Category Archives: Bookish Talk

The Sunday Salon: Post Promotion and Beyond

Kid #1 & #2 Promotion

This past week has been a busy one. On Friday, my son graduated (they call it promotion out here) from 6th grade. There was a ceremony to prepare for, so I took a few days off of work to just focus on that. It was a good move considering my “sick-in-bed” post last week.I needed a few extra days to regroup and prioritize.

Today, I am in a much better place but not until after a few emotional outbursts from the graduate. It seems that he considers himself a “man” now and his attitude took a nosedive which put a damper on all of the festivities. Frankly, all of it turned me into a blubbering idiot and I swore I would never be that but you know what? There’s a first time for everything.

The "Man"

I love the kid, but he sure can be a little…difficult.

Sunday Salon Button

Now that promotion is behind us and school is out, I can think “summer” and you know what that means? Summer camp, swimming, vacay and READING. Yeah, I still have to work but the pace is so much slower during the summer session that it’s actually kind of nice. A good time to catch-up on all of those projects that are half-done.

Right now I am reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. It’s good, but a tad slow for me. I’m hoping it picks up soon because I keep catching myself skimming. I’m still working on my summer reading list but it’s coming together. I think I’m done with it but I keep moving things around. I will probably post it within the next couple of days.

I’m also thinking of my next read-along venture. In July, Lisa from Lit & Life is thinking about doing a read-along for The Space Between Us, which I will definitely be a part of. I really enjoyed The Weight of Heaven so I can’t wait to read another book by Umrigar.

In August, I am thinking about doing a read-along for Orwell’s 1984.  Any interest?

As for today, I plan to just relax and let the day unfold. What do you have planned?

BTW…the title of this post is a nod to everything Toy Story because it is EVERYWHERE! Three aisles of toys at Target. I can hear the $Cha-Ching$ from here.

Wuthering Heights Wednesday: June 9, 2010 – Week 10 (Final)

Welcome to Wuthering Heights Wednesday! Softdrink is hosting a read-along of this classic novel, and we’re reading (and posting about) 3 chapters a week.

Volume II, Chapters 13-20 (final)

My Synopsis:

I doubled-up on this week’s reading so that I could be done with it and move on to other books. If you haven’t yet finished, come back later to read my thoughts as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.

Here we go…

Cathy escapes Wuthering Heights and ends up back at Thrushcross Grange. Good thing too because Edgar kicks the bucket.

She isn’t there for long, though. Heathcliff shows up at the Grange and orders Cathy to return to WH so that she can take care of her new husband, Linton. Mrs. Dean tries to negotiate a position within WH but Heathcliff wants none of it. Cathy is to live out her miserable existence without Mrs. Dean’s help.

A whole lot of nothing happens. Seriously. Heathcliff decides to dig up Cathy I’s grave, to see her lovely face again and apparently nothing has changed because she looks the same. He is taken aback by this so he sets the coffin lid off-center so that the elements can have their way with her. He instructs Joseph to see that his coffin is placed next to hers when his time comes and to make sure his coffin lid is also set off-center so that he and Cathy can be one in the same.

In the mean time, Linton dies. So what do you think is the next natural step for Cathy? Well, to fall in love with Hareton of course! This is almost enough to do Heathcliff in but not quite.

Out of the blue, Heathcliff begins to wander about the property. We know this because Mrs. Dean has been hired by HC since Zillah up and left. With each night that passes HC seems to be getting happier. Well, apparently he has begun to see the ghost of Cathy I, and this has brought him great joy. So much so that he opens all of his windows and catches his death from cold. Literally.

So Hareton and Cathy are happy. HC is dead and happy to be with dead Cathy. Mrs. Dean is none the worse for wear and Lockwood? Having missed his chance at winning Cathy’s hand, just sort of vanishes. I don’t think Bronte even mentioned what happened to him or if she did, it wasn’t important enough to remember.

My Thoughts:

I really don’t know what Bronte was thinking when she wrote Wuthering Heights. The first half was very dramatic and entertaining but the second half was really hard to get through. Did people live like this? Was this the norm? Why were these people so fragile? The breeze from an open window is enough to do them in, yet the staff live on forever!

When I read books like this, ones that are considered the most beloved classics of all time, I have to wonder…why? Why is this book considered a classic? One definition of a classic, is something that is old, but still popular. It’s old and it’s still popular but why?

I’m glad that I read it, but it’s not nearly as wonderful as I’d hoped it would be. It hasn’t left a lasting impression upon me and I couldn’t really relate to any one character. Can anyone explain to me why this one is considered a classic?

So thank you Fizzy. It’s been a fun, fun time. Better than Moby Dick, for sure.

Reading along: