Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Mmm books


Awhile back I posted the following reading list for this year...
Reading List for 2008

To Reread
Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Watership Down by Richard Adams
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Finish
Fade by Robert Cormier
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis

To Read
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
Wow, I must have been CRAZY. How I'm supposed to finish all those books in a year is beyond me. I mean sure, if this was my gradeschool self when all I made time for was reading, I could do it. But really? Now? Anyways, the point of this is not to wallow in self-pity about my schedule, but to just sort of update that list now that the year is half way over.

I can actually check a few items off that list...

Books I have read in 2008 as of July 22:
  • The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - This book is fascinating. I recommend it to anyone who thinks they would enjoy living in the brain of a woman while she goes crazy.
  • High Fidelity by Nick Hornby - Saw the movie, loved the movie, then found the book--loved it. This book, more than just about any other, makes me want to be a writer. It's one of those books you read and wish you had written it. 
  • Atonement by Ian McEwan -  Saw the movie in the middle of reading this book. This author can spend 3 pages describing a single thought or sigh. Beautifully devastating.
  • The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks - bought this for 1 euro in a bookstore in Germany
  • Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - yeah, yeah, I know... someone in England told me to read this and I bought into all the hype and gave it a chance, heh
  • Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley - reread this... childhood favorite. I love Robin Hood.
Right now I'm slowly but surely hacking my way through As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Ugh. But it's a book I'll have to read anyways this coming fall for a class called Representations of the Dead, so I might as well get a head start. 

So, yeah, just felt like writing about books for some reason. If anybody's reading this at home and thinks to themself, 'Hey, I'm inspired, I should go read a book,' here is my suggestion:
THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy

I believe that they're actually making this into a movie in November, so this is the perfect time to pick up this incredible read. I can't describe it. It's unlike anything else I've ever read. Just give it a chance.

2 comments:

bethany said...

Awesome--I always love to hear what everyone else is reading!

Don't feel alone--I know someone else got sucked into Twilight even though it totally wasn't her style. Apparently it's pretty good, though!

Anonymous said...

Mere Christianity is nothing short of excellent... and I've been meaning to read Atonement since I saw the movie. Now I know that I definitely should!