Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Just finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. It's been a long time since I've watched the movie, (other than the recent version) so I didn't recognize much from the stories. Through the Looking Glass seemed like random words.

Next up is Tarzan of the Apes by William Burroughs.

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

In The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett introduces Nick and Nora Charles, a hard drinking retired private detective and his wife. The book was later made into an Oscar-nominated movie starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Interesting enough, this story takes place during the year of Prohibition, however the characters are practically constantly drinking. Hammett also created the iconic detective, Sam Spade.

Dashiell Hammett lived a rather interesting life.

He was a detective in the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
He served in World War I where he contracted tuberculosis which plagued him the rest of his life.
He joined the American Communist Party.
He spoke out against American involvement in World War II.
He pulled strings in order to serve in World War II and was stationed in the Aleutian Islands where he became stricken with emphysema.
He testified before Congress as part of Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witchhunt." He refused to cooperate and ended up getting blacklisted.

Next up is a doubleheader of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. There may be some delay in these stories as I'll be rather busy with assigned school reading for the next eight weeks.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Preconceived notions and status are at the heart of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Throughout the story there are numerous examples of where characters let either what they have heard about or the social standing of the characters bias their opinions of that character. Take for example the protaganist, Elizabeth Bennet, her opinion of Mr. Darcy is initially painted by the fact that when they met he wasn't practically falling all over her. Meanwhile she and most everyone else is enamored by the dubious George Wickham. These preconceived notions are hard to shake as the story goes on and Darcy's goodness shines through and Wickham is exposed as the n'r-do-well that he is, many of he opinions do not change. For his part, Darcy initially believes that he the Bennets are beneath himself and his friend. So pride and prejudice. See what she did there.

I won't pretend that this is amongst my favorites. That'd be a lie. However, I did like the story much more than I believed I would. Even when I sat in the crowded breakroom I eventually had no qualms about answering people's inquires as to what I was reading by saying "Pride and Prejudice." See what I did there.

Next up is The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett.