Filed under: Books
Last time I checked, there are more books to read then days that I will be alive. In fact there are so many books and so little time to read them that my reading policy usually entails giving a book 100 pages, and then if it hasn’t caught my interest or no one has died significantly, then I chuck it and move on. Kind of like how George Clooney dates. The only difference being that I can read books that are older than 24.
To help out those old-fashioned people that read books, I thought I would feature the next book you should be reading. To save you some time selecting that next book to read and so that you can get back to Jon & Kate and your US magazines when you’re done.
The Terror, by Dan Simmons
As this book is a work of historical fiction, you get some fact and then you also get some made up stuff. Kind of like the resume of every person on “The View”. To recap, this is the story of Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition of the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus in 1845 as they make their way to the Arctic and attempt to find the Northwest Passage. As the expedition was lost, this is Dan Simmons’s imagining of what happened to the men on each ship. And oh yeah, there’s also a monster out on the ice that is stalking and killing them. This pretty much always equals awesome.
This book is great because:
- Even amongst all the made up stuff, you’re still learning actual stuff. I felt instantly smarter
- It made me appreciate modern conveniences like my furnace and stocking caps
- A monster! Remember?
- Even though it was 700+ pages, I couldn’t wait to read and finish this book. Either it was really good, or I am easily entertained. Yeah, that’s probably it
- I would hang out with Captain Crozier
- The ending was actually satisfying. Unlike the movie version of “No Country for Old Men” or Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” when he gets all preachy about the benefits of Communism, this one ended in a very satisfying, dare I even say uplifting way
So there. If you’re into reading books, feel free to give this one a try. Or yeah, I guess you could read that new one from Grisham. Sure.
Dear Goodreads.com,
I give in. You have won. At first when I met you, I said, “Oh no. I am not doing ANOTHER site that requires me to gain virtual friends, and show off all of my virtual friends, and make other virtual friends weep at the sheer size and volume of my virtual friends. But then I realized, “Hey, this site is about books.” Which I enjoy. I like books and I like to pointlessly catalog the books that I have read, and then spout my opinion about them to really no one in particular. Typically this takes place on a spreadsheet that I keep in my computer. But then I realized: “Um, sometimes I am at a different computer. How do I access my spreadhseet and it’s beautiful colors so I can meticulously catalog the book that I just read here on this “foreign” computer? Yes. There was a lot of work involved.
However now, using the Internets, I can place all of the books that I have read on virtual “bookshelves”, AND I can give my “bookshelves” “names” like “Books I like” or “These books suck” or even ”Giant Carrot!!!!” really, whatever I want here goes. I am the master of my non-existent virtual bookshelves. The awesome power that flows from my fingertips! It’s amazing, really.
So I will soon be migrating all of my book nerd information from my spreadsheets to the world of goodreads.com, where complete strangers can look at the books that I have read, and laugh at my lack of taste. I invite you to do the same. And perhaps become my virtual book friend here. What could be cooler? I know, you’re right, pretty much ANYTHING.
Filed under: Books
So it only took me three months, but I have managed to claw and fight my way through another book. What’s happening here? That’s like two books this year. What, am I turning into a reader? Am I seeking out entertainment that is not spoon fed to me through a large screen on my wall? What’s next, I’ll find myself doing arithmetic without a machine to assist me? Or making popcorn that does not require a microwave massage? Shudder the thought.
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
So a couple of things precluded me from picking up this volume right away and reading it.
-
Apparently, it’s young adult fiction. What the crap is that? For those kids that are over “Tiger Beat” or “Seventeen”? Are these starter books? Try on this book for size young adult, and if you can graduate from it, feel free to read “The Fountainhead” next? I’ve found that I’m only mentally a young adult, especially when I derive satisfaction in listening to ”Yellowcard” or “Fall Out Boy” or some other band that only 14-year-old girls like.
-
My library was really pushing it. Now I love the library. I try to go there as often as I can to feel the whole library vibe. Old ladies pushing book carts, young teenagers playing World of Warcraft on the public Internets for about eleven hours, an abundance of CD’s that I can keep a copy of, in case public libraries shut down one day, and they’ll need my resources. You know, important stuff like that. But the last book they were promoting was “Life of Pi” which I think we can all agree is about a crappy tiger and a whiny Indian kid. You’ve burned me once before library. Never again.
-
It’s award winning. Look at the medal on the cover! Usually I stay away from such blatant promotion. Anyone can win a medal. I “won” a medal the other day when I successfully purchased a gold one at my friendly neighborhood Dollar Tree. It’s got a book with wings on it and scroll and I have no idea what it represents, but I’m a medal winner just the same! I think that makes me special somehow.
So I decided to go against my better judgement and give it a try. And let me tell you Sally, this is one of the best books I’ve read all year. Granted, I’ve read three, but this is a great book. First of all, it takes a complicated, over-done concept that is not fun to subject oneself to (the Holocaust) and presents it in a completely different light. First of all, the narrator is Death himself, and he sounds like a nice guy. One I wouldn’t mind hanging out with as he goes about his business collecting the souls of the world. The characters are so well written and developed that I felt for them from about page 16 on, and it’s original in it’s story and overall tone. In fact, I got to about page 300 and wanted to sprint through the last 200 pages just to see how it was all going to end. That hasn’t happened in awhile. So if you know how to read and would like to spend your time reading something “qualitatious” (I just wrote that word) select this selection!
Filed under: Books
So I’m a pretty avid reader. Like lately with all of the television I enjoy watching, I may burn through two, maybe three books a year! Which I think we can all agree is an absolutely blistering pace! So since my book reading time is at a premium, I decided to spend my time reading only classic tomes. Like this one about a dying girl. Ok, it’s not really a classic, but I felt like writing a note about it and slipping it in your locker after geometry when I was done.
Before I Die – Jenny Downham
So this book has a few things going against it:
-
The protagonist is British. Ugh. British people although nice, talk and write in a rather annoying fashion. (For example, they would say fashion in the previous sentence. See! It’s addicting!)
-
It takes place in the winter. Being cold is one of my least favorite things and it’s even worse when you have to READ about being cold.
-
It is written for fifteen year old girls. Which apparently I can relate to. What am I, R. Kelly?
So to give you a quick recap, 16-year old Tessa has terminal cancer and decides to make a list of the things she’d like to accomplish before she kicks. Such things as getting arrested, getting drunk and stoned and falling in love. You know, all of the important things for a 16-year old. Throw in murder, and we’ve got ourselves a nice pre-pubescent hat trick!
So here is where the book succeeds. The author does a nice job of getting us inside the head of a young girl that knows her time is limited. I think I may be strangely fascinated with death, and reading about someone going through it who is half my age, and has only lived half of my awesome life was kind of sobering. Especially there towards the end as she descends down the spiral staircase. I have to admit that my Spartan-like facade began to crumble a little bit there at the end, but apparently lately, that’s not too hard to do. So if you’ve read all of your issues of “Tiger Beat” and are wondering what to read next, give this a try! Your high school pimples and teenage awkwardness will thank you!
Hello blog. Hello all of my faithful reader. It’s been awhile. To commence with the bloggery, I thought I would let you know about not only what I’m listening to (previous post from August) but also what I’m reading and have read. This will be my first book entry. Get excited non-existent readers!!
The Road–Cormac McCarthy
So I know what you’re saying, and it’s the same thing that I’m saying. “Why would I want to read a dumb Oprah book?” If Oprah touches it, I don’t want a thing to do with it. Like I think Steadman is an idiot. But since Pulitzer touched this book before Oprah got to it, I thought that I would give it a try.
Here’s the thing. This book is good. My 12 cent recap will tell you that it’s the story of a man and a boy traveling across the country after some sort of unnamed apocalypse. The world is totally different, and they’re trying to get out of the cold mountains before the winter hits. So they’re trying to survive and stay out of the way of the “bad guys” that are roaming the country trying to survive as well. Infinitely interesting, bleak, gloomy and inspiring all at the same time. I really like books like this and wanted to make sure I read it before they make the movie of it with Viggo Mortensen and ruin it.
Should your Mom read it? Probably not, as it just might depress her, (she’s a little weak sauce, let’s be honest) but I thought it was good and dare I say, even thought provoking. I need to work on my food storage as well. You go, Oprah!
