Newest Round

I have been reading a lot lately. There has been very little social life to keep me away from my reading. The journey begins with Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose. What an ingenious book! I immediately went out and bought another of his novels. I feel that I've probably read the best but still, I feel compelled to relive more of his masterful stories. It pained me to read, it made me sad, it made me laugh, but most of all, it made me feel alive. I read it over a long period just to prolong that feeling. I didn't want to read it too quickly for fear of losing that, that je ne sais quoi! I would definitely recommend it to all, but in hitting the heights the book also hits the depths. Be prepared for that in the writing!

The next adventure was Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence, a book I thought about putting down for good on several occasions. I finally finished it between parts of the next series I will tell you about (see below). I didn't like it at first, I thought it outdated, part of another time, not relevant any longer. But as I completed the novel I didn't feel that any more. It won't make my list of ultimately influential novels. It isn't that good, it has lost some of its importance over time, but Chapters still keeps it on the shelves and you can still find copies of it in the used bookstores. If you are interested I sold my copy to the Best Little Wordhouse in the West, on 17th between 8th & 9th. I liked it though, mostly for the very real and corruptible protagonist Archer. If you've read it I would love to discuss it further, it seems a work of importance but not one that I'm willing to profess understanding.

The next step was Harry Potter. I started with Goblet of Fire and made it to Half Blood Prince in 1 week (had to hold myself back and I read the Age of Innocence in the middle there). Still amazing novels. I ripped through them, complete with new ideas about them but it the end it came down to one thought as I finished the sixth in the series. How the hell is JKR going to fit all that's left into one book? 4 Horcruxes and killing Tom himself? Wow. Any thoughts? Please comment on them, because I am too curious!

The Civil War Comes Alive

The book is called the Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, and it was good! You wouldn't know that the battle took place in the 1800's, or that this book was written 20+ years ago. It's all so fresh as you read it, as if you are right there with the generals, observing as one of their aides, or even as Fremantle, the British observer on the Confederate side. Would I recommend it? Definitely. Would I lend you my copy, of course. If you have ever studied military strategy, if you've ever loved tales of war, if you have ever read a book about the south, or even the north. Really, there is no reason not to read this book. If you're a bit squeamish you might skip over a couple of gory parts but otherwise you'd really like it.

It isn't written in high English, it's just your everyday language, so the book comes off the page very easily. It's as if the writer wanted you to read this book. Not respect it, but actually read it. This is a rare thing in the new "literature" of today, or at least that's what I've found. It's about Gettysburg but it could be about any battle on any field involving any one of my close personal friends. Read it. That's the summation of this post.

Hrry Pttr Rtrns

Harry Potter has returned for another sequel to the series, of course I read it. And I loved every minute of it. Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for a book like this? Since the chamber of secrets, that's a long time!

Such a dark book has not been written by JKR before but she does know how to do it, that much is clear. I am even more eager now for the next (and last) in the series, but I wonder if she can even fit it all into the seventh book. Maybe it will be a septology in eight parts? Anyway, I loved it and I recommend it to everyone, young and old alike.

People who haven't yet read the series would ask themselves: Why not? There is no answer I can think of that would persuade me to agree with you so I suggest you go straight out to buy it or borrow it. When you have done that and have finished the fourth book, then you may speak to me. Until then, adieu!

So Many Books Out There

Starting with the most recent:

Shadow of the Hegemon - Orson Scott Card
Awesome book, very good action, just a really good follow up to the ender's game saga. I am already starting on the next one in that line of the series because it was just a good read. Note, there is nothing remotely literary about this pick. It's not fluff but it's not a prize winner either. You will enjoy it if you liked Ender's Game, no question.

Cannery Row - John Steinbeck
Ad astra alia porci. Look it up, it was Steinbeck's motto, written at the bottom of all his correspondence. A great book, but I love the man, he's a genius with the common man. He is the one American writer I would like to emulate the most. This story does not disappoint, a human setting, not written with any sort of condescension, involving humans with very real problems. Well meaning events go awry more often than they go well. Just like my life, and interspersed in all that is a sprinkling of genius in the most unlikely places. Loved it. Anyone who wants to borrow my copy will be welcomed and encouraged.

Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
I read the whole thing, all 7 books. The best by far was the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but many of the others were very good. It took me no time at all to finish this series off. All the books are short enough to read in one sitting (I polished off three in a day once) and well worth the effort. The hero story doesn't really change as my literary-ical friend likes to point out, but it does take on new twists whenever possible. I will be keeping my copies for use by my children, but in the mean-time (while I'm looking for a wife) they are part of the borrowing library.

There are others, I will post them later. Time to get back to work now (how pedantic of me).

Another Day, Another Book, Another Post

I just finished another book, a recommendation from a friend, a mystery novel. Gorky Park. Martin Cruz Smith. I liked, and I was enthralled by it, but at the end did I feel any richer for my time? Not really, the book is more fluff than substance, which is fine once in a while. I think I needed to read some fluff to remind me about the good novels.

Reading has been taking a backseat to so many other endeavours lately, and I 'm hoping this novel gets me back to reading. Of course I'll be criticized for reading when I should be socializing but is that so bad? I can handle the ribbing! I've handled it before and I believe in the cause of reading.

I'm rambling like an idiot. I love it. Writing is also very cathartic. Just makes my brain work better all around. Adieu until we meet again...

Woops!

I forgot that I actually read four books on my trip down to New Orleans. The fourth book which was quite good, if a little pedantic at times, is Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie. I enjoyed it, as a book about research grants that take you away from your home; and it reminds me of the many problems I had when I moved to another city for work. It certainly develops the characters, almost to the point where you wish you knew more about them (i.e. what happens after the book...). I do wish that the novel ended on a happier note but I am still willing to recommend it with the current ending. I will lend my copy to anyone who requests it. Of course, there is one caveat, if you borrow it you must tell me what you thought of it.

'Nother Group of also reads....

The Optimists' Daughter by Eudora Welty was a strange book, quite short and fairly boring considering the possibilities of the topic. This may be an example of the Pulitzer judges giving out a prize to the author as opposed to the novel. Not on my recommended list, I left it on the Northwest flight that I finished it on.

Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor is an excellent book, one that really contradicts itself at points but forces you to consider those contradictions as something more. It seems as if it jumps all over the place, at times repeating itself, but I believe that to be a matter of form for the novel. Many scenes in the book are played over again, with a different meaning for each instance. I quite liked it, and I managed to finish it during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I was enthralled, I wasn't missing anything important anyways.

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card is also a good book. I am forced to reread Ender's Game because this novel replays much of that from Bean's eyes. So, many of the situations are clearly not as they first seemed, and I just can't remember every part of 'Game' in order to apply it to 'Shadow'. I also bought the two sequels to Ender's Shadow, names of which are slipping my mind right now. I will write more when I am finished those two.

The Beginning

In terms of Books I've read since I last posted on my blog, several are not worth mentioning. Breathing Lessons, Beloved, and Elbow Room. That's it about them...

Now, I read Lonesome Dove before Christmas when I was working the night shift. It's a long one but I just ripped through it because it was so good. Riveting doesn't begin to explain how I was compelled to continue reading. And compelling doesn't quite satisfy how good the story was told. McMurty weaves such a rich description of the plains that it's hard to believe he's working 100 years after the story is set. It is sufficient to say that I loved it and definitely recommend it to others.

I also read, for the second time, The Count of Monte Cristo and it continues to be an excellent tale of fiction. I would read it more often if it were only 300 pages instead of 1200. This is the type of book that you can reread and still be fascinated by the intricacy of the plot. Not that you forget it after the first reading but the second allows you to pick up the millions of nuances that you missed on the first read through. As far as I'm concerned it is a must read for everyone who calls themselves a learned person.

The Fixer by Bernard Malamud was the last book I read of consequence. It was really good. It's about a Russian Jew who is charged and held for a heinous crime. But justice is slow for people of the Jewish faith right then. It's a really great look into the inhuman moves that affect human lives. I would suggest that you read it, or borrow my copy.