update on books

Every now and then I feel guilty about,
1) not reading as much as I should; and
2) not recordng what I have read

because, then I'm reminded that I haven't read as much as I should and as I would like. A vicious cycle.

So, a quick update of what I've been up to, which ain't much.

Books listened to:

Middlemarch: a little long; dry in some spots. It's grown on me since I finished it, and like other books, it reminds me of how glad I am to be a woman in the 21st century, not dependent on marrying well to have a good life, and not required to wait and hope that the right guy will come along.

Blessings, by Anna Quindlen. A good read, if a little unrealistic to think that a man, who'd never cared for a baby or spent much time around babies, could not only manage to care for one, but could manage to keep it a secret. Ultimately, I wanted it to have a happy ending, but the ending probably was more realistic.

Lords of Discipline, by Pat Conroy. Excellent book! Suspenseful, unexpected, with insight into what military school might be like, sans the electric prod!

My Losing Season, by Pat Conroy. Autobiographical info, some of which made its way into The Lords of Discipline. Gave me more insight to what it's like for my own son to be part of a basketball team, the lessons learned, and the camraderie he enjoys.


Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy. Sweeping; tragic. I can understand why so many people list AK as their favorite book. Once again, a reminder of how good is to be a woman today as opposed to living in the 19th century. Although, in some ways, the more things change, the more the remain the same. The AKs of today are still likely to be scorned, and risk the same fate with their children as Anna suffered with her own son.

I was particularly struck by the peasant women who didn't see children as a blessing, and reminded that for us, children are generally a blessing because we have the ability to control whether and when they are conceived.

Read:

The Kite Runner. Read at the insistence of Boiler Baby 1. She insisted that I read it before we went to see the movie which finally made its way to us. Great story, in the best tradition of storytelling. I never thought I'd enjoy it, but I did.

Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James. I've been working my way through it forever. I will finish it, but it's been a tough slog.