Steve's got a point. He's given you his list of literary preferences before really delving into the subject matter of things. Since we're in this together, I'll do the same. I'm not copying his idea -I'm complimenting it.
Let's get the eye rolls over with all at once: I love Jane Austen. Probably not in the same way that Hollywood loves Jane Austen, but I hold her literature in high esteem. There's not much to say for her plots, but her characters keep you hanging on every word. Everyone knows their own Mrs. Elton and Lydia Bennet. You hate them; you love them. You know them. Austen understood human nature so well that her novels are timeless. They will always attract readers, and they will never go out of fashion because they speak so well of emotion. I have my own Austen persona: I have always felt that I am Miss Bates, mostly. Talking incessantly -annoying, but endearing in my own way. My headstone will read: A very good sort of person. People will talk about me kindly, but behind their words will always be a hint of unspoken criticism. I've always wanted to be Fanny Price (minus the ugly first name). I am, I guess, in the way that I married a cousin (VERY distant, and we didn't realize it -honest). My favorite novel by Austen is "Mansfield Park."
Who do I love more than Austen? No one. Who do I love just as much as Austen, but in a different way? F. Scott Fitzgerald. Have you seen the way the man arranges sentences? His elegant word choice and arrangement thereof? It isn't literature! It is the most eloquent picturesque masterpiece that ever set foot in the Jazz Age! He put so much of himself into his work that it literally killed him. Smart? Oh, no. Admirable? Oh, definitely. I'm currently reading "This Side of Paradise" for the second time. His heroes are so awful. You love them to the point of hating them. And in turn, you hate them to the point of loving them. I just can't get enough.
My other loves include Dickens and Charlotte Bronte. My next goal is to venture out into the world of Earnest Hemingway.
There you have it.
~Alicia
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6 comments:
Your Praise & Preference of Mr. Fitzgerald has got me thinking I need to try his stuff out. Just once won't hurt...
Start with "The Great Gatsby". It's short enough that if you don't care for Fitzgerald, you won't have wasted too much time. His work can be tedious, but "The Great Gatsby" is his proclaimed masterpiece.
Speaking of things people should try, I'm really loving The Scarlet Letter this time around. Here's a quote from today's pages that made me think of Lacy: "The child could not be made amenable to the rules." Next time you get the knack for trying some new reading, make it Hawthorne. Some of his short stories might me a good start: the Minister's Black Veil, Young Goodman Brown,etc. These are short enough to be found online in their entirety.
Got it. I might check it out. But I don't like Hawthorne. There I said it. Can we still be family?
Not a happy one. I've never been thus treated in all my life. Well, if I can hate your fan and still love you, I suppose you can dislike Hawthorne and still love me. You never should've watched that dang silent movie! Oh, and by the way, I created a playlist of my own that I call "easy listening" that is almost exactly like the one you've added to the blog. We are so cool.
I'm surprised you didn't gloat over my mistake in the second comment I left:
"Some of his short stories might me a good start" Might ME?
Oh me oh my.
I noticed it as soon as I posted it, but I left it there, just for you.
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