[my summer absence]

I realize I mention my absences from this blog kind of a lot.
And it's not even that I forget about it.
Okay, maybe a little bit.

But seriously, the weather FINALLY cooled down enough to actually enjoy being outside this summer. So that's mostly what I've been doing. That, and a couple of weeks ago my youngest sister stayed with me for a week and so we were busy, busy, busy.

The thing is, I have done a lot of reading since then, and I am behind on reviews!

I've read three books and am halfway through a fourth.

I read The Heroine's Bookshelf, which was basically a book on literary criticism that I picked up at the bookstore earlier this year. I probably could write a whole review on it, and since I don't have any non-fiction reviews yet, I think I will. But the book bugged me because it was SO feminist. More on that later.

I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which I kinda sorta absolutely loved, despite the sex, drugs, and other things. The voice of the narrator, Charlie, is so sweet and it's almost impossible not to love him. I empathized with him because in many ways he's a lot like me. More on that later, too.

I read The Thirty-nine Steps, which was a lot shorter than I expected and was a cleverly written tale of suspense and mystery set at the beginning of World War I (I believe). It was first published in 1915, and guess what, MY COPY IS FROM 1915. Yes, it is a First Edition. More on that later.

I am now reading Gone with the Wind, which I've been meaning to read for years, of course. Isn't this a typical response when someone asks if you've read That Super Long Classic Novel? Well, I'm finally doing it. Actually, for the last 4-5 years, I've been finally reading all those classics that I wanted to read for a long time. And the thing is, this is the best time for me to read them. I have finished college and have a lot of literature-learning behind me. Now I can apply it! Also, for the record, Gone with the Wind isn't really that old. It was published only a few years before they made the movie, so in the 1930s. Once I finish it, I will definitely be writing a long review because I am LOVING it.

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So that's what I've been doing.
I might not make it through my summer reading list, but that's okay because it can just as easily be a fall reading list and a winter reading list.

Now I think I will go shower and then take a walk because it's SO NICE out.