books.
At any given time, I'm usually reading four or five books. It's a rare occurrence that I go to the bookstore without buying at least one book, even if I have a giant backlog of books I haven't read (as is the case right now; damn you, school and college applications, for taking time away from my life -- though at least the college applications are done!). So here is what I am reading, and what is on my list at the moment.
Currently Reading
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- I don't know if it really counts, because I've only read about 15 pages. I've wanted to read some Marquez for ages, and I'm incredibly excited for the day I will be able to actually sit down and read it. I'm only 15 pages in because, at 11:30 at night, when I'm done with work, I generally am too tired to deal with the complexity of this novel.
Trader, Charles de Lint -- I love de Lint; he's one of my all-time favourite authors, and his book Moonlight & Vines is one of my favourite books of all time. His writing is beautiful, his characters so real that they feel like friends to me; Trader is no exception. I'm nearly done with it and will be sad to see it finish. It's the story of how two men wake up in each other's bodies one morning for no apparent reason. One is euphoric; he was about to lose his girlfriend and his apartment, had already lost his job, and was not liked by many people. The other is furious, and sets out to figure out how to get his life back; he is a luthier, a guitar maker, has a successful business and a nice apartment, and is well-liked. One of my favourite aspects of de Lint's novels, the spirit world, only makes its appearance in the last 1/3 of the book, but I didn't even notice that it wasn't there in the first 2/3.
The Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner -- It would seem I'm on a bit of a fantasy bent, and this is one of my favourite-ever fantasy novels. Katherine is called to the city by her uncle, the Mad Duke Tremontaine, to learn swordsmanship and become his personal swordsman. By doing so, he will end his lawsuit against her family. The story develops from this premise. I love Kushner's characters -- Katherine is so brilliant and feisty, and the Mad Duke is no doubt one of my favourite literary characters ever (how many times have I used the word 'favourite' in this entry? Ridiculous!) because he is so wonderfully dissolute, but also harbors personal secrets, sufferings, and sorrows.
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison -- I'm reading this one for AP Lit, and I'm actually going to read it after I finish this and my last calculus problem. It is not something I would've picked up to read for pleasure, but it's a very powerful novel. I'm fascinated by Ellison's omnipresent motifs -- their extent, variety, and continuity are insane, especially considering he wrote the novel in about three months. The story itself is at times incredibly tough going because of the content (if you've read it, in chapter two, my only margin note for about four pages is "jesus fuck"; chapter eleven was another tough one), but overall, it's actually far better reading than I had expected.
On My List
The Innocent, Ian McEwan -- I adore McEwan's writing -- Atonement and On Chesil Beach are both fabulous. I'm expecting nothing less from The Innocent!
Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde -- I read The Picture of Dorian Gray sophomore year and it understandably became one of my favourite books (there I go again with that word!). Wilde's sense of humour fits me perfectly, and I so often agree with his assessments of the world. He was a fascinating person in general, too. Understandably, I saw this little book at B&N and had to pick it up. Sadly, they didn't have a collection of his plays, which is something else I must read!
Paradise Lost, John Milton -- We read Book IX in Lit and I loved it. I'm anxious to read the rest, although perhaps without doing all the analysis required for Lit...
I'm sure there's more, but those are at the tops of my list.
I love talking books -- giving and receiving recommendations, chatting about a book we've both read, etc. -- so feel free to drop me a comment.
Currently Reading
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- I don't know if it really counts, because I've only read about 15 pages. I've wanted to read some Marquez for ages, and I'm incredibly excited for the day I will be able to actually sit down and read it. I'm only 15 pages in because, at 11:30 at night, when I'm done with work, I generally am too tired to deal with the complexity of this novel.
Trader, Charles de Lint -- I love de Lint; he's one of my all-time favourite authors, and his book Moonlight & Vines is one of my favourite books of all time. His writing is beautiful, his characters so real that they feel like friends to me; Trader is no exception. I'm nearly done with it and will be sad to see it finish. It's the story of how two men wake up in each other's bodies one morning for no apparent reason. One is euphoric; he was about to lose his girlfriend and his apartment, had already lost his job, and was not liked by many people. The other is furious, and sets out to figure out how to get his life back; he is a luthier, a guitar maker, has a successful business and a nice apartment, and is well-liked. One of my favourite aspects of de Lint's novels, the spirit world, only makes its appearance in the last 1/3 of the book, but I didn't even notice that it wasn't there in the first 2/3.
The Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner -- It would seem I'm on a bit of a fantasy bent, and this is one of my favourite-ever fantasy novels. Katherine is called to the city by her uncle, the Mad Duke Tremontaine, to learn swordsmanship and become his personal swordsman. By doing so, he will end his lawsuit against her family. The story develops from this premise. I love Kushner's characters -- Katherine is so brilliant and feisty, and the Mad Duke is no doubt one of my favourite literary characters ever (how many times have I used the word 'favourite' in this entry? Ridiculous!) because he is so wonderfully dissolute, but also harbors personal secrets, sufferings, and sorrows.
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison -- I'm reading this one for AP Lit, and I'm actually going to read it after I finish this and my last calculus problem. It is not something I would've picked up to read for pleasure, but it's a very powerful novel. I'm fascinated by Ellison's omnipresent motifs -- their extent, variety, and continuity are insane, especially considering he wrote the novel in about three months. The story itself is at times incredibly tough going because of the content (if you've read it, in chapter two, my only margin note for about four pages is "jesus fuck"; chapter eleven was another tough one), but overall, it's actually far better reading than I had expected.
On My List
The Innocent, Ian McEwan -- I adore McEwan's writing -- Atonement and On Chesil Beach are both fabulous. I'm expecting nothing less from The Innocent!
Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde -- I read The Picture of Dorian Gray sophomore year and it understandably became one of my favourite books (there I go again with that word!). Wilde's sense of humour fits me perfectly, and I so often agree with his assessments of the world. He was a fascinating person in general, too. Understandably, I saw this little book at B&N and had to pick it up. Sadly, they didn't have a collection of his plays, which is something else I must read!
Paradise Lost, John Milton -- We read Book IX in Lit and I loved it. I'm anxious to read the rest, although perhaps without doing all the analysis required for Lit...
I'm sure there's more, but those are at the tops of my list.
I love talking books -- giving and receiving recommendations, chatting about a book we've both read, etc. -- so feel free to drop me a comment.