R.I.P. III Challenge

I'm very excited to enter my second R. I. P. Challenge hosted by Carl. The challenge includes anything mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, horror, Gothic, and supernatural... basically my favorite books. I'm super excited!

I haven't quite decided which peril I'm going to do. Normally, I'd complete Peril the First (4 books) but I know with having just moved, started a new job, and getting two puppies, I'm not reading very much and what I am reading isn't being read too fast. Plus, I'm getting married in October, and I don't anticipate reading much during that month (which is sad, because I love October reading.) Regardless, I'll do my best because I finally live in a state that reaches fall before late November! Anyways, I'm going to try for Peril the Second, but will likely finish Peril the Third.

Below is my list of potential reads:

-Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (I've never read it)
-House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
-The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft
-The Monk by Matthew Lewis
-The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (also to be completed for the Classics Challenge)

It's a short list and most of these are classics, but I bet that they will keep me occupied for quite a while. Thanks Carl for hosting this awesome challenge!

Whirlwind

It's amazing how much my life has changed in one month. On July 16th, I was getting ready to go to bed on the eve of my departure from Brenau. Since then, I've driven across the country, started living with a boy, interviewed for a job, accepted a job offer, began said job (and worked 11 days straight,) lost a grandfather to cancer, got two puppies, and have had absolutely no time to read (I've been on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone since last Monday.)

I've dealt with things as best as possible. My stomach has paid the price of my ruined nerves and I expect to deal with the grief of losing a loved one next weekend when we drive to Illinois for the memorial service. Luckily, some of the change is good and is there to balance all of the sad and stressful events. I wouldn't change living with Jon or the pups for anything!

It has been cold (mid 50s) over the past couple of days due to some needed rain. Today it finally cleared up and I was able to take the dogs out back without my umbrella. The air was crisp and the Colorado sky was so pretty. I think it was my first "zen" moment since I've been here. I felt at peace and happy watching the pups run around, even though the potty training hasn't been going too well today (exceptionally, and I hope that they don't keep this up.) I'm really looking forward to fall here and all I can think about right now is making chili, reading some Gothic novels, and wearing coats and prettier clothes.

I'll take these zen moments when I can get them because before I know it, I'll be back to working on my ever expanding "to do" lists!

New (and very adorable) puppy pictures to come.

Book Review: Wuthering Heights

Author: Emily Brontë
Date Originally Published: 1847
Start Date: July 16th
Completion Date: August 1st

The first book I completed for the 2008 Classics Challenge (well, besides the bonus book) was Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. I've been meaning to get around to this book for over a year now (ever since I read and fell in love with her sister's Jane Eyre) so I'm glad this challenge helped me with my goal.

The novel is not by any means a happy one because it is centered around almost lifelong revenge. Heathcliff, the main character, is a foundling raised by the Earnshaw family who lives at Wuthering Heights. While Heathcliff and his foster sister, Catherine, become quick and inseparable friends, his older foster brother, Hindley, resents him. This is ultimately realized when the children's father dies a few years later and Hindley takes over the estate and forces Heathcliff to work as a hired hand. While this is a blow to Heathcliff's ego, he is more hurt by Catherine's friendship and eventual marriage to Edgar Linton, a neighbor at Thrushcross Grange. After Hindley dies, (at this point Heathcliff has taken over Wuthering Heights because Hindley has taken too many loans from Heathcliff) Heathcliff seems focused only on revenge, and draws mostly himself, but servants and children of all adults involved as well.

I enjoyed this novel, although not quite as much as Charlotte's Jane Eyre (but that's not saying much because I think Jane Eyre is my favorite book.) The complexity of the characters' relationships and the consequences of misunderstandings, the insanity displayed by many of the characters, and even Heathcliff's dark physical appearance create a (to me) beautiful Gothic setting. I tend to love the Gothic though, and I don't recommend reading this book if one is in a paricular bad mood or feeling down.

Overall, I'm glad I read it. I think my next Brontë will be Charlotte's Villette.

July Books

I was able to complete 4 books during the month of July (Wuthering Heights missed the deadline by one day.) For the fourth review, click here.

First up was another Anya Seton novel. Dragonwyck takes place in America during the early to mid 1800s and is centered around a farm girl, Miranda, who happens to have wealthy distant relatives. The rich cousin, Nicholas, writes to her mother giving one of the daughters an opportunity to live at Dragonwyck, a large manor near the Hudson river, as a companion to his daughter. Upon arrival, Miranda's naive notions of both life as a privileged person, as well as life in general, really stick out. Miranda witnesses a profound unhappiness between Nicholas and his wife. Since Nicholas shows her more affection, Miranda develops feelings for her cousin, that are realized after Nicholas' wife mysteriously dies. Miranda is sent home, only to have Nicholas come and pick her up a year later as his wife. Only then does Miranda open her eyes to truly bizarre behavior and events at Dragonwyck. But is it too late for Miranda?

After finishing The Handmaid's Tale, I decided to try some nonfiction (which is a rare event for me.) I saw that Your Own, Sylvia was in one of those "Teens Top 10" lists made by YALSA, so I decided to give it a whirl because I did enjoy reading The Bell Jar last year. Basically, the book is a bunch of free verse poems told by different people involved in Plath's life, or poems by Plath herself. The poems follow her life chronologically. The poems were surprisingly believable and not at all cheesy. I even got the "I'm-a-total-douche" feeling from Ted Hughes after the two had been married for a while. What I really liked about the book were the biographical snippets at the end of each poem. This book was one of those fast reads, and I'm glad I picked it up, if only to read some nonfiction. I struggle with any sort of poetry, but I enjoyed this.

Last, but not least was my very first Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I picked up A Study in Scarlet both because it was the first Sherlock Holmes book, and because my mom had it lying around the house. The book is very short and details the initial meeting of the famous duo, Holmes and Watson, a murder in London (complete with words on the wall written with blood) as well as the origins of the crime which take place in Utah during the 1800s (just when the Mormons were settling.) I thought the novel was brilliant, especially how Doyle included the American back story. I will eventually get around to more of these.


August should begin a month of new classics, as well as children's/young adult rereads. I plan on reading some Dickens, as well as rereading on of my favorite Madeleine L'Engle series, and last but not least a rereading of all the Harry Potter novels in anticipation for the 6th movie.