big girl books

I'm reading a book called Gilead. It was written by Marilynne Robinson. After barreling through a string of trashy chic-lit fiction (Devil Wears Prada, Everyone Worth Knowing, The Starter Wife, The Assistants, The Psycho Ex Game) I decided to smarten up and actually attempt to read a Pulitzer Prize winning book.

The difference between chic-lit and Pulitzer Prize literature is - well - it takes a lot longer to read the latter. I actually have to THINK about what the author is writing.

That said, I'm only on page 16 of Gilead. And I started three days ago. Considering the fact that I can read a 400-page trash novel in a day and a half, I'd say I'm off to a very good start. Wouldn't you? But hey, the author took 24 years to write this book - her second novel (in all fairness she had some non-fiction inbetween). So I'm not that far behind her.

Well, I don't have a formal "book report" for any of you yet, but I did find a great excerpt that I wanted to share. At least to me, it hit home. Perhaps it will touch some of you, too:

"A little too much anger, too often or at the wrong time, can destroy more than you would ever imagine. Above all, mind what you say. "Behold how much wood is kindled by how small a fire, and the tongue is a fire" - that's the truth."

You don't get lines like that in The Devil Wears Prada.

So - at the rate I'm going - I should be done with this 247 page book by 2008. Then I'll write a full review. Meanwhile, if you're not reading something right now...get a book. It's a great way to get lost in a world that isn't your own.