Accepting the Rory Gilmore Challenge

Alas, Gilmore Girls was a family drama with a continuing story line that ran from 2000 through 2007. Years in which  I was sleep deprived and hip deep in spit up, pureed sweet potatoes, and dirty diapers. The only television shows that I watched with any regularity during those years were Sesame Street, Blues Clues (only with Steve, my kids refused to watch after the Joe took over), and The Wiggles.  The few episodes that I have seen of Gilmore Girls I liked, but I am definitely not an avid fan like Wendy.

However, I was intrigued by Wendy's post on the Rory Gilmore Challenge so I downloaded the list of all 339 titles to see how many I had actually read. The List Challenge website makes it incredibly easy because you can just click on the covers of the books that you have read and then it calculates your results.

I have read 103 books on the list. Since I was a lit major in college, though, a good number of these were assigned reading. Trust me. No one on this earth would ever ever ever read The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism unless they were required to do so. The only thing this book is good for is curing insomnia or pressing flowers (since it is about a foot thick and weighs 40 pounds).

I am excited about accepting the Rory Gilmore Challenge, but there are a few books on the list that I already know I am going to skip. First and foremost are Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. I had to read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and I attempted to read Ulysses and that was enough Joyce to last me a lifetime. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man takes place primarily in the main character's own head and it is a monotonous deluge of self-flagellation. Stephen Dedalus hates politics, religion, himself, and feels overwhelming guilt about everything he thinks, feels, and does. Finally he decides to live life to the fullest  (build his own metaphorical wings like the mythical Daedalus) and become and Artist with a capital A (yeah).

Supposedly Ulysses is one of the greatest works of literature ever and according to this site it easy to read and everyone should try. After only 100 pages, though, I was crouched in a corner, drooling and ripping out my own hair. Honestly, the book is around 700 pages and it all takes place on ONE day. Taking weeks (or months or years) to live June 16 in Leopold Bloom's head just does not seem worth the effort.

There are a few other books that I am not too sure about, but I am going to stay positive from here on out. Unless, of course, I read a real dud. Then I will give you my honest opinion.
I will try to keep you posted on my progress with the challenge and I am looking forward to reading about everyone's experiences.