"The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr." edited by Clayborne Carson

I finally read The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Jesse bought it for me several years ago, knowing how much I love biographies and even more, how much I admire Martin Luther King, Jr. This book has been sitting on my shelf, waiting until I finished school so I could read it and be fully engaged, instead of fighting the distractions of homework, school books, and papers to write.

That day finally came, but it took me longer to get through MLKJ than I thought it would. Not because it wasn't vastly interesting, but because it was also vastly overwhelming. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been a hero of mine for a long time and I am happy to say that my opinion of him was not diminished by reading this book. Clayborne Carson did a wonderful job (with lots of help from other King scholars) of compiling Dr. King's writings into a psuedo-autobiography. I have to assume that if he had lived long enough to write a book meant as an autobiography, he may have done it a little differently, but I am amazed by the sheer volume of writing that he did throughout his life. There is so much detail in this book about King's various activities, causes, and trials. He worked tirelessly to advance the cause of Civil Rights in America and was both loved and hated by people throughout the world. Reading this book opened my eyes to how many interesting and incredible things he was able to accomplish in his life. I love his speeches more than anything else - I truly believe that he was given a gift when it came to public speaking. His writing is good, but his speeches are spectacular! My very favorite quote from this book, however, was not given in a speech.

Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the greatest advocates of equality to ever live, once wrote: "I would rather be a man of conviction than a man of conformity." I love that. And I love that no matter how much criticism he received, he refused to back down from his beliefs and his convictions. He admonished his fellow men to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and he never once shrank from his adherence to nonviolence.

When you have some time to spare, read this book. It will make you realize that MLKJ was, like the rest of us, human. He had weaknesses and vices and imperfections. But he tried his very best and proclaimed on the eve of his assassination that all he wanted to be remembered for was that he gave all he had to the pursuit of equality and justice. That, to me, is truly heroic.

"Emma" by Jane Austen

It's only been a month since I finished my last book on "The List" but mostly because I picked up three at once. It's been a long time since I first intended to read Emma by Jane Austen and I'm glad I finally did. Have you ever seen the movie? It is my favorite of all the Austen movie adaptations I have ever seen.

I'll have to agree with my mom and sisters about the book, though. While it is wonderful, as all Austen novels are, it does drag on and on and on. Don't all Austen novels do that, too, though? As much as I love her as an author, my sister pointed out that during her time, authors were often paid by the word, which explains why so many English novels from that period are extremely wordy and drawn out. More time is spent on dialogue than anything else - lovely, charming, delightful dialogue, yes - which makes it difficult to keep your eyes open at times.

Regardless of the drawn-out-ness of this book, I would still recommend it. And then I will even more quickly recommend that you go watch the movie. Gwenyth Paltrow makes such a perfect Emma and all the most boring parts are left out, leaving just the sheer joy and pleasure of the novel behind.

No matter how many books I read, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Victorian Novels. There is something so refreshing about the language and expressions of the characters in true English literature. I will always love it!

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Well . . . I finished The Hunger Games series. While I will stand by my two previous claims that Suzanne Collins is a truly excellent writer, I have to admit that Mockingjay was so depressing that I almost regret reading the series. Almost.

Katniss is the symbol, the Mockingjay, of the rebellion against the Capitol. She and her friends, whether they like it or not, are now in the middle of a nation-wide war. Only now, Peeta has been captured and Gale's views on the lengths the rebels should go to in their push for freedom go against everything Katniss has been fighting against. She is forced to form new alliances, both pleasant and unwanted, and to finally choose how much she is willing to do in order to protect herself and her family.

When I finished this book, I immediately picked up the closest Jane Austen novel I could find. While I appreciated that Collins did not turn into Stephenie Meyer and serve me, her captive reader, a fairy-tale-happily-ever-after ending, the end of The Hunger Games was so sad that my first thought was, "Wow. This entire series may have been Suzanne Collins very own anti-war propoganda!" Anti-war propoganda written for teenagers. Go figure.

My final judgement on this one: Suzanne Collins did something brilliant with The Hunger Games. Perhaps the most brilliant thing about it is that many of the characters are so lovable that I wish I could go back and save them myself. If you're thinking of reading this series, be warned that the violence and sadness is ubiquitous. I told my mom the basic storyline and she was slightly mortified. I won't lie. I'm a little mortified myself after reading it. But whatever your opinion is of these novels, my hat truly goes off to the author.

I'd like to know what everyone else thought of this one. Did others have the same response I did? Which characters are you missing the most? I think I'd chose Cinna as a best friend if I could.

"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

I finally got around to reading the second Hunger Games book this last week. I only read the first one because I wanted to know the story before the movie came out, but was surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed both. Did you know that Suzanne Collins did the screenplay for the movie? Which is probably why it followed the book so well and that the changes that inevitably had to be made did not destroy the integrity of the original text. I liked that.

And I enjoyed the second book, as well! Catching Fire seemed to be more fast-paced than the first book, mostly because there was no time lost introducing characters or explaining the background of Katniss's life. Now that she and Peeta have returned from their joint victory of the 74th Hunger Games, it seems at first that life may go back to some form of normal. However, Katniss quickly finds out that the Capitol is furious with her for her act of defiance in the arena and that the president will stop at nothing to keep her from inspiring a country-wide rebellion.

The fact that this book did not include children killing one another made it a lot easier to handle. While there is still fighting and somewhat graphic violence, at least it is between adults (is that a blatant justification or what? I'll admit it, I'm looking for justification). Katniss is as conflicted and stubborn as ever, but I really love her and this book made me love the other characters even more. While I resisted joining the fan-base of this series, I will not deny that I admire Suzanne Collins for her writing. It is smooth, captivating, and (thank goodness) almost completely devoid of errors. The continuity is seamless - something that an English Literature major like me can truly admire, regardless of the content.

I'll be starting Mockingjay as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. Chances are that I'll finish that one before I finish Martin Luther King, Jr., but that's ok. I still have 46 weeks to go to finish my list. Maybe I should turn it into a race and see how quickly I can read every text!

"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery

Although this book was not on my "list" for the year, it was recommended by a friend when I did a social networking request for book suggestions. I had also seen it on the shelves at various book stores, so I thought I might as well consume this one along with the others. What I did not realize is that this book was written in French and then translated into English. So, of course, it is set in Paris.

Ah . . . I love Paris. Regretably, I did not love this book. It is about a 54-year-old concierge and a 12-year-old girl who live in the same building. Both characters are brilliant intellectuals, but hide their true brilliance in order to protect themselves from a world that is not always fair. The characters themselves, Renee and Paloma respectively, were easy to fall in love with, but the story was painfully slow. I found that for 300+ pages there was more philosophy and introspection than plot. It jumps back and forth between Renee's musings and Paloma's, which is easy enough to follow, but toward the end I was skipping over entire pages that had no storyline, but simply the observations or ideas of the characters. Now if you like that type of book then I'm sure you would love this one, but I guess my personal preference requires a little more "action" to keep the story going.

My other complaint about this book is that I absolutely did not like the ending. I won't spoil it, but will say that I certainly expected more to come from the relationship between Renee and Paloma. It was a means to an end, but I felt that the author could have chosen a happier, more satisfying way to end the book. While the entire novel was beautifully written, the plot choices of the author were quite disappointing. Does this mean I only like the fantasy type, happily ever after endings? Perhaps. I will let you judge this one for yourself.

*Note: This book also contains a few swear words, including three uses of the BIG bad swear word. That usually takes my opinion of any book down a couple of notches.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray is by far one of the most interesting books I've ever read. By interesting, I do not mean wonderful. Instead, I was rather surprised that Oscar Wilde actually wrote something so dark. The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde's famous play and one of my very favorites, is so fun and hilarious. Dorian Gray is quite the opposite. It definitely has similar elements of satire, especially in the character Lord Henry "Harry" Wotton whose sole purpose in life is to find pleasure in everything and to turn reality on its head, but the rest of the book is dark and ghostly. The title character Dorian Gray is the beautiful, innocent young man who sells his soul in order to maintain his youthful beauty after a friend paints his likeness at the age of seventeen. Dorian's outward appearance from that time on does not change, but the painting ages instead.

This book offers a unique look into what would happen to a man if his inner self were hidden from the world. Dorian Gray suffers inwardly with sin, guilt, and age, but is always viewed as the perfect, innocent boy that he once was. Loved by many and envied by some, Gray must hide the secret of his apparent fountain of youth and consequently live a life of loneliness and fear.

I don't know if I would recommend this one, but, like Moby Dick, I believe there is value in having read it simply because now I will understand what everyone is talking about when Dorian Gray is mentioned. If you're not a fan of long descriptive passages, this may not be the book for you. If you're not a fan of supernatural elements, this may not be the book for you. If you are a student of literature, however, and enjoy reading something very different . . . read on!

"The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Baroness Orczy

I loved this book! I have seen the movie many times, but my sister Kimberly made me promise that I would read the book this year and assured me that it was even better than the movie. Well . . . of course she was right!

Knowing the basic premise of the book made it a little bit difficult for me to get into it at first, but I read 3/4 of the book yesterday, so I guess that means it drew me in at some point. I can't help but love the character of the Scarlet Pimpernel. In the movie he is lovable and intriguing, but in the book he is so much more.

For those of you who may not know the story already, I won't spoil it for you. Just know that this adventure set during the French Reign of Terror is one that will make you laugh and have you on the edge of your seat with suspense.

Thanks for the suggestion, Kim! This was the perfect start to my 2013 Year of the Books!

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

I loved this book. I feel like there is hardly anything I can say to describe how wonderful it is while also being incredibly heartwrenching. It is the story is of a young girl in Nazi Germany and how WWII affected her life and the lives of the people she loves.

The interesting thing about this book is that it is written from the perspective of Death. He is the narrator and the observer of everything going on in the lives of the characters. At first this threw me a bit, but it ends up being a very effective way to tell the story. Zusak portrays death as a sympathetic character, rather than a cruel or sadistic one. And by presenting the story from that perspective, you get a more intimate look at what was going on with the people who could not escape Hitler and the Nazi rule.

As my sister told me, don't let the beginning keep you from reading the whole book. It's strange at first (because of the Death perspective) but in the end, you'll appreciate Zusak's choice. The characters are beautiful and complex and you want to cheer them on as they make their small, individual stands against the injustice of Hitler's regime.

I love WWII stories. And I think this one, even though it's fictional, is one of the very best I have ever read!

Books to Read: First One!

The first book I read from my "list of books to read before the end of 2013" was The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is very short, only about 70 pages, so technically it would be classified as a novella.

I loved it! The musical stage version is the only version of Jekyll and Hyde that I've ever really been familiar with, so it was fun to read the original text and see where the story came from. I love the musical, but there is so much added to make it exciting and dramatic - extra characters and situations - that are not in the original story.

Does being a Hyde obligate you to read this book? Well . . . I always felt like it did. Any book with your last name in the title should probably be on your list of books to read, right? Well it only took me twenty years, but I finally did it. I think it was worth the wait.

Books to Read

I decided that once I'm done with school in December, I'm going to start reading all the books I've always wanted to read, but never had the time and/or motivation for. So I've made a condensed list: Books I want to read before the end of 2013. I figure that gives me enough time and hopefully I'll be able to add in a few more fun ones along the way.

As I go through, I'll return and update this list, striking out the ones I've finished reading.

The List:

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (5/11/12)

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (9/5/13)

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (4/7/13)

Jesus the Christ by James Talmage

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1/30/14)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (reading for the second time) (11/3/13)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain (10/27/13)
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain (May 2013)

The 5000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen
The Majesty of God's Law by Cleon Skousen

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (8/15/13)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (6/24/13)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1/31/13)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2/16/13)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2/21/13)

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (9/20/13)
Emma by Jane Austen (3/27/13)

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (1/14/14)

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (9/9/13)
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis (10/13/13)

Orson Hyde by Myrtle S. Hyde (my grandma's book!)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (7/4/13)

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (struck from the list)

The Divine Comedy by Dante

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (12/29/13)

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1/27/13)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (5/19/12)