summer reading
During the summer, I have been reading frantically. As some of you might have heard, I have/had been in a book contest to see who could read the most pages. Here I will do as I always said I would, give you a list of books, what they are about, and my review/rating of them. I have only done this with the books that have been read during the summer. I also plan to do this every so often with the books that I’ve been reading. I hope some of you will find a book you like and go and pick it up. The majority of the books listed here are good to read, even if I did not think so highly of them. So have your fun reading along and please leave your own reviews of books that you have recently read, think should be read, books that never should see the light of day (please warn us!), or your own opinions/reviews/ratings of the books I have mentioned below. I would love a lively discussion! So please, enjoy!
porcelain_lover
Jailbird - Kurt Vonnegut
306 pages
6 out of 10
You remember Watergate, the huge scandal that rocked the Nixon White House? Yeah, you must remember it from US History number Two. Here, Vonnegut takes you on an interesting ride from Harvard to the White Hose to the penitentiary and out again into the real world following Walter F. Starbuck’s lead.
I must admit, although I am a great fan for Vonnegut’s writing style and his infamous satire, this book did not catch my interest as his others did. It took me a couple weeks to finish this book (also due to the demanded school reading of Brave New World by A. Huxley) and actually get into it. It has amazing one lines and many a humorous idea. I did enjoy this book but found it not amongst his best. Although if you are big on history, you will find this book with much more humor and amusement.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
215 pages
8 out of 10
Ever wonder what would happen if an alien got stuck on this planet and unable to hitch a ride back to his own universe? How about how people would be rocked if they new the Earth were going to explode in twelve minutes? In here, you’ll find your answers. Along with how to handle a group of unruly aliens called Vogons who despise hitchhikers, why you always need a towel on hand, and to always be on your toes ‘cause you never know when you’ll stumble upon a long lost planet thought to only exist in myth.
This book captivated me. And amused me to no end. It was humorous and bright and Adams was always able to keep the story going with that one little machine and its marvelous random occurrences. The names of characters captured my eye right away, such as Zaphod Bebblebrox and the aliens named Vogons. I suggest if you have two or three days with nothing to do, pick this book up. It’s an easy read and you will not find yourself bored.
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
302 pages
10 out of 10
Set in South Carolina in 1964, Lily Owens finds herself in a pickle. With few memories of the afternoon of her mother’s death and her unruly father, Lily’s strong-willed “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, and her escape from a town filled with racism. They stumble upon a town that Lily believes to hold the secret to her mother’s mysterious life and death and find the “Calendar Sisters”, three black beekeepers who take them in without question. Shortly after she arrives there, she realizes this will be a summer she will never be able to forget.
This book is in the same light as The Lovely Bones by Alice Seabold. A wonderful tale of a young woman growing into her own and realizing, for the first time, her strengths and weaknesses. Although this is a very “girly” tale, it has a wonderful plot and can captivate anyone’s heart. I personally adored this book and saw the similarities between The Lovely Bones and The Secret Life of Bees. It was very difficult to put this book down. You were thrown into the life of Lily and you really felt for her. Even if you are not into those kind of “girly” books you will find there is little sappiness but an overwhelming feel for emotion that emanates from Kidd’s words. I would not suggest this to a male (unless he were feminine) but I do suggest this to any female who likes a tale of heart break (but not by a boyfriend’s hand, by her own parents and the truth) and an overwhelming sense that you are surrounded by strong and fearless women.
With Red Hands - Stephen Woodworth
307 pages
9 out of 10
The second installment into the Violet tales, it takes Natalie Lindstrom, once of the elite group of investigators who punish the guilty by bringing their victims back from the dead, from where Through Violet Eyes left off. Natalie had left NAACC five years ago but now she is forced back into the line of work she thought she left forever to save the public from a vicious killer and a corrupt Violet.
I found that at the beginning of the book, it was slow and I was afraid that Woodworth had lost his flair from the first book he wrote, but he did not let me down. After the first twenty or so pages, you are thrown back into the life of Natalie Lindstrom who has been her own employer traveling to other’s houses to resurrect the people they desperately want to hear. The reader is easily brought back into the stories of the Violets, a group of people who are easily recognizable by their natural violet eyes and who can summon the dead, and yet again feel for Natalie as she is trying to protect her Violet daughter, not only from the spirits that come knocking but also from the Violet school that wants her and the NAACC that once employed Natalie. It is an amazing installment and a great read. It is said to be in light of The Lovely Bones by Alice Seabold but to tell the truth the only comparison is in the accounts of the violent crimes that take place. I suggest this to anyone who loves the paranormal and wishes to be introduced into a new breed of amazing beings or those who love a good mystery/crime book. But please, before you read this book, read Through Violet Eyes, it’s just as amazing and will make much better sense if you read that book first.
Naked - David Sedaris
291 pages
10 out of 10
Sedaris takes the old-fashioned memoir and turns it upside down with is rich and vibrant words. Sedaris looks back on his childhood when his nervous ticks reined above all else, his times in college and his dire need to hitchhike around the country where he becomes a farmer’s hand and then works in an apple plant, to his family that he could never get rid of no matter how hard he tried. You think your life’s problematic? Read a couple of the essays here, child. You’ll never look at your family the same way again.
In this book Sedaris is able to make you laugh at his own misfortunes and then, sometimes, kinda makes you feel guilty for it. But then again how can you not laugh at his misfortunes? It’s a humorous book that will captivate you with its original, strange humor. If you’re looking for a book to make you laugh hysterically and make you question him for his random stunts, you’ll love it!
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - Matthew Stover
418 pages
8 out of 10
Written after the last installment of the much-anticipated movie, the book not only takes you where George Lucas began but also where Stover decided to add his own flair. Here, you find Anakin in his search for becoming a Jedi Master, a cure for his lovely wife, and his true destiny.
This book was, for the most part, shoved into my face. I was forced to read it people. I do apologize. But I read it nonetheless. And I was pleasantly shocked that it wasn’t as bad as I had expected it to be. Stover was able to weave a wonderful tale through the minds of all the main characters: Anakin, General Grievous, Obi-Wan, Palpatine, Padame, and others. Although I found the book slightly difficult to follow (luckily I had seen the movie before I read the book which helped with picturing and understanding the situations), I found that Stover was capable to actually make me feel for these characters that I previously had no conception or longing for. He also had this amazing technique of introducing the characters with more depth and more understanding of their complex emotions for a writer who had not created these characters for himself. I finished this book in a mere two days (this may have been due to my being bored and having nothing else to do but I cannot be sure). I must admit that I was not looking forward to reading this book and actually attempting to put it off, but I found this book to be interesting and Stover’s writing style stuck with me long after I read the last sentence. To read this book, I suggest that you have some type of knowledge (be it minimal, Stover is able to fill the majority of the gaps even if you don’t know much of the previous two movies/books) of Star Wars and have some type of adoration for the movies. Otherwise, you’ll just want to shoot yourself. This book is not for everybody, but the writing style is beyond my expectations (which were very low admittedly).
Choke - Chuck Palahniuk
293 pages
8 out of 10
Introducing Victor Mancini, a medical school drop out who has a habit of chocking on food to raise money to pay for his mother’s elder care, cruising sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, and spending his remaining hours working at a colonial theme park.
The first book I every read by Palahniuk was Invisible Monsters, which I fell in love with. This book, although not as good as Invisible Monsters, was nevertheless captivating. Reading on as Victor is trying his best with his ill mother and attempting to be the demons to several women in his mother’s care unit and his attempts to find love and fulfillment in the several women he sleeps with, made it hard to put this book down. I enjoyed every word and every scenario. My favorite being chapter two where he introduces all the sexual myths and fables to be true, and he knows them all. This book can be very graphic, in the sexual sense; so if you do not favor such scenes, do not pick up this book. You will be disgusted and revolted by his sexual escapades. But otherwise, it is filled with interesting facts and amusing insight into a sexual addict who’s trying to get past step four and live a normal life.
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
301 pages
5 out of 10
Krakauer, a journalist and writer, was given the assignment for Outside magazine to record what it is like to reach the top of the world and make the 29,028 feet descent. Here, Krakauer recounts what happened the day where Hall and Fischer’s, and several others, expeditions attempted to reach the Everest Summit in 1996, the deadliest season yet.
Yet again, another book I was forced to read and was putting off for a long while. When I eventually picked up the book, I found the first 25 - 50 pages to be horribly boring and was looking forward the just finishing the, what seemed to me, a waste of paper and ink. One, I’m not big on these Adventure/Nonfiction type books and two this was a book I had been dreading since the beginning of the summer. Once I finished the first hundred pages, I realized it wasn’t going to be as much of a torture as I anticipated. I was able to read the book in a few days. Though, I found it a difficult read and hard to pick up once I put it down, it was not as bad as I had thought. The only thing was that I found more problems with the book than I wished. I had no emotions for any of the characters, which was one of my biggest problems, especially when they started to die off. Krakauer had a tendency to jump around from character to history and back, leaving me with no sense of how other characters might have felt or who they really were. But I must admit that my reasoning for these problematic areas is quite harsh. Understanding that this is a nonfiction book and on the top of Everest, you must not have time for throw around conversations. In all it was fascinating book that takes you on a frantic tale of survival with decent writing skills. Truthfully, it didn’t impress me much.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
303 pages
6 out of 10
Follow Bilbo Baggins in this odd adventure, leaving his hobbit home to travel with thirteen dwarves and a wizard to recapture a long lost treasure from the claws of the evil Smaug dragon. Along the way the troupe encounters evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders and other unknown dangers that this little hobbit has only heard about in tales.
The prelude to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I found this book childish yet charming. It is not something I would pick up on my own; it showed no interest to me, seeing as it was a fantasy tale and I am not big on those types of stories but I did find this book enchanting. It had a quirky/dry sense of humor and had a narrator that always appeared and gave comments at the right time. It is well written but I would suggest this book for a younger audience (8-13 years of age). Nevertheless, it was a cute tale about a little hobbit being forced to get out of his predetermined existence (did someone say moral?).
Blood and Gold - Anne Rice
564 pages
6 out of 10
Marius, one of the Children of the Millennia, is a vampire whose lived for over 2,000 years. He’s walked the earth the same time as Jesus Christ (though he will admit he never knew him in person) and was once a Senator in the Imperial Roman Empire. Through his eyes you’ll see the fall of the pagan beliefs in Rome to the first Constantine Emperor, to the fall of his beloved Rome to the Visigoths and to the devastation of the Black Death. Marius recounts his tales of his birth into the vampire world and his love of Pandora, Bianca, Armand, the great master Botticelli, Akasha, and mortals alike. He gives you insight not only on his personal life but also of the history of Italy and surrounding nations.
This is the eighth book in the Vampire Chronicles written by Rice out of ten. It is an amazing tale of how one of the oldest vampires still in existence passed those 2,000 years by. As I find with most of Rice’s books, there is a slow point of about 100 pages. These are very difficult to get passed. I started this book the beginning of my junior year and now I will be a senior, so it’s taken a while. I put the book down for a good 20 some books. But her writing style has never failed to capture me and this book just proves it. Marius is slightly obnoxious but his words come together in a masterpiece. I suggest this book to anyone who loves vampires/paranormal or history (this includes the history of many different arts and of the history of Italy and it’s surrounding nations). But I must tell you, you do not need to read the books prior to this one; it is not necessary. Marius tells about his life (often entangling with other vampires) but where there needs a gap to be filled, its filled. The previous books are all good but it is not necessary to read them all before this one. (I will try, whenever I finish the Vampire Chronicles, to review all ten of them, but until then I give you the eighth book.)
The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisherger
360 pages
7 out of 10
In her debut novel, Weisherger, introduces you to Andrea Sachs, a small town girl who wants to make it big in as a writer for a magazine. Although she was looking more towards Time Magazine or something similar, she lands the job “a million girls would die for”. Follow Andrea as she tells you about her boss from Hell and the quirky things it takes to make it at the biggest fashion magazine around.
This book has been screaming for me to read it. I refused to pick it up the first five times it came up, but then it just kept being around. Finally there was a sale at a bookstore and I needed another book (buy 4 get the 5th free), so I decided to pick it up. It was actually pretty enjoyable. It was funny and thought provoking and makes you dread your future bosses. It was funny since the main character walked into the biggest fashion magazine with no fashion sense at all. You meet her long-term boyfriend and her best friend since elementary and middle school. It’s a good debut novel. It’s a funny novel in general.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire
406 pages
8 out of 10
Ever wonder how the Wicked Witch of the West became so damn wicked? Did you ever think maybe she was just misunderstood? Or how about that green skin? What the hell were her parents? Here you find out those answers plus the creation of the winged monkeys, her flying broomstick and her history with Galinda (yes, G-A-Linda).
I will have to admit it was a slow book. The ideas were very good and the connections were amazing along with his ability to tie it in with history from the Nixon White House to World War II and he actually made it make sense. The ending was amazing and made me enjoy the book that much more. It’s a good read for anyone who likes the Wizard of Oz or The Wiz. It’s just a different version.
Blackwood Farm - Anne Rice
626 pages
10 out of 10
Welcome to the beautiful Blackwood Farm just outside New Orleans. Your narrator is Quinn Blackwood, a young, handsome man haunted since birth by a spirit named Goblin. Here you learn Quinn’s tales: his lessons with the Talamasca, the Mayfair Witches and Lestat. Here you learn about Sugar Devil Swamp in the depths of the Blackwood Farm property and its secrets…
One of Rice’s best novels. I couldn’t put this book down. It was amazing. Although she did have her slow parts, they were shorter than normal. I enjoyed this book beyond belief and suggest it to any Rice fan. It does take a while to read but it is totally worth it. Even if you found Interview a slow read, you will think this has a faster pace and more poetry between its prose.
Peace Breaks Out - John Knowls
178 pages
6 out of 10
The book after A Separate Peace, it takes you to after war Devon. A student comes back to the school he now teaches at after his service in the war and the students, one year shy of the greatest war fought yet, makes an interesting backdrop to this tale.
Although I found A Separate Peace to be more enjoyable this book was decent and could hold it’s own without A Separate Peace. I found it slower and less dramatic and heart wrenching than Knowls’ previous work and more predictable. Though the ending was easily foretold, it was still served a slight shock value. So over all, eh, it was alright.
The Inferno - Dante Alighierie - Translation by John Ciardi
288 pages
7 out of 10
Follow Dante’s epic first poem from The Devine Comedy. Here he goes through all nine layers of Hell, learning for himself what will happened to him if he doesn’t change his ways.
It is a very difficult read so let me tell you this now. The entire thing is in poem format in a style Dante himself created. This particular book as 34 Canto’s with 52 stanzas of three lines and the 53rd stanza with two lines. The dialect is also difficult. Though it’s imagery and the way he intertwines the Church (Catholicism) and more ancient and pagan-istic ideas. The notes and commentary were also of great help and were enjoyable to read.
Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut
274 pages
10 out of 10
The narrator, the current King of Manhattan (and last President of the United States), is writing his autobiography of his apocalyptic times. Vonnegut weaves his humor (“But even the end of life-as-we-know-it is transformed by Vonnegut’s pen into hilarious farce - a final slapstick that may be the Almighty’s joke on us all”) with “all-too-possible results of today’s follies”.
This book was amazing! I loved it. I finished it in two days. I couldn’t put it down. I must say this is one of Vonnegut’s best books and I’ve read seven. I suggest anyone to pick up this book! Vonnegut fan or not (and if you’re not, it’s almost impossible not to be after this book). Pick it up people!
Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons? - Matthew J. Pinto
251 pages
8 out of 10
Are you Catholic? If so, ever wonder about your faith? If not, do you want to have some questions answered? Thinking about converting? This book is filled with 200 questions posed by teens in recent years (no, this is not from 1950, closer to 1998-2001). Pinto answers those questions so teens quivering in the faith will have a better understanding what Catholicism is all about.
I had questions about my faith and a lot of them were pin-pointed in this book. It was an easy read and you were capable for searching questions that dealt with one subject or those that only pertained to you. It gave helpful information and many resources to pick up if you wanted to go in depth with any of the topics. Although I am not fond of all the answers (or questions for that matter) it was interesting to learn.