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?
22 Responses
I can’t believe that it’s over! Or that we started it only 10 days ago!
I remembered that the movie really dragged in the last hour, and I did not feel that way at all about the book. She kept the story moving! It’s funny because the first 100 pages only cover 24 hours and the last 100 pages covered a really long time and a lot of stuff.
I knew the overall story but I had forgotten so many of the small details. I’m so curious to watch the movie to see if my memory of the deadly dull 4th hour is accurate and which of the characters were left out. Two of Scarlett’s kids for sure, and I don’t remember Will or Archie. But that could just be me.
Safe to say that if anyone hasn’t read GWTW that it is time. If that person doesn’t believe us then they should ask Engie.
I’m about to head upstairs for the night and I will be reading a book that’s not GWTW. I don’t know how I feel about that.
Really, they left Will out of the movie??? And two of the kids? I guess they had to edit, otherwise it would have been even longer.
i couldn’t just dive into any of my other books right away- I had to read an easy mystery which is kid of my guilty pleasure (maybe how other people feel about romance novels?) This should be quick, and by then I’ll be ready to move on with my reading life.
I just started GWTW, and I got drawn in so quickly! The vivid description if the land in the first chapter caught my imagination. I feel bad for Scarlett right now- so much character and emotion supressed underneath her beautiful young face. Though the mother being.considered middle aged at 33 or so is depressing. However, I have too many books to read, so I’m keeping GWTW to 75 or so pages a day. It will be a joy to savor it.
I see Kindred on your list- my high schooler liked that one this spring. I might try it again ( I couldn’t get into it when he had it, and I needed to read sone other books with my homeschooler at the time).
I reread Agatha Christie this spring, and now have a pike of Ngaio Mrash to work through. I love interlibrary loan- I have most of the books so I can read them in order – not necessary but it’s interesting to see how things change ( or don’t change) as the author moves with history.
Ooh, I love Ngaio Marsh! And… I also had planned to read about 75 pages of GWTW a day, ha! As I went on I kept reading more and more.
If women were getting married at the age of 15 or 16, it makes sense that 33 would be middle aged! Thank goodness we didn’t live back then, right?
Ok, definitely adding Gone With the Wind to my list now! I have never seen the movie, either, so I will have to read it + then watch it!! I cannot believe you guys finished it in 10 days! Good thing you didn’t read it with me. LOL. You would have texted me, Done! and I would have probably responded, “On page 46!” 🤣In my defense, I’ve been working to move my workouts to early a.m. lately, which means I’ve been making more of an effort to get to BED earlier than usual… and most of my fiction reading happens before bed, in a very small sliver of time. 🙂
Oh, and I’ve never read any Agatha Christie! I was planning to read Death on the Nile because we had been planning to go to Egypt last year, and she wrote it from a hotel room in Aswan, where we were going to possibly stay! But then we changed our plans… and now I’ve still never read an Agatha Christie! That has to change, too.
Death on the Nile is the first Agatha Christie I ever read, and it made me immediately fall in love with her.
You might be surprised by how quickly you get drawn in to GWTW- I know I was. The reading/bedtime thing is an issue though- there were a few nights I stayed up a little too late reading.
You and Birchie are reading superstars! And now I cautiously want to read GWTW as well.
I may have already mentioned this to you but I recently read Marble Hall Murders and enjoyed it thoroughly. It does have spoilers for some previous Susan Ryeland books in it though.
That’s okay! I’ve already read the other ones. I can’t wait to read it.
I really think you would like GWTW! It is a little daunting because it’s so long, but I’m so, so glad I read it.
Wow, that’s quick! Mind you, I read it on holiday one year and got through it quickly. I have read a Wally Lamb novel, of course I can’t remember which one but I recall enjoying it. I have a 20 Books of Summer project on the go https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2025/05/10/20-books-of-summer-2025/ – it’s quite ambitious but I’m on track at the moment, having just started the third one in the pile!
I’ve read a couple previous Wally Lamb books- of course I can’t remember what they are either (it was a while ago!) I think GWTW, despite is length, is an easy book to binge read. It’s so engaging and you keep wanting to find out WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. It would be a great book to read on a vacation.
I actually don’t remember how GWTW ends. I think it ends with a famous line but that line has escaped me and I remember nothing about the book since I read it 20+ years ago! I should re-read it at some point. I am impressed you guys got through it so quickly!
Right now I am reading “My Side of the River” which is a memoir about a woman who was born in the US to parents who were not US citizens. They lived in the US with her until she was 15 and then their visa did not get renewed so they could not come back. It’s a timely read with everything going on with immigration right now…
I think the famous last line was slightly different in the book than the movie. Actually I’m going to text you so I don’t put any spoilers in this post!
GONE WITH THE WIND!! The best in literature, right?
YES!
I’ve never read it and now you’ve convinced me that I must!
I’m sure my dad would be proud to get a shout-out. Ironically, I RARELY read the last chapter first but a recent book I read I couldn’t help myself. I was only a few chapters in and I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the book very much if I had no idea how things worked out for the characters, so I pulled out my dad’s trick 🙂
Elisabeth, I’ve never done that in my life! The way I see it, the whole point of reading a book is to follow along the story and read the end AT THE END. But… to each his own!
And- I think everyone should read GWTW : )
GWTW is one of my favorites books ever…I first read it during a high school summer, and have been reading it every few years…still swoon for Rhett Butler 😋 and if I could change my name, it would be Scarlet…
I know… Rhett!!! I can definitely see why it’s one of your favorite books. I think it’s going on my list of favorites as well.
Oooh!!
Dana (the protagonist in _Kindred_) reads Gone with the Wind, if I remember right!
This will be interesting for you, I imagine.
Oh, I am very interested! Kindred will probably happen later in the summer- right now I have three books my son wanted me to read before our trip.
I read, and watched the movie, as a teen and I did not understand it really. I was there for the love story and the falling down the stairs and the making dresses out of curtains. But when I reread it as an adult, I did so with two economics degrees under my belt, and fell into a research rabbit hole about the economic factors behind the US Civil War. Obviously, being Canadian, US history wasn’t something I learned or was remotely interested in. But when I read this I did a lot of cross referencing and was astounded. Like, I didn’t realize at all that essentially the entire economy in the south was built on slavery. I knew the Civil War was about slavery but I did not realize at ALL the magnitude to which that contributed to the country’s finances. I just didn’t know! I didn’t know about the trade embargoes and the ports of shipping, etc., and everything else that went behind it. It was fascinating and absolutely horrifying all at the same time, which is kind of GWTW in a nutshell. Fascinating, yet horrifying. I also feel that way about Scarlett – obviously super problematic, but wow, what a strong and incredible heroine. The girl gets shit done.
Hot take: I hated Kindred. It’s a really beloved book but wow, not for me at all.
My son is reading Holly right now! I gave it to him for his birthday. Again, not a book I am going to read but he’s enjoying it.
My son loved Holly!
Yes- I think there’s a LOT in GWTW (not just a romance). I was interested in what the Yankees did to the South during Reconstruction- it reminded me of what happened to Germany after WWi. It’s amazing we ended up with a unified country after all that.
I think I know why you didn’t like Kindred. It’s in the sci-fi section of the bookstore and there’s time travel involved- both of which aren’t your thing.