Back on track

After a brief and enjoyable sabbatical, I'm back on the quest to read 100 classic novels.

I've read only about a dozen. I don't want to count exactly how many I've read, as it will only depress me when I think of how many I still have to read.

I read a few in highschool, like, '1984' and 'Animal Farm'. I read a few in my early 20's like, 'Atlas Shrugged' and 'The Fountainhead'. (That's the book that Robbie throws at Baby in the dining room of Kellerman's in Dirty Dancing - how can you see that scene and not go read that book?)

So after I decided to read 100 classic novels, I hopped online to the local library to see what I could find. I also called my sister-in-law Deb, as she has a ton of books. That led me to 'farewell to Arms' , 'Catcher in the Rye' and 'Gone With The Wind' . I've taken a break from 'The Lord of The Rings' as there is only so much useless fictional geographical descriptions one can stand, and I'm stuck at the beginning of the third book in the series.

So at the library recently, after finding two books that are not on the list, but I really enjoyed, 'Consent to Kill' and 'Executive Power' by Vince Flynn , I also found 'Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushdie. I thought to myself, 'Hey, this book has to be good, after he wrote it, he had to go into hiding as there was a hit out on him.' I quote from Wikipedia: "On February 14th, 1989, the Ayatollah broadcast the following message on Iranian radio: "I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Qur'an, and all those involved in its publication who are aware of its content are sentenced to death." Yikes!

At the library I quickly read the first couple of paragraphs from the jacket cover of 'Satanic Verses', and I was so intrigued, I just stopped and went to the checkout. Finally a classic novel that sounds good! Something I would read for leisure! Here are some highlights that attracted me to the jacket, 'hijacked jumbo jet... two figures fall to the sea... Their survival is a miracle.' Sounds good eh? This morning before starting the book I read the entire jacket, and was seriously disappointed. '...two men tumble through time and space... we are witness to a cycle of tales of love and passion, of betrayal, and faith: the story of Ayesha Cone, the butterfly shrouded visionary who leads and Indian village on an impossible pilgrimage..." Oh no! Time and space, angel versus devil! I started reading it, and although I can appreciate the Indian verbiage, I cannot stand the 'gobbledygook' that is thrown in. Arg! This is going to be painful! I'll let you know....