50 Classic Club Questions

More surveys! I like them. I can't help it.  50 Classic Club Questions took me over a month to do though.  Not a lot of one word answers. December was just so busy!  I'm hoping for a quiet January. Here goes, 50 answers to 50 Classic Club questions:

1. Share a link to your club list.

Bam!

2. When did you join The Classics Club? How many titles have you read for the club? (We are SO CHECKING UP ON YOU! Nah. We’re just asking.) :)

I joined the Classics Club in January 2013 and have read 15 titles so far.  I need to do better.

3. What are you currently reading?

Friend of my Youth, by Alice Munro is what I was reading when I started answering the questions, now I’m reading The Tale of the Body Thief, by Anne Rice.  I'm also making slow and careful progress through Emily Dickinson's complete poems.

4. What did you just finish reading and what did you think of it?

I had just finished reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater when I started, I've read a few books since then, most recently Specials by Scott Westerfeld.  Both books are not classics, but they were both fantastic.

5. What are you reading next? Why?

I almost never know what I'm reading next.  I've been considering Cloud Atlas, Little Dorrit and Death of a Salesman.  We'll see.

6. Best book you've read so far with the club, and why?

It's kind of a four-way-tie between Alias Grace, Slaughterhouse-Five, Lives of Girls and Women, and Their Eyes Were Watching God.  All had strong lead characters, all were brilliant stories.

7. Book you most anticipate (or, anticipated) on your club list?

I was really anticipating both Alias Grace and Slaughterhouse-Five.  They both have such an aura of prestige (or something) about them.  I'm excited to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and the Austen novels I haven't read yet.

8. Book on your club list you've been avoiding, if any? Why?

Anna Karenina.  It just looks so scary.

9. First classic you ever read?

For the Club? or ever in my life?  For the Club it was actually The Velveteen Rabbit.  In my life, it might be The Magician's Nephew in elementary school.  I can't think of anything before that, though I did love to read as a kid.

10. Toughest classic you ever read?

Umm.... this is difficult for me.  The only "tough" classic for me that I can think of was tough because I didn't like it.  Classics (excluding modern classics), I think have an inherent degree of difficulty just because of the language.  They become tough for me when I am not connecting to the story at all.

11. Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry?

I think 1984 did all those things.

12. Longest classic you've read? Longest classic left on your club list?

I'm pretty sure the longest classic I've read was David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens.  That was way back pre-blogging. The longest classic left on my list is also Dickens, Little Dorrit.

13. Oldest classic you’ve read? Oldest classic left on your club list?

The oldest classic I have read is probably The Orestia.  Left to read is Medea, by Euripedes. Anything Greek is probably very old.

14. Favorite biography about a classic author you've read — or, the biography on a classic author you most want to read, if any?

I don't read a lot of biographies in general, but I did read - a very long time ago - Jean-Jacques Rouseau's Confessions.

15. Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why?

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, as a modern classic and something by Shakespeare. Why?...  Because everyone should read something by Shakespeare.  There's a reason he has endured for so long.  Also, The Handmaid's Tale is just one of my favourite books and I always recommend it.

16. Favorite edition of a classic you own, if any?

I never thought about it before, but I do really like my edition of Slaughterhouse-Five. It's a reprint of the first edition from 1965.

17. Favorite movie adaption of a classic?

Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet.  I feel like that movie captures everything I love about Austen's classic.  Thompson and Winslet are perfect as Elinor and Marianne.

18. Classic which hasn't been adapted yet (that you know of) which you very much wish would be adapted to film.

Umm.... None.  They've either all been made or need to be left alone.

19. Least favorite classic? Why?

Vanity Fair.  I hate on this book a lot.  It's just so shallow.

20. Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read.

Off the top of my head:

Anne Brontë

L. Frank Baum

Arthur Conan Doyle

The Grimm Brothers

Jules Verne

21. Which title by one of the five you've listed above most excites you and why?

I'm excited to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.  Anne is the only Brontë sister I haven't read.  I don't know why and I don't know why I'm excited to read this book.  I just am.

22. Have you read a classic you disliked on first read that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving? (This could be with the club or before it.)

None that I can think of.... In general, if I read a book and dislike it, I'm not going to spend my time re-reading it.  There are so many other books out there to read.

23. Which classic character can’t you get out of your head?

Offred from The Handmaids Tale. Its been over a decade since I read this book, but every so often, I find myself thinking about her.

24. Which classic character most reminds you of yourself?

Billy Pilgram.... because he's crazy! (not really). I don't know.  An Austen heroine who likes to read?

25. Which classic character do you most wish you could be like? 

Billy Pilgram, because then I could meet aliens!  Again, I don't know...

26. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend? 

Marianne from Sense and Sensibilty reminds me of a couple of friends, who have too often fallen for the wrong guy.

27. If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why?

I'd love to know what happened to Offred from The Handmaid's Tale.  Did she get a happy ending?  Did she die?  I wouldn't be able to resist reading the discovered pages.

28. Favorite children’s classic?

The Paperbag Princess

29. Who recommended your first classic? 

I don't know. A teacher probably. 

30. Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.)

My Hubby, more because he knows what I like.  I also pay attention to the blogs I follow.  Way back, before I became a more active blogger, I followed blogs just so I could discover new books.  I tried to vary the blogs I followed so I'd be exposed to different genres, new and different authors.  It worked a little too well.  My to-read list has exploded in the last 5+ years.

31. Favorite memory with a classic?

Falling in love with Jane Eyre and knowing that I would always want to read classics.

32. Classic author you've read the most works by?

Probably Virginia Woolf.  I took a class in University that focused completely on her.  We didn't read all her books, but I read most of them.

33. Classic author who has the most works on your club list?

Jane Austen.  I tried to only include one or two books per author, but part of my personal classics goal is to finally read all of Austen's novels.

34. Classic author you own the most books by?

I think Dickens, especially if you include ebooks.

35. Classic title(s) that didn't make it to your club list that you wish you’d included? (Or, since many people edit their lists as they go, which titles have you added since initially posting your club list?)

My list has changed a bunch of times.  The most obvious one, I think, is when I decided to read Carrie by Stephen King and added it to the list.  I figured, if Alias Grace is a modern classic, Carrie is a modern horror classic.

36. If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last — meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication — who would you explore? Obviously this should be an author you haven’t yet read, since you can’t do this experiment on an author you’re already familiar with. :) Or, which author’s work you are familiar with might it have been fun to approach this way?

Vonnegut might have been interesting to read that way, but I've already read Slaughterhouse-five. H.G. Wells too, but I've read a bunch of his books already.  I've only read short stories by Hemingway, so I could potentially do that with his novels.

37. How many rereads are on your club list? If none, why? If some, which are you most looking forward to, or did you most enjoy?

There are 10 re-reads on my list, which is probably why I bumped my list to 60 instead of 50.  I'm very much looking forward to re-reading The Handmaid's Tale.  I've only re-read three of that 10 so far, I think I enjoyed them all equally.

38. Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish?

I think just a few months before I decided to join The Classics Club, I tried to read Crime and Punishment.  My son was an infant and I was looking for my next middle of the night read (I read the bulk of Pride and Prejudice this way after I had my daughter.)  I couldn't get into it.  I tried a little while later and couldn't do it again.  It might have just been me though.  I remember trying to read a couple other books at about that time and not being able to get past the first few pages.  I should try to read it again.

39. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving?

If I don't think I'll like a book, I don't read it.  Sometimes I think I will like it and then I don't, but that's different.  There are too many books out there for me to spend time reading something I think I won't like.

40. Five things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature?

1) Re-reading at least three classics from my list.

2) Reading more poetry.

3) More spins (they keep me reading).

4) Maybe finally reading Anne Brontë.

5) Catching up on my list.

41. Classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?

Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller

42. Classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?

Anna Karenina

43. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club?

Reading others' reviews and learning about classics I'm unfamiliar with.

44. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent. What makes you love their blogs?

1) Brona's Books

2) Lost Generation Reader

3) All The Books I Can Read

4) Avid Reader's Musings

5) Lakeside Musing

I enjoy all their blogs for basically the same reason.  I like the selection of books they read and I like their reviews.

45. Favorite post you've read by a fellow clubber?

Umm.... Nothing comes to mind.  Sorry.

46. If you've ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you've participated in more than one, what’s the very best experience? the best title you've completed? a fond memory? a good friend made?

I've never done a readalong on anything.  I can't make that kind of commitment.

47. If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why?

I'd probably enjoy a readalong for The Handmaid's Tale, because I love the book so much.  I'd also probably enjoy an Austen readalong, but like I said, I don't have that kind of time to commit.

48. How long have you been reading classic literature?

My whole reading life? Elementary school?  Since I've know what classic literature was.

49. Share up to five posts you've written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn't love, lists, etc.

1) Why I Love The Scholastic Book Flyer

2) A Look At Diversity: Where Has My Reading Taken Me?

3) Out of Sight, Out of Mind; or, An eBook Conundrum

4) Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.

5) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

50. Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!)

Yikes!  This was a pretty thorough survey that seems to have taken me over a month to answer.  After thinking about it, I think my question is: What keeps drawing you to classic literature?

I think it is the idea that a story can be timeless.  That it can endure 50, 100, 1000 years, and even more.  I like reading the stories and discovering why they have endured.  I like loving them the way someone 100 years ago loved them and that maybe someone 100 years from now will love them too.

WOW!  That was a lot of questions, but an interesting and fun journey.

Mockingjay - Part 1

I finally got to see Mockingjay - Part 1.  Better late than never though.  I didn't want to miss the latest Hunger Games movie in the theatre again. Mockingjay - Part 1 was pretty much what I expected.  Katniss was desperate to get Peeta back (like keeping him alive in Catching Fire), Prim was her sweet, level-headed sister. Her mom was background.  Gale came into his own more in the movie though.  When they go back to District 12, the expression on the film crew's faces as he speaks about what happened, it was a fantastic scene.

One thing I didn't notice until my Hubby mentioned it after the movie was that Katniss cried a lot. Much, more than the previous films. It is understandable, since there were a lot of upsetting things. But, he said, every time he saw her on the screen, he wondered what was going to make her cry now.  Thinking back on it, it's true.

I think Mockingjay did a good job bringing to the screen some of the horrors of war. Yes, they are fighting for freedom from the Capitol, but there is a cost.  It not as graphic as other films, many kids will be watching, but it's there, the death, sadness and despair.  There was also a lot of talking in this film.  I thought it might happen this way once they announced that Mockingjay would be two films.  There was explaining why District 13 survived, what happened in District 12 and the other Districts.  I did like the fact that it was interspersed with scenes showing the rebellion in the Districts. Though, I could have used more Finnick. Mockingjay - Part 1 was great, but I still felt like it was a warm up to the final film.  Maybe that's just because I already know what will happen.  It has also made me want to re-read the final book.

Have you seen all these amazing posters?  The District ones break my heart a bit. I think this is some great marketing on the part of the studio.

Lady Lazarus

Lady Lazarus is a violent poem, if poems can be described as violent. It is one of the most famous poems by Sylvia Plath. For my Classics Club list, I do not only read novels, but other classics as well, like poetry.  I have read The Bell Jar and thought it was fantastic.  I could have re-read The Bell Jar, but my interest in poetry is growing and my affection for Sylvia Plath's only novel has never waned.  I knew that Plath's poetry was going to be rich and deep.

Lady Lazarus is a dark poem, full of visceral emotion. Plath uses Nazism as a metaphor for oppression. The speaker feels watched, studied; she isn't free.  As the poem's title evokes, there is death and rebirth. "The sour breath/Will vanish in a day." There's exposure, nakedness in the rebirth. She feels at home in the earth and wants to stay there. 

The oppression throughout the poem connected to me.  I appreciate poetry that has a story to it. Though subtle, there is a story here.  The speaker talks about each of her deaths and the value that others place on her.  By the end of the poem the speaker finds her strength. She warns the doctors who keep bringing her back, she "will eat men like air."

Reading Lady Lazarus has definitely made me interested in reading more of Plath's poetry. Lady Lazarus is part of Ariel, Plath's collection of poetry, published posthumously by her husband.  It is said to be her definitive work and if the other poems in Ariel are anything like Lady Lazarus, I can see why.  In one poem, I was saddened, moved, and given hope.

What I Read In 2014

These are the books I read in 2014.  I compiled the image using Goodreads.  It was a little crazy seeing it up there on the screen.  I think it's the most I've ever read in one year.  I don't expect it to happen again, but it was nice.  What will 2015 bring?!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!  Wishing everyone the best, a year filled with love, laughter, good food and books (of course)!

Annual End of Year Book Survey – 2014

Happy New Year! (Almost.)  For the past few years I've been doing the End of the Year Book Survey from Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.  I've always enjoyed the questions and felt that it is a real reflection on my reading for the past year.

This year, I'm going to try not to repeat myself too much.  So, no matter how much I loved The Raven Cycle and Alias Grace, I will try not to only answer the questions with those books. 

Here we go!

Number Of Books You Read: 53

Number of Re-Reads: 1 (I don't re-read a lot.)

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy (of various forms)

 1. Best Book You Read In 2014?

Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

It's a tie between Binu and the Great Wall, by Su Tong and The Killing Joke, by Alan Moore.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?

The Fall (The Strain #2), by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan - The ending was just.... whoa.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?

I  don't know if anyone actually read these books, but it's a toss-up between Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle books and Atwood's Alias Grace.

5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?

a) Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

b) Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater.

c) Champion, by Marie Lu

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?

I couldn't pick just one! Scott Westerfeld, Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

The Look of Love, by Bella Andre - A Romance novel.  I don't typically read romance novels, but this one was just so sweet and well written. I might read more by Andre in the future.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Lock In, by John Scalzi

9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I don't tend to re-read books I read just the year before, but if I were to pick one it would be, The Raven Cycle books.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?

Hollow City, by Ransom Riggs

11. Most memorable character of 2014?

Del Jordan, Blue Sargent, Fred the Mermaid...

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

Friend of My Youth, by Alice Munro

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I don't know if it changed my life, but it was definitely thought provoking.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?

It's a tie between Friend of My Youth, by Alice Munro and Animal Farm, by George Orwell

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

I don't typically record quotes/passages from books.  I get too lost in the story.  I did manage to write down the most famous quote from Animal Farm though:  "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others."

 

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest: UR, by Stephen King (61pgs)

Longest: City of Heavenly Fire, by Cassandra Clare (725pgs)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Requiem, by Lauren Oliver - The ending was just.... Bam! Then it was over.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

I'm so old... I had to look this one up. - Can I use my answer to #19? In general, though, I'm pretty happy with the pairings the authors created in the books I read this year... Though a couple of them cheated, in my opinion, using death instead of having the main character make a choice.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Adam and Ronan from The Raven Cycle.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Alias Grace (and Lock In.)

21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

The Thousand Orcs, by R.A. Salvatore (My Hubby wants me to catch up to him with his favourite series.  I'm only about halfway there though.)

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?

The Raven Boys, all of them.  They are so too young for me, but I just adore them.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?

I don't think I read any 2014 debuts.  They were either previously published authors or the book was published in 2013 and I just waited a long time before reading it.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Underwater Love (Fred the Mermaid 1-3), by MaryJanice Davidson

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I don't know if any books actually crushed my soul, but Champion, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and Requiem all came close.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?

A tie between Animal Farm, by George Orwell and Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

The Lone Drow, by R.A. Salvatore - Drizzt just refused to go the Mithral Hall. If he did that he would have saved himself a lot of brooding and heartache.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014?

Panels

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014?

I don't know.... randomly: Fool, by Christopher Moore

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

I think... Why Have I Read Only One Book By So Many Authors?

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

The Classics Club

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?

Realizing the status of the diversity in my reading.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters had by far the most views.

Animal Farm had the most comments.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

There are two: A Look At Diversity and An eBook Conundrum.

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Umm... that being unemployed means more reading time?

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I set a modest Goodreads goal this year, which I surpassed, by a lot.  See previous question for why

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?

The Diviners, by Libba Bray

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?

The Raven Cycle #4, by Maggie Stiefvater

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Umm.... none?

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?

The Raven Cycle #4, by Maggie Stiefvater

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?

Read more classics.

6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

None.  I wish I had something, but nope.

Thanks for stopping by my year in review!  It's been a great year in reading for me.  I can't wait to see what wonderful books 2015 brings!

- See more at:

http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2014/11/5th-annual-end-of-year-book-survey-2014-edition.html#sthash.Qfa2kXDY.dpufhttp://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2014/11/5th-annual-end-of-year-book-survey-2014-edition.html

Simple Peanut Butter Granola

Mmm.... crunchy granola on sweet, cold yogurt.  I'm hungry.  So hungry, in fact, upon realizing that I was out of granola while writing this post, I threw a fresh batch into the oven. 

 

It's super easy to make:

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup all natural peanut butter

1 cup oats

Heat the oven to 350.

Mix the maple syrup and peanut butter together.

Add the oats.

Spead onto baking sheet.

Cook for 8 minutes, stir.

Cook for about 8 minutes.

Done.

Doesn't it look good?  I store it in these nice jars, so I can see how yummy it is whenever I want.  It's healthy too, right? 

Guess where I found this super simple recipe?  The back of a peanut butter jar label!  One day, Kraft All Natural Peanut Butter was on sale, so I thought I'd try it.  Reading the back of the label, because I usually read the labels of the things that I buy, I saw a recipe for granola topped fruit crisp (FYI, in that recipe I've used a mixture of apples, peaches and pears; I've never actually used the apples it calls for, still yummy.).  After making that recipe twice, I thought that the granola topping itself might taste good mixed with yogurt.  I was right.  Now this simple granola is something I make fairly regularly. It's just that perfect bit of crunch that yogurt sometimes needs.

Specials

Is everything really Dr. Cable's fault? If she had left Tally alone, let her turn pretty, would any of this have happened? Part of me feels sorry for Cable. Umm, not really. I do understand the need to have her work continue though.  Also, Cable and Tally's city seems to be the most extreme of all the cities, so maybe it was just a matter time.

Specials is the final book in the story of Tally Youngblood, I think. From what I understand, the series was completed as a trilogy, but then Scott Westerfeld felt another book had to be written.  I wonder what it'll be about and I hope I get to find out something more about Tally.  I loved Tally Youngblood.  I loved all the revelations about the city.  I thought the end was fantastic.  I was sad about some things, but satisfied with others.  I like how everything ended up with Shay and the Cutters.  I like what happened with David.  I really liked Diego.  If there was no other books, I would count Specials as a satisfying end to the Uglies series.

Buddha's Hand - It's a Fruit!

One day on Twitter I saw a post by John (@bookmineset) showcasing a very interesting fruit. It was almost a year ago. The below conversation happened.

A snippet.

I never forgot the curious looking fruit.  It was always lurking there in the back of my mind.  Plus, I love to try new things.  One day last week, I was in my local Metro and came across a Buddha's hand.

 

I couldn't resist buying it, even though it was the most expensive produce on that display. $4.99 for that thing! I looked on the the internet (because that's where I look when I don't know something) for a way to prepare Buddha's hand. There were two that appealed to me. One was using it to infuse gin. The other was sautéeing it in garlic and olive oil (the suggestion is in the comments). I chose the second because that was an option I could share with my family.

 

This is the Buddha's Hand before I cut it.

After I cut the fingers off.

Sliced thinly, ready to be put in the pan. There's no pulp!

Frying garlic, because who doesn't love fried garlic in olive oil.

Throw in the sliced Buddha's Hand with the browned garlic.  It smelled so good.

Looks good with the green beans.

 

I should have added the Buddha's hand at the same time as the green beans. The Buddha's hand was definitely overcooked. The bitterness of the rind seeped into the flavour of the beans and made the actual slices of the Buddha's hand almost inedible. I also maybe should have peeled the rind off, but the website didn't tell me to do that, so I didn't. It ended up being a bit of a fail.

I did eat some of it raw, so I knew the flavour of the ingredient I was working with (something I recommend). It tasted nice, mild and lemony. The most surprising bit was that there was no pulp. I didn't expect a citrus fruit to be pulpless.  

I'd like to use Buddha's hand again, but I'm not sure when or how. It is pretty expensive just to be experimenting with, especially when, during that same shopping trip, I bought four limes for a dollar. Though the dish didn't turn out great, I learned some things about buddha's hand and maybe about citrus in general. 

 

One idea I had, for fun, is to do a gin or vodka infusion, with the fingers floating around in the bottle.  Too weird?  Or creepily fun.
 

 

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.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

I think I'm going to have to reread Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle.  I feel like I'm zipping through the books so fast that I'm consuming them, instead of really feeling everything. I just have to know what happens next.  I feel like I waited forever for Blue Lily, Lily Blue to come out.  I read it very quickly and now I'm going to spend however many months, until sometime next year when the final book comes out.  I'm hoping it's sooner rather than later.

I love Blue. I love the boys. I love the ladies at 300 Fox Way. I appreciate real life seeping into their quest. Even though they are searching for Glendower and Maura, they are also thinking about the end of high school, about going off to college, what they can and can not afford.  They are taking time to think about their futures beyond this quest.  At times it feels irrelevant, or at least not as important, but it is and they have to acknowledge that.

The end was a bit of a surprise and I thought it was great.  Everything thing about it, from Adam and Persephone's conversation at the store until the very last page, it was fantastic.  More than anything else in the novel, the end has me eager to read the final book in The Raven Cycle.  I am really enjoying Blue's relationship with The Gray Man and I'm wondering what is going to happen with him.  He seems the most unpredictable of all the characters.  It's not that I think he'll hurt the Boys or the Women, but he could do anything to pretty much anyone else.  Also, the more I read the series, the more I love Calla.  There is so much I am enjoying that I will definitely be reading more books by Stiefvater. 

Book Memory Challenge

I saw this post on What Red Read yesterday (I'm a bit behind in my blog reading; she posted this in October) and thought it would be fun to test my bookish memory. I tried not to look at Red's answers so as not to influence my own and was mostly successful.

 

Here are the questions: 

 

Here are my answers:

 

1. Michael Ondaatje

2. Eragon

3. Of Mice and Men

4. NW, by Zadie Smith

5. The Thorn Birds

6. All I can think of is the movie Sweet November. Was it ever a book?

7. The Knife Of Never Letting Go

8. Magisterum Book One: The Iron Trial. I know it's kind if cheating, but it says Book One on the book, so maybe it counts. 

9. Harry Potter and the...

10. The Hunger Games (This was probably the easiest one. I had loads to choose from.)

 

 

Here is me checking my answers:

 

1. Easy peasy... Ondaatje is one of my favourite authors.

2. Check

3. Check

4. Check

5. Check

6. Nope, it was never a book, but this is where my brain got stuck.  My brain couldn't have come up with The Hunt for Red October?  Because that was actually a book before it was a movie.  Goodreads has a list, though I've heard of some of the books, others are a real stretch (May shouldn't count when they mean "may")

7. Not all the editions have a knife on the cover, but the one I was thinking of does, so Check.

8. I'm going to say, no.  I could have said, One Hundred Years of Solitude, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, One Day...

9. Check

10. Check.... super easy

 

I did pretty good, I think.  8 out of 10.  If anyone else does the memory challenge, please put your link in the comments so I can check it out.

Pretties

Spoilers if you haven't read Uglies. Minor spoilers for Pretties.

I'm feeling more and more sorry for Tally.  Nothing she does seems to turn out right.  At the end of Uglies, Tally has given herself up to be turned Pretty, with the intention of taking an experimental cure. In Pretties, it starts out with her not remembering. That's part of what the pretty operation does, it changes not just your body, it changes your mind.  Is being pretty on the outside worth what it does to your mind?

I couldn't put Pretties down.  I read it easily in three days.  I could have read it in two, but my Hubby was bugging me to go to sleep.  I am finding the Uglies series not just entertaining, but thought provoking.  The people that Tally meets outside of the city, what Dr. Cable says to her, how she views herself, the New Smokies, the Crims, makes you think.  Is being "pretty-minded" so bad?  Everything seems under control, in general.  There is peace and love and happiness, but is the cost too high?  The Rusties (us, I'm presuming) destroyed themselves.  If Tally succeeds, will it just happen again?

I did not expect what happened with Shay and the Cutters.  I knew she was mad, but to do what she did.  I guess I understand the Cutter thing, once she knew she couldn't get her hands on a cure, but after?  Was it just to get revenge on Tally?  Does she really hate Tally that much?  It was a great addition to the series.  It definitely makes me even more excited to read Specials, though with the title, I could have guessed what it was about.

I'm really enjoying Scott Westerfeld's series.  I thought I would like it, but I didn't know how much.  I didn't know that I'd be thinking that maybe, in the end, Tally and the Smokies won't succeed.  That would certainly be an interesting twist.  I'm wondering about the end of book 4; will Extras leave me with an open conclusion, an unknown future?  Could the people living in the cities stop wanting to be pretty when that is what they've grown up with?  I could see where Westerfeld got the idea for the series as it is littered with issues we deal with today.

Fish Out Of Water

I couldn't wait to finish the final book in MaryJanice Davidson's Fred the Mermaid trilogy.  Fish Out Of Water was everything I wanted it to be.  I loved the ending.  Finally!  An ending I was satisfied with.  It wasn't a super happily-ever-after type ending, which I like, but happy enough. Some of the story was a bit predictable, but it was so entertaining, that it doesn't matter.  I wouldn't have expected anything else.

I read the first two books, Sleeping With The Fishes and Swimming Without A Net in the last couple weeks.  I've already talked about how I enjoy the grumpy mermaid and how much I like Davidson's writing.  So here are a few quick, but hopefully not spoilery things I liked about Fish Out Of Water.

- Fred's Dad. Sad, but good... and violent.

- Bad behaviour can make even the most beautiful person ugly.

- Be yourself, not who others want you to be, you'll be happier that way.

- Thomas always saw the real Fred.

- I still love Tennian.

Fish Out Of Water ended the series so well.... but wait!  Here's the main reason I picked up this trilogy in the first place.  The next book I plan on reading in Davidson's Undead series has a crossover story with Fred!  Undead and Underwater is on my to-read list.  I'm glad that Fish Out Of Water isn't the last I'm going to see of Fred.