Wednesday, October 29, 2008

i actually finished my bookclub title... in time, no less!

Yep. I deserve a pat on the back. Ok, well maybe just a thumbs up.

I'm notorious for not finishing my bookclub title in time. I go to the meetings unprepared, but I figure this is supposed to be fun. I'm not going to stress over it.

It took me a while to get into Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It was a very odd book that skimmed all sorts of subjects. From an incestuous union between brother and sister (in 1922 Smyrna) to prohibition, from the 1967 race riots to hermaphrodites. Did I say it was odd? Yep. I sure did.

I geek out when I read books, and sometimes write little "cheat sheets". Normally timelines, characters, relations, etc... I kind of needed it for this book. There was a part in the book where Desdemona Stephanides is having a conversation with her brother, Eleutherios ("Lefty"). They state that in Turkey, and elsewhere, it is illegal to marry your brother but not your third cousin, and since they were siblings, but also third cousins, it must surely be ok. Huh? What? How were they siblings and third cousins?! I missed it. I didn't feel like going back to read where that previously came up.

Middlesex won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2003. Even though it took me a while to get into the book, I really had a hard time putting it down afterwards.

All through the book Cal refers to her, er, I mean his brother as "Chapter Eleven". I kept on wondering why Cal called him Chapter Eleven, and I never did figure it out. Even after I was done with the book. Now as I read Wikipedia's description, it alludes to the reason. D'uh!

Overall a good book. I'm glad I read it.

On to my next... By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho. I became interested in Paulo Coelho after I read The Alchemist. The Alchemist is a book about following your dreams, and even though you may end up exactly where you began, the journey is normally a grand one that shouldn't be missed. Setting aside fear and uncertainty is a big theme in most of his books. His themes can be a bit trite, but every now and then even though they are trite, they manage to hit you in a different way... At least I think so.

Wiki states that By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept is the first part of Coelho's trilogy "On the Seventh Day". The other two parts are Veronika Decides to Die and The Devil and Miss Prym. I read Veronika Decides to Die, I guess I may read The Devil and Miss Prym soon. lol

I have so many books in my "in the processing of reading" and "to be read" pile that they were literally falling over. I had to remove them from my nightstand and put them in my bookcase.

I feel like Henry Bemis in The Twilight Zone episode Time Enough at Last. Except the only thing preventing me from reading is
work, various hobbies, laziness, sleep, eating, life, you know the regular stuff.

Happy reading to all!

6 comments:

Shelley E said...

wow, that book sounds weird...I wish I had more time to read...but then I wish I had more time to scrap etc...oh well.

NAVAL LANGA said...

To Ms. Cristina

I have read some of your posts. I like the flow of the words.... in your writing. So effortlessly.

I would like to revisit your blog.

Naval Langa

PS. (If you are interested in reading short stories and seeing paintings, do visit my blog!)

Anonymous said...

Okay, you are a better reader than me! I couldn't finish Middlesex. I just couldn't do it. I never force myself to finish a book I am not really enjoying. Loved the Alchemist and almost bought Down by the River... awhile ago. Try reading The Virgin Suicides. If you liked Middlesex you will like it.
I just finished The Glass Castle for my book club. Excellent book!

Temeculamom said...

Good for you! I never even join a book club, because I'm too stubborn to read something someone else picked out for me. I think I do have Middlesex around here someplace, though. You made me want to read it. I am proud of you getting it done on time. That is a long book.

Gabrielle Mader said...

I haven't read a PLEASURE book since summer. I'm reading MULTIcultural books for my class...I would like to read 3 cups of tea? And this summer I read 1,000 splendid suns.....love that book! Good luck with your next book Cristiana.

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