7. Jane Austen Ruined My Life

I'm going to admit, I've never read a book by Jane Austen. Shocking I know considering my love for literature and all things Bronte, Alcott and sappy. In all honesty when I was in college we were supposed to read Pride and Prejudice (I think that was the one) and I guess I was busy that semester because I just got the basic run down every day before class (Thanks Katy!) and somehow managed to pass the quizzes. Maybe I did myself a disservice but I think its good I haven't read Austen. I just don't think there are enough chocolates and tissues in the world to get me through one of her novels.

I'm not really sure where to go with this review. Not really knowing much about Austen's life or her works- besides what I remember from the film version of Mansfield Park, I didn't really have an expectation for what I was going to read. Really- I just thought the cover looked kinda cool (Yes, I just judged another book by its cover. Sue me.) But what I read came out as sort of a surprise. Jane Austen Ruined My Life was the story of Emma, a woman who has based her whole career on the study of Austen, only to have her real life romance to crumble. One might find the story a bit cliche but the characters and storyline, I truly believe, would have made Austen proud. I think she would have enjoyed the twist and turns this novel took and the true conclusion to the central conflict. Although, if what Pattillo said in this book is true and Jane Austen really didn't want the world to know about her- she might actually have been apalled at the secrets that have been revealed around her and that there are actually people out there who would devote their whole lives just to study and to teach others about her own.

Which brings me to the one thing this novel made me think about- celebrity. Austen was a gentleman's daughter. The couple of things she had published before her death did not have her name on them. The scandal that would have been involved in the fact she was a female writer would have overshadowed what she wanted the world to gain from her written word.. yet today we have instant fame. Show your lady bits on a reality show and you're on the cover of every smutty magazine in the checkout aisle at the grocery story. We've come a long way and I personally think it's disgusting. We're teaching our girls to grow up to be pop stars and porn stars and smart mouthed clones of whoever is popular at the moment. I think we should be teaching more about the women who made such an impact on society and did it quietly and with grace and dignity. If we don't- I'm scared something important may be lost.

That's all you get for this week. Hopefully it was enough to make you think and to make you want to read this novel. Its definately worth picking up!

Up next week: Gesundheit by Patch Adams.

7/52 Books
2211 Pages Read.

6. Everyone Worth Knowing

Life has been hectic lately, and my world has completely flipped upside down -hence the reason this blog is coming in at the last minute (Even thought I finished the book days ago!) For one, I decided in my quest for world domination (or just to find myself) that my job wasn't exactly what I wanted and so I decided to move on. I've decided what I want to do for now... I'm just gonna have to figure out how to get there. That's not unlike the character in this Everyone Worth Knowing. I did bond with Bette that way... we both knew in the back of our minds what we wanted but were to stubborn to admit it to ourselves. Seems we both have a thing for bumpy roads.

Its odd, this isn't at all what I was planning to write about when I sat down to do this particular blog. I was going to talk about how much this book drove me nuts. I was going to talk about how cliche this main character was and how her exploits left me feeling anxious enough to have to lay down the book on several occasions and walk away. She was an event planner. Her life was fast paced and as someone who is dealing with the exact same thing right now- it left me feeling tired. I was so pissed at Lauren Weisberger for writing about another socialite who gets what she wants and it all just happens to fall into her lap. I was going to complain about all that and now... it seems minute compared to the other theme at hand... and actually not at all true.

Why is it that some of us (ahem, Bette & Me) feel the need to run from what we're good at? Why do we take every curve and bump and bypass and sideways bike trail to finally end up where we're supposed to be all along? It seemed to me that all the good things fell into Bette's lap and it just really made me angry... and a little jealous! But now, a week and one letter of resignation later, I realize just because something falls into your lap, doesn't mean that its necessarily for you. Bette fell into this world of movie premiers, cocktail parties, trendy night club launches and gossip columns and it thrust her straight into the arms of America's most sought after playboy (How unoriginal is that storyline! Ha!) It felt like she had everything that a girl in her mid twenties could want. Don't lie, we've all dreamed about what it might be like to be famous. But then she realized it wasn't what she thought it would be. I think she honestly realized she'd never even thought to think about what it should be like. Man I do that all the time!

Why do we sell ourselves short? Why do we take the long way? Why do we make things so much harder for ourselves? Why is self truth so hard to accept?

I can truly see now why some people walk away from perfectly amazing things every day. I can see that because I did it this week and Bette did it and my best friend recently did it and I'm sure my mom has done it and my great great great great great grandfather probably did it. Just because something is good for you doesn't mean its good for me and I think that's the lesson that we can't truly learn until we start to make decision for ourselves- based on what we truly want and who we truly are. Sadly, for each person who has walked away from wonderful things for the sake of their own happiness, there are two more who never walk away because they think they're supposed to be someone they aren't.

So while I hated Lauren Weisbergers book at first, it's grown on me and it was completely fitting for what's been on my mind these past few days. Yes its kinda cliche, but aren't we all?

6/52 Books
1941 Pages Read.

5. Late Bloomer

My mom likes to refer to the fact that my awkward period of life lasted a lot longer than well... everyone we know. In all honesty, I'm not so sure it ever ended! At 25 I still have days where my arms and legs are too long for my body, my hair is scraggly and my clothes just don't quite match.

To say I was a late bloomer is an understatement.

One of the things I love so much about my parents is that they never pushed me into anything. Ever. With their encouragement I was able to find the things in life that interested me but move past those that didn't hold my attention. You might be thinking that my parents never pushed me at all. That is absolutely not the truth. With their guidance and knowledge of my personality they were able to help me figure out what my interests were and then helped to provide the resources I needed to be a success.

When my mom recommended Late Bloomer by Fern Michaels to me I thought that is what this book was about. It is soooo not! But that's okay because it is probably the best mystery I have ever read!

I love a good suspense (I never missed the back to back episodes of CSI on Spike in college... before I realized that basic cable was more financial responsible...) and this one held my attention like none other- obviously- I read it in three nights and a morning (THANK YOU SNOW DAY!)

I think the reason this story held my attention was the lightness of it. It wasn't a dark twisty novel. It was light and airy and funny and definitely memorable. After a few weeks of heavy reads this was a breath of fresh air.

This novel follows Cady, a young woman who was accused of murder in the 80's- when she was just 10 years old. The problem lies in the fact she remembers nothing about that day. With her grandmother dying she returns back to the town that judged her, accused her and lied about and to her. All this is complicated as she tries to regain the friendships of the people who, unbeknownst to her, are her biggest betrayers.

The characterization in this book was amazing! For so many amazing characters- no one was snubbed. I felt like I understood them and their quirks and I really was able to connect to everyone in the story. My favorite character, besides Cady, is her grandmother Lola. Think Joan Rivers, Elisabeth Taylor, Blanche from Golden Girls... with a mix of Shirley MacLaine. She's a spitfire if there ever was one! Lola aids her granddaughter in her search for self in the most outlandish ways. She truly would do anything to ensure that the truth eventually comes to light.

Besides the scared and confused Cady and outrageous Lola, this novel is rounded out by a cast so rich it read like a big screen hit. There was the money hungry town lawyer, a sick and twisted housewife, a street preacher who punishes more than preaches and the hot police chief who may be the key to everything... just to name a few.

I, for real, would love to see this story played out in the theater. I can see it being a huge hit!

It is rare that I find a book that I can't wait to read again, but Late Bloomer definitely is one of those rare discoveries. It will be a favorite I will come back to time and time again.

Have you read it? What do you think?

5/52 Books
1574 Pages Read.

Selection 5.

The next book I've chosen to read is Late Bloomer by Fern Michaels! It's fascinating so far! I can't wait to share my review with you later next week!!!

4: Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead: Diaries and Letters 1929-1932

Growing up I was fascinated by three of the greatest tragedies of all time: The Hindenburg Disaster, The sinking of the Titanic and the disappearance of Charles Lindbergh Jr. I don't know why these mysteries fascinated me, but I find myself reading the occasional news article, and stopping if I hear them mentioned when I'm flipping channels.

Several years ago I purchased Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead: Diaries and Letters 1929-1932 by Anne Morrow Lindbergh at a local book sale. I don't know what drew me to this book- after all, the loss of a child is said to be one of the most excruciating blows one can be dealt - I certainly didn't want to read this book for the morbid fascination... but rather to understand the story from a perspective other than the one offered by news sources.

I was very surprised what I discovered.

The first half book, Hour of Gold, followed the Lindbergh's engagement, the first few years of marriage and their flight around the world.

Charles and Anne Lindbergh were sought everywhere they went by paparazzi. They were the Beyonce and Jay- Z of their time... okay, so maybe more the flavor of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. The thing is, they did not seek the celebrity lifestyle because they wanted the attention (Jersey Shores anyone?!?!) but rather, they simply did what they loved. They explored aviation. They were pioneers in their field. Flying was rare in those days- the idea of commuter flights were just beginning to be explored and the Lindberghs were the faces of that exploration.

Flashbulbs went off everytime they opened the door. This collection of letters is sometimes written in code due to the delicate nature of their content. There was fear their letters would be intercepted, read, published. False dates of their wedding were released. They constantly tried to thwart off reporters. Their honeymoon was by boat, off the east coast.... until the press found them and made every step miserable.

This whole idea flabbergasted me. (I love that word: flabbergast!) I think sometimes we get so caught up in our own little bubble. I don't think I ever thought that each generation had their own celebrities- people the normal, boring masses worshipped, adored... If you think about it- the idea gets even crazier! There was no Perez Hilton back then, no Twitter, no blogging or even CBS Evening News. These people were stalked purely for good old fashioned newspapers! Sometimes the news came several days LATER! There was no instant gratification in terms of celebrity news. We get upset if our favorite blogger doesn't get the news to us right away. The Lindbergh's were watched, stalked, and scrutinized with that same ferociousness that our modern day celebrities face! Isn't that a strange thought?!?!

The second half of this book, Hour of Lead, follows the Lindbergh's after their oldest child was kidnapped and brutally murdered. These letters, written to various family members and friends truely express the depth of despair this young family felt. But what I found so encouraging was the transformation they went through- TOGETHER. Many families go through tragedies, in this day and age, and fall apart. This family was strengthened and came out stronger. I think partially this had to do with the fact they had to explore "why" this horrible thing happened. Had they not been in the public eye- it certianly would have turned out differently. But had they not had that shared interest of aviation- they may never have been a couple to start with and would never have found that deep undying love they shared.

This whole book shook me a bit in a way I wasn't prepared for. It had nothing to do with the love story that was shared with me, or the intimate thoughts I read, from a mother mourning her child but rather the idea that we will not have these records for our future generations. Will this blog be around in 100 years? Preserved on the internet? Printed out for someone's personal records? Will all the text messages we save still be around? In an age where we fall in love via texting and phone calls and facebook and myspace, I'm afraid we're losing all record of our personal transactions. We'll have no proof of the journeys we take. We only have what is in our heads and hearts. I think that is a pity.

Overall I think this was a really touching collection of letters and I'm glad that, in her later years, Mrs. Lindbergh decided to share such an intimate look at her story. It was all truly fascinating- from their flight over the orient to their search for a new guard dog. I think though- the lesson in all this is that even through tragedy- we can come out better people. Something Anne said (shortly after the discovery of Charles Jr.'s body) on June 20, 1932 has stuck with me and I'd like to share it with you.

"I have taken, all my life, from family, friends, and the social organization and have not given anything back. And I must not wait for perfect conditions before I try to give back. I've had a good enough chance and have only procrastinated.
You can best give probably by carrying out what you specialized in at college, or if you don't want to do that, do something else but make up your mind and do something, something constructive."

Read this book. Pain is universal. Trauma is universal... but so is strength. This story proves it.


4/52 Books
1261 Pages Read.

Selection 4.

Since I'm slightly ahead of schedule I thought I'd jump into a book I've been meaning to read for several years now, but whose thickness and slightly heavy story line overwhelmed me. Over the next week and a half I'm going to read Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead: Diaries and Letters 1929-1932 by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Have you read it?

3. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

First of all, one of my biggest complaints of popular author Nicholas Sparks is his use of short sentences. I HATED The Notebook. What should have been a beautiful story was ruined for me like by passages like "He went to the stove. He dropped the lobster in the pot." (Those may or may not be actual sentences in the book, but you get the idea.) Since I first experienced Sparks' writings I've moved passed that objection. I understand it is simply his writing style and I really try not to let it bother me.

Secondly, if you've been around me long enough to get to know me you've probably figured out my thoughts are not always coherent or sequential. Sometimes my brain works faster than my mouth and I get really excited and a little bit flustered when I'm going on and on about something. I often compare myself to a raccoon. Place a shiny object in front of me and I lose my train of thought completely. It happens to me all the time. I also find it very difficult to sit through monotone speakers, boring lectures or read books in which the tone never changes (Read back to Review 2: The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter). This may be why I did not do well in Psychology in college. I loved the subject matter but it was all reading and talking and... boring! The only things I ever remembered were the very interesting things. For instance, one day my professor showed us a picture of Britney Spears. Then he showed us the same picture but her mouth had been turned upside down. You could still tell who she was. This had to do with brain recognition and how we don't use all points of an object to identify it. I've run on a tangent that really has nothing to do with anything... Squirrel!

(Sidenote, see UP if you haven't already.)

Back on subject: You may recall that I had trouble making it through my last book and I fought it page by page. Other than my psychology textbook I'm not sure I ever read that slowly in my life. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon was a completely different story. Here it is, Sunday, and I'm 4 days ahead of my deadline. The book is finished and I have a satisfied feeling in the pit of my chest.

Earlier I mentioned that I have a certain loathing for short sentences that leaves me feeling anxious and annoyed. This book offered the same type literary style, but my reaction to it was completely different. The lead character of this book is Christopher, a young teenager, who has autism. Every thought, albeit short, was calculated and understandably so. He only likes prime numbers. He hates the color yellow. Math is the driving force in his life because it makes sense. Always. His thoughts may have seemed jumbled but once you understood his method of thinking- everything always had the same pattern, the same root.

I've worked with children with autism before on several occasions. This may have been the most interesting piece I've read on the subject because it was actually written from the child's point of view. His actions, his groaning, his fits were actually very reasonable in his mind. They made sense to him and they eased his suffering, even if the rest of the world didn't understand. I've often heard that autism is like being trapped in your own world and this offered a perspective into that world that I'd never thought of.

The random thoughts I have are just because I have a short attention span. I let myself get ahead of me and it gets me tongue-tied... but Christopher's random thoughts are not random at all. His routines are not set because he has discipline problems or his parents are strict- he has these routines because they help him cope. The noise is too loud, the touching bothers him and the amount of visual stimulation is too much for him to absorb. He knows whats going on but its like the circuit in his mind is on overload. It makes complete sense.

The storyline of this book follows a murder that Christopher must solve. What he discovers though is the reasons people do things are driven by feelings which he does not understand. He doesn't know what it means to think ahead or to feel remorse or wonder what if? His life is very matter of fact and void of all useless information. I think that is actually the point that made this book such a great and easy read- there was no useless information. There were no flowery descriptions or over the top tangents (see the first two paragraphs of this post!)

I think I found this book refreshing because everything I read is so bogged down in the information I think I need but is not necessary. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. A + B = C. I think we need all the other jumbled mess because it makes us feel better. It soothes our feelings to know how a character really felt deep down even if he was telling us otherwise. How many other characters have you experienced who's thoughts, actions and emotions were one in the same?

I'm not going to tell you how this story ends or any of the twists and turns because I want you to read it. I finished it in just a few hours so its certainly one that won't take you long and I really think you're going to enjoy it.

Thanks Katy, for letting me borrow this book! You were right- I loved it!

We'll see, later in the spring, how this compares to Jodi Picoults' House Rules. This book, also a murder mystery centered around a young boy with Asperger's Syndrome, will be published in March of this year. Jodi Picoult is my favorite author and you can bet that novel will definitely be on this list!

For the record, I got my comment section fixed so feel free to leave your thoughts! This means you, Scott. You said this is the review you were waiting for!

3/52 Books
938 Pages Read.