In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels that I haven’t already

During a recent trip to the Petworth Library, I picked up A Clockwork Orange because it was on display at the end of a shelf and because I knew it had been hovering on the cusp of my All-TIME novel selections. Since I recently decided to give up on my second go at Faulkner, I needed to replace The Sound and The Fury with something that would keep my interest past page 6 - and Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange fit the bill.

Many of the books I've read on this quest have movie counterparts - and I've seen most of them (usually after reading the book). I know that Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of A Clockwork Orange is a cult classic, but I can assure you - no matter how interesting I found the book, there is no way I'm watching this movie. Reading about the "rehabilitation" of an ultra violent young punk is one thing, watching it played out on the big screen is something else entirely.

The book itself was surprisingly good. It's written using a slang created for the novel, which takes some getting used to, but is ultimately effective at immersing the reader in the main character's sociopathic thoughts. Much like Lolita, the main character - Alex - is one with whom the reader can't sympathize, but ultimately comes to understand.

What's next on my list? Something lighter, I hope!

In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels that I haven’t already

On Tuesday I did something I haven't done since I read Stephen King's It back in high school - I stayed up past my "bed time" (and past the point of tiredness) to finish a book. This time it was for Toni Morrison's Beloved.

My quick and dirty review: this book is gripping, artfully written, and absolutely haunting. Seriously, I'm still thinking about the book and it's been two days since I finished it.

It's no surprise that Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize, or that Toni Morrison has gone on to be a Nobel Prize winner and a "national treasure." I'm definitely adding her to my list of favorite writers (joining Isabel Allende, C.S. Lewis, and - of course - Mr. King), and I'm eager to read more of her works.

I'm thinking about checking out the movie, but I'm a little nervous that film won't do the book justice and I'd hate to tarnish this one.

In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels that I haven’t already

This week I wrapped up Faulkner's Light in August, and y'all - I need the Cliffs Notes. Honestly, I have no idea how this book ended. I read it, re-read parts of it, did everything short of drawing diagrams, but I haven't a clue who or what I was reading about for the last 60 or so pages.

I'm going to give Faulkner another try, as The Sound and the Fury is in my stack of library books. But really, does anyone enjoy Faulkner? Or is he one of those authors whose books are only read for class?

In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels that I haven’t already

Before a whirlwind week of travel, I went a little crazy at the Petworth Library and checked out five of the books still on my "to read" list. I had grand visions of reading non-stop on that week's eight (yes, eight) separate flights, knocking out all five classics in a single binge-reading week.

Their December 10th due date is looming, and so far I've crossed one book off the list - Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. It's a really uncomfortable book in terms of content, but extremely beautifully written. Despite not being able to relate to Humbert Humbert, the main character, Nabokov does an excellent job of drawing the reader in right from page one.

As for the stack of books, I'm 150 pages away from finishing the second of the five titles. The rest are bound for the re-check queue.

In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels that I haven’t already

It's been a long summer, full of weddings, home-buying and summer conference travels. One up side to the travel? Plenty of time to read!

Tonight I wrapped up George Orwell's classic 1984. I'm sure you're wondering how I made it out of high school without reading 1984, and I'll tell you - I read Animal Farm instead. Based on my not-so-scientific poll of friends, it seems our high schools all picked one or the other.

My verdict? It was good, but I'm glad my school went with Animal Farm. Much more enjoyable to read about barnyard animals' power corrupting than about guys literally getting the individualism beaten out of them.

Catching Up

Apologies for being an awful blogger; I have no excuses. I have, however, been keeping busy crossing items off my list. Here's what you missed while I went offline...

#2. Participate in a Disciple Bible study.
Technically, I've been participating since September. But last Wednesday, my Disciple Bible class came to an end. Spending almost every Wednesday evening at Capitol Hill UMC with my class for the past nine months has been such a blessing. In addition to reading through a huge amount of the Bible, we wrestled with questions and doubts, learned to see Biblical and Christian values from new perspectives, and shared in each other's joys and concerns. We celebrated weddings, pregnancies and births, and mourned the losses of jobs and of loved ones. We've already started talking about starting up Disciple 2 or finding another study to join together, because the idea of not seeing each other every Wednesday night is just too strange.

#22. Visit a different museum every month for a year.
In May I visited my fifth museum, swinging by the Phillips Collection for Phillips After Five. The collection opens for a happy hour event on the first Thursday of each month, and May's was hosted by Generation O (the Washington National Opera's young professionals program, which I joined to complete item #23). In addition to its great collection of priceless art, the event also featured an Italian buffet, (delicious!) Prosecco and members of the Washington National Opera performing numbers from Don Pasquale on the terrace. Bumping into a co-worker and her sweet boyfriend made the event even more fun.

#68. Have an article of clothing tailored.
This is not a super-exciting update. Long story short, I had a suit, I lost weight, the suit skirt no longer fit. Instead of buying a new suit, I got the skirt tailored and am thrilled with the inexpensive, yet custom-to-me results.

#77. Eat dinner at 1789.
To celebrate our third wedding anniversary, Steven took me to 1789, a romantic (and fairly expensive) restaurant in Georgetown. Clearly - from its presence on my list - it's a restaurant I've wanted to try for a while. I'm happy to say our cheese plate, rabbit and skate entrees and mini-dessert platter did not disappoint. (If you're reading this, sweetie, thanks again!)

So there we are, all caught up. Maybe in June I'll do a better job with this!

#85: Check out a book from the DC Public Library

For the past year, I've had a DC Public Libraries card. Until today, I had never checked out any of the system's books.*

I know what you're thinking - "Pam, you just showed us your awesome new Nook Color a little over two weeks ago. Why do you need to check out books from the library? How do you check out books from the library?"

Folks - with the Nook, I've opened a door to the wide world that is downloadable ebooks. Instead of venturing into a DC library, searching the shelves for the perfect title and waiting in a lengthy line of "proud library patrons," I was able to check out my book from the comfort of my own sweet living room.

It was as easy as typing in a title, clicking "download," and dragging it from one part of my computer to my Nook's storage file. The hardest part of the whole process was installing Adobe Digital Edition, and even that was easy-peasy.

The Other Wes Moore - on the DC Public Libraries site.

The Other Wes Moore - on my computer!

Now that I've downloaded it, I'm off to read a book from the DC Public Library!

*I got the library card as part of my volunteer placement at the DC Public Libraries through the Junior League of Washington.

In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels

I'll admit, I selected Never Let Me Go from the list of All-TIME Novels because I have a great big girl crush on Carey Mulligan. I loved her in An Education, I adore her pixie haircut and ladylike red carpet looks, and I can't wait to see her play the Great Gatsby's Daisy Buchanan. She starred alongside Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield in last year's film adaptation of the book, so I added the novel to to my list, knowing I'd reward myself with the movie after I finished the book.

I didn't realize I'd finish the book in a single day. (Granted, that single day was a 15+ hour day spent traveling from DC to LA.)

Author Kazuo Ishiguro captured me from the first page and had me so hooked, I skipped my in-flight movie to read it. I even picked it up during the commercial breaks in last night's episode of Community, reading a few pages during each break in the show. 

The story has the same sci-fi elements that made me enjoy Brave New World and The Giver back in school, but at the same it is so familiar and heart-wrenching. I'm thankful I reached the book's end in the solitude of my hotel room, because the last pages definitely had me in tears.

In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels

Last night I finished the second of my 15 reads from TIME magazine’s 100 All-TIME Novels. Without turning this entry into a full-on book review, Ian McEwan's Atonement was a great read - romance, intrigue, lies and deception - it kept me thoroughly entertained on my Metro rides all week.

(And though I haven't seen the movie yet, I'm definitely adding it to the Netflix queue to see how it holds up to the original.)

In Progress - #20: Read 15 of the All-TIME 100 Novels

I've always been a bit of a bookworm, so as part of my Quarterlife Quest, I aimed to add a little direction to my reading. My husband was shocked to learn that I’ve never read To Kill a Mockingbird, so I took a peek at TIME magazine’s 100 All-TIME Novels to see which other gems I may be missing out on. After realizing that there were plenty of books I’d never read – let alone heard of – I committed to read 15 new-to-me novels as part of the project.

I’m proud to say that last night I crossed off my first of the 15 books – Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. Vonnegut is one of my husband’s very favorite authors, so he was happy to remember parts of the book as I gave him updates on my progress. Interestingly enough, I’m the one who turned him on to Vonnegut in the first place, after he found a copy of Cat’s Cradle on my nightstand freshman year.

Next on the list is Atonement. After I finish it, I’ll probably reward myself with the movie too – for comparison’s sake. (And don’t worry, I’m going to read To Kill a Mockingbird!)