Lulu: What a cool assignment!

Aunt Rae, I am SO thrilled about this month's assignment. I love a good re-read, but especially a nostalgic re-read.

First, I'm going to read A Room Made of Windows, by Eleanor Cameron. I don't remember a whole lot of the subject matter--I loved the main character, Julia, and her room with tons of windows (hence the title), and I remember loving the way I felt as I read it. So I'm excited to read it again.

I might also re-read the Wrinkle in Time series, Jane Eyre, or Dragonwyck.

Long-winded Lulu.....

Aunt Rae, I read Jane Eyre when I was fifteen, and I definitely think it was because it "fed my dreams", as you say. :) I tried to read it again only a couple years ago and I actually guffawed. But I still love that I read it, so I guess I still love it. (Hope that makes sense.)

Everybody: I'm about a fourth of the way through Every Secret Thing. I'm really glad to say that I've pretty much stopped debating whether she really is telling it like it happened, and I'm just enjoying the story. (As much as one can enjoy a story about the kidnapping of a wealthy socialite by a group of violent fanatics.....oh, wait. That is a really good plot!) Like I do with any subject that catches my interest, I've googled everything Hearst. From what I've read, I'm not too impressed by William Randolph Hearst, although I do like what I've learned/read about his son (Patty's father) Randolph. Anyway....it's all pretty engrossing and fascinating to me, so I could talk about it forever. But I won't! Just thought I'd say that I'm enjoying my book.

Abby, are you learning anything from your book that wasn't in the movie? There was an interview with Frank on the DVD's special features, and it was really fun to watch!

Beccy, that picture is hilarious. Phill laughed especially hard. Ah, the pictures on fronts of Harlequin novels....I had a friend with whom I used to joke about Harlequin novels. I found that it was really easy to imitate the writing style of those books, and so as a joke, I started writing one. My pseudonym was Leah R. Quin, a very obvious mix of the letters from Harlequin. One character, Beatrice, had a flatulence problem. It was all really silly, but definitely fun.

Dickens and Conan

Abby: I love the Dickens characters. I think that's why I enjoy him so much. Why else would anyone read an author that can spend three pages describing a doorknob! His books are massive, like Clancy and Michener.

I don't really know why I enjoyed Great Expectations so much, but I suspect it had to do with my age. I read it as a teenager. I was reading a lot of gothic romances, which were somewhat spooky and romantic. They fed my dreams back then, I guess! I only got out of them what I was able to understand as a teen. I was also extremely fond of Jane Eyre, which I read again recently as an adult. I absolutely hated it this time around, even having read it three or four times before. I saw more in the relationship (as a married woman) than I ever could have as a child. I didn't care for Mr. Rochester at all this time. Their relationship was too dysfunctional. So, why did I love it as a teen?

But...oh, the characters are wonderful. Miss Havisham and Pip were favorites. If you get a chance to see the movie version (of which there are many), look for the old black and white version. The scene in the graveyard is just sooooo spooky! It's the best. When I came home after my first year at BYU, Dad and I read David Copperfield at the same time. That was a hoot, too. The aged aunt was a favorite of mine in that book. And I still think of Uriah Heep whenever I meet anyone who is intentionally meek and oily at the same time. Heep made my skin crawl whenever he was in a scene.

Spoiler ahead for those who have not read Great Expectations...Beccy and I burned my little cactus named Miss Havisham in effigy one Saturday afternoon. It was doing poorly and had literally gone gray. So we done her in! That's how enthralled I was with the story. I felt so sorry for anyone who had been jilted like her...again, the teen thinking...and could absolutely understand her reasons for never having left the room/house again.

I think Jasper Fforde was just being silly as usual. I just finished his Nursery Rhyme crime division book called Over Easy. It's about the death (murder?) of Humpty Dumpty who, yes, you guessed it, fell off a wall. It wasn't near as funny as the Thursday Next series. I was kind of disappointed.

Mim: I have a funny memory of Grandma Andersen's house. We (I know Matt was there...don't know who else) had gone upstairs to Freeman's room (was he on his mission then?) and into the very back of the closet. Someone showed us the top of Max and Donnie's wedding cake. It was old and moldy and hard as a rock. I always associate that memory with Miss Havisham! Silliness.

Beccy: I must confess that my dear man has read every one of the old Conan books! They were popular in the seventies. He swears they were good reads. I debate that point! The covers alone would keep them out of our house...but then, again, I read a lot of Tarzan novels and they were actually pretty well-written. They had notty covers, too. Maybe it was just to sell the books?