The Origin of Species has been on my To Be Read pile for at least five years. As 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, I am neglecting it no longer. I am diving right in and giving it my full attention.
Stay tuned, for I hope, nay, I expect, to have much to say about it.
And doesn’t the movie look great?
I haven’t done a meme in quite a while, and I find myself in need of some lighthearted amusement today so I have turned to my friend Helen, who did this book meme some time ago.
My reading has been kind of stale these past few months. I am stuck on The People’s History of the United States, it’s a long book and it’s going very slowly, but I did manage to read the first two books in the Inspector Lynley mysteries a few weeks ago.
This meme, in Helen’s words, ”is about LibraryThing’s list of the top 106 books that lie unread on people’s shelves. You have to bold the ones you’ve read of your own accord, underline the ones you had to read for school or university, and italicize the ones you started but didn’t finish.” I will also follow Helen and put a star by the books I own but haven’t read, and I think I should strike the ones I will probably never read.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell♦ I have to be honest and say I know nothing about this book. I’ll have to do a search on it.
Anna Karenina♦I had to take a break in the middle of this one, but it is a very powerful story. In the end I felt sorry for the heroine and I thought two things: that she did it all for nought and that she deserved better treatment, from others and from herself.
**Crime and Punishment**♦ I bought this book in England a couple of years ago and it is still waiting for me. I’ll read it one day when I feel I can handle its depth and subject matter.
Catch-22♦ Well, this is not a good beginning. I haven’t read this one either.
One Hundred Years of Solitude♦ A great favorite. I’ve written about it here.
Wuthering Heights♦ Despise me if you dare, but I am not a Bronte fan. I know what the book is about and nothing about it appeals to me.
The Silmarillion♦ I am not a reader of fantasy stories as a rule, but I will probably read Tolkien at some point. I read all the Harry Potters, but the last two were really disappointing to me, and in the end found them gimmicky and I thought all the secrecy a little annoying, especially as there really was no big secret at all in my opinion.
Life of Pi : a novel♦ I have this on my wish list at Amazon.
The Name of the Rose♦ I enjoyed this very much.
Don Quixote♦ Another one that is on the wish list. I’ll read it in Spanish of course.
Moby Dick♦ Does the movie count?
Ulysses♦ No thank you, I’ve heard about it and I have no desire to subject myself to it.
Madame Bovary♦ A very sad, disturbing story. I failed to identify with the heroine. I couldn’t understand her at all. Do people like her really exist? Tragically, they do.
The Odyssey♦ I read the Samuel Butler translation, which I didn’t like much. I’d like to try a different version some time.
Pride and Prejudice♦ My favorite book in the world. I’ve written a little about it here.
**Jane Eyre**♦ I’ve seen part of one of the adaptations. I can’t remember which. I am not particularly interested but I guess I could pick it up one day, so I won’t scratch it off. It’s highly unlikely, as I don’t like Lifetime Television-type stories. I have decided to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall which will, in all probability, be my only Bronte book.
The [A] Tale of Two Cities♦ I like Dickens, and I’m slowly going through all his works.
The Brothers Karamazov♦ I plan to read this at some point in my life, although Russian literature is never my first choice.
Guns, Germs, and Steel♦ Something new for the wish list.
The Time Traveler’s Wife♦ For some reason I tend to stay away from current fiction.
**The Iliad**♦ I’ll get to this one eventually.
Emma♦ Many scholars think this is Jane Austen’s finest book. Out of the six, this is number four or five on my list. It changes position between readings.
The Blind Assassin♦ Again, another contemporary fiction book that I have simply not been compelled to read.
The Kite Runner♦
Mrs. Dalloway♦ I liked it.
Great Expectations♦ Probably my favorite Dickens.
American Gods♦
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius♦
Atlas Shrugged♦ I have a feeling I will probably not like this book, but I think I should at least give it a try.
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books♦ A very moving book.
Memoirs of a Geisha♦ I saw a little bit of the movie. I hope the book is better. I’m not very interested I’m afraid.
Middlesex♦
Quicksilver♦ I don’t have this book but it seems very interesting.
Wicked: the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales♦ I’ve read parts of it.
The Historian: a novel♦
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man♦
Love in the Time of Cholera♦ My second favorite GGM.
Brave New World♦ I don’t like to read books like this. There is enough despair and unhappiness in real life as it is. All I need to do to get a dose of it is to turn on the news.
The Fountainhead♦ It seems like a very interesting, thought-provoking book, although I have to say that I normally don’t like novels that are used as propaganda tools, which this may well be.
Foucault’s Pendulum♦ I read it’s a difficult book, but based on my enjoyment of The Name of the Rose, I would try it.
Middlemarch♦ My favorite Eliot.
Frankenstein♦
The Count of Monte Cristo♦ Loved it.
Dracula♦
A Clockwork Orange♦
Anansi Boys♦
The Once and Future King♦ I’ve always loved the legend of King Arthur, so I will probably read this at some point.
The Grapes of Wrath♦
The Poisonwood Bible♦ I’ve never read Barbara Kingsolver, but the plot seems very original and interesting.
1984♦ I like George Orwell. I think he was a genius
Angels & Demons♦The Da Vinci Code was enough for me.
Inferno♦ I will assume this is Dante’s Inferno and not the science fiction novel. If not, insert strikethrough.
The Satanic Verses♦ We have Midnight’s Children, which I’ve never read. I’d like to read this just to see what all the fuss is about. My husband thought it was much ado about nothing, and he’s a Muslim.
Sense and Sensibility♦ My number two of the six major novels. I wrote a little about it here.
The Picture of Dorian Gray♦ I saw the black and white movie. It doesn’t appeal to me much, but I won’t reject it out of hand.
Mansfield Park♦ I wrote a review here.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest♦
To the Lighthouse♦ I like Virgina Woolf, so this is a future read, to be sure.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles♦ I don’t particularly like Hardy, but I read a great review of this book, so I’ll give it a try based on that recommendation.
Oliver Twist♦
**Gulliver’s Travels**♦ I started reading this book but gave up. I’ll give it another go at some point.
Les Misérables♦
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay♦
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time♦ The reviews are great, so I would like to read this.
Dune♦ I saw the movie and that was enough.
**The Prince**♦
The Sound and the Fury♦
Angela’s Ashes: a memoir♦
The God of Small Things♦ A half-hearted maybe. There are so many other books I’d like to read.
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present♦ I’m reading this at the moment.
Cryptonomicon♦
Neverwhere♦
A Confederacy of Dunces♦
A Short History of Nearly Everything♦ I enjoy non-fiction books about topics like this one.
Dubliners♦
The Unbearable Lightness of Being♦ Not particularly appealing, but a maybe.
Beloved♦ Too tragic by half.
Slaughterhouse-five♦
The Scarlet Letter♦
Eats, Shoots & Leaves♦ I enjoyed it. I thought it was really clever and funny at times.
The Mists of Avalon♦
Oryx and Crake♦
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed♦
Cloud Atlas♦ The reviews are good, and the plot seems very interesting so I would give this a try.
The Confusion♦ Maybe.
Lolita♦ I’ve almost bought this book several times and probably will read it some day.
Persuasion♦ Number three of the six for me. It makes me sad to think that Jane Austen was dying as she wrote every word.
Northanger Abbey♦ Perhaps the Austen I like the least, if that is possible. I treasure all her writing, but this is the one book that I re-read less often than the others.
The Catcher in the Rye♦ This book is so famous that I feel I should read it, so I will.
On the Road♦
The Hunchback of Notre Dame♦ Maybe.
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything♦
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values♦
The Aeneid♦
Watership Down♦ I bought an animated movie as a gift for a child and I didn’t like it.
Gravity’s Rainbow♦
The Hobbit♦ It’s on my wish list.
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences♦ It’s not my kind of book.
White teeth♦ Seems interesting. I would give it a try.
Treasure Island♦ I read this a few years ago. I still remember an animated movie of this book that was on television when I was a child.
David Copperfield♦
So what does this meme tell me about my reading choices? Well, two things: it’s obvious that my taste in books is very different from most people’s, and there are few books I own that I haven’t read.
The first book I bought for my daughter is called “And here’s to you” by David Elliot. I first heard about it on a story on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition program, where they did a reading.
The art work is colorful and fun, and the text is beautiful. I love the rhythm and the message. It rejoices in the life around us and celebrates the differences that make us unique with gentle acceptance. Here’s a sample:
Here’s to the cows! The Giving People!
Cows!
Here’s to the woolly ones,
the bonny and the bully ones.
Here’s to the silky ones,
and butter-cream and milky ones.
Oh, I love the cows!
Listen to the reading here. It’s beautifully done.
I came upon a collection of children’s books by the New York Review of Books that I have added to my ever-growing Wish List at Amazon. Some of the titles have been out of print for many years.
I’d like to get these for my daughter to read when she is old enough:
I can’t wait to discuss these books with my little girl!
I have not been tagged for this meme, but I’m doing it anyway, because I love memes, and I love books, so I cannot resist.
Number of books you own: I’ve lost count. Some time last year we had nearly five hundred, but since then we’ve brought two metal trunks full of my husband’s old books, and of course I keep buying all the time. We just had two more bookshelves built.
Last book you bought: Frozen Assets, by P.G. Wodehouse, and One, Two, Buckle my Shoe, by Agatha Christie. Before that, I bought Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot, and The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco. Frozen Assets is my first Wodehouse.
Last book someone else bought you: My brother bought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling for me this past summer.
Last book read: Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot. I had to take a break mid-way because it became too much for me and I was feeling a little depressed by it, so I put it away and read One, Two, Buckle my Shoe, by Agatha Christie. I usually read something light and comforting between major reads.
Five Books that Mean a Lot to Me: I had to think hard about this. Some books are easy to pick, but there are really few books, considering the amount of reading I do, that I can name without hesitation. I think it’s because what makes some books special to me is what they remind me of, and not just the writing itself.
Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen. This is the book that changed my life. It opened a whole new world to me, a world of words and meanings that the books I had been reading at the time didn’t have. I read it a year or so out of college, just old enough to understand the importance of dignity and self-worth, of being yourself, and of making decisions with integrity and courage. Elizabeth Bennet dazzled me because she dared to be different, because she valued her principles more highly than anything else. I was immediately in love, and felt literally like I had found a voice that I recognized. In the years since, it has retained its place as my favorite book of all time. It’s my desert island book.
A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I read this book during a difficult and stressful period of my life, where everyday felt like a struggle for survival. If you have ever experienced financial difficulties, you know how hard it is to keep going, to get up in the morning and face whatever comes at you. I braved the storm and reading this story of dignity in the face of pain and privation helped me get through it. I love that quote that says “If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess on the inside”, and I would say to myself that nothing could change how I saw myself, no matter how hard things became on the outside.
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read this book in Spanish, and some of the images it created are indelibly fixed in my head. I will never forget the vision of the fish that came swimming through the open windows on the most humid day of the year, or the little green plants that started growing in the glass where Melchiades the gypsy soaked his false teeth every night. It’s the story of a family, but it’s also the story of Latin America. Col. Aureliano Buendia is a marvellous creation, a charismatic, Quixotic knight, a rock star in the middle of the Colombian jungle.
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. I’ve gone through some pretty devastating ordeals in my life, but crumbling was never an option. I chose to re-read this book during one of those times, when my life was pretty much in pieces, and the example of Elinor Dashwood, who remained strong and composed while her heart breaks was an inspiration to me. No matter how much I wanted to howl in pain and bury my head under the sheets, I felt that being demoralized was akin to admitting defeat and so fighting through was the only way. Elinor Dashwood inspires me with her bravery and honor.
The Glass Castle, by Violet Winspear. Is there a book that you love in spite of yourself? This is that kind of book for me. The story is a little ridiculous, even bizarre, but I love the characters, and it’s full of unusual little details that made the book unforgettable for me. I first read it in Spanish as a young girl, and when later I found it at a used bookstore and read it in the original language, I loved it even more. Once in a while I will take it out again and savour it for the sheer delight of it. Heron Brooks and Edwin Trequair. Lotus flowers and red hair. Temple Court and Jocelyn’s Beach. Saville Row suits and Sulka shirts. A wedding cake cut with a jewelled kris. Silk-padded drawers and a menagerie of jewelled Faberge animals in her boudoir. This was a story that seemed full of exotic and romantic details that fascinated my teenage mind, and the hero was a mysterious, tall and dark man with a powerful personality. Never mind the scarred face, the teenager in me still loves it.
My feelings about George Eliot’s last book are mixed. The story is captivating and very often I could not wait to pick it up again, but I also found myself skimming through several passages that were dreary and repetitive, and I was bored by the lack of dialogue. Pages-long, wordy paragraphs slowed the pace, especially when the narrative focused on Deronda. I much preferred to read about Gwendolen and her troubles, and looked forward to the chapters devoted to her.
Here is a woman whose moral compass is self-interest. Even her intentions to be good are motivated by her fascination for Deronda and her desire for his good opinion. Gwendolen is one of those people who always gets what she wants because of her “power of inspiring fear as to what she might say or do” if she were thwarted. Until the very end, I could see no redeeming quality in her, and even her love for her mother is a selfish, ungrateful kind of affection, at least in the beginning. She is an empty-headed, fussy woman whom I would probably dislike on sight, but to my surprise, her final defeat moved me and I felt sorry for her.
Deronda himself I found contradictory. He is morally upright, sincere, and kind. His feelings are deep and intense, but while he judges those around him, like Sir Hugo, Gwendolen and his own mother, he never judges Myrah or her attempted suicide. Tragic and heartbreaking as it is, her desire to drown herself is neither brave nor honorable. Maybe I judge her harshly, but her reasons didn’t seem convincing to me. I could not sympathize with her plight, and as a plot device, I think it’s weak. Myrah is the least appealing character, the bland one whose good fortune seems unearned.
Daniel’s sense of honor fails him where Gwendolen is concerned. His actions towards her were, in the end, unfeeling and unkind. She was indeed the victim of his happiness.
I wish Mrs. Glasher had made one last, triumphant appearance in the story. Her absence feels like unfinished business, a loose end sticking out. She is one bitter, vengeful woman, and the letter she writes to Gwendolen may be the most venomous thing I have ever read.
Reading this book was more disturbing than enjoyable. I got bored and impatient with the religious stuff, and I disagree with the idea that people should not marry outside of their race or their religion, which the book seems to espouse, and some rather prejudiced descriptions, particularly of the merchant Cohen family, I found offensive.
This is not a happy book, and I was in tears as I finished reading the last page.
