"The Metamorphosis," by Franz Kafka

I've never hated the cover of something more.

In college I had to read "The Metamorphosis" at least twice, but my last semester in school I took a class called Modern Fiction. For this class I wrote my smaller, minor paper about this short story, and my only memory is that I had a separate point about the ending that no one had brought up in class, and so I stayed behind to ask my professor about it, and he got mad at me for not actually talking about it in class, and it was the smartest and dumbest I've ever felt. (Edit: I actually found the paper on my computer. It was only five pages long, which is insane for a 400-level class, and I didn't use the point I brought up to my professor. What a waste.) Anyway, this is the first short story instead of a novel we're getting into, so let's get on with it!

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

I LOVE this cover. Minus the major motion picture part.

I can't remember what possessed me to buy this book when I did, but I've held onto it for a very long time. I never saw The Pursuit of Happyness because I knew it would make me sad, and I think subconsciously I did the same thing here (that and the size - it's over 500 pages, which I wouldn't have guessed without looking at the page number). The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the saddest books I've ever read, and I almost ignored a FaceTime call from my sister when I hit a part close to the end of the novel because I was so upset and I just wanted to finish it. I don't want to do spoilers here, because I didn't know anything about it and I loved every aspect of it, but I also haven't seen the movie and I heard the ending is different there. I don't know what's real.

The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath

Beautiful cover. Also this font is regal AF.

I'd tried to read Sylvia Plath before. I don't remember when, or why. All I know is that I didn't make it to the part where she was dying in the hotel (basically), so I didn't make it very far. I don't think I could get into it for some reason, and I remember turning it back into the used bookstore where I'd purchased it originally. Joke's on me: I repurchased it at the same place. (Different copy though. This is a nicer one.) Either way, I really enjoyed my go-round with The Bell Jar this time around, thank GOD. And I also tried to mention Sylvia Plath to a few people I know and they had never heard of her. It made me think about making them watch Gilmore Girls because I know they reference her suicide AT LEAST twice on the show, so.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

The original dabbing? Things not mentioned in this novel.

So I've read this book before, making it the first technical reread in this blog! (Not including The Grinch because I don't think I ever just sat down and read it, I think it was just read TO me.) I don't remember why I read it, but I know it was during the summer, and I took a very Basic photo while reading it on the beach, which makes a lot of sense if you know me: not a very Beach Book, but read on the beach anyway. I was excited to read this again so I was glad it was on this list. Let's get to it!

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

I wish I could pull off this haircut.

This is one of those books everyone is shocked that I haven't read, which is a large number of books, actually. It makes sense that my southern Baptist school never assigned this to me, but oh my god. This was incredible and I don't know how long it would have taken me to read this if it hadn't been for this project. My dad gave this to me when he found out I hadn't read it, and I think I have to give it back to him now and get my own copy because I need it in my life. I don't know a lot about the reception/history of this novel, or anything about Harper Lee, really. But I knew this book was a Big Deal and that there was someone named Boo Radley and that's about it. So let's get into it!

Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris

Unfortunately my only photo. Taken in ATL.

Today's post brings David Sedaris' Christmas selection, Holidays on Ice. I've only read one other Sedaris book before, and for some reason already owned this copy, so I was ready to dive in. I think he's hilarious and a wonderful writer and is basically everything I aspire to be in personal essay form. (Note: this collection is mostly fictional and had only 2 personal essays, if I remember correctly.) Unfortunately, I took this on vacation with me and also left it on vacation. It made it through my first day of travel, JAX to ATL to DCA to Maryland. It made it through the next day of travel, driving to D.C. But I lost it my last day of travel: it went with me from DCA to ATL, but sadly, it remains in the seat pouch of my window seat. I carried it on with me because I wanted to finish it on the plane (it was in my backpack; wouldn't fit in my purse), and I can remember thinking "I need to not forget this on the plane." Then what did I do? Leave it on the plane. I didn't realize until I was in the car on the way home so I'm not sure how to go about finding it now. Maybe someone else will discover it and it enlightens them to Sedaris. But here is my review about the book that got away, anyway. (I finished it before the plane even took off.)

A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway

Stud.

I originally purchased this book immediately after watching Midnight in Paris in a theater by myself while my sister and my father were watching one of the Transformers movies a few blocks over. I was delighted to see it in this list, because I own a couple of Hemingway books that I have yet to read, and this is a good way to force me into it. AMF (no, not the drink adios motherfucker) is more of a memoir type book about Hemingway's time in France. It was published posthumously and this particular edition has a TON of background information in the foreward, as well as pictures of the handwritten/typed copies by Hemingway. It's also split into sections where the entries are done, as well as a fragments section. I feel a little wary about reading books posthumously by established authors, because it seems very undone and intrusive. However, going into this knowing Hemingway hated it and I agreed with him, gave me peace of mind. Let's get into it!

The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

I'm running out of backdrop ideas.

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Notes in the Marginz. Clearly I've been doing a fantastically shitty job at running this blog, and while I haven't updated, I have read books! This is the first of three that I read and haven't written reviews about, so while I apologize for my absence, you'll have three new posts. It's like I'm almost doubling my blog. According to Goodreads, I started this book on March 13 and finished it March 15. The only book between this and my last post that I was attempting to read was George Orwell's 1984, which I have basically given up on and will be the last book I read for this project. If you live under a rock, TDOAYG is Anne Frank's diary. She was a Jewish girl whose family was hiding from the German army during World War II. If you don't live under a rock, you're probably wondering how the heck I haven't read this, and if I actually live under a rock. Well, now I have, I live in my parents' house, and let's get into it.

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams

Hot damn that's my jam.

This is the second novel in my string of "books Shannon let me borrow for this project and is thereby amazing for doing so" series. A Streetcar Named Desire, a play by Tennessee Williams, is something I always wondered about ever since I heard the Panic! At the Disco song where they make a reference to the play. (I mean, and before that, obviously, I had heard of it before 2011, Jesus.) The line itself is from the song "Memories" off of their 2011 album, Vices and Virtues, "And it was beautifully depressing / Like 'A Streetcar Named Desire'," and I feel like I agree with that quote (I mean, taken out of context of the song, of course). Let's dig into the play, shall we?

Deenie, by Judy Blume

The cover of Deenie, featuring Deenie herself. Didn't see that one coming.

My friend (and my trainer at Flight of the Hippogriff, then ALMOST trainer at Revenge of the Mummy) Shannon saw that I was doing this project and let me borrow three of her books which, including this review, will be the next three I post probably so that I can get them back to her in a quick and not prolonged amount of time - I just finished the second one before posting this review so it will be really soon where I finish the third. Hopefully! Anyway, this book is Deenie by Judy Blume. If you know anything about me, I tend to write more young adult fiction than anything else, so I read a lot of it. But I never really read that much by Judy Blume, so I was glad this one was on the list, and even moreso that Shannon let me borrow it!! So here we go.

Franny and Zooey, by J. D. Salinger

Simple cover for these two short stories.

I know it's been forever since my last and first book review for Notes in the Marginz, but here we are. Second book on the list goes to Franny and Zooey, by J. D. Salinger. For some reason I felt inclined to pick this number up from my local used bookstore in Jacksonville, Chamblin Bookmine (literally my favorite place in Jacksonville) and attempted reading it, quit, and forgot about it until this project happened. I am one of those people who really hate The Catcher in the Rye and I'm not looking forward to reading that one again for this stupid blog. Anyway I read this finally so here we go.