Difficult Reads

One of the blogs that I consistently read every day is 'The List Universe'. Today I read their list of the most difficult reads and was intrigued to find out who has read any of these.

http://listverse.com/2010/06/07/top-10-difficult-literary-works

I have read only one of these: 'The Sound and The Fury'. I believe I read this in university after Lisa had read / recommended it. I don't remember hating it and actually believe I liked it (but I really can't remember the story).

I know my Dad has finished War and Peace and I'm sure my friend Lisa has read a number of these (and would probably like to add Hearts of Darkness to the list - or maybe just add that to a books I hate list).

After reading the list, I have absolutely no desire to pick up any of the other books on this list. I used to think I would try 'Atlas Shrugged', but I think I'm past that and have way too many other books on my shelves to put myself through that kind of misery (at least it sounds like misery).

Task

Picked this up from Sharon's blog:

Rules:
* Grab the book closest to you.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Don't go looking for your favourite book, or the coolest one you have - just grab the closest one.

'She never wed.'

At this point in my life that sentence seems very apropos.

Books and Movies and Stuff

The current book I'm listening to on CD is once again quite annoying. Holy product placement, Batman! Whenever the author describes anything it is with a brand name. Plus, once again it's a woman who doesn't stand up for herself. I really wish I could pick a book with a strong woman as a central character.

I just finished watching Triviatown. It's a great documentary on the world's largest trivia contest. Now, I probably really liked the movie since I play trivia every week, but I found it really interesting. I would love to go and play in their contest. Unfortunately, based on the questions I heard I would not do well at all! Those are some tough questions.

Last week was our trivia finals (my team just made it in). Three teams make it into the finals every season. We lost but there were some good rounds. The team Clueless did an awesome job this season with the questions.

First Book Club

I've joined my first book club (thanks Charlotte for inviting me) and last night was my first meeting (I didn't join until after the first meeting). I think there are about ten women in the club and I knew four of them prior to going into the meeting.

The first book (for me) was Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. It was an excellent book and I would highly recommend reading it. I think we probably gave it an 8 out of 10. A couple of us felt that it lost a bit of momentum (and believability) just over half way through. But, even with that the story is well told and extremely interesting (and was very well researched - that part was very interesting to me).

I had a great time at the meeting. We had some really great discussions (and not just about the book).

Our next book: The Ten Year Nap.

Horrible Female Character

So, I'm once again listening to a book on CD in my car. The problem with this one: the main character. She's SOOO annoying. I'm listening to a book called Ladykiller. The main character is a female lawyer but she has no backbone whatsoever. Now, I don't know a lot of lawyers, but I've always been under the impression that they kind of know what the hell they are doing. This character lets everyone walk all over her and doesn't stand up for herself at all. Now, I suppose there could be lawyers like that, but I find it very unbelievable. I find myself yelling at her constantly. Come on people if you are going to write a female character could you not make her more strong-willed? I think the book would have been more interesting (as it would not have affected the story) if she had have shown some bit of a backbone.

Books on CD

I almost always have a book on CD playing in my car. Back when I was driving to Niagara Falls everyday I found that this really helped with the long drive. I still find it helpful for the short drives to work - there are even times when I don't want to get out of the car because I want to know what happens next.

The book I'm listening to right now is really throwing me. I think the voice actor read another book I've listened to - where she was reading as a sixteen year old. In the current book she's supposed to be a thirty year old woman, but she sounds exactly the same. So, when she's talking about having sex with the hot neighbour it really throws me. Maybe she just sounds really young.

Last week I finished listening to the latest Janet Evanovich book and I already miss Stephanie Plum. Lorelai King (sp?) is such a great voice actor. I can't wait for the next installment.

Horrible Book - Sorry Michelle

I just finished reading Inkheart. It took forever and I couldn't wait for it to end. My cousin recommended and lent the book to me, so I expected something that I would really enjoy. Unfortunately, I thought it was extremely badly written. Excellent premise, but not well executed (pretty much how I felt back in the day when I attempted to read Anne Rice). There were a number of times when I did not believe the choices the characters made; it took over half the book to get to the premise. I recommend staying far, far away from this book and series.

Stupid Book

I finally finished 'Cryptinomicon'. It took ten years. Well, it sat on my shelf for 10 years. It took me at least 3 months to actually read it. It took forever. I skimmed a lot of it. I do not recommend it. Which is sad since I loved his 'Snow Crash' and 'Zodiac'.

My Sister's Keeper

Last night I finished reading a book that Christi lent me. I hadn't read anything by this author before and I couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend reading 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. I really liked the style of the book and the premise was really interesting. I finished it last night and cried for about an hour. My eyes were so puffy this morning. I don't want to say what it was about or details about the writing style because I think everyone should come to this book as fresh as possible.

Before that I read 'a long way gone'. This book was written by a boy soldier from Sierra Leone. It was definitely interesting, but I'm not sure that I liked the writing and I didn't feel for the writer.

I'm back to listening to books on CD for my long drive to work. The first one was 'The Pleasure of my Company' by Steve Martin. I loved his book 'Shop Girl' and I really liked this book on CD. It was actually read by Steve Martin and the story was really interesting. The main character is somewhat autistic. The second book was 'Therapy' by Jonathan Kellerman. Always a good option for a quick / trash read.

I can't decide what to read next. I need something up beat, but I don't really have that on my bookshelf right now. I have a ton of options, but nothing is jumping out at me.

Movies

I actually watched a bunch of movies this weekend. In gearing up for the awards season, Julia and I rented 'Eastern Promises'. This is the new Cronenberg / Viggo film. It was not good, unfortunately. While at the store I also rented 'Superbad' and 'Stardust'. I never go rent movies (I normally borrow from the library), but I was all excited to rent movies I hadn't seen.

Stardust was awesome. I read the book last year and loved it. I absolutely loved the movie and highly recommend it. It's a fun, magical movie. I think I liked the movie because it had been awhile since I read the book, so I didn't have huge expectations. I'm pretty sure it will be a movie I add to my collection.

Superbad was pretty good. Not all fart jokes like I expected. Plus, I do like Michael Cera.

I'm attempting to finish reading the His Dark Materials trilogy (Golden Compass, etc). I'm on the last book and I'm just not into it. I know my brother loved the series, but I'm not a huge fan. Lisa and Christi bought me books for Christmas and I can't wait to start those. I somedays wish I was like Lisa and could read multiple books at the same time. Alas, I must finish off The Amber Spyglass first.

I've been sleeping most of the weekend (took Friday off as well and slept most of the day). I'm thinking I may have caught a touch of the flu my Grandma had over the holidays.

Reading Finally

I started this earlier in the week and never got back to it. I am so not paying attention to my blogging. I totally forgot what I was going to write about.

I read 'Blaze' last week. This is a book written by Stephen King (as Richard Backman). Apparently this was written back in 1973 and he didn't think it was good enough. Well, it was definitely good enough. I couldn't put it down. It definitely made me remember why I loved reading King for so many years. The last couple of books have left something to be desired, but other than me wanting the book to never end I was quite happy (well, I did cry while reading, but that's besides the point).

I just finished watching the Dixie Chicks' documentary 'Shut Up & Sing'. I highly recommend it. Of course, it really reminded my of watching the footage when John Lennon made the comment that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus. People need to calm down and let people speak. I completely agree with Natalie's right to say what she said (and I agree with the sentiment as I definitely am not a fan of Bush). It's sort of funny (in a not really sort of way) that the southern states are always the ones boycotting the bands and throwing out their music. Ah stupidity. What I don't get is that Green Day wrote an entire album about what an ass the president is and spoke about it at each of their concerts. Yet nothing was ever said about that. The Dixie Chicks certainly weren't the only band / artist to say something publicly against the president. I am glad that they found a different fan base (and happy to hear in the movie that Toronto kicked ass at buying concert tickets). I know I love the album that came out of the whole thing.

Lisey's Story

So, I finally finished reading Stephen King's newest (I believe - it took me a long time to read this). It was so bad. It had an interesting idea behind it but it went on for way too long. Probably would have made a good short story.

After that I read Bruce Campbell's second book "How to Make Love, the Bruce Campbell Way". It wasn't near as good as his autobiography but there were laugh out loud moments.

I'm currently reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns". It is so good. The author's first book, "The Kite Runner", was amazing. So far his second is shaping up to be just as good. The writing is amazing, I can't put it down (and not because there is action every second, just because the writing sucks you in).

Missing Book

Last weekend I lost the book I was reading while in Goderich. I checked out a copy from the library and finished it last night. So, I have read 'The Princess and the Goblin'. Apparently, one of Tolkien's favourites. It was okay, but I really thought it was going in a different direction. There is a suspicious grandmother in the story and the character didn't go where I thought it would (maybe I have read to many horror stories in my time).

It was okay, a cute kid's book.

I'm back to reading 'Lisey's Story' by Stephen King. I've actually taken to skimming the book. I used to love reading King, but lately not so much. I know I've said this before, but his short stories are still excellent, but it appears that he needs more editing for his novels (or, I have just grown out of reading his style - but I'm pretty sure his style has changed since his earlier works).

I'm hoping to be done shortly as I have checked 'Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way' from the library. I loved his first book and I'm hoping this one is just as funny.

Lost Book

While in Goderich this weekend I lost the book I was reading. This is rather annoying. I only had about ten - twenty pages left. But, what I am most upset about is losing the bookmark. It was a bookmark that Christi gave to me for my birthday a couple of years ago and it is quite pretty (and talks about friendship).

I hunted all over my grandmother's house and my car, but no luck. I lose things all the time, but they normally show up in a place I have already looked. No such luck this time. I was reading it while walking back to my Grandma's on Saturday but that was the last time I saw it.

I've requested the book from the library and they have one on hand so I will hopefully get to pick it up tonight and finish. In the meantime I've gone back to reading 'Lisey's Story' by Stephen King. It is really uninteresting. I've taken to skipping whole passages of the story. This is not normal for me. I wonder what I'll read when I'm done 'reading' this book?

Little Criminals

I finished reading 'Lullabies for Little Criminals' last night. Lisa bought it for my for my birthday. I highly recommend this book. It's set in Montreal and pulled from the author's experiences.

I am giving up (for now) on finishing Lisey's Story. I've decided to give 'The Princess and the Goblin' a try. I read somewhere that this was one of J.R.R. Tolkien's favourite stories.

I'm trying to get back into reading, but I miss the walk to work when I could read on my way. Pretty difficult to do that while driving :) I should really spend more time here in the falls and walk to work from Gord's. I think I will have one morning like that.

Potter, again

My friend Rod is back from vacation and we finally had a chance to discuss the final Harry Potter (he loved it by the way). We discussed the stupid storyline flaw. It turns out it wasn't a flaw just an expectation that I remembered something that happened back in book 2 (this is book 7). Considering she spent 400 pages talking about crap, she couldn't have made a quick reminder of this plot point? Really?

Which reminds me, Jason has recommended that I read 'The Golden Compass'. I have wanted to read the series for a while now. I am going to attempt (if I can ever find time) to pick up a copy at Chapters before my trip to Nunavut. Which means I need to go shopping tomorrow. Luckily, I pass a chapters on my way home from the falls.

There really are not enough hours in the day.

Finished Harry Potter

I finished the final Harry Potter today. My cousin was right, about 400 pages of 'what are we going to do', 'we're going to die', blah, blah, blah and then about 100 pages that were well written and very interesting. Except for one major mistake. I can't really say anything about it on here since a bunch of my friends haven't read the book yet. I'll have to go chat with them to see if they caught it as well.

I'm glad it is over. I have not been that impressed with the writing for the past few books. The problem is that the end is always really good and makes you want to read the next. If only the first part of the books was as good as the rest.

Wicked - Finished At Last

My reading has really taken a downturn this past year. Since I hardly ever walk anymore I don't read as much (for those of you not aware, I read and walk at the same time). Today I actually walked to work (5.5 km) and started reading the new Harry Potter. Boy did that feel good! This means that I finally finished reading Wicked. Last December a group of us went to see the play and it was amazing. I decided that I wanted to read the book. Well, it took a while to get into the story. I finally did and it was definitely a good book, but it was a tad long. I am extremely impressed with how they took the book and turned it into a play. I really liked the ideas in the book. Very political and definitely makes you think about only hearing one side of the story.

Rowling and Potter

Now, I am a fan (for the most part) of the Harry Potter series of books. But, I believe it has gotten out of hand and Rowling is really annoying me. (If there weren't only one more book in the series - that I have already ordered - I would boycott the books just because of her.)

She's now annoyed with the New York Times for writing a review of the book a day before the book comes out. The reasoning is that the review may contain spoilers. I don't know how many children are reading the New York Times, but if they are, I suspect that they are smart enough to not read a review. I know most adults can make that decision for themselves as well. I personally don't care if someone tells me what happens in the books. I'll just be happy when it is done and all this craziness can (I hope) end.

I think she has a great story, but I am not a huge fan of her writing. The first chapters are always crap and The Order of the Phoenix was so bad. The book really only needed to be about 150 pages, yet it was over 700. It was like reading one of Stephen King's books when they stopped editing him. I love Stephen, don't get me wrong. But, I am not a fan of his books that are not edited like they should be. I am well aware that the book publishers love it when a book is longer because they can charge more. But, they can only do this for those authors that seem to have proven themselves. Which isn't good because then they wreck that authors legacy of good books.

Now I'm on a rant about King's books. This was supposed to be a rant about Rowling. I heard the movie for 'Order of the Phoenix' was really good. I totally believe that because whenever a book can actually be pared down to about a 150 pages, makes for a great movie (or at least in the right hands it should).

I'm still reading Wicked. I am now really enjoying it, but it does take effort to get through. I won't be home when Potter is delivered. I'll be off camping. I should finish Wicked tonight and then I will read some trash murder mystery on the camping trip. Probably start Potter next week to get it over with. Is it wrong of me to hope that Harry dies so that there can't be another book?

One Year Off

I just finished reading the book 'One Year Off'. I highly recommend this. I finished it in about 2 days. This guy in the states sold all of his stuff (house, etc), quit his job and took his wife (she was more gung-ho than him) and three kids around the world for a year. Some of the places they went sounded so amazing. I need to find more time and more money so I can do these things. The afterward was quite poignant regarding North Americans vs Europe, etc, when it comes to time off.

If it wasn't for the spiders I would be heading to Costa Rica and Africa. Stupid fear!