Stef's 2022 Top 22 New Year's Resolution Reading Challenge - The Results

Happy New Year 2023! This is a blog post a year in the making, that I had to finally update lol. Here are the books that I have read in 2022, per my Top 22 Books in my To Be Read List of 2022, and some of my thoughts about them. :) I will also include some honorable mentions of books that I have started this year but haven't proceeded or completed.

There is only eight here and some of them aren't from the original list, but the important thing is that I did read! lol

Top 22 Books on my To Read List for 2022

One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more. Every moment I get the urge to needlessly and aimlessly scroll on social media "liking" posts and/or getting depressed and irritated or get stuck watching some classic back to back late night TV or YouTube videos, I want to put my phone down and turn the TV and laptop off to pick up a good book instead. It relaxes me, takes me out of the real world for awhile and into a new one, and helps me sleep better, which is another one of my resolutions. 

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews - Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man by Emmanuel Acho

Happy Black History Month! This book that I am about to share with you is perfect reading material for this month.

One night back in January, I was at Barnes & Noble and in a very good mood. I was walking around, browsing like usual, when I came across a display for Black American culture. There was an Alicia Keys memoir that looked interesting, but then I came across another book that drew my attention. 

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews Summer 2017 Reading Challenges! - Final Update

You know, as fun as this was, I couldn't wait to finish this summer reading challenge. lol

This is it, friends. We've reached the end. :( And it's now fall, so I REALLY need to get this blog post out.

I HATE that I am like THREE MONTHS late with this! Ugh! I want to move onto other books and reading challenges!

You'd be excited to know (I know I am) that I actually managed to complete my reading of TWO (2) books since my last update! I'm going to talk about them in this blog! lol

I did read a little bit of Tina Fey's Bossypants during this time as well, but it didn't fully grab me. I don't really connect much with her humor, although her stories are interesting. Also, I didn't attempt Nicholas Sparks's The Wedding. :P

Okay now, back to the book reviews at hand.

Now, since they are both fiction pieces that I have completed, this blog post is littered with spoilers that I want to discuss, so please read at your own risk here. 

I actually haven't read any books yet since these two because I wanted to get this blog post out first before I resume my reading. I want to write about these books while they are still fresh in my mind instead of trying to remember them while reading others. And I'm tired of keeping myself from reading more books on my list!

(Edit: I actually have been reading more books now, which further inspired me to come back to write this blog, so that's good. :) )

But now that time has passed, it's not as fresh in my mind anymore of what I wanted to say and analyze, which I HATE, but I'll do my best.

Let's start with The Woman in the Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware.

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews Summer 2017 Reading Challenges! - Final Update PREVIEW

Hey all! I haven't forgotten about this series! I want to complete it soon! It's always in the back of my mind!

I've just been so busy with the play and my freelancing and such that I haven't really been able to devote the time and effort I need for the final installment. There's a lot I want to say about the final two books and I don't want to rush it. I hope to read more books soon too. I've been holding off a bit because I haven't written about the last summer ones yet and don't want to forget them. :P

I'm a little annoyed that I couldn't have gotten it done before autumn hit like I wanted to, but I hope to deliver soon!

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews Summer 2017 Reading Challenges! - Fourth Update

You know that part in "Hamilton" in "Nonstop" when the lyrics go "Why/How do you write like you're running out of time?"?

Well, I kinda feel this way now, only I am reading like I am running out of time. I'm at the point where I am juggling three books at once and wondering if this is the right way to go about it and if I should just focus on one at a time.

We are now in August, which is technically the final month of my Summer 2017 Reading Challenge, so now I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do.

Here are my pages numbers now:

Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate - 445 out of 721

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer - 99 out of 323

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware - 34 out of 340

Since I have completed Mindy Kaling's book, I have been doing some catching up with Beach Blondes. I am not in the August part yet, but the transition between June and July in the book didn't matter much for me to time it this way. There is no indication that months change between parts (even reading ahead between July and August proves such), so it doesn't make much of a difference. Also, I'm pretty sure that I will be reading the August part in August eventually anyway.

I still consider it a light read, but once I read the progress in Diana's storyline, I find myself in need of a break from it. The things that she endures are so heartbreaking that it infuriates me, so I need to break away and read some comedienne memoirs.

I hadn't been reading much of Amy Schumer's book, although I wished to continue it. However, in fact, I was also considering returning it to the library earlier due to my lack of interest in it.

I started reading The Woman in Cabin 10 and so far I am glad that I have not purchased this book or returned Schumer's in lieu of it. The action is kinda slow and because of something that happens in the first chapter, the main character Lo loses sleep and most of Ware's descriptions is explaining how tired she is, making the story an actual sleeper. I'm hoping it picks up better. I am currently a chapter away from Part 2, actually. It is due back at the library on August 14, so I have time with it.

I finally did manage to read more of Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, but I think I might be done with this book for the summer. I returned it to Sprague Library on August 2, its due date, and was actually looking forward to doing so. Throughout these blog posts I have been kinda "meh" about it, so I guess this was the best time for us to finally part.

If you plan on reading this book thinking that it is going to be her being funny, you are highly mistaken. This was my surprise.

I mean, she's somewhat funny at certain times. But for the most part, she isn't.

What's interesting is that when I first picked up this book, I was initially more excited to read it than Kaling's (before I actually started reading Kaling's). I felt more of a connection to Schumer and so I was looking forward to reading about what we had in common and maybe learn some things from her. Don't get me wrong, there are some similarities that she and I do share and I found that I have more in common with her than I thought. I appreciate learning this kind of stuff because I originally saw her one way, but because this book allows her to be truthful about herself, it made it a partial interesting read and easier for me to relate to her.

However, this ultimately lead to my biggest issue with the book: it's morbidity. Instead of talking about her career and the many humorous things that have happened to her, which was what I was anticipating and she does briefly, she mainly discusses family problems, sexual assault, relationship abuse, gun violence, etc. Every time I went to read another chapter thinking it was going to be any less heavy, it turned out to be yet another story that made me even sadder about life. They read more like PSA announcements. She provides a personal example and then ends with her testimony.

When I read a book or watch a movie or play, I understand that these art forms are used to take a stand and can brilliantly achieve this, but I also do so to get inspired or explore another domain for a bit. If I wanted to read about or see how horrible the world is, I'd just go on social media or read any news article. I read books and watch films to get away from this.

Basically put, this book is a collection of Amy Schumer's serious side, or as what I like to call, "Serious Schumer."

However, this being said, I now see her in a new light and respect her more for this too. Each chapter focuses on a certain topic that she talks about for a reason and she is completely honest. Though each one comes across morbid at first, she uses them as opportunities to offer lessons or epiphanies from her life. She clearly wants to make several statements with this book and I really admire that she wants you to learn from her experiences. She sincerely cares about her readers. As much as I want to stop reading, I also want to press on. She provides nice insight. She also has a chapter dedicated to her stuffed animals. Other readers don't seem to like this, but I'm okay with it.

As a side note, she talks about sex and needlessly references her vagina way too much. Not that that's BAD, but it is just a little too overboard. It's one thing for her to talk about sex life, which she does enough of, but it's another thing for her to randomly bring up her vagina when discussing a carnival ride. Even this isn't totally awful, but just seems a bit unwarranted, as if she must mention her genitals for the sake of mentioning her genitals.

I recommend that if you do read this book, choose certain chapters that seem of interest to you and read sporadically. Upon realizing that I would be returning the book the following day without much eagerness to check it out again, I chose to read chapters sporadically from the Table of Contents to get as much out of the book as I could. This was when I noticed that whatever chapter I chose, I kept receiving desolate material. Because of these intense chapters, I noticed that she follows up with comic relief sections as reprieves, so perhaps my suggestion is pointless because it is formatted in this specific way.

Schumer has every right to discuss what she wants to in her own book, no matter how dark. There's nothing wrong with that. It just wasn't what I was expecting or looking for at the moment regarding my summer reading. Even though it may not be for me, I appreciate her writing it. I hope to return to it because I don't totally despise it.

I'll end my review of Schumer's book with my favorite passage from it, from actually one of my favorite chapters. In "Officially a Woman," she talks about making people laugh for the first time at her Bat Mitzvah, which helped her recognize that she wanted to become a comedienne. I thought that was nice.

She ends the chapter by saying that afterward she and her friends went to Medieval Times in New Jersey!!! :D

I LOVE that place and I love that she went to the one that I go to! What made this even cooler was that I had just recently been there about a week before first reading this! :D

This was one of the few parts of the book that made me happy.

So, because of my overall unfortunate disappointment in Schumer's book, I decided to change up my Summer 2017 Reading Challenge YET AGAIN.

I've heard a lot good about the following two books. I often see them available at Barnes and Noble and think that they will provide the reading enjoyment that I am looking for, so now I am officially adding them to my list.

Two female professional best friends and writers. Perfect.

I had originally seen Amy Poehler's Yes Please on the Sprague Library Pop Picks shelves awhile back, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that Tina Fey's book Bossypants is also available at Sprague. I found Bossypants right away, but for some reason the available copy of Yes Please is missing, so the librarian is keeping a lookout for me. I checked out Bossypants the night I returned Schumer's book. It has the same light physical feel as Kaling's book does, so I have a good feeling about this one. :)     

I also found another book on the Pop Picks shelf that I haven't seen in a long time, so I decided to check this one out as well. I think I might have written about this one on this blog before.

I started reading Nicholas Sparks's novel The Wedding on DECEMBER 20, 2014. I entered my latest Goodreads entry for it on SEPTEMBER 5, 2015! So basically I had given up on this book TWO YEARS AGO, but yet it is still under my "Currently Reading" list.

To be fair, I hadn't seen the book again until now on the shelves. I didn't realize that the book was still in the library.

The book is a cute enough love story about a man who is trying to re-romance his wife (the daughter of Nick and Allie Calhoun from The Notebook) while planning their own daughter's wedding. The only thing is it is tedious and bland. It's not the most riveting book, but yet I kept returning and checking out again throughout that year because I wanted to see what finally happens with their relationship.

I am on page 184 out of 263, meaning that I am actually more than halfway done with it and I still haven't been able to finish it! Considering that it is still under my "Currently Reading" list, I have always wanted to. I've gotten this far!

I'm taking being reunited with this book as a sign that I must finish this copy. I have also found paperback editions at Barnes and Noble and considered buying it, but have not.

So will I finally finish reading this book by August 30, which is when this one and Bossypants are due back at the library?? We shall soon see!

Also, Basement Bookshelf has now reached 353 books! I'm proud of this because most of the recent contributions have been my own books, particularly my The New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley collection, a series about the Olsen twins having their own detective agency and solving mysteries. I've had a pile of these books (20), some of which that I have considered donating, but I'm too attached to them because these were the first books that got me excited about reading. They also sparked my interest in the mystery genre, which is one of my favorites to read. I would rip through them so quickly as a kid and I even reread them again now as an adult. They kept taking up space in my room and bookshelves, so I'm happy to have finally found a home for them. :)   

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews Summer 2017 Reading Challenges! - Third Update

My first book of the summer has been completed!!!!! YAY! :D

Once again, beware of possible spoilers. However, I think I did pretty well not giving anything major away.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Began: June 3, 2017 12:23 AM

Finished: July 14, 2017 12:48 AM

It took me a month. I'm a slow reader, I guess. Then again, I was juggling this book with others. Focusing on this book alone is when I finally completed it.

I loved this book! It is because of this book that I am now a fan of Mindy Kaling. I'm going to actually miss reading it, especially outdoors, but I am looking to purchase my own copy of this one and its predecessor, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), which she occasionally refers to in Why Not Me? and seems to be a similar premise, to add to my collection. I'm looking forward to seeing what is next for her (which is actually the movie adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time coming out in March 2018).

I feel both inspired and empowered from reading this book. Even if some of her chapters seem longer, her quick humor is so easy to read through and leaves you surprised like "Wow. I am done with this section already." There is one part in her chapter called "A Perfect Courtship in my Alternate Life" that consists of fictional emails and text messages and I wasn't very excited about reading them, but she manages to make this entertaining as well. Her chapter "Harvard Law School Class Day Speech" is a transcription of her Harvard Law School 2014 commencement address and when I first read it I followed along while watching and listening to the video of it on YouTube.

Her words don't totally align and aren't exact with the book's transcription, but it was still an interesting, accurate reading experience. It was fun to see her written words literally come to life as I read them. I recommend. :)

Here is the review I wrote for Goodreads (at least so far)!

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I made it!!! The first book of the summer and my reading challenges done! :D

Such a good book! I feel so inspired! I feel like I've just been on this journey with her. Mindy Kaling gives such great, honest, life advice with lighthearted sarcastic humor and made me think of things from new perspectives. It is such a light, quick read and the mint-colored cover is so calming and inviting. It's also nice and light to hold in your hands. :)

I want to read her other book now and hopes she writes more of them! :D I also want to purchase my own copy of this book now too.

Oh! And before I conclude! Here is the Jai Courtney paragraph on page 44 that I was talking about as promised:

I kept returning to this page and paragraph just because I love it so much. And just in case you're wondering what Jai Courtney looks like...

Credit: GQ Australia - This is actually my favorite written interview with him. Very interesting read and great photos! I learned some Aussie jargon along the way too! Check it out! :)

Hamana hamana hamana 😍😍😍

So now I have been resuming my reading of Katherine Applegate's Beach Blondes. I am on page 382 out of 721. Basically I am halfway through. I'm still in the July section and need to be at page 491 by August 1. Let's attempt that goal again. If I did it last time, I think I can do it again this time.

We're still following Summer's triple romances and we still see teenagers annoyingly thinking that they are "in love," but at least Summer has been learning from past mistakes. Considering her episode with Adam, she doesn't want to fall too quickly into love, which is refreshing, especially considering that she is a main character in this type of genre. She also stands up for herself well too and tells off characters when need be. Sometimes I get frustrated with lead characters when someone says something unpleasant to them but the character remains silent because they either have no words to respond, do have the words but hold back, or they do spurt out something but immediately regret it after. "Say something back!!" I end up silently screaming at the book. Summer, thankfully, often manages to speak up for herself and rarely regrets it. It makes her a decent character. She's also a pretty funny person in general with her responses.

The "Video Blog" chapters are still irritating. I can't stand how they halt the action. They give us insight into Summer's deeper thoughts and provide details as to what has been going on between the lines of the story so that Applegate doesn't have to dedicate a core of the story to them, but like I have said before, we already know her feelings, and these minor details aren't that important. Sometimes I feel like skipping over these chapters, but then I feel like my reading of the book won't be complete. What do I care what she tells Jennifer, who is a character that we haven't even met or care about?

Diana is still the most interesting character. Her story is what drives me to keep reading, but yet it gives me the most anxiety too. She has gotten happier lately because she has come to a realization about her current situation and is concocting a plan to achieve justice. Applegate does a pretty good job keeping us guessing with Diana. Right now my mindset with her is "What exactly is she planning?"

On Monday night I MAY have managed to find and purchase NEXT year's all-summer book excursion by month (reminiscent of Beach Blondes) at Barnes and Noble. :P

It is called Summer Brides, a collection of novellas written by Marybeth Whalen, Beth Wiseman, and Debra Clopton respectively. I believe it was the only one of its kind on a "Bargain Priced" table, so therefore I felt that it was meant for me. It appears to follow this trend I have observed of wedding books on the rise nicely.

Summer Brides is a part of the A Year of Weddings Novella Collection, so therefore there are books in this series called Winter Brides, Spring Brides, and Autumn Brides as well. There are also individual novellas that are separate books that make up these books. For example, A June Bride (Whalen), A July Bride (Wiseman), and An August Bride (Clopton), make up the eventual Summer Brides collection, which was my motivation for buying it. It mirrors the Beach Blondes setup in this way, but is an anthology with multiple authors as opposed to Applegate's continuous narrative. There is also a book full of the complete collection called A Year of Weddings: Twelve Love Stories, which would have been a better purchase down the road had I known this. Now I feel like I need to collect the rest of the series to have it be complete! I'm somewhat feeling the same way about the SUMMER novel series too so I can continue reading that story.

Reading is something that makes me feel good and is leisurely for me, so I don't want to turn it into a collector's item perfectionist thing. It's okay if I only read and own a few (or even one) books out of a series. No harm done. I mean, I was okay with reading the The Last Little Blue Envelope out of order last year.

Some of the books in the A Year of Weddings Novella Collection series, such as the full collection, are only available on Kindle/Nook or audiobook anyway. Right now I prefer solid books, so I may have made the correct choice for now. I'm hoping to obtain the other books somehow so that I can somehow read them throughout a/the year by month nonstop.

They have gotten mixed reviews on Goodreads. We'll see how these go with me if I do resolve to take them on and keep the book. See, lately I'm buying certain books in stores thinking that I am not going to be able to find them otherwise and/or for a good price online, so I have some decisions to make. I do think that they would make an interesting year long reading challenge for me to compare and contrast writing styles and stories.

For now though, I sadly returned Kaling's book to the library on Monday *sniff* but in place of it I checked out Ruth Ware's The Woman in Cabin 10. I'm excited about this one. I've been visiting Barnes and Noble more frequently and keep seeing it for sale. I'm tempted to buy it, but because Sprague Library has it, I'm borrowing it first to test the waters. I also have to work on Amy Schumer's book The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo as well.

You know, I am loving writing these book blog posts! I'm starting to consider dedicating a blog, maybe this one, to just them! lol

By the way, we now have 239 books in our library! I'm still organizing my personal collection of what I want to contribute, keep, and donate.

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews Summer 2017 Reading Challenges! - Second Update

I finally returned to Sprague Library yesterday to check out Mindy Kaling's Why Not Me? and Amy Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo! :) They are now due back August 2 and I am determined to finally finish at least Kaling's by that date.

Sprague Library has another book in its Pop Picks section of which I took notice. I also see it often on sale at Barnes and Noble as a new release popular bestseller. I was considering taking this one out yesterday too. However, another Sprague Library rule is that any patron who is not a student or faculty member is not allowed to check out more than three books at a time, so because I took out my two books as well as a book for my father, I had reached my limit.

The book is a horror mystery novel called The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. It is about this travel magazine journalist (one reason why I want to read it) named Lo Blacklock who aboards a luxury cruise. She eventually sees a woman being thrown overboard, but because all passengers are accounted for, the cruise goes on as if nothing is amiss. So now it is up to Lo to crack the case. It looks like an engrossing, quick read.

I was actually considering eliminating Schumer's book in lieu of this one, but then remembered that I often do this with books. I start reading them, but then get excited about another book and then never finish the original. Because I had already begin reading Schumer's book and in my last blog post stated that I am looking forward to reading more of it, plus it is a part of my Summer 2017 reading challenge that I don't want to quit, I had to make my choice. I don't want to give up on Schumer just yet. Plus, I also am already working on a fiction novel with Beach Blondes, so I want to focus on that and not get lose track of that one either.

I plan on adding The Woman in Cabin 10 to my Summer 2017 reading list. I may not finish (or even start it) by the time summer ends, but let it be known that I am interested! We'll see what happens with it. I could still read it beyond summer and it would be fine.

By the way, I neglected to tell you in my last blog post how we are doing with Operation Basement Bookshelf. Right now we have 188 books categorized, classified, and filed. :)

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews Summer 2017 Reading Challenges! - First Update

June was a busy reading month for me! It is now July 1! Let's see how I did. :)

Here are my page numbers as of now:

Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate - 296 out of 721

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer - 45 out of 323

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling - 123 out of 228

Beware of possible spoilers! 

As you can see, I surpassed by Beach Blondes June goal (on June 22), of which I am very proud! :D

Let me explain something about this book that I have discovered during my journey with it. It is actually three books in one, which explains the thickness of it. It consists of the novels June Dreams, July's Promise, and August Magic. From my understanding, these were all individually released in 1995 and then rereleased as a full book in 2008, and boy does it ever date itself. I mean, the kids don't use cell phones! They use PAY PHONES and listen to their CD COLLECTIONS! On Goodreads there are adults on their commenting about remembering reading this when they were kids and wanting to read it again, making me feel so late to the party! I mean, 1995 was one thing. I was a five-year-old back then. But I feel odd reading this now as an adult given the teenage subject matter and think that if I jumped in when it came out in 2008 it would be more relevant for me because I WAS A TEENAGER THEN.

However, reading it for the first time as an adult helps me appreciate it better for what it is. It also makes me feel wiser than these kids. :P

You know, this book is surprising me. It is way better than I expected and clearly deserves a better cover photo. There is definitely more to this book than meets the eye given some of its serious subject matter and the cutesy photo of a bunch of blonde girls taking a selfie on the beach does not do it justice by any means. It's false advertising. So far there has been only one scene that I recall of the girls hanging out on the beach, and it's only two of them laying on the sand. In fact, throughout the whole book, there is only one blonde and very few female characters to begin with. Another is brunette, another is Latina (whom isn't described as being blonde), and this other girl, a minor character, is a redhead.

However, even though I do enjoy its engaging tale, I do find some flaws with it regardless. Okay so the plot surrounds an awkward teenage girl named Summer Smith from Bloomington, Minnesota (who constantly reminds the reader and the other characters of her origins, much to her own embarrassment) who is invited by her Aunt Mallory to stay at her home in Crab Claw Key in Florida for the summer. Mallory, a romance novelist now that she has divorced her husband, embarks on a book tour for the week and leaves poor sweet Summer with her reclusive cousin Diana, who doesn't make it a secret that she doesn't want Summer there.

Diana Olan (the brunette) is clearly the most interesting character in this book by far. At first she comes across this typical bitchy teenage mean girl, making me dread her stereotypical behavior, but then as we learn more about her, we realize that something deeper is going on with her. This carries the story for me. She actually got an emotional reaction of out of me when I read it in the car on the way back from a family day trip to the Borgata in Atlantic City. I want to read more about her and how she is going to overcome her troubles. I admire Applegate for taking the strides she does with this character and her plot. It's what makes this book different from the other teenage beach novels I have read.

However, the main focus is on Summer, who all of a sudden is attracting practically every boy in town even though back in Minnesota she was invisible to the opposite sex. These encounters were foretold to her by a tarot card reader while on the plane there, by the way. 

She first meets Seth Warner, who randomly kisses her in the airport but turns out has a delusional ex-girlfriend (Lianne, the redhead) who believes that they are still in a relationship and that Seth is lying and then for some reason he gets mad at Summer for being upset about this; then Diver, this hippie guy who has sworn off girls and lives in the stilt house Diana throws Summer in, only wears one pair of swim trunks (his singular attire), and declares that the neighboring pelican's name is Frank; and finally Adam Merrick, the wealthy senator's son who uses the typical lines that only an arrogant player with money, looks, and power would utter and originally dated Diana in the summer prior and has now set his sights on Summer.

I mean, seriously, all of the boys in this book are a little strange. Summer has no true winner here.

One of my biggest problems with this book is how philosophical these kids are. It makes sense when Diver does this, because it's his character, but the rest of them do this too. They don't speak like normal teenagers but instead all have these existential moments where they talk deeply about life and claim that Summer is experiencing all of this romance because apparently Crab Claw Key is so mystic that people forget who they are while they're there. Summer attempts to transform into a different person and do things she normally wouldn't, making her confused about her actions afterward, and they all attribute this to the setting itself.

Another thing I can't stand are the video blog chapters. Scattered throughout the book are chapters called "Video Blog," for which Summer pretty much provides a stream of consciousness monologue for Jennifer, her best friend back home who is vacationing in California. These basically serve as Summer's reflections of what is happening in the story, and more insufferably, act as recaps of what we have already just read. These chapters aren't needed. I already know how Summer is feeling about her situation considering I am following her as the main character and listen to all of these existential discussions she has. These are reprieves from the action and I use them as a place to stop reading for the time being, but they just get in the way. The book would be shortened significantly if these chapters were removed.

I want to move onto the other books, but I don't want to leave out Marquez. Marquez is a Cuban-American girl who goes by her last name because Maria (her first) is too common and Esmeralda (her middle) is a bit too too, I guess. She befriends Summer, gets her a job at the Crab 'n' Conch, a restaurant that is apparently the world's worst place to work according to the kids, and remains her sole companion throughout the book. She is no-nonsense and serves as the comic relief, but yet has issues of her own that are slowly unraveling. Applegate also uses her as an opportunity to discuss immigration, which is still very relevant to our world today, so that's interesting. 

So now I'm waiting on seeing what is coming up for these kids, such as what Adam is going to do next to win Summer's heart back (let's just say that by page 296 he has REALLY pissed her off...an understatement at best). I am also really wondering what Diana is going to do as she plummets deeper and deeper into her sorrows. I've actually decided to take a small break from this book because I was reading it nonstop one week and needed a breather from its heavy premise, so I chose to devote this time to continue the other books on my list.

Then I have my comedienne ladies, Mindy Kaling and Amy Schumer! I haven't worked on my Roseanne Barr book yet because I was so engrossed by these books. Plus, they are library books, so I need to prioritize.

I had to return these books to Sprague Library on June 29. Because it is a college library, their policy is that only students and faculty can renew books. During the summer they are closed on Fridays and Sundays and are closed today this week as well, so I have to wait until Monday to go back to retrieve them so I can resume my reading once again. :P

This was the first time that returning books to the library gave me withdrawals!

So far I am liking Kaling's book more than Schumer's, which I guess is evidenced by my page progression above and is funny because I initially thought it was going to be the other way around.

I'm halfway through it, about to start Part 3. This is thanks to her short, quick read chapters of simple stories and tips. It's both lightweight and lighthearted and takes us into Kaling's life, about which she is completely honest and is her intention with the book. She occasionally makes references to her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), so I want to read that one now too. I also kinda like the cover design better. No offense to Schumer's nude backside, but Kaling's mint-colored cover relaxes me. 

She also happens to mention my current celebrity crush, the super hot (and hairy) Australian actor Jai Courtney, on Page 44! I'm on a Suicide Squad (2016) kick lately, in which he portrays Captain Boomerang. She says that her friend Ike (Barinholtz) knows him, and I was like, "Yeah, he does! They worked on Suicide Squad together!" I never knew who Courtney was beforehand, so I'm thrilled that I discovered him just in time to understand her reference. It's so ironic and I got so excited when I saw it! I was going to take a photo of the paragraph dedicated to him for this blog, but didn't plan on not having access to it by the time I published this (Grr!), so I'll try to supply it for my next reading update. I'm almost done reading her book anyway. It's my favorite book of the summer so far. :)

As for Schumer's book, for some reason I am getting more melancholy vibes from her and I don't really know why, given that hers and Kaling's books are basically the same concept. Don't get me wrong, it's still a funny book. 

Various aspects of her book have stayed with me. For example, in one chapter she describes her one and only one night stand. Normally I am against one night stands 100%, but her story made me see them in a new perspective. 

In the next chapter she talks about being an introvert, which seems highly unlikely for someone with her personality, but it made me realize that my own introverted side isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially for female writers like ourselves. She and Kaling talk about their work process, which is a huge reason why I am reading their books. I like reading about successful women writers and how they got to where they are today as they deal with their inner and outer struggles. It makes them more human and relatable and makes me feel less alone. 

Schumer I feel often gets a bad rep, but I have gained some more respect for her after reading what I did about her so far in her book. She comes across a good person, especially when she talks about her riches to rags to riches background and how she gives money just because she wants to. I'm looking forward to reading more of her story. :)

Throughout the month of June I took all three of these books on my daily walks to a local park or schoolyard, both of which are usually void of people or at least consist of very few, where I would sit at a vacant picnic table and just read in the sunlight or the occasional windy/rainy day. These are my most serene moments of the summer.

I highly recommend. :)

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews Summer 2017 Reading Challenges!

I've decided to take on a number of my own personal reading and book challenges this summer and am announcing it now on here to be somewhat held accountable and report on the outcome. lol

The challenges so far are as follows. And of course, they all have female leads.

1) Basement Bookshelf Library

My father Steve and I, both writers and bibliphiles, have accumulated a lot of books into our collections over the years. We have donated some books, and I plan to donate some more, but the time has come to organize the tomes in our home library. Last month we attended the Lacordaire Academy Used Book Sale, which ran from May 18-21, and purchased some new additions, so now we have to figure out how to combine the old with the new (and used.)

2) Beach Blondes: A SUMMER Novel

I'm hoping that this novel isn't as young as it appears because I don't know if I am necessarily in the mood for teenage girl drama, but who cares, right?

I bought this book from Berkeley Heights Public Library (even though it gave off a teenage vibe I was still interested in the plot :P) and am impressed with how thick it is considering it is a member of the TEEN FICTION genre. I mean, it's 721 pages!

Something I like to try is reading books according to setting. For example, I had planned on starting the book November 9 by Colleen Hoover on, you guessed it, November 9, 2016. Unfortunately, this didn't come to pass. I think maybe I was in the middle of another book? I don't know. But I do own the novel, so I will try again this year. :)

As for Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate, I took notice of it again when I started sorting my book collection and noticed that it is categorized by month, meaning sections dedicated to June, July, and August. Given that June was coming up shortly, I decided that this was the perfect time to take on my setting reading challenge. It is June 2 now and I have to be on page 266 by July 1...

Wish me luck!

3) Comedienne Memoirs

As I have said in my last book post, I have been getting into memoirs, particularly those written by female authors. My dad and I went to Sprague Library at Montclair State University just last night and I, like usual, visited the "Pop Picks" section to see what I could find. As opposed to the rest of the library, these shelves consist of more contemporary titles. They tend to rotate this section every so often too.

There seemed to be an influx of celebrity memoirs/biographies/autobiographies all of a sudden in this section.

The first one that caught my eye was Amy Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo. I'm not a huge fan of Schumer's comedy, but I don't totally dislike it either. There are times she makes me laugh with her girl-next-door attitude and I appreciate her as a person. I think I saw an interview with her once when she said that she wanted to stay true to herself and that's all she can do or something like that. Whatever she said, she gained my respect from it. lol

I was a little iffy about this book though because so far she seems to make a lot of vagina jokes, which don't bother me, but I hope it isn't an indication that she provides an overkill of such jokes throughout. Like, a "Look at how progressive and edgy I am! I keep referencing my pussy in my book! Haha!" type thing. One of the first chapters discusses her experience seeing some hot guy at an airport. Her humor in this section drew me in so I decided to check it out.

Before I made this decision, however, I came across Mindy Kaling's Why Not Me? Again, not a huge fan of Kaling, pretty much as indifferent as I am with Schumer. I have come to like her more recently from her voice acting work as Disgust in Inside Out (2015). But when I cracked open Kaling's book, I found myself chuckling at her simple humor. I appreciate how light the book feels in my hands and how short it looks. Both her book and Schumer's have short, quick read chapters, so I think for at least Kaling's I can take it on and manage to finish it. Then I realized that I could apply her story to myself because with this book she intends to convey her tales of finding confidence to be herself. I can always learn that type of lesson. Considering all of these good feelings I have so far toward this book, and even somewhat preferring it to Schumer's, I decided to check this one out as well.

What I noticed so far about both books is that they seem to have the same concept, comedy, and sarcastic tone. I then realized that their writing styles (provided it is their writing styles and not just a ghostwriter trying to emulate their voices lol Kaling says that she is comedy writer, which made me more interested to read her work) are reminiscent of the approach of one such comedienne, Roseanne Barr.

Back in January and February I got sick with a fever and started watching "Roseanne" on Laff. I never really watched the show when it first came out in the nineties, but I had some memories of it and now watching it as an adult I appreciated it even more. I found Barr's book Roseanne: My Life as a Woman, which she claims to have written herself within its pages, at the Lacordaire Used Book Sale and decided to purchase it. I read the same amount of pages in this book I read from the others when I first bought it and sense the same humor.

My plan this summer is to read all three books and compare and contrast the written work and experiences of a white comedienne, a comedienne of color, and a white comedienne from the nineties, who are all fairly successful in their own right, and perhaps apply their advice to my own creative success as a woman. All chapters seem to be short, sweet, entertaining, and interesting.

My Schumer and Kaling books are due back at the library on June 29.

4) Still working on THIS book...

Ugh. I have gotten further with this book since my last book blog post, but I'm lacking interest in it now. I've invested so much in it now that I feel like I've come so far and I don't want to give it up! I want to see what happens now!

It started off good, but now the two main characters Marie-Laure and Joseph keep gushing about how much they love each other and engaging in these cheesy, over the top sex scenes that you just know something bad is going to come across these two. Joseph is betrothed to another woman in an arranged marriage, of course, so that's a typical star-crossed lovers storyline for you. I keep predicting that Marie-Laure is going to get pregnant by him (even though they have been using "sheaths") and because he is an aristocrat and she is a scullery maid, it's going to bring about a scandal and secrets. So cliche. I'm not here for it right now.

I actually ran into Janis at the used book sale and told her about my qualms with this book. She shook her head and understood my woes. lol

So, there you have it. My Summer 2017 Reading Challenges so far! Wish me luck! I'll hopefully be back with updates as my reading progresses! :)

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews: Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge

LOL! Finally!

2016 was my first year participating in a Goodreads Challenge. Determined, I originally planned on reading 12 books this year, one for each month. However, seeing that I probably wouldn't accomplish this amount, I shortened it to eight books this year. Baby steps.

I did manage to read some whole books, but at the end of the year I was still behind. However, I also dabbled and started some other books, so to me, as long as a still read something, it still counts regardless if I completed them or not. I'll probably consider them my 2017 books too when I actually finish some of them. :P

For a lot of the books I read, I use My Bibliofile: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers to record my thoughts along the process. My father gave me this for Christmas one year and it is one of the best gifts I have ever received! Some books I do not include in this because I want to save pages in it and want to dedicate my entries to books I know I am into and want to finish. I think I might use some of the notes I took in this so I can remember what I thought of these books better. :P

So here are the books I read in 2016! :D

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews: End of Summer 2012 Reading Challenge Book List and Comments

You'll be happy to know that my Summer 2012 Reading Challenge was not a failure. I did sample a nice handful of books this summer. Those are the following:

Equus-Peter Shaffer (Finished in two days)

Northanger Abbey-Jane Austen

The Abstinence Teacher-Tom Perrotta

Summer-Edith Wharton

The Grapes of Wrath (Play Version)-Frank Galati (Somewhat read)

Seminar-Theresa Rebeck (Finished in two days)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?-Edward Albee (Finished)

Steel Magnolias-Robert Harling (Finished)

Dirty Blonde-Lisa Scottoline

A lot of these I bought from the Annual Lacordaire Academy Book Sale and are listed above by order of which I began and/or continued reading them. This is the basic order I remember. I would alternate between books throughout my reading experience. I already wrote pieces about Equus and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, so I will just give a few words about the rest of the books I read. What all of these books have in common is that the all have a strong female lead character, which is probably why I like them and what drew me to them in the first place. What's interesting too is that the female characters are each an evolved form of another or previous female character, each woman representing a different form of feminism, so that is how I am going to list them in my reviews below while also incorporating the order in which I read them.

AND you don't have to worry about spoilers from me, because I don't know the endings of most of these works either! :P

Northanger Abbey
This is the main novel I attempted when I said I wanted to tackle more classics. I had been familiar with this novel since I was a kid and saw the "Wishbone" episode in which it was featured, so I had been interested in the back of my mind in reading it ever since.

I always appreciate a story with a lead heroine, only in this book Austen makes it a point to say that her lead female Catherine Morland is not yet a heroine and is pretty much not heroine material. She is described as goofy and not very attractive. She is pretty much what you would expect from a quirky female character whom is still discovering her world and is not ready yet to be taken seriously because of her youth and innocence. It is because of her that the book is cutesy and light-hearted, understanding the romanticism of younger women, which is nice because not every book should be heavy and it's nice to relax and read a cute novel, but on the other hand...

The thing about this book is that it is extremely slow moving and the characters portray themselves as very snooty and Catherine is just trying to fit in this snooty, wealthy society. It is very repetitive and does not seem to go anywhere, the characters complaining and making comments about the same things more than once. It is just her vacationing at Bath with these people, but there does not seem to be a specific plot yet and so far I am at least a quarter or a third in the novel. I like that the story plays around with gender stereotypes, which is refreshing because it is set in a time period where gender roles were set in stone and Austen is writing in this time period and scoffing at it. I was told and read that this book is supposed to be a parody of gothic novels (but to me it is also a parody of this time period and society), so this makes sense.

Summer
I didn't read a lot of this one to really comment about it much, but it does have a quirky yet strong female lead and she stands up for herself more than Catherine would or maybe even needs to. This plot appears to be slow moving as well, but it seems to be one of those books that you take in stride as leisure reading. Like Northanger Abbey, it is a seemingly calm, not-so-heavy book. The book is described as depicting a young woman's sexual awakening, so that's why it grabbed my attention. Even so, the book hasn't really grabbed me in yet fully. It does look like it has the potential to build into something bigger though. I actually really like this one.

The Abstinence Teacher
As soon as I began reading this one awhile ago I liked it because it is very modern in the writing style and takes place in New Jersey, so I can relate. It is up there as one of my favorite books because of the style, familiarity, and subject matter. What the book does is argue Christianity and the controversy that surrounds it, such as abstinence-only education. The lead female character, Ruth Ramsey, is an abstinence teacher, but she also believes in forms of contraception and not keeping the kids in the dark about these alternatives. However, the institution at which she teaches and resides pulls the reigns on her and prevents her from doing so, for she gets into trouble because of it. Homosexuality, sexuality, priesthood, church, parish picnics, infidelity, conversion, misconstrued beliefs, beliefs, etc., are other themes that the novel discusses and believers versus non-believers is a huge part of the conflict in the story. This type of stuff interests me enough in everyday life, which is how the book initially got my attention in the first place and why I liked the book since the beginning, but yet because these are things I often see in my own life, I don't necessarily want to read about it in fiction and get further irritated about it because these topics also have a tendency to stress me out a bit. I am halfway through it, but there are times I do have to take long breaks from it because it can be a little bit too much.

Steel Magnolias
Because my reading of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was such a success, I decided to look in the library for another play to read this summer. This one jumped out at me on the library book shelf in the drama section, partially because I remember that it was performed at the Paper Mill Playhouse. This play isn't as gut-wrenching as the others with deep meaning as it is plain entertainment, with witty one-liners and some sad discussion points. The cast is all female and movies have been based on it, so it is always great to see a written work dominated by interesting women (even though it was written by a man, which is something I didn't quite understand or appreciate until later). It's just a bunch of women having conversations in a hair salon with one central character. After I completed the play I read in the book jacket that this was Harling's tribute to his mother and sister (for a mother/sister duo are the main characters of this play) and after I read this the play made more sense to me. It is considered a gift to these two family members of his and reads that way. It isn't meant for anything else to be explored.

Dirty Blonde
The title itself of this book spoke to me, because I myself have dirty blonde hair, and the description on the back of the book jacket further clenched my interest. A blonde woman, Cate Fante, becomes a judge and is not taken seriously by some because of the way she carries herself. After she makes a judgement on a case, the aftermath of her judgement spirals out of control and soon her own personal life gets involved in the works and hangs in the balance.

This actually might be my favorite one out of this list, because I literally got halfway through the book with flying colors, feeling myself apart of the action, but like with The Abstinence Teacher, I kind of had to take a break from reading this one too. The story takes a turn for the more annoying much like that one, basically making a big deal about a woman and her sexual exploits and her whole world toppling down because of it. An argument that is made in the book is whether or not any of this would be a big deal if she were a man. As I was reading it I saw that the book provides you with book club discussions in the back, so I think that is interesting and take them into account as I read.

However, I still have a lot of positive things to say about the book regardless. What I do like is that Scottoline always ends her chapters with a cliffhanger. I always loved this about fiction books as a child so I am glad to see this style of writing again. These kinds of chapters keep you reading, wanting to learn what happens next, so you know that this is a skillful author who knows how to captivate her readers. Even when I was really tired and did not want to continue reading because of my heavy eyes, it made me briefly read ahead anyway and skip ahead sometimes just to ease my wonder a bit. It is suspenseful, a favorite genre of mine, and somewhat mysterious, which can send chills down one's spine. 

And so my Summer 2012 Reading Challenge comes to a close. I'm not saying that any of these books are bad. These are just the impressions they give me and I am still willing and determined to complete them at some point. I am even considering to read them leisurely during my school and work life. This might also be my last blog post for a little while so I can focus on school and other things, so I think I can safely say that I accomplished the summer blog posts I had planned. Thank you so much for reading!

Oh, and Happy Labor Day! This day can be considered the final day of summer, so coincidentally I am posting this today. Haha.

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews: Are Plays Considered "Books?" (and Briefly Discussing Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)

My Summer 2012 Reading Challenge is still underway. Recently (a few weeks ago) I finished reading Edward Albee's full length three act play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It is a very interesting read that kept me engaged. It's one of those books where the reader is so into the what is going on in the story that he or she is not often interrupted by outside distractions. Like when I complete most books, I felt accomplished when I finally finished this one in only a few days. It's pretty long and very heavy. It was written by Edward Albee after all. Edward Albee is the most well known American playwright of our time and he is still living. Albee has a tendency to write plays where he takes a normal situation and eventually makes it creepy. For example, in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, an older married couple that is constantly at each others' throats, George and Martha, invites a younger married couple, Nick and Honey, over for drinks one late evening, early morning after a party at a college at which they work. Of course, this set up sounds normal, but then there are plenty of psychological revelations throughout the play through the interactions of the characters that could send shivers down your spine.

Albee does well with suggesting certain things towards the beginning and then explaining them later on, making these explanations climatic. He keeps you interested in wanting to know what the secret is and who is going to find out. That's all I'm really going to say about this one, for this is a play I've been wanting to read and I enjoyed the journey of reading it and discovering these revelations on my own without any truly important prior information, so I want you to do the same if you are interested in reading it. This book, along with Equus, is the only book I finished reading this summer for my challenge. The last time I went to library, figuring that reading plays is a lot more successful for me, I took out the play Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling and am in the process of reading that.

This got me thinking about something I have been wondering for awhile now. Does reading plays in book form count just like reading actual fiction novels do? I say this because reading plays was always a lot easier and enjoyable for me, mainly because I am a theater person. Also, they are structured differently and mainly consist of dialogue whereas fiction consists more of narration and descriptions. I always felt that the story occurs quicker in plays whereas fiction drags out sometimes.

However, I feel like I am cheating in a way when I count a play as a book I have read because the story is simpler to picture in my mind on a stage as opposed to the setting of a novel and also because when one thinks about "reading a book" it's normally fiction and plays are normally supposed to be seen and not read. Is it still an accomplishment to read plays even though? Rather, is it still an accomplishment equal to that of actually getting through a novel, or is it less of an accomplishment? Or, is it an equal accomplishment, but just in a different way? I could ask about reading material being easy. Is it considered a better accomplishment if the material is more difficult to complete, or is it just the fact that you completed any book that counts? I personally find reading plays easier and more enjoyable, but then there are others who could have a more difficult time reading plays just because they don't understand how to read them. Regardless, I still finished reading the book, so it should not matter whether or not it was easy for me. But I could also bring up the question of reading children's books, which is the simplest of all. Does reading a whole children's book count as a reading accomplishment equal to reading a whole novel? It just seems as though fiction is the constant and the other forms of literature branch off from that.

Then again, this is like saying that plays aren't true writings whereas fiction writing is, downgrading them as if plays are second to novels when it comes to literature. Drama, fiction, poetry, and even screenplays are all equal forms of literature, but they are also different. I could also ask if reading a full book of poetry counts as a reading accomplishment. Poetry can also be considered "simpler" considering that poems are shorter. But, the meanings of poems could be much deeper, considering how poetry is often symbolic and metaphoric, and in turn make the reading that much more difficult to get through and understand and that much more rewarding when you actually do so. However, drama, fiction, and screenplays can also definitely have their own symbolic messages that their readers must discover as well. If meanings don't exist, then there probably is no point to the piece anyway.

Does only what you take from the material matter? Should the length of the material be taken into account when it comes to finally completing a book to determine how much of an accomplishment it is or is it just the message and what you ultimately get from the material that counts?

Or, is reading a book from beginning to end (without skipping ahead of course) the only thing that should determine a successful reading accomplishment?

Have you ever thought about this? If so, what are your thoughts?

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews: To Read Entire Book or Not Read Entire Book? That is the Question.

Picture I forgot to include in my original post of this series.

Like my Hamlet reference?

I came to a realization today about my summer reading challenge.

Lately I've been trying to read two books. One, a classic (Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen) and the other, a fiction (The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta). However, both books are kind of a challenge for me for different reasons, and yet they are both enjoyable for different reasons. I am working on explanations for this for a separate blog post.

The thing is this whole time I was concerned about actually finishing these books in order to write about them. I mean, I know that is the ideal way of reading and it is my goal to actually finish reading more books, but like I said, it depends on the book to keep my attention alive.

I've begun thinking that because these books are kind of annoying me to an extent, perhaps I should move on to another book in my collection. There are certainly many to choose from. Then it hit me. This could be my summer reading challenge. Isn't that what reading is all about too? Just having fun reading randomly? I could sample a bit of every book to see what I do and don't like, to make for a very successful reading experience. And, if I really am engaged in it, I will continue reading it of course. That way I can say that I read a bunch of different books during the summer instead of the few I struggle to get through. That way, as a reader I can feel more accomplished in my reading agenda. If a person struggles to complete reading a book, is it really worth it? Shouldn't the experience of just reading be enough?

Or is it that the ultimate goal of reading with always be to complete the material? What should matter? Should the fact that I am reading anything at all and getting something from the material be what matters or is the whole reading experience considered a somewhat failure because the reader does not finish his or her reading material? Will the experience be incomplete and will the reader him or herself feel incomplete?

Stef's "So Good You Can't Put It Down" Book Reviews: Equus by Peter Shaffer

So far what anybody really knows about this play is that a troubled teenager went crazy one night and blinded a bunch of horses...

Ladies and gentlemen, the reason why I even decided to buy Equus from the Lacordaire Academy Book Sale:

 

That's right! I saw this hanging up in Life Hall awhile ago and decided to take a picture of it for this blog! Apparently, they will be performing Equus in the Spring 2013 semester, so I figured I'd read the play to prepare myself for it, since I very rarely read a play ahead of time on my own before I go see it. Now you have the honor to see me review both the actual script and if I able to, the Peak Performance for The Montclarion. I will write this review based on how I feel MSU will produce it and then down the line we will see if I am right.

BEGAN READING: May 20, 2012

FINISHED READING: May 21, 2012

This is one freaky play that makes for intricate theater (especially the final scene of Act 1, right before the blackout), so it's no wonder that Montclair decided to perform it this upcoming season. I can picture it being performed in Fox, for there is limited setting that can be accomplished with benches, which is actually what the script calls for. Equus includes lighting changes according to mood and flashbacks, background chanting and other sound effects, a singular setting that can incorporate multiple settings which don't require much set, and cast members sitting on the actual stage when they are not in a scene as opposed to going backstage, all of which I've seen happen in Fox before, so therefore I believe that is going to be the choice theater.

There are scenes in which the lead male character, Alan Strang, mimes taking his clothes off or actually takes off some of his clothes. Yeah, this is a Montclair Peak Performance production. There's going to be full-blown theater nudity in this, which is probably another reason why Montclair has decided to include it in the 2012-2013 lineup. If the script calls for it and other productions of this same show have Alan get completely nude, we're definitely doing it too. Chances are this production will be directed by Susan Kerner if this all plays out. However, both theatrical nudity and Susan Kerner productions have only taken place in Kasser, but we may yet be able to see it done in Fox. 

I'm actually going to bring what I learned in my "Major Film Genres" course from this past semester about the hard-boiled detective genre into this review. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist who has issues of his own and is overworked, is approached by Hester Salomon to help troubled teen Alan Strang. Like hard-boiled detectives, Dysart is approached with an assignment and becomes more and more invested to get to the bottom of the case. The only difference here is we are told right away what has happened (1.2) and Dysart's task is to figure out why it happened and spends the whole play trying to use different methods, such as hypnosis, to get into Alan's psyche. He is trying to solve the case instead of cure Alan. To me, Dysart acts more like a detective than a psychiatrist, because the script leaves you in suspense about what actually happened the night Alan, ahem, blinded six horses with an ice pick. See, usually this is the punchline but here it is revealed when the play begins, getting it out of the way, so it therefore is a bunch of flashbacks and works backward. In normal mysteries, the "what" is discovered along the same time as the "why," but in Equus this is not the case.

The play is pretty much about a seventeen-year-old kid who worships horses. His mother, Dora, is religiously devout whereas his father, Frank, wants nothing of the sort. It is because of the conflict between his parents that Alan connects religious salvation to horses. However, Alan's thoughts and actions seem too psychotic for his mother to be the blame. I could see if Dora was a religious fanatic with him growing up, but from what I see all she really does is teach him biblical verses and the ways of the Lord just like any other religious mother would. In fact, in Act 2 Scene 23, Dora has a very interesting monologue about how she shouldn't be blamed for Alan's actions because she is a parental influence but rather Alan should because he is his own person. To me, Dora isn't to blame because she hasn't done anything abnormal when raising Alan to cause his mental confusion to happen. It's Alan's own perspective of religion and horses that drive him into such a frenzy.

When Alan was a child Dora bought him a picture of Jesus shackled in chains, which hung on the wall in front of his bed, but Frank replaced this picture in the same location with that of a horse looking at him. Alan's young mind connected the horse, Equus, with Jesus because the horse took Jesus's place in Alan's bedroom and they both wear chains, so ever since his childhood Alan was influenced by this, so it was his parent's doing after all, though it was his own perception of everything that caused his confusion and intense reactions. Dora tells him that God watches him all the time and it just so happens that the horses watch him as well, further connecting the horse to God. Christians believe God is in Heaven watching over us, but Alan physically sees the horses always watching him, making it more real for him and putting him under extra pressure. Next time you look at a horse (but ignore the teeth first) think about this. It's a majestic looking animal, so it's very understandable that Alan makes it his deity. 

Horses represent so much for this kid! They represent salvation, sexual expression, freedom, sensuality etc.! There's a whole argument here I can bring up about how sexuality and orgasms bring you closer to God because it gives you an ecstatic feeling of no pain and worry, pleasurable feelings you experience to make you at one with God (I actually read about this idea in an article and really like the analogy.). This is exactly what Alan experiences, but with horses! We can say that this is bestiality, because it's clear throughout the play that Alan is sexually aroused by these horses even though it is not blatantly told to us. It may seem gross at first glance, but if we connect his love for Equus to his love for God, and if sexual love and spiritual love are one in the same, it makes a lot more sense and seems less grotesque. To him, Equus IS God. I definitely think of horses differently after reading this play in this religious sense.

A good thing about this play is that even though Dysart and Alan go into philosophical rants, which are the poetic, somewhat confusing moments of the play, the rest of the play is pretty understandable. It flows well, the scenes being continuations from the previous ones as if they are chapters of a novel, so there is not a lot of pausing and you can understand the issues of the characters. One criticism I have about the play is how Shaffer incorporates Dysart's background story and connects it with Alan's. Normally I would appreciate this and think that the play is lacking if Shaffer left out Dysart's back story, but the thing is, I don't feel Dysart's story is needed in this particular play. Dysart comes to realizations of himself because of his interactions with Alan, but it doesn't' really contribute anything to the plot. Alan's story is interesting enough to keep the play flowing, deeming Dysart's story unnecessary, even if it is connected to Alan in some way. We are there to figure out what the deal is with Alan. In fact, we are at the edge of our seats waiting for the conclusion and Dysart's story, which is presented in lengthy monologues, just interferes and proves as a distraction from the center plot. Alan is the reason why people care about this play and the reason why they go see it. They care about Alan's story because his story is the catalyst and reason of the play. Dysart's story isn't what people care about and audiences may not even know about it going in or remember it coming out. Alan's story is automatically known. I could be wrong about this for I don't speak for the public, but what character is more interesting: the teenager who has been committed in a ward because he rides horses in the nude and has blinded six of them or his psychiatrist whose main focus is Alan and his marital problems come second to his work and are just thrown into the play as random additions? Exactly. Alan is the way more interesting character.

I can't conclude this review without talking about this: 

 

Isn't it kind of sad that my first exposure (pun definitely NOT intended) to this classic play was a nude ex-wizard? From what I remember, the girls of America went wild when they found out Dan Rad would be baring all for the Broadway production of Equus back in 2007. I never saw Daniel Radcliffe's production of Equus, but this is how I first heard of this play's existence and as I was reading the play I kept thinking about him in it. I'm sorry, but I do not picture Radcliffe pulling off Alan Strang well, who is actually a pretty rebellious jerk (Ha! I called him a jerk) of a character. We grew up with Radcliffe portraying the greatest literary hero of our generation, Harry Potter of course, so it's kind of difficult picturing him portraying such a tortured soul as Alan. I feel like Alan is too heavy of a character for Radcliffe, who played a lighthearted yet emotionally mature 10-year-old boy...who grew up in a wizardry school. I know he has the right to expand himself through all different characters, but a sarcastic brat like Alan doesn't seem to suit him well to me. I actually can picture Radcliffe pulling off the highly ecstatic frenzy parts, but not necessarily the snarky mocking remarks Alan makes to Dysart. From what I see, when actors are in the business for a while a trend they seem to inherit is portraying the same archetypal characters, so probably because Radcliffe is fairly new to the acting field, being in his early twenties, perhaps he has not yet found his archetype yet, which is fine, nor is it a requirement. I'm not suggesting that he totally failed at playing Alan but I am saying that there are certain parts I can't see him doing. 

The Harry Potter series was both a blessing and a curse for this guy. It was good that it established a career for him, but it's not good in the fact that we will always see him as Harry Potter and nothing else really compares. The same goes for a lot of child actors. However, his fans seemed to really appreciate his Broadway debut in Equus and still feel the same way about him in How to Succeed (Without Really Trying), in which he is currently starring on Broadway. At first I couldn't really see him singing and dancing either, but people told me he does very well in this musical and then I was really impressed with his performance on the Tonys, so I'd say he's doing well for himself and will continue to do so. The Harry Potter series proved to have been a springboard for him and a variety of roles.

Hey, you think that since Darren Criss has followed in Radcliffe's footsteps thus far, he'll be running around with horses in the nude sometime soon? Hey, just a thought. ;)

Anyway, all in all Equus is a very captivating read. I started this series off by saying that I am not much of a reader but I finished the book in two days, even with people talking around me, something that normally distracts me often, so that's saying something. It's a very small book without the intimidating bulkiness, so that helps. Reading it gave me chills. It's heavy and simple all at the same time, so yeah, I recommend. 

Okay, well there you have it. The very first installment of "Stef's 'So Good You Can't Put It Down' Book Reviews." This is what I take from Equus. I apologize for the length of this. I didn't expect it to be THAT long, so I will try to make my future installments a little bit more concise. I want my next one to be a classic, so I'm thinking Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Or, I might write about a fiction that I want to return back to. Already I'm slacking so we'll see. :)