Their Eyes Were Watching God

I'm kind of a nut job when it comes to reading - I'm also kind of a nut job when it comes to wasting time. When combined, I end up overly annoyed if a book is less than spectacular. I think it comes from being constantly aware that there is not a chance that I can possibly read all of the worthwhile literature during my finite time on Earth... but that doesn't stop me from wanting to try...

As a result, I will drop a book if it doesn't grab me within 100 pages (if I can manage the patience to read a book I'm not loving that long) and I almost never read a book more than once, even if I loved it - more fabulous books are awaiting!

I think the fact that I'm so uptight about my reading selections makes it all the more notable that I've read Their Eyes Were Watching God no fewer than three times. And when I read in Sunday's News & Record that Bennett College is hosting two months of programming on this one book, I immediately went out and bought another copy (it seems that my enthusiasm for the work has caused me to "loan" out every copy I've owned).

I have never read anything by Zora Neale Hurston that I wasn't mesmerized by, but Their Eyes is such a dynamic book - each time I read it, I feel differently about the characters, particularly Tea Cake, and the path that Janie takes through her life.

I'm looking forward to diving back in, then joining some of the discussions around town to hear how others react to her journey and Hurston's prose. I truly think it is one of the tragedies of the literary world that Hurston died a pauper, disdained by her peer group, and one of the miracles that Alice Walker revived her legacy so effectively.