Chapter Two: The Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge TBR
Chapter Two: The Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge TBR
I know, I know, I know. I said I would be joining The Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge a while ago and right now it is half of the year has passed. But, here is the list of the books I would be reading for this challenge.
Lets start with the first challenge, which is to read ‘a book published the decade you were born’. For this one I have decided to read The Secret by Julie Garwood.…
If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you might have noticed that I initially started reading Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood for “a book in translation,” one of my last reading challenge prompts for 2017. I’m sure that the book is wonderful and I know that a lot of people have enjoyed it, but it wasn’t the right book for me at this current point in my life, so I set it aside and moved on to a different book in translation, Han Kang’s The Vegetarian.
The Vegetarian is one of those polarizing books. It has an average of 3.58 stars on Goodreads, with almost as many 3-, 2-, and 1-star ratings as 4- and 5-star rating. Read some reviews, and you’ll notice that almost everybody falls into one of three categories. They either a) absolutely loved it and thought it was brilliant, b) absolutely hated it and thought it was repulsive, or c) had literally no idea what was going on and rated it somewhere in the middle. To be honest, I fall into Category C.
In this book, Yeong-hye has always behaved just as society expects. She’s a picture-perfect wife, keeping a perfect house, cooking classic Korean dishes, and even earning a little money of her own. One night, Yeong-hye has a dream. There’s so much death in the world, so much blood on her hands, that she can no longer bring herself to eat meat. In some countries, this wouldn’t be a problem. In South Korea, where Yeong-hye lives, her refusal to eat meat is seen as a problem to be solved at best and a mental disorder at worst.
The Vegetarian made me uncomfortable. I mean, it’s supposed to. It’s not some cheerful little book that you read to de-stress after a long day. It’s filled with troubling imagery and scenes in which people show the worst parts of their personalities. This is the 130th book I’ve read in 2017 and it’s the first to give me a legitimate nightmare. I am, to be perfectly honest, very happy that the book is only 188 pages. I just wanted it to be done.
I’ll come right out and say that I did not understand the deeper meaning of most of the book. I know that it’s an allegory, but that did little to clear things up for me. The ending? Went right over my head. This is a well-written book that, to me, seems more suited to discussion in a college literature class than to pleasure reading. I’m not surprised that it’s been nominated for several awards or that it won the International Man Booker Prize.
In 18th century England, Henry “Monty” Montague, his best friend Percy, and his sister Felicity embark on their Grand Tour of the Continent, hoping to hit such destinations as France and Spain before depositing Felicity at finishing school and Percy at law school. While Monty assumes that his Tour will be filled with drinks, parties, and romantic escapades, his dreams are dashed when his strict father hires a man to watch over the trio and make sure no shenanigans are had. Despite the preparations, everything that could possibly go wrong does, and the trio finds themselves faced with everything from highwaymen to sinking islands. Meanwhile, Monty is dealing with his ever-present feelings for Percy and the knowledge that a public relationship with another boy would mean the end of his inheritance and everything he’s ever known.
I’ve been eagerly anticipating this book since the very first early reviews started rolling in, but the reviews since then have been pretty mixed. I’m calling this my “book you don’t want to admit you’re dying to read” because of the overall silly tone of it and the mixed reviews.
To start off, I want to say that I understand the criticisms of this book. Even as I was reading, I thought to myself, “I bet this is a section a lot of people took issue with.” Monty is not perfect. He’s privileged, he’s flippant, and he feeds into bisexual stereotypes. He runs around at all hours of the day and night with boys and girls and, initially, it seems like he’s never really faced any consequences for his actions.
Certainly, sometimes he doesn’t. Monty truly is privileged in many ways. His family’s wealth and position mean that he can be as rude as he likes to the nobility with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He can be caught hooking up with a woman and not be punished. He has never gone hungry, never been without a comfortable bed, never wanted for anything. He has never considered the degree of his privilege. I can absolutely see how Monty might be a frustrating character. The thing is, it’s completely realistic. Have you ever tried to tell someone like Monty that they’re privileged? Yeah, good luck with that.
The thing that makes Monty a good character is that he learns from his mistakes and grows as a person. At the beginning of the book, he can’t even comprehend other people’s struggles. He’s never considered that his biracial best friend couldn’t get away with half of what Monty takes for granted. He realizes that his sister, like many other females, might not be content to sit around waiting on her future husband. He also realizes that he’s had it rather easy for much of his life and that things could most certainly be worse.
That said, I didn’t really expect this book to tackle quite so many issues! The writing style is so lighthearted that sometimes I didn’t even notice that the author threw in a lesson until I took the time to think about it. Through Monty’s eyes, we see racism, homophobia, ableism, anxiety, alcohol abuse, child abuse, and sexism. When I first started this book, I wondered where Monty had found such liberal, accepting parents in the 1700s. When we learn that Monty’s parents are actually anything but accepting and his father is actually an awful human being, I just wanted to adopt this fictional kid who lived 300 years ago. Or at least just give him a hug.
Another big criticism of this book that I’ve seen, aside from the whole privilege piece, is Monty’s treatment of Percy. I will agree that he does not behave in an ideal manner toward his friend. However, I completely understand where he’s coming from. He’s been released into the wild, so to speak, away from his abusive father and the confines of his home country. Yes, he’s sassy and promiscuous and fancies himself an adult, but he’s just eighteen years old. He’s the age of a high school senior and in love with his same-sex best friend. He both desperately wants Percy to know on the off chance that something could happen, but he also absolutely doesn’t want him to know for fear of the repercussions. How does he handle his feelings? He jokes around. He makes light of everything. When asked if he likes Percy like that, he basically says, “Yes, no, maybe, I’m not sure what you want me to say.” I get it. I’m straight and living in the 21st century and this stuff is hard for me. Imagine being bisexual in the 18th century!
So, all in all, the book isn’t without its faults, but it is a whole lot of fun. It’s well-written with loveable characters and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it so much. At the end of 2018, Mackenzi Lee is releasing The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, and I cannot wait.
Final rating: ★★★★☆
#mmdreading: a book you don’t want to admit you’re dying to read
That’s that! I have officially completed the 2017 Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenge!
a book you chose for the cover: Batter Up by Robyn Neeley
a book with a reputation for being un-put-down-able: Infini by Krista & Becca Ritchie
a book set somewhere you’ve never been but would like to visit: Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse
a book you’ve already read: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
a juicy memoir: Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham
a book about books or reading: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
a book in a genre you usually avoid: Damaged Like Us by Krista & Becca Ritchie
a book you don’t want to admit you’re dying to read: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
a book in the backlist of a new favorite author: The Allure of Julian Lefray by R.S. Grey
a book recommended by someone with great taste: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
a book you were excited to buy or borrow but haven’t read yet: Faithful by Alice Hoffman
a book about a topic or subject you already love: Glamour by A.L. Jackson, Sophie Jordan, Aleatha Romig, Skye Warren, Lili St. Germain, Nora Flite, Sierra Simone, and Nicola Rendell
a Newbery award winner or honor book: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
a book in translation: The Vegetarian by Han Kang
a book that’s more than 600 pages: A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
a book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection: Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
a book of any genre that addresses current events: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
an immigrant story: Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung
a book published before you were born: Beauty by Robin McKinley
three books by the same author: Double Team, Prince Albert, and Prick by Sabrina Paige
a book by an #ownvoices or #diversebooks author: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
a book with an unreliable narrator or ambiguous ending: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
a book nominated for an award in 2017: The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
a Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award winner: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
I hate (and I mean hate) re-reading books, but it’s something I used to do a lot when I was younger.
In elementary school, I think I re-read the same three or four Royal Diaries until my school’s librarian was like, “Sara, maybe check out something else for a change.” In middle school, I switched over to Tamora Pierce and honestly, I probably read each of her books at least five times. For the most part, I stopped re-reading by the time I was in high school. I think it was around that time that I realized just how many books there were that I hadn’t read yet. I realized that the books I could read weren’t just limited to what I could find in my library or in the tiny bookshop downtown. I also got my first debit card and realized I could buy totally new books online with my babysitting money. The only books I re-read these days are my nephew’s storybooks. I’ll never stop appeasing him by reading it “just one more time.”
But sometimes, my yearly reading challenge will insist that I re-read a book. Unfortunately, I don’t think reading the same board book sixteen times in one night counts. If I’m being perfectly honest, I don’t understand the point of this prompt. I think this is the third year that I’ve been asked to re-read a book, and I always leave it until the very end of the year because there are just so many other books that I could be reading.
Obviously, it would be better to re-read a book that I loved. The problem with that is that most of the books I’ve loved are part of a series, and what, I’m just going to re-read one of the books? No, once I get going, I’ll be in a ten-book rabbit hole and there goes a month of my life. I’d initially chosen a cute, summery book that I planned to read in August, but then life got in the way. So, in honor of Love, Simon, I decided to re-read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. You can see my first review here.
I liked Simon vs. the first time around. The second time around? I loved it. Has Simon always been this goofy kid who stumbles through life not really knowing what to do with himself? I mean, I suppose so, but he’s just so much more endearing than I remembered.
Another thing that was just more than I remembered was the whole blackmail aspect. In the two years since I first read this book, I had almost completely forgotten about it. Talk about a conflict. And Simon’s reaction! And the eventual way that it all turns out.
And the romance. First of all, it’s even more adorable than I remembered, and -- I can’t believe I’m admitting this -- I’m glad I re-read this book so that I could see all the little hints about Blue’s identity. I’m so curious about how this is all going to play out on the big screen, and I couldn’t help but picture the actors as I was reading.
I never thought I’d say it, but this is one book that I could see myself reading over and over again.
As a side note, don’t you think everyone should have to come out? Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it should be this big awkward thing whether you’re straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I’m just saying.
If you pay any sort of attention to feminism these days, it’s pretty hard to escape Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey. It’s all over Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Goodreads... you name it, it’s there. Everyone I know that’s read it has rated it five stars. I don’t think there’s another book in existence that can make that claim. I was expecting to be blown away.
And it was good. I listened to it as an audiobook narrated by the author. She puts a lot of emotion into her reading, and some of her poems hit me directly in the heart. To fathers with daughters, in particular, wrenched my heart out of my chest:
every time you
tell your daughter
you yell at her
out of love
you teach her to confuse
anger with kindness
which seems like a good idea
till she grows up to
trust men who hurt her
cause they look so much
like you
I mean... I’m not sure I’ve ever read something that’s resonated with me more than that short passage. There were a lot of poems in this book that made me feel things. In general, I’m not a huge fan of poetry, and I often fail to react to it the way that I’m supposed to. That’s not the case here, where I definitely reacted to what I was hearing.
The only thing that stopped me from giving this book a full five stars is that I just expected... more. Seeing that row of consistent five-star ratings given by people I trust and admire made me think that I would be rendered speechless by the sheer emotion of the book. And I was, for some pages, at least. Others, not so much.
I think Rupi Kaur is most certainly an author to watch, and if you have an interest in feminism, you really can’t go wrong with this short book of poetry.
Final rating: ★★★★☆
#mmdreading: a book recommended by someone with great taste
Jennifer Egan’s spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other’s pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs, over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Africa.
The first chapter is good. A bit... fluffier and more explicit, maybe, than I would expect from a Pulitzer winner, but good. The problem is that what makes the book stand out -- its many characters -- also makes it difficult to care about. I got all invested in Sasha’s story, and then we never heard from her again. I got invested in Dolly’s story, and then we never heard from her again. I got invested in Stephanie’s story, and then we never heard from her again. Do you see where I’m going with this? Egan gives us just enough to start to care about the characters, but there’s never any closure.
I was about ready to DNF after the third character change in three chapters. And not only does the character change, but so does the writing style. Everybody has a different voice, which is impressive and also excessive because we have chapters written in first, second, and third person, as well as present and past tense. Heck, there’s even a chapter that solely consists of a PowerPoint presentation. Not only that, but the time between chapters could span decades -- and then we’d hop right back in the past.
This was another thing that frustrated me. I can handle character jumps and time period jumps, but at least tell me what’s going on. What’s so difficult about starting a chapter with the heading “BENNIE SALAZAR, 1983″ -- or something similar. At least I’d have some idea of what’s going on. I wish the relationship between all of the characters had been better stated, as well. Some connections were clear, a daughter or friend that was mentioned in a previous chapter. Others were tangential at best, and after finishing, I still have no idea what I read.
The book does start to pick up around the halfway mark, or maybe that’s just when I decided to power through and finish. I’d been reading for three days and it was three days too many, so I just sat myself down and read straight through until I finished.
This book tried so hard to be clever, but it just didn’t do it for me. It exemplifies everything that I hate about literary fiction: the lack of plot, the sweeping statements that are supposed to be thought-provoking but just fall flat, the random analogies, and the unlikeable characters. This is so far from other Pulitzer winners that I’ve read that I just have to wonder what the committee was thinking when they chose this over the thousands of other books published in 2010.
Final rating: ★★☆☆☆
#mmdreading: a Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award winner
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My very first Jane Austen read! 😱 Also the first book I finished on the Serial Reader app, which I am totally in love with! 😍 📚 Thanks @thereadinglawyer for putting it on my bookish radar! . . . #stickynotebookreview #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #serialreader #classics #janeausten #prideandprejudice #mmdreading #mmdreadingchallenge2017 #unputdownable #bookapps #bookish #bookwormlife #bingereading
