Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston

I read this for the Back to the Classics challenge as my classic by a woman author. This was also highly recommended by one of our teen patrons who said this is one of his favorites.

Janie is raised by her grandmother who works for a white family and the family dotes on Janie. Her grandmother is a former slave who was raped by her master and her daughter was not married when she had Janie. When her grandmother sees how Janie is treated by the other black children, who are mad because of her light skin and because they think she acts white, they move. Her grandmother wants better for Janie and marries her young to a black farmer who doesn't understand Janie's nature. She runs off with Joe Starks to the all-black town of Eatonville in Florida. Joe also doesn't understand Janie and tries to make her a grand lady, since he wants to be mayor. Janie begins to give up the idea of being her own person and finding real love, when Tea Cake comes along. Tea Cake treats her as his equal, doesn't care that she is light skin, and wants her to be part of his life, not his property. The story is Janie's growth as a person and how love can help us embrace who we are.

I had to read a bit of history to grasp all the concepts in this book. Hurston died penniless and for many years had an unmarked grave. She was criticized by many writers in the Black Harlem movement who thought she was not speaking out enough for a stronger black race. They did not realize she was speaking for black women whose voices had been silenced. It was only when Alice Walker and Toni Morrison saw in Hurston that black women could have a voice and that voice could be different than black men that the full richness of Hurston's work was appreciated.

I can see how she was influenced by the world around her, the early to middle 1900s, when black people had little rights, were still held down by the economic world that existed after slavery, and how they were struggling to gain back their voices. I think her novel goes beyond just the world in which she lived and resonates with both men and women today. The grandmother trying to make life better for her grandchild by determining out who she should be is like the parent today who wants better for hos or her child, without truly understanding his or her child. The themes of waiting to be alive and experiencing the joy of life without barriers, of finding someone who truly loves and sees you, and of being transformed and not limited by love can strike cords with everyone. I know it made me think about my life and what values I want to embrace.

It took me a bit to get used to the dialect, but once I did, it added richness to the story. I think this was a beautiful novel and I loved the themes and characters in Hurston's work.

Favorite Character: Janie. She tried to honor her grandmother and she tried to honor her three husbands. When she finally blooms into her own person with Tea Cake and without, she is beautiful.

Favorite Quote: "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God."

Wonderful! Definitely a 5 cups of cocoa read!

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I have loved both books I have read by Rowell! She is very funny and creates really likeable characters. I meant to write the review for Attachments sooner, but I got in a review and reading funk and just would not sit down and do it.

Dutton

Lincoln can decide on what he wants to be in life or how he wants to spend his life. His sister would say he is aimlessly drifting and that he needs to move out of his mom's apartment. His D&D friends enjoy his company, but most of them worry that he is stuck in life. Lincoln remembers that he was only last alive with his ex girlfriend. When he gets a job as an Internet security officer in a pre-Y2K world, he thinks he will be doing something. However what he is paid to do is read flagged emails, emails that have language or sexual content, because the old-fashioned newspaper office where he works is worried about that. For Lincoln, the emails are a life-line, particularly Beth and Jennifer's emails. The girls talk about their whole lives, Beth's flighty, non-committal boyfriend and Jennifer's fear of pregnancy with her awesome husband. As he is drawn into their world, Lincoln falls for Beth, but how can he make a relationship with her, when she doesn't really know him and would probably think he is a stalker.

Rowell has some hilarious moments and Beth and Jennifer feel like your best friends and there were parts that were almost identical to moments I have had with friends. The Baby Gap incident was my favorite and something I would totally do. The romance part both bothered me and didn't. Lincoln is a stalker, but a nice one, but still a stalker. Beth is not ready for a serious relationship, but she kind of is, but she isn't. I think it would be almost impossible to have a relationship with someone who had read my private emails, but who knows.

Favorite Character: Jennifer. I just really relate to Jennifer. I am scared of pregnancy, but then kind of want a child. I have "pregnancy" scares all the time, even when it is not possible for me to be. I just think Jennifer captures what it is like to be in the early stages of being married and trying to balance a fun life, a career, and the need/want to start a family.

Favorite Quote:"I know that people change, I thought...I thought we were going to change together. I thought that's what it meant to be in love."

Loved this one! Fangirl is still my favorite, but this is a close second. Can't wait to read more of her books! 5 cups of cocoa!

May Random Read: The Maelstrom by Henry Neff

This is a meme hosted by Sarah at imlovingbooks.com. You can choose to use Goodreads or create your own list or use your bookshelves.  The idea is to use random.org and type in the number of books on your list. Whatever number you receive is your random read for the month. I have decided  to use the books on my Kindle as my list. I buy or get free far too many books on my Kindle and then never read them. My current number stands at 443, so only two books purchased last month! I finished March's read and have started April's read, so I am still one month behind. I hope to finish April's read and May's read which is number 273. Number 273 is The Maelstrom by Henry Neff, funnily enough the random read I got stuck on my first year participating in Random Reads. My goal is to conquer it this time around! It is a series about a boy who defends the world against demons. He is a reborn version of Cuchulain, a warrior from Celtic mythology. I enjoyed the first 3 books, so I hope to get into the 4th one.

Random House

Spring Into Horror Read-a-thon Updates

I forgot to do an update Monday and yesterday and I am not for sure how much I read each day, so it is a combined update. I got a haircut and color Monday, so I was able to get a bit of reading done while waiting.
Day 1 and Day 2
Currently Reading: Crimson Frost
Pages Read: 72 pages

Day 3
I didn't read at all today. I was going to do the Twitter chat and forgot about it. Oh well, maybe I can remember next time.

Day 4
Currently Reading: Crimson Frost, Cinder
Pages Read: 30 pages in Cinder, 108 pages in Crimson Frost
I finally had a good reading day!

Day 5
Currently Reading:Crimson Frost
Pages Read: 93 pages and finished!
Once I really get started reading the books in this series, they go quick. They are definitely my guilty pleasure reads!

Day 6:
Currently Reading: Gilded Ashes, Perfect Lies, If I Should Die
Pages Read: 20 pages in If I Should Die, 18 pages in Perfect Lies, and 1/2 of Gilded Ashes

Day 7: No reading! It was a beautiful day and I spent most of the day with family.

Spring Into Horror Read-a-thon Reading List and Starting Line

Spring Into Horror Read-a-thon is hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict and Castle Macabre. You can sign up at this link. I am going on and posting my reading list and making this my starting line post. I have several books started that I would like to finish and hopefully I can finish at least two books this week. I am going to have several paranormal books on my stack to count for my "scary" book, since I can't handle anything that is too scary.
My reading stack:
Perfect Lies by Kiersten White
Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep
Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman
Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge (novella)
Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger (audio/ebook)
Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike, this sounds like a good dark paranormal thriller
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Thanks again to Michelle for hosting!

Dewey 24 Hour Readathon Wrapup

Well I didn't manage to read all day and night. I had an unexpected visit from a friend and she really needed to talk. It was almost midnight when she left and at that point I was exhausted and went to bed. However I did meet my hour goal! I read for 4 hours and 20 minutes and I was hoping for 4 hours so I am happy. I only finished one book, but I am really close to the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God. I managed to tweet a bit, comment a bit, and complete 6 mini challenges. It was so much fun and I want to try again in October! Thanks to everyone who hosted!

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon Updates

Well I thought I would be back later, but she stayed awhile and now I must head to bed.
Thanks to everyone for hosting! It was so much fun!
I have a friend coming over and will be back with updates later tonight!

Hours 10-12
Currently reading:Their Eyes were Watching God, Etiquette and Espionage (audio)

Time read: 50 minutes

Mini-challenges completed: On Food and Books

Pages read: 20 pages in TEWWG, 25 minutes of E and E
Hours: 7-9
Currently reading: Once Upon a Midnight Eerie, Their Eyes were Watching God, Crimson Frost, Shen of the Sea

Time read:1 hour and 30 minutes

Mini-challenges completed: Six World Celebration, Bookish Brews: A Coffee Challenge

Pages read: 53 pages in OUAME, 16 pages in TEWWG, 18 pages in Crimson Frost, 40 pages in Shen of the Sea

Books Finished:1 Once Upon a Midnight Eerie

Hours:4-6
Currently reading: Etiquette and Espionage (audio), Cinder

Time read: 1 hour

Mini-challenges completed:Best of Your Reading Year

Pages read: 45 minutes of E and E, 12 pages in Cinder

Hours: 1-3
Currently reading: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Once Upon a Midnight Eerie, Cinder

Time read: 1 hour

Mini-challenges completed: Intro Meme and Paragraph

Pages read: 20 pages in TEWWG, 35 pages in OUAME, and 19 pages in Cinder
I am enjoying it all so far! I have commented on a few blogs, read, and done a couple of mini challenges. I have tweeted now!