Through a Glass, Darkly

In fact, I have made a deal with myself this year. Every time I finish a young adult book, I can read an adult book I’ve been looking forward to. Yay! I do not have to alternate, though. For example, on Saturday, I read Gossip Girl. And after that, I debated between White Teeth by Zadie Smith and Slam by Nick Hornby, and I went with Slam. After Slam, though, I headed straight for White Teeth.

But before I talk to you about reading adult fiction, a word on Gossip Girl. I really enjoy the show. It is good trashy fun. One of the things that makes it good trashy fun is that it’s decently written. I mean, it’s not going to win any Pulitzer Prizes, but it’s sharp and funny. The book, on the other hand, was just plain trash. I read it because girls keep asking if we are going to have the series there at the school. Now I can say with authority: “No, we will not.” I am a worse person because of reading it. Do not make that same mistake.

Anyway, over the past week, I read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It had been on my list for a while, and the movie is now out on DVD, so I finally got around to reading it. (Mike Netflixed the film and so I had to read it right away and watch the movie or else face his wrath.) I don’t know that I have absorbed it enough to do a full review, but I did want to mention that I enjoyed it very much, and that I recommend the movie. It would be easier, I think, to talk about the movie, but they did a good job adapting the book to the screen. I enjoyed reading about the immigrant experience, but I also enjoyed how much I understood and saw myself and my friends in Gogol. In the past few years, I have read some articles and had some conversations about people in their 20s struggling to define themselves, even floundering in some ways. How much does the past define who we are? What about our experiences? Can we find a balance between the two? How much do our parents define us, especially after they are gone? It’s an interesting time in our lives to explore, especially when seen through a different culture.

I didn’t set a reading goal for this year (last year my unwritten goal was a dozen dozen), but I imagine I’ll hit 100 again. I am reading a little bit less voraciously overall, but I will have to read a lot for class, so I am sure it will be a productive year!