I don't know when I stopped reading novel type books. I know it had nothing to do with having kids, but that certainly didn't help the situation. I love to read, and I read a lot as a kid. Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary come to mind when I think of my elementary years. In junior high I remember having to read "To Kill a Mocking Bird" and "Of Mice and Men", but in high school I can't remember what I read, or even being required to read. There was one book in my English Lit. class my senior year that I was assigned over spring break, but I was going to California with some friends and didn't have time to read it. My junior year I remember doing Shakespeare. Didn't understand a bit of it, probably because at the time I didn't want to, it wasn't a passion of mine by any stretch of the imagination. His work now scares me to death, mostly because I know at some point very soon I will have to expose Michael to this literary virtuoso.
After high school there were a few John Grisham books, "Jurassic Park" and some flesh eating bacteria book entitled "The Hot Zone". I also got into the Sue Grafton, Mary Higgins Clark type books too. But, I have never really drank from the well of classical literature. If it's been made into a "Wishbone" episode, I have certainly never read it, at least not up until now.
It started a few years back with the release of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Someone suggested that they would be easier to understand if I read the books first. I started with "The Hobbit" and finished with "Return of the King". I would like to re-read these at some point. I enjoyed them, but I also rushed through them because Kent was anxious to rent the movies, and was waiting for me to finish the books. I definitely didn't savor them like I should have.
Next came "Anna Karenina", at the suggestion of my sister. Oh what a tangled web we weave! I actually couldn't believe what she did at the end and remembered reading a certain page over and over again, to make sure I had gotten it right.
After Anna came "David Copperfield", which I enjoyed, although Uriah Heep gave me the creeps. The name just resonate evil.
This September I read "Wuthering Heights". I found it to be so very depressing, like a book version of the movie "Legends of the Fall". It's not the same story, it just gave me the same feeling only for a longer amount of time since it was a book. I almost didn't finish it.
Thank goodness the next book I picked was a good one. So good in fact I had a hard time putting it down. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. I wasn't expecting to like this and maybe that's why I ended up loving it so much. I've actually got another book of hers on hold at the library, and will be picking it up tonight. But first I must finish "Lust for Life", which was recommended by a good friend. So far I like it.
I know I'm just scratching the surface of things here, and if you have any suggestions on great books I should add to my list, please let me know. I suppose after "Mansfield Park" I should get my hands on some of William's work, so suggestions on the best easiest pieces to start with would be very helpful as well.
Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume? Were we separated at birth??? I actually wrote Mrs. Cleary a letter when I was seven and she sent me back a personalized postcard. I was a major fan.
As for novels, I was going to recomment "Pride and Prejudice," but you already got to that one. Here are some suggestions:
1. "Sense and Sensibility," by Jane Austen
2. "Pollyanna," by Eleanor Porter
3. "Presumed Innocent," by Scott Turow
4. "The Scarlet Letter," by Nathaniel Hawthorne
5. "To Kill A Mockingbird," by Harper Lee
Also, I don't know if you read the works of Maud Hart Lovelace when you were growing up, but I loved the "Betsy-Tacy" books and read them to this day, under the guise of reading them to my girls. With a household of boys, you don't have that "cover," but I think you'd enjoy the books anyway if you haven't already. :)
Posted by: Rebecca | October 18, 2007 at 12:25 PM