Avid Reader's Anniversary

Dear readers!!! I am extra excited to be writing this post because, as you can see from the title, it is The Avid Reader's one year anniversary! Technically it was yesterday, but that's okay; we can celebrate today :). It is also my first post as a 21 year-old…a legal adult! 

This blog has become so important to me, such a "happy place." The way my family and close friends have responded to my endeavors has been more than I could ask for. I thank you guys for always reading my posts, always caring, always complimenting and encouraging me…I'm a lucky girl to have such loving, interested people around me. To any readers who I do not know personally, thank you even more! I hope as this new year of Avid Reader's life begins, we can together introduce more readers to this place of books.

Well, I wanted to start with a little re-cap. I started my blog on September 28, a few days after receiving an iPad for my birthday. I had been wanting to start a blog for a while, but never had the courage. My iPad and the application Evernote pushed me to finally make moves, something I can't ever regret. My first post centered around a book I had gotten for my birthday, The Book of Lost Things, but I quickly moved on to all sorts of new books. In the past 366 days I have read 38 books. These include Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, Volumes 1 and 2 of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, Fowles' The Magus, Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day, V., and now Gravity's Rainbow. There was also The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Murakami's 1Q84, even the Pratchett-Gaiman collaboration Good Omens.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, along with Freedom, were the two that I couldn't finish at all (I'll probably go back to them one day!). The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear and The Arabian Nights are the books that are being "eternally read," as they are stories that are easy to pick up again at any time. This might be the most ambitious reading year of my life, also the most rewarding, and I'm glad you have all been here to follow along with me.  I know that now the "number" of books I read will go down because of how much time Gravity's Rainbow takes up, especially with all the other great reads I have to squeeze in for school (Mrs. Dalloway, excerpts from Woman Hollering Creek, and In Cuba I was a German Shepherd). But I have a bunch of new books that I recently bought and can't WAIT to share with you.

As for Gravity's Rainbow, I'm finally in Part Three!!! The First  Part, "Beyond the Zero" was often overwhelming and extremely dense; Part Two was entertaining, light-hearted (though it also worked to heighten the paranoia in the readers and the characters), and much more focused on Slothrop. Now, in a nutshell, I'd say Part Three is enlightening. Crucial information that has only been hinted at, or never been mentioned at all, is coming to light. The 00000 Rocket, Imipolex G, S-Gerat…all of these terms that I won't even begin to explain but that are extremely important to the novel's development are being elucidated. My sweet boyfriend got me a notebook specifically for Gravity's Rainbow; I'm only sad that I didn't have it from the beginning! It helps writing down all sorts of names and information, getting it organized in my head. I have stopped using the wiki's and companion books as much because it's too overwhelming and not as necessary as it was in Part One. I still look at the Zac Smith's snazzy illustrations, though, which I recommend for anyone reading the novel. Not only does it help to freshen up on recent readings when going back every hundred pages or so to match illustrations with passages, but it also adds a new dimension, a visual dimension, which is not usually available for novels (especially novels as long and complex as this). I am constantly blown away by GR…

Here's what I have waiting for me once I finish GR:
1. The Call of the Wild, Jack London- I got this for my birthday as a present for myself. It's a short, easy read that instantly attracted me for two reasons. Firstly, it's about dogs. Secondly, it's about dogs in the wild, where they have to resort to the lupine instincts that lies within all dogs. My Jungian Psychological Novel class first read Heart of Darkness as an example of what happens when men go out into the jungle, away from civilization, and must face the darkness of their own soul, the animal inside. This parallel in both the novels drove me to buy it, along with the softness of it, the delicious pages.

2. D. H Lawrence's Women in Love- Who knows when I'll get to read this delicious treat, but I can't wait. I read his short story "The Blind Man," also in the Psychological Novel class, and loved the darkness, the intensity. I have heard such wonderful things about Lawrence and have myself always wanted to read Lady Chatterly's Lover, but when I saw this book next to The Call of the Wild I had to add it to my purchase.

3. The Guermantes Way- Volume 3 of Proust's novel has been sitting on my desk for weeks now, the elegant, simple and beautiful cover staring at me, enticing me. I don't know if this will be the one I read next, considering it's own difficulties and the time necessary to read it, but I know I won't forget Marcel's world until then.

4. J.K Rowling's Casual Vacancy- Though unfairly priced ($35!), I bought this book with much excitement. I am not expecting literary greatness, considering the Harry Potter series ran more on the intricacy of story and the detailed world Rowling created throughout the whole 7-book series, rather than any great writing. In fact, the writing in Harry Potter was quite simple and direct. Anyways, I am excited to read this novel. It is fun and exciting just to think about Rowling writing it; what an adventure to write an adult novel after so many years of Harry Potter (though, especially when it comes to the last few, I wouldn't necessarily say are for children…), and a scary adventure at that. Who knows, in the many years she wrote HP, what ideas Rowling had to put on the back-burner? This is a chance for her to explore new areas of writing, and I am looking forward to explore with her. My sister also got a copy and she so far likes it! I read some Amazon reviews, but I don't know what to think of those yet (many gave it one star, but it ended up being just because of price…many gave it five stars but only to combat those one stars…) I'll read it, maybe even right after GR, and tell you all as fair a review as I can. Any readers out there who have already finished it, or are in the middle of it, please comment and let me know your thoughts!!

5. H.P. Lovecraft, the Complete Collection- I stepped into the bookstore and immediately saw the shiny cover, the beautiful silver lined pages…then I saw the name, and I was sold. I remembered reading Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, which I ended up really enjoying, and I wanted to have a good collection of science fiction. I LOVE this purchase! I can open it any day I want and read any one of his stories, of which he wrote a plethora. The first one, for example, is only a few pages long and was written when Lovecraft was not even 15! I can't wait to read them and share them with you all. :) I also want to post pictures, since it's such a beautiful copy. (I made sure to get one of the shrink-wrapped ones, so that it would be in perfect condition) It was hard to decide between this and many of the other Barnes and Nobles Classics that were there, like Anna Karenina, which I wanted to try to read again before the movie came out. I gave it a shot a few years ago but I was too young, the names were too complicated, and, frankly, I got bored of it very easily…such dry writing!! Jurassic Park was also enticing me...

6. The Waves, by Virginia Woolf- I am currently reading Mrs. Dalloway for class, which I am absolutely loving…I started it yesterday and was immediately sucked into it, reading 60 pages in one night. The intensity of her writing…it's so personal, so sad, knowing how troubled Woolf was and feeling the pain, confusion, desire for order that is hidden in every word. Truly poetic, her writing is. I got The Waves because I saw myself finishing Mrs. Dalloway only to want more Woolf right away. I read To The Lighthouse the summer before I started my blog, so I haven't a post on it, but I remember being extremely impressed by her. So impressed, in fact, that I wanted to wait for an academic setting to read her again.

Well, I am glad I could write about so many books in such an important post. I go to sleep with this gigantic pile next to me every night, hoping to read them through some type of osmosis. Though I cry inside, thinking of the time I need still to finish GR, I know that it's worth it and that I will only be a better reader once I am done. I look forward to all the posts these books will inspire me to write, and I hope any readers out there who have read any of the above will share with me on what I have gotten myself into.

Again, I couldn't' be happier with this blog. I can only hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! I will post some pictures soon. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! Don't forget to read ;)