What is Your Title?

I'm a little over halfway through Native Son right now, and it's fantastic. Right now, it would be in my top five books from the list. But while I've been reading it, I keep finding myself thinking back to my last book, Their Eyes Were Watching God. What I keep thinking back to though, is on line I read, on the 160th of 193 pages; specifically, the line "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God."

Whenever I read the title of a book, in the book, I can't help but think of the "Family Guy" episode where Peter says he "usually only gets this excited when they say the title of the movie, in the movie." We then see Peter watching "Clear and Present Danger," "As Good as it Gets," and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace." I must admit it does excite me in some small way as well.

Reading the title of the book in the book this time, started me thinking of what other books from the list have had this happen. However, unlike references to other books on the list, I haven't been keeping track of every instance, so I'm forced to go by memory.

Of that and all the progress, more or less,

I keep spreadsheets on pretty much everything. I really do; airports I've flown to, states and provinces I've visited/flown into/driven in. And it occurred to me, looking at my spreadsheet I use to track my reading of this list, that perhaps it isn't all my fault I've been reading a little slower these past couple of years; this year in particular.

I say this, because I noticed today, the following chart:

Year                      Pages Read            Books               Average Pages/Book

2009                         911                         3                            303.67

2010                        7,503                     23                            325.22

2011                        7,233                     22                            328.77

2012                        4,904                     13                            377.23
2013                        3,606                       7                            515.14

Well obviously I've been reading longer books this year and to a lesser extent, in 2012. Of course that doesn't change the fact that I have indeed read fewer pages this year, but it does give me a reason for why I've read so few books this year.

Of course it isn't just that the more pages a book has, the longer it takes to read; that's obvious. But what I find is that the longer a book is, the slower my reading pace. A 250 page books usually takes about 7 days to read, but a 500 page book usually takes about 25 days. Thousand-pagers, 60+ days. I think the sheer size of some books often makes it feel as if you aren't making any progress, which can be quite deflating. This leads to my reading other (read: non-list), less intimidating books.

How much I'm enjoying a book doesn't seem to play a very big role in how fast I read something. The Sot-Weed Factor, at some 800 pages, still took me seven weeks to read, and I loved it from start to finish. Same goes for Gone With the Wind. But, that's also the case for Infinite Jest, which I despised.

On the flip side, Mrs. Dalloway (212 pages) didn't really take any longer to read than Lucky Jim (242 pages).

But again, these are just excuses as to why I haven't read more. Bottom line is, I need to be flipping more pages. My concern is that maybe the reason the books have become longer and longer is that I've left a lot of longer ones until the end, instead of distributing them more evenly amongst all 100 reads. That could be a problem.

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#52 - "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf

My second book from Virginia Woolf and my 52nd from Time's list of 'All-Time 100 Novels' is now complete, with 1925's Mrs. Dalloway.  I suppose it could be said that it went a little better than To the Lighthouse, Woolf's other book on the list, which I read in 2010.  By this I mean it took less time, as I didn't really enjoy it any more.

Mrs. Dalloway is about...well it isn't really about anything, but it follows Mrs. Dalloway and her friends on the day she is hosting a party.  It's sort of like a season of '24', following each character throughout the day; that is if '24' was about what Jack Bauer was thinking about all day before his daughter's birthday party.  Sadly, there aren't any terrorists, explosions, split-screens or for that matter, any action in Mrs. Dalloway.

Instead of detailing anything that happens, or sharing a lot of interaction between the different characters, Mrs. Dalloway tells us what each person is thinking.  Several different streams of consciousness.  We learn about each person's past and their relationship to the others through their thoughts that day.  They reminisce, to themselves, about days gone by, decisions they regret, their hopes for the future and their hopes from the past.  Big Ben continues to update us on the time of day throughout the book, until the big party finally begins.  There, they continue to think about different things, with very little dialogue or description sprinkled in between.

To make matters worse, the book jumps from person to person, without warning.  There would be times I would have to retrace a couple of paragraphs to establish when I started reading Clarissa's thoughts instead of Sally's.  Not that it really mattered, by the end of the book I found it nearly impossible to distinguish one character from the next.

I realize this is how a book by Virginia Woolf is supposed to read, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it.  The only thing more tedious than reading about nothing happening, is reading about people thinking about nothing happening.  The book seemed to ramble on and on, as Mrs. Dalloway et al. thought about what clothes they were going to wear that night, or as they wondered what so-and-so meant when they said...whatever.  While many seem to feel a connection with Virginia Woolf's writing, I did not.  I was unable to relate to the characters, nor did I find them very interesting.

If one is able to make a connection with the characters, this book probably offers a very realistic and emotional journey through these people's lives.  Somebody once told me they have never read a book that felt so much as if the author had been inside their head.  In fact, I've been told this more than once, and as a result I understand why this book found its way onto this list.  But as one who failed to make that connection, I only wanted to offer Virginia Woolf the same advice Neal Page had for Del Griffith in in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles":



For me, this book was only an exercise in completion, not an enjoyable reading experience.  Because there wasn't any real plot, I often found it difficult to focus on the book.  More times than I care to count, I found myself only glazing over the words, without actually absorbing them.  This made the book even more tedious as I was forced to go back and re-read so many pages.  When it was finished, my feeling was not satisfaction, it was relief.

Perhaps one day I'll look back and think myself better off for having read two Virginia Woolf novels, but for now I'll just consider myself thankful for having gotten them over with, and take joy in the fact that I most likely will never read them again.


Notes: There are nine authors with two books on this list, and Virginia Woolf is the first that I've read both of them.  I admit the reason was to get them over with...

Number 53 is going to be The Recognitions by William Gaddis; I think.  This is a book that took me by surprise when I picked it up from the library, as it is 956 pages.  I thought I had already accounted for all the ~1000 pagers, so this might mess up my schedule a little.  But it has to be read at some point, so why not today?

I can live no longer by thinking.

As my 52nd book from the list, Mrs. Dalloway winds down, I can't help feeling like I'm Mel Gibson's character from "What Women Want."  Since there isn't much of a plot in the book, nor is there much dialogue, the book is made up almost entirely of a few different characters' inner thoughts.  I believe some call it a 'stream of consciousness,' or in the case of this book, 'several different streams of consciousness mashed into one book.'

I think of the movie and how the protagonist at first thinks he might have some kind of gift, the ability to hear what women are thinking.  But he soon realizes that he's hearing everything they think, be it counting calories from breakfast, or in the case of a french poodle, 'I have to poop.'  Soon, the ability to hear these thoughts is more of a cure than a blessing.

That's sore of how I feel about reading this book; it's more of a curse than a blessing.  At first, there is some interesting insight into what each character is thinking, but eventually, I tire so much of their thoughts, and the fact than nothing is really happening.

Although, I am enjoying it more than Virginia Woolf's other entry on the list, To the Lighthouse, a book where even less happens.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

I've been reading Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway these past few days, but am not moving very fast.  Of course that isn't really an accurate statement; I've been meaning to read Mrs. Dalloway for the past several days, weeks even.  But alas, I am so uninterested in actually reading it, it has served only as a monument to my laziness, rather than a shining beacon of my 52nd triumph from this List.

It may seem that I'm being a little judgemental, especially of a book I haven't read, but I have good reason to be this way.  Ms. Woolf's other entry on the list, To the Lighthouse was a 252 page book that took me two months to read and was a disappointment to say the least.  You can read my take here.  I can't imagine this book is really any different, so I have not been looking forward to it for almost two years.

I have started it however, and vow to make good progress this week.  My new strategy to finishing this one, opposed to my old strategy of carrying it around and not reading it, is to treat the book like a band-aid.  If I just sit down and rip it off, the pain will be instantaneous and I'll no longer have to worry about it.  It's only about 200 pages, I just need to get it over with.

In the two weeks since I finished All the King's Men, I have been keeping busy, having preoccupied myself with a couple of books.  Most recently, I finished Pity the Billionaire by Thomas Frank, another book on the US political scene; colossal bore for some, fascinating for others.  But before that, I found myself entangled with an interesting and unusual read; a book entitled Flashman.

Flashman is the first in a series of books following Harry Flashman through his adventures, or rather his mis-adventures in the British Army during the middle 19th century.  It was a fun book for the most part, and Harry Flashman is likely one of literature's great cads; sort of a less noble, yet bigger scoundrel version of James Bond.  I can't fault a book that begins with the protagonist seducing his father's mistress after being kicked out of school for drinking and gambling.  It was a pleasant diversion from the list and a series I would think of revisiting in the future (after all, there are 15 more books in the series).

But for now, it's back to Mrs. Whats-her-face-away...which I will try to approach with a more open mind.

#51 - 'All the King's Men' by Robert Penn Warren

Two years ago today, I returned All the King's Men to the library, without having read it.  That would be the first time I did so, but not the last; and I have since returned 32 books from this list without having read them.  In fact, it wasn't even the last time I borrowed this particular book from the library and returned it without reading it.  I have taken All the King's Men out four times.  It wasn't as if I was ever avoiding it, quite the contrary.  It just always seemed to slip through the cracks for one reason or another.  But no more!  Number 51 is finished, the fourth Pulitzer-prize winner from the list, and the second who's movie also won Best Picture (the other being Gone With the Wind).

I previously wrote this book was about Huey Long, or at least the Huey Long-esque character of Willie Stark, Governor of Louisiana.  And while he's obviously an integral part of the story, All the King's Men is a character study of four individuals, each flawed in their own way, with the polarizing Governor Stark binding them together, while at the same time, driving them apart.

Willie Stark is a smart, but uneducated man, who climbs his way from the poorest of farms to the Governor's seat, on a campaign of hard-work, honesty and integrity.  A populist candidate if ever there was one, representing the opposite of the other candidates, as somebody any citizen could identify with.  Of course we quickly learn that while Stark is full of good intentions, wanting to build highways and provide his state with free, universal (gasp!) health care, he isn't exactly the model citizen he portrays to the world.  Stark uses a combination of blackmail, intimidation, and corruption to achieve his goals and retain his grip on power, and he's a prototypical advocate for the end justifying the means.

Carrying out much of the dirty work is Jack Burden, the book's narrator.  A former PhD candidate in History, former newspaper man, and current assistant to the Governor, Jack grew up in what could only be described as a wealthy family, not really wanting for anything, yet still possess a very "down-to-earth" view of the world, and lives without any of the upper-crust cliches one might expect from such a character.  He began working for Stark at a young age, and in a way, has come of age with the Governor.

Also entangled in Stark's web are Ann and Adam Stanton, siblings who grew up in Jack's 'aristocratic' neighbourhood, but do not share his enthusiasm for Willie Stark.  Adam is a doctor hired by the Governor to run his new hospital, despite their complete disagreement with how he runs the State, and Ann is his sister and Jack's former fiancee, who despite disagreeing with his methods, has a soft spot for both the Governor and for Jack.

After a bit of a slow start, I become very engrossed in this book, desperate to see what would happen next, as well as finding myself completely shocked and outraged and a couple of developments.  My like or dislike of Willie Stark as a person and as a public servant would swing wildly from one end of the spectrum to the other.  While many of his ideas were intoxicating and inspirational, so many of his actions were despicable.  These are the same struggles Jack Burden finds himself experiencing as he narrates for the reader.

For the most part, Burden thinks of himself as merely 'doing his job', not blackmailing Stark's political and personal opponents.  He chooses and succeeds for a long time, at divorcing his conscience from his actions; something so few are able to do.  But when people he is close to become the subject of Stark's blackmailing, Jack begins to see the consequences of his actions, as he learns how everything in his world is connected in one way or another.  No longer can he pretend there aren't unwanted consequences to what he is doing, and no longer can the Governor's goals make up for the manner in which they are achieved.


While I enjoyed the story, the writing, and the character development, I think what I really enjoyed about reading All the King's Men were a couple of major plot twists.  After setting the scene, developing each character and letting the reader really get to know everybody, Warren drops a couple of bomb shells that left me speechless.  But these plot twists didn't have the corny factor that can plague such a technique, rather they are explained in a rational, plausible manner, and not only left me anxious to keep reading, but also emotional, usually angry, and what had developed.  It was my sympathy for Jack Burden, and dislike of Willie Stark that brought me into the story and the dramatic plot developments that kept me going.  Without a doubt, one of my favorite books so far.



For my next book, I've chosen Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.  Her other book on The List, To the Lighthouse was one of my least favorite so far, and I'd be lying if I said I had any interest in reading this one.  However, it's part of The List and must be read, so I've decided to get it over with right now, in an effort to avoid having too many 'unwanted' reads (see also Gravity's Rainbow and The Man Who Loved Children) at the end of this adventure

#13 - "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

I'm already done another book, this one went by quite quickly.  I'll thank fewer pages and large print for the speed in which I was able to read this one however, not some new technique I picked up on a late night infomercial.  I saw Atonement described as a "romance" novel, which I don't see at all.  Yes, there is a love story, but it isn't a "romance" novel.  When I think of romance novels, I think of Fabio on the cover, holding a woman, with his hair flapping in a phantom breeze.  This novel isn't like that at all.

Atonement reminds me more of a play actually, than a novel; being divided into four parts, each taking place in a different place and a different time, much like acts in a stage production.  Starting off in 1935, the novel follows the Tallis family on a hot summer day outside of London.  The Tallis family reminds me a lot of the Flytes in Brideshead Revisited, being very wealthy, mostly care-free, but still friendly and accommodating.  Things become more serious however, when 13 year old Briony witnesses something horrible during a family get together; or at least she thinks she did.  The lives of everybody in the family change forever after that night, and Briony spends the rest of her life trying to make up for her actions.

There were a couple of unique things about Atonement and I'm not sure what I think of them.  It has one of the largest time shifts I've ever seen in a book, going from 1940 to 1999 at one point.  Although not unheard of, I have to admit that while reading about events which took place during the War and even before it, I did not expect to later be reading about 1999 or words like 'computer' and 'mobile phone.'  Secondly, and I don't think I've ever seen this before, the book switches from 3rd person in the first three parts to 1st person in the fourth and final part.  The book changes from being told about Briony and the Tallis family to being told by Briony about the Tallis family.  It was an interesting shift, but I found myself having to remember that "I" was one of the main characters, not a narrator.  It stuck me that this was the author breaking the "fourth wall", when one of the characters begins speaking to the reader.  I do enjoy the intimacy of 1st person narrations, as I find it to be as if the author and myself are in on a secret that nobody else knows about.  A similar technique was used in Midnight's Children, when the author continually mentioned writing the story, making it sound as if I were reading it as it was being written; literally standing over the typewriter while he worked away.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed Atonement and was eager to see what would happen next, but I wouldn't classify it as one of my favorites so far.  That isn't to say this wasn't a good book, quite the contrary, it just has pretty strong competition and they can't all be my favorite.


You can read the Time Magazine review from March 25, 2002, here. 

Notes: Briony was reading The Waves by Virginia Woolf at one point.  While it isn't on The List, two of her other books are; To the Lighthouse  and Mrs. Dalloway.  So far The Corrections is the only book from The List to mention another.

This is also the newest book I've read so far, and the 2nd newest book on The List.  Only Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go was published more recently.