I still have about 98392832 Ireland posts to catch up on, a few posts about JAMAICA, and I’m about to embark on a road trip to Toronto for TBEX with Seattle’s Travels, Sparkpunk, and Just Chuckin’ It. Life. It does not slow down.
Will you be at TBEX? Come say “hi”!
Selected Poems – Oscar Wilde
Quick summary
Contains a chronology of Wilde`s life and times as well as poems. A few of the poems have been taken from manuscript sources- many unpublished during his lifetime.
Three-line review
I figured if I were in Ireland, I should read some of the local talent. And so I went for Wilde, mostly based on his wildly funny and thoughtful quotes. I didn’t think this was the greatest selection of his work — and I’d still rather study poetry in a classroom setting — but I regret nothing, dammit.
***/*****
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
Quick summary
Charlie is a freshman.
And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.
Three-line review
I can’t believe I’m only just reading this book, but I adored it. I adore the simple writing and then narrative. I adore Charlie and his friends. Found myself in tears several times throughout the book, and thanked the heavens I’m no longer in high school. Make your children read this book.
****/*****
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Quick summary
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Three-line review
I felt some of this was outrageously cheesy and predictable, but the entire story has a dreamy quality you can’t help but lose yourself in. (Then again I have no sense of direction, so I get lost in everything.) The letter format didn’t work all that well for me, but I loved the characters.
****/*****
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
Quick summary
After having his portrait painted, Dorian Gray is captivated by his own beauty. Tempted by his world-weary friend, decadent friend Lord Henry Wotton, he wished to stay young forever and pledges his very soul to keep his good looks. As Dorian’s slide into crime and cruelty progresses, he stays magically youthful, while his beautiful portrait changes, revealing the hideous corruption of moral decay.
Three-line review
This book was hella intense, mildly creepy, and completely disturbing. But I was surprised by how much I loved it. Wilde’s only novel, and he did a damned good job of it. The kind of social commentary that would have been awesome to discuss in some English lit classes.
****/*****
