The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

So, it came in the mail last week. I love getting used books, especially when they have the previous owners names and notes in them. I can't explain it, it just a sense of connection I've always enjoyed.
      I decided that this book was one I wanted to share. So Justin and I are reading it as our bedtime reading. It's slow going, only a couple short chapters at a time. But its also a short book and we're already halfway through. I forgot how much I loved this book! I haven't read it in about 17 years, but its all coming back with each character introduced and event unfolded. CS Lewis is awesome, and I'm so glad to be sharing this with Justin (who is loving it, by the way).  I don't remember how it ends completely, so I'm excited for reading time tomorrow night so I can continue. This might reignite my Narnia craze and I feel I might find myself going through the whole series again in the near future. Anyway, Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve, I'm going to retire for the evening.  Goodnight!

Total abandonment

1984 did not make the cut. I couldn't do it. I appreciate the place it holds in the literary world but it's not my cup of tea. I ordered a used copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe from Amazon this week, so that should be coming soon.  I haven't read that in about 16 years, so I'm excited!

1984

I have mixed feelings about reading this next book. I read it in highschool and was not a fan. But, seeing as its been 13 years since I've read it, and experience and age has changed me, I'm willing to give it another chance. So, Big Brother, please don't disappoint me.

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The End...

Sad and satisfied having finished Little Women. I will really miss this book. Anyone who has not read it, I highly recommend it. It is more than I hoped for and makes me kind of hate the movies now because of sequence changes, stories left out, scenes changed for dramatic effect when they were perfect in their simplicity. I will miss Little Women, but I am sure it has now entered my regular lifetime book rotation. On to the next!

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Tornado warnings...

So, being stuck in a plane for far too long due to tornadoes has its perks... I had a lot of down time to read! I LOVE Little Women! It's taking me much much too long to get through it on account of new job, kids, cleaning etc etc. But I now know that however many daughters/granddaughters/neices I may have, I will give them this book for their twelfth birthday, everyone of them that hasn't passed the age, anyway. The lessons of female empowerment, living what you believe, the importance of hard work and caring for your family, of living simply and bettering yourself for a happier life instead of lusting after possessions. I love love love what this book is all about! I can't say it enough. It's definitely quickly becoming one of my favorites.

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Ashamed...

Ok, so I have been reading very little lately between work and kids and home. I recommit myself to my goal, since I am only half way through book #2 out of 21 and its April. Little Women is awesome, by the way. It feels more like each chapter is a short story with a new moral, a new lesson learned. And, so far, there has not been a chapter that hasn't caused me to puddle up a little.
Alright, here I go again! I WILL do better.

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Little Women

Alright, so one book down. My next will be Little Women. When I was a kid I used to watch the old movie with Elizabeth Taylor and then when the newer one with Winona Ryden came out I adored it, except I didn't like how they switched the ages of Amy and Beth. Anyway, I've always wanted to read the book but never did for some reason. So here's my chance and I am PSYCHED! Alright, Jo, here I come!

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Phoebe...

When I read this story, around 11 years ago, I'm not sure I understood it. I'm still not quite sure If I have it right. But this is my interpretation of the catcher in the rye part of the book. Holden starts off the whole book seeming as If he doesn't care about anything. You slowly begin to realize he cares a lot. He's seriously depressed, suicidal even, and screaming for help. He's looking for ANYONE to talk to. At first he rejects almost everyone, claiming they are phony even though he keeps thinking about how lonely he is. As the book progresses, though, each interaction becomes a little more desperate until he's coming right out and saying "Have just one more drink. Please, I'm lonely as hell. No kidding." But the problem is, up until that point, he was avoiding anyone who really might have cared about him (ie Phoebe, Jane, his parents). So each interaction left him feeling more lonely and more depressed. He's wet, he's freezing, he's contemplating his death when he thinks of Phoebe, his sweet little sister whom he adores. So, he sneaks into his house to see her. They start talking about him getting kicked out of school, about how he hates everything. He's angry with her for saying that, insisting it wasn't true. But when she asks him to tell her something that brings him joy, he has nothing of real consequence to give. This innocent little girl, honest to a fault, as far from phony as possible, forces Holden to see himself the way he is. She loves him anyway. His old teacher, Mr. Antolini had warned him that he was heading towards a very dangerous fall. A fall that was designed for men who were looking for something they believed their own environment couldn't give them, so they gave up looking. Holden wanted sincerity, honesty, innocence. He found it in Phoebe. He wanted to save the children playing in the rye from falling off the very ridge he was teetering on because he felt he was a lost cause. But while watching Phoebe on the carousel, Holden has a sudden feeling of joy that he'd never felt before because of her. Phoebe is the real catcher in the rye, not Holden. She saved him from the fall Mr. Antolini warned about. I never ever picked up on Phoebe's importance to the story when I was a teenager, now I realize she IS the story.

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"...all the children in my family are atheists."

Holden is severely depressed. He has a very rough night of wandering, drinking, pseudo-conversation, and rejecting a prostitute. He's been kicked out of school, beat up, he's cold and sad. He puts his pajamas on, crawls into bed, and the first thing that comes to his mind is prayer. But he says he's an atheist. This is something that I've seen over and over again. I've seen people who do not believe in God come to a point where there is nothing left to turn to but prayer. I think Holden is looking for comfort somewhere, anywhere, and just can't find it. He's even looking in a place that he doesn't believe exists. He's talking to his dead brother, he wants nothing more than to talk to his little sister, he's been searching in bar after bar, club after club, he even looks to a prostitute and multiple cab drivers for some decent conversation. He's looking for connection. He's looking for sincerity. And when he can't find it, he, an atheist, even contemplates prayer. That's desperation at its worst. This kid is filled with sadness and regret. Regrets from a girl he once loved, regrets of not hanging out with his kid brother one time. Every person who didn't realize how sad they were filled him with despair. Every insincere interaction dug him deeper. The thought of insincere onlookers who didn't care about him staring at his mangled body lying on the sidewalk after a fall from a window kept him from jumping. Everyone's a "phony", everyone has an angle, but I don't believe Holden is a cynic. Because he recognizes truth and sincerity and gives it recognition when due... always! Be just can't find it when he needs it most. He even believed enough in the mercy and genuine love of Jesus that he believed that Jesus couldn't send Judas to hell. I feel for Holden, I really do, because all he wants is something real... that's all! A girl who's real, a friend who's real, a conversation worth something with someone who's paying attention and who can reciprocate equally. I think we all look for that. I didn't get this book the first time I read it back in high-school. I don't think I could have, because you're not supposed to hate Holden, the way I did, you're supposed to have compassion for him. He's sad! He's 16 and alone,and depressed and has no where to turn... there isn't much sadder than that.

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"Liberate yourself from my viselike grip."

Maybe I don't know because I was never a teenage boy or maybe its just because we don't hear all the thoughts behind people's eyes, but Holden is coming off, in the first few chapters at least, as kind of a weird kid. But then I start to wonder... how would any of us be perceived if our every random little thought was written down between our facial expressions and the words we choose to say? Maybe JD Salinger just did a brilliant job of creating real inner dialogue. Maybe he understands the insecurities and unfounded hatreds, the snap-judgements and random memories that creep into the average everyday head. Or maybe Holden Caulfield is an odd duck.... I haven't decided yet. I guess I'll give him another 21 chapters before I pass judgement on him.

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21 books, 1 year...

I'm going to attempt to read the books on the BBC top 21 list this year. Some of them are quite meaty and/or contain multiple volumes, so this should be interesting. I am taking a cue from Julie and Julia and deciding a blog is the only way to be held responsible for the completion of this goal. The list is below:
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien 2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen 3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee 7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier 15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott 19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

I am not going to take them in order. My bookshelf already contains several of these books, so I think I will alternate between books I own and used books I will purchase.
My husband Chris has been bugging me for years that I need to read for pleasure more often. I am an avid self-help book reader and feel like I am wasting time whenever I read for recreation. I'm hoping this challenge will change that and that I will emerge on the other side better-read with a hunger for more.
So, without any further ado, I embark on book #1: Catcher in the Rye.
Read along with me if you like, post comments.. I love discussions so the more people joining in, the better.

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