I should probably clarify my last entry a little bit better, as it was written in a fit of frustration and was possibly, and understandably, misunderstood by some. I'm actually a huge fan of Emily Bronte and her tragic tale of doom and gloom, Wuthering Heights. Seriously, there is not one happy person throughout that entire book. And if anyone seems as though they might have a reason to smile within the next ten pages, they're probably going to die soon. It's brilliant.
(And slynnroe, I should show you my copy as the cover looks VERY interesting. There's a spooky ghost girl trying to come in through the window--creepy!!)
I was just wondering if, at some point in Emily's (Miss Bronte's? Would she disapprove of me calling her Emily, like I know her or something?) creative process, she dissolved in a heap of tears and considered scrapping the whole writing thing and becoming a French prostitute. You know, not that I considered that on Tuesday night as I read paragraph after paragraph of the total crap that I'd banged out in Word. Just thought that the Bronte girls may have.
So yes, more on that resolution idea. I've always loved to read. I can't remember a time when I was doing something other than reading and not wishing I could be poring over a book instead. Out on a trust walk through the woods with my Youth Group? Sure do wish I was reading Anne of Green Gables right now. Playing kickball in middle school and trying not to end up on my ass at home plate? Pride and Prejudice sure does sound like way more fun. I read my fair share of total, wonderful crap of course--Babysitter's Club, The Fabulous Five, Nancy Drew Case Files (nowhere near as good as the original Nancy Drew, might I add!)--but in general I read far better in my childhood than I do now.
By the time I was finishing middle school I had read Gone with the Wind multiple times, finished my Jane Austen boxed set, gone through all of the Louisa May Alcott I could get my hands on, had decided that I wasn't much of a Dickens fan (with the exception of A Christmas Carol), loved National Velvet as well as the Betsy, Tacy, and Tib series and was beginning to work my way through Edith Wharton's House of Mirth. L.M. Montgomery was my all time favorite author throughout most of my life, and I still have almost an entire bookshelf devoted to her many novels and short stories. (I read the Emily of New Moon series last summer and cried through the final book just like I did when I was twelve.)
Given my insatiable hunger for reading, I decided that English Literature would be the perfect focus for me in college. And oh my God, what a mistake that turned out to be. After four years of cramming literature down my throat and analyzing it day in and day out, I completely forgot how to enjoy a novel. Upon graduation, I spent the following two years reading nothing but Glamour, Lucky, and the Shopaholic series.
And so a love for chick lit was born. Y'all, I love me some chick lit. If a book has a predominately pink cover and the title in big bubble letters, it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll be a fan. And there's nothing wrong with that. Chick lit authors are generally pretty witty and hilarious, they write interesting, if sometimes formulaic stories, and when you feel as though you are sinking down into the depths of despair they'll pretty handily pull you right back out. At least for the few hours you spend between the covers.
But this year, I have decided to go on a chick lit fast. I will be reading a diet of only the classics--old and new. There are so many brilliant books out there, and it's only been in the past year that I've started to move away from the pink covers and back over into the burgundy and navy side of the stores. I have a definite taste for the dark or tragic, and given the direction that my writing seems to be leading me right now, I'd like to stay in that genre for my reading as well. It's just too difficult to transition from reading a romantic comedy to writing about dead people.
So this is where you come in with your recommendations. I've decided to re-read Wuthering Heights, and Anna Karenina is next on the list. But what else should I line my bookshelves with in preparation for my year of literary betterment? It doesn't have to be an old book, I just finished The Thirteenth Tale and it fits in with my preference perfectly. As long as it's a little gothic, a little depressing, and beautifully written, I am all ears!
Just, please not Jane Eyre. I'm sorry Charlotte, but I cannot get behind that one no matter how hard I try.
Ha ha, Jane Eyre is the only one I HAVE read. Me and classic novels are kind of strangers.
Posted by: Sassafras | January 17, 2008 at 08:03 PM
Emma will always be my favorite. But do yourself a favor and check out Aphra Behn. She's pretty much unheard of and mostly wrote plays, but she is amazing!
Posted by: Miriam | January 17, 2008 at 08:40 PM
I also dislike Jane Eyre!
I read it one day when i was sick but it was so boring i just kept falling asleep and i didn't even bother to finish it!
Posted by: meg | January 17, 2008 at 08:50 PM
I was the lit major who begged for more (more!) to read because I love it all so much!
Flannery O'Connor is awesome and wicked.
Faulkner is the love of my life (though very complex)
I love me some Joyce - "Dubliners" being one of my faves"
I can't get nearly enough Shakespeare in my life
Watership Down and Little Women are hard core faves...
If you want more modern (but still "literature") I adore Foer and Haddon...
I could talk books for YEARS! :)
Posted by: Bre | January 17, 2008 at 09:02 PM
Have you read the Bridget Jones' books? Those are hilarious, waaay funnier than the movies.
I'm also a fan of "Love is a Mix Tape", it's very sweet and has its sad parts, but is still a good read.
Posted by: katelin | January 17, 2008 at 10:28 PM
The Brothers Karamozov. War and Peace (that is, if you have the time and patience to read the seemingly mundane epic). Anything 18- or 19-century Russia (for the doom and gloom aspect).
Shoot, trying to make recommendations just made me realize that the extent of my reading the last few years has been a variety of chick lit, children's books, and psychological studies of thinking and behavior (I'm reading Blink right now, and it is FABULOUS).
Posted by: LD | January 17, 2008 at 11:08 PM
I love (love, loooove) Anna Karenina. I've read it almost every summer for 7 years now. I highly recommend bumping it to the top :) Watership Down was pretty good too. And of course Vanity Fair.
Posted by: Kate | January 18, 2008 at 02:35 AM
I loved Emily of New Moon. People never talk about that series. I always liked her a little bit better than Anne of Green Gables because Emily had dark hair like me :)
In terms of getting off the chick lit, which I totally understand your thinking, being an English major myself, my current favorites are:
Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith; Dracula; Catcher in the Rye; The Forsythe Saga; Manhattan Memories by Mary Cantwell
Posted by: Shannon | January 18, 2008 at 03:55 AM
Holy Shit. I think we're the same person. We have eerily similar tastes in books/literature. And eerily similar bad-decision-making skeelz, which lead us to the path of chick lit and Glamour... and then the classics!
I just started a classics book club, actually! The first month we read Jane Austen's Persuasion, this month we read The Great Gatsby, next month is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I'll forward you our reading list for the year, if you want!
(Oh, and P.S. I hated Wuthering Heights. So we're not identical. There has to be at least one redeemable character for me to like a book, and well, I hated them all. Yawn.)
Posted by: Cat | January 18, 2008 at 05:37 AM
I haven't read much lately but the books I have read and think you may enjoy include:
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Wells
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
The Mermaid Chair
Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
Vanity Fair
I'm trying to get off the chicklits as well, they're so addictive tho! Unfortunately they alllllllll start sounding the same after a while. As much fun as it is to read about a girl who hates her job, has a dysfunctional relationship blah blah blah....
Posted by: Ashley | January 18, 2008 at 07:14 PM
Crime and Punishment!
Posted by: Girl, Dislocated | January 22, 2008 at 09:29 AM
Hi,
I just found your blog today- but because of this post (not to mention all the others I've been catching up on) I think you may be my new blog crush :)
Posted by: Princess of the Universe | January 27, 2008 at 09:04 AM
One of my favorite books is The Thornbirds. I don't know why I like it so much, but I read it again every few years. There's something about unrequited love that I really dig.
Unless it's my own story of unrequited love. Then? Not so much.
Posted by: RisibleGirl | February 08, 2008 at 07:15 PM