Winter Classics Challenge

  • Madame Bovary

    (image from stereototal.com) I’ve finally finished Madame Bovary, just 2 months late for the Winter Classics Challenge. I have no idea why it took me so long to read this book, why I had so much trouble becoming engrossed in it, especially as I have read it before, perhaps 15 years ago, and I loved it then…so why don’t I love it now? Is it because I’m older now, and not as sympathetic to the youthful Emma Bovary? Or, as a married woman, I’m not as forgiving of a woman who strays from her marriage so readily? Or, maybe, I already know the story, and I’m out of touch with…

  • The House of Mirth

    I’ve fallen terribly behind in my “Winter Classics Challenge”. I had vowed to read 5 classics during the months of January and February, and here we are, almost at the Ides of March (BEWARE!), and I’m just now finishing my 4th classic. I’m going to spread the blame out here, because East of Eden was kind of slow for the first 100 pages, and it was a mighty long book, too. Then there was the time I spent trying to get into Tell My Horse, which didn’t go very well, due to a regrettable lack of interest on my part. Add to these factors the return of Lost, Battlestar Galactica,…

  • Tell My Horse

    The third book in my “Winter Classics Challenge” was Tell My Horse – Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica, by Zora Neale Hurston. I picked this book up because I enjoyed reading, Their Eyes Were Watching God several years ago. Because that book was a novel, I (wrongly) assumed that this was as well. Rather, it is a travelogue delving into the world of superstition and voodoo. Ms. Hurston traveled to Jamaica and Haiti herself in order to write this book, which is detailed in three parts. The first part is about life in Jamaica, and talks a lot about the culture, and the superstitions revolving around the ‘duppy’,…

  • Henry and June

    I finally finished the second book in my Winter Classics Challenge, Henry and June. I vaguely remember watching the film when it came out, and we own the soundtrack, which is lovely, but I don’t remember a lot about the movie, other than that I liked it. If you’re not familiar with Henry and June, it’s the journal of Anaïs Nin, written in France during a year of sexual awakening, in which she becomes involved with writer Henry Miller and his wife, June. In the beginning of the book, Anaïs finds herself drawn to June, and they share a kiss. June leaves France and returns to New York and the…

  • East of Eden

    I finished East of Eden last night. Whew, what a story. I can’t believe it took me almost a month (started on the 1st), but I guess that’s what makes it a Chunkster…that it takes awhile to read. What makes it a Classic, though, is not only the fact that it’s over 50 years old, but also that it’s famous, and accepted in literary circles as a great work. In case you haven’t read East of Eden yet, I’m going to highly recommend that you take a month out of your schedule and do so. This is a wonderful book, full of hope and love, pain and death, sex and…

  • Winter Classics Challenge

    Now that I’ve finished the From the Stacks: Winter Reading Challenge, I’m ready to start another one (Am I crazy? Perhaps). This challenge is to read 5 classics during the months of January and February. A classic is a slippery thing to describe, so I’ll just say it has to be a renowned book, and the person who started this challenge said it should be at least 50 years old. I came across the challenge on Lotus Reads, but it was started at A Reader’s Journal So, without further ado, here are my 5 classics: The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton. This seems a fitting choice for this challenge,…