Braun, Lilian Jackson. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern
Bulgakov, Mikhail. The Master and Margarita
Calvino, Italo. If On A Winter's Night A Traveler
Christie, Agatha. The Murder on the Links, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, Cat Among the Pigeons, At Bertram's Hotel, Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories
Florman, Samuel C. The Existential Pleasures of Engineering
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees
Llewellyn, Richard. How Green Was My Valley
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest
Williamson, J.N., ed. Darker Masques
Adams, Douglas The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and most of his other books
Bradbury, Ray Dandelion Wine, The Illustrated Man
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel One Hundred Years of Solitude
King, Stephen Four Past Midnight
Steinbeck, John East of Eden
Tartt, Donna The Secret History
Tolkein, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King
Wilson, Robert Anton The Earth Will Shake
The Two Towers
On to the second Tolkein book... I enjoyed this one even more than Fellowship, I think because it was entirely new to me. I wasn't constantly comparing it to the movie. The Ents were my favorite. Hum, hoom!
Back to Top
The Return of the King
Finally I'm finishing this, just in time to go back to school and not read any more fun books til June. I have to admit I'm getting kind of tired of Frodo. He's getting too tired and serious. I still like Merry and Pippin. And the whole tone of the book is a little too... epic for me- fantasy is not usually what I read and that's usually why. But it still seems that everyone should read the LOR trilogy simply because of its wide influence. And so you know why Professor Maxwell names his computers as he does. Okay, I liked the end. Especially seeing how much the hobbits matured over their journeys. It's nice to see the little guy win now and then, even though he has much more mild tastes and more moderate aspirations than his enemies.
Back to Top
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
An old favorite, but still funny. I've owned Life, the Universe, and Everything for several years, but I just got the first two books for Christmas. Yay, little furry hats. And the all-purpose towel.
Back to Top
The Brothers Karamazov
I did finally finish this. It just takes about 100 pages to get into it. Definitely worth it. Lots of thinking fodder, and a good murder mystery to boot.
Back to Top
One Hundred Years of Solitude
This was assigned for my "Literature and the Grotesque" class last semester. I liked it anyway. Especially because of its nonlinear view of time. I was confused the entire time what was "real" and what wasn't, and finally realized it didn't matter. I enjoyed it much more after that. It reminded me a lot of Isabel Allende (I guess mostly the magical realism and South American thing).
Back to Top
The Earth Will Shake (Book 1 of the Historical Illuminatus Chronicles)
I borrowed this from Hilary to read on the plane. I think I started reading another Illuminatus book earlier, and had been turned off by its confusing pomposity. This book was much humbler, I thought, though definitely hokey in parts. All considered, I would read the next one if I came across it.
Back to Top
The Fellowship of the Ring
So I saw the movie, finally, and the hobbits were so cute I decided finally to read the book. I had been meaning to for a long time but couldn't build up momentum. I enjoyed it, though I was constantly having to remind myself that the book was the original version and not the movie. The discrepancies were distracting. Especially the age of the hobbits. And the details of the elf treehouses... But I like the humility yet practicality of Frodo. And the book is definitely less scary than the movie. Aiee.
Back to Top
Four Past Midnight
This is the second time I've read this collection of four short novels. I picked it up to even out the Dostoyevsky and Kafka. I read "the Langoliers" while procrastinating on my final CS21 assignment. It was as creepy as I remembered, but still had a (relatively) happy ending. Entertaining, and a bit thought-provoking. Was it okay that the "bad guy" was dismissed so easily? What does this mean about how readers are expected to view sacrifice? I was disturbed that the purpose of keeping the "bad guy" around was to serve as a decoy so the "good" people could escape. It was foreshadowed to be something deeper, I thought. But this is Stephen King...
Back to Top
East of Eden
This remains one of my all-time favorite books, probably because it sounds so good when read aloud. I used to think I liked the novel because it didn't take itself too seriously, but I've since decided it's as pretentious as other Steinbeck. However, I happen to agree with most of the philosophy Steinbeck presents, so I don't mind. I particularly like the idea that God has given each human the choice to triumph over evil. Plus, I like Sam Hamilton's laid-back realism and Lee's acknowledgement that the life of a servant can be more rewarding than any alternative.
Back to Top
The Secret History
I finally read this book that Dan had been recommending to me forever when he gave it to me for my birthday. Apparently it had been recommended to him by Kam. I initially tried to save it for Thanksgiving break, so it wouldn't distract me from work, but I gave in. Once I reached about halfway, there was no turning back. The ending was kind of anticlimactic for me- I felt that the book had been building up to a conclusion that didn't quite happen. The farmer's death and the bacchanalian ritual were glossed over too quickly. I thought this was one of the creepiest parts of the story, and could have been exploited more. However, the characters were fairly likeable in the way they were supposed to be, I think, and the plot had plenty of twists. And reading about all those alcoholics also gave me unexpected cravings for vodka tonics.
Back to Top
Dandelion Wine
This is a little different than some of the other Bradbury books I've read. It's primarily nostalgic, but not always in an optimistic way. It's a collection of stories about the summer of 1928. Some are happy, some sad, most written in a reflective mood, and from the viewpoint of a 12-year-old, though not always. I highly recommend it, especially if the only Bradbury you've read is sci-fi.
Back to Top
The Illustrated Man
More traditional Bradbury- short stories dealing with missions to Mars, rockets, deep-space tragedy, et cetera. Still pensive, and on the whole not too uplifting, but this can be a good thing sometimes. A good mix of stories, as well.
Back to Top