Welcome!

My mother and I decided to do this project simply because we had nothing else to do. Ha.

No, really. I don't quite know why we decided to do this. My mother can (and definitely will) speak for herself. But I miss having to read the "great books" and a discussion that comes with that reading in a university setting, so maybe that's part of it. I'm an avid reader, but sadly I've missed out on a lot of classics.

So, with our infinite free time, we've decided to take a list of books (books that were on the AP Literature exam from past-2002) and choose one from every letter of the alphabet (sort of...more on that later). We'll read it and share our thoughts on here. This could get interesting.

Why? I don't like reading books simply because someone has deemed them as "classics". I tend to disagree with my mother on the opinions on books. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I do have an English degree.

What's our first book? Anna Karenina. Oh boy.

We wanted to read All the King's Men, but alas, it is not available on Kindle*. So we chose Anna Karenina, which we both already have downloaded. The lucky thing about having Kindles is that most of the classics are free or extremely cheap. So we will tackle The Great Russian Beast head on. I've always wanted to read it, but the one time I tried, I got discouraged when I couldn't pronounce the names of the characters. Plus I was in eighth grade, and it was an extremely challenging read then.

We're still discussing a schedule, since Anna Karenina is not a short book. But hopefully we'll update every week, even if we haven't read an extensive amount.

Happy Reading!

* A note on Kindles and other e-readers: Yes, I love my Kindle. Yes, I love books. No, I don't think you have to exclusively love one. I have heard many people say, "Oh, but I love books too much." I still read books, ones from the library and ones I buy at second-hand stores. I typically read new fiction on my Kindle. But don't dismiss an e-reader simply because it is not a book. Both have upsides and both have downsides. But I'll get off my soapbox now.