I can see where this is going...

I knew next to nothing about Sylvia Plath before I started to read The Bell Jar. Wow, this is an amazing book. I was truly amazed and saddened by the author's ability to lay out in detail what she was going through at the time of her mental breakdown. It was just heartbreaking to read especially because the one thing I did know about Plath was about her death. I think this was an important story and I'm pretty embarrassed that I was 32 before I read it!

One amazing thing is how the author is able to alter her writing almost imperceptibly to show how the bell jar is descending and ascending again. I found myself rooting for the main character even though I knew sort of what was going to happen in the author's life.

Don't like the character, but like the book.

I really liked Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant. I generally like stories with these kinds of wealthy, interesting characters. What was really interesting about this book though was how unapologetic the author is for the actions of the main character. We aren't supposed to like him very much, and I was interested to see whether he accomplished his goals.

This was over too soon!

This one might even be too dirty for Marissa.

Believe it or not, The Beautiful Room Is Empty might be too dirty for Marissa. It is a memoir written by a man who struggled with his identity as a gay man in the 1950s and 1960s. Very good writing and definitely a good story, but WOW. There was some really very graphic descriptions in here. My eyes! My eyes!

Lost momentum.

The first hundred pages or so of Back are really, really interesting. The main character comes back from World War II and learns that the girl he loves has died. He thinks that there may be some sort of conspiracy. The reader wonders whether there is really a conspiracy or whether it is all in the main character's mind. I seriously couldn't put it down.

Then the story just kind of slows down and peters out. I won't give anything away but it just...kind of....stopped...holding my attention. It was a good story though, just not as exciting as I thought it would be.

Zzzzz.

the Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas was the last A book still for me to read on the list, and I'm done! I can't really say that I found this particularly interesting. While I'm sure their lives were interesting hanging out with all those famous authors and artists, reading about who they met and what they did was not. The book does have the anecdote about Gertrude Stein telling her philosophy professor she didn't feel like taking a philosophy exam and receiving the highest grade, which I had heard before.

Not much to report here. I'm glad this one is over, and I appreciate Marissa's effort to get this book for me to read!

It's all about asses and cocks.

Ok, I couldn't help it. I know the fables are referring to donkeys and roosters, but it still makes me giggle.
(And I hear Emily exclaiming "You're so dirty!) Anyway, I finally read Aesop's Fables. There are SO MANY more than I thought there were! I was familiar with "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" but there about a zillion more. I liked the overarching themes of being content with what you have, not reaching beyond your means, getting what you deserve, helping others, and the like. No wonder they've lasted throughout the centuries. And they are so adaptable, which is why there are so many versions mixed into books, movies, TV, etc. In fact, Jerry Pinkney won the Caldecott Medal this past year for his version of The Lion and the Mouse which had no words, just beautiful images and subtle details. I'm glad I got acquainted with the original tales. Thanks Project Gutenberg!

Marissa
Who is more of a tortoise than a hare.

Everyone's a nonconformist.

The funny thing about having a baby is that you turn around one day, and they are a toddler. With opinions. Opinions that may differ from your own on topics such as what to wear, what to eat, whether to take a bath, and so on. And though some of the things they do are awfully cute, I guarantee that every once in a while, they are going to want to wear their green pajama shirt all day with their purple striped leggings. Or is that just my kid?

Sinclair Lewis' masterpiece Babbitt is about a man who has spent his whole life doing what he should. He joins the right clubs, makes the right friends, lives in the right subdivision, and has a life that seems quite happy on the surface. Inside, though, he is restless and wonders if other choices would make him happier. He essentially wants to try the adult equivalent of wearing his green pajama shirt all day. The book is a wonderful story not only about Babbitt and his desire to no longer conform, but also an amazing illustration of America in the 1920s. Whenever his kids became part of the story, I kept thinking, those are my grandparents. I can definitely see why Lewis won a Nobel Prize for this book.

Happy Thanksgiving! I can't wait to see what Peanut decides to wear to Thanksgiving dinner this year.