Comments | lastandleast: Of Boys and Books

lastandleast

Of Boys and Books

Nov 21, 2006 22:09

A short Hansony aside

Although spelling was obviously not part of the Hansons' homeschooling curriculum, Making Poor Use of A Gospel Choir 101 was apparently something attention was lavished upon. The Great Divide is okay, I guess, all funky and foot-tapping, but it sounds uncoordinated and choppy to this spectacularly untrained ear. Also, and go ( Read more... )

books, hanson

Comments 24

rockstarlexi November 22 2006, 03:41:51 UTC

Yes, yes PLEASE continue! I'm always looking for new books.

handgun November 22 2006, 03:51:51 UTC

what she said!

YES, CONTINUE! unearthingbone November 22 2006, 03:53:59 UTC

Yes yes yes you must. I love book recommendations. These are fabulous and well-written and inspired me to read in a way I haven't felt inspired (thanks to ridiculous amounts of academic reading) in a very long time.

Also:

9. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, 3-15-06 [D-]
A book to make people who haven't read a book since they were being graded on it feel smart. This predictable tale of a bunch of cardboard cutouts dashing around Europe in search of the Holy Grail was actually improved upon by the big, dumb Hollywood movie that it was made into.

I hate that stupid fucking book. With a passion. Dan Brown can't write worth a damn. And he repeated the word "tonight" thirty-six times in the first twenty-eight pages, and it was all downhill from there.

Re: YES, CONTINUE! lastandleast November 28 2006, 00:29:04 UTC

And he repeated the word "tonight" thirty-six times in the first twenty-eight pages, and it was all downhill from there.

Now that's a quantifiable reason to hate Dan Brown's crappy writing! On one hand, I'm glad I read The Da Vinci Code: I wanted to know what everyone was making such a big deal about. On the other hand, it's two hours of my life that I'm never getting back.

Brown is totally a New Englander--if I ever run into him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind ;)

saffronlie November 22 2006, 11:19:19 UTC

I so agree about Eats, Shoots and Leaves. She didn't even include the name comma, so how's that for being thorough, Lynne Truss??

I enjoyed these mini-reviews, even though I haven't read most of the titles. 50 is a great goal; I've read 35 so far this year which is an awful average, two years ago I read close to 90 books in one year, and I don't know yet if my reading is going to increase or decline now that I'm about to graduate college...

lastandleast November 28 2006, 00:44:07 UTC

Egad--90 books a year!?! I could pull that off--if I counted picture books and fanfic =X

For me, one of the best things about graduating from college was getting to read for pleasure again; being an English major, I was trapped reading the books my teachers wanted me to read for six months of the year. You might read less when you're out of school, but I bet you'll enjoy the books a heck of a lot more ;)

saffronlie November 28 2006, 09:09:05 UTC

Heh. In the Year of Many Books I was taking classes with heavy reading lists that worked out to a book per week, plus I was reviewing books for the student newspaper and had set a personal goal of one book and therefore one review per week. And in my spare time, I undertook to re-read a bunch of series like Anne of Green Gables and The Chronicles of Narnia. So it all added up, but looking back, I'm still not sure how I did it.

All reading is pleasure, except when it's a rubbish book that I have no choice about reading. You're right -- choice is the best part. :D

azureina November 22 2006, 14:59:13 UTC

I read The Witch of Blackbird Pond in middle school, and I LOVED it! Is it seriously not that good the second time around? 'Cause that would make me sad. :-(

lastandleast November 28 2006, 00:51:04 UTC

I think the thing is that I remembered The Witch of Blackbird Pond as being so awesome, nothing was ever going to live up to it. A childhood favorite yes, but a grownup favorite, not so much.

I just borrowed a good historical witchy book from the other Amanda--Witch Child. If you're looking for something to read, I think it's safe to say that we both give it two thumbs up :)

If you liked Kavalier and Clay... katiebae November 22 2006, 17:38:04 UTC

Also try It's Superman by Tom DeHaven. It's got the same sprawling yet personal feel as Chabon. I breezed through it in two days.

http://www.amazon.com/Its-Superman-Novel-Tom-Haven/dp/0345493923/sr=8-1/qid=1164217025/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9461876-9019062?ie=UTF8&s=books

Re: If you liked Kavalier and Clay... lastandleast November 28 2006, 00:54:37 UTC

Thanks for the rec. I love me some super hero re-imagings, and will definitely add this one to the ever-growing list of things I have to read before I die ;)