hollywood housewife

read great books: a literature challenge

Last year I did a monthly discipline challenge tackling some of the things that I want to change about my life theoretically (stop spending, exercise daily, be on time) but that I had previously never actually made an effort towards.

I learned a lot about myself with the monthly challenges. I learned that some disciplines matter and others do not. I learned that it’s harder to quantify “success” and “failure” than I would have thought. And most importantly I learned that I am goal-oriented. If I have a goal that I’ve stated publicly, I’m much more apt to follow through with it. Imagine that.

After years of thinking about it, I’ve decided this year to read more classic literature. I read a lot. I love to read. But about 90% of what I read is purely entertainment. I mean I won’t read dumb stuff. But I read what I want to read, following my own interests. It’s fun to be an adult.

Still, some of the best sentences ever written floated by my eyes when I was a teenager. When I was in classes that forced me to read classic literature. I didn’t hate it, but I haven’t done much of it since. So for awhile now I’ve been meaning to re-read some of the classics, and finally to pick up those that I skipped.

I asked friends and family and Secret Post readers for suggestions on which classics one should definitely read, and immediately I hit the first dilemma. What is a classic? There are so many definitions, and many strong opinions. I decided to define a “classic” work of literature as something generally accepted as well-written, and that has permeated culture. But that still adds up to hundreds and hundreds of books across continents and genres.

In the spirit of Start Where You Are, I made a big list of things I should read and those that I want to read and cross-referenced. That narrowed it down considerably, but there were still dozens of titles to choose from. I eliminated a few from sheer length. I took three of the most suggested from the Secret Post subscribers as definites. And then I filled in the rest with books we’ll be glad that we read. When choosing these books for us to read together I considered:

• Relevance to our culture and to our lives. There are books that are so constantly referenced that often we don’t even know their original source. See Shakespeare (who was not on my final list). I want to examine why a work was relevant then and now, and while this argument can probably be made for any works that fall into the vague “classic” category, I thought about it when choosing.

• Entertainment value. If it feels like a chore, I’ll loathe doing it, which is not the point of this exercise. This is (hopefully) just a starter list, and it’s easier for everyone if we go in with the possibility of loving what we’re reading. I didn’t want to read Moby Dick, so Moby Dick is not on this list.

• Length. Most of us are big readers around here, so we all have current To Read lists stacked high. I’m not ready to commit to 1,200 words of Atlas Shrugged (yet) and I certainly wasn’t going to ask you to. So yes, I looked at length. You’re welcome.

I’m new to the online book club thing, so it might be trial and error at first. But here’s how I think it’s going to work: I’ll write a post when we start the book and based on length and time of year, I’ll give a date for when we’ll have the discussion on it. We’ll schedule the discussion and I’ll host it either here on the blog or possibly in another forum (I'm still researching the best way to have a group chat, any suggestions are welcome). Jump in on the books you want to read, skip the ones you don’t. I'm posting the list in its entirely below so people can read ahead if they wish. This is going to be fun!

The list as it stands now, in chronological order:

(1813) PRIDE & PREJUDICE by Jane Austen (279 pages)

read the discussion
(1818) FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley (273 pages)

read the discussion
(1847) JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte (500 pages)

read the discussion
(1864) NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND by Fyodor Dostoevsky (138 pages)

read the discussion
(1899) THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin (195 pages)

read the discussion

(1960) TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee (324 pages)

read the discussion

(1937) THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston (256 pages)

read the discussion

(1939) THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck (496 pages)

read the discussion

(1925) MRS. DALLOWAY by Virginia Woolf (216 pages)

read the discussion

(1957) ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac (307 pages)

A few notes: many of these are available for free on kindle, so make sure and check there. Also, the best translation for Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground is the one linked above. There are less expensive versions, however. Just know that they will be a bit different. 

I'm using the hashtag #HHreads or #ReadGreatBooks on social media, and please make sure to tag me if you post about what you're reading!

make or break habits: the monthly discipline challenge summary

No one is more surprised than I am that I stuck to a full year (almost) of monthly discipline challenges. I do love a good project, but my excitement usually wanes two thirds of the way through something (see: every room remodel in my house, every scrapbook I’ve ever started). But with each month offering something new to change or tweak, but also with a definite end in sight, a different challenge each month worked with my personality.

Still, some were more successful than others. A few months stood out as life changers. And it wasn’t always the results I would have predicted.

A breakdown:

only what matters

Blogging didn’t matter to me yesterday.

We got home late on Sunday night, I have a nasty cold, and what mattered to me yesterday was unpacking our suitcases and going to the grocery store. So I did those two things and then I took a nap.

A tiny decision, but this was a large leap in my head. On another day, I would have pushed myself to write a blog post instead of getting rest, just because it was Monday and this is what I do. I would have added “take down all the Christmas decorations” to the most important To Dos. I would have stayed up an extra 30 minutes writing down weekly goals and meal plans and then when one or all of these things didn’t manifest, I would berate myself.

Now you’ve been introduced to my busy self critic. She’s a beast.

There is something to be said for structure and discipline, but after a year of monthly challenges and Doing the Work, I've tipped into a place that is outside of that healthy paradigm. I need a more simple message to tell myself. One that doesn't involve daily checklists or achievement. There is a refrain that has been floating through my head for weeks now. It marches and sings. It has brought me clarity and time. It shouts, whispers, and hums Only What Matters. Those are the literal words: Only What Matters.

I’m trying to strip everything down in my world. Possessions, lists, obligations, relationships, joys. There is too much all the time. We’ve YES’D ourselves into this little corner of life’s room where we can see our children playing in the middle, we can even smile and appreciate in our head that they are so beautiful, but we can’t feel anything. There’s too much stuff between our corner and their designated play space. But by golly, we’ve got control of the room, you might even call the corner where we’re trapped the “command center.” It’s an abundance of riches, really. So many choices! We’re at the helm!

Yet. It’s too much. We’re choking the life out of ourselves with the much-ness. And the control is an illusion anyway.

I wasted a lot of time last year on things that did not matter. I fretted over what people thought of me. I stressed over clothes and my home, and while I want both of those things to be presentable and to my taste, they’re meant to be enjoyed and they do not actually matter. I got confused about that.

I poured a lot of energy into this blog (because it’s comfortable) and scared myself off of chasing other dreams (because they’re not). I got irrationally upset with someone else's life choices, something that had absolutely nothing to do with me. I decided against writing about a certain topic because I thought another person's feelings mattered more than mine. Maybe they did. I’m still confused about that.

Some of these things are just life, the regular missteps of a regular woman. But when I look back on the last few years as a whole, I know that I’ve come a little off track because I cared about the wrong things. Many times, a future Laura should have held me by the shoulders firmly and said THIS THING DOES NOT MATTER.

So I don’t want to be a cautionary tale. I want to re-route as soon as I realize I've missed the turn. I’m starting to say no. I’m reminding myself that spinning out emotionally is futile. I want only a handful of priorities, TOTAL.

I’ve cleaned out my clothes closet. I’m relaxing my blog schedule. I’ll eat healthy for lunch and have dessert after dinner. Or vice versa. I’m putting my phone away and pulling out my journal. Or vice versa. If it isn’t on my very small list of Things That Matter, then I have to think long and hard before I give it one more breath. It’s time to get back to my core.

*

This is my 4th year to have a mantra for the year. Each time it has come to me making the most perfect sense for that season. Adopt any or all of them as we start a new calendar.

2012: Start Where You Are

2013: Set the Tone

2014: Do the Work

 

**photo by Darwin Bell via flickr