Want a Good Read?

Well, if you do, you should really stop reading this blog. It's truely terrible at times. Really. Anyway, as some of you may know, I do have a degree in English Literature. Yes, a college thought I was smart enough to gradjeyate. As a Lit major, I read a ton of books and stories. I still read alot. I thought I'd share some suggestions of things I've read that some of you (that actually read for pleasure) may enjoy:

1. The Yellow Wallpaper - This is a short story (I forget the author. Sorry.) about a woman that is 'ill' and her husband puts her in a room with wierd yellow wallpaper. Basically she kind of goes crazy. I won't get too into it, but it's pretty interesting how the author gets insideof the woman's head as she goes down the road to loony town.

2. The Fall of the House of Usher - Another short story, by Edgar Allen Poe, that is really dark and creepy. The basic story is about a old family manor owned by the Usher family. It is a very old house and a very old family (like it goes back several generations) and there is some creepy dark stuff going on in the house. I won't reveal any of the suprises, but it is a very good story.

3. Shakespeare - I know, I know. It is hard to read Shakespeare because of the olde English language, but once you get used to it, the plays are really excellent. If you ever get a chance to see a play, I'd recomend it. I saw Much Ado About Nothing back in my college days and loved it. It was hillarious! Of course there is Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet as well that are both very good. I remember seeing Romeo and Juliet in Mr Durbin's high school English class and snickering when Juliet's boobie popped out. Good times.

4. The Left Behind book series - If you've never heard of these books, they are religous fiction. I bought the first book because the cover was interesting and the discription on the cover was interesting. It is about the End of Days and the story about several people that were left behind after the Rapture (when all Believers were taken to Heaven and non-believers were left behind to choose between Christ or the Anti-Christ). I had no idea that it was a religous book when I bought it, and I am by no means a religous person, but these books were great. They really make you think about things. No, I did not convert, but if I start seeing some of the things described in the books start happening, I'll be singing a different toon. The last few books start getting a little preachy, but I still highly recommend these books. They are easy to read and written very well.

5. Xanadu - Xanadu is my favorite poem. I think it is by Coldridge, but I may be wrong (I did not have a high GPA as an English major). The poet was on some sort of drugs that made him hallucinate this whole scene and he wrote is all down. It's pretty dark and slightly demonic. If you like Rush (the band) then actually wrote a some called Xanadu that is based off of the poem. I read it first in Mr Durbin's English class in high school and the poem is the reason why I have no respect for that man as a teacher. I wrote a paper on the poem and my interpretation was different from his, so he gave me a C. How can a teacher reduce someone's grade for interpreting a poem differently? I was so mad.

Well, there you have it. There is alot more that I've read and liked, but I don't want to bore everyone. Feel free to chime in with your favorite books and stories. I need to find some new stuff to read.