Mod 2 Blog 1

[Caitlin]

This week has been based on finding books for our group to read for our presentation. It has been a little difficult because the list of books Kathy that interested Kathy and she initially came up with don’t seem to have much of a theme. At this point I am still unsure of what I am reading as well as the rest of the group, we might possibly need to look outside the list. Here is the list: The Grapes of Wrath [1939] John Steinbeck, Slaughterhouse-Five [1969] Kurt Vonnegut, To Kill a Mockingbird [1960] Harper Lee, Fahrenheit 451 [1953] Ray Bradbury, The Catcher in the Rye [1951] J.D. Salinger, Tropic of Cancer [1934] Henry Miller, Naked Lunch [1959] William S. Burroughs, Ulysses [1922] James Joyce, and 1984 [1949] George Orwell. Kathy also made a spread sheet that helped sum up the book’s theme and reason for being banned, which helped a lot.

I am interested in Naked Lunch and Tropic of Cancer. Naked Lunch interested me a lot because of my life and what I’m going through now. Although I don’t have an addiction to drugs I did unfortunately a year ago get a DUI. I have been going to court ordered alcohol classes for a year now and finish a week from today which is awesome. Anyways, hearing some of the addicts’ stories about their lives has been very interesting. This book seems to show you the life of a junkie and really relates to me and my life in a way. I’ll be honest Tropic of Cancer I was first drawn to by the title and cover, there is a crab holding a person and my first thought was, hey cancer crab that’s my sign. Birthday’s July 6th. At least one of the editions has that cover. Moving past that it just seemed interesting; it’s about the author Henry Miller’s life his past and present experiences. It has a lot of life and emotions in it. As Kathy put in her spread sheet it’s about heartache, jealousy, poverty, depression, friendship and rampant sexuality, things we encounter in everyday life. I suppose we will have to decide in class Tuesday.