day 30 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 30. Your favorite book of all time

Impossible. How am I supposed to do that? I can't pick one favorite book; I have to split the decision into genres. I have a favorite classic, favorite repeat-read, favorite book to quote, favorite summer read...

So I had to set some serious criteria for favorite book of all time. It had to change me life & the way I look at writing. It had to be a well-written book, not just summer reading fluff. I had to be completely invested emotionally in the novel. I had to immediately want more.

One summer, he was part of the maintenance crew at an Indiana university. His job was to deliver things to other crew members around campus. This meant lots of driving around–and lots of time sitting in the van not driving around. He decided to fill that time by reading & ended up buying a large collection of books that summer. I'm lucky enough to benefit, & I found both "Interpreter of Maladies" & "The Namesake" on his shelves.

I found "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri on Joe's bookshelf. It's the book you read & wish you could have written. The short stories collect the most intimate moments of nine sets of characters–perfectly portraying the fragility & vulnerability of us as humans.

The stories all center around India–tourists visiting, families emigrating. It is a part of the world that I have always been fascinated in & know little about. Lahiri uses this world for her three novels ("Unaccustomed Earth" being the latest). The poignant writing, derived from her own attachment to the culture, has gotten her serious attention; I'm confident in say that Lahiri will go on to be one of the voices of our times. Though her style is modern, it avoids elements that set it too much in today's world, today's writing style. Her writing & stories are timeless.

Jhumpa Lahiri is 43. In her short life, she's received a Guggenheim fellowship, the Pulitzer Prize, the PEN/Hemingway Award and The New Yorker Debut of the Year*. The woman is a machine.

Here's the synopsis Powell's put up of "Interpreter of Maladies":

Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in the New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession. Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant. She is an important and powerful new voice.

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day 29 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 29. A book everyone hated but you liked

My eighth grade year was pretty hit-or-miss when it came to book reading. Our teacher was a bit crazy–lots of hand motions, yoga talk, vegetarianism & big glasses paired with big hair. She cemented my love of sentence diagramming, & for that I am thankful. But she's a bit, well, "out there" for her conservative school district.

The whole class was tired of her choices–all rather depressing, a bit tough to get through, no real happy ending. 

That year, after we'd finally moved away from World War II reading (Anne Frank, Night, The Chosen & others I refuse to remember because I got so worn out by them) we read "I am the Cheese," a book which could have easily scored my vote for the most surprising ending. It wasn't a break from the depressing, dark stories we'd been reading, but the structure was different.

Here is the Powell's summary, which I find a bit lacking:

"A horrifying tale of government corruption, espionage, and counter espionage told by an innocent young victim...the buildup of suspense is terrific."–School Library Journal

The story was full of things that can get any middle school kid excited, so it's no wonder that it's become a bit of a classic in children's lit. I want to stop here before I get myself going & give something away.

What really rocked my world when researching this book for today was discovering the MOVIE! I also learned through IMDB's trivia that Robert MacNaughton, the man who stars in the film, now works in Phoenix as a USPS mail carrier. That just feels like mean trivia to me–but may be an odd bit of fate. In 1997, the book won the Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association!

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day 28 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 28. Favorite title

I saw this book on Powell's Books series Indiespensible, where they pick a book from an independent press every six weeks. If you subscribe, you get the book signed by the author sent to you. If you don't subscribe, you can read cool things about books you might not have ever found otherwise.

I don't subscribe, but I want to someday. I like checking back on this blog to see what books I should read. My favorite find so far, though I haven't read it, is "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender. Powell's staff seems to really like Bender & have good things to say about her short story writing.

I'm excited to read this book, but as I haven't I just wanted to share the title with you & encourage you to check out Powell's, consider ordering used books to save yourself some money & look into the Indiespensible set-up.

It's Dec. 22. We're so close to Christmas!

Sufjan Stevens tell you how to get ready:


What songs sound like the holidays to you? What are you watching to get yourself excited? What music plays when you walk down the street?

day 27 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 27. Most surprising plot twist or ending

Despite what it sounds like based on my past 26 choices, I DO read new books. While I used to dwell on the classics as an overwhelming thing I had to conquer & dedicate my life to–as I was a crazy, English-loving dork. Okay, I am. Sentence diagramming & all–, I've moved on to allowing myself to read more & more books by current authors. I've mentioned one of my favorites & the one I think we'll still be talking about 100 years from now.

Here's another that I think falls into that category, though this is contested by some critics who see him as too gimmicky, too reliant on extra elements to enhance the text.

Jonathan Safran Foer has written three very successful books. He then wrote the screenplay for one that was turned into a movie. He turned Natalie Portman into a vegan activist–& that's something, right? He's married. He has children.

He's 33.

Does anyone else feel like a failure right about now?

Now, as for the most surprising plot twist I've read, I have to confess: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" doesn't exactly twist at the end. It changes; your perception is skewed; your understanding is altered. What was most surprising to me with the novel was how much I NEEDED this exact ending.

Here's what we've got, courtesy of Powell's:

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is one of those novels you'll be sorry to see end. Inventor, jewelry designer, Francophile, tambourine player, and pacifist, nine-year-old Oskar careens from Central Park to Coney Island searching for a lock to fit the mysterious key left by his now deceased father. Oskar is endearing and imaginative; his voice captivates from the first page to the last. He tends to attract a motley crew of characters all groping for catharsis amidst various degrees of loss. Again, Foer tackles the big questions of love, truth, and beauty with a flare rare amongst contemporary writers.

After lots of emotional ups & downs in the novel, I was holding my breath. I didn't know what to expect from the ending, & I can't go into it too much here. I can only say that I left the book feeling I got everything I needed. And that's all I can say, because I want you to read this one. Really.

After ELIC, I took Joe's copy of "Everything is Illuminated," which is approximately 3 million times better than the movie, because my favorite story line from the book is completely absent in the film. I loved it even more than ELIC but felt like I was reading a completely different kind of novel–still that idea of the quest, the very vulnerable protagonist, but a new world of sentiments.

So I recommend him for the kind of heartbreak & hope we seem to always be looking for (though I confess, I haven't read "Eating Animals" after hearing some bad reviews). If you like what's happening in new literature right now, you'll really enjoy Foer. If you like multiple plot lines, quick writing styles & young, vulnerable or strong-willed character, you'll really enjoy Foer.

And keep an eye out for his latest work, in which he cuts apart his favorite story to turn it into a whole new novel–a mind-blowing mix of design and creative writing. 

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day 26 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 26. First favorite book or series obsession

When I was little, Mom would take me to the public library for story time, stacks of picture books & the 10-cent discarded book rack.

The library would occasionally sift through its collection, buy updated versions & let people buy the old copies for a dime. Or, in sadder cases, books that no one wants & haven't been checked out for x period of time get added to the shelf. Either way, for me it was cause for rejoicing.

When I was old enough to ride my bike around town a bit, (as the library is less than a mile from my parents' home) my friends & I would ride to the library–sit in the adult section, spend an hour reading movie titles, try to find scandalous books, takes another hour to decide what stack we actually wanted to bring home.

I have serious difficulties in libraries. I end up with a stack of about seven, then try to narrow it down to realistic expectations. But when faced with options in reading, I tend to melt. I get all wobbly in the head & can't just take one.

This was a problem when I got to the discarded rack of the library & saw an entire row of Nancy Drew novels. One of the greatest things to come from my grandma's storage places were her daughters' Nancy Drew books. I can't remember which were only my mom's & which were my aunts, but I know for a while I had them sitting on my shelf. I loved eating my way through them.

I wanted to buy that whole row of Nancy Drew books, but there were several problems with this.
1. A friend was there. We'd recently taken to using my walkie-talkies & her detective kit to try to solve neighborhood mysteries, so she wanted in on the Drew action, too.
2. I was on my bike. I didn't have a backpack. How would I bring home a row of Nancy Drew?
3. I had four dimes. Brittany, my friend, had far more.


So I went home with a few Nancy Drews to add to the family collection & was able to read them before I grew out of my mystery-solving phase. My sister went on to read them, adding several new books to the collection.

Nancy has held up well to time–a whole new series (Nancy Drew, Girl Detective) sprang up in the last decade; she has countless web & PC games; people still talk about her on web forums. This all leads me to hope that if we have a daughter, she too may go through her neighborhood detective phase & come home with a stack of Nancy Drew.

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day 25 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 25. A character who you can relate to the most

I know, I know. I said I was trying not to double up on books, so that I could give you 30 different titles. 

Carol Kennicott of Sinclair Lewis's "Main Street"bites off more than she can chew. While we've moved in opposite directions (she from big city to small town & I the other way around, we want the same thing: to change the world, to improve lives, to save them.

Carol is seen as radical, snobby, superficial, too much, too loud, too opinionated. She doesn't want to parlor talk. She wants to show them culture–to shake them into fun.


While I have the luck of being born after women's lib, I'm still seen as radical, most likely as superficial, most certainly as too opinionated–with an environmental twist. Reading the novel, I imagined myself in those situations, pushing for parks & local produce in the supermarkets. I imagined how bizarre this would sound–because what community doesn't think they're already doing the best they can for themselves?


Carol struggles to find a niche for herself in the world of her husband & cries out against the constraints of her role in society. I do the same, in small ways–not against my husband, who would support me in anything that wasn't self-destructive, but against the employers, co-workers, politicians & citizens that still perpetuate gender roles & norms. I was proud of Carol when she announced that We were coming, we the women of the world–coming into the offices & industries men had worked to keep them from (see that quotation here).


She's a mess–confused about herself & her world, emotional, unsure of herself at times, stubborn, enthusiastic, scared, confident, human. I think we could all relate to her on at least two of those adjectives.

It's interesting to note that Carol was inspired by Lewis's first wife, Grace. Learn more about her in this TIME article.

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day 24 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 24. A book that you wish more people would’ve read

Michael Pollan is one of my favorite people, writers, journalists & food activists. He's written books–from talking about his experience trying to grow weed & potatoes, having his own Thoreau-ian experience & changing what he eats.

He started out as a journalist who just happened to be a garden. Now, he's an authority–the strongest voice of the movement to start knowing your food & its sources/ingredients again. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" launched him into the national spotlight, & he's since been talking all over, writing more & narrating one of my favorite documentaries.

I found Pollan while researching my big journalism project during my second year of college–write a really, really long paper about a public policy question. Mine: Should the government allow us to continue with destructive genetic mutations & industrial farming that are, in the end, harming our environment, food supplies, water supplies & diet? (Now, it was a journalism course. I framed it a BIT more objectively than that at the time.) I haven't let this cause go since. Neither has he.

Though "The Omnivore's Dilemma" was his greatest success, I don't want to recommend it for a first read. It can seem too didactic & snobby for those of us that still only have the budget for Wal*Mart & imported goods smothered in chemicals. (Though, if we're honest, most local corn would be smothered in chemicals, too.)

Instead, I suggest "In Defense of Food," Pollan's next book that was, in a sense, a response to the response to "The Omnivore's Dilemma." It says, "Hey. This is our situation. This is what's happening to our food, & we can't all change everything at once." He then walks you through ways you can change your diet–new ways to start looking at your diet to add or subract foods–in a way that's inspiring. The inspiring bit is important, because I know I'm not the only one that could read a book like this & leave feeling like a failure.

Before you start judging this book by its topic, I want to promise something. I promise that you'll learn something. I promise that it is possible to make changes to your diet that brings your food closer to home. I promise that you'll look at Wal*Mart differently. I promise that a small group of people in your community, no matter where you are, is working on increasing accessibility to locally-grown food; you can find them.

Pollan's argument is that over the past few decades, the amount of money each family is willing to pay for food (versus furniture, clothes, travel...) is disproportionately low. We NEED to be willing to spend more for good food, to support a local structure & to SUPPORT our bodies with fewer chemicals & more nutrients. I know. It already sounds overwhelming. So let Pollan walk you through it, because we can all make small changes together.

I truly love this guy. Listen to his small TED talk to see what he's like before reading:









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day 23 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 23. A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t

My list of books to read is something like 12 pages long. I'm not kidding. It runs in the family; you should see my mom's list. The only difference is she's good about hers: adding & crossing off. I feel the need to re-write mine every time I get a new journal.

There has been one book hovering at the top of the list (& severely weighing down my book shelf) since I first saw the movie on TV in middle school. It came across the ocean with me & accounted for 45 percent of my book weight allowance in my suitcase. (Joe & I set a limit: four books of reasonable size.)

I absolutely love Leo Tolstoy's time, style & story. Though I've only read "Anna Korenina," he's made an impression on me. The first book to go on my France packing list–don't act surprised, you know I had at least three– was "War & Peace" so that Joe & I could read it together.

*Side note: That cover is the Vintage Classics, so check it. Vintage US is one of my absolute favorite big publisher.

Since you won't click the link, let's see what Powell's says:

War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleons invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men.

 France meets Russia via Napoleon? Illegitimate children & tangled love? Princes? Bring. It. On. Then, Powell's page gets me even more excited by using a Virginia Woolf quotation:

“There remains the greatest of all novelists—for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?”

If Woolf says it, you know it's true or at least really interesting & worth considering. 

Posts like this bum me out, because I'll never read the number of books I want to. So I'm closing by saying that I started "Middlemarch" & adore it. The version I have also includes "Silas Marner," which I admit I didn't enjoy as much as the film version with Steve Martin.

What are you still trying to get yourself to read? What's stopping you?

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day 22 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 22. Best quotation from a novel

Are you aware that you are, perhaps, the most discussed animal in the universe? 

Who's in love with Virginia Woolf?

This girl.

Who's admittedly read only "A Room of One's Own" & excerpts, interviews & the like?

Same chic.

But she is outstanding. She's a feminist, a strongly opinionated person & someone I put at the top of my "People who String Words Together in Remarkably Delightful Ways"list. I would list more quotes here, but instead I encourage you to read this book.

It's not truly a novel as much as it is an extended essay, and it's a book that I was happy to find tossed onto a pile of recycled books on the History Department basement when I worked there. The History Club was going to sell it for a quarter. I admit: I took it. Without paying. And I couldn't be happier. I read the book in three days, beginning on the Greyhound that Joe & I took to Chicago before coming to France for visiting a good friend & getting our visas.


I tend to underline, make notes & highlight in novels that I know I will read again. I found myself wanting to put brackets around every paragraph of this text, wanting to memorize it, wishing I could claim it as my own.

This is how Online Literature explains the extended essay:

Now regarded as a classic feminist work, Woolf based her extended essay A Room on lectures she had given at women’s colleges at Cambridge University. Using such female authors as Jane Austen and Emily and Charlotte Bronte, she examines women and their struggles as artists, their position in literary history and need for independence.

 I think about the Woolf quote & this entire text frequently, as I try to figure out how writing will fit into my life. I felt like I was on the right track when, during our trip to the Centre Pompidou (official site & pictures) I found a Woolf quote on the wall in the special women's art collection.

On a related reading/writing note, Joe & I stopped in at the American Library for the first time since I got my library card. I thought my heart would explode as I stood there trying to pick only two books to take home (& read before Jan. 12, on top of the four books I currently have started). I settled on "Middlemarch" & "A Natural History of the Senses" while talking to Ruth, the first librarian in the 1970s now turned volunteer. She invited us to her monthly lunch & to help wrap books for the collections on Tuesdays. Could be fun & a nice way to connect myself to the community here.

What books have you picked up for your holiday reading?

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day 21 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 21. Favorite book from your childhood

Each day, the decisions get harder. Thank goodness we're already to day 21–but then again, how did that HAPPEN?

Growing up, my mom and grandma had magic boxes and shelves of books that seemed to multiply–in attics, garages and living rooms. Mom would go into the attic and return with a handful of books from her childhood. Over the summer, I would work my way through them. Then, the next summer should would do the same.

Many of my favorite books come from these places (from original Nancy Drew to the Mitford Series). My sister is now working her way through many of them as well, & they've become a part of our family. One, Saturday Night, was given to me & my sister for Easter. They'll go on to see several more generations of our family.

When it came time to pick my favorite childhood read, I wasn't sure where to go. I had to limit myself to chapter books, because I feel like I'm neglecting books when I don't list them as favorites. I feel like chapter books–novels–I'm not sure why I was saying chapter books... I feel like novels can handle the neglect better than picture books. After a few minutes of listing, "Jane-Emily" popped to the top & nothing could replace it.

As I've mentioned several times, what I longed for most as a child was a feeling of adventure. When my dad built our garage, I used it as a setting to reenact "The Secret Garden" or various jungle scenes. When I got "Adventures of Yellow Dog" for Christmas, I spent the next year acting it out, constantly carrying around my uncle's old mess kit from Boy Scouts.

I was also, by an early age, thoroughly addicted to horror movies. My cousins & I would stay over at Grandma's; our aunt would take us to the movie store (so we could have someone to buy the R movies); we would make snacks (pizza rolls, popcorn, Fritos & cheese dip). We would spend the night watching three or four horror movies, with my uncle, only a few years older than us four girls, adding sarcastic commentary & dialogue along the way. We were never scared. We were one step ahead. We were young, invincible & laughing at the stupid girls allowing themselves to get slaughtered. My favorite story line: anything with ghosts.

These two things (a summer adventure & the supernatural) come together in "Jane-Emily." Look at what this synopsis:

Jane is nine years old and an orphan when she and her young Aunt Louisa come to spend the summer at Jane’s grandmother’s house, a large, mysterious mansion in Massachusetts. Then one day . . . Jane stares into a reflecting ball in the garden—and the face that looks back at her is not her own.

Many years earlier, a child of rage and malevolence lived in this place. And she never left. Now Emily has dark plans for little Jane—a blood-chilling purpose that Louisa, just a girl herself, must battle with all her heart, soul, and spirit . . . or she will lose her innocent, helpless niece forever.

Nothing could top this as a summer read, especially if you're laying outside in the tent your dad set up in the backyard. No matter what age you are, if you missed this one it's time to get your hands on it!

What books did you love as a child? Who introduced you to them?

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day 20 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 20. Favorite romance book

I have a soft spot for Russians.  I love romance–hence Jane Austen & the like on this list. That said, it's hard for me to get behind traditional romance novels. Picking my favorite was difficult, but then I remembered the Christmas season I spent curled up on my bed under the afghan Mom made when I was little, complete compelled by Leo Tolstoy.

"Anna Korenina" is one of my favorite novels of all time, an unconventional love story that can do nothing but break your heart & make you long for a stiff, Russian vodka to dull the pain. Nabokov agrees, calling it one of "the greatest love stories in world literature." Who could argue with another master of world literature?

Let's look at some of the subjects Powell's puts on their "Anna Korenina" page: didactic (admittedly not the BEST adjective, but it works here), married women, adultery, Russia, pre-Soviet Union, classics. Nothing is lacking.

The plot follows a path something like this. At times tiring in the Russian way, at times haltingly full of energy & emotion, you feel as if you're moving with each character, acting out each moment. I can only plead that you read it, before you put the (gorgeous) images from the film into your head. Let yourself create the characters & their world for yourself.

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day 19 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 19. Favorite book turned into a movie

They keep getting harder. I thought I had decided, & then I watched "Pride & Prejudice" again yesterday afternoon. And then my mom said her favorite was "The Godfather," which is one of my top five favorite movies of all time. Luckily, I haven't read the book yet–so technically it can't be on my list.

I was trying not to use the same book twice, but I can't think of any movie that tops it. "To Kill A Mockingbird" is my favorite book-turned-movie of all time. I adore this novel, & I would give anything to write like Harper Lee.

When I was young, I was obsessed with collections. I found every tin, box & container I could to hide away my possessions, convinced that they were connected to the meaning of my life in some way–it was a part of my quest for adventure, the same trait that made me long for a family member or friend in another city whom I could visit for the summer, the part of me that wanted to run away or get lost like in "Adentures of the Yellow Dog." For that reason, "To Kill A Mockingbird" had me at its opening credits. (I think it all started with "Curly Sue.")

From there, it just keeps getting better. The film is perfectly cast & perfectly fit for black-and-white.

It's a tradition for my family to watch this film on Halloween, so it's hard for me to watch it without thinking of my family & past trick-or-treats. It's impossible for me to think of Halloween without thinking of this movie. I think, one trick-or-treat, I'll make our child dress up as Scout, dressed up as a ham.

As if Scout & Jem–my first crush–weren't captivating enough, they have Gregory Peck as their dad & the youngest Robert Duvall I've ever seen. It doesn't get better than that.

P.S. The French title of the film is translated as, "Of Silence & Shadows." Interesting...

day 18 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 18. A book that disappointed you

I can forgive a lot of things. I can ignore a lot of things. I like nonfiction. I love memoir. Both of these things often lead us to talking about ourselves–our memories, experiences, ideas, personal philosophies.

I can read a lot of styles. I enjoy a lot of time periods, genres & authors.

This is all to say that it is not Gertrude Stein that I dislike. It is not her writing style or her excitement about the period of literature that she was an essential part of. It happens to be one of my favorites–between the wars, the "Lost Generation" that she had a strong hand in helping (Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce..).

Can I blame her for how awesome she thinks she is? Not fully. But I can blame her for using "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" to talk about her own life, her accomplishments & merits. Powell's Books casts this in a friendly light:

Largely to amuse herself, Gertrude Stein wrote this book in 1932..using as a sounding board her companion Miss Toklas, who had been with her for twenty-five years. The book is full of the most lucid and shapely anecdotes, told in a purer and more closely fitting prose...than even Gide or Hemingway have ever commanded.

 It began entertaining, & I did find it educational (learning about Picasso, Paris, Hemingway & the like)... but after 100 pages of hearing her go on about herself, I couldn't take anymore. I still didn't know a thing about Toklas, Stein's longtime companion.

So instead of ending this on a negative, Stein-bashing note, I'll leave it more positively: I encourage you to read Stein's poetry rather than her nonfiction.

What disappointed you? Did you find a way to redeem it? Did it shake you off of the author on the whole?

day 17 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 17. Favorite non-human character

I really enjoy Dave Eggers. He does amazing things for fun literature, amazing things for children with his 826s, really enjoyable writing for films & lots of hard work for public education. TED recognized him for this.

He is also an outstanding writer. No matter the character, Eggers makes you fall in love with them. Their emotions are your emotions; their motion is your motion. His understanding of character & human sensitivity helped make "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" an enormous success.

But my favorite Eggers character is found in his short story collection "How We Are Hungry," in a story told by his most excited, passionate, amiable narrator.

The dog in "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned" (can be read here). I can't tell you anything more about him without spoiling the story, but I have never looked at a dog & a dog's happiness the same way. My heart is warmed & broken by him, as it is with so many of Eggers' characters.

Here are a few quotations to pique your interest. But really, click & read it. I'm not sure if this was illegally put online, but I'm sure he won't mind too much. He seems to be a nice man.

I wanted him to be happy. I wanted the squirrels to jump and be happy as we dogs were. But they were different than we were...

I feel good. My eyes feel good, like I will see everything before I have to. I see colors like you hear jet planes. 

My claws grabbing at the earth like I’m the one making it turn.

day 16 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 16. Favorite female character

I found this decision easier than picking my favorite male character, but I was still torn over several (Jane Eyre, Elinor Dashwood, Scout Finch). For the sake of having as many different books on the list as possible, I've opted for Pride & Prejudice.

Elizabeth Bennett is one of my all-time favorite characters–and she holds up well on film, if you don't want to read the novel (in England & the States). She's feisty, affectionate, passionate for her family & sure of what she wants; she's Jane Austen's bet example of feminism before we even had the word.

Elizabeth calls out her sisters for their flighty affections & preoccupation of boys...

 With your good sense, to be so honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others! Affectation of candour is common enough — one meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design — to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad — belongs to you alone.

...but she also admits that she could easy do the same...

A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.

and she does fall in love–rapidly, sincerely & rather confused about her predicament. Her times (and her mother) mandate that a good match & marriage are her purpose in life, a necessary step to save her family. But Elizabeth makes her love & her potential matrimony her own in a love story only Austen could write.

days 14 & 15 of the 30 day book challenge

I failed yesterday. I got caught up in taking care of some things around the house (aka making snowflakes & a paper chain before grocery shopping. I'm not going into these two, because I love them too much. If I start writing, I won't be able to stop.

Day 14. Favorite book of your favorite writer
"Speak, Memory" is the memoir of Vladimir Nabokov's childhood–a novel seeped in the emotions only a child can feel, in a writing style that is, in my opinion, unparalleled. His sincerity, sentiment (without being too sentimental), & synesthesia show his passion for connections, allusions & pattern from a young age.

The story follows him through his childhood in Russia, with its best chapters showing the relationship with his mother, who is also said to have experienced synesthesia. He was a sensitive child, eager for emotional experiences & learning–though perhaps not with his tutors.

For more on this amazing memoir, check out this Washington Post article.

Day 15. Favorite male character

Atticus Finch is the father in one of my favorite novels, "To Kill a Mockingbird"–a novel loved by my mother, aunts and cousins as well. I can't think of this novel without thinking of my family & their passion for reading.

I think my mom described Atticus best, saying that he is the conscience of the town–the understanding that they all have, a physical representation of their justice & their ideal system of justice. It's no wonder Scout & Jem idolized their father & followed in his footsteps–like Scout stepping forward in the crowd that forms outside the jail.

One of my friends who also loves Atticus has tried to decide what a cocktail named after him would include. We have strongly settled on the fact that Atticus would have been a whiskey drinker–but what sort of whiskey? With what? Apparently, others have similar sentiments about the character we would all love to have as a father. This bar in Brunswick shares is named after him.

day 13 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 13. Your favorite writer

I never imagined this question to be this hard. I need to have categories, but that would be cheating. I'll read this question as, "Your favorite author in terms of who you would most like to write like, meet or possibly be related to."

"Speak, Memory" changed the way I saw memory, memoir & the importance of my child self in any nonfiction I may someday write. I'll save what else I have to say about that book for tomorrow. Today, I'll show you a bit of the magic that is Vladimir Nabokov.

 Most know him for "Lolita," the novel-turned-film (twice). "Lolita" follows the story of a pedophile and his relationship with the "nymphette" Lolita. (Nabokov also wrote the screenplay of the Kubrick version of the film.) What gets lost in the controversy is his unbelievable ability to sew allusions into each page, in a sense adding an entire collection of text to the one he is creating.

At times, this makes reading difficult. With the annotated version, you want to flip to the back to research each line, to create seams along the allusion's connections. Tip: Read the entire text first. Find what you love about it. Create your own connections. Then, at the end, casually flip through the annotations to find ones that catch your interest. Read the excerpt that includes them. Be blown away.

Tip number two with Nabokov, & another reason I love him: Read the introduction, forward, afterward... every page. Don't. Skip. Anything. These too are part of the text, especially in the case of "Lolita," used to education the novel itself.

These elements–his mastery of language (writing in both Russian & English), his use of allusion & his wit in all parts of the text–will have have smiling, even laughing, in the darkest of moments. If you find yourself laughing at "Pale Fire" or awkwardly smiling while reading "Lolita" in public, I believe this is what makes Nabokov happiest–the unexpected humor that creates an uncommon mix of emotions.

I love him, & I could go on for ages. What I want to say, in summary of my favorite author, is that he is more than worth reading. He is worth reading at least four times–and that doesn't have to include "Lolita." Nabokov wrote in Russian & English, all English texts coming later. Many critics say his best works come from his English writing (as, like these French wines we're drinking, we all tend to mature & develop with age), so set yourself up there. And let yourself laugh with him, even when you feel like you're not supposed to.

day 12 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 12. A book you used to love but don’t anymore

When I first read "Julie & Julia," I loved the sassy feel of the narrator. I envied her idea & the success of her project. As a blogging hopeful & lover of French cuisine, I wanted so badly to relate to her. I could easily put myself in her place throughout the story–the frustrations, the hopes, the determination.

What I couldn't quite get on board with was the author herself. I must confess that I am again putting the author in the way of my reading. There was too much buzz, too many things outside of the novel interfering with my reading. I read it in a creative nonfiction class when the movie was getting ready to come out. We were ignoring the film & trying to ignore interviews with Julie Powell, the title "character" & author who sets out to cook her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Powell's Books has this publishers note posted about the book:

At first she thinks it will be easy. But as she moves from the simple Potage Parmentier (potato soup) into the more complicated realm of aspics and crepes, she realizes there's more to Mastering the Art of French Cooking than meets the eye. With Julia's stern warble always in her ear, Julie haunts the local butcher, buying kidneys and sweetbreads. She sends her husband on late-night runs for yet more butter and rarely serves dinner before midnight. She discovers how to mold the perfect Orange Bavarian, the trick to extracting marrow from bone, and the intense pleasure of eating liver.

And somewhere along the line she realizes she has turned her kitchen into a miracle of creation and cuisine. She has eclipsed her life's ordinariness through spectacular humor, hysteria, and perseverance.

Sounds like I should love it, right? And I did on the first read. I was inspired & excited & laughing at the biting comments Powell made–often criticizing herself.

Then I picked up the book a few month later. Something about the tone seemed artificial, hurried, insincere. If there is one thing that kills a novel for me, it is insincerity. I felt removed from the book on a second read, & I actually only sat through a few pages before putting back on the shelf, permanently retired. I'm not sure what's to blame–fresh eyes on the writing style? my frame of mind at the time (closer to my wedding & more mentally in need of happy love stories)? (unfairly passed) judgment of Powell, based on the premise of her second book?

Whatever the case, I still prefer the book to the film version, which made Powell to sweet & lovable (& cast Amy Adams as Powell for some unknown reason). I'm not even sure she meant for us to love her in "Julie & Julia"–it was enough that we related to her in her small successes & failures of daily life, whether surviving another day of marriage or making a three-course French dinner. This sentiment I still appreciate & feel she captured well, & for this reason I would still suggest it as a light read for friends interested in memoir styles, French cooking or Julia Child.

Are there books you have fallen out of love with? I hope not, as it feels worse than any breakup I've experienced. The poor, neglected things just sit there on the shelf, reminding you that you hate them.

day 11 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 11. A book you hated

I do not enjoy saying that I hate books. I try desperately to appreciate something from everything I read. But with John Banville's "The Untouchable," it was hard for me to even turn the page.

I should not cast off Banville so easily. He's prolific, the recipient of many awards, well respected by Them (all those people that matter in literature, or at least on the web sites I saw while researching him), & I've only read this book. Here is how Contemporary Writers describes "The Untouchable":

More accessible perhaps than its predecessors, this work is a biographical study of individuality in freefall, released from the constructions of nationhood and patriotism, and obsessed with the abnegation of self required by the act of betrayal. 

I wouldn't describe this book as "accessible"any more than I would apply the same adjective to "Ulysses", which Joe & I are currently having some trouble with. It takes time to figure out how to read the novel–What pace am I supposed to move along at? What seems to be most important to retain from each page? Am I supposed to sympathize or hate the protagonist?

Powell's Books has this note from the publisher on their blurb for the book:

One of the most dazzling and adventurous writers now working in English takes on the enigma of the Cambridge spies in a novel of exquisite menace, biting social comedy, and vertiginous moral complexity.

I'm willing to accept that maybe I was just a bit off when I read it. Maybe I would really love Banville when given a second chance. Maybe there is something perfect about "The Untouchable" that was lost on me.

But all I can say for now is that I can't cheat on books Joe & I read together. We never quit them; we always reach the end. We talk about it after each chunk of reading. I hate to read every page. Except the end. I think that this may be one book where Joe finished before I did & had to head back to St. Louis... & I just said, "Oh, yeah. No, I was very surprised by that!" I honestly can't remember if I finished it or not. I do remember sleeping through many pages, waking up & just turning a few to catch back up.

Does that make me sound terrible? What books have left you with a similar feeling?

day 10 of the 30 day book challenge

Day 10. Favorite classic book

There is something so amiable in the prejudices of a young mind, that one is sorry to see them give way to the reception of more general opinions.

My mom got me started on the classics at an early age, easing into them with "Great Expectations" & "A Christmas Carol" from the Great Illustrated Classics series. I would stay home with a babysitter while they did their Christmas shopping, & they always brought me an early Christmas surprise. For several years, it was a GIC.

When it comes time to pick a classic, I didn't even know where to begin. Steinbeck? Hemingway? The Brontë girls? Trying to pick a favorite Russian writer? Then what about the French masterpieces? My head was spinning for a while, & it took me some time to find a book that has "bewitched me body & soul" (actually a quote from the film version of my second favorite classic, by the same author).

If I think of a book that calls on feminism before its time, that inspires me to love others as I am & without sacrificing my beliefs, that allows me to believe in true & romantic love, that touches on every emotion of familial life; if I think of a book that calls to mind memories of my family, of the particular details of when & where I was reading it, there is only one title. There is only one book that touches on all aspects of what a favorite classic should be–what that moves you with its writing, beauty of characters, plot, & impression it leaves on your life happening as you read it.

I started Sense & Sensibility during an ice storm, while my mom, sister & I were staying at a family friend's house to have electricity & water. I was in high school, filled with a desire for romance & obsessed with classic literature. I was beginning to understand that the world is still not quite right in its perception of women. I was wrapped in a blanket on a wicker couch in a guest room, & I fell even more in love with Jane Austen.

In lieu of going into the plot & my reasons for preferring it to Pride & Prejudice (or Emma, or Mansfield Park–so hard to choose!), I point you to this collection of quotations, this lovely edition of the novel & this promise: I promise you will love the entire family, the multiple love stories strung through the novel, the feminist undertones ahead of their time & the ease you have losing yourself in their world. The characters are the most welcoming I've read.

With Christmas comes the Christmas wish list... & the promise of another year of great books being published. What books are on your wish list? What classics do you love most?

Not into classics? Here's a list of the best books from this year for you to consider as well.