A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle

Finished: 2/24/10

The first time I read this, I believe I was in late elementary school or early junior high. I loved it. So much that I read the entire series. As much as I remember my fondness for it, I didn't recall the details of the story, so I picked it up once again. I'm glad I did.

I can understand now, looking back on my younger self, and understand why I would have been so attracted to this book. The main character, Meg, does really feel she belongs anywhere, but isn't quite willing to act more "normal" so that she'll belong. Ultimately, she feels very alone accept for her relationship with her youngest brother, who is quite a bit younger. They lean on each other and have an understanding of each other that no one else in their world does. Additionally, Meg's father has gone missing, not seen or heard from in years.

All of this speaks all to well of my life at around that same age. A much younger brother for which I was, and very much felt, responsible for. A father who wasn't really mine and certainly wasn't present. And a sense that I didn't fit into this world, so I made up my own. Lived in my own brain. No wonder I loved this story so much.

As an adult, I can see themes and messages I didn't back then. About parent/child relationships, about belief with no possibility of seeing, about different ways of looking at things, hope in the face of adversity, about how miserable it is to be trapped in a world where everyone is the same, that it is our differences that make life beautiful. Also, there is a religious theme I would never have noticed as a girl. One that makes me slightly reticent to delve into the remainder of the series. A bias yes, but at least I admit it.

In the end, removing my little bias, it is a wonderful, wonderful book and I would highly recommend it. It is a beautifully written story. Well worth a read. :)

The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I by Stephen King

The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I by Stephen King
Finished: 2/23/10

This book will not find it's way into my favorites list. It is not a long volume, yet it took entirely too many days for me to finish it. Mostly because I wasn't motivated to pick it up again. Considering it is the first in a series that King himself calls his magnum opus ("great work"), it was...disappointing.

I'm not one for books steeped in secretive symbolism, at least not when it is hardly understandable. Upon reading the Afterword by King, it became clear why the book felt so choppy. He wrote it in pieces over a period of years. It's almost as if each chapter (of which there are five very long ones) were a short story. And it reads that way. As if he had to gather himself up to write the next portion long after the previous had been written and wasn't it the same frame of mind, had to go back and re-read his own work to find where he had left off and get emotionally back to that place.

Additionally, I simply struggled with the writing. It seemed an attempt at being deep and symbolic, but felt as though it had been worked at. Good symbolism flows easily and doesn't feel so choked out, so obvious. And it seems it would make sense. In my mind, his attempts failed. Whatever symbolism he was reaching for was completely lost on me. And a book that makes me feel lost, as if there is a joke I'm simply not in on, well, that's one that is very hard for me to enjoy.

Still, I was committed to finishing it because the rest of the series is supposed to be quite wonderful and you can't not finish the beginning of a series if you want to move on. After a few days break, I picked it back up again and finished it. At the tail end of it, I found myself a little more invested than I had realized. Though I was not sad that the book was over (and that does happen when I really love a book), I was invested in finding out how the whole story ends. Or at least to reading the next in the series to see if my intrigue would continue.

What I wasn't expecting, though I suppose I should have, is the religious underpinnings that surface near the end. The book is clearly about a journey of discovery, good vs. evil Yet, I didn't expect God to play a large part. In the final pages, it becomes clear that is where the author is taking us, and though I'm generally repelled by religious undertones, I'm curious about the mystical side of the story and want to see where the series leads me. What is in that Dark Tower?

Would I recommend it? I can't really say because I don't yet know how I feel about the rest of the books. If it turns out that I love those, then it goes without saying that I would first have to recommend the beginning of the overall story. For now, I reserve my final opinion. :)

Currently in Hand

Yesterday I ran to the library and picked up 11 books. It isn't unusual for me to pick up more than I can possibly read in the allotted 3 weeks, but I do love to have some variety from which to choose. Also, most often I'm able to renew online if I really don't want to let go of something, but haven't gotten to it yet (and as a general rule of thumb, if I sense I won't read something in this round, I return it immediately, along with anything I've finished, so that others may have a chance at it! Not fair to hoarde!).

The books I selected:

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle (currently reading, as previously mentioned)
2. IT by Stephen King
3. The Drawing of the Three: The Dark Tower II by Stephen King
4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
5. Dune by Frank Herbert
6. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
7. The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
8. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
9. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
11. A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'engle

Those that are bolded I have read before and am re-reading. A few of them I suspect I may have read when I was younger, but just don't recall (I suppose we'll find out once I start reading them!). Also, I think it's clear there are some themes in what I selected.

Many of these books are children's "chapter" books. Once I began dreaming of A Wrinkle in Time, I found I yearned to spend some more time in that period of my reading life. Of course, I haven't read nearly enough Stephen King and Dune is a classic sci-fi novel which I've found recently I love (or figured out finally that I had always been fond of sci-fi/fantasy and simply hadn't realized it).

Also, I have Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton on hand. Recently I ran to the used bookstore to find it because it was checked out of the library and the due date was too far off for me to bear (I had just finished the one before it, Blue Moon). Once I had it in hand, I realized I wanted to wait until my hold requests for the books following it came in. Then I could have a week or two of just Anita Baker (the main character in the series) novels. So, I'm hoping to get a call from the library around March 6th stating that they've all arrived (when they're due!) and ready to be picked up. Until then, I'll be working my way through the volumes listed above, and feverishly working on compiling my updated reading list.

Progress for 2010

The books I have read thus far in 2010:

1. The Gate House by Nelson DeMille
2. Poppy Done to Death by Charlaine Harris
3. A Secret Rage by Charlaine Harris
4. Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
5. Tempted by Kristin Cast and P.C. Cast
6. Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton
7. Demon Seed (Revised) by Dean Koontz
8. The Gunslinger: Dark Tower I by Stephen King

Currently, I'm (re)reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle.

In terms of reading goals, I set them by number of pages to be read rather than by number of books. I've found if I go for a book oriented goal, I exclude longer volumes that are well worth reading. This year, my goal is to read 17,520 pages (last year I read 15,840 which was well beyond my goal of 10,000). I totaled 51 books. If I can make my goal this year, I may take on the goal of reading 100 books in 2011 (yikes!).

I select books in many different ways. To begin with, I have compiled a list of books that have won various awards (Nobel Prize for Literature, Booker, etc.) and am currently working on expanding that list to include over 100 random "favorites" lists from the internet. Though I like to select books from that list, there are also authors that I really enjoy, such as Dean Koontz, Charlaine Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, that are rarely found on such lists and I read them anyhow because I enjoy them. Once in awhile I read something that is recommended by a person or publication, and sometimes I just see a book on the shelf at the bookstore or the library, and I pick it up to read. So, there is some method to the madness, but there aren't really any rules. I love to read and I try to read as much as I can.

I'm going to try and write a quick review of books as I finish them, if nothing else to say I finished it, update the tally for the year, and say "loved it" or "pass!". If you have any questions about a book or just wish to chat about it, please do! Sometimes I don't say much about something but that doesn't mean I don't have much to say. :)

If you have any recommendations, please share!

Welcome!

Admittedly, I have a less than normal interest in books. Reading...and eventually (hopefully soon!) writing...are two things of which I am very passionate and on which I am very focused. The point of this blog is to track the progress of my reading and writing goals, share book recommendations, and perhaps write reviews of books as I go through them. My hope is that I'll be able to grow my list of books "to be read" by way of reader recommendations, and share the books that I love (and maybe get enough inspiration to start writing myself!).