So it goes....REBECCCCCAAAAAA!!!!

Time for Reading Rainbow Part 2. I know you're super excited to hear my reviews of the next bunch of books I've been reading, aren't ya, aren't ya??? I didn't make it a resolution, but it kinda is part of self-soothing in that it gives me something to do and focus on and stay calm about. And I want to keep it up if possible. So here we go!

Rebecca - Daphne de Maurier: LOVE IT. Love it. Love it.  Did you get that I loved it? Now admittedly, it took me a while to get into this book. The first hundred pages were kinda slow going, but after I hit that critical point, I was sucked in by Maxim (what woman wouldn't be?), Mrs. Danvers, Manderly and the mystery of Rebecca. Such dark romance. You could totally imagine yourself in the protagonist's shoes - wondering, was she more beautiful than me? Do I compare at all? Is he still in love with her? Do they all love her more than me? Will I ever live up to her?  She was utterly relateable. And Maxim, dear Maxim! He was as sexy as a brooding man could be! And the broodier, the sexier. The more secretive, the sexier. The more protective, of course, the sexier! And when you finally found out the truth of Rebecca, you were just so madly in love with him, it overwhelmed you and you had no choice but to fly through the book. As for reading environment, I highly suggest taking this book in a-la-spinster style....aka a nice candle (mine was Victorian Rose - totally fitting) and a good bottle of wine. It just makes the mood! A+ if you couldn't guess! Now I'm just waiting for the library to find me the Hitchcock movie, which I saw oh so many years ago, so I can see the book from another perspective.

Ethan Frome. Welp, I liked it, but I can't say I loved it. I feel like the forward from the copy that I had kinda gave away too much. I know there was a big tragic "smash-up" and that he was in love with his cousin. and that there was a supposed surprise ending. I kept assuming that it was going to something crazier than trying to run away with the cousin and getting in an accident with her from the talk about it, but nope. That's all it was, so it wasn't much of a surprise anymore.I liked the book - I read it in one sitting even - but it was really just a liking, definitely no love. I pitied Ethan, but wasn't overly moved by him. Maybe the book was just too short for me? Maybe he wasn't developed enough before everything started going wrong? Not too sure, but I never felt like I developed a true connection to him. So that being said, I gave it a B+. Solid, but not Amazing.

 Hate to say it, but I think I might like the movie better if I saw it.

Slaugtherhouse Five. Yay, yay! I'm really glad I finally read this. I wasn't positive how I felt about it at first honestly. I wasn't entirely sure if he was supposed to have been going crazy or not, and if it was sci-fi, I didn't think there was enough sci-fi to like it. I did a little sparknotes type reading and after I was sure I was interpreting the themes correctly, I decided that yes! I do really like this - a lot! I didn't really see it as an anti-war book, and I'm not sure that I agree that it was. I mean, I guess it has to be in part just because of the content/context, but I thought that the fate/free-will theme was much more powerful. And this was the theme I related too, at least in this point in my life. Just knowing that to an extent you have to let go. You can't control everything and you should focus on the positive. If I did that, hell yeah it would make a huge impact on my life; if I lived like the Tralfamadorians. Again, I read this book in one night. I wasn't enthralled, but I was captive for sure, trying to figure out what exactly was happening to Billy Pilgrim, where the book was going, what it meant to me and how I felt about it. I think this is one I would appreciate a lot more on second reading, now that I'm more confident in my understanding of it. Because I had trouble at first, I don't think I can fairly give this top ranks, so I'll give you an A, Mr. Vonnegut. I'm excited to read more of your stuff.

How are you not inspired by this?