Next

Dear Reader, I have completed Jane Eyre. And in a moment of utter madness picked up a copy of Sartre's Nausea. Whoops. So now this has been added to the holiday reading list, which is ever increasing. My thoughts on Jane Eyre having read it as...dare I say it?...an adult...Nay, a mere 21 year old, rather than an eight year old, which I was when I first ventured it. My thoughts are entirely positive. Of course as everyone says, it is completely ahead of its time (but we know that, yawn I hear you say). My it is pouring outside. I like the idea of the 'Madwoman in the Attic', and how Jane's earlier thoughts of a ghost are entirely disposed of. A similar idea to Austen's Northanger Abbey perhaps. Also a small beam of realism is starting to emerge. This is evident in Jane's character more than anything else. Stoic, refusing to believe anything good can happen to her, yet soft hearted and believing in others when required. The fantasy element is being phased out and authors are starting to realise that plausible everyday events are enough to make a book exciting without a myth or fantasy thread. A trace of the coming of age 'Bildungsroman' is also apparent, which gives a nice idea of the target audience (young women, I think), despite Charlotte publishing it under the male pseudonym Currer Bell. Any more thoughts on Jane Eyre? I'll keep you updated with any further ones I may have. I wish it would stop bloody raining, I'm going out tonight! Any thoughts on how to stop the rain? Adieu x

Frida

Frida Kahlo is my dissertation topic. Sometimes I wish I was more like her. I wish I could have the power to express myself as strikingly as she did. At least when she tried to express herself, people sat up, listened and were interested. Maybe one day I'll achieve that, but haven't got very far yet. How ironic that I speak about wanting to be like Frida - I just booked myself in for an eyebrow wax tomorrow! Progressing well with Sylvia Plath, her diaries are very easy to read, and it is also strange how quickly one can relate to her. I felt like I was invading at first, but now I feel (only on page 50) that she did actually write them for people to read. So I feel welcome. Anyway, I'm being harassed for the internet. Dear reader, farewell x

Stream of Consciousness

I'm so bored just so fed up I cant believe I finish work tomorrow thank goodness or I would go crazy in this place in fact the way I feel right now I have lost the ability to use punctuation properly I just dont want to do it thank goodness London is just around the corner a week on monday in fact that makes things seem better even if it is only for 4 nights and then he goes back home afterwards it is still worth thinking about it is still worth looking forward to please let time go faster just until 5 then it is allowed to go slowly and luxuriously again especially when I sleep I think I will go outside and take some photos tonight that will be a nice thing to do with my time lovely the garden a whole sky of fresh air above and lots of room to breathe now that would be lovely to capture wouldnt it?

Evening

So, evening time. Now I have settled myself down in front of the computer accompanied by a glass of Chardonnay (long day at work), I quote Sylvia Plath : "After something happens to you, you go to write it down, and either you over dramatize or underplay it, exaggerate the wrong parts or ignore the important ones." Hmm. It is true that as soon as you have the blank page in front of you, it takes a while to lay the event you wish to relate down properly. I have just commenced the reading of The Journals of Sylvia Plath, and how promising they are already. Certainly they shall keep me entertained on my journey down to London on the 9th of July and beyond. It is rather a thick and heavy volume. I plan on finishing Jane Eyre (for the umpteenth time) in the next few days, and i completed my first memoir for a long time last week, James Frey's A Million Little Pieces. Although I am aware of the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the book, it is still a wonderful read. There is also a follow-up, My Friend Leonard, however I am cautious of sequels at the moment, so it isn't at the top of my list. Gazing from the window it is a bright, cool evening with a nippy breeze. I must sit outside with Sylvia for a while to soak up the hush which has descended over the close of the day, how appropriate. On finishing Jane Eyre I will post my thoughts on it, I have have a literature course which features it next year so the sooner I get my thoughts down the better. For now, goodnight.

Literary Life

How does one begin to wrote a blog? As when one may begin a diary, my mind is bursting with things to say, yet I feel I cannot spill them out to my reader until some form of introduction is achieved. The name of the blog is The Literary Life because I wish to get people to read more, to share my thoughts on literature with others, and hopefully hear their opinions in return. Too often is the power of a book underestimated and merely dismissed. I hope my readers, however few they may be, endeavour to make picking up a book a habit. Of course what I suspect will be more likely is that the readers I manage to acquire (if any) will be of literary minds. I hope these people will take time to get in touch with me as I love to hear comments from like-minded people. Let me know what you are reading, enlighten me with your thoughts, be needlessly pretentious in this anonymous environment (as I plan to be!). Enjoy x