29.8.11

Unlocking "The House of Seven Gables"


 As an English teacher, I  am aware that I have to update myself with new vocabulary, sentence structures and writing styles which any reading material can cater. I have to be not only a page away from my students but if possible, a library away . So here I am, trying to catch up on my reading and Nathaniel Hawthorne doesn't make it any easier.

 Yes, Hawthorne is such a pain. I was half-way through his Scarlet Letter last summer but I threw the book away from my sight after being stuck in a chapter for three weeks. Usually, three weeks is enough for me to finish three to four novels considering that I have a full time job and most importantly I have a life to live apart from reading.  However, there I was, flanked by Hawthorne's descriptive paragraphs for three boring weeks that I finally came to a conclusion that I was not ready yet for Scarlet Letter.

Being a very stubborn woman, and a competitive one if I may say (I do  love competing against myself by the way) I have given myself another attempt to finish one classic, and yes, it's Hawthorne's. It is the renowned The House of Seven Gables. Yup it's a classic and yes, it's pretty boring with all those 5-word adjectives per noun and right you are that I am out of my mind trying to finish this book. What can I do? The book seems to be innocent, easy to read as it appears so thin. It is even thinner than Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, which I have read three times without cheating myself, yet I find myself drowned in the author's pool of words. I think I will still be able to finish another novel side by side reading this boring one.

What should I do then, given this hurdle? I will try my best until the author and his work have sapped all of the energy and motivation from me. I will then give my humble opinion and my unbiased judgment after finishing the book. I will never surrender without a fight. After all, this is not the first boring book I have ever read, or tried to.


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