<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Zee&#039;s Wordly Obsessions</title>
	<atom:link href="http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com</link>
	<description>... welcome to my book reviews, reading lists, book challenges and other things pertaining to bibliophilia ...</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:51:24 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.com/</generator>
<cloud domain='mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com' port='80' path='/?rsscloud=notify' registerProcedure='' protocol='http-post' />
<image>
		<url>http://1.gravatar.com/blavatar/1b0d57ce03c8a7c9aede58359ad2ea8c?s=96&#038;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png</url>
		<title>Zee&#039;s Wordly Obsessions</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com</link>
	</image>
	<atom:link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/osd.xml" title="Zee&#039;s Wordly Obsessions" />
	<atom:link rel='hub' href='http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?pushpress=hub'/>
		<item>
		<title>Looking Back at 2011 &#124; A Year Through Books</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/looking-back-at-2011-a-year-through-books/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/looking-back-at-2011-a-year-through-books/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:45:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[50 Books A Year]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Book Challenges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Book News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book challenge]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1238</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s that time of year again folks, a fresh new year. We&#8217;ll all be setting ourselves fresh new reading challenges, so it&#8217;s the perfect moment to look back at 2011 and see what we have accomplished and how we can further improve on our performances. I see that throughout the year I&#8217;ve discovered how some of heavyweights like &#8217;Beowulf&#8217; are not [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1238&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/looking-back-at-2011-a-year-through-books/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://www.teneues.com/shop-us/images/product_images/popup_images/74310_C.jpg" medium="image" />

		<media:content url="http://photo.goodreads.com/challenges/1294165129p3/2.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">2011 Reading Challenge</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;Man in the Dark&#8217; by Paul Auster</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/book-review-man-in-the-dark-by-paul-auster/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/book-review-man-in-the-dark-by-paul-auster/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:07:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1258</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Man in the Dark by Paul Auster My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Escaping into a film is not like escaping into a book. Books force you to give something back to them, to exercise your intelligence and imagination, where as you can watch a film-and even enjoy it-in a state of mindless passivity.” It [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1258&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/book-review-man-in-the-dark-by-paul-auster/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ki89prbDL._SX106_.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Man in the Dark</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;The Diary of a Nobody&#8217; by George Grossmith</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/book-review-the-diary-of-a-nobody-by-george-grossmith/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/book-review-the-diary-of-a-nobody-by-george-grossmith/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:31:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[1001 Book Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ebooks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1001 book list]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[george grossmith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the diary of a nobody]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1254</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Meet Mr. Charles Pooter, perfectly average in everyway. Actually, he doesn't really like being average as he does have his snobbish moments, but he certainly isn't a 'nobody' either. He is rather just one of us, a person trying to get ahead in life and be as successful as he can be in the face of life's little embarrassing disasters. And believe you me there are plenty of those in this book!
  
This is his diary, wherein he faithfully records all of the aforementioned moments as well as the stress of moving into a new house. British comedy is famous for its sarcasm and dry wit, and 'The Diary of a Nobody' has this in spades as it was written by George Grossmith, a rather famous comedian of his time. The humour here is of the domestic variety, and includes sharp observations of moments between long-married couples like the Pooters whose spats are not funny at the time of happening but become so in retrospect.
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1254&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/book-review-the-diary-of-a-nobody-by-george-grossmith/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175617009m/535856.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">The Diary of a Nobody</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;Beowulf&#8217; by Anonymous</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-beowulf-by-anonymous/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-beowulf-by-anonymous/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:07:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Excerpts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ancient literature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beowulf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[epic poem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gutenberg project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Beowulf by Unknown My rating: 2 of 5 stars “Beloved Beowulf, remember how you boasted,  Once, that nothing in the world would ever  Destroy your fame; fight to keep it,  Now, be strong and brave, my noble  King, protecting life and fame                                        Together. My sword will fight at your side!” Stirring stuff eh? Nothing but [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1250&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-beowulf-by-anonymous/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gQ5CjZXtL._SX106_.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Beowulf</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;Beloved&#8217; by Toni Morrison</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-beloved-by-toni-morrison/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-beloved-by-toni-morrison/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:39:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[1001 Book Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Excerpts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[african american literature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beloved]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[infanticide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[literary fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slavery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toni morrison]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1247</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“In trying to make the slave experience intimate, I hoped the sense of things being both under control and out of control would be persuasive throughout; that the order and quietude of every day life would be violently disrupted by the chaos of the needy dead; that the herculean effort to forget would be threatened by memory desperate to stay alive. To render enslavement as a personal experience, language must first get out of the way.”
  
This is Morrison describing why and how she went about writing 'Beloved'. When I first came to read the novel, I noticed a very uncomfortable gap, or rather 'jarring' between what Morrison was trying to say and what she ended up saying. Nothing was straight forward, even the first opening sentence felt as if it had been dragged out backwards from the psyche. The 'slave experience' that she mentions, and the claustrophobic memory of the dead that continually pervades the living is the catalyst Morrison uses to break down the hindering effect of language.
  
As a novel of extremities, 'Beloved' explores the limitless depths of love and hate, showing the places where they intermingle and become almost interchangeable. This is much more than just a ghost story, much more than the angry, persistent haunting of a mother who loved her baby so much, she had to choose between the better of two evils. The haunting is one that clings to the skirts of an entire race. I have often heard people say how disconcerting Morrison's prose is apt to be, and how many have turned away from this fine novel with confusion, misunderstanding or even sheer disgust. I implore that they look again, for their own good.
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1247&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-beloved-by-toni-morrison/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/414mK5yynQL._SX106_.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Beloved</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;The House of Pomegranates&#8217; by Oscar Wilde</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-the-house-of-pomegranates-by-oscar-wilde/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-the-house-of-pomegranates-by-oscar-wilde/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:44:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Excerpts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[childrens fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dorian gray]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fables]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hans christian anderson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[happy prince]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oscar wilde]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the house of pomegranates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1243</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“Life is one fool thing after another whereas love is two fool things after each other.”     

Oscar Wilde might just be the greatest fiction writer of all time. Having said that, it's a pity there are so few of his works. He certainly has a very special place in my heart, and this collection of beautiful children's stories show just how talented he really was. Wilde is famous for his 'epigrams' and his razor-sharp wit. His command of the English language made him a literary trend-setter. Yet these innocent fables allow people to see a lesser-known side of him, a more human side; a glimpse of the 'mortal'.
  
As mercurial and glamorous as he was (or made himself out to be), the work he produced here for younger audiences stands as a hommage for ancient story-telling that reaches out to the likes of Hans Christian Anderson or the Brother's Grimm. In fact these aren't mere stories, but rather 'fables', and unfortunately fables are an almost extinct form of story-telling these days. When people think of Oscar Wilde, no one ever thinks of morals, yet these tales each hold a deep moral lesson.
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1243&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/book-review-the-house-of-pomegranates-by-oscar-wilde/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BR4CqYL5L._SX106_.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">A House of Pomegranates</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;Florence and Giles&#8217; by John Harding</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/book-review-florence-and-giles-by-john-harding/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/book-review-florence-and-giles-by-john-harding/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:08:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[edgar allan poe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[florence and giles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gothic fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[henry james]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john harding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poe a life cut short]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the turn of the screw]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1233</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This was my Hallowe'en read for the year, and I did get rather excited at the prospect of a 'Poe' meets 'The Turn of the Screw', but it really wasn't to be. While the concept is firmly rooted in the Gothic tradition (thanks to it being almost a re-write of the illustrious, aforementioned title by Henry James) it really does lack in the 'scare factor' that it so promises on the back cover.
  
This is the story of Florence and Giles, two orphaned children living with their estranged uncle in a vast, sprawling estate known as Blithe House. However, the name of the house is grossly misleading as nothing about the place is 'blithe'. It is a cold, forbidding mansion with ancient turrets and a dark history. Florence is our precocious little narrator, and guides us through the ghostly happenings of the place and the strange people who live there.
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1233&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/book-review-florence-and-giles-by-john-harding/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309107330m/11848335.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Florence and Giles</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;First Love, Last Rites&#8217; by Ian McEwan</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/book-review-first-love-last-rites-by-ian-mcewan/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/book-review-first-love-last-rites-by-ian-mcewan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:30:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[50 Books A Year]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first love last rites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ian mcewan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[short story]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1231</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["Oh my. Ian McEwan, you are a sick @&#38;%*! But bloody hell can you write..."



This was my first response to these lean, mean sickening stories of ennui, sexual perversity and emotional absence. McEwan manages to abridge the two opposing poles of sexuality and mortality in these scary little urban tales. Besides this over-arching theme McEwan seems to write each story from the perspective of the perpetrator rather than the victim - something I never actually got comfortable with considering all his protagonists are murderers, incestuous rapists, pimpish theatre directors and paedophiles.

What I suppose I liked about these stories was how McEwan took a day out of an ordinary person's life, and showed us how quickly it could be degraded, how by degrees an average person could manage to commit an 'accidental' crime, sometimes through idle suggestion alone. There is a very precise psychology around these stories and I'm pretty sure anyone who has followed the news over the past 10 years can name at least ONE incident that bears an incredible resemblance to one of the fictions within this slim book.

<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1231&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/book-review-first-love-last-rites-by-ian-mcewan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175022174m/468746.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">First Love, Last Rites</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Problem with Gargantuan Book Challenges, and How I Handle Them&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/the-problem-with-gargantuan-book-challenges-and-how-i-handle-them/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/the-problem-with-gargantuan-book-challenges-and-how-i-handle-them/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:51:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[1001 Book Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[50 Books A Year]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Book Challenges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1001 book list]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book challenge]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1229</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As Hallowe'en approaches I tend to look back on my reading record to see how well I've done throughout the year. Although I am heading nicely towards my target of 60 books, I was not pleased to discover that I had grossly deviated from my other book challenges, especially the most important one: 1001 Book Challenge. 

It's not an easy list to conquer, as anyone who is currently undertaking it will know. The sheer number of books aside, it is probably the only list that well and truly makes you 'feel' your mortality. Especially if you have (like me) gauged their yearly reading speed. Mine stands at approximately 50 books a year, placing me in the 'slow reader' category compared to some readers who manage well over 100 books a year!

One good thing about gargantuan challenges like the 1001 Book List is that many people are attempting it. It's tough but it's highly popular and if you can find a good online reading group (I'm a member of the goodreads one) there is plenty of camaraderie to be had along the way. And you'll soon discover that most people are there to discover truly good books that deserve their time and effort. There is no pressure to actually COMPLETE the list. In reality, it would take a lifetime of reading. So the challenge is viewed as one that allows you to read a lifetime of 'quality' titles that have been tried and tested by critics.

<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1229&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/the-problem-with-gargantuan-book-challenges-and-how-i-handle-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSU9WUYA7TXubjavjpWyNg-SIR7if3pU9SzE6UzcsrkXZ_DUh7u" medium="image" />
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review &#124; &#8216;Lost Souls&#8217; by Poppy Z. Brite</title>
		<link>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/bok-review-lost-souls-by-poppy-z-brite/</link>
		<comments>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/bok-review-lost-souls-by-poppy-z-brite/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:14:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mywordlyobsessions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Excerpts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anne rice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erotic bestseller]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lgbt literature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lost Souls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poppy Z Brite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vampire fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[YA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/?p=1224</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I think I'm 13 years too late for this novel. Looking back, it's one of the ones that 'got away', fell off my book-dar when I was a moody, goth-chick with raging hormones and a healthy, morbid curiosity. Back in the days I liked my books dark, with seductive, raven-haired vampires. 'Lost Souls' would have been perfect for me then. But not anymore. I am happy to report that my reading preferences have changed dramatically, that I have outgrown the dark phase of 'nobody understands me' *mope-mope*. And thank god I did.

Because despite it being hailed as a 'cult vampire classic', the plot was completely lost on me. In fact, I think there isn't really a plot at all. 'Lost Souls' is a story with a handful of characters whose paths collide with one another on a random basis. A bit like a car crash, or a hit-and-run accident. Reading this was a bit like me looking back through the years at my pre-pubescent self, and wondering how I ever evolved into the person I am now. Even though I read lots of novels like this back in the day, I discovered I could no longer relate to them. It felt like a very specific window to my previous 'self' was forever lost to me. And that's a bit saddening, because it not only makes you feel old, but also (somehow) narrow-minded as well.
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com&amp;blog=14269898&amp;post=1224&amp;subd=mywordlyobsessions&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mywordlyobsessions.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/bok-review-lost-souls-by-poppy-z-brite/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/98a24ad53d318c4918d2267c3dbb9034?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=PG" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">mywordlyobsessions</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266558300m/452244.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Lost Souls</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
