Literary Hop

Can I share a secret with you guys? I'm really excited the Literary Hop is back. This month's question is about difficult writing, and is always present by the lovely ladies at The Blue Bookcase (hey girls, I don' t know if you watch How I Met Your Mother but your name always reminds me of the blue horn, Just so ya know).

Must all literary writing be difficult? Can you think of examples of literary writing that was not difficult?

One of the things I love most about the literary hop is how subjective the questions are. Oh, and the other awesome bloggers, you're great too. This question all depends on what you think of as difficult. For me Jane Austen and Shakespeare aren't difficult and Fitzgerald and Salinger are easy reads. It's a combination of writing style and and familiarity that make authors like this accessible to me. On the other hand Victor Hugo and Virginia Woolf make me want to cry big wet tears of boredom. I find their style dry and am not familiar enough with each writing era to make my experience any more enjoyable.

Fun fact: I have started The Hunchback of Notre Dame no less than 7 times. I never get past the first six pages. I have also been lurking at page 80 of Mrs. Dalloway for over a year with not intent to return to her stream of babbling pages.

I feel the same about the modern literary writers. I find Jonathan Safran Foer easy to poetic and easy to read,  but Zadie Smith is lost to me. In theory I should really enjoy both, but I just can't get into Smith's style. It grates on me, and leaves me stuck in the middle of her books forever. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying difficult is bad. I loved Les Miserable, even if it took me forever to read, and Autograph Man changed my reading habits in high school. I'm all about challenging myself and my comfort zones, and that's where the mythical "difficult" writing becomes important. Some books are about the journey and some are about the destination, and with difficult writing i'm all about the destination.

Literary Hop - Bibliotherapy

It's hot. This isn't news, unless you're watching the weather channel, then it's the only news. I don't like the heat. I find it very distracting. It makes me want to curl up in a ball on the kitchen floor and lay in front of the vent and read something less than literary. Hell, less than an actual book. I've been reading old Not Always Right posts for like two days. Mindless reading for the win. Which brings me to today's Literary Hop question:


Discuss Bibliotherapy. Do you believe literature can be a viable form of therapy? Is literary writing more or less therapeutic than pop lit or nonfiction? 


I'd never heard of Bibliotherapy before reading this weeks question but  I guess it's something that I, and I assume a lot of other bookish folk use regularly. I know when I'm feeling down, or in need of someone or something to relate to I often look for a book dealing with the same subject. However I find that my literary snobbery tends to go out the window when I'm looking for a pick-me-up. In fact, something light and easy to read without a heavy message is usually more uplifting. Not to say that literary fiction can't be those things, but pop fiction tends to cover that cheery quick read area better. Really it's just about finding the right book at the right time, which I think Christina said in her post.

The Literary Hop - If Sienfeld was a Book

Should literature have a social, political, or any other type of agenda? Does having a clear agenda enhance or detract from its literary value?

Chances are that if you reached double digits in the 90's or get TBS you've seen Sienfeld. You know, that show about nothing? I've always had mixed feelings about it. I love Sienfeld when I'm really bored and there is nothing else to do, but if there is anything on, and I mean anything I'll probably switch to that. You're probably wondering why I'm talking about a syndicated show that just won't seem to go away but I have a point, I swear.

No plot for you!

I won't read something about nothing. I don't need each book to have a really strong point of view with clear political ties and a message as big as the Hollywood sign, but I want there to be something. It can be something as simple as how solitude has effected a persons life, but even something as dull as a single person talking about their day to day life as a hermit speaks to how difficult a life like that would be in todays society. Really, I just need a little message, a hint that the author has something at stake in writing their work.  I guess this is my real problem with the mystery/thriller genre. It's more about the author finding the correct formula that will keep the reader guessing but still sound plausible than anything else, and I don't like formulas.

Outside Influences - Literary Hop

As always, the Literary Hop is hosted by the lovely ladies over at The Blue Bookcase. They're awesome. You should check them out. 

What other outside influences affect your reading experience? Do you think these influences enhance or detract from the experience?

Okay, here's my thing with outside influences - I feel like everything is an influence. My knowledge of a period or place could draw me to a book, or a friend of blogger recommendation. Sometimes it's even movies and TV shows. After I saw The Princess and the Frog I went in search of books set in New Orleans in the 1920's, and after one of my many Tudor's marathons I picked up Phillipa Gregory for the first time.

Whatever you say, dear.   

Really, after I saw the Tudor's for the first time I tore through anything related to Henry VIII, Anne Boyle or any of his other wives. I had a problem. My friends were worried. They also didn't know who Henry was, which probably explains why they didn't want to hear about my rants. 

Which leads me to my largest outside influence - whatever my current obsession is. A few years ago I was crazy about Prague. In response I read pretty much everything Kundera wrote. I thought Monet was an interesting person for a hot minute and I read Claude & Camille after leaving his Wikipedia page up for three days. I go through months where I spend all my free time looking up information of a time period, a place, a person or theory, and this inevitably leads me to fiction based around the same thing.  What it comes down to is that I like books that continue my understanding of a certain subject. 

Overall I think these influences add to my reading experience. Usually they just leave me with welcome background knowledge that gives me a deeper understanding of my current book. Of course, if it's a book that is responsible for my current obsession it can become a bit distraction if I end up searching the internet for specific information, but mostly it's a welcome distraction. 

Well, I'm off to watch Castle and then to probably find a book about a writer shadowing his latest inspiration. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Author Love - Literary Hop

I have a few favorite authors. Granted, it doesn't take a lot for me to go on an "Author Marathon" (I tend to read books by the same author back to back to back till I find a flop) but only a few of these marathon authors have earned a spot on my coveted favorites list. I say coveted, I am pretty sure Milan Kundera doesn't care that I a 21 year old American girl is singing his praises, but I can pretend.

It's Thursday. A Literary Hop Thursday to be exact.

As always, thanks to the ladies at the Blue Bookcase for hosting this fantastic event. 

This week's prompt is:

Talk about one author that you love and why his or her writing is unique. Please be specific

As I was babbling about before, I love quite a few authors but if I have to pick one for this post I'm going to go with Milan Kundera. It was a tough choice but my one of my best friends just started reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being at my request and Kundera is now fresh in my mind. Back in the summer of 09 I was looking for some really fantastic books to sink my teeth into. This was a time before I'd started this blog and the best resource I knew of on the internet was a very nice, but someone limited community on livejournal that compiled reviews and recommendations. I came across some girl talking about The Unbearable Lightness of Being and I went straight to Barnes and Noble to pick it up.  I tore through Unbearable Lightness that day and spent the rest of the summer devouring the likes of The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Immortality, Slowness, The Farewell Waltz and Ignorance.  In the end I didn't end up liking everything Kundera wrote, but I did love his consistency. 

As a writer Kundera focuses on Philosophy in his fiction. I've always found this adds an extra level to his novels. There is the story, then there is the theory he is seeding throughout.  It's not always effective, and it's easy for readers to find his work pretensions, but there are some true gems in his work.  Some of my favorite quotes are from Kundera novels, and if just for that he can remain in my top three.

"People are always shouting they want to create a better future. It's not true. The future is an apathetic void of no interest to anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritate us, provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it. The only reason people want to be masters of the future is to change the past."

"You can't measure the mutual affection of two human beings by the number of words they exchange." 

"Love is the longing for the half of ourselves we have lost." 

Hope everyone is staying dry and safe in this crazy weather!

  

Literary Hop - The Stigma of Classics

It's Thursday! The sun's out! Classes are over and I just had yummy pancakes! Okay, the sun isn't really out anymore, but it was when I first started thinking about this question. That totally counts. Anyways, It being Thursday also means another awesome thing -It's time for the Literary Book Blog Hop! As always a huge thanks to the ladies over at the Blue Bookcase for hosting my favorite biweekly event!

Now for the fun stuff. This weeks question is -

Do you find yourself predisposed to like (or dislike) books that are generally accepted as great books and have been incorporated into the literary canon? Discuss the affect you believe a book’s “status” has on your opinion of it.

I'd like to say I'm not effected by the public opinion of books, but that would be a bald faced lie. I spent the better part of my teenage years living under the opinion that classics were books everyone had heard of but no one had read. What can I say, no one in my immediate family is a big reader and I didn't really have anyone to prove me otherwise. So when I finally got around to reading the likes of Pride & Prejudice or The Picture of Dorian Gray* I already knew what was going to happen.  However this doesn't really determine how I feel about the work after I've read it.  In general I like to read "the classics". I like getting references ingrained in society and feeling like I'm in on some joke (or a really juicy secret), and in that respect, yes, a books status does effect me, but only so much as it gets me to read it. Once I'm speeding through the pages it  has always been up to the author to really make me love their work. 

I have a different sort of relationship with the contemporary "classics". You know, the ones everyone is reading and raving about, with prize winning authors and really deep subject matter? I feel like at least at first I'm predisposed to dislike them. I hate reading a book and finding that there are two dozen reviews posted within the last day that sum up exactly what I'm feeling. I hate it even more when I'm let down by one of these books and get attacked because I "must not have gotten it." Maybe I didn't get it, or maybe I just had a different opinion. I know. Shocking. 

*and many others

Hope everyones thinking up some really awesome April Fools Day tricks!

Literary Hop - Bucket List Books

Did you guys know I look forward to every other Thursday. Well, if you didn't now you do. I bet now you want to know why, right? Well, even if you don't want to know I'm going to tell you anyway. This is my blog after all. I'm allowed to do these things. Every other Thursday is a Literary Book Blog Hop day, and this hop is my favorite blog related event! So without further adieu I want to thank the lovely ladies at The Blue Bookcase for hosting The Literary Hop, as well as answer this weeks great question.

This weeks question is:

What one literary work must you read before you die?

What literary works do I need to read before I die? Wow. That's a really big question. There are so many great authors that I want to have a chance to experience. This year I plan to make it through the rest of Shakespeare's plays (I've already done about half), so I'll hopefully be able to take that off my bucket list fairly soon. If I was really going to make a list of books I'd be actively upset over on my deathbed It would go a little something like this:
Infinite Jest - Foster Wallace - This is probably going to be my summer read, as I constantly hear that this is a 'summer after college, finding yourself' kind of experience.

On the Road - Kerouac - The original scroll was at my school last year and I never went to see it, really, I haven't had any interest in Kerouac until lately, but he is talked about so much that I would be interested to read him, and sad if I never got around to it.

1984 - Orwell - I feel like such a bad reader for having never having read this. I've quoted it quite a bit, just from  overexposure, but I feel like a fraud. FRAUD I SAY. Sorry, I'm being over dramatic.

Those are the top three books I'd be upset over at the moment. I couldn't just pick one. Sorry, I'm bad with instructions.


Funfact: My favorite word in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is mimblewimble.

This Can't Possibly Be a Classic, It's Hilarius!

Thanks to the lovelies over at The Blue Bookcase for hosting the Literary Book Blog Hop. It's pretty much the most hit place to be on a Thursday on the internet. 

Can literature be funny? What is your favorite humorous literary book?

Can literature be comedic? My answer is a very large yes. Since the ascetic quality of the work is really the biggest defining characteristic of literature I don't see any reason why it can't be humors. If you had asked me this in the early days of high school my answer would be very different. Our curriculum only assigned "classics" like Huck Finn and The Odyssey. Not exactly laugh out loud things. However, I did end up searching out some of the funnier classics myself. Catch 22 remains one of my favorite books of all time. As a satire it is meant to be funny, and while it didn't have me on the floor in tears from laughter I still look back at it with a small chuckle. Plus, there is a character named Major Major Major (Major), and that's just brilliant.

Here's the title quote. I always find it hilarious and intimidating.

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

Sorry, I'm brain dead from school this week so my answer is kind of half hearted. I'll have a post on my adventures in bookbinding and a review of Prisoner of Azkaban up in the next few days!

Literary Hop - One Book

Hi everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted much this week, I've been lazy and keep putting off finishing Chamber of Secrets because I don't like freakishly large spiders, or Gilderoy Lockhard.

I am, as always, excited to be a part of this weeks Literary Blog Hop! A big thank you to The Blue Bookcase for hosting this amazing bi-weekly event!

If you were going off to war (or some other similarly horrific situation) and could only take one book with you, which literary book would you take and why?


I'm the type of girl you never want to play the "What Book, Movie, and Album would you take to a deserted island". My tastes are constantly changing and my answers are almost always depended on my mood. So, when I read this weeks question I was a little nervous. I'd want to take a book I wouldn't get tired of after a few reads, as well as something uplifting, or at least hope inspiring. Eventually, I settled on Nicole Krauss's The History of Love.

In History of Love you get a bit of everything, a sappy old man who is also a writer, a young girl mourning the death of her father, flashes of World War II and an amazing story of love. For me, this would be the perfect book to help me through trying nights and horrifying situations. I always put down Krauss's novel with a sense of hope, even if not everyone ends up happy, and that regardless of what evil is happening in the world, that love will exist

.

Literary Hop - (time) Travel!

The Literary Book Blog Hop is hosted by The Blue Bookcase. It's an amazing bi-weekly event for Literary bloggers to hop around to each others blogs as well as answer some awesome questions.

This weeks question: What setting (time or place) from a book or story would you most like to visit? Eudora Welty said that, "Being shown how to locate, to place, any account is what does most toward making us believe it...," so in what location would you most like to hang out?

I've spent a lot of time reading about Victorian England and without question that is the time period and place I would pick. For me reading Austen, Bronte(s) and Levy was a transporting experience. I love how much depth works dealing with the late 1800's and early 1900's have, even if they are more contemporary novels. There is just so much history that is happening at this time, that being in London would be mind blowing.
Plus the clothes would be pretty awesome.

Of course there are other times and places I would love to visit, but I'm trying to keep this down to a one destination entry.


Hope everyone is safe and warm during all of this snow!

Literary Hop - Unloved Literary Works

Discuss a work of literary merit that you hated when you were made to read it in school or university.  Why did you dislike it?

I've really loved the Literary Hop questions lately, and this week is no exception! 

I took a class called 19th Century British Novels my sophomore year of college. I was really excited for this class, since I'd never really read Jane Austen, any of the Bronte's or anything by Dickens that I liked (I was still hopeful hear. I promise this isn't another Dickens rant). While I ended up enjoying almost everything I read for the class, I came out with a deep hatred for Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South.

I know plenty of people who love Gaskell and this book, but reading it back to back with Pride & Prejudice really ruined it for me. I could see nothing but the similarities between the two, and while I loved Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, I hated Margaret Hale with a passion.  I've written here a few times about how I need to have a character I like,or at least identify with to have a really enjoyable reading experience, and that's what I was lacking here.  

Of course, I also had major problems with the story. Ok, my real problem was that I thought it was dull and that Gaskell's sole purpose was to irritate me. I know I argued in class about Elizabeth's odd, out of period attitude and anything else that might have irritated me. 

Even now I know my reasons for disliking North and South really aren't fair, and aren't very objective, but that's what I really like about literature. Something can be well written and well received, and still people can dislike it and have an argument against it. 

Thinking back I did really like Mr. Thornton.

Literary Hop - Back to the Start

It's time for another Literary Blog Hop. As always it's hosted by The Blue Bookcase. 

I really love this weeks question. 

"How did you find your way to reading literary fiction and nonfiction?"

I know a lot of people grew up in households where reading was key, with bed times stories that grew as they did to children's series, young adult and then eventually literary fiction playing huge roles in their lives. While I'm sure my parents red to me as a very small child, neither of them are readers and I had to find my way to the world of books by myself. 

It wasn't till middle school that I really started reading on my own, I tackled books that seemed interesting, but not always age appropriate. I read A Walk to Remember, and without more guidance and no other books at my home I ended up reading a large amount of Nicholas Sparks, and other similar books. It wasn't until high school that I became aware of more literary titles, and another two years until I started trying to read them on my own. It helped to have older friends who were English major's. One in particular introduced me to Nicole Krauss, Tim O'Brien and a lot more.  As I look back I'm figuring out that I needed someone else in my circle of friends that wanted to read as avidly as I did, and upon finding that person I was able to have real discussions and find some real gems. 

If you haven't been around Loving Books lately here's what you missed!
Reviews:

Great House - Nicole Krauss 

Holiday's on Ice - David Sedaris

Shadow's of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Other Posts:

Top Books of 2010

A Summary of My 2010 Reading

2011 Resolutions

Literary Hop - Underrated Love

Christmas is almost here! I have my shopping done, a few presents left to wrap and a bit of reading to do, but all in all I'm ready and excited for the upcoming festivities!
To add to my excitement this week is a Literary Blog Hop week! As always, the Literary Blog Hop is hosted by the lovelies over at The Blue Bookcase, and just requires that you're blog have a certain literary quality to it (for their definition of literary, follow the link!)

This weeks questions is one of my favorites!

What literary title do you love that has been under-appreciated? We all know about the latest Dan Brown, and James Patterson isn't hurting for publicity. What quiet masterpiece do you want more readers to know.

I'm a huge Tracy Chevalier fan. I wouldn't necessarily conceder all of her work literary genius, but I feel that a few of her books definitely fall under the category of literary, especially in the terms most of us have been defining it.  For me, her third novel, Falling Angels is a work of genius. Told from multiple perspective, it offers great insight into turn of the century England. Maude and Lavinia are brilliant characters, and their cemetery antics  have created in me a fascination that has stuck with me since I first read Falling Angels eight years ago.

While most people shoot right for Chevaliers's Girl with a Pearl Earring, or her newest novel Remarkable Creatures, Falling Angels is a hidden treasure. It's crafted with love and care, and has a life to it that is sometimes hard to find in historical fiction. Really it is a strong piece, and is ascetically beautiful.

Okay, this really just turned into me gushing about one of my favorite books, but since I've been afraid to pick up my copy of Falling Angels in the past two years for fear of it disintegrating in my hands and taking all of my fantastic memories with it, I haven't really had a chance to write about it!


Happy Holidays and Happy Hopping!

  

End of the Semester Hop

I just finished my last class of the semester and I can't think of a better way to celebrate then a book blog hop! 

I haven't been around lately, but since I have 6 weeks of before spring semester starts I promise to dedicate myself to being a better blogger, and of course reading more. 

This weeks hop question is a good one!

What do you consider more important in a story: the plot or the characters. 

I've been thinking a lot about this in 2010. Obviously, the ideal is to have both. However I can live without a good plot. For me characters are really important. I can read through some pretty contrived and boring things if the characters are interesting, and at least one of them is likable and or relate-able. For instance, I hated The Heights. The story itself wasn't very original, but it had it's decent points, however the characters were just intolerable. I've been having the same problem with Lolita for months. Not a bad story, but not a likable character in the bunch!  

I just finished Stardust, and I really enjoyed it, however the more I think about it the more I wish there was more to the plot. I liked the main characters and thought they were interesting, so I liked the book. This has really been a trend this year. I like the characters and I like the book (more or less).

I'm heading back home this weekend, so between the train ride and just general free time I'll be reading a lot, and posting more frequently!

Happy Holidays!

Literary Pet Peeves

I'm back in the blogging world! I know I said this Tuesday, but there was one more paper to do,and Tuesday seems like such a long time ago. Regardless I'm excited to get to participate in the Literary Book Blog Hop (Hosted by the Blue Bookcase) again, since I was to busy to last week

This Week's question:

What is one of your literary pet peeves? Is there something that writers do that really sets your teeth on edge? Be specific, and give examples if you can. 

I don't really have any really big pet peeves. Usually my major reading problems are story based, but I do have a few things that really bother me when I'm reading. For starters I hate the same, or similar name in the same book. While my tastes are pretty eclectic, I do read a lot of historical fiction, so I come across this problem a lot. I know that in these cases it is done more in the name of being 'accurate' then anything else, but still - the next time I see a William or Mary I am going to scream!

My other big pet peeve is footnotes. Not in academic work or non fiction, but in general fiction. I put up with the footnotes in House of Leaves, and while I'm glad I did I know I will never put that much work into reading a just decent story again. I've started Infinite Jest twice, and can't get past the pages long footnotes. They just take me out of the story, and that's the last thing that I need when I'm really getting into a reading groove. 

Modern Classics - Literary Blog Hop

I always seem to be a  day late with my Literary Blog Hop (hosted by the lovelies at The Blue Bookcase) posts. Thanksgiving kept me busy all day yesterday, but I'm super excited, as always, to participate. 

This week question is a big one!
What makes a contemporary novel a classic? 
Discuss a book which you think fits the category of ‘modern classics’ and explain why. 

Classic is a big word. I feel like a lot of Literary Fiction has come out in the past few years, but is being literary enough to make any of them a classic? I mean, it's not like we're gushing over all of Austen's contemporaries on a regular bases. Plus, Dickens and the Bronte's might have been popular, but what about Melville? He was universally panned in his lifetime! In my mind what makes a classic a classic is that it evokes another time, with similar problems and real characters. Now, if follow my definition, it becomes near impossible to see what future generations think will be relevant. I can scream about 'modern classics' as much as I want, but really all I'll be saying with that is 'look, this book was popular, but it was well written and it has a heavy handed message that some people will love, and others will hate, but regardless, everyone will talk about it.' 
Personally, I can't wait to see what's being taught in English classes in 50 years time. I'm sure Austen will stick around with The Odyssey and Twain, but what will be added to the long list of $5 paperbacks and free e-books?

So, that's my very noncommittal answer. I can't wait to hop around and see all of yours! Hope everyone had a filling Thanksgiving and didn't freeze waiting outside of stores for black Friday!

Literary Hop - Nonfiction Style

I've been a bad blogger. I had hours yesterday to work on this post and just kept putting it off - blaming it on how excited I was to see Deathly Hallows Part 1, or on being sleepy, but really I just didn't have a dignified answer to the question for this weeks Literary Book Blog Hop (hosted by The Blue Bookcase)

The question was: Is there a such thing as literary non-fiction? If so, how do you define it? Examples?

My hesitance to answer this question wasn't based on categorizing non-fiction as literary. For me, a literary work shows a beautiful control of wording and a innovative story. Ok, I'm simplifying my qualifications for the word 'literary' but I'm going to ask you to forgive me. Back to the point I was making; of course literary non-fiction exists. I'm just not sure if I've read any literary non-fiction. Looking at the non fiction I've read this year, it hasn't been very diverse 

Moab is My Washpot - Fry

American On Purpose - Ferguson

Running with Scissors - Burroughs 

How Did You Get This Number - Crosley

Sleepwalk with Me - Birbigglia. 

So, to break it down, that's three comedic memoirs, one generally funny memoir and a set of personal, and supposedly funny essays. Last year was no different. I think all I read was David Sedaris. But you can see that my foray into non fiction isn't usually for literary merit, but instead for a good laugh. I rarely read down the road to self help books, histories and general awesomeness that can be encompassed in non fiction. But with a category so vast as non fiction, I have to believe that at least some of it contains literary merit. 

In other news-

Since finishing Persian Letters, I have a chance to actually catch up on things I want to be reading. I still have to work through Things Fall Apart for class, but I'm excited for it. It also feels like an even switch since I made my old roommate read my favorite non-American book last year (Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being) and this is one of her favorite books by a non-American author. 

I'm also excited to finish rereading the above mentioned Unbearable Lightness of Being, as well as The Forgotten Garden, Stardust, The Virgin Widow and Starter For Ten. I think this is a good list to get me through Thanksgiving. What about you guys? Any big reading plans for the forthcoming holidays? Maybe a holiday favorite or a new release you can't wait for?

A New Kind of Hop

If you've been lurking around Loving Books, you'll notice that I usually participate in Crazy-for-Books weekly book blog hop. I've found some amazing blogs through the hop, but lately I've been finding that it's much more of a YA party then general fiction. I don't mind YA, but I don't usually go out of my way to read it, and have been having a hard time finding new blogs over the past few weeks that I really want to follow.

This week I wanted to give the Literary Book Blog Hop - hosted by The Blue Bookcase - a try

I know not everything I read is a literary masterpiece, but I think (hope) my blog will meet everyones standards, and I know if nothing else I'll find some amazing blogs to follow!

The Blue Bookcase also posed a question this week, and that question is -

What is the most difficult literary work you've ever read? What made it so difficult?

Over the past few years I've found I have a really hard time reading Charles Dickens. He's been required reading for a few of my classes and I find myself headed over to the dreaded sparknotes to get through his novels. I found Hard Times especially bad. What really kills me about Dicken's though is that I like his stories. When I read a summery or hear someone talking about them I get really excited - These sound fantastic! Why haven't I read this! (Nicholas Nickelby was another notable example.) I guess, for me, Dicken's reads really dry. He sucks the life out of well thought out, amazing tales.

First November Hop

It's Friday and that means it's time for another Book Blogger Hop. As always, thank you to Jennifer at Crazy-For-Books for hosting this amazing meme.

I started my week off on a great note with Mike Birbiglia's new book - Sleepwalk with Me. Since then I've been trudging through Persian Letters for class, and the library finally got in a copy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I am really excited to reread.

This week Jennifer poses us with an interesting challenge, to find a new blog we generally enjoy and comment on  at least five of their posts. As always, I look forward to finding more awesome blogs.

Lastly, instead of answering Jennifer's question this week I'd like to pose one of my own. During my first year at College I created a quote wall out of post it notes in my dorm room. Since then I've moved twice and have lost a majority of the interesting quotes I came across. My room right now is pretty plain so I'm in the process of remaking my wall. So what I want to know is what is your favorite quote?

Hope everyone has a great weekend

Halloween Hop

Boo!
It's Friday, and that means it's another Book Blog Hop day. Again a huge thanks to Jennifer at Crazy-For-Books for hosting this weekly event which we all love so much!

Now with Halloween being this Sunday, I found that a lot of the meme's I participate in went for the spook factor this week and I sadly didn't have anything to say on the matter. To be honest, Halloween isn't my favorite holiday. No before you send the mob over, I'm just much more of a winter person. I like fall, but all of the weather changes and ends and starts and everything usually leave me pretty depressed by the end of October, so by the time Halloween gets here I am in no mood to be social. Perhaps the more important fact here is that I can't tolerate scary things. Really. Horror movies are not my friend. Even the more terrible of horror movies will keep me up for at least a night (example: the faculty. I didn't actually think the water alien was coming for be but still). Scary books are worse. Most of the time suspenseful books are enough to keep me on edge, and if you introduce anything remotely scary and I'll just put it down. The scariest thing I've read is House of Leaves, and I was one of the few people who didn't find it as scary as the internet would have would-be  readers expecting.
So I'll be happy when this weekend is over, all the kids are at home with their candy and I'm able to start listening to Christmas music and planning Thanksgiving dinner.

Alright, I promise to never go on a Holiday rant again. Back to book related things -

The question Jennifer chose for us this week is:
"What is the one bookish thing you would love to have, no matter the cost?"


I've always dreamed of having a library in my home, with a few overstuffed chairs and lots and lots of windows. Really big windows. Failing that I'd settle for a Kindle right now. I just spent 7 hours on a train, for what was supposed to be a 5 hour trip and would have loved to have more books with me then I was able to carry.

I'd also like to thank my readers for sticking around for the past few weeks, I know I haven't been updating and reviewing as much as a good blogger should. I think I've finally pulled myself out of my slump and should have a new review up tomorrow.


For everyone that's over from the Hop, thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!