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Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

Hello Again!

Late in the day, but I couldn’t resist this list. From The Broke and The Bookish, the Top Ten Books I Want To Re-Read:

1. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
2. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
3. Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie
4. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
5. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
7. Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro
8. Flush, by Virginia Woolf
9. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
10. Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling

My first list reached 18 before I stopped myself. I’ve read some great books and there are many I would like to read again. Even though I have an overflow of new books to read, I‘ve decided to revisit my old favourites. I’m re-reading Jekyll and Hyde and I recently re-read The Great Gatsby. I’m looking forward to getting to some of these books soon.

Mini Shopaholic

Someone finally used it! They finally used the word that holds this series together. If you had asked me before, I would have said they'd done it already, but after seeing it I print, I know this is the first time Becky has heard it.

Mini Shopaholic finds Becky and Luke dealing with their rambunctious two-year-old. What I found interesting was learning a bit more about Becky and Luke’s childhoods and how that shaped them as adults.

I really enjoyed this addition to Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series. It’s what I wanted and expected. Life’s been crazy and I needed another happy read. The ending makes it obvious that there will be another book, but without a bunch of loose threads. Mini Shopaholic does a fair job standing on its own, but an even better job making me want more.

Bookshelf Porn

Cool site for book lovers.

Bookshelf Porn

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a terribly tragic tale. It is also regarded as one of the “great” American novels. It’s a feeling I had as well. However, not being an American, I’m not sure that I’m a good judge about what it means to be a “great” American anything. Though this is my second time reading The Great Gatsby. I first read it [way too many] years ago in an American literature class. I remembered really enjoying the story and with a movie coming out next year, I wanted to refresh my memory.

Gatsby starts out as a mystery of a man to all those around him, save the narrator, Nick Carraway; the story is told from Nick’s perspective. I think Nick understands Gatsby better than anyone ever has before. Gatsby keeps everyone away; they accept his hospitality without even meeting him. I think this is Gatsby’s choice. Gatsby lives in the past; his whole adult life is lived with his mind stuck in the past, revolving around an ideal. Everything he has acquired has been to attain that ideal. In the end, there are really only two people who care about him.

I have to say that I really enjoyed F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of language. His sentences are creative and thoughtful. I feel that it enhanced my enjoyment of the story. I really appreciate an author who can use words artfully. (Whenever I get around to restarting my “Word Of The Week” again, there will be a whole list of Gatsby words.)

I could probably discuss and analyze much more of the novel, but I just don’t have that kind of time right now. Plus, this novel has had loads of analyses over the years. I just wanted to get a few thoughts out and to say that The Great Gatsby is a novel I highly recommend.