Surprised By Love

I'm skeptical of hype. If everybody's looking right, I generally look left. That's partly due to my contrarian nature and partly due to the idea that interesting things happen when nobody's watching and, on the other hand, predictable things of questionable motive happen when everyone is watching. Sometimes this tendency protects me from annoyance and sometimes it deprives me of joy, or at least makes me a latecomer to the party. This is all an overly analytical way of leading up to my point, which is that I finally read the entire Harry Potter series, and HOLY MUNDUNGUS, I LOVED IT.

LOVED. LOOOOVED. Are you getting this? LOOOOOOOOVED.

OK, it's true: I'm one who falls hard for, um, lots of things. Where overexuberance is the charge, I will not only confess but also gladly emblazon my chest with a scarlet O.

I loved this series so much that I've been sad ever since I closed the last book. The story line was so engrossing and the characters were so knowable. (It's plot-driven fiction, for sure, but the characters are quite well developed.) Go read the books if you haven't yet. Just take my word for it and keep going -- they get progressively darker and the stakes get progressively higher.

Of course, if you think that such a popular series is inherently unworthy reading, that it must be too commercial and unsophisticated to meet your towering literary standards, then you are a snob. And also probably late for tea with A.S. Byatt. (P.S. Don't be a snob.) (P.P.S. Maybe skip the MFA.)

Alas, it's time for me to move on. I've had a couple of weeks to get Harry and that world out of my system but it hasn't been easy. Surely people who love to read understand what I mean, right? I was at dinner with a friend who is an occasional reader and I confessed that it took me these two weeks to feel excited about reading anything else; my friend did very little to hide her reaction of bewilderment. Oh, come ON. Like I'm the only one who ever doodled "Mrs. Atticus Finch" on her notebook and wondered how Scout and Jem will react to having me as a stepmother?

Anyway, Amazon left a box of sustenance at my door today. I'm on to "Then We Came to The End" by Joshua Ferris, the first chapter of which I've already enjoyed thanks to my husband's new Kindle. (Also love.)

What are you reading? Give me your recommendations. Help me through Harry rehab, lest I run back to book five for a late-night fix.

Comments

[darlene]

okay ... my son has all the books and they are sitting in a pile waiting for me and my reluctant ways for much the same reasons outlined in your first paragraph. i will read them now :) thanks!

[Moose]

Welcome to the cult. You have just inspired me to pull out my dog eared copies for the thirteenth reread.

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Teej says:

Are they just as good the twelfth time around? I wonder whether they will ever be as good as they were the first time. Although, they were super-crazy freaking good the first time, so a dilution of that enjoyment by even two-thirds or so is still pretty darned enjoyable.

[All Adither]

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (Heck, anything by Barbara Kingsolver) is awesome. An oldie but a goodie.

[CrystalMK]

Loved 'Arry so much m'self!

Now, for the last 4 years I have been reading and re-reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Ms. Gabaldon is one of those writers that inspires thousands of cult fans, mostly women. The sad thing is, if the men would read her books, they'd fall all over themselves! At the root is the best love story you will ever read, but I hate that that fact makes these seem like "romance" novels. They are so far from that pigeon hole as to make me cackle, CACKLE, I tell you!

The good news is that at present there are 6 books and she is working on the 7th. Even better, they are all pretty lengthy, some 1000 or more pages, as the series deepens. Now that I have read them all a few times, I take my time and absorb. But the first time I inhaled them at 300 pages a day. Obsessed I was!!!

Disclaimer: you can read the jacket to find out the basic initial storyline but it doesn't even come close to the deep content of this series. Read the reviews of some of the readers to get a better idea. The writing is so much better than you would expect from such a plot synopsis.

I feel like a preacher trying to win over a hard congregation!! As for getting your point on being an obsessive reader; um....as a teenager, I didn't mind being grounded because it meant more hours available for being lost in the story!! And I was a social kid!

Holy long comment, batman! So sorry...and could I possibly exclaim!!!! anymore!!!!!!!

Oh, and I love your blog....good points, always!!!! (exclaim!!)

(just found a link and the very first review says exactly what I was trying to say, but better.)

http://www.amazon.com/Outlander-Diana-Gabaldon/dp/0385319959/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210806157&sr=1-1

[Beth]

I listened to the first Harry potter book on a road trip to DC(!) with my niece and her 5-year-old. Yeesh, I think that was a long time ago now. Maybe back in the 20th century?! I am such a woos, I couldn’t stomach the part right at the beginning where Harry was sent to his room by his evil... hmm...were they an uncle and aunt? It was so disturbing to me I couldn’t keep listening!
But now, on your recommendation, maybe I shall. I hear the narrator of the audio book is fabulous.
About The Outlander series. A year or so ago my book club wanted to read something, how shall I say...stimulating. And so, one woman recommended we read one of The Outlander series. Oh. My. God. Too weird and I had to wait wayyyyyy too long and endure too many Scottish fight scenes for Jamie to finally lift his kilt. Call me impatient, but I cannot recommend The Outlander.
I did like “prodigal summer” and agree: anything by Barbara Kingsolver is great. Recently, though, I’m on a jag to read books by authors I’ve heard recommended over the years but for some reason never got around to reading. This past winter I very much enjoyed “portrait of a Young Lady” by henry James and just finished “The Moviegoer” by Walker Percy, also a good read. Am now reading “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl, a book about existentialism. I remember reading Jean Paul Sartre in college and thinking, gee, maybe I’m an existentialist. Thought maybe I’d read more about existentialism to find out.
Usually I’m not so heady when it comes to books – like I say, I’m on this jag lately. Last year, for example, I was recommending “The Green Mile” by Stephen King!

[CrystalMK]

Oh, I so shouldn't have checked back so soon! I feel deflated.

But I will say that if what you wanted was a 'stimulating' read then Outlander wasn't the one to choose. Simply, as I said above, because it is not a romance novel. It is historical fiction, if it must be categorized.

Also, I read Portrait Of A Lady by Henry James and found it interesting enough, simply because I do enjoy an occasional book that is written in a voice from a past I couldn't experience. Although Victorian principles are definitely not my favorite. But the ending! I felt like I had wasted so much time.

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Teej says:

Oh, don't worry, Crystal. A historical novel that has an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from 1,311 people on Amazon -- and promises SIX sequels? I'm so there. You didn't read "Katherine" by Anya Seton by any chance, did you? (Love.) I'm betting that you did.

[MommaJ]

As the guilty party who hooked you on 'arry Potter, I feel I need to offer some semblance of guidance once more. I highly recommend the novels written by Philippa Gregory, especially "The Virgin's Lover, The Other Boleyn Girl, and The Queen's Fool." Great reads!
p.s. love U

[princess s]

Ahhh, Harry Potter. I remember my reluntance to read that series many years ago when Mom asked me to so that she would know what the kids were reading. I am still hooked on those books five years later. I have probably read each one twice, and could go for round three if I wasn't already reading another book.

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Teej says:

Oh, if only you'd told me. Maybe I would have stopped being an ignorant fool and run straight into the arms of J.K. Rowling. Now I have total girl crush on her. I am the Colin Creevey to her Harry Potter.

[cadiz12]

my media law professor recommended the HP series shortly after the first book was released in the U.S. and i was hooked instantly. i'm glad you love it as much as i do!

i really enjoyed Water for Elephants and Time Traveler's Wife, and of course The Namesake (played out as they might be by now).

[CrystalMK]

Teej, I haven't read Katherine! Thank you so much for turning me to it. That sounds right up my alley. Can't wait to read it.

My mother in law gave me a box of books, for my 30th birthday last year, that she gathered over the course of a year. They were books that she had read as a young woman, but ones that I wouldn't have had exposure to. One author was Elizabeth Goudge and the book included was The Child From The Sea. Her books aren't easy to get because so many are out of print, but if you can, grab them up because she is love love love worthy!! I have gathered them anywhere I could.

[Jenny]

They're just as good the 12th time around. :)

[zinta]

Have you tried any of Orhan Pamuk's books?

Pick up "SNOW". You won't regret it, I assure you.

[Meredith]

I am on book 4 myself right now. I am not devouring them but I find they are nice and enjoyable reads and that I do look forward to reading more. However, at this rate, it will take close to 2 years for me to finish the series. I guess that is a good thing?

I also 2nd the woman who suggested the Outlander series. Those are just plain delicious although I admit, I stopped at book 5. After a while, I just couldn't take any more 1000 page novels but the first 3 in her series are so incredible, you can't put it down. It is literally begging for a miniseries. I wish some talented director would take them on.

[Zoo]

I'm a new reader, de-lurking because I can SO relate to this post. I just started the HP series last summer and read them all in quick succession and was also very sad to see it end. So apparently you are my reading soulmate! :P

I've read the first few books of the Outlander series - years ago and they are on my list to finish up the series, but other stuff keeps getting in the way, I guess. I also loved Katherine by Anya Seton. Lately I've been on a King Arthur/Camelot kick so I've been reading the various renditions of that saga. I have a reading list on my blog that is mainly for me to keep track, not for me to show off :P so feel free to check it out.

Love your blog! :)

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Teej says:

Welcome, and thanks for pointing to me your reading list! I might have to ask your opinion on a few specific books -- looks like you have some goodies on there.

[Jennie]

I, too, was sad when I finished. I felt so lost without my HP friends.

I'm reading the Twilight Saga Series by Stephenie Meyer right now. They are page turners for sure, but I'm not sure I would compare them to Harry Potter. It's juvenile fiction, so they are easy reads and I'm really enjoying them.

[Camels & Chocolate]

Yay for reading Harry! I read the first book when I was 14(!!), so well over a decade ago, and am still every bit as hooked now. Seriously, I hate those people who refuse to read it because it's so mainstream. I cried when I put down the last book, and you've just reminded me that I should read #7 again. I've read 1-6 no fewer than 10 times each, but 7 only once...

And holy Mundungus is so my new favorite expression. Thanks for that on this laggard Monday morning =)

I'm reading I Was Told There'd Be Cake (humor essays) and Glass Castle (memoir) -- both excellent and highly recommended. Also, on my table is Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? But I haven't cracked the spine yet, and I feel like that might be more of interest to me than others.

[Kerri Anne]

They are! just as good the 12th time around. Or the third, or fourth, or twentieth, as the case may be.

I have tried to explain my undying devotion to the Harry Potter series so many times, but Chris still doesn't get it. It's so hard to explain, but, ultimately, I have yet to meet a person who really read the entire first book and didn't immediately run out to buy the rest of them.

She is an amazing story-teller, to be sure. And the references to random literary and mythological characters throughout all of the stories? MY FAVORITE PART.

(I highly recommend The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Euginedes, and They Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers.)

[Librarian Girl]

A book recommendation? Why goodie, since that is my J-O-B!

Since you made the Atticus Finch reference, I will say that I read this book recently called "The Well and the Mine" by Gin Phillips. It doesn't have sexy Atticus, but it does have lots of the same flavas that his world did, if a little more understated, and it was mighty good.

If you want to friend me on Goodreads, I recommend books there at a goodly pace! User name is Librarian Wonder.

[Katie]

Heya! Am I too late to the party? Not sure if your bookshelf is jammed now, but two I always like to recommended (as they're faves of mine) are: The Awakening (Chopin) and Gone With the Wind (Mitchell). Talk about peeps judging you where the latter is concerned...you'll get some looks, but dude, it's totally worth it. Hope all is well!