I might have mentioned this in some previous post, but when I was little, I was pretty much against reading. It was for boring people. It was uninteresting and plus, you had to sit STILL while you did it. Any activity that required that was pretty much written off my list. I didn't see how someone wanted to read when they could go outside, lay in the grass, and make imaginary friends to talk to for hours on ends. I mean, come on, what's better than an imaginary friend who says exactly what you want them too. You have no control over book characters.
Well, awhile ago, this reading kick hit me. I realized how few "classics" I'd read, much less knew the story of. Stuart Little is a perfect example. So, I went through our old guestroom/ library/ junk room and pilfered the books I had an interest in reading. They were everything from My Friend Flicka, Christy, War of Worlds, to The Iliad. Yes, I do have a desire to read the Iliad.
After rereading some of those "everybody should read" book lists on facebook, I realized how few I hadn't read. I mean, it really hit me. Well, I decided to expand my little book stack. Adding was The Scarlet Letter, Mansfield Park, and Tale of Two Cities. And, much, much more. I actually made a file on Word of almost 90 books that I want to read.
Well, since then I've knocked off some of those books as well as added on many others. Not all of them are classics. Some are just books I want to read; but the majority are ones that I feel I need to have read in order to label myself an well-rounded author.
On the plane ride to Boston, I finished Ben-Hur. That book was an immense disappointment. Don't know how it ever got to be a classic, but it should be stricken from the records. Seriously, that book had NO back story to the characters thus making the characters flat. The plot seemed simple, stale, and stagnant. I was never once rooting for Judah to prevail, even in the chariot race; he just seemed like a whiner who couldn't handle his problems. In my opinion, the movie (or dramatized audio book) is miles better.
The classic I'm in the middle of at the moment is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Though I'm only still very early, I'm immensely enjoying the story and the writing style. REALLY liking the writing style, actually. Hoping the rest of the book lives up.
Well, since then I've knocked off some of those books as well as added on many others. Not all of them are classics. Some are just books I want to read; but the majority are ones that I feel I need to have read in order to label myself an well-rounded author.
On the plane ride to Boston, I finished Ben-Hur. That book was an immense disappointment. Don't know how it ever got to be a classic, but it should be stricken from the records. Seriously, that book had NO back story to the characters thus making the characters flat. The plot seemed simple, stale, and stagnant. I was never once rooting for Judah to prevail, even in the chariot race; he just seemed like a whiner who couldn't handle his problems. In my opinion, the movie (or dramatized audio book) is miles better.
The classic I'm in the middle of at the moment is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Though I'm only still very early, I'm immensely enjoying the story and the writing style. REALLY liking the writing style, actually. Hoping the rest of the book lives up.
"Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul--Emily Dickinson." -- A Wrinkle in Time
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