Hey guys! For now, doing reading vlogs on Youtube has just taken too much time, so for now I’m going to stick to the simplicity of the Reading Blog. Here are some of the stories/books that I’ve been imaginatively consuming this last month…
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
As a “remedy” for her mental illness, a young woman’s doctor husband locks her in her room, with the foreboding wallpaper that she watches to pass the time. But as she stares at it day and night, she soon feels that it is watching her. This short story has much in the way of psychological realism that voiced an underlying degression of sanity. Though it was a quick read, there was a lot of emotion, symbolism, and imagery packed into it, so I will probably read it again to understand more about what the shapes and images of the wallpaper represent to the speaker.
All Hallows Eve Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology)
I only read one and half stories from this book before it was due back at the library. I guess that there were just books I wanted to read that took precedence over this one, but I plan to continue on with it sometime later this year.
Women of the Woods Anthology
My biased opinion would say that the story “The Witch of Willow Wood” was my favorite—being my own—but I also enjoyed some of the other stories I read from this collection that set the mood for Halloween. Some of these stories were a bit disturbing—partly because I found myself reading them late at night and partly because of the gory/spooky content, but overall, I have liked the stories I’ve read and plan to finish reading the rest of them this month.
Gladiator (audiobook)
Being a fan of the movie, I downloaded this to listen to in my car since I’ve had a recent hankering to watch the film again but thought that maybe this time I would read the book and see how it compares. I wonder if the story was written after or before the movie, because the dialogue in the book was basically word for word and the descriptions sounded like they were taken from the movie (or vice versa). I think this book was based off of the movie, and the original pre-film book by Richard Watkins is still out there somewhere; still, I’m glad I was able to take this unique opportunity to listen to this classic sad yet inspirational tale instead of just watching it.
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
I have yet to finish this book; it is getting quite interesting, but I have been reading other things while putting this one on hold for a bit. I decided to buy the book and return my other copy to the library, so I think procrastination has set it since I no longer have a “deadline”.
Without the Mask by Charlie Bird
I’ve also put this one on hold, mainly because the time I spent reading it during the slow days at work have now been replaced by seasonal business. So, hopefully I can some back to this one and finish it…How is he going to conclude this memoir?
A Hangman’s Diary by Franz Schmidt
This one I ordered from Thriftbooks, since I finally was able to get a free book with my points and this was one I have been wanting to read for quite a while. After skimming the beginning of “The Faithful Executioner” on Amazon, which was based off of this journal of a 16th century German executioner, I knew I wanted to read it. Not much has been said about the lives/humanity of the executioners themselves, just the victims that have died by their hand. I’ve always been interested in the history of prison reform, so it’s been very enlightening to read about the politics and procedures of law enforcement in this period of time when the justice system was still so rudimentary and botched. I’m only on page 34 and am still reviewing the customs and methods used to extract confessions but hope in this book to learn more about the life of Schmidt himself.
So those are the books I’ve read, am reading, and plan to read this coming month. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future reading, please let me know. Happy Reading everybody!
Ashley Weaver 