Choke.

I got stuck reading Choke on vacation this summer.  Well, first I read Going Clear, by Lawrence Wright - which was amazing.  I loved it and was totally fascinated by every word.  But alas, that was not one of the 1001 books.  So then I went back to Choke.

The quality of Choke is totally over my head.  It is graphic and gross.  I didn't wind up caring about the characters.  I wasn't surprised by the "surprise" plot twist at the end.  I just wanted it to be over.  I understand there is some sort of literary value in this book - I just didn't personally enjoy it all that much.

The simple life.

Remember the TV show "The Simple Life" that aired in the early 2000s?  It followed two starlets as they were placed in made-for-TV rural situations such as helping out in a barn, attending a square dance, etc.  It was mildly amusing and interesting to see them navigate the unusual-to-them world.

Christ Stopped at Eboli is a similar fish out of water theme.  I am not sure if it is a memoir or a novel or what - it was in the nonfiction section of the library.  The narrator, an Italian guy is sent to spend 3 years in a peasant village because he opposed the fascism of the predominant political party at the time. While he wishes to spend time painting and living a quiet life, his medical skills are desperately needed by the peasants.  He winds up having a very rich, full life there and even contemplates staying and marrying a local girl once he is free to leave again.

I really liked this.  I found the portrayal of the village interesting and I liked hearing about the life there.

Not as bad as I thought!

The Child in Time is about a kidnapped little girl.  I thought it was going to be extremely difficult to read.  I was pleasantly surprised, however, that it wasn't as sad or horrible as I thought.  Yes, the main characters are grieving and go through some real difficulties, but there is a message of hope at the end that is very nice.  I also liked the intrigue and thoughts about the nature of time that were woven throughout the story.

This is one of Ian McEwan's earlier novels and it is interesting to see how his style developed over the years.  This book was not too bad.

Happy! Happy! Happy!

Fuzz goes around saying "happy!" sometimes.  I don't think he necessarily knows what it means, but it is awfully cute to watch him toddle around saying that he is happy.

After a slog through some really boring, slow books, I was glad that The Charwoman's Daughter was quick, interesting, and yes, happy.  The mother and daughter in the book really love each other and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop.  The mother of 6 next door also loves her children fiercely and does everything in her power to give them the best life - even if it means taking in a lodger, leading to much more work on her part.  The book even had a happy ending!  I liked this one.

Bo-ring.

Pea has really gotten into the Ivy and Bean series of children's books lately.  They are cute.  Bean's way of proclaiming everything "Bo-ring!" has sneaked its way into Pea's lexicon as well.  Now I am going to borrow the term.

Because, friends, The Charterhouse of Parma is boring.  Boring.  Booooo-ring.  I just couldn't get into it.  On the surface it seemed like a story, anyway, but I just did not care about the characters, I couldn't ever figure out who was who, and it was about 10 times as long as it needed to be.  I had to force myself to read a chapter a day just so I would be sure to get through it.   I'm glad to be moving on!

Books 151-160

As I continue my slog through The Charterhouse of Parma, thought I would update the list.

151. The Child in Time by Ian McEwan (1987)
152. The Childermass by Wyndham Lewis (1928)
153. Chocky by John Wyndham (1968)
154. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk (2001)
155. Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levy (1945)
156. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843)
157. Chrome Yellow [or Crome Yellow?] by Aldous Huxley (1921)
158. Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee (1959)
159. The Cider House Rules by John Irving (1985)
160. Cigarettes by Harry Matthews (1987)

A long, long, long time ago...

It's been a slow reading year for me.  Something about the ages of my kids and the various activities and responsibilities that they and we are involved in makes it difficult to get reading time in.  (Or, it could be Plants vs. Zombies on my iPad.  But we'll go with the former.)

Chaireas and Kallirhoe was a short and relatively easy read.  I can't really explain why it took me so long to get into it.  The story is pretty formulaic.  Although I suppose that you can't really say a book written so many hundreds of years ago (in ancient Greece) is formulaic if it was one of the first of that style.  Basically - boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married, he accidentally really hurts her and everyone thinks she is dead, she is buried, but alive and is saved by a bunch of grave robbers who carry her off to Persia and various shenanigans ensue.  But all works out in the end, thankfully.

One sad aspect of the story was that Kallirhoe had this baby (and it was Chaireas') and she basically abandons it with Dionysos, the dude who bought her as a slave and fell in love with her) to go back with Chaireas.  I don't think she ever told Chaireas about his son.  The son was like a plot point and then an afterthought.

All in all, I guess I am glad I read this, but it is not one that will leave long lasting memories with me.  It is definitely cool to read a novel written so many centuries ago, though.