7 posts tagged “reading”
I suppose it would be an OK read on a long flight or something, but nothing I'd recommend to a friend.
On to Number Two!
There is a third book in the Wicked series called A Lion Among Men, which is about the Cowardly Lion. Initially I was going to pass on it because I just wasn't interested in his story. However, a synopsis of the novel mentioned that it told more of the Wicked Witch's story, so I may have to read it after all. I'll definitely be reading more by Gregory Maguire. I love his writing style, and his characters have so much depth. It's really great reading.
I feel like a huge moron this year having fallen so ridiculously short of my 25 books during the year goal. So far, I've only finished 9, but I'm hoping to break double-digits with Son of a Witch, which I couldn't help, but go out and buy today.
Anyway, I'm thinking that maybe for 2009, I'll set the bar a little lower for myself (hangs head in shame) and shoot for 15 books instead of 25. After all, 15 is still 50% more than I'll have read for this year. What really sucks, though, is I got the 25 books goal, by halving the 50 books in a year goal that there were various groups for on Vox and Shelfari. How embarrassing.
So I'm pretty set on going for completing 15 books in the coming year. Hopefully, I won't embarrass myself as badly as this year. Sheesh!
Surely the reason I was able to finish this book relatively quickly (I've mentioned before that I'm a really slow reader) is that I was hardly able to put it down. In fact, I stayed up until1 a.m. last night finishing it up. It was wonderful!
I never actually read the book The Wizard of Oz, so I have no idea how accurately the movie portrays it, but this book seemed so much more complex and real than The Wizard of Oz could ever be. The subjects of religion and politics were taken on, as well as civil rights. It was just an amazing read.
The end left me feeling similar to the way I feel when I read Romeo and Juliet. I know they're both going to die, but still, I can't help but hold out hope that this time it will be different and they'll live happily ever after. It was the same for Wicked. I knew before even reading the first page that Dorothy was going to throw a bucket of water at her and kill her, but I wanted so badly for it to end differently for her that I couldn't help but harbor a little hope. So when the Wicked Witch of the West inevitably died at the end, I cried.
I haven't read the teaser at the end for Son of a Witch yet, but I'm going to add it to my Amazon list because I just need to know what happens next. I guess if the last page of a book leaves you yearning for more, that's the sign of a great story.
The last part of the book is about him going to Japan to quit smoking. Who the hell moves to Japan for a few months to quit smoking? Apparently, David Sedaris does. Anyway, the stuff about Japan was OK, but I think it was just the fact that I could relate to all the funny, weird things you see and hear and experience as a westerner living in Asia. It made me miss Korea. That's about it, though.
I've moved on to Wicked, and I seriously doubt that I'll be able to add it to my pathetic "read in '08 list.' I'm slow. I can't decide what number of books I should take on for the upcoming year. Maybe 15? That's a bit lame, but obviously I wasn't even able to get that many in this year, so maybe I need to take baby steps.
You may have noticed, but probably not, that my 25 books read in '08 goal came to a screeching halt as soon as school picked up. Which sucks. For months and months, I haven't read anything that wasn't assigned for me to read. It really takes the joy out of reading. Plus, not reading makes me feel like an idiot.
I've been "in the middle of" two books that I borrowed from my in-laws for pretty much all the months that I haven't read shit. If they even remember they lent them to me, they've probably given up on seeing them again, and have concluded that their daughter-in-law is a book thief.
Last night I resolved to break my funk. I recently got David Sedaris's newest book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and I decided that since Sedaris's essays are generally short, and pretty much always goddamn hilarious, that it would be a good book to start off with. I figure if I even read just one essay a night, at least I'm reading SOMETHING, right?
I read the first three essays last night, and Joe could hear me chortling to myself from the other room. I need to remember that if I'm feeling down, a good Sedaris essay can have me chortling my way to a better mood in minutes. I also need to remember that the word "chortle" and any variation on it, makes me giggle.
Trying to get through this latest Moore novel is sucking the life out of me! (Pun intended. Har har.) I actually considered quiting. Just giving up on the book and not finishing it. But that's so hard for me to do, and since I own this book (as opposed to borrowing it from the library), it would be there everyday. Sitting on my bookshelf. Mocking me.
So I've been trudging along at a sloth's pace, rolling my eyes and sighing with every turn of the page.
The problem with this book is the amount of witty banter. Normally that's something that I enjoy. However, when each and every character has some witty, sassy, sarcastic thing to say, it gets old. Also, if they're all that sassy, then none of them has his or her own personality. They're all the same. It's boring. And character development? What character development? They're all either setting-up or delivering the next zinger in an endless succession of zingers. It makes me want to scream.
Now can you please return to writing good books?OK, CHRISTOPHER MOORE! I FUCKING GET IT! YOU ARE WITTY.
