the help

Ta-Da!! No, I didn't read a challenge book yet... but I did read my first non-list book! I just finished The Help, by Kathryn Stockett and I am so mad at myself for not reading it sooner. I don't know why I put off reading this book for such a long time. In fact, it was even my book club's chosen book for July. It actually took me listening to my book club discuss it (yes, I went to the gathering, even though I hadn't read the book - what can I say, I needed a margarita!) before I realized this was a book I needed to read! I then had to wait a month and a half before snagging a copy from my library - who, by the way, has 7 copies!
If you haven't heard of this book, which I'd be surprised  if you haven't because I think the whole world and it's dog has heard of it, it's a story of black maids in Mississippi in the 1960s. It mainly focuses on two maids, Aibileen and Minny, their employers, and Skeeter, a young woman who dears to be different and risk criticism, loss of friendship, and severe consequences to share the stories of southern "help."
This book amazed me. I never had thought about things from the black servants' point-of-view... I just always thought "how could people segregate others just because of their color" and "Isn't it terrible how those people were treated?" After reading a quarter of this book a bell just dinged inside of my head! Why was it okay for these black women to raise and care for (love) the children of wealthy white couples, but they weren't allowed to eat from the same dishes or use the same toilet because they were considered "diseased." It made me sick to my stomach and opened my eyes to a whole new world.
I don't want to share too much more of this book because I think you need to read it. I think everyone needs to read it. Even though the story takes place in the 1960s, I think that it's lessons are still relevant today. I realize that defined and lawful segregation doesn't exist anymore, but that doesn't mean that lines aren't drawn and stereotypes aren't believed or acted upon.

So... shoo! Go read it and let me know what you think!

the challenge

I'm just a girl, who loves books.

I love all kinds of books - old ones, new ones, big ones, little ones, love stories, heartaches, good versus evil, all true, nothing's true... get my point? It is because of this lifelong love, I have decided to stretch myself and go beyond my normal library shelf perusing and challenge myself to achieve something of greater heights: I want to read all 100 novels on Times "All Time 100 Novels". The list is comprised of 100 English novels written from 1923 (the year Time was first published) to present time. You may be asking yourself "I wonder why she chose this list?" Well, Devoted (ha - I'm sure!) Reader, I have no clear answer for this question other than - I just did! I'm ashamed to say that I haven't heard of at least half of these novels, so I figured this was as good of a place to start as any. I do however, think they list is missing a few well-deserving books (ie: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), but who am I to judge? Thankfully, I already have a head start - I've read a whopping 9 books! And thank goodness for that because there is no way I would ever read Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop again (and I cannot fathom why it made this list... but again, I'm not judging).


Now, along with this challenge comes a few perimeters:
1 - (which has already been hinted to) I will not be rereading books I've already read - you cannot force me to ever read Archbishop again. I mean it. Don't even try.
2 - There will be no specific order in which I will read the novels. I have listed (most of) them in alphabetical order, but for no specific reasons. I will read them in the order I see fit... which most likely means leaving the most-seemingly boring ones until the very end.
3 - During the challenge, I will still continue to read other books that do not appear on the list. Part of why I love reading is the joy I get from spying an intriguing book on the shelf and diving into it. I also love sharing books with friends and playing "you read this, I read that, and then we switch!"
4 - As for a deadline - there isn't one. That's too much pressure for me. Having a deadline would remind of when I was forced to read novels (such as Archbishop) for class and frankly, I can't work under such scrutiny. I have no desire in traveling through this challenge with a ticking clock in my head.

Let me again remind you that I'm a girl, who loves books. This blog will not only serve as a vehicle for me to check off my "to do list" but also as a way to redefine my love affair with all things literary. I hope through reading this (if, anyone is), you start your own "relationship" with books. I also hope that we can trade best reads and never reads - because I'm always looking for something new!