Books and Whatnot

Hello there!  Sorry about the long silence, its been a busy semester so far.  As an English major, I'm taking three literature classes right now, along with an apologetics course, and a modern philosophy class.  There's a lot of required reading to keep up with, but so far I've really been loving all the books.  In my American novel class we have read Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Last of the Mohicans was kind of a drag, and all along I was really hoping Alice would die soon, but alas, in the end, she was basically the only one left alive.  I had read The Scarlet Letter once before in high school, and was a little unimpressed by it at the time.  But coming back to it, especially after the boring Mohicans, I realized the wealth this little novel has to offer.  Suddenly, I was so captivated by the intricacies of symbolism which Hawthorne weaves throughout this tale, making it almost like a poem in prose form.  After spring break, we will continue onward through American literary history with Huckleberry Finn by the inimitable Mark Twain. 

For my Restoration & 18th Century British Literature class, I am reading a book called Evelina by Frances Burney, which, so it turns out, was a favorite in the Austen household.  I can certainly see the influence it had on shaping the literary genius in Miss Jane Austen.  Just like in Emma, there is a painfully awkward profession of love in a carriage.  Evelina such a wonderfully witty book, quite the hidden gem, I think.  It is almost too fun to be a school book.  :)

Anyways, that's it for now.  Cheers!