Dear Books,
So its my March Post of books I am in the process of reading or books I have read. I'm hiding these behind cuts because A, they are very picture heavy and B, I sort of babble while posting each book. Perhaps its silly, but I feel sort of like I've achieved something when I've been able to dump out a list of books I've been reading.
First on the list are the books I've read for school in the last few weeks.
In YA Literature we just finished Feed.
This was really a lovely book, specially if a reader enjoyed Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. The protagonist is Titus, a boy who lives in an uber futuristic world that Anderson based off of current teenage pop culture. In Titus's world the internet is a 'feed' that is implanted into your head that allows you to negotiate culture. I had a few favorite lines in this book, but I'm afraid that if I posted them it would ruin some of the surprise.
I loved this book when I was kid and loved it again as a re-read for my YA lit class. In short, this is the most hilarious book ever. If a person said, "Write me a book for teens with EVERYTHING that should NEVER be in a teen book." This book would be it. Yet, even though there is drug use, rape, threesomes, teen pregancy, death, aids, homosexuality, violence, witchcraft, divorce, and teen angst all over it, Weetzie Bat remains one of the happiest, fairytale like books I've ever read. The entire story is told in fairy tale like fragments and is, in short made of awesomeness. The stylistic writing keeps the audience padded as very bad things happen with the message that while Happily Ever After might never be achieved, Happily is very possible.
So in my "Alabama Writers on Race and Religion" class, I've had to read several pieces of crap----er...literature that dealt with the Civil Rights movement. Now, just for the record, I feel the Civil Rights movement. I mean, without it there wouldn't have been an African American president today. Yet some of the books that were on the reading block were horrible. One of them is the one you see above you. Sena Naslund was a teenager during the bombings of Birmingham. She watched the riots and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist church and was pushed to go and take some action. Yet...her book really sucks. Apparently, Dr. Snowflake and Mrs. Naslund are BFF, yet when M. Naslund came to speak to our class, it was pretty clear to me that Dr. Snowflake was pretty darn jealous of her 'BFF's successes. Maybe it was just me. Anyway, the story of Four Spirits is pretty friggin' convoluted. Basically, there are about 30+ narrating characters that are all separate or connected however you want to look at it. They're stories are told through short or long chapters and are suppose to examine the portrait of a lot of people during the Civil Rights Movement of Birmingham. I felt the entire book was stupid and full of useless minutiae that did little to become a solid plot.
William Cobb's story on Race and Religion was based in a small town in Alabama that he named 'Hammond' but was really a town he grew up in. I liked this book a little better than Naslund's book since I read it afterward, however it had major flaws as well. If you dislike unfaithful spouse story lines, run in the opposite direction. If you dislike botched abortion scenes again flee. I was at work when I read this book at felt like throwing up after reading that scene. It reinforced my support for Roe v. Wade it was that bad. However, that is the strength of the novel. Cobb's story is slow as hell to pick up, but his descriptions and details are amazing. I felt like I was cheating and feeling guilt. I felt like I was desperately laying out on that cold table to end my unplanned pregnancy. As a story I thought he used multi-character points of view effectively, yet I still wasn't interested in his story since it was obvious fiction only based on great events. That was something that Naslund's book trumpted him in. Naslund actually was writing from experiences that she'd lived through. Cobb was mediocre fiction. Awesome descriptions, but the story itself rang false to me.
I must say, this book certainly deals a lot more of the Religion aspect of my AWoRaR class. The entire book is a weird story as well. I guess the reason the last three books haven't appealed to me is that they are books I would have never voluntarily read if not assigned. Gathering Home starts out with the protagonist, Whitney (Ha! White. Pure...hahahah...not) watching her parent's attend the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans. I'm pretty sure this book is set some time in the Eighties, but I'm not that sure. When I told the plot of preacher running for congress to my coworker she commented that it sounded a lot like some congressman named Buccannan whom I did not bother to look up. Anyway, the entire story is about Whitney trying to reconnect with her birth family while also taking part in her father's campaign for congress. This book also suffered from the inability to decide what it was about. For some of the book I thought I was reading a story about religion and politics in the south. Then I thought I was reading a book about the troubles that adopted children have in reconnecting with their roots. The adoptive parents were flat and 'too perfect'. It got grating. In fact, the only 'conflict' that the book had was whether or not Whitney would meet her birth family and if her dad would win an election. The character of Whitney had a habit of keeping back from all forms of emotions...yet she still sort of falls in love with someone? I think? Oh well. I finished it and am currently on top of all my school reading due to that.
Now, onto books I've been reading for fun! I am currently up to book four in the Charlaine Harris southern vampire mystery novels. I won't bother doing a full review for the individuals.
I am currently on the fourth book, Dead To The World. On as in I just finished Club Dead this morning and am taking a break before I delve into DttW. So far...I'm trying to figure out how crazy I am about Sookie and the universe. On the one hand, its original and the vampires and otherworldly types are cool. On the other hand though none of these stories seem to have a happy ending. All the endings are GOOD, but none of them are really very happy. Except for the first book which was awesome. I am also in the process of watching True Blood. Its very similar to the books but there is probably about 10x more sex in each episode than there ever was in the books. I will eventually finish the last four books that I own and purchase From Dead To Worse. All the book stores I went to only had it in hardback and I'd rather keep my paperback collection complete. I do enjoy these books though and they have definitely been something I've been reading.
On top of the fiction I've been plugging away at, I've also been working on Edward Ball's nonfiction, Slaves In The Family. Edward Ball and I share something in common. An interest in family history. Where my family's history traces back to poor midwestern and southern farmers, Ball's family was a group of rich planters that owned a huge portion of slaves. Ball traces ancient records to find where a slave's bloodline and one of his ancestor's would have crossed and seeks out the decedents to meet the relatives that his family never acknowledged existed. I have mentioned before that I am taking a lit class on race and religion. I picked up this book to further my knowledge and boy has it. Its very fascinating to me how E. Ball discovers the hidden and buried history of his family through old records and the relationships he develops with the decedents he finds. Some are angry, some happy to find the connections and some just so...wise about it. I dunno. To me, this is more relevant to race studies than fake reenactments of the civil rights movement. Slaves in the Family is a proactive and honest look at history and the people that came from it. I'm not done with it yet but I'm slowly plugging through.
So, I've still got a really large TBR pile that just grew last night due to silly_bella and I meeting up and going to a book store. *shakes fist* Damn you and your awesome book finding ways!
Anyway, based on her recommendations and one interesting find, I picked up the following:
I also have a few still sitting in the TBR pile such as:
Not to mention the rest of the books on the two reading lists I have to get through this semester. *sigh* I really have no business buying books AT ALL. I'm terrible. Yet, I don't have a lot of bills since my family is supporting me right now, I have no kids, and I read a ton anyway. If anyone has books suggestions or wants to initiate discussion, I'll be up for it anytime!
As for how my Spring Break has gone, its been busy. Grandma is finally home from Texas, but next weekend she'll be gone again for ten days and then off again to take care of Uncle Bob unless something changes over there. I saw silly_bella last night. The Boycreature and I took her out for dinner and then she took us for Dessert at the Summit. It was a really great visit with lots of talking, laughing and fun.
This afternoon I had a girls day with petrapeach4 this afternoon. Poor child had never been to Jim n' Nicks. Lol. We resolved that pretty quick. We then went to go see "He's Just Not That Into You' which I really enjoyed. First of all, it was not your typical romantic comedy. I don't think I saw a SINGLE cliche in it. No shopping montages, no crying as you fall down against a wall. There were hyjinks, but you know what, they were really realistic. Petra and I had several good laughs. We then went for ice cream. So, you know, any outing that ends in icecream can't be that bad.
And...suprisingly...that's it. That's all I have to report. Wow....that's a friggin' long update. Alright. Plans for now and tomorrow: Clean room (again...) and then tomorrow a trip to Arkansas to pick up a friend of the Boycreature. Apparently boys need male bonding just as much a females need womanly bonding. Who would have thought?
First on the list are the books I've read for school in the last few weeks.
In YA Literature we just finished Feed.
This was really a lovely book, specially if a reader enjoyed Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. The protagonist is Titus, a boy who lives in an uber futuristic world that Anderson based off of current teenage pop culture. In Titus's world the internet is a 'feed' that is implanted into your head that allows you to negotiate culture. I had a few favorite lines in this book, but I'm afraid that if I posted them it would ruin some of the surprise.
I loved this book when I was kid and loved it again as a re-read for my YA lit class. In short, this is the most hilarious book ever. If a person said, "Write me a book for teens with EVERYTHING that should NEVER be in a teen book." This book would be it. Yet, even though there is drug use, rape, threesomes, teen pregancy, death, aids, homosexuality, violence, witchcraft, divorce, and teen angst all over it, Weetzie Bat remains one of the happiest, fairytale like books I've ever read. The entire story is told in fairy tale like fragments and is, in short made of awesomeness. The stylistic writing keeps the audience padded as very bad things happen with the message that while Happily Ever After might never be achieved, Happily is very possible.
So in my "Alabama Writers on Race and Religion" class, I've had to read several pieces of crap----er...literature that dealt with the Civil Rights movement. Now, just for the record, I feel the Civil Rights movement. I mean, without it there wouldn't have been an African American president today. Yet some of the books that were on the reading block were horrible. One of them is the one you see above you. Sena Naslund was a teenager during the bombings of Birmingham. She watched the riots and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist church and was pushed to go and take some action. Yet...her book really sucks. Apparently, Dr. Snowflake and Mrs. Naslund are BFF, yet when M. Naslund came to speak to our class, it was pretty clear to me that Dr. Snowflake was pretty darn jealous of her 'BFF's successes. Maybe it was just me. Anyway, the story of Four Spirits is pretty friggin' convoluted. Basically, there are about 30+ narrating characters that are all separate or connected however you want to look at it. They're stories are told through short or long chapters and are suppose to examine the portrait of a lot of people during the Civil Rights Movement of Birmingham. I felt the entire book was stupid and full of useless minutiae that did little to become a solid plot.
William Cobb's story on Race and Religion was based in a small town in Alabama that he named 'Hammond' but was really a town he grew up in. I liked this book a little better than Naslund's book since I read it afterward, however it had major flaws as well. If you dislike unfaithful spouse story lines, run in the opposite direction. If you dislike botched abortion scenes again flee. I was at work when I read this book at felt like throwing up after reading that scene. It reinforced my support for Roe v. Wade it was that bad. However, that is the strength of the novel. Cobb's story is slow as hell to pick up, but his descriptions and details are amazing. I felt like I was cheating and feeling guilt. I felt like I was desperately laying out on that cold table to end my unplanned pregnancy. As a story I thought he used multi-character points of view effectively, yet I still wasn't interested in his story since it was obvious fiction only based on great events. That was something that Naslund's book trumpted him in. Naslund actually was writing from experiences that she'd lived through. Cobb was mediocre fiction. Awesome descriptions, but the story itself rang false to me.
I must say, this book certainly deals a lot more of the Religion aspect of my AWoRaR class. The entire book is a weird story as well. I guess the reason the last three books haven't appealed to me is that they are books I would have never voluntarily read if not assigned. Gathering Home starts out with the protagonist, Whitney (Ha! White. Pure...hahahah...not) watching her parent's attend the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans. I'm pretty sure this book is set some time in the Eighties, but I'm not that sure. When I told the plot of preacher running for congress to my coworker she commented that it sounded a lot like some congressman named Buccannan whom I did not bother to look up. Anyway, the entire story is about Whitney trying to reconnect with her birth family while also taking part in her father's campaign for congress. This book also suffered from the inability to decide what it was about. For some of the book I thought I was reading a story about religion and politics in the south. Then I thought I was reading a book about the troubles that adopted children have in reconnecting with their roots. The adoptive parents were flat and 'too perfect'. It got grating. In fact, the only 'conflict' that the book had was whether or not Whitney would meet her birth family and if her dad would win an election. The character of Whitney had a habit of keeping back from all forms of emotions...yet she still sort of falls in love with someone? I think? Oh well. I finished it and am currently on top of all my school reading due to that.
Now, onto books I've been reading for fun! I am currently up to book four in the Charlaine Harris southern vampire mystery novels. I won't bother doing a full review for the individuals.
I am currently on the fourth book, Dead To The World. On as in I just finished Club Dead this morning and am taking a break before I delve into DttW. So far...I'm trying to figure out how crazy I am about Sookie and the universe. On the one hand, its original and the vampires and otherworldly types are cool. On the other hand though none of these stories seem to have a happy ending. All the endings are GOOD, but none of them are really very happy. Except for the first book which was awesome. I am also in the process of watching True Blood. Its very similar to the books but there is probably about 10x more sex in each episode than there ever was in the books. I will eventually finish the last four books that I own and purchase From Dead To Worse. All the book stores I went to only had it in hardback and I'd rather keep my paperback collection complete. I do enjoy these books though and they have definitely been something I've been reading.
On top of the fiction I've been plugging away at, I've also been working on Edward Ball's nonfiction, Slaves In The Family. Edward Ball and I share something in common. An interest in family history. Where my family's history traces back to poor midwestern and southern farmers, Ball's family was a group of rich planters that owned a huge portion of slaves. Ball traces ancient records to find where a slave's bloodline and one of his ancestor's would have crossed and seeks out the decedents to meet the relatives that his family never acknowledged existed. I have mentioned before that I am taking a lit class on race and religion. I picked up this book to further my knowledge and boy has it. Its very fascinating to me how E. Ball discovers the hidden and buried history of his family through old records and the relationships he develops with the decedents he finds. Some are angry, some happy to find the connections and some just so...wise about it. I dunno. To me, this is more relevant to race studies than fake reenactments of the civil rights movement. Slaves in the Family is a proactive and honest look at history and the people that came from it. I'm not done with it yet but I'm slowly plugging through.
So, I've still got a really large TBR pile that just grew last night due to silly_bella and I meeting up and going to a book store. *shakes fist* Damn you and your awesome book finding ways!
Anyway, based on her recommendations and one interesting find, I picked up the following:
I also have a few still sitting in the TBR pile such as:
Not to mention the rest of the books on the two reading lists I have to get through this semester. *sigh* I really have no business buying books AT ALL. I'm terrible. Yet, I don't have a lot of bills since my family is supporting me right now, I have no kids, and I read a ton anyway. If anyone has books suggestions or wants to initiate discussion, I'll be up for it anytime!
As for how my Spring Break has gone, its been busy. Grandma is finally home from Texas, but next weekend she'll be gone again for ten days and then off again to take care of Uncle Bob unless something changes over there. I saw silly_bella last night. The Boycreature and I took her out for dinner and then she took us for Dessert at the Summit. It was a really great visit with lots of talking, laughing and fun.
This afternoon I had a girls day with petrapeach4 this afternoon. Poor child had never been to Jim n' Nicks. Lol. We resolved that pretty quick. We then went to go see "He's Just Not That Into You' which I really enjoyed. First of all, it was not your typical romantic comedy. I don't think I saw a SINGLE cliche in it. No shopping montages, no crying as you fall down against a wall. There were hyjinks, but you know what, they were really realistic. Petra and I had several good laughs. We then went for ice cream. So, you know, any outing that ends in icecream can't be that bad.
And...suprisingly...that's it. That's all I have to report. Wow....that's a friggin' long update. Alright. Plans for now and tomorrow: Clean room (again...) and then tomorrow a trip to Arkansas to pick up a friend of the Boycreature. Apparently boys need male bonding just as much a females need womanly bonding. Who would have thought?