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Books 2008 - (long overdue) Part 3
I know, I know, my ability to keep to a schedule is pathetic. Moving on!
21. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris.
This is the first of Mr. Sedaris' books I ever read, and I admit that I only became interested in his work because his sister is a hoot. It turns out that he is is completely different and yet equally enjoyable. His books are collections of autobiographical essays that manage to be both heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, and I would recommend any of his books in a second.
22. Nine Stories, by J.D. Salinger.
First of all, I have never read Catcher in the Rye (how I missed it, I don't know), so this was my introduction to Salinger's work. I was pleasantly surprised by it, since 'classics' always run the risk of not living up to the hype. Particularly, I enjoyed reading the Laughing Man as I am quite enamoured with the concept of a story-within-a-story.
Note: I read this for a university English class. It certainly lends itself to analysis.
23. The Big Show, by Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick.
Okay, so, a book about SportCenter. Not my usual fare, I admit, but I'll have you know that by buying (and reading) this, I completed my PRT collection - I've now read one book by each Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper, and Keith Olbermann (once Rachel Maddow writes her's, I'll read that too!). Or at least I will have ... I think I actually read Anderson's book after this.
However, this book was also very entertaining. I picked it up after a good review bysarken, even though she bemoaned the dullness of Keith's long list of players who should be in the hall of fame. There are a lot, and unless you really care about baseball, you will be bored. Fortunately, there is plenty more to the book than just that. The anecdotes of Keith and Dan's time at SortCenter are interesting to people even if they have never watched the program (example: me) and the odd way they switch fonts depending on who is writing what part? Surprisingly not annoying. The book does drag on a bit at the end, I found, but I think I'll actually re-read it.
24. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke.
This is such a big novel, and I mean that in the best manner possible. If you love alternative history, world-building, and reality-based magic, than this book will charm the pants off of you. However, if you find eighteenth-century prose a bit hard to plow through, you're going to be disappointed; Clarke sounds a lot more like Jane Austen than J.K. Rowling.
One thing I liked? She used footnotes. Lots and lots of truly entertaining footnotes :-D
25. The Hotel New Hampshire, by John Irving.
I may have mentioned once or twice about how much I love Irving's work. Well, I've been easing myself into it, afraid that the next book will be the one to ruin the illusion of perfection ... and this wasn't it.
Like the previous Irving novels I've read, this novel sucked me in. The breadth of his work astounds me every time, how he stretches a story across an entire lifetime until you finally reach the final page and everything makes sense and, well, I cried. His books make me cry! What can I say? This one I found particularly sad. It follows the story of a family and their various attempts at hotel management across the world, and although the family gradually breaks apart, everything works out in the end.
26. The World According to Garp, by John Irving.
Two in a row by Irving is unusual, but I was so taken with Hotel New Hampshire that I decided to take the plunge. Having not seen the film adaptation of this novel, the plot was a complete surprise to me. And what a plot! There is intrigue, sex, politics, and death, all intertwined in a way only Irving has done to my satisfaction. Garp, the only son of a famous feminist, tries to find his place in the world ... which sounds like hokum but is actually utterly unique and unexpected. Read this book, I beseech you, and you will not be disappointed.
27. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton.
I finally decided to read this oncolbertobsessed's recommendation. Presumably most, if not all, of you are aware of the basic plot due to the success of the film, but let me tell you something that is probably obvious: the book is better. The book has depth and detail that is always impossible to convey on screen and I enjoyed reading this novel immensely.
28. The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac.
So, Jack Kerouac. I've never read his poetry, but from reading this book I can tell that he had the requisite skill. It's written in a very 'artistic' style which is characteristic of not only Kerouac, but the Beat generation in general. His ideas of shaking up the establishment and living how he wants to live are nothing new now, 50+ years after the fact, but you can feel how important they were in his day. This isn't book you read for the story, but something you read to get inside the head of the Beats.
29. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.
I re-read this at least once a year. If you haven't read it, then I really have to ask you why not. Adams' humour is fast, fresh, and truly clever - I've read this book a dozen times and sometimes I still don't see it coming!
30. House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton.
If you're partial to Jane Austen novels than you'll probably get a kick out of this. I read it for university and I admit that I probably wouldn't have picked it out on my own, but it wasn't that bad ... except that it continues on a downward spiral throughout the book, inevitably ending badly. Despite being pre-warned, I still couldn't help but cheer the protagonist on, hoping that she would save herself. All in all, I think I enjoyed it. It was engaging.
So that's it for this installment. I only read 39 books in 2008, so there will be one more entry on that, hopefully in the near future. Currently I'm reading Seven Deady Wonders by action-adventure author Matthew Reilly ... not a favourite, but good so far.
I know, I know, my ability to keep to a schedule is pathetic. Moving on!
21. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris.
This is the first of Mr. Sedaris' books I ever read, and I admit that I only became interested in his work because his sister is a hoot. It turns out that he is is completely different and yet equally enjoyable. His books are collections of autobiographical essays that manage to be both heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, and I would recommend any of his books in a second.
22. Nine Stories, by J.D. Salinger.
First of all, I have never read Catcher in the Rye (how I missed it, I don't know), so this was my introduction to Salinger's work. I was pleasantly surprised by it, since 'classics' always run the risk of not living up to the hype. Particularly, I enjoyed reading the Laughing Man as I am quite enamoured with the concept of a story-within-a-story.
Note: I read this for a university English class. It certainly lends itself to analysis.
23. The Big Show, by Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick.
Okay, so, a book about SportCenter. Not my usual fare, I admit, but I'll have you know that by buying (and reading) this, I completed my PRT collection - I've now read one book by each Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper, and Keith Olbermann (once Rachel Maddow writes her's, I'll read that too!). Or at least I will have ... I think I actually read Anderson's book after this.
However, this book was also very entertaining. I picked it up after a good review by
sarken, even though she bemoaned the dullness of Keith's long list of players who should be in the hall of fame. There are a lot, and unless you really care about baseball, you will be bored. Fortunately, there is plenty more to the book than just that. The anecdotes of Keith and Dan's time at SortCenter are interesting to people even if they have never watched the program (example: me) and the odd way they switch fonts depending on who is writing what part? Surprisingly not annoying. The book does drag on a bit at the end, I found, but I think I'll actually re-read it.24. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke.
This is such a big novel, and I mean that in the best manner possible. If you love alternative history, world-building, and reality-based magic, than this book will charm the pants off of you. However, if you find eighteenth-century prose a bit hard to plow through, you're going to be disappointed; Clarke sounds a lot more like Jane Austen than J.K. Rowling.
One thing I liked? She used footnotes. Lots and lots of truly entertaining footnotes :-D
25. The Hotel New Hampshire, by John Irving.
I may have mentioned once or twice about how much I love Irving's work. Well, I've been easing myself into it, afraid that the next book will be the one to ruin the illusion of perfection ... and this wasn't it.
Like the previous Irving novels I've read, this novel sucked me in. The breadth of his work astounds me every time, how he stretches a story across an entire lifetime until you finally reach the final page and everything makes sense and, well, I cried. His books make me cry! What can I say? This one I found particularly sad. It follows the story of a family and their various attempts at hotel management across the world, and although the family gradually breaks apart, everything works out in the end.
26. The World According to Garp, by John Irving.
Two in a row by Irving is unusual, but I was so taken with Hotel New Hampshire that I decided to take the plunge. Having not seen the film adaptation of this novel, the plot was a complete surprise to me. And what a plot! There is intrigue, sex, politics, and death, all intertwined in a way only Irving has done to my satisfaction. Garp, the only son of a famous feminist, tries to find his place in the world ... which sounds like hokum but is actually utterly unique and unexpected. Read this book, I beseech you, and you will not be disappointed.
27. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton.
I finally decided to read this on
colbertobsessed's recommendation. Presumably most, if not all, of you are aware of the basic plot due to the success of the film, but let me tell you something that is probably obvious: the book is better. The book has depth and detail that is always impossible to convey on screen and I enjoyed reading this novel immensely.28. The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac.
So, Jack Kerouac. I've never read his poetry, but from reading this book I can tell that he had the requisite skill. It's written in a very 'artistic' style which is characteristic of not only Kerouac, but the Beat generation in general. His ideas of shaking up the establishment and living how he wants to live are nothing new now, 50+ years after the fact, but you can feel how important they were in his day. This isn't book you read for the story, but something you read to get inside the head of the Beats.
29. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.
I re-read this at least once a year. If you haven't read it, then I really have to ask you why not. Adams' humour is fast, fresh, and truly clever - I've read this book a dozen times and sometimes I still don't see it coming!
30. House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton.
If you're partial to Jane Austen novels than you'll probably get a kick out of this. I read it for university and I admit that I probably wouldn't have picked it out on my own, but it wasn't that bad ... except that it continues on a downward spiral throughout the book, inevitably ending badly. Despite being pre-warned, I still couldn't help but cheer the protagonist on, hoping that she would save herself. All in all, I think I enjoyed it. It was engaging.
So that's it for this installment. I only read 39 books in 2008, so there will be one more entry on that, hopefully in the near future. Currently I'm reading Seven Deady Wonders by action-adventure author Matthew Reilly ... not a favourite, but good so far.