Anna Karenina

So rather than read another book off the list, why not read one I've already completed...twice?  Apparently Anna Karenina is coming out on film (again) this November, and since it's one of my favorites (besides Gone With The Wind, Because of Winn Dixie, and Charlotte's Web) I decided to reread it and prepare for its upcoming film (re)debut. (There were a lot of parentheses in that paragraph, my apologies).

Currently I'm about halfway through, and I just realized that I hadn't updated since what was technically still spring.  That means I spent the summer doing.......ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  My plan was to finish LOTR (success rate over the past 2 years for that plan, 0%, or maybe even negative.  It's a pretty poor plan since it never works), but like all past attempts, it failed.  Then a friend alerted me to the new Anna Karenina movie, and here I am.  On page 450 of 940, so almost half.  Yes, I am that person who not only reads a Russian novel on summer vacation, but REreads a Russian novel on summer vacation.

So far we have rejected Levin, in-debt Oblonsky, oblivious on purpose Dolly, cheating Anna, wimpy Karenin, and annoying Vronsky.  Also frail Kitty, almost forgot about her.  They are all at a dinner party (except Anna and Vronsky) and Levin is about to propose to Kitty again.  Hopefully everything works out this time.

I don't often reread books, mostly because there are so many I want to read for the first time, but I do love picking up a book I've enjoyed in the past.  It's like visiting old friends and reminiscing about old times.  I had a kid tell me once, when I asked if she wouldn't mind rereading a book for class that she had read on her own, "a favorite book is like an old friend."  How true she was!  Other books I've reread include Harry Potter and.....I'm not sure what else.  Any of my favorites I guess.  I plan to reread Gone with the Wind at some point.  Maybe next summer.

Reading Anna Karenina has made me very curious about War and Peace.  I love Tolstoy's writing style, and as long as I keep a character list, I should find it just as enjoyable (except for it's obvious length, which in my copy is 1256 with a 102 page epilogue....so 1358).  That will be quite a project!

After I finish AK, I have a couple books in mind to tackle next.  I normally would say Return of the King, and if I get in a mood where I just want to get it over with, I may just go for it.  Another option is Les Miserables, since the movie for that is coming out in December, although that's another long one that I'll definitely have to commit to.  I also still have Middlemarch sitting here, as well as Midnight's Children, and a couple others that are not on the list.  Other options include finishing up the Narnia series.  We'll see what happens with them.  But anyway, here it is September 1st, and I've still only read 2 books from the list.  This one doesn't count either since I've already read it.  So I'm pretty confident that I won't be meeting my goal, but if all goes well I'll maybe get to 5.