3 posts tagged “read”

I've put off reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga for a while now. I hear "it's about vampires," and more or less just kind of give it the brush off. However, the 11th graders I teach have become comletely captivated by these books, and at the suggestion of a very reliable media center specialist, I decided I'd at least borrow the first one from our school's library. I checked it out like three weeks ago and until Saturday, I still hadn't picked it up. (Don't worry, Bookishly Fabulous, teachers at my school can keep books as long as we want, so I haven't incurred any late fees!)

New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)

Stephenie Meyer

Yesterday, I was bored, and my husband was watching the Clemson game, so I picked it up to at least attempt it. I was propelled through all 498 pages within in a few hours. I had finished the book by 6PM and was headed to the book store to buy the second one, New Moon. I'm halfway through it now, and I can easily see why my kids love these books. They are so intriguing. They really make me want to be a vampire...just a little bit though. And I'd have to be one of the Cullens if I were a vampire, but all the same, they're great.

Have any of you guys read them? If so, what did you think?

My Top Ten Literary Crushes (idea from littlesable.vox.com)

-In no specific order. 

• Nick Carraway, from The Great Gatsby will always take the spot as my number one.  Carraway acts as the narrator for this timeless classic, and after each reading, I am still completely mesmerized by his temperament and kind nature.  He is a friend to every character, noticing the obscene flaws, but reveling in the good.  He is the ultimate man.
• Maurice Bendrix, from Graham Greene's The End of the Affair.  Bendrix is the ultimate lover.  He is deeply flawed, yet loves Sarah as intimately as anyone has ever loved another.  By many societal standards, he is completely amoral.  However, his passion causes me to look past that.  He is one of Greene's most phenomenal characters, and I am madly in love with the idea of him.
• Robert Lebrun, from Kate Chopin's The Awakening.  Robert Lebrun is a key character in the novel, and in Edna Pontellier's "awakening."  Though he is away for much of the novel, his role in the dawning of Edna's awakening cannot be cast aside.  The effect he has on her is priceless, showing her that she has more to offer the world than just the roles into which she has been forced by society. 
• Howard Roark, from Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.  To put this very simply, this man amazes me in every facet of his character.
• Logan Bruno, from Ann M. Martin's The Baby-Sitters Club Series.  Honestly, what BSC reader didn't have the biggest crush on Logan?  He had a sexy name and a sexy Kentucky twang to boot.  He was always so sweet to Mary Anne Spier, even when she was going through changes he couldn't understand (i.e. Mary Ann's Makeover).  Might I add that he was portrayed splendidly in the BSC movie...
• Benedick, from William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.  Benedick is, without a doubt, my favorite Shakespearean character, and the fact that he is paired with Beatrice only makes me like him that much more.  He is witty, sarcastic, and completely against the idea of committed love until he realizes how he feels for Beatrice.  By the end of the play, with his wit and sarcasm still intact, Benedick has, without question, pledged his loyalty to Beatrice.  I love him!
• Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  If ever a literary character proved himself worthy of the woman he ends up with by the last page, it is Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy.  Though he acts as an ass for much of the novel, he pursues Elizabeth Bennet with a vigor not often seen.  He does not fit the mold of the typical romantic, and perhaps this is why I love him so.  Even as he proposes to Elizabeth, he lists all her flaws instead of her glowing attributes.  He is honest, intelligent, and it doesn't hurt that he is often played by a rather good looking actor in the cinematic adaptations.
• Holden Caulfield, from J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.  Holden was emo long before emo ever had a name.  He was angsty yet smart.  He used the word "fuck."  He stopped caring what people thought, and in a little over 200 pages, he attempts to grow up.  He's confusing at times, but he is always sexy.
• Heathcliff, from Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.  I know I'm not supposed to like him, but I can't help myself.  He loved someone.  A lot.  And I love him, too.
• Pip, from Charles Dickens's Great Expectations.  Pip is an amazing character.  Dickens wrote him very well, and his character has stood the test of time.  He is the ultimate guy unable to get the girl.  He has an amazing social and moral conscience, and his ability to love is truly one-of-a-kind.  I adore him.

There are my crushes.  I tag Natalie and Rachel!

Book lists are even better.

Today in the Writing Center, my fave gal pals and I were discussing the fact that people read 52 books in 52 weeks.  As English majors, we all decided that we're up to the challenge with the possible exception of Lauren since I'm still not convinced she knows what we roped her into.  We starting making our lists with the agreement that any book that shows up on all four of our lists will be read as a "book club" type read, and we'll get together in some fun environment and discuss it.

I'm super-excited about this.  I've made a list of books I can't wait to get eyes into, and I want to start right now.  However, I'm a little uncertain of where I should begin.  Here are the books I've listed so far.  Give me your input on where to start if you've read them.

Amy's Book List:

(bold denotes "book club" reads)

• On the Road
• The Color Purple
• Tobacco Road
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• My Horizontal Life:  A Collection of One-Night Stands
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
• I Am Charlottle Simmons
• The House on Mango Street
• Night
• The Devil's Arithmetic
• Going After Cacciato
• The Time Traveler's Wife
• Catch-22
• Persuasion
• Love in the Time of Cholera
• Vanity Fair
• Lolita
• Written on the Body  (My recommendation and one of my favorite books ever.)
• The End of the Affair  (My other recommendation.  One of the most propelling and intelligent books I've read.)
• Geisha of Gion
• Veronica
• Rebecca
• Water for Elephants
• Callgirl:  Confessions of an Ivy-League Lady of Pleasure
• Never Let Me Go
• Running with Scissors
• Dry
• The Memory Keeper's Daughter

So there's my list.  It needs a starting point.