Radclyffe Hall was one of the first, if not THE first, to write and publish a novel giving an in depth look at the life of a homosexual, specifically the life of a lesbian in Britain, early 1900s. I understand that homosexuality is a very controversial subject, but as it is banned books week, and as The Well of Loneliness happens to be a very old banned book, I figured there is no time like the present. Just to clarify, I am going to try and avoid expressing any of my own opinions about homosexuality. I really just wanted an outlet to discuss how I felt about the book itself—writing style, characters, and most of all the myriad of emotions I experienced while reading it (it is called The Well of Loneliness after all).

After completing the book I was left rather overcast with a chance of no conclusive feelings. In a quest for conversation on the subject, I defaulted to my good ol' standby, Goodreads. I read through some of the reviews and I must say I felt an instant sort of solidarity with Radclyffe and this book. So many people viewed the book as being melodramatic. This annoyed me. Honestly, it felt like I had to defend the honor of a friend, and, had I been born French and in a different and more elegant time, I may have challenged someone to a duel. I really wanted to start commenting like a crazy person and just say, "Come on! It was 1928! Have you ever READ F. Scott Fitzgerald? Everybody just LOVES him, and yet he is excessively melodramatic, self-indulgent and (sorry to say it) a big whiner. It was the 20s! Get over yourself." Invariably it would have trailed off into a rather overdramatic arrrrrrggghhhh at the end, and really I wouldn't have been helping my case at all by that point. So, I kept silent and instead thought for a very long time about why it is I had that reaction.

First and foremost, I personally find the main character, Stephen Gordon, to be wonderfully sympathetic. I related to her quiet personality and her quirky insecurities to the extent that, if I was not careful, I could actually be influenced through the narration. Occasionally I would find myself more self-conscious than usual solely because Stephen was going through a particularly awkward social encounter. In saying that, this one detail goes a long way to explain that feeling of solidarity I felt while reading terrible reviews.

For a little background, Stephen was born to upper-class parents in the late Victorian era. Her parents, like most expecting parents in that time, were hoping for a boy and thus became set on the name Stephen. Upon Stephen's birth, however, Philip and Anna Gordon were rather surprised to find themselves with a baby girl. Despite disappointment, they rallied on, but the name Stephen stuck. The rest of the book is a narrative about the rest of Stephen's life, beginning with her wonderful relationship with her father and the darker aspects of the separation between mother and daughter, and ending with … the ending. Peppered with several extraordinary secondary characters and pets, the story itself is visual and compelling even if a bit repetitive at times.

There it is! That is the entirety of my fondness for this book. It wound up being really remarkably simple. It took writing out a basic synopsis, not even a very good one at that, to realize that all of the merit of this little novel lies in simplicity. It is a great personal narrative, a wonderful insight into the autobiographical nature of fiction writing and author presence, and also just a simple life story that is relatable. I started unsure of how I felt solely because I thought entirely too much. I think that makes me like this book even more, though. There is great value in simplicity, and I like to be reminded that it exists and that I actually prefer it.

All in all, what I have to offer is this impression. I am not going to bother going into a deep analysis of character/plot development, or even historical merit (which is significant). I don't really want to. Thinking too hard about this is what got me in trouble in the first place, remember? I would not say that I loved this book in a vehement and passionate sort of way. No, I would say the love is of the more comfortable and quiet variety. I would recommend it to anyone, but at the same time I am content with keeping it to myself. I hope that some of you do decide to read this book. Hopefully there are at least a few that will become acquainted with the quiet familiarity of an old friend found.

-Malorie

I have always had a hard time containing my emotion-even if I don't give myself away by saying anything, my face has a tendency to completely betray me (happy: smile, sad: frown-use the corresponding face for the corresponding emotion). Of course, this can be rather uncomfortable, but I am glad to say that it is usually positive. For instance, ask me about NaNoWriMo. I dare you. :)

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. I will never say National Novel Writing Month outside of the these two sentences. NaNoWriMo is just way too much fun to say, plus its quirkiness adds to the personality of the whole program itself (if a program were to have a personality, that is). What is NaNoWriMo you ask? It is my great honor to tell you that it is thirty days filled with fifty thousand words (quite literally). The goal is to pump out fifty thousand words and force start your way into your first, second, third, so on and so forth novel.

I know all of you reading this are probably dreadfully excited about the fact that there is a program out there to encourage and support writers' dreams and potential. In fact there is a whole community offering support, accountability, help against writers block, a place to waste time in a productive way, and so much more it gets dizzying trying to think of all of the things that are encompassed on http://www.nanowrimo.org/ (hint: you should go to the site). Even more exciting is the fact that I get to head up a way to converge the online realm and the actual physical realm by organizing a series of events to bring people together to generate a community of writers here in our store.

This is what I am most excited about. I get to be a part of something bigger than just my solo participation in a fifty thousand word month. I am really looking forward to putting my blood, sweat, and tears into a book, and also having a group of like-minded people to talk with about the trials and successes that go along with that process. Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, gave a talk at a Monterey based convention called TED (a completely different area of excitement for me, but I will save that for another time) and she mentioned that it had become the standard perception of authors to work themselves into such a vicious depression that they wound up choosing to be alone, miserable, and often alcoholics. Actually, the choosing to be alone, alcoholism, and wallowing created the depression so it is really the epitome of a vicious cycle. Her point to this was that she thinks it a tragedy that we have allowed this standard to become so normal and expected of a good authors-she thinks that we should try to realize our potential as writers living happy and fulfilled lives. I think that something like this writing group will be a very large first step in realizing that. Perhaps I am wrong, but I am more than willing to try and see.

So as I said, ask me about NaNoWriMo. You will definitely catch a glimpse of unfettered excitement and enthusiasm, but on top of that I can steer you in the right direction. Keep a look out on the main page for updates on coming events and take a look at the website. If you are unsure about whether or not it is something that you can do, then I really suggest that you come and talk to me. Guess what. You can. I believe in you.

-Malorie

As an avid student of literature and lifelong book worm, I had always suspected that I would fit rather well as an employee at a bookstore. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to find out if I hypothesized correctly as I am one of the newest members on the staff of A Novel Adventure.

I am excited to have begun integrating myself into this world of chapters, pages, author signings, and ISBN numbers, and I am glad to have begun by introducing myself here. I am a relatively quiet person, and perhaps that is why from a very early age I became so attached to reading. It is a habit and a love that continues to this day and I am looking forward to sharing with you the gems that I happen upon in my quests. I must say, the ability to share experiences of books with people is really what excites me most. They can have a profound impact on our lives, and to be able to influence someone’s life because of a suggestion is such an exciting prospect.

I think that will suffice for an introduction. I hope to see some of you down at the bookstore some day soon (which should happen seeing all of the awesome events we have coming up, right?). )

-Malorie Brooke