a challenge, and some other things.
I've thought about posting a million times these past few weeks (other than my updates of my shameful behavior), but could never really get around to doing it. What can I say? Senioritis has hit me hard, I don't remember the last time I did real work, seriously, and I've been relearning how to read real novels (a novel (ha) idea, I know) along with watching Project Runway. Seriously guys, I watched all of season 4 in, like, 4 days. D:
That's really it, I guess. Here are the reviews for the books I've read thus far for 50books_poc:
1. Out: A Novel by Natsuo Kirino (05/2010)
- Terribly frightening and very interesting, but somehow I'd felt like I'd read a lot of it before. It's very Japanese, if that makes any sense. Page-turner, but only because I'm a masochist. As a horror novel, it does its job very, very well. As a novel...I'm not sure. 3/5. It deserves the points for thoroughly scaring the shit out of me.
2. Wait for Me by An Na (05/2010)
- Honestly, this was not a very good book. Bad character development, bad PLOT development, awkward writing style, the list goes on and on. :| 1/5.
3. Nothing but the truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen Headley (05/2010)
- There were some things in the beginning that had me suspecting maybe the author had some lingering psychological trauma she needed to work through or something, but the ending was satisfactory/that special brand of YA-cute. My only complaint is that the other characters were severely lacking in terms of development. 3/5.
4. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin (05/2010)
- The language Ha Jin uses is very simple, very sparse. Ocean of Words is a collection of short stories about war, and I needed a breather after each and every chapter. Extraordinarily lovely. 4/5.
5. Candy by Mian Mian (05/2010)
- Honestly, I wasn't impressed. Candy was a whirlwind of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, but unfortunately, a lot of it didn't ring particularly sincere to me. Written to the point of sensationalism, it unfortunately didn't make me believe in much of it. 3.5/5 because though I personally didn't like it, I can admire it for what it does, and for the few choice scenes that really shone.
6. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez (05/25/10)
- I love Márquez's (Márquez'?) style of writing, whether it loses something in translation or not. This book left me aching in the best way possible, and I wanted something different to happen at every turn. 4/5.
(Honorable mentions aka I read them before I learned of the challenge: José Saramago's Death Without Interruptions (4/5) and All the Names (3/5). I made it about halfway through Blindness before putting it down because it was legitimately making me feel like there was nothing good in the world ever.
Then I watched SHINee, and may have confirmed those beliefs. Whatever.)
Ha, that just made it look like I actually wrote a substantial entry. I've been trying to make it through Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses and Shalimar the Clown, but I never quite feel as if I'm giving them the attention novels of their standing deserve. @____@ I am going to place them on a pedestal so high I'm really not going to be read them eventually. :[
That's really it, I guess. Here are the reviews for the books I've read thus far for 50books_poc:
1. Out: A Novel by Natsuo Kirino (05/2010)
- Terribly frightening and very interesting, but somehow I'd felt like I'd read a lot of it before. It's very Japanese, if that makes any sense. Page-turner, but only because I'm a masochist. As a horror novel, it does its job very, very well. As a novel...I'm not sure. 3/5. It deserves the points for thoroughly scaring the shit out of me.
2. Wait for Me by An Na (05/2010)
- Honestly, this was not a very good book. Bad character development, bad PLOT development, awkward writing style, the list goes on and on. :| 1/5.
3. Nothing but the truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen Headley (05/2010)
- There were some things in the beginning that had me suspecting maybe the author had some lingering psychological trauma she needed to work through or something, but the ending was satisfactory/that special brand of YA-cute. My only complaint is that the other characters were severely lacking in terms of development. 3/5.
4. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin (05/2010)
- The language Ha Jin uses is very simple, very sparse. Ocean of Words is a collection of short stories about war, and I needed a breather after each and every chapter. Extraordinarily lovely. 4/5.
5. Candy by Mian Mian (05/2010)
- Honestly, I wasn't impressed. Candy was a whirlwind of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, but unfortunately, a lot of it didn't ring particularly sincere to me. Written to the point of sensationalism, it unfortunately didn't make me believe in much of it. 3.5/5 because though I personally didn't like it, I can admire it for what it does, and for the few choice scenes that really shone.
6. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez (05/25/10)
- I love Márquez's (Márquez'?) style of writing, whether it loses something in translation or not. This book left me aching in the best way possible, and I wanted something different to happen at every turn. 4/5.
(Honorable mentions aka I read them before I learned of the challenge: José Saramago's Death Without Interruptions (4/5) and All the Names (3/5). I made it about halfway through Blindness before putting it down because it was legitimately making me feel like there was nothing good in the world ever.
Then I watched SHINee, and may have confirmed those beliefs. Whatever.)
Ha, that just made it look like I actually wrote a substantial entry. I've been trying to make it through Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses and Shalimar the Clown, but I never quite feel as if I'm giving them the attention novels of their standing deserve. @____@ I am going to place them on a pedestal so high I'm really not going to be read them eventually. :[