Catcher in the Rye | A Dalectable Life

I am woefully behind in this post! All caught up in the NaBloPloMo that my regular stuff was pushed aside…

In October, I inadvertently chose books for children/adolescents/young adults. That’s all good as I don’t snub any style! I was (am) a fan of the Harry Potter series and was not afraid to show it!

Dandelion, The Extraordinary Life of a Misfit, by Sheelagh Mawe was a wonderful little book, directed at 10-13-year-olds on how to learn to love who you are. It is told in the voice of a horse! Quick read for an adult and had some words of wisdom that we are never too old to hear.

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger was an enjoyable read too. This one, written in the voice of 14-year-old Holden Caulfield – a cynical, everyone sucks type of boy. I wanted to read it because, well, everyone has read it! I wanted to know what all the hoopla was about. Well, if I had read it when I was 16, I would surely have had a different take on it than I do now at 50. I cannot say I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. I wonder how many times the word “damn” is used? I could very easily imagine that a lot of what went on in Holden’s mind also goes through my boys’….

I actually finished my two books before the month of October ended. Yes! I actually did! So I finally re-started the wonderful Timesmudger, by Gillian Smellie, a new FB friend and fellow-blogger who just so happens to have written this book that I very much enjoyed.

Let us just say that things never go smoothly when you time travel – there are always risks. I didn’t see this one coming until the very end – and that’s a good thing! Definitely worth a download even if it is in the teen/young adult category.

So now November is upon us and another book had to be chosen. I was going nuts because I was positive I had a Maeve Binchy novel hanging around that I had yet to read. Could not find it all! Then went to my sister’s for Hallowe’en and lo and behold, there it was! She had been looking for something to read at one time and I was in the midst of reading something else so I leant it to her. Then forgot. So…. yeah! There is not a Maeve book that I’ve read that I haven’t completely fallen in love with. She was (sadly, she is no longer with us) such a wonderful story teller. Every single one of her novels take place at least partially in her beloved Ireland. This one is no exception.

I am only a few pages in but just know that I will adore it.

Just a few days late! I like to keep my posts to one per day so today is the book post day! I finished Philomena a few days ago and enjoyed it. Well, one can enjoy a book even if the story is tragic and the ending is not what we hope for. A story of a mother forced to give up her three-year-old boy in 1950’s Ireland as told by Martin Sixsmith after research and interviews with people in the boy’s life. I must admit that when I went to my Good Reads page to mark it as read, and I saw that Susan Kavanagh (a friend of Michael’s and a main “character” in the book) had written a review that was not too kind, I was a tad deflated. I felt like Oprah when she found out that James Frey’s “A Thousand Little Pieces” was mostly fiction. This book is supposed to be based on the true story and as far as Kavanagh is concerned, should be categorized as fiction.

That said, I still enjoyed reading it and will now watch the movie – which should be interesting as the book is about Michael (Anthony’s) life and the movie is about Philomena’s search for him.

This month, for my “The Year in Books” choice, I’ve decided to tackle a book that apparently everyone and their mother/father/brother/etc. has read but until now, still remained a mystery to me… J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”. Now, in my defense, I did go to French secondary school so it was not a book that was talked about! I did go to English (and French) college and still had met anyone who had read it so… About 20 years ago I decided to start catching up on what was once “required reading” in English. So, I have been slowly reading one here and there. This time, Salinger is the winner. I’ve had it in my bookshelves for quite a few years but just never seemed to be in the mood to start it. Can’t explain it but there you have it. Now, it is time!

As it is not an overly large book, I also decided to read Dandelion by Sheelagh Mawe (mother of Mike Dooley of the TUT – Note from the Universe family). I do that. I saw there was some package deal on 3-4 of her books so I just bought them. I love getting my daily email from the Universe letting me know how fabulous I am so I figured, the mother had to have some part in that!

I am enjoying the first few chapters so far…

How do you choose books you read?