I, um, kind of forgot about this blog. Not that I’d been reading much – I’ve said this before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but I have way too many hobbies and I’ve never quite figured out how to balance them all out.
But the bookwormy me is back now…
I still haven’t finished Dos Passos’s The Big Money. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this probably isn’t going to happen until December, mostly because it’s just really slow going. Oh well, though. I finished re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia earlier this year, and I’m currently going back through the Harry Potter series. (Only the first four are on the BBC top 100 list, but the last book’s coming out in a couple of weeks, so of course I’m also going to read Order of the Phoenix and Half-blood Prince…)
Fairly recently, I also finished the following:
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Mark Twain: This tries be too many things at once. One of the main themes is satirical, a commentary on the over-romantization of chivalry and the Middle Ages. However, I kind of wished that the main character was real, just so I could meet him and punch him in the face. Hank’s kind of an uncompromising jerk, and this undermines Twain’s satire in places. Oh well, it had its amusing moments. I definitely don’t love it, but I don’t hate it, either.
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte: I found this surprisingly enjoyable, considering how prominent the love theme was and all. (Why, no, I don’t really care for romance… why do you ask?) It’s probably because I actually really like Jane. There are some remarkable concidences and some overly dramatic moments, and parts of it are a bit tedious. But though I didn’t always enjoy Bronte’s style, I do like the overall story and the way she brings the main characters to life. It’s also nice to read about what life was like in that place and at that time – there’s some great description in there.
Atonement, Ian McEwan: The overall plot and themes are interesting, the writing is generally vivid and otherwise well-done, and the structure is well-suited to the story. The first part moves really slowly, but I flew through the book once I got past that. The second part is especially compelling, but I couldn’t put the book down during the third part, either. And the latter really says something for McEwan’s writing, I think, because the third part focuses on Briony and I really dislike her. Though at least there’s a reason why she’s written the way she is…
That’s that for the finished works. I still have some cleanup to do on the site itself, but that should be done by the end of the day, at least.
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