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| Nellie Olsen is flabbergasted that I can't seem to finish this book. |
Winter is nearly over, Spring has almost sprung, and I just now finished my first book of the year. I have been mired down in David Copperfield and Doctor Zhivago since before Christmas. For a person who loves checking completions off a list, this has been a trying few months. I am truly beginning to believe I will never finish David Copperfield. I've been in the 930s of 990 pages for days. Every time I open the book, I feel like I'm starring in my own personal Groundhog Day.
In January, I tried to break up the toiling with The Sun Also Rises, which I hated and abandoned. So that went well. I have decided I have a serious Hemingway issue, which I am ignoring for now.
In February, I listened to Krista Tippett's interview of Mary Oliver (an On Being podcast: it was fantastic, and I can't recommend it enough), and I decided after listening to Mary Oliver basically say she sucked at poetry when she first tried it that it was now or never for me, so I'm now spending more time writing. I started a WordPress blog for my poetry to keep it separate from my book blog. That address is www.sadiebellewrites.wordpress.com for anyone interested. Please don't steal my poems. Obviously, I can't really stop you, but seriously? Why would anyone except a Dementor want to steal my memories and emotions?
This week, I read An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski. I love the idea of the book, the idea that one small thoughtless act can save a life, but I didn't love the voice of the narrator. Because of the structure of the book, she often came across as self-congratulatory and redundant. If Maurice had been a co-narrator instead of everything being told through Laura's voice, I think this issue could have been avoided. The writing seemed simplistic and predictable, but that could be because everything does now that I've spent months with Dickens and Pasternak.
On another note, a blogger I follow recently published a list of the books Rory Gilmore read on The Gilmore Girls. As I love Rory Gilmore, and I love a book list, I promptly printed off this list to add to the other 10,000 lists on the side of my fridge. I noticed several books by Nick Hornby on the list. I have never read Nick Hornby. Any recommendations on where I should start?
