Northanger Abbey

I've always loved Jane Austen but this book makes me love her even more. It's such a fun read and it actually goes really fast compared to some of her other novels. As for the heroine; she is nothing like Austen's other ones. Austen actually warns her readers at the beginning that the protagonist will act quite stupidly sometimes. She's just a silly young girl looking for love. It's rather endearing actually! I would recommend this book to anyone, especially someone who's reading Jane Austen for the first time because it kind of eases you into the genre without blowing your mind too much. It actually makes me want to go back and read Sense and Sensibility :)

Status update: Started "The Heart of the Matter" by Graham Greene. So far it's a little depressing, but super well written.

Plane reader

Didn't think I would be updating so soon but I also didn't expect to get through most of Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey" during a 6 hr flight to Paris (and I slept away half the flight too!). What a fun read! It's like a lighter version of her other books. There's a fair amount of drama but it's packed in really tight and is incredibly tongue-in-cheek. Her books can be really frustrating at times because everyone is so polite that no one says what's on their minds even though doing so would prevent a lot of grief. Because of the manners of the time, the characters are constantly having to hang out with people they don't like and also the romance takes FOREVER to develop. One of the characters in "Northanger Abbey" is an 18th century cock-blocker who's neck I just want to wring! He's always pulling the heroine away from the man of her fancy. And I can tell she hates him as much as I do, but the manners her society demands prevent her from really speaking her mind. She does get a couple of shots in thankfully but how painful it was to read up until then! Anyway, this book isn't as slow-going as some of her others which is cool. So far so good.

Sidenote: I decided to leave Herriot at home for the summer which is really sad because I was super into it. But I didn't want to be lugging around too many books and the edition I have is a hardcover. It'll just have to remain in suspense until I get home! Something tells me everything turns out all right in the end...

Breakfast of Champions

I finished Breakfast of Champions the other day. It's one of those classic Vonneguts about a main character who is flat-out crazy and whose reasons for being so crazy are slowly revealed throughout the novel. It's actually an incredibly profound book that I would recommend to anyone. One literary device that Vonnegut uses a lot is integrating himself into his books as a character. I'm pretty sure that with any other writer this device would fail miserably. But there is something so ominous and funny and creepy in the way Vonnegut does it.

I've now lent it to someone so I can't give you any quotes but he says at one point that this book was his 50th Birthday present to himself. He says that he figured out that he preferred all characters to carry equal weight in the story; so he always includes comprehensive background stories whenever he introduces a character who would in any other novel be viewed as a minor character. I was trying to explain the storyline to my friend Van who has now borrowed it and I realized that the plot could only be explained as "Dwayne Hoover goes crazy after meeting Kilgore Trout". There's so much detail about characters' lives and so much psychology going on that the story doesn't get much more complicated than that. But it doesn't matter! It's one of the most interesting and thought-provoking novels I've read in a long time.

I'm still reading Herriot and I have to say I am now getting hooked. It's set up that each chapter is a tiny little story about his apprenticeship with his boss Siegfried Farnon. There are funny ones, sad ones, exciting ones, you name it. This book is such a feel-good that it has been a balm of sorts in light of some family stuff that's going on in my life. It would be a balm anyway for the crazy hectic lives we in big cities tend to lead. But especially when things are extra crazy a book like this can ground you and lift you up at the same time. No rush to get through this one; every little story goes for miles with me.

This is my last post from Montreal for a while as I am going to Europe for 2 months starting tonight. I also realized as I was in the metro yesterday that I won't be able to read on any metros in Europe for the first part of my trip because I'll be in small towns without subway systems! It's going to be weird...

How to spot a good writer

Like I mentioned before, my mother suggested I read "All Creatures Great and Small". Not sure that I would be interested in a book about the life of a veterinary surgeon, I picked it up only gingerly several months after the suggestion had been made. Lo and behold; I read the first page and a half and was instantly intrigued. I could tell right away that I liked James Herriot's writing style even though the subject matter wasn't one I usually preferred. I told my mom that I probably wouldn't get really into it because I'm not a huge animal person. She assured me that the book would make me into an animal person. Damnit, she was right. What are we? 2 for 2 now, Mom?

I think I've been in the same vicinity as a horse maybe 3 times in my whole life. I don't really get the hype. But when I was reading a section in the book about a horse that was suffering a twisted intestine (a completely incurable condition) my heart positively ached for that horse and for poor Mr. Herriot who had to put the horse down. The author doesn't go into great detail about what he was feeling at the time, but rather explains the reactions of the farmers upon hearing such news and describes the suffering of the animals. I tell you: What a writer!

Another great section was, again, one where an animal had to be put down. This one was about an old man and his aging, sick dog. I don't often think of my poor childhood dog who was very sick until we had him put down almost 3 years ago, but I read that section of Herriot's book and flat out cried my eyes out. Herriot, you bastard. This is the same writer who had me laughing my head off 2 pages prior. (I really do enjoy books with emotional rollercoasters, even if they're tiny rollercoasters. If it's too emotionally stagnant I get bored)

It's ok to like fluffy romance and action books but there are some amazing writers out there, people, who will give you a great story and deliver you that story with impeccable style and taste. Go for the good stuff!


Status Update: "All Creatures" chapter 8; "Breakfast" chapter 4.

New hole in my wallet, new love in my heart

I was super tired this morning because I had to get up early for my church gig. I was about to schlep my butt back home afterwards when I decided to stop in at this little used bookstore called Original on Sherbrooke in Montreal. I went a little nuts and got 10 books! Most of them were $2-$4 and a couple were $10 (Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House and 2 super nice Mark Twain hardcovers!!). The complete list is over this-a-way and down -->

You better believe I was a happy camper after this shopping trip! Forget schlepping, I was practically skipping to the metro! (Wow I'm a loser...XD)

One book I'm actually mega excited about is Goethe's Faust which I got in its original form with an English translation by Walter Kaufmann. Since I'm an opera singer I'm fairly used to reading German poetry and Faust is a story I've always wanted to read.

Moral of the story: Go to used bookstores people! So worth it.


Status Update: Chapter 3 of All Creatures; Chapter 3 of Breakfast (Classic Vonnegut so far. Lovin' it.

Yankee: 4/5

Finished Yankee! Final score: 4/5. Wonderful book, I got a little bored near the beginning, so it lost points there. But I was super happy with it. It actually really touched me in some parts and made me laugh out loud in others. Fun times were had by all!

Multitasking

My mother decided to hold hostage at her house my comfort books until I had read 50 pages of "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot. She gave it to me a while ago saying it was a light read but a very good one; very well written. I'm on chapter 3. Not 50 pages in, but I managed to get my books back anyway. :)


Also in my purse is the newly acquired "Breakfast of Champions" by Kurt Vonnegut. So far Vonnegut seems at his quirkiest. It's also illustrated by the author. Fun times! I was craving a Vonnegut, so I'm a happy camper.


I think these will be good books to read together. Vonnegut uses a snarky tone and tells lots of jokes to disguise an often broken heart, whereas I feel like Herriot is more honest. I like both styles! As long as the "honest" writer doesn't have a crummy writing style. Like every book written with a teenage audience in mind. Blegh. Herriot seems to be a gifted writer so far. He's also highly relatable as a character. And how is auto-correct telling me "relatable" isn't a word? It's in the dictionary!

Now to decide which comfort book to read at the same time... What's wrong with me?? :D