The Reading Pile

I usually like to have ideas in mind about what I want to write about as I'm working on my posts each week.  Occasionally it will happen that the week stretches out before me and all I see is a vast and empty desert.  This is that sort of week.  Actually last week was also that sort of week, too.  I think there's just too much going on right now, and I am having a hard time concentrating on my books (though I am making a very concerted effort).  I'm still dealing with the after effects of this, which has taken much longer than I anticipated.  The tree limb is gone and we've cleaned up as much as possible, but now we'll be working on replacing windows, gutters, window moldings, and a roof, to say nothing about lots of repairs on a truck.  At least our insurance company has pulled through and should be covering all the damages (well more or less anyway). 

It's really boring to talk about storm damage though, so I thought I'd share a photo of my current reads pile instead.  The links for all these books can be found on my right sidebar.  The pile is only missing a library book (still am undecided what to choose), and the book I received earlier this month from my postal reading group.  I'm not sure whether I'll talk about it here as the books are meant to be a surprise for the readers, and I don't want to give anything away.  I might just mention it in passing, as I'm not sure if many people from the group even stop by here.  And notice how far along my bookmark has traveled in Les Misérables!  While I may moan and groan about it, I am still making slow progress.   

I will mention one of the books I've been reading for the last few days.  At first I had uncertain feelings about Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.  Of course the writing is wonderful, just as you'd expect it to be.  I just didn't find myself connecting with the story or characters as much as I had with her other works.  Something clicked along the way, though.  It's funny that a book written in 1811 or thereabouts could so easily be about a situation two sisters might find themselves in today.  I guess that's what makes it a classic.  It's their experiences with possible suitors that I'm getting a kick out of.  Marianne who's somewhat free-spirited and expressive falls for the handsome John Willoughby.  They totally click--they both love art and music and literature and throw themselves into things wholeheartedly.  Marianne is more apt to wear her heart on her sleeve than her older more serene sister Elinor.  Elinor is far less emotional than Marianne and contemplates things and considers the outcome before jumping in feet first.  Anyway, I was reading about Elinor and Marianne's stay in London where Marianne had great expectations to cross paths once again with Willoughby.  I had forgotten that feeling of anticipation of seeing someone you are enamored with.  She literally couldn't sit still and could think only of seeing her beloved and agonized over whether he was in town and why he wasn't answering her notes.  (Twenty-first century version of this...damn why hasn't he called, or maybe these days why hasn't he text-messaged!).  To be sixteen again.  Well, maybe not, thanks, but it's entertaining to read and be reminded of what that teenage angst felt like (and be happy I don't have to deal with it anymore).  And Jane Austen does it all in such a stylish and eloquent manner.  I think the second half of the book is going to go much more quickly than the first half!

Comments

[Stefanie]

What a lovely stack of books! And how far your bookmark has traveled through Les Mis! I had the same bit of trouble when I Sense and Sensibility too. I've been wanting to re-read it since I know I like it so I can hopefully enjoy the beginning the second time around.

[Dorothy W.]

I'm glad Sense and Sensibility picked up for you. And sorry about the difficulty recovering from the storm damage -- that sort of thing can really take a lot out of you. I'm glad the insurance is coming through at least. I hope you have a good week!

[Jordan]

It made me happy to see what you thought of Sense and Sensibility. When I read it not too long ago, I didn't enjoy it all that much, and I think because... maybe I'm not old enough yet to appreciate what it's like to be sixteen and enamored? Because I found the whole situation very irritating. But reading what you had to say about it makes me want to revisit it someday. Thank you!

[Katherine]

I too was impressed by how far along your bookmark is in Les Mis. Sadly, I'm only about 100 pages along :-(. I' glad that you're liking Sense and Sensibility... it takes a bit to get into it, but ultimately, its one of my favorite books. It also looks like you have a copy of The Go-Between in one of your piles... its excellent, another favorite of mine. And of course, there's Rebecca, a ture classic. My copy's so old that it's the one with the red cover that looks like your typical romance novel...

[Matt]

I hope the dealing with storm damage insurance will come through quickly for you.

I'll have to start Sense and Sensibility and join the fun as soon as I finish another reading of The Master and Margarita. And I'm looking forward to your thoughts on The Go-Between. :)

[susan]

I am sorry to hear about the damage to your husband's truck. And the damage to your house. I actually was through that in 1991 or 1992. I was living in Miami,Fl.
Do you remember Andrew, The hurricane? I had my 1-1/2 yr. old son, now he will be 18 in August. I never thought I would get through it. I can remember the heat, it was at the end of August. Waiting in line for a gallon of water at Walmart. Can you believe that. I was devastated by everything I lost. But, now I can detach myself from things. People think I am strange. But things don't matter. It's your life, family and people that matter. I don't mean to get philosophical here. I now sound like I am comparing my situation to yours. But, I am only saying I can totally relate to a storm.
Right now the rainbow seems dim.
But soon it will get better.
On to better things, I don't know if you visited my blog but I read Sense and Sensibility, it was a good read for me. My girlfriend, she is in my book club is not a classic reader. Thought it was too wordy. I got lost in it, after awhile I forgot about how wordy it was and just read the book. It had dragged in the middle and picked up at the end. Maybe once you can concentrate again you will be able to connect with the book.
I would like to tell your our book club got a treat from a local university. We were able to host a professor to talk about Jane Austen. It was very enlightening, and a whole new prospective of Jane Austen, England in the time she was writting. Marriage, doctors,
society, church. Books were thought of as frivolous during Jane's time. She was not know as a woman author but a male author. He talked about doctors, there were not any in the country. I could go on and on. It was just great. Our book club live in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Most of us are from the northeast. Most of us miss the culture. We don't even have book signings here, there is local plays, but none that are professional if you ge my drift. This was a treat. I don't know if you are in a book club, but if you are and are reading classics. It is great to host a professor at your book club.
My night stand table is now dwindled to 3 books. I was so happy to see that I accomplished something. But, then some books came in the mail. Lace Reader, Keeping The House, American Wife were all books sent to me. So it back to a large pile again.

[Ann Darnton]

Jeanette Winterson was writing last week about a new translation of 'Les Mis' which is shortly coming out and I thought I might re-red it on the basis of that and see if I enjoyed it as much a second time round. The trouble is you do have to give up all hope of tackling anything else for the next couple of months or so. Maybe it's one to put on the pile for long winter evenings.

[Jodie]

You might be interested to know (I know you love your British period dramas) that there was recently a new BBC adaptation of Sense and Sensibility which was (unlike several of the recent ITV adaptations of Austen) quite good. I think it was four hours altogether.

[Equiano]

So glad storm damage recovery is going well, sounds like a horrendous experience.

Some of us postal group people do stop by (raises hand tentatively) - how about discussing your postal book for everyone else's pleasure but putting a warning at the start of the post so that those of us who will get the book eventually can look away?!

[Tara]

I'm eagerly awaiting your reviews on some of these: Needle in the Blood, Star Gazing, The Bibi Gaston book....I never fail to be impressed that you have so many things going at once.

[Lisa]

Sense and Sensibility is actually one of my favorite Austen books. You have quite a nice stack of reading there.

[Danielle]

Stefanie--S&S is definitely getting better as I go and one I think I would appreciate more upon rereading! And the bookmark is slowly inching along.
Dorothy--At least we've dealt with the insurance company now it is getting everything else back in order. It'll all get worked out eventually! And I am really enjoying S&S now after a slowish start.
Jordan--I sometimes think I appreciate books more now than I did when I was younger--I've distanced myself enough that I can laugh at situations that might have irritated me before. Maybe a reread in a few years will be a better experience! I still think Persuasion is my favorite, though.
Katherine--When I first read Rebecca years ago I had that very same edition! They publish a nicer trade size version now (not such a romance-y cover), but I splurged and got the nice Virago edition! I really need to get back to The Go-Between--I wanted to wait until I have a bigger chunk of time to read it.
Matt--I want to read/reread all of Jane Austen's work this year. It will be interesting to compare them, though I hope not to read them too far apart. I also want to read Claire Tomalin's bio of her as well. And I've loved what I've read of the Go-Between.
Susan--We've had some nasty weather this year--but nothing compared to a hurricane. Really we lucked out and didn't have worse damage and you're right what matters is that no one was hurt!! Lucky you to have a professor come to your book group to join in the discussion. I would love to know more about the time period and plan on also reading a bio of Jane Austen to get more of a sense of what the time was like. I love Jane Austen's writing, too, and will have to look for your posts on S&S when I finish reading (which should be soon). By the way I am waiting for a copy of The Lace Reader from the library, and will check out the other books you mention as well!
Ann--I've been conteplating just concentrating on Les Mis to finish it, but I can't seem to pull myself away from my other books entirely. I do read a little every day, but it is indeed slow progress. I'd be curious to read the new translation or just compare, but this version reads very easily.
Jodie--I do love BBC films! I knew they had shown it on PBS and I caught some of the new versions, but as I had planned on reading this soon, I skipped watching it. I am going to add it to my Netflix queue, however, to watch when I finish the book!
Equiano--I'm glad you do stop by--especially as I know you're busy with the baby! I think a few others might occasionally as well. If I do mention the book here, I will definitely give a spoiler warning! I also want the books to be a surprise, and so don't want to ruin it for anyone else! :)
Tara--And I'm eagerly awaiting finishing them! :) I'm really enjoying all of them and have been juggling them in groups, but I need to settle down and finish a few. I started Needle in the Blood ages ago, and I'm not sure why it has taken me so long, but it is a longish book. I think Les Mis is sort of putting me off reading other long books at the moment.
Lisa--I am enjoying it more as I go! It's interesting to see which Austen is a reader's favorite. I think Persuasion is mine, but I've loved everything I've read by her. And I have two left to read yet!

[Candy Schultz]

I see you have some there that I have been planning on reading Les Miserables and Needle in the Blood to name two.

I am afraid my pile of books I am in the middle of would number about 100. Obviously some I will have to start over when I get back to them.

[iliana]

I do love a picture of a reading pile! :)
I haven't read Sense & Sensibility but it's the next Austen book I'd like to try. Hope the home repair stuff gets sorted out soon. That is such a pain isn't it.

[Lisa]

I love pictures of book piles.
I read S&S (and P&P) last year. I had a really hard time with the beginning of S&S, probably the first half even, but ended up liking it. I'd love to see a modern retelling of it, I wonder if there is a good one in YA fiction. I'm reading Persuasion now, which I see is your favorite, but am reading it via Dailylit.com, so only at work and it's slow going.

[Danielle]

Candy--It's nice to hear about someone with a larger pile than me! It makes me feel better! :) I think I need to start from the beginning on one or two of the books I've got going as well. Someday I'm going to finish Les Mis.
Iliana--Yes, home repair stuff is a pain. We'll be dealing with windows first. I'm really enjoying S&S by the way. It was a slow start for me, but now I am really into the story and am almost finished.
Lisa--I think I felt the same way about S&S. It was a slow start, but picked up eventually. Once Marianne and Elinor are in London lots happens and the story moves along fairly quickly. I bet there must be a modern retelling of it--there seems to be with most of her novels. I hope to reread Persuasion at the end of the year. I hope to read/reread all of them, but as this is only #2 (I read Northanger Abbey at the beginning of the year), so I have some catching up to do.

[litlove]

Have you seen the film of Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thomson and Kate Winslet? It's my favourite classic adaptation ever, I think. I am so sorry to hear that the saga of the storm damage is carrying on but it doesn't surprise me. It seems to take ages to get these life events cleared up and sorted. At least you will have revamped your property, by the time it is all finished!

[Danielle]

Litlove--I have seen that adaptation and have it around the house somewhere. I've also just borrowed the newer film to see it as well. That's my plan this weekend--if it works out that way. We've started taking down windows to take to the hardware store tomorrow. What a mess. It'll all get sorted out eventually.