So I mentioned in my last post that I've read several books since I've moved in with my parents. Here is the list, as I can recall it from memory (And since I'm interjecting with my opinion of these books, I just wanted to say POSSIBLE SPOILERS. Just covering my ass.):
1.
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck. My GOD this book is fantastic. I don't know how I managed to have not read this my entire life, but I'm so glad that my friend Wendy recommended it. When I got to the end, I was near tears. It only takes about an hour or so to read, and it's well-worth the time. If you haven't read it, get a copy NOW. Right now.
2.
The Road, Cormac McCarthy. When I first picked this up, I had to slow down a bit and concentrate. Nowhere in the book does McCarthy refer to any of the characters by name. It was a strange concept to me, but after the first few chapters, I didn't even notice. It was amazing and rather depressing all at the same time. The desolation and fear really start to become real. I don't think it's for everyone, but I really liked it. It was completely different from anything else I've ever read.
3.
Songs in Ordinary Time, Mary McGarry Morris. This book was frustrating. On the one hand, it totally drags you into this family's life and you're dying to see what happens. But the way the story plays out is infuriating. It's like watching someone you care about constantly make piss-poor decisions, and your hands are completely tied to do a damn thing about it.
4.
Bastard Out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison. Again, this was hard to read because you get emotionally attached to the characters. It explores that sort of family life much like
Songs in Ordinary Time, but with a much darker tone due to the subject matter (abuse, sexual assault). Certain parts were very hard to read.
5.
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to convince me that romance isn't a waste of time. Yeah...this book bored me to tears, I have to admit. Florentino Ariza's character was so fucking annoying to me. He pines and pines for his beloved for years and years and years. I don't know - maybe it's my cynical nature, but I found it slightly pathetic, not romantic. By the time I was done, I wasn't feeling all "AWWWWWW....they reconnected!" It was more like, "THANK GOD I'm done with this damn book." I might read something of Marquez's again, but not anytime soon.
6.
Ravelstein, Saul Bellow. Right from the beginning, I wasn't sure what to make of this book. I'm still not sure. It was okay, I guess, but I had NO idea what to expect. Buying books at the thrift store (which I LOVE) is always a crapshoot.
7.
Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt. I loved this, and as soon as I can get my hands on the sequel,
'Tis, I'm going to read it. Is it wrong that the entire time I read this, I wanted to eat?? I would read page after page about how this poor family never has enough food, etc., and I kept thinking, "Oh, man! I'm gonna go have a sandwich! I'm starving!" I think something is wrong with me.
8.
The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and The Invention of Murder, Daniel Stashower. This was a cool book. It's a non-fiction account of one of the earliest sensationalized murders in American history, and how Edgar Allan Poe's career was intertwined with this case. I'm a big Poe fan, so I totally dug this one.
9.
The Seville Communion, Arturo Perez-Reverte. This was a mystery about hackers getting into the Vatican's computer system and pleading with the Holy Father to save a certain church in Seville, Spain. The Vatican sends a priest to investigate, and the story develops from there. I was not super-impressed with this one. Certain elements in the book were absolutely no surprise at all. I could have predicted them even before I cracked the cover. It definitely made me want to visit Seville, though.
10.
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. Very verbose, but very good. And completely unlike any other Frankenstein story I've ever been told. I knew that going in, but was still a little surprised at just how different it was. I thought it was fascinating. I highly recommend it. I'd loan you my copy, but I completely destroyed it. My dumb ass thought it'd be great to take it into the sauna at the gym so I wouldn't be bored, never thinking that the humidity would destroy the glue holding the binding together. And then there was an incident with a bottle of Gatorade and that was that. Thank goodness that happened AFTER I'd finished with it.
11.
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen. I hated this book. Oh, how I hated this book. I picked it up because he's from St. Louis, and I remember that he had declined Oprah making this one of her selections for her Book Club. I was excited to read this one, but I never really did get into it. I found it incredibly boring and ultimately a pain-in-the-ass to get through. When it got to the point where one of the characters was being tormented by the personification of a piece of shit, I almost quit reading, but I stuck it out. Meh. I don't recommend it.
12.
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman. This book wasn't bad. It was dark and Gothic, which I tend to like. I enjoyed the story, but I don't know that it grabbed me enough to try Gaiman again.
13.
A Widow For One Year, John Irving. This was a book that I flew through. I don't know why I was compelled to read it compulsively, but every chance I got I would read "just a few more pages". Mainly this is the story of a woman and how she grew up in a completely dysfunctional environment, and what became of her. It was interesting, but I'll admit I was slightly squicked out by one of the character's fascination with older women. Much older women. It totally makes sense within the context of the book and everything, but it almost bordered on creepy. For me, anyway. I have no problem with any adult falling in love with someone considerably older, but it was the obsession that made it weird.
14.
A Civil Action, Jonathan Harr. By the end of this book, I felt emotionally EXHAUSTED. Oh, man. For a non-fiction book, I thought this one was particularly well-done. I was so engrossed in the case that I felt like I was one of the lawyers. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt after I put this book down that I would NEVER cut it as a lawyer. To have the kind of dedication it takes to fight through the tedium and red-tape of the judicial system is amazing to me. The outcome of this book was a little different than I expected but I am so glad that I was completely ignorant of any of the circumstances of this case before I read it. (Or the movie, for that matter.)
15.
The Lazarus Rumba, Ernesto Mestre. This book is incredibly strange and kind of has a mystical feel to it. It deals with the story of a family of revolutionaries at the time of Castro's rise to power in Cuba. At one point, the story is told from the point-of-view of a gay blue rooster that has the power to raise things from the dead by pissing on them. That will tell you right there if this book is for you. This is one I actually intend on reading again soon. I'm sure I'll get much more out of it the second time.
16.
Thunderstruck, Erik Larson. I love this guy. I didn't find this one as fascinating as I found the first book of his I picked up,
Devil in the White City, but I think it's just because I'm infinitely more interested in architecture than I am in wireless telegraphy. Nevertheless, the story is told brilliantly, and at the end, I was totally holding my breath. I highly recommend this one.
And I've started another book called
The Infinite Plan by Isabel Allende and also started
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Also around here somewhere I have a copy of
Wicked by Gregory Maguire, in Spanish, that I intend on reading. Not for understanding, mind you, even though I might glean a tiny bit. I read it in English last year, so we'll see what I remember. I'm just going to try and re-familiarize myself with Spanish words and sentence structure.
I'm starting to think that an appointment with an eye doctor wouldn't be the worst idea.
