Hey all! Long time no write. Grad school and student teaching got the better of me last month and I have basically only had the energy to procrastinate and watch The Office…but here we are. Somehow, I managed to read all of the books I planned to read in September but thought it might be wise to only set out two books for this month, and I am so excited about them both.
In honor of October and all of the Fall spookiness it brings (despite the fact that it has been sunny and 70 degrees in the PNW for a week now) I will be reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Anthony Horowitz’s The Word is Murder.
Frankenstein will be the subject of this month’s “Reading the Classics” series. I’m really not sure why I haven’t read this one yet, especially considering that it has been living on my book shelf for a few years now. I’m always a little apprehensive to read anything that could be even remotely scary. However, from what I understand, this novel is written, as least partly, as an epistolary narrative, which is one of my favorite narrative styles. I plan on reading this one at work, probably while my students are doing their silent reading, so that I can follow the story of Frankenstein and his monster in the daylight hours.
I began Horowitz’s The Word is Murder last night. I am a fan of Horowitz already–Magpie Murders happens to be the best contemporary mystery novel I have read yet. I fell in love with not only the story, but also the unorthodox narrative structure–a book within a book, a mystery within a mystery. I didn’t know he had written another book until I was in a bookstore and saw this one featured and I bought it immediately. In another instance of an unorthodox narrative, the author actually inserts himself as a character in the novel, which promises to be intriguing. I can’t wait to share my thoughts on this one at the end of the month!
Wishing you all a lovely rest of your Sunday and a great start to the week! I’m teaching a full day tomorrow and have an observation on top of that…breathing is important here. 🙂
Keep reading!
The Bookish Bird 