The Bell Jar

I rated this book a five, for its ability to keep my interest, and make me want to read it. At the same time, would I recommend it? I'm not sure.

It definitely gave great insight into what the mind of a depressed person looks like, and the prose of her just not wanting to continue living was very well written.

The book has a silver lining ending... but Silvia Plath doesn't, as it is well known that she does eventually end her life, and that makes you leave the book on a down note, because you know that the author eventually stays stuck inside her bell jar, and I pity her.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

I have never actually been on a blind date, but based on what I see on tv, this book was like a bad blind date.

Reviews sounded great, talked up how funny it was, got good reviews... but the book and I just didn't click.

The things he found funny, I didn't, and his personality just rubbed me the wrong way. Like a blind date, others might like the book... it just wasn't the right kind of humor for me.

I laughed a few times, but didn't walk away with any great truths, and just felt "eh" at the end.

Deleted

In some ways, deleting any books from "the list" defeats the whole purpose. But the list in my head varies from the official list in one major way. Most official "Gilmore Girls Book Lists" talk about being the books that Rory read, and that was a big part of the reason I decided to do this challenge: to feel a kindred spirit with this fictional character who also loved to read.

A deeper look reveals something about "the list." The books listed are simply all of the books referred to or seen on the show, not necessarily ones that she read. For the sake of time, I am not double checking every book of the list, finding how they occurred in the show and then deciding to read them or not. But if there are books that are less than favorable reading material... yeah, I am going to make sure that it was Rory herself who read or referred to the book (as one she had read).

A big delete made in this way is the series by Kagan on Greek history. It was going to be big, fat, boring history books, quite a challenge. I checked on it. Turns out these books were given to Rory's grandfather as a gift... NOT read by Rory herself. So... delete!

Robert's Rules of Order<-- 800 page book on how to run a meeting. Checked the reference in the show, Paris lectured someone about it, not Rory, and doesn't sound like a reading book as much as a reference book. So, delete. 

Catch 22 and Ella Minnow Pea

I didn't intend to juxtapose these two books when I chose to read them close together. But I'm glad I did.

On the surface level, both are silly, ridiculous books that are so far from reality they can be reviewed as pointless, dumb books. 

But at a deeper level, both are a commentary on government, albeit in different ways. 

It took towards the end of Catch 22 for me to enjoy it, the rest was too ludicrous for my taste (think Monty Python silly).

On the other hand, I very much enjoyed the quick read of Ella Minnow Pea and highly recommend it. A brilliant feature is the author's ability to write with increasingly less of the alphabet and still bring across an interesting story. 

Both, if looked at from the deeper level, leave you thinking about the problems inherent in government and bureaucracy and while knowing that things aren't quite as bad as these books portray, it makes you wonder if we aren't almost as bad. 

Bottom line as a review- read Ella Minnow Pea. If you choose to try to battle through Catch 22, make it to the end to get the book's many ongoing jokes/ story lines.