I did it!

I finally finished the The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas this afternoon, all unabridged 1,462 pages.  Phew!  What an accomplishment!  I think it took me about two months, not exactly record speed.  But I am feeling good about being on track with one of my New Year's Resolutions, reading more classics.   The Count of Monte Cristo was definitely my "classics" start with a big bang.

The first 350 pages are riveting-- getting all caught up in the middle of an exceptional jail break story..

But then, there is a dramatic change starting in Chapter 31, "Italy: Sinbad the Sailor."  A whole new cast of characters appear on the scene, each with a half a dozen back stories.. and well, this reader was a bit lost.   I should have paid a bit more attention to these lines at the end of Chapter 30, "The Fifth of September":

"And now," said the unknown, "farewell kindness, humanity, and gratitude! Farewell to all the feelings that expand the heart! I have been Heaven's substitute to recompense the good- now the God of Vengeance yields to me his power to punish the wicked!"

Around page 500, I was seriously doubting my ability to continue another thousand pages to the finish.  But my friends encouraged me.  Luckily, around page 800, the story again gained steam.  At a dinner party scene, the various characters and back stories began overlapping and explaining each other.. and I kept muttering, "oh! aha! yes!"  And I was glad I had stuck things out.

All in all, I was thoroughly impressed with Dumas' story telling ability.  He wove a web of characters, plot lines and French history... successfully culminating into a satisfying ending of righted wrongs, lovers reunited, vengeance delivered and hope restored.  I like these endings!!

If you read this book, I encourage you to
1]keep the dictionary app on your phone open the whole time!
2]find a list of characters online and tape it to the inside of your book cover
3]download the movie to your iTunes and watch it AFTER you finish the book

So to Edmond Dantes, Sinbad the Sailor, Lord Wilmore, Abbe Busoni and the Count of Monte Cristo, thank you for entertaining me (and growing my vocabulary) the past two months.

Recent Book Fails

Swing... and a miss!  Swing... and another miss!  This has seriously been my luck with books recently.  Striking out!  Apparently my internal-book-picker is off, very off.  Here are my recent misses:

Most recently, (just finished this last weekend):

I suppose... with a title like "Wicked", you should expect a dark book.  And, quite dumbly, I was caught off guard by it's darkness.  I was actually grossed out a bit in a few parts.  BUT, what most irked me in this book (and I had similar feelings regarding "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand) was, that it is really a Philosophy book, cleverly disguised as a novel.  I'm all for Philosophy books, and I have to be, my husband is one of those Philosophers, BUT please don't try to package that in a story form!  When I opened this book, I wanted a story, a story from Oz.  But really it was a debate on the nature of evil.  And this book was filled with animal rights agendas and just entirely too political for me.  Hmph.  I was thoroughly disappointed.  

Ball 2:

A classic!, I had heard.  Every person should read this book!, I had also heard.  Life changing!  Translated in hundreds of languages! Read by millions!  Whelp, personally, I was bored.  I am just not a fantasy, mystical-ly kind of girl.  I had a hard time not laughing at this boy's encounters with the sun and the wind and desert and his sheep.  All his dreams and destiny, bleh.  It seems, if anything, this story would best be told outloud, at night, around a campfire, by an Indian smoking a pipe or by an African with a thick accent.  THEN, I might buy into it.  But for now, I'm just not drinkin' Coelho's kool-aid.

Does anyone have a good book they could toss my way?

Book Club Coverage

I have a new, favorite book.  Maybe not quite "all time favorite", but at least "Top Three".  Of course, everyone knows this book or has endured seen the movie, but somehow it had gotten past me these last 28 years.. that is, until last month.  

It's quite a commitment to read a thousand page book.  But once I got thru the first 130 pages of history and explanation, the plot kicked in and I was taken, whole-heartedly taken, by my love/hate relationship with Scarlett.  You know, it takes a strong backbone to make your protagonist such a hated woman.  Most heroines are not of the despicable nature, most heroines don't lack redemptive qualities, but Ms. O'Hara is probably the most selfish woman I have ever encountered in a book!  And all the while I am outraged at her backstabbing greediness, I am captured by her tireless determination.  She never doubts.  She never waivers.  She never second guesses.  She doesn't give a flying flip what anyone says or thinks of her.  She just does what she thinks she must.  It's admirable, her spirit; but all the while shocking, and sometimes frightening.  And Rhett, oh Rhett Butler... or should I say "oh, Ashley!" (I'm pretty sure if I counted the "oh, Ashley!"s in the movie, it would at least be 115 {that's one every other minute})  He, Rhett, is her saving grace and she misses it.  She constantly misses it.  I will say I did not see the end coming.  I knew the coined phrase, "Frankly, my dear, I just don't give a damn," but I did not see the context coming at all.  I felt so betrayed when I finally ended the book.  I kept saying to myself, "but..", "what if..", "if only..", "maybe"... and on and on.  I thought about this book days after I finished it.  In fact, I am still thinking about this book.  Wondering what happened to Atlanta, to Tara, to Wade and Beau, to the free darkies, to Scarlett's sisters...

I read on the back of my copy, that the only other book that has outsold "Gone with the Wind", is The Bible.  So yep, that pretty much sums up the amazingness of this classic.  

Girls Morning in Old Towne Orange

So my little Book Club friends are quite wonderful. We all spent Saturday morning in Old Towne Orange having breakfast at a FUN little spot called "The Filling Station," went antique browsing and got inspired for decorating ideas (when we can afford it, which is when all of our husbands are out of school and making bank--haha).

This is Rachael. Her and her husband are moving to England in just a few weeks where Ben will work on his doctoral degree in Cambridge. I am SO going to miss this girl!

Heather and I were most intrigued and inspired by the antique shops. We are vowing to have a little antique/vintage craft day pretty soon.

This is everyone in the Book Club: Laura, Rachael, Anne, Heather and me!

This is "The Club" at Laura's house, discussing 'The Red Tent' by Anita Diamante.

But, back to Orange. Look at this SUPER cute little craft idea. They are selling for like 15x's the amount that we could make them for. We just need a little felt, some hot glue & hair pins:

This room ABSOLUTELY inspired me. I love the distressed wood that has been painted lovely whites and slate blues. I love the mirrors, the jars with tree buds, the fun throw pillows, the framed map of the bay, and the wicker. IF Jarod and I move to Santa Barbara, I TOTALLY want my house to have this cool, calm, cozy, beachy feel. Love it, Love IT!

And, what trip would be complete without seeing this:

GoodReads.com

I am just now discovering this very cool site, GoodReads. It is basically a facebook-type set up for readers. It includes reviews, groups, friends, ratings, etc. But my favorite part is being able to post what books I have read and to be able to look at other people's "bookshelves." I am always on the prowl for another good book. And now I have a little more direction :) Feel free to take a look at My Books on my bookshelf. I would also love suggestions for fabulous ones missing from my list!

Beachcomber Cafe in Crystal Cove

A late brunch at Beachcombers Cafe in Crystal Cove, near Newport Beach. What a fabulous find, Anne! Such a fun and relaxing morning with the girls. And... we saw dolphins just a few yards from the beach!! It was amazing!!

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

I finished "The Help" this past week and I have nothing but THUMBS UP for this book. It was a super fun and easy page turner; one of those few books that would actually keep me awake at night to read.

"The Help" is set during the Civil Rights Movement (1960's) in Jackson, Mississippi. The chapters switch voices between the black 'help' and a white, determined woman who sees that things are not as they are supposed to be. The character developments are memorable and very believable. Mrs. Stockett, the author, captures the feel of black women, including their views and voices and the fear during the 60's. While reading this book, it seemed as if I could really overhear the help talking in the kitchen and see the obstinate white women demanding more tea.

I had just a few drawbacks to this book (definitely not enough to give it a thumbs down, just a few critiques). After living in South Africa and seeing what Apartheid segregation was like, I have less compassion/understanding for the segregation and in the integration struggle here in the States. As bad as it was here, it just seems strangely overshadowed by the horrors I witnessed and have read about during Apartheid. So perhaps this is not a critique of the book, but rather a desensitization on my part. I also thought that the big picture ending was a bit cliche. No more details, as I do not want to give anything away... but I felt that the end could have pulled through a bit stronger. However, minus the two thoughts, I totally LOVED "The Help" and would definitely recommend it as a fun, easy-read, beach/vacation book :)

January Book Club!

Last nite was sweet medicine for my sad, little soul. Two of my good friends from Talbot Wives Club came over for our monthly book club chat. Our book was The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett... and boy, did we critique it to the ground :) It didn't stand a chance. Ha. The final verdict on the book: a cumulative 4.5 out of 10. We felt enriched regarding our knowledge of the dark ages and enjoyed the historical accuracy. However, we could have done without the never ending backstabbing & lust scenes.. and we agreed that this book has far more references to human anatomy than we ever were in need of knowing.

But what a refreshing evening. It was so freeing to laugh and laugh and laugh with these girls. Thank you, Lord, for such good friends made so quickly out here.