READING!
I finished it!!! Birchie and I did a buddy read of Gone With the Wind– we both started it June 1st. Instead of setting any page-per-day goals, we just decided to start reading and see what happened. Well, we both loved it so much we whipped through it, finishing this 1000 page book in a little over a week- within hours of each other! I got a text from her- “DONE” as I was sitting on my couch reading the last 20 pages. I had no idea I would love it so much. I guess I thought it was a romance novel set in the Confederate South, and, well- yuck. I was so, so wrong. Yes, there was romance- and drama, and so much history. So much I didn’t know about the Civil War, plantation life, slavery, and Reconstruction. Of course- this is all through the eyes of Margaret Mitchell. Mitchell was born in Georgia in 1900. Both her grandfathers fought for the Confederate army in the war. Gone With the Wind is not a history book, but I assume she based it on the history of her area as her parents and grandparents saw it. Obviously it’s not the whole truth, but I wouldn’t trust an actual history book to give me the whole truth either. I loved Scarlett’s heartless, scheming ways- the only way a smart, ambitious woman could get ahead and take care of herself at that time. If I had read this book 16 years ago, my daughter’s name might now be Scarlett. Two shoutouts- first to Engie, who read this book a few months ago and talked about it in a way that made me realize I was missing out. And… to Elisabeth’s father, who always reads the last page of a book first. Even though I had never read this or seen the movie, I knew how it ended. Has anyone NOT heard Rhett’s iconic last line of Gone With the Wind? Moving on! I have a Summer TBR. None of these books has anything to do with summer- they’re just books that have come to my attention right now for one reason or another: The last three are library holds, and I’m waiting with bated breath, because I’m #2 on the list for the Anthony Horowitz! In the meantime… I needed a palette cleanser after Gone With the Wind, something quick and easy. On the Currently Reading podcast, Meredith is going through all the Hercule Poirot Agatha Christies. She recently read this one: She said it was one of Christie’s personal favorites, and considered by Christie experts to be one of her best. WELL! I couldn’t resist. I know I read it (a long time ago) but I don’t remember the plot, so I’m hoping it won’t come back to me as I read. Even if it does, I’ll still enjoy the reread. Do you know how Gone With the Wind ends?- There’s a famous last line by Rhett, and another by Scarlett- somehow I knew both of them. Do you have a summer TBR?