The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Note to self [and all others out there]: Do not EVER read more than one book by Kipling at a time. Unless you find yourself so immersed so immersed in the first book that you just have to read another, just stop, read a book by a different author, and THEN go back to Kipling.

I tend to have this thing where I like to read a bunch of books by one author at a time so that I can get a better sense of their writing style. I did it with Margaret Atwood and loved it, but apparently Kipling is not one of those authors I can do that with.

The Second Jungle Book is a lot like the first. Stories of human/animal interactions. Maybe it's just that I'm already out of the English class "let's analyze everything" mode, but I had a hard time making any connections between the stories. However, there are more stories about Mowgli. None of them are in the movie though.

So now, after learning that me and Kipling do not get along, I'm off to bigger and better things! My summer reading goal is to finish off the College Board Suggested Reading List (which you can find right here). I've read some of these books already, so now I just have to finish off the 80 or so that are left. There's zero chance of me actually finishing the list this summer, but I'm going to try. I'll have lots of time for reading on our cruise and on the drive to and from Kansas, so we'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll convince Andy that we should get a couple of them on CD (if the library has them) and listen to them on the drive out.

But anyways, join me on my reading quest if you'd like or start one of your own. I promise... it will be worth your while.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Dear Mr. Kipling,

I would just like to apologize on behalf of present humanity for what Disney did for your book. Like most people I grew up watching the Disney version of The Jungle Book. I loved it. I loved the animals that could talk, and their crazy antics throughout the jungle. All this belongs to your book. I finally read your book after 21 years of watching the movie. They are NOT the same. I'm not saying that one is better or worse than the other, they're just different.

I expected the book to be a longer version of the movie. More stories about Mowgli and his friends. More adventures throughout the jungle. Instead, I got three chapters about Mowgli, and then a collection of short stories about various animal/human interactions. I felt lost and confused. Disney has once again let me down. I don't know why I keep trusting them to tell the story as the author(s) intended. Most of the time, when I read a book that Disney based their movie on, I just get disappointed. Like with Alice and Wonderland (see my post from last summer about that one).

I wish you were still alive to sue Disney for what they've done to your book. They've raised several generations believing that The Jungle Book follows one story, when really... it's so much more.

End of One Thing, Start of Something Better

Well, the semester is finally coming to a close. I've taken 2 out of 5 finals, and can't wait to finish the rest!! This has been an interesting semester for me in terms of reading. I had my first English class where the professor was so bad that I never wanted to go to class (never take a class from Dr. Harris... luckily she's retiring after next year!) and read a lot of disturbing literature (see the post below about Native Son for an example). However, I've also had some great experiences. My other English classes have been phenomenal, and I've decided that if I ever decide to pursue a Master's in English, I'll definitely specialize in Modern and Post-Modern American literature. Going into the English major I thought I would focus my time on Romantic Era English literature... turns out that I hate the majority of it, and the only thing that makes the time period bearable is Jane Austen (who I love and adore).

However, now I'm off to something bigger and better... THE SUMMER!! (I bet you all thought I was going to say "married life." Well that's a part of the summer that I'm very excited for, but I'm equally excited for a chance to read a lot of great books and hopefully see this country come out of a recession so that I can get a job at a library!! Also, Andy and I are going to be living across the street from the Provo City Library which means it will be much easier for me to get involved on some level at the things that go on there... and just be able to check out books and movies there. I foresee Andy and I watching a lot of the old classic movies because we can rent them for free from the library.

And most importantly, I've started my summer reading. Right now my Goodreads "to read" list has 130 books on it, so we'll see how far I get this summer. Even if I read a book every single day I won't finish up my reading list, so my goal is just to see how much of a dent I can make in it. I've decided to start things off easy though and right now I'm in the middle of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I bought a collection of his stories, so for the first month or so I'll be reading a lot of him. So give me a week or so and you'll get your post about my musings on that.