I tried to post this the other day with my post on books and reading, but I couldn’t watermark the photo.
If you’re ever in Paris make sure you get to the charming Shakespeare and Co on the Left Bank. It’s everything a bookstore should be – cozy, full of books, knowledgable staff, quirky and full of character, hosts and organizes great events.
I wish I came up with that all by myself, because that’s exactly how I feel. But alas, I can’t lay claim to that clever line. Maud Casey, supposedly, was the one who said, “I was born with a reading list I will never finish.” I recently came across an excerpt from one of her books in an anthology I was reading on women and madness. I’m serious. Here’s a post on that.
Sadly, I don’t even have make time to read these days but I still try to buy all the books on my ever-going list and add them to my library. (See number 1 on this list.) I love books a little too much. If our school library could talk — middle and high school — it would certainly vouch for me. There were books that I borrowed over 5 times! First it was the Roald Dahl’s then the original Nancy Drew’s, The Hardy Boys and The Chronicles of Narnia. I also went through unhealthy and somewhat obsessive phases that started with Goosebumps, extended to Christopher Pike and Stephen King. And like most other teenagers, I cherished my Babysitter’s Club books and Sweet Valleys. Life was good, I would spend hours with a book without feeling guilty for not picking something up or finishing something else off.
Lately, I’ve been listening to audiobooks while I drive. So far, I’ve ‘read’ The Help, Tina Fey’s Bossy Pants, A Dog’s Purpose and Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. I enjoyed all four and can’t wait to start my next audiobook (any suggestions?). But I do miss holding the book, you know? And turning pages. The old-fashioned way. No iPads, iPods or Kindles. So I finally forced myself to pick up a book again. I’ve been having trouble focusing while reading and so there’s a growing pile of books on my desk that I start and can’t finish. But I think I’m finally snapping out of my ennui, thanks to my cousin. A few days ago, she dropped off a couple of books she had borrowed from me. And with my books she gave me her tattered copy of Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. I’m probably the only English Lit major in the world who hasn’t read that novel. Seven times. I haven’t seen the movie either…
My cousin has been raving about this novel. I just got started on it and for some reason I’m really surprised/impressed by the pace. I guess I didn’t expect a 19th century French novel to be packed with adventure or to move so rapidly. I’m hoping this book inspires me to read again. If doesn’t, then I’m in serious need of a vacation.
So, what are you currently reading?
I am currently (for the past few weeks, on and off, very slowly) reading Rebecca Shannonhouse’s anthology, Out of Her Mind, on women and madness. It’s an excellent anthology that chronologically depicts women’s struggle with madness through select excerpts starting in the 15th century with Margery Kempe’s record of madness in women in The Book of Margery Kempe (believed to be the earliest autobiography in English, first published in 1936) and ending with Maud Casey’s A Better Place to Live, 2001. The book, Out of Her Mind, is “a remarkable chronicle of gifted and unconventional women who have spun their turmoil into literary gold” and every excerpt (6-8 pages) makes me want to buy that book and read it.
The book shows how at one time women were labeled “mad” for rejecting socially imposed roles, for having a different opinion about religion, for wanting a career. The questions that inspired Shannonhouse’s anthology were:
To answer these questions, Shannonhouse presents the reader with selections from the writings of women who rendered their own psychological turmoil in American literature and also uncovers forgotten writings on madness by women like Zelda Fitzgerald. The excerpts she chooses explore the ever-changing definition of madness. By depicting madness in various times and societies, Out of Her Mind got me thinking about the Kuwaiti woman’s struggle with madness. What does it mean to be insane in Kuwait? How are women diagnosed with mental illness? What are the experiences of women who have been diagnosed with mental illness — more importantly, who diagnosed them? And are they receiving treatment? Were they born this way?
I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place