Anniversary Covers

My love of book covers, and talking about book covers is no secret. But what may be less known, is my distaste for 'Anniversary' covers. Most recently, I read the "75th Anniversary Edition" of Their Eyes Were Watching God. It really felt special to be reading such a special edition of the book. I can't imagine how much less I would have got out of it had I read the 2012 edition.

Now I understand why publishers do this, obviously it's to sell more copies. And I'd be wrong if I said it didn't work. Unfortunately, people are suckers for this kind of thing and publishers know it.

I've never actually heard somebody say they love picking up anniversary covers however, which is probably because people don't usually announce why they're buying a specific copy of a book, but I can imagine the thought process in their heads. I can't believe it's already been 10 years since Boba Fett: A New Threat came out! I should get this anniversary copy to commemorate the year this was re-released."

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.

#73 - "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

So far, through the first month, my re-dedication is going well, and I can now boast that #73, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is in the can. It was a relatively quick read that I was able to finish last weekend, but didn't have a chance to put my thoughts to paper until now.

This is yet another book I knew nothing about until starting this project over four years ago. But that shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody anymore; after a quick look at the 73 book I've read so far, I'd guess I knew next to nothing about 55 of them. So I suppose this latest one can get in line...

Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of Janie Crawford, and African-American woman born into poverty in the late 19th century. The result of her mother's rape by a school teacher, Janie is raised by here grandmother, a former slave.

To go out of my dialect, which you

I've slowly been making progress on my latest book from the list, Their Eyes Were Watching God. I find I always seem to go pretty slowly when I first start a book, as I just haven't gotten wrapped up in the characters or the writing, and as a result don't feel as much of an inkling to read it.

In the case of this book, I'm finding myself reading even slower, because of the dialect the Southern, African-American characters speak. This is the same problem I've had with quite a few Southern novels, like Faulkner's two books, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.