2013 Reading Goal: Dorothy Parker's Complete Stories

My latest book on my 2013 reading challenge is Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker.

Rating: 4 Stars




Dorothy Parker's name kept popping up on every "to-read" list I looked  at so I knew it was about time that I read her work.  Gosh, she is a feisty, hilarious woman! She has the ability to criticize society quite harshly, but almost always ends up giving me a chuckle. She has a great written voice that seems at first to align with the character she is studying--then suddenly, she whips out these little brilliant quips that  show you the absurdity in the person or situation. Once you are familiar with her work, you can come to expect them--but it doesn't make them any less hilarious.

She'll go into these long spurts about things like the important role of "feminine touches"--how being able to straighten and move and tweak a living room was the important job of the wife. Parker will show a woman, like Mrs. Weldon in "Too Bad", going about doing her special role of "touch-giving" and afterwards, she stops to examine her work. It is at this point that Parker writes, "It was amazing how little difference they made to the room." And then the story continues. Its those small moments that Parker really shows her brilliance. She shows that society has given this idea that these small, minute details are what is important to being a woman...and yet, it doesn't even make a difference!

Regina Barreca writes in the introduction that "Parker concerns herself primarily with the emotional and intellectual landscapes of women, the places where a thin overlay of social soil covers the minefields of very personal disaffection, rejection, betrayal, and loss." And Parker does it very well. Occasionally her work seemed to repeat itself, but usually it was when she was focusing on a different area or emotion within a similar character. Sometimes this caused me to set the book down and wait for a while to pick it up again...as a "fresh" pair of eyes was sometimes helpful when reading her work. When reading them all in a row, you start to appreciate less her wittiness and satirical humor. Usually though, once I picked the book up again, I soon found another brilliant story that caused me to think about it for days later.

There were so many goldmines in this collection. Yes, many of them caused you to laugh at the absurdity, but there were also so many that were just devastatingly sad. It will be some time before the haunting story "Big Blonde" isn't running through my head. Or "The Lovely Leave" about a woman who's husband goes to war and she is left behind. Or the double nature of "The Waltz" where on the outside, a woman is completely nice to a man but in the inside she is thinking the complete opposite. Parker shows society's ideas that a man is too important to throw insult at...that this single woman can't quite throw him to the side even though inwardly, she cringes at him.

I reallyenjoyed these stories....and think that Dorothy Parker is an important female author to read. I'm so thankful to finally have found an intelligent and witty female author that has had a long, successful career. She proves that it can be done! More than anything, I do wish that I could meet Dorothy Parker and see what she was like. She'd probably rip me to shreds but it would be worth it, I think!
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As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’m reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year. Here is the list of my previous book reviews that I've done on this journey:

First: Madame Bovary
Second: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress
Third: Patron Saint of Liars 
Fourth: Bird by Bird
Fifth: Frida Kahlo
Sixth: Women Seeing Women  
Seventh: Bridget Jones's Diary

2013 Reading Goal: Bridget Jones's Diary

My latest book on my 2013 reading challenge is Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.

Rating: 4 Stars

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My boss and I both love Pride and Prejudice so we often end up telling each other of every single possibly offshoot that we can read and watch to satisfy our P&P itch. And this was one of them. She told me it was hilarious and that I had to read it. So I immediately put it on my to-read list. It took me about 50 pages in and I was hooked. (I always give books to page 77 so this definitely made the cut.)

Everything about Bridget Jones should drive me crazy. She obsesses over her weight, she freaks out over everything, and she is desperate to not be single. All of those things have always been on my "do not do" list. But gosh she is so funny. And somehow you find yourself agreeing with her, sympathizing with her, and understanding the complexities of what it means to be a woman! She bumbles around as a thirtysomething trying to figure out why her life isn't panning out to be what she has always pictured it to be....and what she can do to improve it.

She has a wide range of influences in her life that she is always getting advice from.  She bounces between her very verbal feminist friend to her homosexual friend who gives her tips on getting a guy's attention. She also has a mother who is trying to figure out who she is as a woman after spending years being a homemaker. When she tastes freedom, she goes wild. After one lunch date, Bridget says, "As I went to the till to pay, I was thinking it all over and trying, as a feminist, to see Mum's point of view..." And I think I love that most about Bridget. She is really trying to figure things out--as a woman who values feminism but also as a woman who values relationships and love. 

Fielding is hilarious when writing about expectations for women in today's society.  When getting ready for a date Bridget goes into how exhausted she is before she even has the date. "Being a woman is worse than being a farmer--there is so much harvesting and crop spraying to be done: legs to be waxed, underarms shaved, eyebrows plucked, feet pumiced, skin exfoliated and moisturized..." and ends it with "Ugh, ugh. Is it any wonder girls have no confidence?" Later on she says, "Wise people will say Daniel should like me just as I am, but I  am a child of Cosmopolitan culture, have been traumatized by supermodels and too many quizzes and know that neither my personality nor my body is up to it if left to its own devicees. I can't take the pressure."

I find it so interesting the thoughts that go through her head. Weight, men, food, single, marriage---the whole grass is greener on the other side thing. She has friends who are married and are dealing with affairs and communication issues. She goes to baby showers where all the parents are lying about how advanced their kids are. And yet, everyone keeps asking her why she isn't married. Tick tock, tick tock. People obsess over it so she is forced to constantly be dealing with the question. So much so that even as a reader, you start to wonder why she hasn't gotten married! Fielding points out the ridiculous in life while her character, Bridget, bumbles around trying to figure it all out.

The only bummer thing was that I had seen the movie several years ago so kept picturing Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant as the characters. I didn't dislike them...I just didn't love them in the roles.

I also kept picturing Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, but I didn't really mind that one....

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As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’m reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year. Here is the list of my previous book reviews that I've done on this journey:

First: Madame Bovary
Second: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress
Third: Patron Saint of Liars 
Fourth: Bird by Bird
Fifth: Frida Kahlo
Sixth: Women Seeing Women

2013 Reading Goal: Frida Kahlo 1907-1954 Pain and Passion

My latest book on my 2013 reading challenge is Andrea Kettenmann's book on Frida Kahlo.

Rating: 4 stars

Image from Goodreads

For my 2013 challenge, I've been thinking a lot about self-portraits...what they mean and why they are important. I figured it would help if I started looking at female artists who delved into the realm of self-portraits. When I started brainstorming artists, Frida Kahlo was at the top of my list. I really didn't know too much about her before this book so I was happy to find a good introduction to her life and her work.

And what a life she lead! I had no idea about all of the medical problems that surrounded her life. The whole reason why she started painting in the first place was because she was cooped up in bed recovering from surgery.  They hooked up this canopy with mirrors on it so she could see herself. She said, "I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best." She often had to wear a steel corset to help support her back and she was almost always in constant pain. She had dozens of surgeries on her back and on her leg which were themes that often arose in her work.
 
Kettenmann did a nice job throughout the book on showing insights on her paintings. When you first look at her self -portraits, they often can look emotionless...mask like. Kettermann writes "Frida Kahlo's self portraits helped her to shape an idea of her own person; by creating herself anew in art as in life, she could find her way to an identity. This may explain why her self-portraits differ in only relatively small respects."

When she lost several pregnancies, she painted some gruesome paintings that show just how sad she was...even though her face stayed pretty constant. Every now and then she would paint tears going down her face. After one surgery on her back, she was discouraged by the lack of progress that was made so she painted her head on a deer's body. She then painted arrows all over the deer to show what she was feeling. It was amazing how much her inner turmoil was captured in her paintings--even with her wearing her "mask" in most paintings.

I was really surprised at the subject matter that she took on. Her miscarriages, death, her sexuality, her pain were all themes that arose in her work. Diego Rivera said about Frida, "She [is] the first woman in the history of art to treat, with absolute and uncompromising honesty, one might even say with impassive cruelty, those general and specific themes which exclusively affect women."She really did not shy away from what she was feeling and going through.

Towards the end of her life she had to have her leg amputated which lead to severe depression. She ended up dying young (in her 50s) because of pneumonia but the book hinted at suicide since her last entry in her diary seemed much like a good bye. It surprised me that once again, a talented female artist was at least somewhat tied to the idea of suicide.

Fourth lesson of the year: Self-portraits are important in the role of self discovery. Look at what is going on in my life...my inner life...and reflect that in my self-portraits. I am the subject that I know best...so paint! 

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As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’m reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year. Here is the list of my previous book reviews that I've done on this journey:

First: Madame Bovary
Second: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress
Third: Patron Saint of Liars 
Fourth: Bird by Bird

2013 Reading Goal: Bird by Bird

My latest book on my 2013 reading challenge is Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird.

Rating: 5 stars

For some reason, I have never gotten around to reading this book until now. I am a big fan of Anne Lamott...mostly only because I fell in love with the book, Traveling Mercies, several years ago. I've tried to read a couple of her other books but never connected with them as much. Even so, I still call myself a big fan of Anne Lamott. And this book reminded me why I do.

I checked this book out from the library and immediately regretted not owning it. I used 22 sticky notes to mark passages/pages/excerpts that I adored...and that was me being conservative.

This book is a guide to writing. A very helpful, funny, and practical guide. But Lamott is able to do so much more with it then just tell you how to write. She tells you why it is so important to write and to read. 

Throughout the book she tells these stories that are dark, haunting, and beautiful. She shows how important the process of writing is...both for ourselves and as readers. She writes, "Because for some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world...Books helps us understand who we are and how we are to believe....they show us how to live and die. An author makes you notice, makes you pay attention, and this is a great gift."

She inspires us to find the truths inside ourselves that need to be told. That need to be added to this conversation. She says, "You need to put yourself at their center, you and what you believe to be true or right. The core, ethical concepts in which you most passionately believe are the language in which you are writing. Telling these truths is your job. You have nothing else to tell us."

So much of what she says makes me love books even more. I love the idea of connecting with the truths that other authors have inside them. I love the idea that I'm seeing whats important to someone else...what they've noticed and seen to be true. Lamott writes, "Becoming a writer is about becoming conscious. When you're conscious and writing from a place of insight and simplicity and real caring about the truth, you have the ability to throw the lights on for your reader." I love those moments that I have in books and I love the idea that it comes from the author really caring about the truths inside and around them.

She wants us to wake up, look around, and care for the people around us in order so that we can be more truthful in portraying the world around us. She says, "I honestly think in order to be a writer, you have to learn to be reverent. If not, why are you writing? Why are you here?" So she shows us some examples throughout about the times when she has reverently watched and been apart of the world. From one especially beautiful story, she says, "...there is still something to be said for painting portraits of the people we have loved, for trying to express those moments that seem so inexpressible beautiful, the ones that change us and deepen us."

In the last paragraph she sums it up perfectly when asked the question of why writing matters. She says, "Because of the spirit, I say. Because of the heart. Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul."

My 4th lesson of 2013 is:  Find the truths that are important to me so I can add to the conversation that I love so much. The best way to do that is by reading, watching, and listening to the world around me. And by being disciplined in writing. Every day!

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As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’m reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year. Here is the list of my previous book reviews that I've done on this journey:

First: Madame Bovary.
Second: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress.
Third: Patron Saint of Liars.

15 Things I’ve Learned from 6 Months of Biking

1. Yes, raising your seat up higher does make pedaling easier. Raising it so high that your feet just barely reach the pedals does not, actually, make you ride faster.
2. You must resist the urge to buckle your seat belt every time you get on your bike.
3. This one may surprise you...other bicyclists, walkers, and joggers can all hear you. For some reason, I constantly am surprised when someone actually says something to me while I'm biking.
4. There is really no need to panic over every yapping dog at your feet. This may or may not save you from a slow-motion falling incident three feet away from the dog's elderly owner. Not like this has happened to me before...
5. Riding without your prescriptive eye glasses on makes for a fun ride. Suddenly, everyone looks just like someone you know or someone famous!
6. Pretending to be the Wicked Witch of the West actually makes the ride go faster. As does practicing biking without hands. Just remember the advice from #3.
7. Quality rain gear makes all the difference. Shell out the extra bucks for the hurricane rain pants. It is totally worth not having a giant U-shape of wet on the inner part of your legs every time it rains. I swear I will never make fun of people who are obsessed with outdoor gear again...
8. Always remember that it is a game between every stop light. Pace yourself so that you never need to fully stop.
9. Give yourself an extra ten minutes on the wind-going-against-you-the-whole-way days. Your thighs will thank you.
10. Make sure to always look walkers and joggers in the eyes as you pass them so they know just how much faster you are than them.
11. Wearing a dress or skirt while biking is risky. If you take that risk, make sure to bike extra fast.
12. If there is a 40% chance of rain...it will rain on you. So just put on those unflattering, swishy rain pants.
13. You always tend to overdress for cold weather because you are sure that if you don't wear five layers, hypothermia will surely set in! Because of this, you usually are near death from heat exhaustion by the end of your ride. Therefore, armpit vents in winter jackets are truly amazing. Simply unzip and enjoy!
14. Just give up on wanting to look good when you arrive some place. No matter what, you'll either have helmet hair, red cheeks, or sweaty armpits.
15. Obey the traffic signals--they serve the perfect time to casually glance over at the drivers next to you. Suddenly, it becomes pretty clear to them just how tough you are to be biking in 20 degree temperatures when they have their heated seats on full blast. Go ahead and give 'em a small nod. Yeah...I am that tough.

2013 Reading Goal: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress

As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’ll be reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year.  First off I read Madame Bovary. The second one I knocked off the list was Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Picture from Goodreads

I had a hard time getting into this book. Even after about 100 pages, I kept thinking...jeesh...300 more pages to go? Couldn't someone have edited this down some? But then things started to get interesting for me. While sometimes she'd be way over the top and I'd roll my eyes...other times she would hit upon  parts of her life that resonated with me. I loved the stories about how she wanted to be a feminist but she was still learning and struggling with what that all entails. She wrote about always believing that girls were just as good as boys...chanting on the play ground from a young age "Girls Smart, Boys Fart." She also "made a point of reading hundreds of biographies of famous women, then sprinkled my dinnertime conversation" about them. Then she would hit up her dad for money and not understand the ironies of that. She writes that her dad told her "I just think it's cute how you call me a patriarchal oppressor, then fifteen minutes later, you hit me up for money so you can go to the movies."

One of my favorite bits was about her first job as a coffee barista. Her boss was always giving the girls advice on how to get married. In one story she faced the idea of hairy legs..."I was chewing over the remark about 'hairy-legged women's libbers.' I'd always shaved my legs, and what did leg hair have to do with wanting equal treatment under the law, anyway?" I loved the moments in the book that were like that. Moments that really illustrate how a girl wanting to be a feminist suddenly is struck with the idea that she might be doing something wrong! Or just not understanding at all what something like a hairy leg might imply or symbolize. Gilman also tends to exaggerate and be over the top with things so some of the stories or moments of enlightenment are quite funny.

I also think that her struggle with becoming engaged and married were interesting. So many of the women lit that I've read in the past all have to do with women shedding the confines of marriage. Stories where the women can't breath or can't be herself because of the social constrictions on who a woman can be. While reading those stories as a young woman, I just assumed that I wouldn't ever get married. I've always been rather stubborn and not always the most "think of the other person before you" person so I figured I just would go solo through life. It seemed easier almost. But things turned out a bit different for me when my boyfriend at the time went away for a semester to another country and I was stuck behind...absolutely MISERABLE. I didn't want to live apart from this guy, this best friend of mine ever again. As I grew up, matured, and learned more about who I am...I realized that marriage did not have to be a box that I had to contort myself into. It could actually be more freeing. BUT it still was strange for me to suddenly be talking about weddings, dish sets, and linens. And Gilman does an excellent job on telling that side of things. She writes, "But as a feminist, nothing was as daunting to me as getting engaged. Because as soon as Bob slipped the ring onto my finger, it was as if we were instantly catapulted back into 1956. Virtually overnight, people stopped treating us like individuals and began relating to us instead as a traditional Bride and Groom--sex roles as shallow and reductive as the symbols on public restrooms."

She also tells the hilarious story about how much she resisted the white wedding dress...until everyone twisted her arm and guilted her into trying one on. So she goes into David's Bridal...puts one on and refuses to take it off because it makes her feel so good. She writes, "As I stood there, something else occurred to me: why did it take so long to have this experience? Every woman should have this experience--and not only if or when she gets married. Every woman should see herself looking uniquely breathtaking, in something tailored to celebrate her body, so that she is better able to appreciate her own beauty and better equipped to withstand the ideals of our narrow-waited, narrow-minded culture."

I gave the book a 3 1/2 overall...but I think I'd give it a 4 1/2 for the last 150 pages or so. I think she really hit her stride there---or maybe I was just able to connect more with it.

One last part I loved...she wrote about how she felt when her and her husband move to Switzerland. While I didn't move abroad...I did recently move 2000+ miles from my family and friends so I feel like its another country. She says..."Funny how glamorous stories about people going abroad always conveniently seemed to leave out this part--the unnerving schizophrenia of arrival--the panic you can feel in a strange city when you realize: whoa. This is it. You're not going home next week with a bagful of snow globes to hand out."


Lessons from this book: Embrace the contradictions! Don't be afraid to get everything right the first time. Be a life learner! (Insert other cheesy, motivating sayings!)

Journal Prompt Jars

Time: A couple hours
Listening to: Doctor Who
Drinking: Country Peach Tea

One thing that I've realized from my 2012 challenge is that I don't write nearly as much as I'd like. I'm someone who needs to process things and often writing is the best way I can do that. Even though I know this...it is hard for me to sit down and just start writing. It takes a lot of energy so I often don't do it. One thing that I thought might help me begin writing more is my own journal prompt jar.

I first sat down and did a major brainstorm on memories and topics that I'd like to write about. Some are really simple and others are very broad. I took a lot of time in this part of the process because I figured the more thorough it is, the less often I'll have to refill my jar. Then I wrote my prompts out on cardstock and cut and folded. This I did with the help of Doctor Who (Season 3!). I then found an old cashew container that we were going to recycle and made it into my little journal prompt container.

Here's to writing more in 2013!

2013 Goal: Reading Madame Bovary

As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’ll be reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year. The first one I picked up to read was Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert…and WOW…what a good one.

Rating: Five Stars

The book centers on the ambitious, romantic and ever dreaming Emma. She marries young when she thought she was in love. But when “the happiness that should have followed this love not having come, she must, she thought, have been mistaken. And Emma tried to find out what one meant exactly in life by the words felicity, passion, rapture, that had seemed to her so beautiful in books.”  

She wonders what her life would be like if chance had brought her another man to marry. She imagines how different and wonderful it would be from her current life. When she gets a taste of a rich and elegant ball, she falls in love with the romance of it all. She wants her husband, Charles, to inspire the passions inside her, and teach her the beautiful, extraordinary things in the world, but he is a commonplace man who talks of normal, everyday things. Charles is very happy with their married life and is blind to all of Emma’s unhappy qualms. She never tells Charles any of her hopes and dreams…but rather keeps it all inside her.

So Emma begins to look to other men to fill this void in her. She first has an emotional affair with a young Leon. Then when he removes himself, another man, Rodolphe, steps in whose ambition is to conquer Emma. When she accepts, they begin a long affair…one which she eventually decides she’ll leave Charles and run away with him. When he backs out of their plan she becomes despondent and ill.  Her husband Charles is so out of touch with Emma that he always thinks she has this nervous condition…when really her heart flutters at the passions that she feels. Eventually Emma recovers and a chance encounter brings her back in touch with Leon. From there, they begin a passionate affair which Leon pushes for. Emma consents and eventually becomes more and more like her previous lover, Rodolphe…the wooer, the romantic…while Leon struggles to keep up with her.

Emma eventually spirals out of control…leading to a tragic end. Her life becomes full of lies and deceit and eventually it catches up to her and those around her.

I’ve thought so much about this book since I finished it. I’ve kept wondering if Emma really would have been happier if she had married into a rich and luxurious lifestyle to a man who was romantic and inspiring...like she dreams of. Would she have still found the unhappiness that always seems to find her? Would she have become bored with him, too, like she did of all her lovers?  

Or rather is the problem that she was never truly free? Even when she fought for freedom from Charles, she still always turned to another man. Even when she gained legal freedom, she still turned to another man (sleazy, con artist) to guide her with her finances which she has no clue how to handle. It seems like there is no place in this society for a woman like Emma. She tried religion, but she was much too romantic and sexual to be a nun. She tried marriage yet that didn’t suit her either. She never looked inside to what she could contribute or what she could do to make her situation better…instead she wants happiness to find her. She wants the men in her life to bring her the romance and passion to her. If she was living in a society where a woman wasn’t assumed to either be a nun or married…would Emma have been freer to dream outside of love and romance? Would she have been able to dream bigger?  

Lesson #1 of 2013: When you feel lost or unhappy...don't blame the people around you. Get involved, change your habits, and look inside yourself to see what you have to contribute to the bigger world. 

My 2013 Goal

Here is the plan:

• I'll be reading woman lit that focuses on women authors and complicated, strong female characters. I'll also be reading essays and other random applicable articles I stumble on. 
• I'll be journaling about my own journey looking at my past, present, and future.  
• I'll be working on self-portraits along the way--photography, drawing, and painting.

I'm not sure yet how/if this will be reflected on the blog but I'd love any book/essay suggestions if there is anything you think might be helpful for me on this journey.

Thanks for the support!

Part 3: Reading List of 2012

Here is part 1 and here is part 2. 

* indicates a favorite

** indicates a super favorite

 

53.   **The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath   Classics/Fiction
This book has been on my to read list for quite some time and I am so glad I finally got to it. Although it was written in the 50s, there are so many timeless elements to it. It is quite haunting...one that kept me thinking about it for some time.  
54.   The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett     Fiction
55.   Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper     Young Adult Fiction
56.    Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs       YA Fiction/Fantasy
57.    **The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield       Fiction/Mystery
This is a great book for any book lover out there. There are several stories throughout this book, and it is quite nice when they intertwine. Great characters, a nice mystery, and so many great quotes about the love of books! Writing about this book actually makes me want to reread it again.
58.   **The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd       Fiction
I decided to reread this book again after I finished Kidd’s The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, which is about her journey with feminism. At the end of it she decides to start writing fiction....more specifically, The Secret Life of Bees. I LOVED reading this book knowing the story that lead up to it. I loved this book the first time I read it and loved it even more the the second read through.  
59.   *The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks      Nonfiction/Psych
I picked up this book randomly without knowing anything about it...basically because of the great title. It reminded me of a Gogol title so I was surprised when I started reading and found out that it is a collection of nonfiction story from a psychologist. I really loved the stories and kind of skimmed over his psychology talk sometimes. I tended to read a chapter or two right before bed so my poor husband was forced to listen to a recap as I was so enraptured with them!
60.   *How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran       Memoir/Feminism
On the cover of the book there is a quote that says “The British version of Tina Fey’s Bossypants.” so I wanted desperately to read it as I loved Bossypants. Boy, was I in for a surprise! This book was a lot cruder than I was expecting but once I got over my shock, I enjoyed it! She tells some very funny stories about her growing up and exploring what it means to be a woman. She is super funny and I enjoyed the many rants that she went on. I wouldn’t recommend this book to everybody (mostly because some of the topics she goes into in detail) but I am eager to read more of her work!
61.  Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen      Classics
62.  *The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey        Fiction/Magical Realism
This story is about a barren middle aged couple that is starting over in the undeveloped Alaskan Territory in the 1920s. In their loneliness, they build a snowchild and in the morning, it is gone and only one set of footprints lead from it. Soon enough a young girl is seen in the woods and they befriend her. As their relationship grows, they question whether they are crazy, if she is real, or if she is magical. A really terrific read. Quiet in many ways but quite powerful, too.
63.   **Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon       Nonfiction/Art
This is such a great little read. Very inspiring. A great book to inspire your creativity!
64.   *Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed       Memoir
I put this book on hold at the library and was #175 so I figured I’d never get a chance to read it! Fortunately, I did get a hold of a copy and devoured it. It tells Cheryl’s story as she is grappling with a failed marriage, her mother’s death, and being abandoned by her dad as a young child. As her life gets messier, she takes a break to reorient herself on the PCT and what follows is a great book about her journey. I’m not sure she inspired me to pick up backpacking (she tells some horrible stories about her sore feet), but she tells a powerful story of taking charge of your life when you desperately need to.
65.   American Primitive by Mary Oliver         Poetry
66.   Closing Time by Joe Queenan      Memoir
67.   Letters from Pemberley: The First Year by Jane Dawkins    Historical Fiction
68.   **Thirst by Mary Oliver       Poetry
A great collection of poems that deal with nature, sorrow, and spirituality. Her poetry is simple yet has so much depth. I’m planning on buying this book so I can reread again and again.
69.   *A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers       Memoir
I really was turned off by the cover of this book for a while. Something about it just bothered me. Finally I read some review of the book that made me give it a try...and I’m glad I did. It was a very interesting book. The writing  kind of reminded me of Kerouac's run on style, which seemed appropriate because it was his story as a young 20 something losing both parents and taking on the responsibility of his younger brother. It was wild and chaotic--much like his grieving process.
70.   *The Round House by Louise Erdrich        Fiction
This book deserves all of the praise it has been receiving. I was a bit nervous to read it because it is about a woman who is raped and how she, her family, and her community deals with it. I’m really glad I read it, though. It shows a family grieving and how each of them deals with it. The story is told from the perspective of the child as an adult which gives it a nice removed but personal feel to it. A great glimpse into the Native American culture and the difficulties that they face as a community.
71.   Ariel: The Restored Edition by Sylvia Plath      Poetry
72.   *The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe        Memoir/Nonfiction
As a book lover, how could I not read this book? Will Schwalbe tells the story of him and his mother starting a two person book club while she is going through a terminal illness. Not only does he talk about the books that they read, but he also tells his mother’s life story. It has a nice story with depth so it doesn’t end up being just a collection of book reviews. I would have given this a super 5 star but sometimes it got a bit slow.  
73.   **Just Kids by Patti Smith       Nonfiction/Memoir
Honestly, I didn’t know who Patti Smith was when I put this book on hold at the library. I did know the story of Robert Mapplethorpe so I was intrigued to know some of his back story. I really just loved this book. Patti and Robert were so apart of this amazing, creative movement in NY that I loved reading about. I just felt haunted by this era and I couldn’t stop thinking about it even when I set the book down.  As a powerhouse artist, Patti was in the throes of it all. She experienced so many highs and lows throughout her life and she articulates it so nicely.
74.   Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books, Edited by Leah Price  Nonfiction/Art
75.   The Hobbit

25 Good Books Every Woman Should Read

Ever since I made my ideal bookshelf on Day 351, I've been thinking a lot about what books I've read and how they have influenced me. Each of these books listed below have influenced my viewpoint on being a woman and what that means. As a recently turned 26 year old, I've been reflecting on the numerous strong, intelligent, and funny female characters and personalities that I've grown up admiring. I thought I'd pay homage to them in this post.

Listed in the general order that I first read them:

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
2. Their Eyes Were Watching God  by Zora Neale Hurston
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
5. Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
6. Alice in Wonderland
7. Mrs. Dalloway
8. A Girl Named Zippy
9. The Awakening
10. Jane Eyre 
11. Housekeeping
12.  Traveling Mercies
13. Autobiography of a Face
14. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
15. Room
16. Bossypants
17. The Patron Saint of Liars
18. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
19. Villette

20. Little Women

21.The Dance of the Dissident Daughter
22.  House on Mango Street
23. The Bell Jar
24.  How To Be A Woman
25. Wild

For the year 2013 I'm thinking about doing a challenge of only reading female writers. I think this could be very interesting and help push me along in my journey of becoming the woman that I want to be.

Day 351: My Ideal Bookshelf

My husband gave me this great book for Christmas (yes, we already exchanged presents...) and I was so inspired that I decided to make my own ideal bookshelf.

In no particular order:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3. Tinkers by Paul Harding
4. Lovely, Raspberry by Aaron Belz
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
6. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
7. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
8. A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
10. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
11. The Second Coming by Walker Percy
12. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
13. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
14. The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland
15. Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott

Day 334: Designing and Mailing Christmas Letters

Time: Couple hours
Listening to: Christmas Music

I love Christmas letters. We always sent them out growing up and we always received a bunch from friends, family, and even some people I didn't know. I loved opening them and reading them all. I was always so intrigued about what people decided to include, what they didn't include, and what crazy matching outfits they picked out for their picture. Anyways, even when I was single and in college, I was sending out my own Christmas letters. I like thinking back on the year and summarizing what is going on. I also love to make them interactive...like little puzzles. My previous favorites have been the crossword puzzle and the word search. This year we decided to do one that you have to fill in the blank and use the first letter to solve the puzzle at the end of the letter. It isn't too tricky this year, but I still like imagining people getting out their pens and filling in the little spaces.

Day 293: Writing Letters

Time: 1 1/2 hours
Listening to: The Packers (win!)

I've been busy writing letters today! I'm loving my William H. Johnson stamps. Aren't they adorable? I kind of want to write more letters just to send those pretty little stamps out there into the big ol' world. 

Part 2: Reading List of 2012

So way back on Day 1of this blog, I wrote a long explanation of why I read so obsessively. I won’t rehash all of that again but feel free to check it out if you missed it. And then on this day I showed you Part 1 of my reading adventure for 2012. And now today I give you part 2! I originally thought my goal for 2012 would be 50 books but I passed that and now am striving for 75. We'll see...my tracker says I'm 2 books behind...

* indicates a favorite

** indicates a super favorite

32.        St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell                     Short Stories

I was so intrigued by Swamplandia! that I wanted to read some more of Karen Russell. This is a collection of her short stories—one of them being a short story that inspired Swamplandia!. It is very strange going from reading a fully fleshed out story to then going back to the original sketch of it. The stories themselves were unique and intriguing…just didn’t quite have the finesse that I was expecting. I loved the title story, though, and also the one about the sleep disorder camp.

33.       *Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai                               Young Adult Fiction/Poetry

My sister-in-law let me borrow her copy of this book and I took it home and read through it that very night. It is a very engaging story about a girl and her family fleeing from the Vietnam War and trying to adjust to life in Alabama. The book is written from ten-year-old Ha’s perspective in free verse poetry and really achieves that confusion and turmoil that she feels as she adjusts to her new life and deals with memories of the past.  

34.       **A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith                                        Classics/Fiction

This is a reread for me as I first read it in high school. I liked it then but LOVE it now. It is such a quiet story—but so strong. Francie Nolan is such a great character as she is always trying to find the beauty in the broken world around her. I feel like I can’t articulate much more about it without confining it, so all I can say is if you haven’t read this one…read it!

35.       Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You by Sam Gosling                 Nonfiction/Psychology

I was really excited about this book because I think that the subject is pretty fascinating! The author is a psychologist who pokes around dorm rooms, offices, and bedrooms to see what he can learn from them. The idea was there—but it just got to be a bit boring. It is such a FUN idea but I think he ended up trying to make the book more scientific/educational than I was expecting.

36.       **The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie by Mary Ann Shaffer             Historical Fiction

I felt so lost when I began reading this book because it immediately jumps into letters being exchanged from people who I had no idea who they were! The entire book is written in letters actually, but it surprised me how easily I picked up the storyline and the characters. After a couple pages in, I was hooked. The book is set in the time period of London trying to emerge from the destruction of World War II. It is about Juliet, a writer, who begins to correspond with a group of people who lived in Guernsey (a small island off of London) during their occupation by the Nazis. It is such a great story…both from a historical perspective but also from a reader’s perspective! It is so engaging—and what a cast of characters! Go read it!

37.       Casino Royale by Ian Fleming                                                                     Adventure/Fiction

So not my typical read…but my husband read it while we were on vacation and suggested it to me after I finished my own book. I decided to read through the first couple pages to see what it was all about…and low and behold, I ended up finishing it shortly after. It was fun to see James Bond in print and compare it with the James Bond of the 2006 movie version with Daniel Craig. It was a bit tough to put up with all of the 1953 stereotypes…lots of mentions on how women shouldn’t be in the professional world. Ugh!  Not sure I’d be up for reading the next one, but who knows!

38.       Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? By Jeanette Winterson      Memoir

What a great title! I could hardly pass this up with a title like that. I was really expecting a witty, gritty memoir but ended up being slightly confused during a lot of it. I never read her story, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and in many ways this book seemed written directly for the Oranges readers. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read Oranges first as the stories inside this one are very powerful—just a bit disjointed without having the base of the first book.

39.       The Red House by Mark Haddon                                              Fiction

This book was a little confusing at first because Haddon jumps not only from character to character but he also jumps to excerpts from the books that each character is reading—all happening within paragraphs of a chapter. As I got into that style and got to know the characters better, I could settle into it a bit better. The book was a lot darker than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be a bit like This is Where I Leave You—but in a hard way to describe, it was heavier. The story of the book is about an estranged brother and sister spending a week together with their families in a house. The characters of the book seem pretty normal but somehow it seems like every possible struggle is being dealt with—insanity, affairs, sexual orientation, guilt, manipulation, and lots more. A book that made me think about it after I finished, but not necessarily in a good way.

40.       The World to Come by Dara Horn                                            Historical Fiction

I’m having difficulty writing about this book. When I finished it, I gave it a 4/5 but as I look back on it…I’m not sure I really did like it that much. It was a good read and I enjoyed the folklore, layers, and characters of the book. It just didn’t stick with me as much as I thought it was going to. The beginning was strong, but it just sort of petered out a bit.

41.   The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker              Science Fiction

This was a book that was really strange to go from reading it then back to reality. Whenever I put it down, I had to reorient myself to days that were still 24 hours long, birds still flying in the sky, and strawberries still being readily available. This is a coming of age story of girl who deals with normal stuff like boys, not being popular, and her parents fighting. Yet, there is nothing normal about her world as the “slowing” has begun. Nicely written and definitely thought provoking.

42.   Big Sur by Jack Kerouac                                                 Classic/Memoir

I think this is a book that intrigued me more in the idea of it than the actual book. Here is Jack Kerouac, the king of the Beatniks, growing older, darker, and more depressed. He got this wild fame from On the Road, and you see him trying to keep up with it. He runs himself ragged with alcohol and wild nights. There is a darkness in this book and it leads right into a breaking point of insanity. Few can write in his style—but the raggedness and sincerity of it only added to the heartbreak of the story.

43.   Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte                       Classics/Fiction

What a dark and moody story this is! It is a story of a passionate love that makes them and everyone around them miserable. It is nicely layered and could definitely be read over and over and still pick up new angles. Just not sure it will be me who will reread it…

44.   **Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin                    Classics/Fiction

I was poking around on my mom’s ipad one day when I stumbled upon the e-books that she has on there. I was interested to see if I could tell a difference between reading on an ipad compared to my nook. So I started rereading Pride and Prejudice. And then pretty soon I didn’t care at all about my experiment and was completely absorbed in reading it. The only thing that jolted me out of the spell was when the low battery alert came on. Then I ran downstairs and got my nook and finished it on there! I’m convinced that this book is more fun to reread than it is to originally read it. I knew that the good stuff was coming so I was pulled right through it. Ahh, what a great book. Ever since I read it, I just want to reread it, watch the movies, and then reread it again.

45.   *Villette by Charlotte Bronte                    Classics/Fiction

I have to admit—this is one of those books that probably a third of the way in, I wasn’t sure if I could finish it. I had loved Jane Eyre so much and this was...much harder to read. It was slow, I didn’t know if I liked/could trust the main character, and it kept refusing to give me all of the details that I wanted. BUT, I went online and started reading about the book to give me a little bit better understanding. As people raved about it, I decided to give it a 2^nd chance. I learned to appreciate the artistry which Bronte writes—that she chose to represent Lucy that way so we could see how restrained she is and how fearful of opening herself up to the world. As the book goes on, we start to see and understand Lucy better but she still often refuses to really show how she felt. Bronte deals with some heavy theology and philosophy in this book which gives it a rich feel to it. I’m glad that I stuck with it—but I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint of heart!  

46.   Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange                     Fiction

My sister-in-law is the biggest Pride and Prejudice fan that I know of. For her birthday I gave her this book which is the story told from Mr. Darcy’s perspective in diary format. I then borrowed it from her to read it myself! It started off and I thought it might be too hokey for me…like it was just not going to work. Then soon enough, I just got sucked right into it. It is a light, fun read. Having just read Pride & Prejudice a few days before, it was a nice salve for the itch for more Pride and Prejudice! No, it isn’t Jane Austen, but it is fun to see things from Mr. Darcy’s perspective.

47.   Emma by Jane Austen                                   Classics/Fiction

My least favorite Jane Austen story so far. I usually appreciate when an author gives their characters faults, but Emma was just a little too annoying for me to really embrace. I did like the 2^nd half of the book a lot better but jeesh, it was rough going there for a bit in the beginning!

48.   *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle    Classics/Fiction/Mystery

I have to admit…the BBC miniseries Sherlock was what inspired me to start reading this. And I’m glad it did because the book is full of fun, short mysteries that reminded me of my love of Jessica Fletcher and Dr. Haledjian.

49.   *Little Women by Louisa May Alcott                      Classics/Fiction

What a great story of a family of girls coming of age! I really was not expecting to really connect with this book as it is kind of simple and full of morals. But, it is a quiet and peaceful read that has depth to it. It is a book that had me thinking about it many times after I finished it.

50.   *The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros                            Fiction

A great little book about a girl growing up in Chicago—trying to get a grapple on living in a house on Mango Street that isn’t everything her parents had dreamt and promised of. It is told from her perspective which gives it innocence. Cisneros gives the gritty but also the beauty.

51.   *Persuasion by Jane Austen                       Classics/Fiction

I really enjoyed this book because it had a sense of maturity to it. No, Anne is not a feisty Elizabeth Bennett, but she has had heartache and has learned from it. She’s a relatable character who is more level headed and restrained than some of Austen’s characters. Plus, I think the story line is great—how awkward to be in such a close social setting with a former fiancé! I’m not sure I like it as much as Pride & Prejudice but maybe with a rereading I’d put it up there…                                          

52.   *The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd             Spiritual Memoir

This book has been so thought provoking for me. The book is about Kidd’s journey of being a traditional Southern Baptist that begins to realize how so much of her religion is from a man’s perspective. It is her journey of beginning to unlearn and relearn who she is and what she believes.  Throughout her own journey, she weaves fantastic quotes and stories throughout. I couldn’t always connect with every part of the book, but I do feel lucky to have read this book at this time in my life.