Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
I've always loved Alice. When I was little I read "Annotated Alice" many times. (But now that I think of it, I never really read the annotations...) I also loved the movie - not the Disney cartoon, but the 1985 "made for TV" version that we recorded on VHS (or was it Beta?).
Last summer when I heard that Tim Burton was making an Alice movie for 2010 (and Johnny Depp was rumored to be playing the Mad Hatter) I decided that I wanted to re-read the book.
I was afraid that all of the "magic" that I associated with this story as a child would be gone now that I'm reading it with "adult eyes," but luckily that wasn't the case.
I was enamored by Alice and a few of the eccentric characters that she encounters in Wonderland. I mean, who doesn't love the Queen of Hearts?
It's worth reading the book as an adult for the tea party scene alone! I think some of the humor and absurdities of the Mad Hatter and dormouse are even more funny and clever now!
"Through the Looking Glass" was a different story though. Although I loved the chess and "The Walrus and the Carpenter," this book just didn't touch me in the same way as Alice.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Why don't I read more short stories?!
I read "The Great Gatsby" for 9th grade English but hadn't read any of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work since. I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed his writing style and humor.
The story started off clever and cute and gradually became touching and heartwarming. Since the story is only 28 pages, I can't really say more w/o giving anything away.
I've added the movie to my Netflix queue and am looking forward to seeing it. (Even though I read Roger Ebert's review and he said the movie lacks the humor that's in the story...)
Ok - I've written three posts today. I think that's a record for me!
2 comments:
I read Alice after we talked about it around Christmas time or so. I felt like I was on acid the whole time :) I'm excited for the movie though!
Don't get your hopes for button. The short is way better. If you want a recommendation for short stories read Roald Dahl's collection called the Umbrella Man.
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