"A Change Is As Good As Rest"

I quit my job just over a month ago; my last day was November 14th. My new employers initially wanted me to start on November 28th; however, I knew I was going to be out of town for a week and with Thanksgiving the week after, I wanted to have just 1 additional week before starting. So I suggested a start date of December 5th. Well, it turns out that December is a bad month at my new company to have new employees start due to workload and many folks being gone the latter half of the month with the holidays. So they suggested I start in January. So what I anticipated being a 3 week break before my new job has turned into a 7, possibly 8 week break. I was a little startled at first, but now that I've come around, holy shit ya'll, I have 8 mother truckin' weeks off bitches!!

I've never had this much time off...pretty much ever. There was a long span of time (about 9 months) right after I graduated from undergrad where I couldn't find a job and was unemployed. So I guess that's a longer period of time, but that was accompanied with so much defeat, anger, frustration, anxiety, and depression, that it's not like it really counted as "time off". Whereas this is legit, I-know-that-I'm-moving-on-to-something, ain't-got-shit-to-do, time off.

So have I spent this time hunkered down, ravaging through every book on my bookshelf that is on my to read list? Well, maybe only a little bit. But hey, I got a new bookshelf to put all of books on, so that's kind of sort of a little victory?

But seriously, I have been making good progress through Cat's Eye, and I am sure going to have a lot to say about this book. And even though it was written in the 1980s, there is such a relevance to many issues facing children today, I can't wait to wrap my thoughts around it all (and of course to see how the book finally pans out).

But I think once a get a few other things in order, then I'm really going to be able to enjoy more reading, and hopefully some productive writing as well. I'm sure that the next 4/5 weeks are going to fly by and this magical time of leisure will be nothing but a memory of fortunate circumstances giving me the gift of relaxation and free time. But believe me, I intend to make the absolute most of it!!

"Vanity And Pride Are Different Things, Though The Words Are Often Used Synonymously. A Person May Be Proud Without Being Vain. Pride Relates More To Our Opinion Of Ourselves; Vanity To What We Would Have Others Think Of Us"

I cannot explain exactly why, but I read Pride and Prejudice in less than a week. It wasn't as though I was all googly-eyed, lovey-dovey about the main relationship in the novel, between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. And I'm not going to go out and join a Jane Austen fan girl club or anything (which, from my understanding, there are many of).

But somehow, even though I've seen the movie and knew what happened, I couldn't put it down. I think it was mostly because I was completely drawn in by the language. And while the book is >200 years old, and the some of the language was certainly a bit different than today, it was still so easy to read the saucy sarcasm and biting words of Elizabeth. She is quite a character (literally and figuratively), and pretty surprising to find such an outspoken female character who bucked the trend of marrying to further one's standing and to satisfy one's family (ignoring the fact that, even though she didn't care for these things, in the end, she manages to capture the motherload of eligible bachelors to fulfill both of those ends). But she doesn't hesitate almost from the moment of meeting Mr. Darcy to tell him exactly what she thinks of him, often in a manner of extreme wit. Which again, I can't imagine women were often allowed to do in the early 1800s.

And the other thing that I very much appreciated about the novel was that it was easy to wrap my head around the themes presented. That, while not necessarily handed to the reader, it was easy to see the differing levels of pride and prejudice in Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, primarily, and how they shift through the course of the novel. How Elizabeth very willingly admits to allowing her prejudice of Mr. Darcy cloud her opinion of him and Mr. Darcy even admits to allowing his social status to affect his opinions of Elizabeth and the rest of the Bennet family (more on that hot mess in a moment). And even pride and prejudice in many of the other minor characters to varying degrees certainly defined them in many ways (Mr. Collins, Charlotte Lucas, Lady Catherine, etc). It made everything in the novel so much more accessible to really understand the characters and how their initial perceptions of others and of themselves impacted all of their further actions when the prose often circled back to the concepts of pride and prejudice.

But let me just take a moment to say that I may have found one of the most villainous, loathsome characters that I have ever encountered: Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth (and her sisters') mother. Ugh, I just couldn't stand anything that came out of the woman's mouth. While her 100% preoccupation was marrying off her daughters under the pretense of wanting good futures for them, it was really all about her own selfishness and vanity. She just wanted to parade her daughters about the county and brag about their matches. It had absolutely nothing to do with her actually caring about her daughters' happiness as much as it did about herself looking good on paper and being more impressive on a social scale. And the terrible, embarrassing things that she said to humiliate her daughters just made me want to punch her (and I kept found myself hoping that Elizabeth could be that ballsy of a character to just clock her mom in the jaw, but alas, she was still a well-bred, classy lady. Dammit). I can only hope that in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies that Mrs. Bennet was the first to be eaten alive, because bitch got on my nerves!

I'm actually a bit sad that I have no other Jane Austen books on any of my lists. Because I did find her writing to be quite charming and witty, and I would really have liked to see how Emma, Sense and Sensibility, or Mansfield Park are in regards to the type of writing encountered in Pride and Prejudice. Not to say that anything is preventing me from picking them up and reading, but I still have a long way to go with all of the other books on my docket!

So up next is Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. I read The Robber Bride as part of a literature class during my undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, and I remember discussing the book in a lecture class of about 100 or so people. And the first person to speak and share his feelings about the novel was a guy who immediately said that he didn't like the book because it was "chick lit". And even at the time, this made me angry, and probably was the impetus for even starting these lists and pulling a list of the best works of literature of the 20th century by women writers (of which I am happy to see Margaret Atwood included on). I remember being so pleased when reading The Robber Bride because it addressed infidelity from a women's point of view in a way that I had never read before and it felt different and fresh and honest in a complete different way and being annoyed that just because it was female characters and issues told from a female's point of view that it was so readily dismissed as "chick lit". It still chaps my ass even now thinking about it 18 years or so later (jesus lord, I just dated myself). So I am very excited to get moving on Cat's Eye. Given the way I have been voraciously making my way through books lately, maybe I'll have this bad boy finished before Halloween.

Happy almost-end-of-October! 232 books left to read!

"The Holes In Your Life Are Permanent. You Have To Grow Around Them, Like Tree Roots Around Concrete; You Mold Yourselves Through The Gaps"

You know what is another good way to have nothing to do but read? Flying. I had a job interview in New Jersey on Monday and I forgot to bring Pride and Prejudice. I had it sitting on the dining room table but forgot to shove it in my bag. So in lieu of logging into one of my laptops to do work on the flight (yes, because of work, I travel with more than one laptop), I bought The Girl On The Train at the airport. And proceeded to read the entire thing in approximately 4 days. I mistakenly assumed that the book was the same author as Gone Girl, since there were so many comparisons made in the commercials for the movie. But it is actually the first novel written by Paula Hawkins.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a sucker for a good whodoneit. Which is why I always fly through books like this. The story is a about an alcoholic divorcee, Rachel, who rides the train to and from London every day while fantasizing about the lives of a couple whose house she sees on her daily commute. But then you find out that she used to live in a house only a couple doors down. And you learn that she has lost her job due to her drinking and is just riding the train to hide the fact that she was fired from her roommate. And then the woman that she watches from the train disappears and Rachel involves herself in the investigation and was actually in the area the night of her disappearance. So from there the story unfolds of Rachel, her ex-husband, his new wife, and the husband of the missing girl.

The main thing I liked about the writing of the book was the unreliability of Rachel and her memory from drinking and the way the author conveyed so much of her feelings and her shame. Because so much of it felt so accurate and honest. About the blackouts, and how drastically people change when they're drunk, and the struggle she would go through trying not to fall down the rabbit hole and start drinking again. Her spotty memory and severe emotional swings made you question her for sure, and wonder if she was capable of doing some terrible things. But also affected how you saw the other characters too. So I felt like that was a very clever lens through which to tell the story.

However, I did guess the end of the book. Not that it was super obvious, but I think if the reader figured out some of the hints early on, you could figure it out. I did like the book though overall, and am looking forward to seeing the movie (although side note: while I very much like Emily Blunt, I feel she was a bit miscast. The woman in the book was constantly described as heavy and definitely not attractive. So while they can try to ugly her up, Emily Blunt is still far too attractive to fit the description of the character in the book).

Now that I'm on a roll and reunited with Pride and Prejudice, I have a feeling that I'm going to fly through the rest of that one too. Long days spent doing nothing but reading? Could a girl ask for anything more??

"I Declare After All There Is No Enjoyment Like Reading! How Much Sooner One Tires of Any Thing Than Of A Book!'

So I turned 37 a couple weeks ago. And I'm willing to acknowledge that it's looking less and less feasible that I'll finish all of these books by the time I'm 40. Rather than going for my 40th birthday, I'm going to say that I'll give myself until the day before my 41st birthday (because I'll still be 40 and all...). So that gives me until September 13th, 2020, which is approximately 47 months. And with 233 books left, that gives me ~5 books a month. And as much as I love reading, I can't really clear 1 book a week (or slightly more!). So I'm willing to acknowledge that I'm a little more ambitious than might be realistic.

But that won't stop me from forging ahead. My biggest distraction, other than that whole working full time garbage, is wanting to read books that aren't on the list. Reading this type of literature is admittedly not always the most compelling content, so I always find myself at the bookstore with my hands impulsively going towards the new paperback fiction books. But that's ok. I can't just limit myself or I'd probably go crazy. Onward and upward.

But hey, you know what's good for reading? Jury duty! I sat in a room for an entire day sans cell phone and nothing else to do but read Pride and Prejudice (I may have snuck in a nap and some viewing of the movies they were showing). But man, everyone always complains about jury duty, but it kind of felt like an amazing, government imposed vacation. Sign me up for my civic duty more often! (I didn't end up getting chosen, or even interviewed, so I'm out of circulation for at least a year). The entire time I was reading Pride and Prejudice, all I kept thinking about were the actors who play the different roles in the movie. I think this seems to be a recurring theme for me for books that I know that movies exist for. But so far, I'm enjoying it very much! Hopefully I can continue to make progress like I have to read 5 books a month!

"It Took A While Before The Message Seeped Into His Soul, But Once There, It Was There Forever: Things Are What They Are, And Whatever Will Be Will Be"

At first when I started reading The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, I was a little thrown off by the writing, as it felt a little simple and almost choppy in a way. I was aware that the book had been translated from Swedish, so I assumed that a lot of that was just a "lost in translation". But the more I got into the book, the more accustomed I got, and I now actually think that the writing was more intentional, with a lot of dry humor that came across as a bit blunt, but that still gave me a smile here and there from a subtle wry wit.

The best way I can describe this book is charming. It tells the story of a man (as the very literal title implies), explosive expert Allan Karlsson, who crawls out of the window of his old folk's home on his 100th birthday because he doesn't want to stay for his birthday party. And from there, after impulsively deciding to steal a suitcase at a bus station, Allan experiences a very interesting series of events that introduces him to a very colorful cast of characters while being hunted for a number of crimes. Interspersed with the main story of Allan at 100 years old is the story of Allan's life, including numerous anecdotes about his impact on many events of global history: affecting outcomes during the Spanish Civil War with General Franco, involvement in helping create the atom bomb at Los Alamos and his friendship with President Truman, affecting interactions with Mao Tse-tung and Chiang Kai-shek, walking over the Himalayas from China to Iran, giving nuclear information to the Russians, being detained in a Russian prison, lying his way into meeting Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in North Korea, living in a hotel in Bali, and many many other adventures.

However, the main take-away from this book is really to live life to it's fullest, no matter your age. All of the things that Allan's character did at any age could have been done by anyone at any age (he blows up his own house at a young age and again at a very old age!). And the character of Allan has a very laid-back, non-intrusive approach to the events of his own life....like the title quote says, he kind of just accepts the events of his life as they are and moves forward through them, without much significant emotion in them; mostly just acknowledging the pleasant things that come his way (this largely revolves around drinking...drinking preferably high-end vodka).

So if you're looking for a relatively quick read (even given the nearly 400 pages) that will make you smile, and maybe give a little bit of a history lesson, then I would recommend this one.

So I'm back to the reading lists. Next up is Pride and Prejudice. Believe it or not, I've never ready any Jane Austen. I'll admit to having seen the movie of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly, although I don't think I've actually seen it all the way through. So hopefully actually reading it will be enjoyable - I know I liked what I saw of the movie.

Off to it!

"The Trick Was To Live, To Beat The Bastards, Survive The Mob And That Fateful Chaos, And Show Them All What A Man Can Do To Set Things Right, Once He Sets His Mind To It"

When we were on the plane flying back from my brother's wedding in San Diego, my boyfriend leaned over to me while I was reading Ironweed and said, "Well there's a depressing book." I asked if he had read it, but in fact, he had only seen the movie. I didn't realize that there had been a movie make of Ironweed, and with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep no less. How have I never even heard of this? And Tom Waits too? Geesh.

So Ironweed is about an alcoholic homeless drifter, Francis Phelan, who used to be a major league baseball player, returning to his hometown of Albany, New York in the late 1930s. I know, that should have been a pretty obvious clue there that this wasn't going to be a smiley, happy read. I don't know if there is a distinct plot, per se, but mostly narrates his experiences over a couple day span on Halloween and into a bitterly cold November. It tells of him trying to kick the hooch, getting odd jobs here and there to make a couple bucks, haunting the many places that him and the other bums frequent (from bars, to a mission to get soup and socks, to the apartment of another indigent couple where the one woman is sitting on a toilet with diarrhea in their living room the entire time, to a flea-infested flop house). It also tells of the complicated relationship between him and another bum, Helen, who have been in love for years, but living a very complicated life together.

The writing in this book was brilliant. I think I read the first chapter through about 4 times, because I was so perplexed with what was being said. The book starts with Francis working as  a gravedigger, and some of the chapter includes interjections from the dead people in the cemetery. But the way it's written makes them seem as though they're active characters, commentating on Francis, and each other, on death, and eating weeds on their graves. And in fact, throughout the book, Francis is haunted by multiple other people who he has come across in his life. Which made me certainly question Francis' mental health; without necessarily being a shrink, I would guess that the character was intended to appear schizophrenic; because not only do these specters follow him around but it seems that at points Francis' own memory becomes blurred with reality. But more importantly, Francis is so very haunted by his past. The entire book really revolves around him being the product of his choices, and while Francis clearly feels great guilt for the things he has done, his inability to accept them and forgive himself has led him to the life he now leads.

Back to the writing of the book, there was one particular passage, that was probably one of the best, and most well-done sections that I've ever read. At one point, Francis, Helen, and another bum, Rudy, are in a bar and Helen has an opportunity to go up and sing on stage. Without giving too much away, it is a delightful moment of Helen remembering what a talented singer she was growing up and how much other people adored hearing her sing. Like the first chapter, I had to go back and re-read this section multiple times to make sure I was clear on what happened. And I don't know if I've ever read something that could have been so very difficult to convey, so successfully written.

While I generally liked the book, it was exactly as advertised (and as astutely pointed out by my boyfriend): a huge downer. Not that I expect all books that I read to be light and fluffy unicorns or anything, but yeah, there was a lot of darkness in this book. But most certainly one of the more unique novels I've read in a while. I know that there are other novels that William Kennedy has written about Albany, and some of the characters in Ironweed appear in those novels as well. While not necessarily on my list, I wouldn't be opposed to picking them up one day. But you know, I have a bit on my plate still.

So as noted in my previous post, my binge book buying has left me with quite a few non-list books to read, so on I go to The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. The book seems quite long, but for some reason, I have a much easier time getting through more current fiction than older stuff. I would imagine it's because of the contrast in language from then versus now, but hopefully this one is a good one!

233 to go.

"Some People Believe That Freedom Is Every Person's Right, But I Have Had To Fight For Mine. And It's Been a Long And Difficult Battle"

I admit to being an incredibly impulsive buyer of books. I still love going to bookstores. I do buy some books online, since some of the ones on my list are a bit difficult to find, but there's something about strolling around the tables and bookcases of books and being able to look at the covers, read the back and/or jacket, and flip through the actual book that I don't think is easily replaced by just looking at something online. Plus I'm impatient. I want to walk out of a store with a book in hand and getting it going as soon as I get home.

So I think it's physically impossible for me to leave a store with less than 3 books. So I've done some impulse buying and have a big ol' stack to get through. And most of them are not ones from my lists. So I took a quick break from the lists to read Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott.

The book was actually on a list I pinned on Pinterest of 2014 must read books. And I literally read it in a week. I'm such a sucker for whodoneit books, especially when they're from the perspective of the detectives/investigators (I swear I have reconsidered career paths to change to be a detective. But that doesn't work without the whole actually becoming a police officer, which is definitely not for me). The book is about the disappearance of Olivia Brookes and her 3 children. There is an initial chapter about an incident 2 years prior to her disappearance where her husband, Robert, disappeared with the children only to be found at their normal family vacation spot, with Robert telling the police that he had told her where he was going and claiming that she forgot. So right off the bat, there is clearly something not going well with their marriage, but initially it's hard to tell who is the troubled one, the husband or wife. So 2 years later, now it's Robert who is the one dealing with his spouse's and his children's disappearance.

The book was a fine, quick read. It felt very similar to Gone Girl, with different chapters/sections of the book being written from the perspective of the husband and the wife, but in this case, additional chapters from the police and even the wife's friend. And even the storyline of the disappearing wife, suspected husband, and layers of marital discord weaved in was sooo very similar; I actually had to go back to my Pinterest list to see if it was a list of "If You Like Gone Girl, You Like These Books". It also reminded me of books I've read by Tana French, but with less psychological depth to the characters. Overall, a satisfying summer mystery book. I would consider going back to Rachel Abbott if I was looking for another similar whodoneit.

Next up in Ironweed by William Kennedy. I have absolutely no idea what this book is about other than the 4 sentence summary on the back of the book. I'd like to say that because it's a short-ish looking book that I'll be able to get through it quickly, but Lord knows that I've been deceived a lot, especially recently (I'm looking at you Gertrude Stein). But I'm looking forward to continued lazy weekend afternoons, lounging in the summer sun, absorbed in some good reads. It's been pretty damn perfect for it so far!