Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Shining



I finished. Yes, it's the last day, but I finished. I'm not going to do a detailed, well-thought out post. I'm just going to throw up some of my initial thoughts on finishing so I can read the much better posts written by everyone else. 

  • This book grabbed me from the start, but lost steam rather quickly. It suffers from the same issue as most of King's books (in my opinion)--there's too much back story, and it takes too long to get going. Also, too many words.
  • The last 100 pages flew by, but up until then, I struggled. Every time I sat down to read it over the past week, I fell asleep within a few pages.
  • I struggle with reading about physical abuse so right from the outset I was feeling a little uncomfortable.
  • I think it's tough to get into a book when I don't care about the main characters. I despised Jack. He reminded me of Nick from Gone Girl. I didn't want to be in his head and hear how he really felt about women. It made me feel dirty.
  • I understand that times were different, but I guess I can't see why Wendy would stay with a man who broke her child's arm. Lack of control and alcoholism do not a responsible husband and father make. You know? Why not walk away and find a job? She didn't have to go and live with her mom to get away.
  • I was super pissed when I thought that Dick Halloran went all that way only to die before he could help in any way. So glad that I was wrong. 
  • I will not watch the movie because I am a wimp, but I'd imagine that it's much scarier than the book because for whatever reason, it didn't freak me out.
  • Lastly, I just wanted to show you the cover below (I found it while looking at librarything) because it is probably one of the stupidest covers I've ever seen. So subtle. Ha.


This readalong was brought to you by the wonderful Jill over at Fizzy Thoughts. Can't wait for the next one. Under the Dome anyone?

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Classics Club Spin List



I have been slacking on my classics lately (and blogging, but shhh...we won't speak of that). Well, the Classics Club hosting a Classics Spin. You list 20 classics from your list and post it. On Monday February 18, they'll announce the number, and you read the book that corresponds with that number on your list by April 1. Easy, right? I'm super busy with work in March so I'm going to cheat and post mostly easy and short ones. I have to be reasonable. I won't have the time or concentration necessary to read Don Quixote, you know?


  1. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  2. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
  3. The Master and the Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
  4. My Antonia by Willa Cather
  5. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
  6. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
  7. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
  8. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
  9. Howards End by E. M. Forster
  10. The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Graham
  11. Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
  12. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
  13. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
  14. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
  15. 1984 by George Orwell
  16. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
  17. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
  18. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
  19. Night by Elie Wiesel
  20. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde