the great alice

two more books checked off of the reading list.  a few books behind, but i am moving forward.  this week's reads:  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald} and alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}.  i actually read the great gatsby in high school and remembered enjoying it.  now reading again, i have decided it is just depressing, a sad way to live.  a few years ago, i remember watching alice in wonderland with a few kids at work and thinking, "what is this?  this is actually a kid's movie?  what someone in less than a normal state of mind when it was created?"  of course, as a kid, you do not see the oddities, but watching it as an adult certainly makes you realize, it is not a normal story.  i was really interested in reading the book then so i could see how the book and movie compared.  well, no let down there.  the book is full of even more oddities.  as always though, here are a few quotes that stuck out to me.

"in my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that i've been turning over in my mind ever since.  'whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'"  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald}

"there are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired."  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald}  [i know where i would categorize myself these last few weeks - the busy and the tired.  i need to fix this.]

"in two weeks it'll be the longest day in the year...do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it?  i always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald}  [true?  yes.  being a planner, i feel as though i am always looking forward to this or to that.  before i know it, this or that has passed.  sometimes i am so focused on the this or that, that i do not fully engage myself in the actual moment of enjoying the this or that.  have you missed a this or a that?]

"'and what is the use of a book,' thought alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'"  alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}

"she generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it)"  alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}  [describe you?  describes me.]

"and the moral of that is--'be what you would seem to be'--or, if you'd like it put more simply--'never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'"  alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}

it has been quite dreary the last two days here.  rain.wind.rain.cold.rain.  tonight, i am snuggling up on the couch with a hot cup of tea and beginning my new read, the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}.  i am excited to begin this read for two reasons.  one:  i will be reading it with a friend so we can discuss it as we go.  two:  that sweet friend surprised me one day with a copy of the book that she picked up for me while she was shopping simply because she knew it was on my list.  love simple, thoughtful gifts.