Thursday, November 24, 2011
The Ending
I never thought that picking Lonesome Dove as my first book off this list was going to be such a big deal. This really may have been one of the best reads of my life. It's ridiculous length seemed short and the story that was told truly melted my heart, made me weep, laugh and get mad. It invoked thought and actually turns out to have some meaning. Through all the characters that passed away and all the love you had for them, there was still a tremendous lesson to be learned. Though some readers may not take the time to look into the text, I was interested to find out what the motto in Latin meant that Gus put at the bottom of the Hat Creek's sign. After some pretty superficial research I found that it meant (more or less) that each man finds his happiness in his own way. Gus wanted to be buried underneath his and Clara's tree, Call wanted to fulfill his promise to his lifelong friend, Dish wanted to stay with Lorena, Xavier didn't want to live without her......and so on and so forth. It's true in our lives as well. We follow what's important to us...which brings me to the next book on the list. One Hundred Years Of Solitude. I am starting the first 100 pages tonight so stay tuned for some conversation points in the near future. Happy Thanksgiving and happy reading!!!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The First 200
Uva uvam vivendo varia fit
It sure will be nice to know what that means in Latin as the book progresses. I am really happy with the book so far. It makes sense, which is more than I can say for some books. I'm actually picking up a few interesting tidbits like the fact that "fatback" is Western terminology for our "bacon".
McMurtry is a master at character building. Not just dimensions of the character but literally adding on to the group of characters that you are just starting to get used to. It seemed like as soon as I started getting to know Jake, Lorie, Call, Dish, Pea,Deets and Gus, I would get a storm of new characters like the O'Brien brothers, Pedro (who we don't even get to see because he dies before we know him well enough), and a slew of women that are somehow tied to all these love-hungry men. The book itself is becoming so scandalous it sometimes reminds me of a soap opera, but in a more manly-dramatic way. YES, men are much more drama oriented than women, the book proves this. The fact that it was written by a man speaks for itself.
The biggest surprise so far is the amount of humor that is in the book. The men are always short with each other and sometimes Gus blerbs out sentences that are so off-center to the topic it just makes you giggle. Pieces of a quilt that Deets wears for pants was enough to have me laughing out loud in the middle of the night while my children were sleeping.
If you want to follow along or just take a peek at some of the books on the list, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction
If you would like to read along with me, you can pick up the next book A Thousand Years Of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Lonesome Dove-Larry McMurtry
Goal: 10 Day Read (994 pages)
I get relatively excited when I find a book that goes above my expectations. Usually seeing a movie to a book would turn one off to actually going out and buying it. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry really is am interesting book for me to start with. So far it's quite descriptive and the characters are well-rounded. I've only gotten to chapter 5 today and I am already starting to be impartial to characters like Call and Augustus. I'm also curious to find out more about people like Lorie and Bolivar (who seems really vulgar to me). To be quite honest I get a better picture of the book as a whole because I don't actually REMEMBER seeing the book on TV, so I get to start from scratch. Plus, I already had the book in my inventory, so I didn't have to buy it. I'm excited to see where this book is going to take me. It seems like it's strictly a pleasure reading book. My hope is that it can tug at my heartstrings because I need something to cry about. The drama has been lacking in my private life.
Bolivar stirred his sugary coffee and held his peace. He whacked the dinner bell because he liked the sound, not because he wanted anybody to come and eat. The men could eat when they liked-- he would whack the bell when he liked.
I get relatively excited when I find a book that goes above my expectations. Usually seeing a movie to a book would turn one off to actually going out and buying it. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry really is am interesting book for me to start with. So far it's quite descriptive and the characters are well-rounded. I've only gotten to chapter 5 today and I am already starting to be impartial to characters like Call and Augustus. I'm also curious to find out more about people like Lorie and Bolivar (who seems really vulgar to me). To be quite honest I get a better picture of the book as a whole because I don't actually REMEMBER seeing the book on TV, so I get to start from scratch. Plus, I already had the book in my inventory, so I didn't have to buy it. I'm excited to see where this book is going to take me. It seems like it's strictly a pleasure reading book. My hope is that it can tug at my heartstrings because I need something to cry about. The drama has been lacking in my private life.
Remembrace
My biggest fear is to die and not have some kind of mark on the world. The world...is huge. I'm so small and there really isn't anything really significant about me. I live in a small town, am married to a wonderful man and have two children. Sounds typical. Go to church and live my life according to God's plan and not mine. It just seems like I'm doing what I should do and waiting to die. Not a lot going on. I want to change that.
When I was a child, I used to read every book I could get my hands on. I went through a period in my teenage years where having fun with friends and boys were all I really cared about and I books stopped being my passion. Then, very recently, it started again. I always wanted to be a writer. I freelanced for a couple of years and honed out whatever things could pass as "good" writing. The passion to read...other people's work has always been where my interests take me. I don't start a book unless I am content on finishing it and I can honestly say that there has been nothing in my life that compares to the feeling of completing a really long book, being able to sit back and dwell on its content for 15 minutes and then pick up a new one that has new adventures and interesting facts that haven't been discovered (by me). I am a discoverer, but not in the sense that many people would consider a "discoverer" to be.
To feed my paper problem, I have decided to be AGAINST any electronic devices to read. There are several reasons why I'm bypassing the tablets and Nooks and Crannies ...or whatever. I like the smell of the book. I like knowing I'm human and knowing that my child can rip one of the pages to my book. I am not a robot and refuse to act like one. I like perusing books, I like flipping the pages and I like the fact that when I get them wet in the bathtub they wrinkle up and feel ever-so sand-papered when they dry. The fact that I sell books and have a hard time putting them out on the inventory unless I've actually READ them, may be a sign of passion or just a cry for help. I guess if you follow this bl
og, you'll find out if a sanatorium is the better end of the stick for this girl.
With all this being "said"--sorry, more like shoved down your throat..I want to invite you come along with me for a 13 year journey. Yes, 13 years. Thirteen wonderful years of my ENTIRE life, where books are the topic of discussion. I will undertake The Guardians "1000 Books To Read In Your Lifetime" and I will finish it. In this time I will discuss the book, let you know if it's worth your time and most of all, discover if by the end of undertaking this ridiculously large an sporadic list of books, I am a better writer? 13 years of my life dedicated to other people's words may sound a bit crazy for a few of you to understand. What is the point of writing if we don't read anymore? What happens to authors? Will books become "boring" and be left up the shelf to collect dust....just to be thrown away during a particularly productive Spring cleaning? Stick to this blog and you may start to develop an appetite that could match mine. Ready?
When I was a child, I used to read every book I could get my hands on. I went through a period in my teenage years where having fun with friends and boys were all I really cared about and I books stopped being my passion. Then, very recently, it started again. I always wanted to be a writer. I freelanced for a couple of years and honed out whatever things could pass as "good" writing. The passion to read...other people's work has always been where my interests take me. I don't start a book unless I am content on finishing it and I can honestly say that there has been nothing in my life that compares to the feeling of completing a really long book, being able to sit back and dwell on its content for 15 minutes and then pick up a new one that has new adventures and interesting facts that haven't been discovered (by me). I am a discoverer, but not in the sense that many people would consider a "discoverer" to be.
To feed my paper problem, I have decided to be AGAINST any electronic devices to read. There are several reasons why I'm bypassing the tablets and Nooks and Crannies ...or whatever. I like the smell of the book. I like knowing I'm human and knowing that my child can rip one of the pages to my book. I am not a robot and refuse to act like one. I like perusing books, I like flipping the pages and I like the fact that when I get them wet in the bathtub they wrinkle up and feel ever-so sand-papered when they dry. The fact that I sell books and have a hard time putting them out on the inventory unless I've actually READ them, may be a sign of passion or just a cry for help. I guess if you follow this bl
og, you'll find out if a sanatorium is the better end of the stick for this girl.
With all this being "said"--sorry, more like shoved down your throat..I want to invite you come along with me for a 13 year journey. Yes, 13 years. Thirteen wonderful years of my ENTIRE life, where books are the topic of discussion. I will undertake The Guardians "1000 Books To Read In Your Lifetime" and I will finish it. In this time I will discuss the book, let you know if it's worth your time and most of all, discover if by the end of undertaking this ridiculously large an sporadic list of books, I am a better writer? 13 years of my life dedicated to other people's words may sound a bit crazy for a few of you to understand. What is the point of writing if we don't read anymore? What happens to authors? Will books become "boring" and be left up the shelf to collect dust....just to be thrown away during a particularly productive Spring cleaning? Stick to this blog and you may start to develop an appetite that could match mine. Ready?
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