Ted’s Comments (group member since Oct 21, 2022)

Ted’s comments from the EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club group.

My next long classic read was going to be The Count of Monte Cristo, but I am changing to War and Peace to read along with you. I’m excited. This will be my first time with Tolstoy. I have read Dostoyevsky before, but I understand they are quite different. I will start reading tonight and will try and catch up with the group by the end of April (May at the latest). Looking forward to reading with you all.

I second Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

With apologies, may I offer a more hopeful view of this incredible book? My first wife, Tina, suffered from clinical depression and succumbed to the disease by taking her life in November 2005. When she described depression, Tina spoke of a hole in the ground that every person falls into from time to time while on their life's journey. For most people, the hole is so unpleasant to be in, they make every effort to climb out and continue their journey. Yet, for some, the effort to climb out is more unpleasant than the hole itself, so they remain in a hole that others do not understand. I have heard others who suffer from depression use the similar metaphor of a wall that is just simply harder for some to climb over than others.

I wonder if the "bell jar" was something similar for Sylvia Plath - encased in something difficult to escape from but not impossible. A bell jar is made of glass, after all, not the impenetrable bars of race described by Maya Angelou in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The end of the book leaves the fate of Esther Greenwood ultimately up to the reader - will the group of medical experts release her?

Esther is my new literary hero. She survived so much over the course of this amazing book, that my prayer is that she was released and went on to lead a full, healthy and beautiful life. Sadly, that was not the fate of her immensely talented creator.

A classic that I haven’t read. That’s why I joined this group. Thanks for the recommendation. I look forward to reading it with you all.

Santa Claus brought me the Barnes and Noble leatherbound edition of The Bell Jar a couple of years ago. It’ll be nice to read it in December with you all. Must be a favorite read - three times by this group.

I second both A.J. Fikry and Recursion. They both sound interesting to me.

I nominate The Hate You Give.

Btw, how do you add the title as a link?

I second The Time Machine.