White Fang
I've read it before, as a child. I had a set of "abridged" versions of classics, and since I no longer have them, I can never be sure if the stories I remember reading were the complete or abridged-for-children versions. I came a cross a nice hardcover in the bookstore a few months ago with this and London's other most popular stories, and I could not resist. Even if I don't love the stories as much as some others that I have, at least I can confidently share with my someday-children.
White Fang, as the introduction in my version explains, is one of the first forays into realism-writing, taking the literary world away from flowery (and sometimes confusing) Victorian style. I can imagine Mr. London really set hearts racing when his audience read descriptions of little White Fang battling for his life (over and over and over). I liked how he described the dog's (excuse me, the wolf-dog's) thoughts without humanizing him. It's obvious canines think and plan, but until I read this, I never really considered what might be going on in their thoughts.
I wonder how many Victorian ladies read this and then decided to "adopt" a wolf? :)
Last year was a busy exciting, and trying year, and I was only able to finish 17 books. This year I'm setting a goal of 24, or 2 books per month. I think it can be done, but I'm already off to a poor start (it being near the end of January, and having only just finished my first of the year). Wish me luck!
Christmas Stories
We all know A Christmas Carol. This book included several other stories as well as the perennial classic. Most of the stories weren't even about Christmas, but the real problem with this volume is that several pieces included were selected chapters written by Dickens and not the entire story! It is frustrating to finish one chapter, and find an editor's note explaining the next two chapters weren't included. How can a reader be expected to put up with that??
Poor Rabbit is clueless and continues bumbling through his life, not accomplishing much. He's so neutral you just can't get a good feel for him, or have any sort of emotional reaction to his life and situations. Even his wrong choices are fairly bland; he's an armchair athlete of his life. So while the writing is functionally lovely, the content isn't something that draws me. In this tale, Rabbit deals with more marital issues, drug use, and the political and cultural climate during Vietnam. If it were the last book on Earth, I`d read it. Otherwise I'd pass it by
Myra
A quick read with a few interesting twists. Some of the discussions about Myra's love (films of the forties) got a little dry and repetitive.
Probably because I'm a recent newlywed, anything that deals with extramarital relationships leaves me righteously outraged. I feel like I'm turning my nose up at this book for that reason, despite feeling empathy for Rabbit's crappo marriage situation and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful prose. This author writes like my all my favourites; accessible at first try, but full of depth and allusions that you can return to which keep the "discussion" alive.
So, I have mixed feelings about Mr. Angstrom and his adventures. Since I've picked up a dual-novel volume, I will continue on to read Rabbit Redux. Let's hope Harry stays on the straight-and-narrow this time :)
I like Steinbeck's style. It's deceptively simple, but there is a lot more going on underneath the simple exterior of these characters. At least, that's the feeling I get while reading their thoughts and adventures. Poor Danny never had a chance when he inherited that house, and he seemed to know it right away.
I kept hoping these girls would take action on their ideals, and live the lives they wanted to live! But they just kept talking and talking. I really dislike dialogue full of pseudo-intellectual crap, and I hate when things are over analyzed. Both terms sum up this book. :(
I like your goals/successes/wisdom comments. I'd like to borrow the idea for my reading log, do you mind?
Mimicry is the highest form of compliment... :D
I've just finished Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle. You might want to revise your author/title entry, as I'm copying that spelling directly from the book on my shelf.
It was really thought-provoking, you should pick it up next!
I've said it before, and I will reiterate it now. I love reading Russian writers! There's something about the way they write, as if trying to explain the kernel of what it is to be Russian, but by using such verbose descriptions that the kernel is like a prize you need to find.
I picked up this book because 1) I like Russian writers, 2) I was intrigued by the words "uncensored edition" on the front cover, and 3) I was four when the iron curtain fell, so I know little or nothing about the former Soviet Union.
As much as any book written by a Russian author can be "about" something, this story was about life behind the Iron Curtain, which apparently really meant life in prison/waiting to be sent to prison. Horrifying, terrifying, unacceptable situations were commonplace, and although this work is a fictional account, it seems sincere and based on genuine experience. And I wonder if the scraps of notes smuggled out of the Sharashka were actually notes on this story?
Memorable quotes:
"It is rightly said that we reach maturity at forty" (118)
"Must love for your native land extend to any and every government it may have? Must you go on abetting it in destroying its own people?" (449) <----- For me, the kernel of this story
"A good wife makes all the difference in life"(500)
"The loftier your aim, the nobler must be your means"(515)
Titillating, and full of four-letter words. Which had a strange dynamic when juxtaposed against the prudish upper class Victorian dialoguges. The disenchantment of the generation, and the search for real experiences, reminded me a great deal of Holden Caufield's search through the bars of New York.
Although I didn't really enjoy reading Faust, I decided to keep it on the list. It just feels right, and I can't provide a more detailed explanation than that. :)
White Fang
I've read it before, as a child. I had a set of "abridged" versions of classics, and since I no longer have them, I can never be sure if the stories I remember reading were the complete or abridged-for-children versions. I came a cross a nice hardcover in the bookstore a few months ago with this and London's other most popular stories, and I could not resist. Even if I don't love the stories as much as some others that I have, at least I can confidently share with my someday-children.
White Fang, as the introduction in my version explains, is one of the first forays into realism-writing, taking the literary world away from flowery (and sometimes confusing) Victorian style. I can imagine Mr. London really set hearts racing when his audience read descriptions of little White Fang battling for his life (over and over and over). I liked how he described the dog's (excuse me, the wolf-dog's) thoughts without humanizing him. It's obvious canines think and plan, but until I read this, I never really considered what might be going on in their thoughts.
I wonder how many Victorian ladies read this and then decided to "adopt" a wolf? :)
A new thought: of the two goal books each month, one from the "Ultimate Reading Compilation", and one from my personal list.
Last year was a busy exciting, and trying year, and I was only able to finish 17 books. This year I'm setting a goal of 24, or 2 books per month. I think it can be done, but I'm already off to a poor start (it being near the end of January, and having only just finished my first of the year). Wish me luck!
Christmas Stories
We all know A Christmas Carol. This book included several other stories as well as the perennial classic. Most of the stories weren't even about Christmas, but the real problem with this volume is that several pieces included were selected chapters written by Dickens and not the entire story! It is frustrating to finish one chapter, and find an editor's note explaining the next two chapters weren't included. How can a reader be expected to put up with that??
A Nurse's Story
A great read, but I have a sneaking suspicion that only other nurses really get the humour of these anecdotes.
Rabbit Redux
Poor Rabbit is clueless and continues bumbling through his life, not accomplishing much. He's so neutral you just can't get a good feel for him, or have any sort of emotional reaction to his life and situations. Even his wrong choices are fairly bland; he's an armchair athlete of his life. So while the writing is functionally lovely, the content isn't something that draws me. In this tale, Rabbit deals with more marital issues, drug use, and the political and cultural climate during Vietnam. If it were the last book on Earth, I`d read it. Otherwise I'd pass it by
Myra
A quick read with a few interesting twists. Some of the discussions about Myra's love (films of the forties) got a little dry and repetitive.
Rabbit
Probably because I'm a recent newlywed, anything that deals with extramarital relationships leaves me righteously outraged. I feel like I'm turning my nose up at this book for that reason, despite feeling empathy for Rabbit's crappo marriage situation and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful prose. This author writes like my all my favourites; accessible at first try, but full of depth and allusions that you can return to which keep the "discussion" alive.
So, I have mixed feelings about Mr. Angstrom and his adventures. Since I've picked up a dual-novel volume, I will continue on to read Rabbit Redux. Let's hope Harry stays on the straight-and-narrow this time :)
Tortilla Flat
I like Steinbeck's style. It's deceptively simple, but there is a lot more going on underneath the simple exterior of these characters. At least, that's the feeling I get while reading their thoughts and adventures. Poor Danny never had a chance when he inherited that house, and he seemed to know it right away.
Women in Love
I kept hoping these girls would take action on their ideals, and live the lives they wanted to live! But they just kept talking and talking. I really dislike dialogue full of pseudo-intellectual crap, and I hate when things are over analyzed. Both terms sum up this book. :(
Moonwalking with Einstein
Written by a journalist who goes deep inside the world of competitive memorization...
It wasn't a guide to memorization skills, so don't pick it up for that reason. And the story line wasn't really all that interesting, either.
I like your goals/successes/wisdom comments. I'd like to borrow the idea for my reading log, do you mind?
Mimicry is the highest form of compliment... :D
I've just finished Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle. You might want to revise your author/title entry, as I'm copying that spelling directly from the book on my shelf.
It was really thought-provoking, you should pick it up next!
First Circle
I've said it before, and I will reiterate it now. I love reading Russian writers! There's something about the way they write, as if trying to explain the kernel of what it is to be Russian, but by using such verbose descriptions that the kernel is like a prize you need to find.
I picked up this book because 1) I like Russian writers, 2) I was intrigued by the words "uncensored edition" on the front cover, and 3) I was four when the iron curtain fell, so I know little or nothing about the former Soviet Union.
As much as any book written by a Russian author can be "about" something, this story was about life behind the Iron Curtain, which apparently really meant life in prison/waiting to be sent to prison. Horrifying, terrifying, unacceptable situations were commonplace, and although this work is a fictional account, it seems sincere and based on genuine experience. And I wonder if the scraps of notes smuggled out of the Sharashka were actually notes on this story?
Memorable quotes:
"It is rightly said that we reach maturity at forty" (118)
"Must love for your native land extend to any and every government it may have? Must you go on abetting it in destroying its own people?" (449) <----- For me, the kernel of this story
"A good wife makes all the difference in life"(500)
"The loftier your aim, the nobler must be your means"(515)
Lady Chatterly
Titillating, and full of four-letter words. Which had a strange dynamic when juxtaposed against the prudish upper class Victorian dialoguges. The disenchantment of the generation, and the search for real experiences, reminded me a great deal of Holden Caufield's search through the bars of New York.
Although I didn't really enjoy reading Faust, I decided to keep it on the list. It just feels right, and I can't provide a more detailed explanation than that. :)