2016 Reading: The Bell Jar

#33 A classic from the 20th century

I actually had no idea what to think of this book because even though the title is familiar to me (being the symbol for all feminist literature and all that) I never actually knew what the book was ABOUT.

Having read it, I am not surprised, but I found it interesting non-the-less. It seems there are no explanations for the feelings and the mental changes in the main character and at times, they seem to be almost forced. I know that they are not, but that just goes to show that the author knew what she was talking about.

My poetry teacher in college dressed up as Sylvia Plath one year for Halloween.

Hilarious.

2016 Reading: Cloris

#35 An autobiography

Oh my God. I always knew that I liked Cloris Leachman, but holy shit... I had no idea all the stuff she's done and the people she's hung out with!

Marlon Brando, Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe... She was Miss Chicago in 1946 and was third runner up for Miss America that same year! She was a model and a radio star... I mean, wow...

Not to mention she's hilarious and plays the piano and dances and sings...

I want to be her when I grow up.

2016 Reading: Utopia

#17 A book at least 100 years older than you

Okay, I have to admit that this book is WAY harder to get through than I thought. HOWEVER, once you get past the antiquated language (and lack of sentence and paragraph structure, ouch) the story is quite interesting. I didn't read the intro, but then again, I never read the introductions to books anyway.

'If a man,' says he, 'were to see a great company run out every day into the rain and take delight in being wet--if he knew that it would be to no purpose for him to go and persuade them to return to their houses in order to avoid the storm, and that all that could be expected by his going to speak to them would be that he himself should be as wet as they, it would be best for him to keep within doors, and, since he had not influence enough to correct other people's folly, to take care to preserve himself.' (pg )

 There was really no plot other than Thomas More telling everyone what someone else told him about the Utopians. Basically socialists.

Some things were interesting and made sense, but I know that the world is STILL not ready for some of the concepts of that society.

2016 Reading: Bad Day at Riverbend

Okay, this book... this book was legitimately terrifying. It was like a mind-bending episode of the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits.

If you have never heard of this books, please, I beg you, go find it and read it. I mean, just look at the cover art! Something is not right here. If they made this into a show, I would watch the hell out of it.

2016 Reading: King Baby & Hark, A Vagrant! (2 books)

I checked King Baby out under the pretense of reading it to my nephew at bedtime (which I did... eventually) but really, I just got it because I'm a fan of Kate Beaton's work.

I know that I have read most of what was in Hark, A Vagrant! before on her website, but there were a few in there that I had never seen before and I wanted a good laugh. I love her take on literature and there are a lot of opinions on characters that we seem to have in common.

Plus, she's hilarious.