Top Ten Characters I'd Like To Check In With

I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday in a really, really, long time. But I saw this week's topic and it really connected with me.  How many times have you read a book and imagined what life was like for the character after the story's end? I know I have. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever find out.I certainly didn't know there would be a sequel (or two) to Oryx and Crake when I first read it. Margaret Atwood isn't known for writing trilogies, but I'm so glad she created MaddAddam. I didn't think there would be books after Wicked either (and I still have to read them). Sometimes that hope to know what happens to the lives of our favourite characters is fulfilled, but most of the time, nope, we don't get to know.

Here are my top ten characters I'd like to check in with - in no particular order:

1. Offred from The Handmaid's Tale - Never going to happen, because the ending is perfect, but I still wish I knew what happened to her.

2. Roland from The Dark Tower series - I will try not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the whole series, but I want to know if Roland breaks the cycle.

3. Harry Potter - Harry Potter!

4. Laila from A Thousand Splendid Suns - Did her life turn out okay?  It seemed like it would, but after such a difficult beginning, I'd like to make sure.

5. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird - ... Oh wait....

6. Del from Lives of Girls and Women - I just want to know.

7. Lena from the Delirium series - That ending! Come on!

8. David & Tell Ullman from The Demonologist - That ending! Come on!

9. The Baudelaires from A Series of Unfortunate Events - Who do they become when they grow up?  (Do they grow up?)

10. The Time Traveler from The Time Machine - Where does he end up?

I refrained from including any series that I know has another book out or coming out that I haven't read yet.  As much as I wanted to include Blue Sargent (from The Raven Cycle) or Betsy Taylor (from Undead), I didn't, because there are books to read and maybe once I reach the conclusions of these series I won't be wondering (I know what happens to MaddAddam's Toby and Katniss from The Hunger Games). These are all characters that still capture my imagination. Who do you wonder about you close the book?

Friend Of My Youth

Friend of My Youth is one of many short story collections by the brilliant Alice Munro.  I've read a few of her books, but not all.  One day it will be all, because I am never disappointed.  Friend of My Youth was elegant, beautifully written, filled with emotionally complex characters.  I picked out a few of my favourite stories to say a few words about.

Friend Of My Youth

Friend of my Youth is a perfect story. It is strong and stirring. I love the unnamed narrator. She loves and hates her mother. She admires and possibly hates Flora. Does she also dislike all the friends her mother had in her youth; the ones she never finished writing to? Friend of my Youth is the perfect beginning to this collection, making me eager to read the rest. 

   

Meneseteung

Another beautifully written story. Very sad, very poetic. I loved Meda and again, an unnamed narrator. Was the narrator researching this writer's life? What was the fascination with Almeda Roth? I wanted Almeda to have a happy ending. 

Hold Me Fast, Don't Let Me Pass

I thought I was going to be disappointed by the ending of this beautiful story, but the last line changed it for me, changed everything. Funny how that works. 

Pictures of the Ice

Pictures of the Ice was a fantastic story. Definitely a favourite in the collection. Austin is sad and remarkable. So is Karin. Each knew what the other was doing without saying a word. They helped each other through difficulties and supported each other quietly. I have so much hope for Karin. I wish I could know where she ends up. 

Oh, What Avails

I enjoyed Joan. I feel like this long short story could have been a novel. I wonder what happened with her husband and children, her brother, her lover and Matilda. It would have been interesting to explore her life further.

Wigtime

Wigtime was weird.  Margot was probably the most unrelatable of all the characters.  It wasn't weird, as in strange things happened, it was just different that the other stories, though still exactly the same.  You'd have to read it to understand, I supposed.  It's more of a feeling.  Maybe I just don't like Margot's behaviour.

All these stories follow women from the beginning of their lives to middle age.  They are divorced or separated.  Each story has an affair.  More than one story talked about marrying, not really knowing yourself, then needing a change as the women aged. Normally, I don't really like cheating as a topic of a story, it doesn't appeal to me.  I appreciate relationships that endure and forever love, but the stories in Friend of My Youth are not like other stories I've read or read about.  The affairs are not salacious, the separations are not treated lightly.  Was this an actual trend during this time, divorces from people married to young?  Each story felt so real, as though this was your mother, your friend's mother, you were talking to.  Again, I'm enamoured my Munro's beautiful writing and am eager to pick up another of her collections.

Lives of Girls and Women

I love Lives of Girls and Women.  It was every bit as wonderful as I remember.  It is the book which made me a fan of Alice Munro. Del is such an interesting, complex, character.  I could relate to Del.She struggles against her parentage, against expectations, to become a full person. Del is multi-dimensional. She is smart, interested in reading and learning, and it sets her apart from other girls her age. She want to be more, but doesn't dismiss the possiblity of love and doesn't ignore her sexual desires in favour of her brain. She lets her personal life interfere with her academic life, like so many people do; it's not realistic to fully compartmentalize. Del feels real and I think that's what makes the novel so compelling.

It's not quite a "regular" novel.  The book feels like slices out of Del's life, moving progressively from beginning to end, but occasionally circling back on itself.  Each chapter only deals with a certain theme or subject at a time.  It is cohesive as a whole, but I can also imagine how each section can be read on its own with completeness.  That's how I felt many years ago when I first read the novel and that's how I feel now.

Before I re-read Lives of Girls and Women, I looked at the pages.  Out of them stuck scattered, bright pink, sticky notes.  I wondered what they would say and if they would change how I read the book.  For the most part, they were the thoughts I probably had anyway.  Some did lead me forward, to look out for certain events or passages, if the note referred to something near the end of the page it was stuck too. Then I was looking for what I had referred to as "masculine" or "drowning".

On page 197 of my edition (pictured above) I couldn't help but feel drawn to this line, "I wanted men to love me, and I wanted to think of the universe when I looked at the moon. I felt trapped, stranded; it seem there had to be a choice where there couldn't be a choice."  The novel is clearly about women; through Del, we see the lives of her mother, Naomi, Naomi's mother, Fern and other women in the town.  There is more than one way to be a woman, though there may be scorn from other groups of women.  Del aspires to be different than all of them.  Though this wasn't touted to me as a feminist novel in school, I think it is.  Del doesn't talk about equal rights, but she doesn't want to be relegated into a typical female category.

I'm so happy that this was my Classics Club Spin book. I wanted to re-read it for the Club, I just needed the right nudge.  I also finished it today and I'm getting the post up with just a couple hours to spare. If I had the time, I could have easily read this book in a day.  It's not long.  The writing is fluid and magical (that's right, I said magical). It makes me eager to read more by Munro that I haven't yet (Friend Of My Youth maybe) and also re-read more (Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage? There's a movie coming out). I'm excited to see what the next Classics Club Spin brings me. Also, if you haven't read Lives of Girls and Women, why not?  Not much could have stopped me from finishing it today.

Before I Re-Read Lives of Girls and Women

For the Classics Club Spin, the randomly generated number decided I was reading Lives of Girls and Women, a modern and Canadian classic that I love. I first read it probably thirteen years ago (yikes!)  It cemented me as a lifelong Alice Munro fan and I've since read several of her works, though not all of them. The goal of the Spin is to have the book read and the post ready to go up on April 2nd.  I was so excited though, that I immediately went to the shelf, just so I could look at the book.  What was the first thing I noticed?  Bright pink Post-its.

I read Lives of Girls and Women for a Canadian Literature class back in University.  It was a wonderful, amazing class and I read some amazing literature.  I don't remember if I wrote an essay or anything about Lives of Girls and Women, but from the quantity of Post-its, I thought it was important that I keep notes.  I haven't looked at any of the notes yet.  I'm not sure I want to.  This isn't the first book I've ever re-read.  It is not even the first that I've found a little note I made in the book.  This is the first time I've picked a book to re-read and it is FULL of notes.  What I'm wondering is, how will this affect my reading of the story.  Will I let my old thoughts influence my new thoughts?  Will I wonder, what was I thinking, oh so long ago?  More than just my love of the story itself, these notes have me excited to re-read Lives of Girls and Women.  Has anyone had a similar experience?  Finding old notes while re-reading a book?

Side Note: This is probably why I haven't re-read The Handmaid's Tale. 

The Spin Number is...

...20!

Will I read it this time? I definitely think so. I've been looking forward to re-reading Lives of Girls and Women since I first read it over a decade ago. It's why I put it on my classics list. Just the thought of it being my Spin book makes me want to pick it up and read it right now. Is it weird that I want to hug it?

What's your Spin book? Are you looking forward to it?

Amazing Books From Long Ago

This week The Broke and The Bookish have asked what are my Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger. The only trouble I had with this list is remembering which books I read before I was a blogger.  I've been blogging since 2006 and that's a lot of books.  Then, I also had trouble narrowing it down to ten.  But here are ten favourites that have stayed with me over the years.  I plan on re-reading some (all) of them eventually.

1. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

2. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells

3. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

4. Kindred, by Octavia Butler

5. The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkein

6. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

7. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

8. Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro

9. The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath

10. Haroun and The Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie

I'm going to sneak in an honourable mention of books 1-6 of the Harry Potter series.

What books did you love before blogging?

Did I Forget To Read You?

I put a similar list together for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday a while ago.  So I'm going to only list books that weren't on my first list.  It sounds like it will be difficult, but it actually won't be.  In no particular order, the Top Ten books I HAD To Buy...But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread:

1. Brown Girl In The Ring, by Nalo Hopkinson - When I first saw this book, I knew I had to read it, but it sits untouched on my shelf.
2. The Wolves Of Mercy Falls, by Maggie Steifvater - I saw the box set at a discounted price and I'd heard such great things about the author and the series, but it's still sealed in shrink wrap.
3. Carrie, by Stephen King - I saw the new paperbacks looking pretty on display and there was Carrie.  I've read a fair amount of King's work, but not his first novel.  Why is it still waiting for me to read it?
3. His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman - I saw the paperback box set on sale (of course).  The price was right and I really want to read the books, but they just sit on my shelf.
4. Twenties Girl, by Sophie Kinsella - I love Kinsella's books, I've read a lot of them, so of course I picked this one up too... and then didn't read it.
5. The View From Castle Rock, by Alice Munro - I picked this up at a charity book sale after reading so many wonderful stories by Munro.
6. What the Dickens: The Story Of A Rogue Tooth Fairy, by Gregory Maguire - I enjoyed Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister and Wicked, I couldn't resist adding to my Maguire books when I saw this one on sale.
7.  The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson - I heard brilliant things about The Gargoyle.  Readers I respect immensely recommend this book, so I picked it up... and put it on the shelf.
8. Girl In Translation, by Jean Kwok - It sounded so much like I book I would enjoy.  I picked it up at the same charity book sale that I bought The View From Castle Rock.
9. Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife was great and I wanted to read Niffenegger's follow up and I still want to read it.
10. Girls of Riyadh, by Rajaa Alsanea - I just had to have it.  I wanted to read it so much.  I'm going to read it.  Soon (ish).  Bah!

Has anyone realized I'm a sucker for books with reduced prices?  I'm saving money by buying it, right?  Not really.

What books did you have to have and then didn't read?  Which one of these should I make a priority?

I Want ALL Your Books: The Authors On My Auto Buy List

The topic from The Broke and The Bookish: "Top Ten Authors That I'd Put On My Auto-Buy List (basically an auto-buy list is no questions asked..you love this author so much that no matter what they wrote next you'd buy regardless of genre or subject matter) "

I'm not sure I have ten authors on my Auto-Buy list.  I also don't tend to buy a lot of new releases.  I already own so many books.... I often wait for sales/specials so as to slow the hoarding...  There are also some authors I love that have large back catalogues.  So I aim to eventually buy all their books, but that takes time and money.  

In no particular order, here is my Auto-Buy List.

1. Stephen King (So many books!)

2. Margaret Atwood (See above!)
3. Michael Ondaatje (I haven't read his newest novel yet.)

4. Alice Munro (Working through her many books.)

5. Lauren DeStefano (Probably the newest addition.)

6. Sophie Kinsella (But not Madeline Wickham?  I haven't actually read anything under Wickham, only Kinsella....)

7. J.K. Rowling (I liked The Causal Vacancy)

8 Veronica Roth might make it on to this list.

I couldn't make it to ten.  Maybe I'm too discriminating... maybe I'm too poor.

Who is on your Auto-Buy List?

Ten Canadian Authors

This week is Freebie week over at The Broke and TheBookish.  I was inspired by 1girl at AllThe Books I Can Read, who decided that she would name the top ten books by Australian authors.  Naming ten specific books might be a little to difficult for this time of night, but I do want to recommend ten great Canadian authors.  Are they the top ten?  I don’t know, but I certainly like them.

1. Alice Munro
2. Michael Ondaatje
3. Rabindranath Maharaj
4. Sinclair Ross
5. Douglas Coupland
6. Helen Humphreys
7. Timothy Findley
8. Margaret Laurence
9. Gwendolyn MacEwen
10. Lucy Maud Montgomery

Narrowing it down to ten was not easy.  I purposely did not include Margaret Atwood, because I talk about her all the time.  I hope some of these authors make it onto your shelves.

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.

Chance/Soon/Silence from Alice Munro’s Runaway

Could you wait around for a man’s wife to die?

Are your parents really who you remember them to be?

Can you predict how your children will turn out?

Chance, Soon and Silence are the second, third and fourth stories in Alice Munro’s Runaway collection. They each centre on the woman, Juliet, at three different stages of her life. In the first, Juliet is in her early twenties, a scholar and in love with a married man. Juliet is surprise by her own actions, but I don’t think I am. In Soon, she visits her parents. It is several years later and I think she is hoping to recapture some sort of feelings from her childhood, but so much has changed. Silence is an unexpected, yet surprising turn for her life. She started surrounded by “silence” and now she ends that way.

Each of Munro’s stories stand on their own. However, setting them in sequence allows some questions to be answered for the reader. It is an interesting way to look at an individual’s life, how things change; that something you would never have considered twenty years ago is so natural now. I do still wonder about Juliet’s daughter and the reasons for her actions. Perhaps in one of the future stories we will get to revisit her.

Runaway

What happened to little Flora? Is Carla going to snap? Is Clark really one of those men that abuses without the physical violence? What will happen to Sylvia? At the end of Runaway, Alice Munro’s first short story in the collection of the same title, I’m left with these questions.

Runaway is a brilliant beginning to the collection. It is thoughtful and interesting. It makes me eager to read the other stories. The ending, though leaving the reader with questions was perfectly crafted. Munro remains one of my favourite short story writers.