I was doing a search
I was doing a search for Wesley/Angel fan fiction when I stumbled onto the Greatest 100 novels list. I’ve read 16 books on the board’s choices, and 19 on the reader’s choice. I was so excited to see House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and Gone with the Wind on them - those are two of my favorites. HoM was just incredible, IMO - I’ve never felt so closely tied to or emotionally vested in a fictional character like I was with Lily. I’m not sure if it’s because I saw something of myself in her, or just because she was such a beautifully written character. From the very start, I could see all of the little things that she was doing that would obviously lead to her downfall and kept yelling at her, "No! Don’t do that!" <.g> I did the same thing with Delores in Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone, but I didn’t like Delores very much. I felt separated from her as she spiraled downward, instead of feeling compassionate. Maybe because I felt that she was so consciously doing things that were obviously wrong, but Lily’s mistakes weren’t so wrong. She wanted a life full of money, but could never make herself settle for anything less than a love-filled marriage or relationship. She went about it in the wrong way, but her heart was in the right place, and maybe that’s why I like her so much. Anyway. LOL I also saw Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and that was good. I had it assigned for summer reading before my sophomore year, so what I remember clearly is reading it in Germany. I should reread it - I’m not sure anymore if I liked it because it was fascinating or because I was thrilled that it was in English. LOL
Books I wish had been on the list: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Joy in the Morning, The Road Home.
The bookworm has spoken, long live the bookworm. LOL
