Literary Indulgence 〜

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This page is my place to share the books I have read and enjoyed and also am currently reading. These are my indulgence…where I find inspiration…where I escape to…where I learn from. I did a post on my Word Journal ~ Discussing how I collect words woven in such a manner so as to capture my interest….or inspiration for my own writing.

I’m also on Goodreads if you would like to join me there I would be honored.

I always love to know what people are reading or what they may think on what I am reading.

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〜 “Books are a uniquely portable magic”  〜 Stephen King

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I haven’t really been updating this page. I have become a self-admitted book polygamist! Just finished “On Writing” by Stephen King. Excellent book! Did a quick review on Goodreads. I’ve also read a few other books, all the while making slow progress…or ‘savoring’ as I like to think of it….The Fitzgerald’s letters.

If you’d like to keep up with me better than I’m doing with this page of book love…

I invite you to head over to Goodreads…

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Through his alcoholism and her mental illness, his career highs (and lows) and her institutional confinement, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s devotion to each other endured for more than twenty-two years. This book presents a collection of correspondence between Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

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My current read is a break from my expedition through 1920s Paris into the world(past) of a fellow writer and dear friend. I am currently about half way through, so will give one little sneak bit of my thoughts so far. Debby is a very talented writer quickly pulling you in with her well-written narrative and unique writer’s voice. I encourage you to read this for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!

MEMOIR/NONFICTION

A Lifetime of guilt — What does it take to finally break free?

Somehow I believed it was my obligation to try to do the right thing by her because she had given birth to me.

Burdened with constant worry for her father and the guilt caused by her mother’s narcissism, D.G. Kaye had a short childhood. When she moved away from home at age eighteen, she began to grow into herself, overcoming her lack of guidance and her insecurities. Her life experiences became her teachers, and she learned from the mistakes and choices she made along the way, plagued by the guilt she carried for her mother.

Conflicted Hearts is a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and acceptance, an exploration of the quest for solace from emotional guilt.

~ D.G. Kaye ~ Conflicted Hearts ~

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An excerpt from my review(s) on Amazon and Goodreads ~

~ Kaye writes in a way that the reader cannot help but feel a multitude of perspectives–observer, friend, confidant, and simultaneously a fellow champion throughout her trials and triumphs…her disappointments, her fighting for and achieving her dreams.

We get to experience first-hand all these events, good or bad, that shaped her inherent character. We, too, become the friends with whom she shares her life, learned from and experienced adventures with.

I truly believe this is a poignant truth in so many relationships today, especially the most pivotal of parent/child. Those words, actions, teachings, are what shape us early in life and ultimately affect us for the rest of our lives. ~

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“We knew what we had and what it meant, and though so much had happened since for both of us, there was nothing like those years in Paris, after the war. Life was painfully pure and simple and good, and I believed Ernest was his best self then. I got the very best of him. We got the best of each other.” 
~ Paula McLain, The Paris Wife    

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Each book in this literary expedition through 1920s Paris and beyond has been like fitting together puzzle pieces; it is utterly fascinating. I find with each completed, I am even more intrigued to read more and more. The Paris Wife was such an intimate look at the beginning of Hemingway’s marriage and literary career as well as the unending support from Hadley, his first wife.

Hadley was the focus of this book and McLain wrote in such a manner so as to really give the reader incredible insight as to where her life began and how her experiences as a young wife, mother, and muse to Hemingway affected her throughout her time with him and after.

I wrote a more thorough review on Goodreads to express my thoughts on McLain’s rendition of Hadley’s life before, during, and after her marriage to one of the most prominent authors of the Twentieth Century.

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“She smiled at him, making sure that the smile gathered up everything inside her and directed it toward him, making him a profound promise of herself for so little, for the beat of a response, the assurance of a complimentary vibration in him.”    ~  F. Scott Fitzgerald

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For information incase you’ve just stumbled upon this page ~ I began in January reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. I then became so enamored with so very many of the famous people/writers/artists/musicians that intermingled in 1920’s Paris (and beyond) that I then began a quest to read as many books as I could relating to this time period…to these people.

Having never read any of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work prior to this, I was in for an exquisite treat! Now knowing much of what occurred in the lives of the Fitzgerald’s, I read The Great Gatsby, which I loved (see below) then Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast (see below) and finally just finished Tender is The Night, again by Fitzgerald.

Armed with so much knowledge when I began to read Tender Is The Night gave an entirely new perspective to this fictional story…as much of it is based on a horrible time in his and Zelda’s lives. She spent almost two years in a Swiss sanatorium…during which they exchanged many letters and using all of that experience…Fitzgerald wrote Tender Is The Night. I love little pieces of information like the aforementioned that enhances a story…that adds to its affecting nature. I would recommend to anyone that they gain at least some knowledge of the Fitzgerald’s lives before reading this particular book…as it will enrich the experience I am quite sure!

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〜 “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris, as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” 〜 Ernest Hemingway

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My journey through the Jazz Age continues on…to read Hemingway’s thoughts on that time, his writing, and the people he encountered that influenced him as all people always do to each other was an utterly fascinating foray!

His writing was raw and real and so endearing….I loved every moment…as if I, too, was in 1920s Paris.

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〜  “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”  〜  F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Since finishing Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (see below), I am on to reading “The Great Gatsby“ by her husband the infamous F. Scott Fitzgerald. I am even more curious than I was previously to read this since having a glimpse into the Fitzgerald’s lives via ‘Z’ by Therese Anne Fowler.

As with my thoughts below regarding Zelda’s story… I continue my foray into the Jazz Age and the literature that came from it. It would seem…I am truly captivated by this couple, their lives, their love…and of course the literary works associated with them.

Update: Actually this is a pretty short book at 169 pages. Dense and brilliantly crafted! I am anticipatious to read all of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work. I am utterly enamored with how masterfully he wields words.

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〜 Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler 〜

I will say I was lead to this one by Claire, a fellow WordPress blogger, whom I greatly admire. I began this as part of a series I plan to read…all of which intertwine and revolve around 1920s Paris. I am carried away by the romantic connotations of so many famous writers, painters, musicians, etc. who all intermingled here during this time. Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Cole Porter and so many many more. I have a list I am hoping to work through from each of the aforementioned. Different perspectives from the varied talent that intermingled in such an amazing time…in an even more incredible place.

Thanks to many book shopping trips over the 2013 holiday season with our favorite intrepid book reviewer Ste J, I am armed with most from my wish list for this time period!

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〜 Previously Read: Only going to list the most recent…chances are, if they’re here it’s because I thoroughly loved them! 〜

One reviewer from The New York Times says this “Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges for a sprawling magic show” I tend to not put a lot into the little blurbs, unless they are very unique and don’t fall back on the “tour de force” bit that has become all too common a phrase for just about any book nowadays.

Stephen King says this about The Shadow of The Wind “One gorgeous read.” He is absolutely right!  This has become one of my all time favorites. I will admit that I was hesistent to begin this after having recently read and fallen in love with Marquez’s prose.  I was not disappointed…in fact any one who loves books, should read this…a.s.a.p.!!

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“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.”  

〜 Carlos Ruiz Zafón 〜  The Shadow of the Wind 〜

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This was another recommendation by Claire (see why I so admire her?!) I really enjoyed Murakami’s style! This being my first Murakami book I really just fell right in and enjoyed it immensely! So much so, I am most exceedingly anxious to read a few of his other books…Kafka On The Shore is at the top of my wish list at the moment.

He will go about his story in such a way that pulls you right in and when you least expect it you’ll have read a sentence, paragraph or page full of thought-provoking and gorgeously sublime prose.

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“The moon had been observing the earth close-up longer than anyone. It must have witnessed all of the phenomena occurring – and all of the acts carried out – on this earth. But the moon remained silent; it told no stories. All it did was embrace the heavy past with a cool, measured detachment. On the moon there was neither air nor wind. Its vacuum was perfect for preserving memories unscathed. No one could unlock the heart of the moon.”

〜 Haruki Murakami 〜 1Q84 〜

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This was my first introduction to Gabriel Garcia Marquez and I fell in love…not only with this story but with his unique, beguiling, and absolutely gorgeous prose. This was a gift given last spring to me…that just keeps giving and all ways will. For what it is and what it represents. If you’ve never read Marquez…go now…read and thank me later!

Some books are inexplicable…the effect they have on you I mean. This was one of those for me….one I shall never forget. This book was the impetus behind beginning a word journal…my reason for collecting rare and exotic words.

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“He repeated until his dying day that there was no one with more common sense, no stone cutter more obstinate, no manager more lucid or dangerous, than a poet.”  

〜  Gabriel Garcí­a Marquez 〜 Love In The Time of Cholera 〜

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