50bookchallenge: Books 14-19
14. Life of Pi by Yann Martel -
Piscine Molotor Patel (later referred to as Pi, after much taunting from his schoolmates because of his name; calling him "Pissing" Patel and things like that) is a boy growing up in India. He becomes Christian, Muslim, and Hindu. His father owns a zoo. Eventually, the family decides to emigrate to Canada, and they pack up all their animals (I don't remember what they planned to do with the animals in Canada... it's been a long-ass time since I finished this book) and get on a huge ship to take them across the ocean. Not long after they depart, the ship sinks, and Pi is the lone survivor. Oh, and he's also got a full-grown Bengal tiger with him.
This book follows Pi and the tiger (whose name is Richard Parker) on their journey across the Pacific Ocean.
Basically, I suck at summaries; go read Amazon if you want to hear what the book was about. I'm totally not doing it justice with this bullshit "review" I am writing, but it was a very good book. I'm certain a lot of it went over my head, as I tend to get wrapped up in details and trying to imagine everything an author is describing... but it was an exciting read, and the ending was quite good. I'd like to read it again, with SparkNotes or something. Ha. :P (I miss high school English classes for the discussion value!)
15. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer -
Apparently this is the first (or one of the first) fictional stories associated with 9/11. And it was quite a remarkable achievement. Oskar Schell is nine years old, living in Manhattan, and his father was killed in the World Trade Center. One day, poking through his dad's things, Oskar discovers a key in a small envelope in the bottom of a vase, the only defining characteristic of which is the word "Black" written on the envelope. Oskar embarks on a mission to find the lock that the key opens, in hopes that it will bring him some closure or some additional knowledge about his father, and in his travels he meets many people who all touch his life in some way, and he theirs.
Now, my description and the fact that the book is about 9/11 make it sound as though it would be corny or overly sentimental, or maybe under-sentimental, even. Not so. I found it to be very well-written--it changes perspective throughout, from Oskar, to his grandfather (who grew up in Dresden and slowly lost the ability to speak after the bombing there), to his grandmother--and the character of all of them is lovable and easily distinguishable (though I found the grandfather a bit annoying at times, with all his leaving... but I suppose he did have his reasons).
Quirky, emotional, intense, and hopeful... this book "made my boots a little lighter," as Oskar might say. ;)
16. The Book of Lost Things: A Novel by John Connolly -
David is growing up in England in the middle of World War II. His mother dies of an illness, and he begins to go a bit wacky: he can hear books talking to him, he begins performing OCD-like rituals, etc. Eventually his father re-marries and the couple has a child of their own, of whom David is naturally resentful. One day he hears his mother's voice calling to him from the garden in his backyard, begging him to help her, and he disappears beneath a tree and enters a world not quite unlike this one, but with lots of notable little differences.
Lots of fairly gory shit going on in this book. Haha. More than I expected, anyway. I actually had to take a break in the middle of this book for awhile because I was feeling a little burnt-out on the whole fantasy genre, and the writing seemed a bit formulaic most of the time. Later on, it got remarkably more riveting, and overall was a good story. The ending could have been executed a bit better in my opinion, but it was enjoyable. I also really liked the character development of The Crooked Man, a trickster who is able to cross between worlds for his own purposes and who David keeps running across in his travels. He was creepy, and my feelings about him changed a lot, but I liked him. :) A decent adult fairy tale.
17. The Pearl by John Steinbeck -
Kino is a pearl fisherman living in poverty in a village outside of La Paz with his wife Juana and their infant son, Coyotito. After an unfortunate encounter with the town doctor, Kino vows that one day he will be able to provide whatever his family needs. Not long after, Kino finds an enormous pearl, The Pearl of the World, the villagers call it... and Kino assumes his dreams have come true. He learns, however, that wealth does not necessarily equal happiness...
This was a good little book, a novella that was a very quick and enjoyable (if depressing) read. I like what I've read of Steinbeck's anyway, so I figured this wouldn't disappoint. It didn't.
18. The Body's Memory by Jean Stewart -
Kate Meredith is a feisty woman. Nothing can hold her back. That is, until she develops a cancerous tumor in her hip that needs to be removed, leaving her less physically capable than she was previously--using crutches and, eventually, a wheelchair. This semi-autobiographical novel, in alternating journal and letter formats, chronicles her adjustment to her new limitations, and the subtle ways in which her disability shapes and alters her relationships with others and herself.
I actually heard Jean read parts of this book at the disability conference I went to with Ravi in San Francisco, a couple years ago, and the way she'd written it and the way she read it had me almost moved to tears at times. Reading the book now didn't have quite the same effect, but it was still very good. Some of the writing was a bit too "womanly" for me at times (like, I never use the word "lovemaking"... haha), but it was a great story, with an ending leaving me feeling optimistic and affectionate towards the disability rights movement. (This was published before the ADA.)
19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling -
Yeah. I'm re-reading the series. You don't really need a review of this, do you? :)
19 / 50
(38.0%)
No way in Hell am I going to make it to fifty by my deadline (October 6). Haha. I'm going to extend my deadline until the end of the year, just because I can, and though I doubt I'll get to fifty by then either... I just want to see how much I can read. Yay. :)
Piscine Molotor Patel (later referred to as Pi, after much taunting from his schoolmates because of his name; calling him "Pissing" Patel and things like that) is a boy growing up in India. He becomes Christian, Muslim, and Hindu. His father owns a zoo. Eventually, the family decides to emigrate to Canada, and they pack up all their animals (I don't remember what they planned to do with the animals in Canada... it's been a long-ass time since I finished this book) and get on a huge ship to take them across the ocean. Not long after they depart, the ship sinks, and Pi is the lone survivor. Oh, and he's also got a full-grown Bengal tiger with him.
This book follows Pi and the tiger (whose name is Richard Parker) on their journey across the Pacific Ocean.
Basically, I suck at summaries; go read Amazon if you want to hear what the book was about. I'm totally not doing it justice with this bullshit "review" I am writing, but it was a very good book. I'm certain a lot of it went over my head, as I tend to get wrapped up in details and trying to imagine everything an author is describing... but it was an exciting read, and the ending was quite good. I'd like to read it again, with SparkNotes or something. Ha. :P (I miss high school English classes for the discussion value!)
15. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer -
Apparently this is the first (or one of the first) fictional stories associated with 9/11. And it was quite a remarkable achievement. Oskar Schell is nine years old, living in Manhattan, and his father was killed in the World Trade Center. One day, poking through his dad's things, Oskar discovers a key in a small envelope in the bottom of a vase, the only defining characteristic of which is the word "Black" written on the envelope. Oskar embarks on a mission to find the lock that the key opens, in hopes that it will bring him some closure or some additional knowledge about his father, and in his travels he meets many people who all touch his life in some way, and he theirs.
Now, my description and the fact that the book is about 9/11 make it sound as though it would be corny or overly sentimental, or maybe under-sentimental, even. Not so. I found it to be very well-written--it changes perspective throughout, from Oskar, to his grandfather (who grew up in Dresden and slowly lost the ability to speak after the bombing there), to his grandmother--and the character of all of them is lovable and easily distinguishable (though I found the grandfather a bit annoying at times, with all his leaving... but I suppose he did have his reasons).
Quirky, emotional, intense, and hopeful... this book "made my boots a little lighter," as Oskar might say. ;)
16. The Book of Lost Things: A Novel by John Connolly -
David is growing up in England in the middle of World War II. His mother dies of an illness, and he begins to go a bit wacky: he can hear books talking to him, he begins performing OCD-like rituals, etc. Eventually his father re-marries and the couple has a child of their own, of whom David is naturally resentful. One day he hears his mother's voice calling to him from the garden in his backyard, begging him to help her, and he disappears beneath a tree and enters a world not quite unlike this one, but with lots of notable little differences.
Lots of fairly gory shit going on in this book. Haha. More than I expected, anyway. I actually had to take a break in the middle of this book for awhile because I was feeling a little burnt-out on the whole fantasy genre, and the writing seemed a bit formulaic most of the time. Later on, it got remarkably more riveting, and overall was a good story. The ending could have been executed a bit better in my opinion, but it was enjoyable. I also really liked the character development of The Crooked Man, a trickster who is able to cross between worlds for his own purposes and who David keeps running across in his travels. He was creepy, and my feelings about him changed a lot, but I liked him. :) A decent adult fairy tale.
17. The Pearl by John Steinbeck -
Kino is a pearl fisherman living in poverty in a village outside of La Paz with his wife Juana and their infant son, Coyotito. After an unfortunate encounter with the town doctor, Kino vows that one day he will be able to provide whatever his family needs. Not long after, Kino finds an enormous pearl, The Pearl of the World, the villagers call it... and Kino assumes his dreams have come true. He learns, however, that wealth does not necessarily equal happiness...
This was a good little book, a novella that was a very quick and enjoyable (if depressing) read. I like what I've read of Steinbeck's anyway, so I figured this wouldn't disappoint. It didn't.
18. The Body's Memory by Jean Stewart -
Kate Meredith is a feisty woman. Nothing can hold her back. That is, until she develops a cancerous tumor in her hip that needs to be removed, leaving her less physically capable than she was previously--using crutches and, eventually, a wheelchair. This semi-autobiographical novel, in alternating journal and letter formats, chronicles her adjustment to her new limitations, and the subtle ways in which her disability shapes and alters her relationships with others and herself.
I actually heard Jean read parts of this book at the disability conference I went to with Ravi in San Francisco, a couple years ago, and the way she'd written it and the way she read it had me almost moved to tears at times. Reading the book now didn't have quite the same effect, but it was still very good. Some of the writing was a bit too "womanly" for me at times (like, I never use the word "lovemaking"... haha), but it was a great story, with an ending leaving me feeling optimistic and affectionate towards the disability rights movement. (This was published before the ADA.)
19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling -
Yeah. I'm re-reading the series. You don't really need a review of this, do you? :)
19 / 50
(38.0%)
No way in Hell am I going to make it to fifty by my deadline (October 6). Haha. I'm going to extend my deadline until the end of the year, just because I can, and though I doubt I'll get to fifty by then either... I just want to see how much I can read. Yay. :)