Day 46

I'm reading Double Indemnity right now.  I'm about halfway through it, but I'm trying to read it slowly.  I like James Cain's style so much.  I've read mixed reviews for the next book on the list, The Sheltering Sky.  Most of them are good, but they say that the desert is a character.  The bad reviews say "the desert is a character".  I know what I like to read, and I think I'll agree with the bad reviewers.  They say that there's no plot, no character development, nothing to draw you in.  So I really don't want to leave James Cain behind.  I think I like Double Indemnity even better than The Postman Always Rings Twice. I've realized that James Cain's version of Los Angeles is the fantasy Los Angeles I've always wanted to move to.  It's perfect.  I was born in the wrong decade.

Day 43

Books Left: 97
Current Book: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain

From the book jacket: "The Postman Always Rings Twice, Cain's first novel--tried for obscenity in Boston, the inspiration for Camus's The Stranger--is the fever-pitched tale of a drifter who stumbles into a job, into an obsessional passion, and into a murder."

Okay, I totally could have read The Postman Always Rings Twice in one sitting, but I started it really late Thursday night, and had to put it down and go to sleep about 2:30 in the morning.  I picked it up again today and read the whole story in about an hour.  I loooooooved it.  I don't think that's enough "o"s to express how much I liked it. 

It starts in media res, which I've realized I like.  It also does that thing (I'm sure there's a term for it) where each chapter ends in the middle of some action, or with some big action just finished, so that you can't put it down.  You have to keep reading to see what happens next.  And I really liked the characters.  They were really well developed.  The three main characters are Frank Chambers, a drifter; Nick Papadakis, "the Greek"; and Cora Papadakis, Nick's wife.  Frank is, again, somewhat morally bankrupt.  Like I said, he's a drifter, and he falls in love with Cora.  Unlike Sebastian Dangerfield and his women though, Frank and Cora are actually in love.  You feel sorry for their situation (or I did, anyway).  Nick is an incredibly warm, welcoming person.  The type of person that sees the good in everybody, but not so much that he's a complete pushover.  He's my favorite character.  Cora reminds me of Maggie from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, but I'm not completely sure why.  I guess just because she's a strong female character who sticks up for herself and speaks her mind. 

Anyway, I suggest The Postman Always Rings Twice for a quick read.  Spoiler alert: there's no Postman.  And that's not really a spoiler.  The book it's in is a collection, and I've thought about reading some of Cain's other works, but I'm afraid they won't be as good and I'll be let down.

The next book on the list is The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles.  Another book I've never heard of before (so far the only one I had heard of was The Postman Always Rings Twice).  The library is closed tomorrow, so I might end up reading Double Indemnity, the next in the James Cain collection I have.

Day 41

Books Left: 98
Current Book: The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy

Finally finished The Ginger Man.  The stream-of-consciousness did get to me in the end.  Actually way before the end....about halfway through.  The changing from third to first person perspective didn't bother me, but I could never tell what was going on in the present, what had happened in the past, and what was just in Sebastian's mind. 

The book was funny though.  I felt sympathy for Sebastian since he is poor and has lots of debts, can't pay them, is running from collectors all the time.  In a way I can relate to that.  I don't have bill collectors after me, but I do have a lot of debt and no money, and at times I have to borrow from my parents which, for me, is more humiliating than having debt collectors calling, I think. 

I think part of the reason I felt so sympathetic was that I've been having a lot of problems with my parents during the time I was reading The Ginger Man.  My mom is soooo incredibly nosy, and I've pointed this out to her before, but she just gets mad at me.  And she's also the biggest gossip I've ever known, so I know my whole family and all her friends are going to find out about anything I mention to her.  As an example of her gossiping, last week her friend's stepson-in-law was killed by a drunk driver in a car wreck.  I agree that this is very tragic and sad.  BUT I don't think my mom needs to discuss it with my aunt (her sister-in-law), my cousin, her other friends, my grandmother, and basically anyone who will listen!  I don't think this family wants to share their grief with the whole world!  It's a private matter!  I pointed this out, but again my mom just got mad at me.  On the other side, my dad is so incredibly lazy I'm amazed he hasn't had a heart attack or a stroke yet.  He sat in his chair watching TV and sleeping all day today and actually got upset when my mom asked him to take the trash cans out to the curb.  I can't stand it here any more.  I'm so glad I'm going up to KC next weekend.  I've realized I can only stand to be home with my parents for about a month til I need a vacation.  I better start planning for August.

In other news, I picked up the next book, The Postman Always Rings Twice, today.  It's actually a short story*, so it's in a collection with some of James Cain's other works.  I will probably start it later tonight.

*I don't think The Postman Always Rings Twice is technically a "short story".  Wikipedia says a short story is typically one that can be read in one sitting.  The Postman Always Rings Twice is 116 pages, so it's plausible that it could be read in one sitting, but I probably won't accomplish that.  I thought about calling it a "short novel", but I thought since it's part of a collection it can't really be called a novel can it?  Maybe it's a novella.  I like that word, so I'll use it for now.

Day 38

Books Left: 98
Current Book: The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy

Sebastian Dangerfield, on his anxiety that his mistress will tell about their affair:  "What's got into Miss Frost?  Me.  Yes, of course.  She's turning treacherous.  No telling.  Liable to foul the rudder of the ship.  Can't trust her if she's feeling that.  Might spill the beans.  Boston baked.  Must keep all the beans in my own little pot."

Oooookay Sebastian.

Day 30

Books Left: 98
Current Book: The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy

I really need to get better about updating this.  Sebastian's wife has walked out on him twice now; this time I think for good...or at least for a longer time.  I'm glad that she's gone.  I know I'm supposed to feel sorry for her and be glad that she's gotten away from Sebastian, but she's kind of a naggy bitch.  Sebastian seduced this young, very Catholic lady*, Mary (she cries and wants to go to confession right after they sleep together), and makes plans with her to move to London, telling her to go ahead before him and send him back some money so he can afford to come meet her.  Of course he has no intention of actually going to London, but I think his plan is perfect.  She has money, so he won't have to find work, he can slip off to London and leave his debts and naggy wife behind.  Then I think about it again and realize what a horrible person I am.

Anyway, he hasn't had any contact with her for awhile, and has been instead sleeping with the lady* who is renting a room from him.  But now Mary sent him a letter and a few pounds asking him to please write back, please let her know when he's coming and where she should meet him.  She sounds very needy.

*Instinct wants me to call these ladies "girls", but I feel that has the wrong connotation.  I suppose they're actually "young ladies", but that seems like I'm scolding them for something.  Perhaps for making the bad decision to "go to bed" with Sebastian Dangerfield.

Day 24

Books Left: 98
Current Book: The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy

I'm liking The Ginger Man a lot, which is sort of surprising, cause it's written sort of stream-of-consciousness, which usually I hate.  Donleavy changes points-of-view frequently, but since it's almost always either Sebastian or the omniscient narrator narrating, it's not too hard to follow.  As he gets agitated, Sebastian's inner monologue gets more fast paced, and not really confused, but...I can't really think of another way to describe it besides "stream-of-consciousness".  Sometimes it's hard to tell what is currently happening and what he's thinking about from the past.

In the past (like when we read The Sound and the Fury in high school), I absolutely HATED this type of writing.  So I'm not sure if Donleavy just handles it better than Faulkner (that little Faulker), or if I'm better at understanding it now that I'm older.  The Sound and the Fury is at number five on the list, so I have awhile until I get there, but I'm interested to see if I can tolerate it better this time around.

Now, as The Ginger Man was first published in 1955, I don't really understand why it was banned in the United States.  Yeah, there's a lot of booze and sex, but it's not explicit at all.  At the moment, Sebastian is having an affair with a girl who works at the laundromat, and if it wasn't for the description of him as a "whoring, boozing young wastrel", I wouldn't realize that they in fact had sex.  It just seems like they're spending time together.  I can definitely see how Sebastian is despicable-he cheats on his wife, neglects his child, refuses to work, and spends all their money on alcohol.  But I still feel sorry for him.  I think this is mostly because I empathize with the fact that he's poor, even though his situation is technically by choice.  He could get a job, he just doesn't want to.  He reminds me a little of George Amberson in that respect, but even entitled George got a job when the money ran out.  Anyway, I think Sebastian is very depressed, stuck in a loveless marriage, and uses alcohol as a coping mechanism.  If he lived now, his family would have an intervention, he'd go to rehab, and turn his life around.  I hope things turn around for him by the end of the novel.

Day 22

Books Left: 98
Current Book: The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy

From the back of the book: "First published in Paris in 1955, and originally banned in the United States, J.P. Donleavy's first novel is now recognized the world over as a masterpiece and a modern classic of the highest order.
"Set in Ireland just after World War II, The Ginger Man is J.P. Donleavy's wildy funny, picaresque* classic novel of the misadventures of Sebastian Dangerfield, a young American ne'er-do-well studying at Trinity College in Dblin.  He barely has time for his studies as he avoids bill collectors, makes love to almost anything in a skirt, and tries to survive without having to descend into the bottomless pit of steady work.  Dangerfield's appetite for women, liquor, and general roguishness is insatiable-and he satisfies it with endless charm."

*I had to look up the definition of picaresque once I realized that it didn't say "picturesque".  Anyway, it's a type of prose fiction developed in SPain in which the adventures of a roguish hero are described in a series of unusually humorous episodes that often depict the everyday life of the common people (from dictionary.com).  It seems The Ginger Man is quintessential picaresque fiction. 

I'm only about 50 pages in, but so far I like The Ginger Man a lot more than The Magnificent Ambersons.  Yeah, Sebastian is a scoundrel-he drinks (a LOT), wheedles money out of his friends, doesn't work, dislikes and cheats on his wife, and hates his child, but it's COMEDY.  It's not like Donleavy is condoning this behavior.  I've read that The Ginger Man is supposed to be someone autobiographical, so I'm interested to see how it ends.  If Sebastian learns a lesson in the end.

One of the funniest things that has struck me so far is Sebastian's constant reminder to his friends to "use contraception".  Of course, me being me, I somewhat agree with Sebastian's hatred of his squealing, dirty, smelly spawn.  And I think it's interesting that he's at least realized one of his mistakes, and tries to keep others from making the same mistake he did.  For the record, he didn't marry his wife because he got her pregnant-she got pregnant after they got married.  I think that says a little something in favor of Sebastian's character.

Day 21

Books Left: 99
Current Book: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington

Okay, so I finally finished The Magnificent Ambersons.  I don't really have much to say about it.  As predicted, the Ambersons lose their fortune in the end and George has to get a job.  The book ends kind of abruptly.  I don't like it when books do that.  They need to have an epilogue set at least 5-10 years in the future that wraps things up nicely.  That's about all I have to say about that.

Kristin procured a copy of The Ginger Man, so hopefully I can start that tomorrow.  And hopefully it holds my interest more than The Magnificent Ambersons did.  Maybe then I'll have more to post about.

Day 15

Current Book: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
Books Left: 99

Okay, so due to a combination of laziness and getting back into crocheting, I haven't had much to post about this week.  I'll start reading again now that I finished my shrug and shawl.

About halfway through the first semester of his senior year, George gets a telegram from his mother saying that his father has died.  Apparently I should have been worried when he was sick.  The next spring, at George's graduation, Lucy and Eugene Morgan are there because Eugene "happened to be in the area".  Over the next few chapters it comes to light that the town is talking about Isabel, George's mother.  They think that she is not grieving enough over George's father (Wilbur!  His name is Wilbur!), and that she'll be engaged to Eugene at any time.

Now, Lucy finally admits that she doesn't want to be engaged to George because he doesn't want to "do" anything with his life.  He doesn't want to work.  He just wants to live off his grandfather's money, but there's already been some hinting that the fortune is dwindling.  I for one cannot understand someone, male or female, who doesn't want to be able to take care of themselves.  I realize that at the time this book is set, in the late 1800s, that it was unheard of for a woman to work, but shouldn't George want to work so he and Lucy can be comfortable into their old age?  I just don't understand why he'd want to rely on his grandfather's money, rather than provide for himself.

I'll step off my soapbox now.  So that's about all that's happened recently.  George is mad at a neighbor lady, who is a good friend of his Aunt Fanny, for spreading the rumors about his mother.  George doesn't like Eugene Morgan, and thinks that his mother should basically mourn Wilbur for the rest of her life.  The selfish git.

Day 8

Books left: 99
Current book: The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington

Finally the book is picking up a bit.  When George comes home from college the summer before his senior year, Aunt Fanny teases him by telling him there's a rumor that Lucy is engaged to Fred Kinney, a boy that George had a fight with in their younger days.  George is understandably upset at this.  At this point I actually feel sorry for George, and I hope the rumor isn't true.  He goes straight over to Lucy's house to ask her if she is engaged to Fred Kinney.  She tells him she's not, and so he asks her to marry him.  At first she says no, but eventually George convinces her to say she'll give him an answer the night before he leaves for his senior year.

Now, in among this, there's some mention about the expansion of the town and an automobile factory that is being erected.  I'm perfectly aware that these are supposed to be central themes of the book, but so far I don't really see how they come into play much.  Also, George's father is sick, but I'm not really concerned about it.  He's such a small character.  He's inconsequential.

George and Lucy write letters to each other while George is away at school.  Reading them really makes me wish people still wrote letters.  It's so much easier to say things in letters, than it is in a text or email, or in real life.  I thought about doing that thing where you write letters to people, but then don't actually mail them.  But then I thought, what's the point if you don't mail them?

Anyway, the night before George leaves for senior year, Lucy tells him she'll consent to being "almost engaged"  and that it's "too solemn to think about".  I don't really understand what she means by this.  My interpretation of it is that she doesn't like coming to terms with the fact that she's an adult now, and has to make adult decisions.  I like Lucy as a character, but it is kind of hard to believe that she's 20 or 21 at this point.  In my mind she seems about 17.

I'm about halfway through The Magnificent Ambersons now, so I've decided to start looking for the next book, The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy.  But it's not at the library!  I guess it's out of print, so I could order it from Borders.com or Amazon, but I really don't want to have to pay much more than $5 for any of these books, if I have to pay for them at all.  So I'm off to scour used book stores.  Hopefully I'll find it fast!

Day 6

Books left: 99
Current book:  The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington

The past few days have been really busy, so I haven't had time to post, but I have been reading, I promise!

I'm about a quarter of the way through the book now, and there's really not much action yet.  George is really into Lucy Morgan, but she's playing coy, which makes him mad.  George Amberson is so arrogant; I really don't like reading about him.  I wish the book was written from Lucy's point-of-view.  I think it would be more interesting.  Along this line, George actually does say one thing that I agree with:  "he did not care to read a book...about people he would not care to meet at his own dinner table."  So true!  This is why I don't like reading about you George!  I would pretty much constantly be rolling my eyes if I had the displeasure of dining with George Amberson.  This line made me think about characters that I do enjoy reading about.  They're mostly fun, frivolous, and intelligent; such as Becky Bloomwood (of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series), Georgia Nicolson (of Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series), and Harry Potter (and Ron, and Hermione, and Neville, and Luna, etc).

Okay, back to the book.  Apparently George's Aunt Fanny likes Lucy's father, Eugene Morgan (who is a widower).  However, he keeps giving his attention to Isabel (George's mother, and Fanny's sister-in-law), which of course, makes Fanny mad.  Chapter nine ends with her eyes narrowed at Isabel "as if her mind engaged in a hopeful calculation".  So it looks like she's planning some sort of revenge.  Finally!  Some action!

So far in the book, we haven't learned much about George's father; just that he's plain, and quiet, and George is embarrassed by him, cause he's a Minafer, not an Amberson.  George's name is technically George Minafer, but he introduces himself as George Amberson, because he wants to be associated with his mother's family.  There was one thing about George's father (I can't even remember his name) that stuck out for me, cause it reminds me of my boyfriend, Ben.  "Minafer doesn't believe in money being spent.  He believes God made it to be invested and saved."  Ben and I were actually talking about money and saving yesterday.  He will do anything to save a buck, however, I will only go so far.  I'll research big purchases online, but clipping coupons and driving around to compare prices aren't worth it to me.  Mr. Minafer would not approve of my spend-thrift life.  Now I'm going to go use the rest of the gas in my car to drive to Whole Foods and find something for dinner, even though there's food in the house, and I have associate certificates for Bread Co, which means I could eat there for free.

Day 2

Current book: The Magnificent Ambersons
Books left: 99

I'm realizing that George Amberson, the protagonist, is a horribly entitled child.  Apparently everyone else in George's life realizes this too, as they "longed to see the day he would get his come-uppance:.  At age 12, George enters private school.  He proves to be quite intelligent, but still very bellicose.  At age 16, he's kicked out of prep school for "insolence and profanity".  The next couple chapters develop George as an arrogant youth.

When he comes home for Christmas break during his sophomore year of college, a party is held in his honor.  Here, while standing in the reception line with his mother, he feels an "uncomfortable feeling" of attraction towards her, which escalates to a moment of resentment.  I'm not sure, yet, if this is important or not.  At the party he meets a "queer-looking duck [man]" who is the uncle of two neighbor girls called The Sharons.  He also meets Miss Lucy Morgan, a pretty 19-year old girl who catches his eye.  George is quickly enamored of Lucy and insists that she must dance "every third dance" with him.  Throughout the evening he finds out that the queer-looking man is her father, and also an old friend of George's mother.  I think that he might be one of two young men that tried to woo her at the beginning of the book.  The other wooer was George's father.

I think that my high school English teacher, Mrs. Barton, would be proud of me.  I've noticed I'm reading more for the author's purpose than I ever did in high school.  I'm not sure I like this development.  I have quite a lot of notes written down for the first six chapters of this book, but now I've realized that I didn't really use all that many of my notes.  I think from now on I'm going to read just for the story, and only write things down that really catch my attention.  I guess I'm still not completely sure what I want this blog to be.

Day 1

Books left: 99
Current book: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington, 268 pages.

From the back of the book: "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1918, The Magnificent Ambersons chronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of an American dynasty.  The protagonist...is George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled and arrogant grandson of the founder of the family's magnificence.  Eclipsed by a new breed of developers, financiers, and manufacturers, George descends from the Midwestern aristocracy to the working class.

I haven't had any time to read today, so I'm still only a couple chapters in, but I've got a lot of notes written down in my new Paperchase Book Journal, from Borders.
The first chapter describes the changing fashion and culture at the time, the late 1800s.  It makes me wish I lived about a hundred and fifty years ago, and also makes me wonder if people will say that about our time when they read "historical fiction" in the 2100s.  One humorous quote that I liked about the clothing fashions was about the invention of the "dude"-a "dandy" who wore his "trousers tight as stockings, dagger-pointed shoes, a spoon 'Derby' [hat], a single-breasted coat called a 'Chesterfield',...a heavy, puffed cravat or a tiny bow fit for a dolls braids."  He also describes men's & ladies' hair fashions, saying that it was a "hairier day".  There's a good quote that Tarkington uses when describing houses that "lack pretentiousness".  He says that "Whatever does not pretend at all has style enough".  I love this quote, and think that it means you should be true to your own style, and not try to be anyone else.  Because people will like you for who you are, and will not like the person you're trying to be.

I haven't quite finished chapter two, so I don't think I'll comment much on it yet, but so far it's describing George Amberson's childhood.  I must say, he reminds me a lot of Dudley Dursley.

Also, I tend to type in the style of whatever I'm reading at the time, so for the next few days or so, be prepared for some eloquent, turn-of-the-century-type writing.

The Beginning

Earlier today, Kristin turned me on to a blog called The Displaced English Major.  The writer originally planed on reading all 100 books from The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list in two years.  But, as Kristin said, she's not doing very well.  I've always wanted to read a Best Novels list, and as I looked over the blog I thought, "I could do so much better than this."  So I decided to start reading, and to chronicle my journey.

Now, there are two lists on the 100 Best Novels list.  I'm reading The Board's List, but there are also some books from The Reader's List I'd like to read.  I'm not putting any time constraints or anything on myself.  Like the other blogger, I'm going to start at the bottom, with #100.  I'm not sure if I'm actually going to make it through all the books on the list, but I'm going to at least attempt all the books on the list.  Luckily, it doesn't contain any Dickens, but it does contain three Faulkner books.  I still maintain that William Faulkner was the worst author ever to write, and in my mind The Sound and The Fury belongs at the top of a list of the worst books ever written.  But...we'll see how it goes.

Today I went to the library and checked out the first book, The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington.  I've read a couple chapters already, but I'm pretty tired, so I'll post about it tomorrow.

Wish me luck!