Wild by Cheryl Strayed

2017 Reading Challenge - Read a travel memoir

I approached this book with some trepidation - I mean how exciting could a 315 page book about hiking a trail be?  I anticipated being bored for good chunks of the book, yet....I was not just pleasantly surprised, I was elated to find myself thoroughly enjoying this book.  Strayed wrote this so well, I was drawn to it over and over again to discover the people she met, the animals she encountered (even the snakes!) and the travails she overcame.

A part of me was jealous that she had the stamina, but even more so the personal freedom to embark on this challenge.  Whether it is nature or nature or my own fear or limitations, whatever you want to call it - I don't believe I have the personality to be that untethered to venture out with little preparation, with no Plan B.  My spontaneity is not having hotel reservations on a road trip, or getting off the interstate to drive a local route (a marked, local route).  Heck, I got nervous walking a poorly marked trail in a 259 acre CITY park!

So, the other part of me was not at all jealous of her adventure.  I enjoy wildlife from a distance, a far distance, and snakes - don't even enjoy them.  At the first site of a rattler I would have dropped all my gear and called it quits!

Like Cheryl, I think when you try to embark on something grandiose such as this to "find yourself" you envision having this moment(s) of clarity, a transcendence, when in fact you end up thinking (or trying not to think) about how painful each step is, how hungry you are, what that noise was behind you - the daily or hourly, minute details that we all get caught up in.  It isn't until the end of the journey that you understand that the clarity was in the process of the minute, its in the reflection of how you dealt with the difficult and the simple, its in letting yourself be quiet enough to let your soul speak to you and you taking the time to listen.  This can be done on months long hiking expedition, in a yoga class, in a soup kitchen, or in your own backyard - and can be done without encountering a single snake! ;-)

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

2017 Reading Challenge - Read a book published between 1900 and 1950.

I have an entire bookshelf of classic books from Easton Press, so this was a perfect challenge topic to open one of those beautiful books with it's leather binding, gold bound pages, hand drawn illustrations and ribbon bookmarks.

I've not read Steinbeck since high school when I trudged through Grapes of Wrath.  So I wasn't sure about selecting Steinbeck for this challenge, but I have a friend who loves him, another who recommended Of Mice and Men and it was a novella, so I knew I could get it done in no time!

What a profoundly sad book, which tends to be right up Steinbeck's alley.  I love Lennie and love George even more for loving Lennie.  Yet, there are just such sad lonely characters throughout the book who in the hopes of forgetting their troubles will belittle, threaten and bring down someone else.

I'm glad I read the book and I enjoyed it, but it leaves me with a heavy heart.  Thankful today is a bright sunny day that I can get out and shake off some of the sadness it has left me with.

Away by Amy Bloom

2017 Reading Challenge - book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative.

This was a two-fer for me. I had selected this book in our regular book club and it just so happened to fit the theme of the reading challenge - immigration narrative.

I have had this book on my club selection list for awhile and was SO looking forward to it! While I don't read detailed reviews, I do a little research on my book selections through book club websites, noting the book's popularity with clubs and their ratings. The book jacket seemed intriguing so it seemed like a good selection!

While I'm not a prude (I've read my share of erotica), I was taken aback by the few, but VERY detailed sex scenes in Bloom's book. I certainly don't mind erotica, but I know what I am getting when I choose to read that genre. It's another thing when I choose a historical, literary fiction book and discover erotica scenes that really were not necessary. The messages could have been conveyed with less detail and written innuendos. I felt Bloom did a disservice to the reader.

Aside from the surprise sex scenes, I never really connected to the characters. The end of the book felt terribly rushed compared to the drawn out detail of the first 1/2. The rushing of the final chapters also made the plot seem terribly unrealistic. Sadly, I waited a long time to savor this book and found myself terribly disappointed.

Quotes: "I think the most important thing in the world is being brave, I'd rather be brave than beautiful."