keep a reading journal

and made my first entry. Wrote down what I found most interesting and my own thoughts on the topic. I’m sure I’ll write very little for some books and a lot for others. Basically, I don’t care what I journal, as long as I have some notes to help me recall the books I’ve read.

- overcome my reading laziness. I read more stuff on the internet than I read books and that should definitely change. In the end, books are much more informative.

- actually remember what I learned. And to remember it in an organized fashion, so that I can have conversations about it. It always frustrates me when I’m not able to quickly summarize the most interesting parts of a book I’ve read.

Woohoo! Started a reading journal again. First notes are on the book I’m reading now, Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor.

The reading journal really helps me get more out of it and it’s a great place to make notes about things I research on the Internet about her.

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

This was my second reading and I loved it just as much as the first time around. There is something about that time period and society that intrigues me and it is a pleasure to read a story so well paced and filled with lively characters. I found myself angry with Lydia and Mrs. Bennet due to their excessive folly, while admiring Elizabeth and rooting for her union with Mr. Darcy, even though I already knew the outcome. Great writing – enough to make me want to continue reading Austen for a while.
Finished 11.02.07

Anna Karenina – Tolstoy

One of those books I felt I must read (along with War and Peace, still on my list) but I did quite enjoy it. I love Russian literature and culture so the scope of this book appealed to me. Levin and Anna were mesmerizing and drawn so beautifully that they drew me through this novel in just a few days.

On an unrelated side note: I noticed that the last three books I’ve read had a scene in which a horse was killed, an odd coincidence and slightly disturbing. I’ll have to make sure the next book I read is kinder to that gentle beast!
Finished 10.29.07

Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy

Not quite as shocking as I had built it up in my mind to be, and not because of the difference in time period between the writing and the reading of it. I think maybe I disagreed too much with Tess’s decision not to disclose her past to Clare before they married, and I found the ending a bit weak. But I do love Hardy and consumed this novel in one day. Hardy is a brilliant writer, and I always find myself becoming enthralled with his characters and the landscape they move within.
Finished 10/26/07

8. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

So very beautiful, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read this great work earlier. I fell in love with his style of magical realism and couldn’t devour this story fast enough!
Finished 6.13.07

9. Chronicle of a Death Foretold – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

After reading Solitude, this wasn’t quite as powerful as I expected, but I still thoroughly enjoy Marquez’s style of writing and found it to be an interesting tale.
Finished 7.07

10. Little Women – Lousia May Alcott

I’m a bit embarrassed to say I hadn’t read this book already – it seems like one of those classics one should have read as an English major. I am glad, however, that I did read it at this point in my life. As my own entrance into motherhood approaches, this was a beautiful story for me to reflect on my own ideas of how I want to raise my daughter. It had me in tears so often (I blame it on the pregnancy hormones!) and was so beautifully paced that I could not put it down and did not want it to end. And of course, it put the film to shame and inspired my own desire to write once more.

On a side note, when I was younger I did read another book by Alcott called Eight Cousins and remember loving that as well. My aunt gave me a beautifully illustrated copy of it and after I read it I was so enthralled that I lent it to a friend so she could enjoy it as well. Not only do I believe she never read the book, but she never returned it either – which may explain why I am so reticent to loan out my books now!
Finished 10.21.07

11. Silas Marner – George Eliot

I whipped through Little Women in less than a day, but it took me more than three to get through this slim volume. I found Eliot’s writing to be a bit tedious and disjointed in the beginning, but once the story got going it got easier to read. I did enjoy this tale, again, I think I was drawn to it because of my own impending motherhood.
Finished 10.25.07

Maybe I’ll try this again in a few years when I have all of my books in one place and can keep track of what I’m reading. Between my books at the dorm, books at home, and books I carry around with me, I am usually reading three or four books at the same time. What’s worse, I’ve read the same books at least six or seven times each!

Pnin – Vladimir Nabokov

This little story about a little man was so funny and charming I couldn’t put it down. I kept imagining Nabokov describing himself through much of the story and I didn’t want it to end. Definitely a good read for my vacation!
Finished 1.1.07

A Sentimental Education – Gustave Flaubert

This one was saved by my 100 page rule. I generally try to get through 100 pages before deciding to give up on a book and I was ready to throw this book across the room but just at the 100 page mark it started getting better. The main character just annoyed me with his attitude and inability to do anything – but then I realized how true to real life so much of the book was and it got more interesting.
Finished 12.25.06