Jeeze, Julia!

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Remember when I told you that I’m an incredibly slow reader?

Well, if you didn’t believe me then, you will now; I started reading Frankenstein before Halloween and I finished it today. Part of that is the fact that I’m busy all of the time and feel a little guilty when I sit down to read because I think about what I should be doing instead { cleaning, working, etc. }. But another part of it really is that I’m a slow reader. Either way, I will make it through the reading list I came up with, and polishing off this piece has gotten me one step closer to the end!

Here’s what I thought of it:

When I first lifted the cover of this story, I was full of expectations. Throughout my life I’ve continuously seen images of “FRANKENSTEIN” the green tinged zombie with a flat head and a bolt in his neck. I knew that Frankenstein was actually the name of the monster’s creator rather than the creature himself, but that was about all I knew of the book. Anything else I thought I knew was a complete fabrication. Wasn’t Dr. Frankenstein supposed to have a sidekick named Igor? Wasn’t the creature supposed to be a big dumb oaf? Didn’t it all take place in a huge stone castle at the top of a mountain where the weather was constantly stormy? I thought all of this to be the case, so when I was a chapter or two in and following some guy named Walton who was sailing a ship toward the North Pole, you can imagine my confusion. Turns out the book was completely different than I had expected!

But I was pleasantly surprised. I swooned over the fondness of nature that Shelley described through the eyes of her main character. His affection for Switzerland was tender and sweet, and made me sick for my own home. When I wrote my novel this fall, I struggled to describe the autumn foliage that burns with colour, but provides no warmth. Every day that I wrote, I searched within myself for the appropriate words to capture this phenomenon, but came up empty handed or with a little something compromised. Shelley, I have now found, had already written the very words I was in search of. She described exactly what I hoped to, with infinitely more eloquence than I could ever hope to muster. She wrote: “…the sun shone on the red leaves that strewed the ground, and diffused cheerfulness, although it denied warmth…”. And that wasn’t the only occasion. Several times her words struck a chord with something I had felt a million times while walking through my native woods, but never known how to put in English. Bravo for that, Mary!

And she describes terrible things, too, with the same accurate descriptions. For in this story, there are many terrible things. That, I will leave for you to discover.

What a comment on humanity, necessity, and religion this piece was! What exactly is the relationship of creator and created? What do we as humans really need to survive — just shelter and nourishment, or also affection and companionship? All of these grand questions could be gleaned from her story even if it takes you months to finish. So, really, you should give it a try. I highly recommend it.

See you tomorrow, friends!

xx.

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In the bones of winter, from my experience, there is but one option for escape: a good book.

Yet, there I was a couple of weeks ago, in the last dreamy days of a golden summer, hiding away between the pages of one of the dreariest stories ever penned: Wuthering Heights. (Yes, I should have made this post awhile ago. I clearly don’t time things well.)

The interesting bit is that the whole story was concocted within the imagination of a very unlikely writer; a sheltered young girl probably not unlike Cathy (one of the main characters) herself.

But the power of the stormy heaths had propelled me to read on, and I finished the book almost wishing that I had never started it at all. That beast of a human, Heathcliff, leaves a bad taste in my mouth after all is said and done and I think it would have been great if he’d never been imagined at all. Still, I would encourage you to read the story at least once in your life, but do it in the darkest days of winter, and know that real life exists as an escape from that miserable world.

I’m now in the midst of Frankenstein, and will let you know my thoughts on that when it’s done.

Read on, my friends, read on.

xx.

(Click image for source!)

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I’m slowly making my way through this list that my BFF and I made!

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The next piece to complete: Frankenstein. And could the timing me more perfect? I think not. It’s almost Halloween, after all!

The other night, I had some great conversations with our friend Andy about books! He, too, is working through all of the classic to-reads, and I can’t wait to show him the list. He’s gotten further into it than I have just by reading on his own. Still, I’m so excited to have someone to chat and get excited about books with (in this city). When I finish Frankenstein we’re going to read a few novels at the same time.

What’s your current read?

xx.

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