The International Mothers Day falls on the 12th May of this year and I hope you all have got your gifts all packed for your mothers. And if you are a mother yourself, I hope you have a special day for yourself.
Badass Mothers from the books
While we are on the topic, I am gonna use this chance to talk about my favorite mothers in the literary world that I totally love.
Marmee is an epitome of strong women in not just literary world. She raised her four daughters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy under the terrible circumstances of the Civil war that called their father away and drained them financially.
But she never lost her patience and smile even she reprimanded her girls, who turned out to be well read and ambitious making Marmee a great feminist ahead of her times.
Mrs Bennett, Pride and Prejudice
I know Mrs Bennett was not exactly a role model to mothers, but she always had her heart set out for the best of her daughters which was in her eyes – getting married to wealthy men.
She had less or no support from her husband in this area, and despite him, she did achieve what she set out for. I guess that makes her a badass mother. Don’t you agree?
Marilla Cuthbert of Anne of Green Gables
As quite opposite to Marmee, Marilla was not pleasant and she seldom smiled. She didn’t even let Anne call her ‘Aunt Marilla’. But that definitely doesn’t undermine her strength and love for her ward. She was a feminist and practical woman who comes to love the orphan in her own way.
Ma from Room
Despite being imprisoned in a small room for years, Emma did all she could to keep her son Jack, who has never been outside the four walls in his life, spirited and full of positivism.
She does not only teach him to read and write but keeps him engaged creatively and even gets him do yoga. That alone makes her a badass mother.
Cersei Lannister of A Song of Ice and Fire series
I am currently binging on the Game of Thrones and I would never be able to sleep if I don’t add Cersei to the list of badass women. I initially wanted to add Catelyn Stark. But now that I have watched the third season, I know Cersei will be the better choice.
She has her flaws about her being power hungry, cunning, ruthless and such. But one thing that comes so strong is her love towards her children. Her motto was ‘don’t mess with my cubs’, right from the beginning even when they were not appreciative enough.
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Let us chat
Did I miss your favorite mothers in the list? Tell me who is your favorite mother in the fiction world. What are your plans for the Mother’s day? Let us talk.
As many other bookworms I know I started obsessing about books right from my childhood. I can not remember how and when I started reading books in English, and as it is not my mother tongue the books that were available at home were very limited. This meant I had to make do with books that my much much older cousins had on their shelves.
But this also meant I never got to read books that were meant to be as a middle grader or a teen. I know it is not a big deal and I may have not lost much. That is what I thought until I read a few of those middle grader books that everyone loved but me.
Five Books I Wish I Had Read As A Middle Grader
Let us talk about some of those books, shall we?
5. A Wrinkle in time by Madeleine L’Engle
I didn’t read this book until I turned 27, and that might be the reason that I didn’t enjoy it at all. I kinda tried to ignore the strong religious undertone and even then the plot was kinda over simplified, character super unrelatable and dialogue repetitive.
4. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
When I started this book I never knew it was a middle grader book. Soon I was sucked into the period trouble and bigger bust goal of the twelve year old Margaret. I liked her relationship with God, but I was sad that I was not able to connect with the characters, again may be due to the age difference.
3. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
I am yet to find a reader saying they don’t like this one. I had to read this before I could watch the Netflix version starred by Neil Harris Patrick. In fact I didn’t even know about the book before I saw the ad for the show. Of course, I liked it but it was obvious that I was not among the target audience. I loved the show though.
2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I was probably 25 and I enjoyed it enough to continue reading the series. I didn’t dislike it, rather it seemed to be again repetitive and sorta preachy. And that seems to be the theme for all the books of that age, I guess. Again I might have loved it if and when I was 8 – 10 years.
(Does anyone else think the Netflix version is too sad and less endearing?)
1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Oh I love Little Women and I am not gonna complain about it. Except for the fact that if I had met the March sisters especially Jo and Laurie when I were a pre teen, they would have been my heroes. Well that didn’t happen and I hate that I missed it.
I am kinda sure I would have loved these book if I read them when I was supposed to have read them. While I didn’t hate them, I could not fall in love with them and that maybe attributed to my ‘older’ age. Sigh. Well, I tried right?
Do you have any such regrets related to your reading choices? When did you start reading? Tell me some books that you missed reading when you were younger and did you regret reading them now? Let us chat.
