The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: A short tale of a boy on a mission to achieve his life's dream. I had heard that this book was supposed to be life-changing, revealing secrets of the world and life unto its readers. Not to be snobby or uppity, but I only sort of enjoyed it. I felt like I had already been introduced to the life secrets and ways of living that the book discussed. That was disappointing, but all in all, it was a good read. Very easy, fast-paced, to the point. I don't regret having read it-- it just wasn't the life-changer I was expecting and maybe even hoping for. However, the introduction hit home for me, in a very powerful way, and that made the whole book completely worth it.
Thireteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher: A girl records thirteen tapes of herself explaining her reason for suicide, then mails them to those thirteen people whom she considers semi-responsible for her death. The sense of guilt was overwhelming within the pages. What I took away most from it, though, was the sense of how we're all interconnected, a topic very close to my own heart. The smallest actions can have the biggest effects on people. Probably should have read this book in high school, as that seemed to be the reading level, but I still appreciated that it made me stop and think.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: Ooooooh. OOOOH. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book-- a nearly autobiographical description of the main character's slow descent into madness-- but I LOVED it. This book had me trying to figure out if maybe I weren't just as crazy. Sylvia Plath's writing describes the descent in such a subtle, sensible way that you can barely tell the difference between Esther "normal" and Esther "crazy." I practically ate this text right off the page, it was such a delicious story of madness and healing and slipping and finding yourself and losing yourself. I highly recommend this one, if you're not afraid to get down and dirty with what it meant to be a woman in the 50s who wasn't quite right-- or was she?
A Year of Writing Dangerously by Barbara Abercrombie: FAVORITE. 365 short "entries" about writing, encouragement, inspiration, blunt acknowledgement of difficulties, stress, joy-- and a quote from an author tied in to each entry. I am so in love with this book. If you are a writer, consider yourself a writer, want to be a writer, or have any affiliation with writing, stop what you're doing, get in your car, and go find a copy of this book. This book came at the perfect time in my life.
I have always felt different, abnormal, and weird for the things that go on in my headspace. But this book reassured me in the most peaceful way. It confirmed that the things I think, do, love, cry over, enjoy, stress about, etc.-- it's normal, because I see things through the eyes of a writer. It confirmed in my mind for me that this is TRULY what I want to do with my life, and it gave me the courage and strength I needed to move forward. It made me excited about coming home, exhausted after work, and squeezing in even just minutes of writing before bed. I read this book greedily, in a week, instead of an entry a day for a year. I needed the inspiration and comfort in large gulps, not doses.
I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from it, but honestly, 90% of them resonated so strongly with me that all I can say is to just go out and read the book for yourself. It calmed me in a way that brought tears of joy to my eyes-- that's how happy and relieved I was to have the author tell me that not only is living this way normal, it's wonderful. It's scary and exciting and dangerous and bizarre and looked down upon and praised and lonesome and fulfilling-- it's part of being a writer.
Looking forward to whatever titles pass under my eyes in February. Read on!
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