Reading

[stillonmystring]

Oh God. This post is going to be massive. Bear with me, okay?

First of all, it was Christmas! Which means I am suddenly rich. Well, I'm about half as rich now as I was a couple days ago, but I'm still rather rich compared to any other day. Anyway. You are probably wondering what I've purchased so far. Or not. But I'm going to let you know anyway. Okay? First, I went to this website because I had some coupon for $5 off and I started out not thinking I would find very much that I wanted, but I ended up ordering nine books. Yeah. For $50 though, which is a very good deal. So these are what I decided on (with convenient Amazon links if you need more information):



The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian

The plot of this seems interesting but I'm not sure how much I'll actually liked it. I found it recommended by someone somewhere and it was one of the first ones from my wishlist that I found, so I figured what the hell... maybe it'll be amazing and I'll be surprised.











Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I haven't decided whether I really love Neil Gaiman or just think he's okay yet, but I searched his name for the hell of it, and a friend recommended this book specifically to me awhile ago so I thought I should probably get it.











The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I've been meaning to read this for awhile. I found her other books that I've read a bit dense and overlong but this one is shorter, I think. And it's her most famous, I think, as well. So it'll probably be good.











The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

I don't know. The plot of this one doesn't grab me right away but neither did The Secret History's and that's pretty much one of my favorite books ever now. I basically got this one just because I loved that so much. We shall see... the reviews on Amazon are pretty mixed.












Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker

Needs no explanation. I love Dorothy Parker.













Paint It Black by Janet Fitch

Since I finally got around to reading (and loving) White Oleander this year, I wanted to read this, too. Not sure how it will be... it seems like it should be good.













The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

I don't really know how much I'll like this but it's pretty universally praised, isn't it? I don't know.













Watch Your Mouth by Daniel Handler

Only book I haven't yet read of his (well, besides the Lemony Snicket books). It seems like it should be.... very interesting at the least. I've liked his other two but didn't completely adore them.











Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I actually just finished reading this but I thought it was so good that I wanted my own copy of it. I just loved the whole circus theme. And I have a thing for literature/films/etc. about, like, anytime from the 1910s to the 40s, so this was perfect.









 

Alright, so. No, that wasn't enough books for me. Are you kidding? We went shopping yesterday and I bought four more. And will probably buy even more. What? I need to get a good surplus built up for next year. So here are the other ones I got:


The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud

Amazon has been recommending me this book for ages now and I've read the summary about twenty times thinking that it sounded exactly like something I would love... the only problem is there were a lot of really bad reviews which was putting me off actually buying it. I almost bought it last time we were in Barnes & Noble but decided against it yet again. I finally gave in this time. I don't know. It just seems totally like my thing. I'm really into books about pretentious, spoiled rich kids as weird as that sounds and that seems basically like what this is. I hope I like it just because it's been so hard for me to actually decide to get it.









Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

I'm reading this right now. I started the year with Salinger so it makes sense to end it on him as well. I just like the fact that his books are basically only people talking, people thinking, without anything huge actually happening, but they're so interesting regardless. Maybe I just like it because I really like to write about seemingly mundane things as well.










Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Been wanting to read this forever but have had the hardest time actually finding it, oddly enough. I finally saw it last weekend while we were in the bookstore and I made a mental note to buy it the next time I was there. So I had to follow through on my promise.











The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I don't think I mentioned when I finished this, but I loved it. Okay, it isn't the best written thing in the world but I love the plot and I love the characters, so I don't care. It's not like it's Twilight or anything so I don't feel at all guilty for liking it. Anyway, yeah, I wanted my own copy. This book is SO HEAVY. It's weird. I think the paper it's printed on is really thick or something but the paperback weighs, like, five pounds. That's a strange thing to notice but whatever.







 

And besides the books, I bought some earrings and hair clips and a purse and new headphones. And I also bought two DVDs: Marie Antoinette because it was cheap - I think it's only an okay movie but it's so gorgeous visually and it was only $7 so I couldn't resist - and Heathers which was also pretty cheap but I've actually been meaning to buy. Hilarious.

Also, I have to say, in regards to books again, I just finished Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer and it was so so so so insanely good. I can't decide which I like better now - it or Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. I spent most of the book thinking that EL&IC was better but then I got to the last few chapters and it just got so great and sad and now I have no idea. I just love this man's writing and I wish he had more books.

So I think I'm just going to paste my list of books I've read this year in here right now and call it good. I'm adding Franny and Zooey to the end because, although I'm still reading, I'll definitely have it done tonight or tomorrow. So I have 56 57 books overall (62 if you count books I read twice) which is pretty damn good, I think. I'd love to do at least one hundred next year but I don't know how possible that is. I'm really going to try, though. Anyway, here's the list. Italics = really good. Italics and bolded = insanely good, near perfect. With my cracked-out, barely decipherable random comments attached, of course.

1. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger (so good; why hadn't I read this yet? I have no idea)
2. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (slightly boring beginning, then fantastic, then a few totally WTF events at the end, still great)
3. Fragile Things: Short Fiction and Wonders - Neil Gaiman (pretty good - for some reason, I just can't decide whether I like him or not)
4. Selected Poems - Emily Dickinson (boring)
5. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne (uber-boring but I hate basically anything written pre-20th century so I'm biased)
6. The Portable Dorothy Parker - Dorothy Parker (I worship at Dottie's feet; not bolded because it is spotty, which makes sense since there's so much in here)
7. Prom - Laurie Halse Anderson (quite immature and shallow compared to her other books that I've read but it was a quick read)
8. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer (x2) (okay, I'll admit, I was super-obsessed at first but now I can see its major flaws; it's still the best of the three though)
9. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (overrated)
10. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer (x2) (depressing; also, Jacob sucks)
11. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld (meh... interesting concept, could've been executed better, found the writing quite bland)
12. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer (x2) (this book is actually pretty funny and it's intentional, I think, but I regret running out and buying it in the heat of my obsession now; also, JASPER+ALICE FOREVER, they are the only characters with any depth in this series)
13. Ecstasia - Francesca Lia Block (re-read) (not as good as I remember... still good, though)
14. Primavera - Francesca Lia Block (re-read) (better than I remember)
15. The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx (disappointing... it was okay but I don't know, I wasn't a fan of the writing style)
16. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (oh God oh God oh God this book made me cry like a baby so much; very heavy and very long but very good)
17. A Wolf at the Table - Augusten Burroughs (I struggled to get through it; hated the writing style; it seemed like nothing was happening even when something was; unfulfilling)
18. The Host - Stephenie Meyer (this was actually quite decent; the beginning was boring as hell and the end was so predictable but I enjoyed the characters and the relationships and the concept - in a decent writer's hands this could have been amazing)
19. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire (meh; I actually don't enjoy him that much, his writing makes my head hurt, it's so dense and overpacked with information)
20. Just Listen - Sarah Dessen (YA chick lit but kind of cute)
21. I Am the Messenger - Markus Zusak (totally different from the Book Thief but just as good - adored the characters and the plot was brilliant)
22. Blood Roses - Francesca Lia Block (x2) (great short stories but I am sooo biased when it comes to FLB)
23. Tithe - Holly Black (kind of lame but at the same time kind of interesting... mostly lame)
24. This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen (see Just Listen but holy shit is Dexter adorable or what?)
25. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky (really fast read, really good if somewhat plotless)
26. Ruby - Francesca Lia Block (re-read) (this is one of her weaker books - probably because she co-wrote it with someone who I am failing to give credit, sorry! - but for some reason, I'm rather fond of it; I think it's because I'm in love with the male lead whose name escapes me right now)
27. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut (I don't know... maybe I just didn't get it but I only found this okay; I need to read more of him though)
28. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood (really long but alright; historical fiction isn't really my cup of tea but this was nice and made me want to read more of her)
29. Lock and Key - Sarah Dessen (why did I read so much Sarah Dessen? anyway, this is my favorite of the ones I read; predictable but cute and the boy she falls in love with is also adorable; I'm a sucker for romance)
30. The Secret History - Donna Tartt (x2) (IF YOU ONLY READ ONE OF THESE BOOKS READ THIS; I don't know why it is so good, it just is; the characters are all greedy and spoiled and selfish but I don't care I am totally in love with them regardless; READ THIS BOOK!!!!)
31. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood (uber-long but it got very interesting in the last half so the rest was worth it to get to that)
32. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (re-read) (I like Sylvia's poetry better but this is good and a nice piece of insight into her psyche)
33. The Basic Eight - Daniel Handler (this was really good but something about it bugged me that I can't quite put my finger on; maybe it was the WTF ending, I don't know... it was mostly good, though)
34. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer (DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE)
35. Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pessl (terribly pretentious and self-aware but good, regardless; I loved the last few chapters and the drawings and, yes, all the pretentiousness)
36. The Girl in the Flammable Skirt - Aimee Bender (short stories, so so so lovely; quirky and fantastical yet rooted in reality - to me, she's some sort of bridge between Francesca Lia Block and Miranda July)
37. Quakeland - Francesca Lia Block (I hate to say it but really disappointing; the first part was good but then it just kind of drowned in this weird, abstract, quasi-artistic poetry shit that had nothing to do with the actual story)
38. No One Belongs Here More Than You - Miranda July (re-read x2) (OKAY ACTUALLY YOU HAVE TO READ THIS TOO! Miranda July is my hero and she is all kinds of amazing; I could read this a hundred times and still not be tired of it; READ IT DAMN IT!)
39. An Invisible Sign of My Own - Aimee Bender (not as good as her short stories but still cute and quirky and nice)
40. The Fact of a Doorframe - Adrienne Rich (I've had this forever; finally forced myself to read it and I pretty much hated it; there were maybe three poems I legitimately liked, the rest were terrible feminist/hippie garbage to me, sorry)
41. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (oh Jesus this should probably be added to the "you have to read this" list; amaaaaaaazing - I love all of the pictures and various techniques with the type and all that and the story itself is just heartbreakingly beautiful)
42. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden - Joanne Greenberg (SUCKS; I'm sorry, I know this is supposed to be a classic and all that but it is so boring and tedious and UGH - never again am I touching this)
43. White Oleander - Janet Fitch (really really good; I've had this for years and I'm glad I finally read it; just lovely)
44. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous (AGAIN SUCKS! I've been trying to get through this for years and I finally made myself and it was not worth it one bit; terrible writing, so preachy, so whiny, God, I wanted to off myself)
45. The Hitchhiker's Trilogy - Douglas Adams (I don't usually read too much sci-fi but these books are great and hilarious)
46. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (cute but didn't do much for me)
47. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (not the best-written book in the world but I loved it regardless; unique story, likable characters... well, I tend to like characters who are pretty unlikable to normal people so that might not be true but, whatever, it's good)
48. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (I feel like I'm defiling a piece of literary history saying this, but I was totally disappointed; I found it insanely slow and boring and tedious and just... stiff and formal... I just really did not like it)
49. Adverbs - Daniel Handler (adorable little love stories, some better than others naturally)
50. American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld (this was hell to get through and I'm not sure what my opinion of it is... it was just long and took way too long to get to the meat of the story)
51. A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby (SO FUCKING HILARIOUS)
52. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (I wanted to love this but I didn't; it was good but the only time it ever truly got to me was in the last few chapters)
53. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde (ALSO HILARIOUS)
54. Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman (drippy... it was resolved so damn perfectly and I hate that; I mean, I don't like uber-depressing or unresolved endings either but this was just too perfect... and I hate that the characters got everything they wanted despite the fact that they killed someone - okay, that ended up not being true, but still - and BURYING THE BODY IN THEIR BACKYARD... and no one seemed to care! an officer of the law covered for them because he was in love with one of them! just way too perfect and convenient)
55. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen (lovely, lovely, lovely... circus + 1920s (or was it 30s?) = I'm completely in love)
56. Everything Is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer (fuck this was good... the chapters that told the story of his family for some reason reminded me of 100 Years of Solitude but told in a much easier and more enjoyable to read way... and Alexander's letters/chapters were so fucking hilarious; I laughed out loud more than I ever had with any book before... I adore this man and he needs more books ASAP!)
57. Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger (I've only read the first part but I'm pretty sure this will at least be deserving of italics if not bold as well)

Okay, I was going to put Sims pictures in this post as well but I'm so tired of typing and just want to stop so I will do that later. So now this post is all nice and totally book-centric.

Comments

[sstarss.livejournal.com]

if you liked a long way down, you HAVE to read high fidelity. you will ADORE it.

[stillonmystring.livejournal.com]

Thanks... it's been on my "to read" list for awhile but that is the only book our library has of his, sadly. I guess I'll get around to buying it at some point. I was pretty sure I'd like it but now that I've read one of his books, I feel much more sure of that, so I'll try to read it soon.

And hey, I'm adding you as a friend on here so that I can feel special and have a higher number. ;)