I’m back, well-rested, and with about four or five books to review. To say that it was a productive week would be an understatement. Not only did I finish Middlemarch, of which I had a huge chunk remaining, I also was able to knock out three others books sent to me by publishers. The best part – I enjoyed every one of them.
I also started The Brothers Karamazov, my next book club book. This book I consider my nemesis because it is the only book that I have not been able to finish. I get to a certain point and completely lose interest. This has happened to me three different times, but I swear that I will get through it this time. I haven’t backed out of a book club book yet, and it will not happen with this one. The really sad part – I really enjoy the beginning of the book. I love Dostoyevsky. And yet – three times stopped and started. No more.
I was able to completely ignore the computer for the last week as well. I did bring my laptop because I thought I was going to do some work, but I opted about halfway through the week not to do so. One week without access to e-mail was wonderful, but I know it is going to take me the better part of an hour or longer to go through my messages. Still, it was great to decompress and unplug (sort of – I still had my Blackberry, although all I did was take note of the messages without reading them).
We were able to watch a few movies last week – Doubt and The Reader. Both were excellent, although my husband felt that he had more questions than answers after finishing The Reader. I had read the book, so I knew what to expect, but he didn’t quite get the point. Actually, I do see his point to some extent. What is the point? How much the relationship meant to both of them? Hanna’s redemption? Does she redeem herself when she learns to read? For anyone who has read it or seen the movie, what are your thoughts?
This week, I hope to get back into the swing of things. I have my four reviews to write. I also have my e-mail to check, and I believe one more load of laundry to fold. I need to continue to push forward on The Brothers Karamazov. In addition, I started and am completely enthralled with South of Broad, the new book by the author who wrote The Prince of Tides. In all, it looks like it will be a busy week!
Happy Reading!
Enjoy your vacation! Unplugging was great, although it's going to take me a while to recover and write all these book reviews. Although I will admit that my phone let me stay in touch. I read e-mails but did not respond to them.
As for The Reader, I don't think there was much more to the book. They talk more about Michael's anguish during the trial, what he went through when he decided to start reading to Hanna again. It's a very cerebral book, since most of the conflict is internal. I guess I considered it a decent, albeit non-traditional, love story.
Welcome back! Glad you enjoyed your vacation. We're heading off on ours tomorrow and I'll be without a computer for the next week and a half — feels weird already.
I'm kind of with your husband, I didn't quite get the point of The Reader either (I've only seen the movie). Learning to read at any age is great, but hardly seems enough to redeem her, especially given that she didn't seem to have any remorse for her actions. Was there more to the book?