Books I never read or never finished
(but certainly intended to) Any bell hooks book - I didn't
get more than a chapter into any of her books, with the possible
exception of that slim autobiographical one she published years
ago. Never stopped me from telling everyone how wonderful her
writing was though...
Gender Trouble
by Judith Butler - As with the above, not reading the book didn't
stop me from explicating her theory. I'm afraid I may have (unintentionally,
of course) led people to believe that I'd read it.
The Beauty Myth
by Naomi Wolf - I think enough time has passed for us to say honestly
that while it might have been an influential book, it certainly
wasn't no Pulitzer Prize winner.
Beloved by
Toni Morrison - Although after seeing the movie, I can't say I'm
sorry I never finished it.
Walden by
ole Henry David - Much as I love parts of this book, the accounting
of each nail and board was tiresome. I'm afraid I was similarly
impressed but unable to finish any books by Ralph Waldo Emerson,
though I went around saying for a time in high school that I was
a Transcendentalist (based on an essay of his I read in class).
Wow, confession is good for the soul.
I feel compelled to go on and tell you about:
Books I read over and over in high
school
The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath - Well, we don't really need to get in that
now...
Catcher in the Rye - I used to read this religiously, until one
year I realized what an insufferable ass Holden was. Ah, the end
of innocence.
Fear of Flying
by Erica Jong - All the while thinking (with a mixture of titillation
and disgust) "Is this what sex is really like?"
1984
by George Orwell - To my self-righteous teenage mind, the Ministry
of Truth was even better than the bit about the phonies in Catcher
in the Rye.
Edith Hamilton's Mythology - I
was entranced by the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. There
were all these fascinating dirty drawings of one of my teachers
and some classmates throughout it as well. Created by Amy on December 21, 1999. 