I suck at writing reviews, so you will not find them on this blog. What you will find, however, are book-related thoughts.
To kick off this blog, I’ll share my thoughts on the books I’m currently reading.
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card: I’ve lost track of just how many times I’ve read this; it’s one of my favorites. I’d actually just re-read it a few months ago, but a couple of chapters into Speaker for the Dead, I decided I needed a more recent refresher. Hey, any excuse to re-read a favorite, right? Ender’s not the nicest kid in the world, but I can still sympathize with him (hey, I was a so-called “smart kid,” and I wasn’t the nicest one around either), and I really enjoy the story.
Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card: (On hold until I finish re-reading Ender’s Game.) I tried to read this in high school, but I couldn’t get through it. I don’t even remember why I couldn’t get past the first few pages, but I’m glad I tried again. So far. I’m intrigued by the social landscape of Lusitania. I have to try to shut my “but Card sucks at writing sequels!” inner voice up when I pick this up again, though. (What? I’ve tried reading through three different series of his, and I’ve hated the later books in all of them. I mean, I threw the fifth Alvin Maker book against the wall a few times before I gave up and chucked the damn thing out through a second-story window.)
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll: Why, no, I’ve never read this before, why do you ask? I keep trying not to see the film versions in my head while I read this, which makes for slower-than-usual reading. Even so, it’s been fun, and I’m enjoying the wordplay even more than the curious adventure.
1919, John Dos Passos: The U.S.A. trilogy isn’t really so much a trilogy as it is one huge novel in three volumes, if The 42nd Parallel and what I’ve read of 1919 is any indication. I can’t really talk about the latter without talking about the former, since The 42nd Parallel doesn’t have a real ending and 1919 basically picks up from where the previous book left off. So far, it’s an interesting look at the social landscape of early 20th century America. (Society again. Can you tell I used to be a sociology major?) And it reminds me that I really need to brush up on my American history, but in a good way.
Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift: I haven’t gotten very far in this yet. I’m not sure whether I’ve been in entirely the wrong mood each time I’ve picked up (which is possible) or whether the book really is as tedious and dull as I seem to think it is (also possible). I might just return it, give it a few weeks, and then check it out from the library again.
Before this site was finished but after I created my database, I completed a couple of books. I’ll post my thoughts on those soon, but for now, I’ll leave you with the above.
All posts