ana. That was the best part of the whole novel. No, I am not kidding. I am getting heartburn because I am getting so angry about this book. I will not re-read this ever again. I am now reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte to gain some knowledge back. Thank god. I think I am slowly returning back to normal form. If you liked the books, all the power to you. I am just sharing you my honest opinion. Many people like the books. Go see them on www.goodreads.com.

LATERS

Everything Is Illuminated

Sorry readers, if there are any of you out there. Due to my many school obligations, I have been unable to keep up with my blog and my reading for that matter. I am trying to catch up with writing my blogs for the books I have read, such as Everything is Illuminated and Pride and Prejudice. I am currently finishing reading Dr. Zhivago, so I do have some posts that I do need to catch up on. It is hard juggling 5 classes, 2 part time jobs and the rest of my life to keep doing my reading. I am upset that it has taken me so long to finish reading my books because I am missing the bookclub deadlines and I love to keep up and I can't! I hate not being able to participate in my book club as I was able to to do over the summer, but with an exam and lots of homework to do, it really has been a struggle to keep up and school is obviously the first priority. However, let's get off this dreary subject and let us move on to the novel!
So, Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, is about a guy name Jonathan Safran Foer who travels to the Ukraine to find a woman who supposedly saved his grandfather from the Nazis with the help of his tourguide Alex, and his grandfather Alex, and their dog Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. The book is written in two parts, the part written by Alex which tells the story of his week adventure to find this woman who may or may not be alive. The other part is written by Jonathan who tells his story of the village and of his grandfather. This was a little annoying to me because each chapter alternated between the two stories. However, as the story unfolded, I grew to love the characters in the story that Alex told.
I did not like reading Jonathan's story of the village, I mean it was folksy and interesting but it could have been told at the beginning. It is funny to read Alex's story because of the broken English, the words and verbs that he uses and it seems to personalize him and make him more likeable. I really connected with his character and his grandfather. Jonathan's characters seems cold and aloof but he mainly is a fish out of water in a country he has no idea about or what the customs are.
I wish I could write more but I am running out of time and I am at work! Pick up this novel as it is an easy read and enjoyable!

On to the next!

The Count of Monte Cristo

So, I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas last week and that was a 2 month epic that I went through. Now to be fair, I was reading other books in between reading The Count because I wanted to keep up with my book clubs other novels. For the month of June, one of my book clubs had 3 novels to read on top of the one I read for another group I am in. And of course, the first book I read was The Red Tent which I HATED with passion and scratched and clawed my way to finish reading that book and of course I picked up an abridge edition of The Count, and my thought was "Why I will finish this in no time" which of course I found out that the book was not 400pages  but 1400! Which is fine, I mean I did read Gone With The Wind and that was about 1000 pages, so what's an extra 400? Well, mix in books and papers for school, and it just took a while. I would like to say I am so happy that I finished the book. It was awesome! Honestly, one of the best books I have read. I mean no one can write an epic novel like Dumas can. Don't get me wrong, could he have condensed the 1400 pages into 1000, sure, but I don't think it would have been nearly as complete in the detail.

The book is about revenge, which of course everyone knows about that. However, the way that he goes about plotting and executing his revenge is what makes the book so great! I haven't seen any book adaptations, but if I have learned anything, especially with the Harry Potter franchise, is that they never get everything in and what they chop out is pretty damn important. So, since this blog could be about 50 pages, I will just highlight some of my favorite parts of the novel (which there are a lot but I got some time here and I won't go over all of them). I loved when Dantes was in prison, and he meets the Abbe Faria. There interaction and the love that Dantes had for him reminded me of the relationship that Dantes would be having if he wasn't falsely accused by his supposed "friends". When Faria passed, you could feel Dantes pain.
I also enjoyed some of the irony of this novel. For example, Caderousse supposedly feels great remorse for what he thinks has happened to his friend, but he really can't prove anything because he knew he was drunk when the conversation took place between Danglars and Fernand. He even confessed to the "Abbe" that he was remorseful for what took place. However, he ends up murdering a jeweler and black mails and burglarizes. He finally repents in the end when Dantes reveals himself to him, but he dies after he repents. On the other hand, Danglars who had a hand of actually getting Dantes in prison and let Old Dantes starve to death, repented and lived.
There is also another scene of the novel, we see some remorse from Dantes, thinking that his plot of revenge might have gone too far when Madame Villefort kills not only herself but her son as well when Villefort discovers that she is the poisoner.

There is so much more I want to say but I have run out of time! Maybe I will make a follow up post on this but I just finished another book, Under the Net, which I loved as well!

Until next time, on to the next book!

Reading for Class: Things Fall Apart and an update

I have been so busy, but I have been definitely been making some time for my reading. I still am working on the novel that is The Count of Monte Cristo and I only have 400 pages left. That's a whole other novel I could be reading! However, it really is an enjoyable novel and definitely has been one of my favorites that I have read so far. It's hard juggling that massive novel and trying to keep up with my other readings. This book is definitely taking me much longer than any other novel I have read. One of my favorite things that I love about reading is when the book completely engrosses you and you do not want to put it down and The Count of Monte Cristo has done that to me numerous times but because of work/school/other time constraints, I have to stop when I don't want to!

However this blog is not about The Count of Monte Cristo, but I figure I would update everyone on my progress because I was suppose to have finished this book June 30 as was the timeline for my book club, and I still haven't even re-read Pride and Prejudice, but I have been trekking along and trying to keep up with my other readings.

A book I have just finished was Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I actually had to read this book for my Anthropology class and the subject is based on Southern Nigeria and Igbo culture. I did not have to read this for a book club but I am glad I was reading a book that was on my 1001 Book List. I read this book as we were told to, about 50 pages a day so we could discuss it. I really enjoyed learning about the Igbo culture, but was unsettled by some of the cultural traditions of the Umuofia clan. My professor made a good point as to make us realize that this novel takes place between the years 1890-1910. Not everything is the same as it is today. The main protagonist, Okonkwo, is really a conflicted person who is fearful of becoming his father and also struggling against the new culture that the white people are bringing. Okonkwo to me really is a tragic hero, and reminds me of the greek tragic heros, ala Odepius Rex. It is an easy read and definitely enjoyable.

What is everyone else reading? I would love to hear from you guys. If anyone is out there!

Until next time...

The Map of True Places

The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry is not a book on the 1001 Book List, but I got for free (also signed) and read it as part of the book discussion for this month for one of the book clubs I am in. This is definitely a change of pace from what I have been reading, very heavy books and it was nice to go back to some of the chick lit. However, this book definitely touched me, especially with the relationship between the main character Zee and her father Finch. Finch is suffering from Parkinsons, and he has kicked his boyfriend Melville out of the house and this leaves Zee, who is becoming a successful shrink in Boston, but is unsettled at the suicide from one of her patients, to take care of her ailing father.

Their relationship made me cry, as my grandfather only recently passed away from lukemeia and watching a loved one suffer and there is nothing that you can do is so hard to go through and I felt as if I was reliving it all over again. Same thing between Finch and his home aide Jessina. Jessina reminded me of my grandpa's CNA at the Veterans Home. There is one scene in the book where Jessina is dressing Finch and another where she is baking him cookies and I cried as well. It was so vivid and so real. It is interesting to note that Barry's father passed away from Parkinsons so this really is coming from the heart, from someone who has been there.

The book was a good read, though there are plenty of spots where I was left unsatisfied, especially with Zee's fiance Michael, who leaves her. Also, the relationship that occured between Hawk and Liliana was a little to unbelievable to me. However, I do recommend this book, definitely enjoyed the imagery and the writing style.

On to the next, The Red Tent. Which also isn't on the list, but the one after, The Count of Monte Cristo is!

Happy Reading

A Passage to India

I just completed A Passage to India by E.M. Forster over the weekend. This book has definitely been one of the more difficult reads since I just could not get into the story. I kept getting lost in the wordiness of it all and struggled to get through. However, irregardless of the wordiness, the novel had a great message. It took me until I reached the end of the novel to fully appreciate what E.M. Forster was yapping about the entire length of the novel.

The novel is set in the British ruled India, in the early 1900s. Aziz is the main character, a physican working with his British boss. He is the central character whose image is tarnished by Miss Quested, who has come to India to become engaged to Heaslop, who is a magistrate in Chandrapore where the action happens. Miss Adele Quested is accompanied by Heaslop's mother, Mrs. Moore. These two ladied "befriend" Aziz and beg him to take them to the Marabar Caves.

This is where all of the trouble occurs. While entering one of the caves, Adele thinks she is assualted by Aziz, where he is later arrested but ultimately the charges are dropped because Miss Quested states she has been mistaken and will not testify against Aziz. While the trial and the result of it are some of the big actions in the novel, I chose here to discuss the racism that predominates the novel.

Everyone in this novel is racist. Aziz is a Muslim and thinks little of the Hindu Indians who he refers to as dirty, primative, stupid etc. The English are prejudice to all both Muslim and Hindu, and are also prejudice to their own if they become to "Indianized". One of my favorite characters, Mr. Fielding, tries to bridge the two worlds, as he wants so badly to be friends with Aziz, regardless of the trouble that has been caused due to Adele's accusations. However, Aziz tells him they can never really be friends until the British pull out of India. That scene tore my heartstrings. I wanted just as badly for them to be friends, but you can understand why. Forster really showed that everyone is racist, even amongst their own people, and the the ruling party cannot be true friends to the subjects, as their will always be issues. There were scenes throughout the novel where there were misunderstandings between the Indians and the English because they did not understand their customs or meanings. It was sad to see, as the Indians were just as racist to the English as the English were to the Indians.

Ultimately, thinking about the novel after I finished, I like it better. As in, I truly enjoyed the message of the book but the wordiness, definitely did not love.

The next book I am reading now is not on the 1001 Book List, but I'll probably review it anyway since I have to read it for one of the book reads. It's call The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry and I am enjoying it so far.

Until next time, happy reading!

Gone With The Wind and other relationships gone KAPUT

FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY

I finished Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Good Luck with the reading if you ever decide to. I struggled with the last 100 pages until I had 30 pages left. Then the action started all over again and then I was engrossed once more.


This book is almost 1000 pages long and it is an easy read, as I have stated before but it does just keep going and going. Scarlett O'Hara is an infuriating character but she is so real because we all know a Scarlett O'Hara in our lives. I cannot fault Mitchell on her character development because it was damn good. I wish I had read this novel during school because I would have loved to write a paper on the love triangle (in Scarlett's mind) between Ashley, Rhett and Scarlett. When she FINALLY realizes that she is in love with a memory that is Ashley and really loves Rhett, I wanted to bitch slap her and say "DUH, Scarlett, you ignorant slut!" (Thank you Michael Scott). And when she also comes to the realization that Melanie was her only real friend, that was a DUH moment (ignorant slut). While I loved to hate Scarlett, she was the only one who had any gumption to seize the day and do something even after the world she had known was destroyed.

One of my favorite parts of the book was after Scarlett returns to Tara and she is foraging for food for the family. She is struggling with her load and she declares that she will never from this forth go hungry ever again. I loved the imagery and totally envisioned the scene so vividly.

I have a lot of issues with the book in terms of the historical information. I feel that Mitchell glamorized a lot of the confederacy and from reading it seems as if she used a lot of what she was told by others. I appreciate the view point of a southerners' perspective of the Civil War, but too much glamorization and ignoring of the facts. Mitchell obviously was no fan of Uncle Tom's Cabin, as she jabs at the book multiple times.

Now the question remains whether I should see the movie. But to quote Rhett Butler, "My dear, I don't give a damn". After reading the novel, not sure if I want to sit through a 4 hour movie and be disappointed.


Next book I am reading is for the 1001 Book Club, A Passage to India. Much shorter then GWTW, hopefully it's a good read.

Until next time!

One Hundred Years of Solitude and a little bit of Gone With The Wind

I finished One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on Friday. I must say, I did enjoy the book, but I do not believe that it is my favorite of his novels. I enjoyed The General in His Labriynth more, maybe because it was my first Garcia Marquez book, or that I enjoyed the plot more, but still this book was good. It was definitely a challenge to keep up with all of the Jose Aurelio's and the Segundo's and whose child was whose. One of the more "weirder" I guess you could say or the more less acceptable behavior was the odd relationships between the aunts and the children. For example, towards the end of the book, you have the young Aureliano Babiliona falling in love with his aunt Amaranta Ursula and basically forces himself upon her while her husband Gaston is in the other room and she let's him! This type of behavior is quite rampant and I was aghast at the behavior! I kid, but I am pretty sure my eyes were wide open at some passages of the book!

I loved the magical realism in Marquez's novels, to me they add a dash of romanticism to his novels interwined with the magical events. When Remedios the Beauty flies off into the heavens, I wasn't sad, but loved that she did sort of fly off into the heavens, as if she was always meant to. One of my favorite characters was the patriarch of the family, Jose Arcadio Buendia. He was ridiculed by his friends and family a like, was enchanted by the "magic" of the gypsies and was always trying to conquer alchemy. I was sad when they tied him to the tree and there he was for so many years talking to ghosts of the past.

Overall, I felt a sense of sadness within the book, that the family was all around cursed, and the men for whatever reason kept going to Pilar Tener! The family itself created their own demise, by the decisions and actions they chose and it was sad. You wanted them to prosper and succeed and when it seemed like they were going to, like those red ants which seem to me represented destruction and the fate they could not overcome, those rainy days kept coming until they were all ultimately wiped out. I recommend that everyone should read this, it definitely is a sad but good read.

Right now I have begun Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, the novel of the south. While the book itself is a breezy enjoyable read, I can't help but not believe that these Georgia plantations owners were just so kind to their slaves. It is as if Mitchell is romanticising these southern slaveowners. While I am sure there were kind slaveowners who didn't whip their slaves, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that not everyone was like that. Mitchell ignores a lot of the truths and chooses to idealize the actions of the soliders of the Confederacy. I am only 300 pages in and there is a lot more novel to go, but we shall see what else Mitchell chooses to ignore/romanticise. Maybe it's because I am a damn yankee but you can't blatanly ignore truth and facts and create wonderful fiction.

Until next time!

1001 Books

I decided to turn this blog into my literary journey of trying to read the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. It all started interestingly with MENSA, you know, those "wicked smhat" people who have only geniuses in their group. There was in article in Newsweek I believe (haha, yes Newsweek still has some journalistic stories) that gave the top internet sites that MENSA chose. Interested in what they heck MENSA would think were awesome sites, I saw the website www.goodreads.com, a place where you can discuss books with others and discover new ones.

I definitely needed this, let me tell you. I have been on an Agatha Christie kick for the past couple of months now, with no end in sight. I have no strayed into any other genres or authors except for Alexander McCall Smith, who writes The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

I am so glad I have good Goodreads. Those at MENSA got it right. (Fun Fact: James Woods is part of MENSA. They've got JAMES WOODS!) Anyway, you can join groups on goodreads and I joined some awesome groups, all with different topics and one of them happens to be 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

So, here begins my journey. The first book that I read which you have until May 15th to read (you get a whole month) is The Rainbow, by D.H. Lawrence, which I have completed. I have already had some lively discussions on the book, so I will post my comments and feedback on the novel shortly, as I will do with other books that I will be reading that happen to be on the list. Other books that I am reading from other book clubs, such as The Next Best Book Club and The Victorians, also have me reading books from the 1001 Books, which is good, because I can kill two birds with one stone!

I hope by joining me on my journey, you might also be compelled to start reading some different books you never would have ever read. I am glad that I found Goodreads. I love discussing with others my point of view and I love reading awesome books!

Right now I am currently reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I will post a progress report shortly as well!

She can ruin your faith with her casual lies

I always say I am going to be a consistent blogger and I always forget to do this. I always tell myself, "Oh I need to write in my blog" and then as soon as I remember to do it, I just as quickly forget.

Another monkey wrench in my so called life. I am going to take classes part time at school, further pushing my graduation date because why, because that's just how my life seems to be going at this point. I will not dwell on this. I can get through this. I want to graduate. That is my goal and I will get it done. Nothing will stop me.

What is the topic of the day?
I need to find a new book to read. I started reading The Appeal by John Grisham, but then I read the end after I had read about 100 pages, which I am not sure why I did but I did so now the book is ruined for me because the ending made me mad and it sucks. The funny thing is, is that the ending probably happens. People buy their way into power. Not to ruin it for anyone, but do yourself a favor, you will get worked up and pissed off when you finally get to the end. So don't read it. It is a good read, I do enjoy reading John Grisham novels, but this one made me mad!
Suggestions for any books that I can read? I have been an Agatha Christie kick for awhile now and I think I do have two books in my closet to read. Speaking of, I need to organize my closet. Once I get that puppy organized I am going to photograph it. Then frame it.