An airhead exhibition.

One of the reasons that I have been enjoying this project is that I haven't really read a lot of great literature in my life and I think I can appreciate it now. However, sometimes some of these books just leave me shaking my head - I am clearly missing something. I usually get what is going on in most of these, but The Atrocity Exhibition exposes me as the airhead that I sometimes am.

J. G. Ballard's The Atrocity Exhibition is a short story that is about 11 pages long. It focuses on (I think) a sort of World War III situation, a guy who might be insane, some other characters that are trying to take over his mind or have him do these weird things for him, and some mannequins. I'm glad it was short because I just don't get it and I felt dumb!

Read so far: 53/1001. It's been about a year and I'm about 5% through.

More than a historical novel.

I really liked Atonement by Ian McEwan and I can see why it was honored with so many prizes. It starts off and you think it is a really well written historical novel - and then as you keep reading you realize that the author is doing a couple of really cool things. You wind up questioning who the narrator is and how much he or she actually knows about the events described in the book. I don't want to say too much more because I don't want to spoil it. This is one that I think Mike would really enjoy and I hope he has a chance to read it soon.

Also, McEwan captured the 13-year old girl so well in the early part of the novel. I could definitely relate to her urge to write, create, put on a play, write a story and give it decorative covers, etc.

A book within a book within a...

At Swim Two Birds is a crazy, fun, sometimes confusing book. The main character is writing a book. In his book, the main character is writing a book. And the main character's characters do some writing of their own, too. It was very hard for me to keep the layers straight and remember who was who.

This book reminds me a little of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. That book didn't have the layers to it like this one but something about how it was set up called that book to mind. (Jonathan Strange is probably my favorite book I've read in the last few years before starting this project, by the way.) But weirdly, I can't decide if I liked this or not. It's definitely a cool concept and good writing and laugh-out-loud funny in places, but it was also pretty out there.

Great character name: The Pooka MacPhellimey

Should we be reading this at all?

H.D. wanted Asphodel destroyed and it was never published during her life. This fact makes me wonder...should we read this? Do we have a right to read something the author doesn't want us to? There is definitely stuff I have written that it would be embarrassing to go reread now (Business Planning paper, I'm talking about you) and I can't imagine how that would be on a larger scale. Anyway.

This book is about a somewhat navel gazing young woman based on H.D. who goes to live in Europe during the World War I era. I thought it was pretty good. I couldn't figure out what any of the characters did for money but I'm guessing they were supported by upper class families. H.D.'s style can be difficult to read at times. It's almost like a stream of consciousness.

Two Boys.

At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill is the first novel I've read, I think, where the romantic story at the center is about two boys. It takes place in 1915-1916 in Ireland, a time period where you'd think they would be faced with a lot of negativity about their choices. They do, but that's not really at the center of the story at all. Also woven in is the Easter Rising, which both characters play a role in.

This is a really well written, sad and interesting book. Not necessarily something I would have chosen on my own, but I'm glad I read it.

Books 51-60

I can't believe that after I read 2 more books, I will be 5% done with this project. That is amazing to me!

Here are the next 10 books on the list, 51 through 60.

51. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien (1939)
52. Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001)
53. The Atrocity Exhibition by J. G. Ballard (1970)
54. August is a Wicked Month by Edna O'Brien (1965)
55. Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald (2001)
56. Auto da Fe by Elias Canetti (1935)
57. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein (1933)
58. Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1975)
59. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899)
60. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)

And we're into the B's! :)

Grateful for my safe life.

Slavenka Draculic's book As If I am Not There is also titled S., which made it a little confusing to find. This book was really difficult to read, but absolutely amazing. I like a lot of these books, but often they don't rivet me to my seat or have me thinking about them throughout the day. This one was a real page turner. I couldn't put it down. It really made me grateful for my life.

The story is really tough to get through, it's about a woman in a camp in the Balkans in 1992, so it is really upsetting and sad. The message at the end is hopeful though. Even till the last few pages, I really doubted it would turn out the way it did. (This was also a book I was so afraid of what was going to happen at the end, that I flipped and read the last page when I was only about 100 pages in. I needed to make sure that it wasn't going to turn out the way I feared. Embarrassing to admit, but true!)

While I was reading this, it really had an impact on me. Little things I complain about (Peanut, please don't throw your cars on the floor!) all of a sudden seemed so much less important. I wanted to give my husband and little girl a big hug. (Thankfully for me, my little girl is really into hugs right now too. Give Mama big hug!)