Ethan asked me last night if I thought women were more likely to read books written by women. Someone at work told him people are more likely to read books written by their own sex, and he had argued against the point saying he didn't believe it at all, only to realize all his favorite authors are men. I thought for a moment...hmmm....Jane Austen, Amy Tan, the Bronte sisters, J.K. Rowling.... Not that I have anything against men, but it seems that women are more likely spin the kinds of stories I like to read.

I finished reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd this morning. My mother loaned it to me - she tends to like a little more "feel good" stories than I do, so I wasn't so sure about it. I did find it melodramatic, but otherwise I liked it. It's the story of a white teenager with a tragic past who runs away and stays with a black beekeeper in the South during the Civil Rights movement. It's partly about relationships between people of different races, but it's a lot more about mothers - well, not so much motherhood, but being the daughter of a mother.

I have a lot of choices on my plate next. Stephanie loaned me a romance novel since she said the only one I've ever read (and hated) by Danielle Steele and was crap. I still have Teach by Frank McCourt and The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan leftover from Christmas. I decided I should really finish The Sound and the Fury because I'm most of the way through it, and if I take the short time to finish it at least I can say I read it. What I'm most interested to read next is The Jungle. Ethan was making fun of me ("ya want a little light reading? pick up the Jungle!") but I think he secretly jealous because he HAS to read new releases for work, and I can read anything I want. I am most interested in the classics, because hey, if they were critical AND popular successes, they're probably pretty good, right?

This is getting to be an epic post but just for Ethan's amusement I have to write about how I chose to read The Sound and the Fury. I don't know anything about William Faulkner. I don't even know if I spelled his name right. But I'd heard his name and knew he was highly acclaimed, used in schools across the country,etc. So as I was perusing Ethan's bookcase one day (better than a trip to the library BTW) I saw his name and decided if I want to be well-rounded, I really should acquaint myself with his work. Of all Faulkner's books Ethan has, I thought The Sound and the Fury was the most enchanting title and decided to read it. If you've ever so much glanced through The Sound and the Fury, you know it and "enchanting" should not even be in the same sentence. It's nearly impossible to read, and I hate it. But I AM going to finish it! Ethan has been laughing at me for weeks now for choosing it. But hey it was on HIS bookshelf! I think if he's going to keep books I won't enjoy on his shelves, he should at least keep them a shelf above my eye level!