Owlowiscious Girls

Where have you been all my life?  Oh, right, you have been in every used book store and thrift shop- TILL NOW!  These are the words I want to say as I give myself a small taste of the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  I only had time to get to page 80 but I can already tell this will be a book I will really enjoy and love. I have the audio book ready and have to admit have never been a big fan of the Brooklyn accent or of this particular era in history (1910s-20s) but this book could most certainly change my opinion of both. Has stated above I have seen this book in MANY  used bookstore and thrift store, but never picked it up.  I don't know why I even noticed this book so many times but maybe all this time it has been calling for me to read it and I have been ignoring it!  Well not today- not today!  I am going to love on this book and I am going to snatch up this book if I ever DO see it again in a used book sale because unfortun...

The only thing I knew about A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is that it has a really ugly cover and it is on quite a few lists of must read books.  I also thought I heard some where that it is a funny book so I hope I laugh a little- it is hard to write a funny book and I don't usually think a lot of the same things are funny as other people do. My first impressions of a little over an hour of reading this book- Ignatius is a slob.  Poor Mrs. Reilly- no wonder she drinks if she has to take care of this man child.  Why do you have to boil milk to make coffee?  The undercover costumes the policeman has to wear sound hilarious.  Well, color me intrigued. It was a beautiful day for reading outside on my blanket with a Coke.  I got this book from the library and it is fairly long so I don't think I will be able to read it by September though it seems entertaining enough to get back to.   

During this Great American Read series I have mostly been doing books I have read or have at least some connection with in some way- now we are starting a section of books I know little to nothing about starting with A Separate Peace by John Knowles.  I knew nothing about this book and I had no thoughts on it, but after an hour of reading a few reviews and flipping through the book here are my first impressions. This is a boy book or at least would appeal more to men.  I don't like main characters who break rules for no good reason other than being selfish.  This doesn't seem like a book I will like, but it looks short enough so this will likely be my next book to check off the list.  It also is a very American book and I like the era surrounding World War II so it should have something interesting in it.  I got this copy from the public library.  It looks a little nondescript so it makes me curious even if the characters are already not my favo...

1984 by George Orwell- I have read this book only once about 10 years ago.  I remember very little about it except I remember I loved it.  For the most part I really love speculative worlds or dystopian fictions like Hunger Games , The Giver, and Fahrenheit 451 so it isn't surprising that I do love this one. But this is what I do remember: a bleak world, changing words, Big Brother, and the RATS.  I think I asked myself what my ultimate fear would be, but I don't think I came up with a concrete answer.  I wish I had time to reread it or at least skim some but I was pretty busy today.  I took a really silly picture of what I remember from the real 80s- the side ponytail.  I know it has little to do with the novel but I thought it was fun. #VOTE1984

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is absolutely mad.  Now I did say I was going to try to stick with the books but it is hard to just stick with books when usually your first experience with the characters from said book were from a movie.  The Disney version is mad but not as bat insane crazy as some of the MANY MANY movies and made for tv versions as I have tried to watch.  I still have not seen the most recent one either.  My middle daughter loved the Disney animated version so much before we had streaming I told her it broke the VHS player (this is only partially true). But all this to say I haven't actually sat down and read the book.  It was always too crazy, too loud, too insane, too trippy, and no plot and no morals.  These are the things I kinda have to have in my stories at least a GOOD story should have those things.  So here I am reading it for the very first time as it is a very short book.  It shouldn't take me too...

There is no question in my mind that I love this book!  Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery is a book full of hope, imagination, and if a book can be a bosom friend this one would be it. I watched the 1985 Anne of Green Gables movie hundreds of times, but I wouldn't really recommend Netflix "Anne with an E" as it is really dark and I don't know what in the world the producers were thinking with the story.  I have only read the book within the past 5 years.  I still haven't read the rest of the series, but this book just gives me all the feels.  For a refresher I read  the chapter where Rachel Lynde says, "Her hair is as red as carrots!"  Oh!  Anne!  Let me give you a hug!  You are so beautiful!  Red hair is amazing!  I will be your bosom friend!  These are the things I want to shout when I read this. If you haven't read this book- read this book!  It is gentle.  It is not in your face.  It is...

According to Goodreads I marked this book as read.  And after listening to about an hour or so of the audio book I am pretty sure I did read it all the way to the end.  I really hope I am not cheating because the only version I remember reading was one of those Illustrated Abridged Classics, but I vaguely remember reading a lot of it in school.  I am going to count that I read it.  This is the copy I remember reading- I felt cheated when I found out all of these books were abridged! When I think of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain I think of Disneyland and Jonathan Taylor Thomas.  I got lost in the cave so I can at least pretend I relate. I am a bigger fan of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .  Even though I was assigned to read it at least three times in my memory, it really did get better at every read.  Nevertheless the book on the list is very American and I guess I will give it a vote at least once because I stil...