October Reads and Life Recap

     Hi.... let me just say something before I get the "where have you been?!"

 .... October was a busy month for me.  

Consequently resulting in my regretful absence.  With that being said, let me discuss a summary of my "busy events" prior to sinking our teeth into bookworm talk:

    The first half of the month was consumed with baby shower invites being lost or 3 weeks late, baby shower baking and decorating, preparation and details, locking down what to put on and take off baby shower registries, baby shower this and baby shower that, until finally, the actual baby shower on the 13^th.  It was a Fantastic, whirlwind of a time, but a winded whirlwind nonetheless.  

     The second half of the month was dedicated to sorting out what was given to us for Fiona, purchasing a stroller, car seat, odds and ends, deciding what crib to buy when the crib I had my heart SET on and was available online since August but is NOT available as soon as you enter in your Giftcard information.  Also, filling in part time at church and having a great time, all the while mastering new programs, skills, and church office environment. 

     Oh and let me not forget to mention that I have been continuing to understand life as a soon-to-be-mommy and what life feels like when your husband works his butt off during night shift. 

     Well while we are at it, lest not forget that I turned 24 on October 10^th and celebrated my 1 year wedding anniversary to the love of my life on the 16^th.  With a minimal description this was a rip-roaring and chaos-collecting but milestone -setting month.. 

Uhh, yea.  But.

     Among chaos and flurry it is always wise to keep your eye set on one non-moving object.  By doing so you can stop the spins, and remain in the present reality, with only minor brain implosions.   I chose to revive my spirit of tireless reading.  I didn’t have the patience or mental capacity to fiddle with needles and string, but could facilitate an escape into story and narrative.  So I read C.S. Lewis and Stephen King while my hub slept through the day.

  I read C.S Lewis’s The Great Divorce during the first or second week of October.

     It’s a quick 146 page read that hold a lot of impact.  It was perfect for thoughts I was dealing with on a deeper level and brought life into a different perspective for me that I definitely needed.  It really outlays an idea of Heaven and Hell with the idea of Purgatory from a Christian writer’s love and point of view.  It is a fantastical idea of what Heaven and Hell are to the imagination of C.S. Lewis and is really a fun “bus ride” through. 

     I think for a lot of language and writing lovers, books are never read without being annotated.  I am trying to get better at enjoying rather analyzing my reads.  I really held back my annotating rituals while reading The Great Divorce but could not help but underline and note the following paragraph.  This is a paragraph I want to retype and frame for the days when people just bring me down and I want nothing more but to put them through a ringer of my own:

“Son, son, it must be one way or the other.  Either the day must come when joy prevails and all the makers of misery are no longer able to infect it: or else for ever and ever the makers of misery can destroy in others the happiness they reject for themselves .  I know it has a grand sound to say ye’ll accept no salvation which leaves even one creature in the dark outside.  But watch that sophistry or ye’ll make a Dog in the Manger the tyrant of the universe.”

         

With this being the month of Halloween I chose my second book accordingly: Salem’s Lot by Stephen King.   

     I have quite an array of Vampire Literature.  I took a vampire lit. class in college, and yes was forced to read Twilight for a grade.  Salem’s Lot was one of the books purchased for the class itinerary.  I thought I had read it back then, but as I was reading it this time I remember now that I skipped this 600 pager due to lack of time.  I am sorry I did that because this was a really enticing book. 

     It is King’s second novel and explains in the prologue this novel is his ode to Braham Stoker’s, Dracula.    His love for Dracula is evident in his ways to describe events and his unfolding of the vampire’s identity throughout the novel.  There are parallels in characters which he states very obviously by dialogue.  What I like best is his reference to the Varney the Vampire and the Penny Dreadfuls.  I remember that damn Penny Dreadfuls anthology book was one of the most expensive books I had to buy that semester.  But was worth it because it is a really awesome book to have in my library (which I will proudly display as soon as I move into a larger than 650 sq foot apartment.) 

     I really enjoyed the read.  It was exactly what I needed.  It provided me a long route of escapism from reality in total.  I recommend it as anyone’s Halloween read next year.

     For November, I have the second half of Anne Rice’s erotic novel: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty.  (Interesting read…not sure how to feel about it.)

 I have also bought and downloaded William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.  I am going to admit I really cannot wait to read this second book.  It has been on my Reading List for years and I cannot wait to uncover Faulkner’s mastery in this novel. 

So with the ending of this unintentional essay, let me leave you with a question and a closing: 

What are you reading in November?  And Cheers.