I really should venture into Bleak House and Tale of Two Cities and see if those novels get rid of the distaste and boredom I'm left with when I read Dickens. I refused to teach Great Expectations for fear of driving my students even further into hating me. I chose Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 instead as the ninth-grade novel.
Have you read Wilkie Collins' Moonstone? I read it in college and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I've moved on to Sue Kidd's second novel, The Mermaid Chair, and am going to see if it's as good as her first, The Secret Life of Bees. I don't know if these two constitute as "chick lit" per se, but I don't see too many guys curling up in a chair and losing themselves in her novels. Her imagery is beautiful, though. Along similar lines with Alice Hoffman.
Tell me, have you noticed that if an author comes out with a brilliant piece of work the first go 'round, many can never repeat it again?
I also recently read Wasted, Marya Hornbacher's memoir (not as embellished as James Frye's work) regarding her battle with anorexia and bulimia. Hmmm...let me tie this back to the make up topic that began this thread. I think every person uses some tool to help chisel away at the insecurities that lie within. For some, these tools are reckless, harmful; for others, the tools of choice are whimsical and harmless (like dependence upon make up in order to go to the grocery on a Saturday morning).
I saw so many parallels between Hornbacher's experience and the pitfalls of this industry--what leads a person down this particular competitive road and what keeps us coming back for more. One of my close friends who does national-level fitness is in the middle of the book now and mentioned she saw these parallels too. I wonder if anyone else has read the book and noticed the connections as well?
