The Virginian

The Virginian was one of those novels that ugh, you just cannot get into until all of sudden you can't put it down. I'd picked it up a few times and couldn't get anywhere in it. Since it's one of those WYOMING (caps for a reason) books, I knew I really should read it. I finally sat down and said I was going to finish it. Almost exactly halfway through the book, it got really good. Thanks goodness! From that point on, I really enjoyed it.

The Virginian is the story of a man from Virginia who moves to Wyoming and lives the cowboy lifestyle. It's one of the first books in the western genre. It shows the cowboy way of life, the lawlessness of the frontier, and an outsider's view of it all.

A few Wyoming related lines:

"What world am I in?" I said aloud. "Does this same planet hold Fifth Avenue?"

" I could not live without it now," he said. "This has got into my system." He swept his hand out at the vast space of world.

"No lotus land ever cast its spell upon man's heart more than Wyoming had enchanted mine."

The book also has a bit of a romance. The Virginian to his beloved, "And I think I could give you a pretty good sort of love." Swoon.

After I finished the book, I felt like doing a victory lap. I was very proud that I finally got it read. And, I was really glad I ended up enjoying it as much as I did.