:(

I've been a horrible, horrible person.
I haven't read.
for a whole week.
Yeah, I don't know what got into me, but I just couldn't get myself to read. Of course, I realized that needed to change when I remembered that I needed to finish one of these novels for class, which starts on September 3, besides having a ton of stuff to do. Guess I'll have to really dive in now.

Currently Reading: Absalom, Absalom! and The Awakening

Fifteen books down, 208 to go.

It's official, I've finally finished The Grapes of Wrath. It might have taken a little poking and prodding, but I got it done. And as much as I loved Steinbeck's writing, I have to admit, I just didn't "get it". Yes, the novel has plot, but there is no real defining climax or resolution; things just happen; people come and go. And because of that, the whole novel almost seemed pointless. Yeah, times are tough. Yeah, big business sucks. Yeah, oppressed masses are going to get pissed. The point is? (I feel so bad bashing a piece of classic literature!)
But the writing is still amazing and Steinbeck's mastery of dialect is unparallelled, so I'll still give it a rating of four stars.

Currently Reading

Since only one person voted in my poll and that vote was for Absalom, Absalom!, that's what I started reading today. I got my copy from Paperbackswap.com (the best value on earth for anyone who reads at al) and took it along with me to the dentist. And as I was sitting in the waiting room, I noticed something quite odd. Here I was, the teenager who can barely get herself up and out the door on time in the morning, let alone keep my room clean for a week, and I'm reading Faulkner, while my mother is reading Sloppy Firsts, chick lit at its best (or worst?). Rather ironic, hmmm?
And while you're out and about on the web, be sure to check out To Write Love on Her Arms. They're a great charity that works to reach out to teens who are struggling with depression, eating disorders and drug addiction and connect them with the help they need. But what makes them unique is the means by which they do it: the web. Today's teens are more active online than anywhere else, so it only makes sense to reach them where they are.

Currently Reading: The Grapes of Wrath

Here ends the first week of my challenge and the verdict is in: I'm crazy.
Everyone whom I've told about my challenge has given me that same boggle-eyed, open-mouthed stare and I know that the first words out of their mouth will be something along the lines of "Are you out of your mind?". There are times when I'm slogging through the slow parts of The Grapes of Wrath and I think to myself, "What on earth am I doing?". I know it certainly won't be the last time I say that, but slogging through books has become oddly satisfying. Even if I only sit down and read five pages or two pages or one, slowly but surely, I'm moving through.
As far as the book itself goes, it is certainly not a suspenseful novel, but I keep reading on because I have become so invested in the Joads' well-being, whether they will find work or starve, basically if it's going to have a sad or happy ending. But my favorite parts are the two-, three-page chapters where Steinbeck leaves the plotline and explores the historical and physical setting of the story, providing background and depth to the plot. Absolutely gorgeous prose in its own way.