That was quick!

I finished Animal Dreams...I forgot how much that book touched my heart. It was so nice to read it again. I hate to say it, but I really enjoy Barbara Kingsolver's earlier books more than her more recent ones. It is not that I do not like them, I just found Animal Dreams, The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven to be more to my liking than Prodigal Summer and Poisonwood Bible.

I also zipped through another book...not school related...yeah! Well, I can use it for school but that is not the original reason I got it! I finished The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. It is a interesting twist on the tale of Odysseus.

I am a fan of Margaret Atwood and I was excited to see that she was part of a myth project that involved the re-telling of well known tales. I will probably look into the others as well...but the semester is almost over so we will have to see how crazy life is.

I did like The Penelopiad. Then again I love the Odyssey so the tale from the point of view of Penelope was sure to appeal. I was hoping that there would be a bit more in depth view of the relationship with the twelve maids that were killed...but there wasn't. Oh well... I enjoyed it all the same. And it was a very quick read which helps with my crazy reading style right now!

Book List...

On my other blog page I added a list of books that I want to read...several I have been able to tick off the list, but there are quite a few classics that I need to get to. There are also so many more that I haven't even been able to note.

I guess this was a sampler...what I really need to do is keep a notebook with an ever evolving list since there are so many I read and want to read. This log is my chronicle for things read... I just need to get my self in gear and find new things I want to read!

A nice change...

While I am still bogged with school reading and working my way through The Feminine Mystique, I have had a couple of good reads...for school of course!

For my Feminist Perspectives in Literature class I read Lysistrata, a comic play by Aristophanes. This jist of this play is that the women of Greece decide to put an end to war by refusing to sleep with their husbands and lovers (as well as take over the treasury). It is a baudy, witty, and provacative play that toys with stereo-types, sex and the battle for peace. It was a quick read, but since I am in grad school for education I have to write a unit of lesson plans based on Lysistrata. Since I am not a lit major but and art major this could be interesting!

The second fun reading I am doing is a re-read of Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. I read this ages ago but it fits a reading assignment I need to do for my Exploring Cultures class. I need to read a novel based on cultural struggle and/or social justice and write a response as it relates to the class. This book will do the trick nicely! It is nice to read an old favorite. It is like getting re-acquainted with a friend you haven't seen in many years.

Oh how the time flies...

Well, I haven't really been able to move on to a new book yet. I am jumping around from article to article and chapter to chapter of school reading with very little time to read Ms. Friedan!!! It is a little frusterating, but I know that homework comes first. The ironic thing is that often topics and themes in my course work is reflected in The Feminine Mystique. It surprises me that what would seem like a totally unrelated discussion pops off the pages.

What makes me really sad is that I was not able to do any fun reading over my Spring Break. No rest!!! It was all research projects and lesson planning. On that note I better get back to work.

In Honor of a Feminist Icon

This past week we lost one influential woman that was a historic figure in the Women's Rights movement. Betty Friedan, author and founder of NOW (National Organization for Women), is a woman I have always admired. Her birthday, also the day of her passing, was on Feb. 4th.

The phenomenon of being born and dying on the same date has always fascinated me. Another famous author who came and went on his birthday was Mark Twain. But that is not where I want to go with this entry.

I have just completed Under the Tuscan Sun and rather than move on to another novel, I am going to stop putting off reading Friedan's Feminine Mystique, which has been collecting dust and gone unread for far to long. As my memorial to this Feminist Icon, I will finally read this seminal piece of literature in the 2nd wave of the women's Movement. It is a classic and I have not excuse not to read it. Especially since I own it!!!

Next!

I know I am about to get swamped by course work so I am trying to get one more pleasant read in before the hardcore educational reading comences. I finished Manifesta which is actually school work (yet enjoyable) and needed something light. Not that Under the Tuscan Sun is what I would call "light," it is a book I have read before and adored.

Back when Ms. Mayes Tuscan lovin' books came out and before the movie, I too fell for her artful descriptions of Italy. I have yet to go to Tuscany but boy do I want to!!! If I could live like she does with a house, a garden, and the onderment of the region it would be a dream. I imagine a visit someday will have to do.

Until then I have my book and the visions of cyprus trees swaying in my head!

Books I've Read in 2006

1. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
2. Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards
3. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
4. Being Adolescent by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Reed Larson (for a class)
5. Lysistrata by Aristophanes
6. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
7. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
8. Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell
9. Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
   
10. The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat
    
11. The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
    
12. In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
13. Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis
14. Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris (re-read)

Do you read books?

This has to have been one of the worst pick-up lines I ever witnessed. Unfortunately one of my best friends was the victim of this line...and yes indeed she does read books. In fact we both read alot of books! I'll admit it...I love books! I have a couple of bookshelves full, which I have a resoltion to purge in order to make room for more books.

I wanted to create a record of what I read in a year and maybe provide a platform for informal reviews so that others can find inspiration. I read a pretty wide variety of fiction and non-fiction titles...but I do tend to be a book snob. Rarely do I read cheesy romance novels or thrillers. The NY Times best-seller list is my guide, supplemented by the Oprah's Book Club and other literati-type lists. I guess you could say I am an urban-fem lit sort of girl with smidge of geeky non-fiction thrown in for good measure. Yes- I do indulge in a few creativity stimulating self-help type of books too.

So what am I reading right now? Well, since I am about to start my second semester of grad school I am trying to get a head start on a few books for a Feminist Literature course I am taking. I rang in the New Year with The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson and moved on to Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. I have not been disappointed by either. I am really looking forward to taking this class since it is going to be a refreshing break from the educational theory and artistic development texts I will also be consuming. I have been lucky that all of the books I had to read for last semester were pretty interesting...no complaints about any of it!!!