i saw the great gatsby last night against my own advice to skip it.  the reviews have been less than favorable, but i had to do it.  it’s my favorite book, and the first one i remember really reading.

i was in 9th grade when it showed up on our syllabus.  i read the whole book in one sitting.  the wealth obsessed people of the 20’s and the catastrophic fall of the protagonist weren’t tragic or disturbing to me at the time.  they were inspiring.  when you’re in 9th grade, money, power, and girls seem pretty f**king awesome (hell, they still do, but it’s different now).  in all honesty, i have to believe my 9th grade self would have loved baz lurhmann’s empty, mess of a movie.   Continue reading →