Eleven Days and Nothing To Read
by Charlotte Reads Classics
It seems I haven’t written a post in almost two weeks. I shall remedy this immediately. After finishing all of John Green’s books (yes, all of them) I have been struggling to find the next book. Basically, if it isn’t immediately loveable, inspiring, jumping the queue straight into my HEART yet also amazingly witty then I’m not interested. And by the by, I have found John Green’s books to be all these things at once.
So, a list of books I’ve started reading and put down again in the last eleven days:
- Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman, page 24
- North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell, page 158
- Catch 22, Joseph Heller, page 116
All will be finished at some point. All was not in vain, as I do have this quote to share from Catch 22:
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to.
I know. Plus, what has surprised me is how funny this book is, whilst obviously being about an upsetting circumstance.
In other news, I have found the book to get me out of my slump. (Hence this post.) So: loveable, inspiring, emotional and witty… Yes, this is the book:
Charlotte Reads Classics 
I’ve been reading Leaves of Grass on and off for the last month or so – it’s so much longer than I expected! I do seem to be annotating a lot of lovely passages though 🙂
Yes I was taken aback at its length! I find it hard to read poems – no exception with really long ones, but as you say there are definitely lots of lovely lines.
I never heard about this book, but I’m glad it put an end to your reading rut. I look forward to reading your thoughts on it.
Thanks, I am still plugging away at it (these ladies wrote a lot of letters) but it is a great read so far!
I love anything by or about the Mitford sisters and I read this a few years ago. It is a good choice for light hearted, loveable reading
Yes, I love it so far – classic Mitford!
I’ve never yet managed to finish Catch-22, it’s sort of my bete noire. I hit the same point every time and just grind to a halt. The Mitfords book looks fun though. 🙂
It is one of those books where I feel like I am continually missing the point…
My current feelings seem to be the opposite of yours. So many books are calling to me, but this bloody Flu Brain (I swear it’s a real condition) has made reading an unusually gargantuan effort. Hopefully it goes away soon, especially since that Mitford book (looks fabulous!) has reminded me that I never finished The Pursuit of Love (obviously not Nancy’s fault, just a case of bad timing). Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh I am jealous… and flu brain is totally real, last time I had the flu I could barley understand what people were saying to me. I hope you are feeling better now! (And finish The Pursuit of Love…) 🙂
It can be so hard after you’ve read a/a lot of good books to decide what to read next. Nothing ever seems to compare and you feel like it has to or it’s not good enough. I guess it’s the sign of a fantastic book. Glad you’ve found one that works 🙂
Yes, and it adds to the sadness of finishing the said excellent book!
I love that quote from Catch-22. I put it up on my blog a long time ago, and still go back to read sections from that book off and on. It’s one of my all-time favorite reads.
Cool, that is inspiring to hear – I will definitely pick it back up!
Oh, the Mitford Letters! I loved reading those a few years ago. Wonderful read!
I am absolutely loving them! And welcome back from Paris!