Reading Challenge: Angel, dog or Yeti

[angelicmobster8]

Book more than 100 years old: 12 Years a Slave (1853) by Solomon Northup

• You can read it here. It's on Librivox, but I didn't like that dudes voice for this.

Book with a Love Triangle: East of Eden (1952) by John Steinbeck

• Not as love triangle-y (Cal/Abra/Aron) as I thought it would be. I made this assumption based on the Kazan movie, which I saw forever ago. I guess there was sort of a love triange between Cathy, Adam and Charles.


• Right off the bat, he's gives us racism (against Native Americans). I was like, gawd John, couldn't wait until I was more invested in the book?


• Then he also says that women become prostitutes because they're lazy. Whatever John.


• I really liked Cathy, even though she was sort of written in a sexist way sometimes. Gillian Flynn said something about the need for more female psychopaths in fiction, Jennifer Lawrence is supposed to play Cathy in an upcoming movie. Jo Van Fleet and Jane Seymour have played her in the past.


• "Goddamn the string beans!"


• What's up with all the boob description, John? Describing teenage Abra as "well breasted", wtf?


• The Steinbeck home is lovely.

Mystery/Thriller: The Blue Last (2001) by Martha Grimes

• It's the 17th book in a series, but I don't think it matters


• Carole-anne? What a disgusting name.


• The bookstore sounds lovely. lovelyloveloylfjdfhdkhfdj


• I liked this book (although the chapters about the paintings were kind of bleh), but the ending was too abrupt. I understand a cliffhanger, but this one made me think my copy of the book was messed up. I have the 18th book, so hopefully that clears some things up.

Short Stories: by Vladimir Nabokov

• Still reading this, there are over 60 stories. I probably should have picked a different one. It's fine though, I'll read 2 stories after finishing a book. I should be done by the summer.


• WTF happened in "Wingstroke"? Was it really an angel or a flying Russian Yeti? Whaaaaaaaat.

I'd hate to add more to my 50 Shades tag, but Roxane Gay wrote this article back when she read the books. It's really good and probably wouldn't make the women who defend the series feel bad.