B.Read List: November 2013 - February 2014
Tuesday, February 25
Man, it's been a while since I've done a books-read recap!
Looking at this list it's clear that I've been slacking on my reading these past few months... to be fair though, two of these were particularly dense long reads. And they were my favorites! So I'll start with the books that didn't move me as much.
I just finished Choosing Civility. It was a fairly quick read, simple, straightforward, mainly common sense. A good reminder of how we should all behave with each other, regardless of the situation. I interact with a lot of people daily that could certainly benefit from reading this.
Chuck Palahniuk's Rant has been on my bookshelf for years, but I only recently actually read it. It took some time for me to get into it and the different style of writing, but eventually Palahniuk's voice shone through and I found myself quite drawn to the story, if only to finish it. Definitely not one of my favorites of what he has written, but it certainly wasn't a waste of time either.
I stumbled upon The Goldfinch while searching for books to add to my Kindle. The summary sounded interesting and the book certainly lived up to the hype it's been getting recently. The story was a touch too drawn out for me; I really appreciated all the vivid details and the intimacy developed between the reader and the main character, but I don't think the book needed to be nearly 800 pages long. At the same time though, I was never bored while reading it because the story was so enthralling. I'd definitely recommend reading it, if you have the time.
My favorite book of the four (possibly of the year!) was Kafka On The Shore, by far. I could not put it down! The story, the language, the philosophical meanings amongst it all... I was smitten. An extremely readable story with fascinating characters and unlikely (fantastical) events... I can't properly put my feelings about it into words. Just read it. I know I'll be reading more by Murakami soon!
2 comments:
I had the same thoughts about The Goldfinch. A stronger editor would have done that book a favor; the Vegas section could have been cut in half without damaging the storyline (they're drunk again, they're high again, his dad is high again, we get it) as could the entire ending, in Amsterdam (he's cold, he's in his room, he takes a shower, he's cold, he's in his room, we get it). There were some absolutely gorgeous pieces of writing in there, and there's no denying Tartt is obviously very talented. But after a while it just started to become repetitive and sluggish. I've only come across a rare few reviews that had the same thoughts as you, everyone else seems to think it's the greatest book ever written. xo
Yes! I'm so glad you agree! You're right, I got the feeling everyone else praised that book and I could not understand why. It's a good book, but it's not omgamazing! The one redeeming factor for me was that by reading it on my Kindle, I never really knew how much of the book I actually had left... otherwise, I may not have made it to the end.
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