"I Was Taught to Desire Nothing, to Swallow Other People's Misery, To Eat My Own Bitterness"

So while the snow comes down here in Detroit, it seemed like the perfect day to cuddle on the couch and finally finish  the damn Joy Luck Club. I have absolutely no excuses for why it took me 2 months to read The Joy Luck Club. I really very much enjoyed the interesting stories of all the different women, the dynamics of mothers and daughters, and it was tremendously well written. I just don't know what my deal was for this book. As I mentioned in the previous post, part of it was leaving too much time between picking the book up again. Every time, I would have to go sorting through the previous chapters to figure out which mother went with which daughter, and which story belonged to which woman. Which one was the chess champion, which one was the daughter of the concubine, which one was the one that was married and kept details of every penny she and her husband spent.?Thank goodness there was a match-up of character names before the story even started. I have a feeling that if I read the book straight through, I would be here ranting and raving about what an absolutely brilliant book I thought this was and how much I loved it. So I guess this time around, I spoiled the reading experience for myself. Whatareyougonnado?

The one thing that did very much fascinate me about the book, and where I found myself dog-earing pages, was in the interesting ways the Chinese women (predominantly the mothers) viewed things, in a way that is so very different from the way that I view things, or I think different from how most Westernized individuals view things. How throwing away leftover coffee means you're throwing your blessings away. How having thin ears close to your head means you cannot hear luck calling to you. How opening your bedroom windows at night would hopefully blow a spirit and heart back to you.

I know I can't appreciate, or really even understand many of these similar pieces of Chinese wisdom peppered throughout the book. It really is a foreign way of thinking to me that I can't grasp, probably because I was not raised believing in the same way and it is not a part of my own culture. I'm sure in many ways it is impossible to every really understand someone else's upbringing, their heritage, and how these things contribute to each individual and who they have become as a person. However, where this book seems to transcend any specific cultural norms, is in the basic idea that you are a result of the fabric of your family whether you like it or not. You can embrace a different way of life, or be ashamed of your culture or family, but it's still part of you. Maybe I'm just thinking in terms of my own family and the different twisting, turning paths all of our lives have taken, only to end up smack where we started, with each other's company and love, whether we try to fight it or not. I guess that's the most important thing that I'll take away from this book. And what a lucky girl I am to have all of the memorable, wonderful times with my family that I do. And especially to have the amazing, strong, insightful mother that I do as well. Worth the 2 months trudging through the book to at the very least be able to take that away.

So on I move to a new book. I'm taking a brief pause from my reading lists to a book that one of my co-workers gave to me to read. I know I previously mentioned that I'm not always a fan of taking book suggestions from other people, but I did give this particular co-worker a book to read that I recommended to her, so it doesn't rightly seem fair to not read what she gave to me. Plus, the writer, Davy Rothbart is locally from Ann Arbor, and my good friend Amy is also a big fan and has mentioned what a great book My Heart is an Idiot is. I'm a sucker for autobiographical humorous stories (obsess about David Sedaris and Dave Eggers much, Lisa? Plus, it's kind of strange that all of their names are different variations of the same...), so I suspect this book will be read in no time. Particularly if it keeps snowing the way it is now. Plus it was considered one of Amazon's best books of 2012. And as evidenced by the entire concept of this blog, I'm kinda a fan of book lists, can'tcha tell?

250 books left to go. Enjoy the rest of 2012!

"And Each Week We Could Hope to Be Lucky"

I've been very distracted and not so motivated to read lately. It happens. It comes and goes. Sometimes I'll fly right through books like crazy, and sometimes I just can't even pick up a book, even though it's short and tremendously entertaining. I dug right into The Joy Luck Club, but have stalled. Not for lack of interest, just eh. I don't know. Not getting around to it I guess. Plus, I keep forgetting where I left off and keep confusing the characters, so every time I pick it back up, I have to retrace who is who and what is going on.

But the holidays come around and usually that's all I want to do for 2 weeks straight is read. So I'm sure I'll get back on track then.

Progress: pg 149/288. I'll get it going, I swear.

Happy Sunday!