One Hundred Years of Solitude

Creative, somewhat entertaining, liked the Latino creative writing, not my favorite but made me think. Solitude. What is solitude. Can you be completely alone though you are surrounded by people. Do we all live a life of solitude at some time in our life. Each of the main characters in this book are drawn to inevitable solitude and have to find ways to negotiate with it. Interesting book. I'm not exactly one of those people who likes solitude though I know it is necessary at times. I always dreaded weekends in high-school when, and they happen to us all, I didn't have plans. The same dread occurred in college when all my roomates had plans but me. I even made a list once of things I could do by myself and be happy. I'm simply a social person, but even social people need to find ways to negotiate with solitude. As luck would have it my husband is a PhD student spending immense amounts of time with his work- though he spends time with me each week and is a sweetheart- so I'm not complaining too loud as I've been a graduate student and spent all of my time with my studies too. But the point is I have come to negotiate with solitude- though I have ample friends and family-you can't be with people all the time or if you are, like many evenings with my husband while he works, you still feel alone. In order to negotiate with solitude like the characters in the book I create projects, goals, clubs, blogs and I simply have to organize my week to have a social agenda.

Some Favorites

The problem with not having a record of what you have read is that you forget. Yet there are still some favorites that stand out from the past years of reading enjoyment.

A Tale of Two Cities
A Separate Peace
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Les Miserables
The Huncheback of Notre Dame
Anna Karenina
Gone With the Wind
David Copperfield
Vanity Fair
Portrait of a Lady
Roots
East of Eden
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Tess of the D'Ubervilles
The Hiding Place
The Book Thief
The Kite Runner

The art of reading

I am a lover of a good book and like most lovers I am quite particular about what makes a good book. I'm not very good with book clubs or timetables but I do always seem to have a book to read and when I am done I like to share my thoughts about it. I am not an English major and more often than not favor a psychological scrutinization of literature. A good book makes me think, makes me evaluate life and people, and often makes me look at life and people differently after reading it. A good book can also be fun and entertaining but still steps beyond the superficial feeling of a weeknight sitcom and has depth and structure that makes you think wow and admire the artist who created it. And so I start this record of the books I read and my thoughts about them.