If you get a degree in English, undergrad or graduate for that matter, for the rest of your days people will ask you this one very simple question, "What book should I read?"
Honestly, I have no idea what book YOU should be reading, but I can let you know what I've recently been reading. How about that compromise?
On the sidebar of my blog I have a little icon letting you know what I am currently reading in my free time, but I thought I would use this space to list off the books I've read throughout 2011, with a quick little rundown of what you might discover within. I AM NOT A BOOK REVIEWER. Be warned.
OH, and be sure to check out my list from 2010, or my list from 2011 for even more nerd-dom!
*****
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. It's crazy long, so if a long book frightens you I'd suggest reading it on an eReader.
At the end of the day, this book is full of everything Wild West. Indians, cowboys, gun fights, whores, cattle, death and struggle. The characters are remarkably lovable, and sadly before I knew it the story was over. If the idea of the Wild West has ever fascinated you, you MUST read this book. I sort of want to read it again...
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
When I read the back cover of this book and the endorsements on the front cover I thought I'd really love this book. Turns out I couldn't wait for it to end. I kept waiting for something, anything to happen, and by the time if finally did the book was pretty much over and I just wanted it to end so I could move on to a new book.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
There was a big part of me that didn't want to love this book. The hype of it all. Are these books actually good? I mean, millions of people like the Twilight series, so we know that just because the masses are on board doesn't mean a book is any good.
Turns out I had nothing to fear. This was one of the most interesting books I've read in a while. I devoured it and found myself trying to find moments anywhere that I could keep reading. Suzanne Collins created a world I never could have dreamed of with characters that you can't help but want to fight for. The minute the book ended I had to force myself to stop and take a break since the urge to immediately begin reading book two was so strong. I can't wait to see what happens next in this horrible world Collins has created.
The only lasting question I find myself having is, am I as a reader intended to be just as bad as the creators of the Hunger Games? I was so captivated by every twist and turn in the games, wanting to see what would happen next, just as the creators of this horrible game intend and just as Katniss despised. It just keeps having me wonder if the reader is supposed to feel a little guilty for loving the drama of it all. Wouldn't Katniss actually want us to be disgusted by it all instead of wanting more?
From a Buick 8 by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The first Stephen King book I ever read was IT in the 6th grade. Afterwards I became a fan of Stephen King and his severely twisted mind and spent a large portion of my junior high days attempting to read everything he wrote. Even with my love of Stephen King it took me a really long time to ever marginally enjoy this book. Maybe it was the fact that it was so centrally focused about a car, a killing, black hole, vortex like car (and I'm not a car person) that kept me from getting into it. Maybe it was the fact that the book I finished before it was the Hunger Games, thereby promising anything you read afterwards will disappoint. All I know if that it didn't have the usual Stephen King feel to me. Not until the very end at least, and by then I was more interested in finishing it so I could move onto a new book.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
WOW. When "Hunger Games" ended I had no idea what the following two books could hold. Would they simply follow Katniss and her life as a victor? Would Prim end up in the games? I assumed that the only logical step for book two would be watching the struggle Katniss faced as she mentored two children from her district she might never see again.
Clearly that isn't what Collins had in mind! This book was just as engrossing for me as the first book. I found I couldn't stop reading until I knew what was going to happen next. With the ending of book two I won't pause to jump into book three. I feel like I know how Collins will resolve these massive issues that have cropped up, and yet, I fear she wont pick a happy ending for this characters. Don't mind me while I dive in.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is one of those series that when it ends you find yourself sitting there wondering where you go from here. I have loved books since I was a little kid, and yet it has been longer than I can remember that I read a book that hooked me in so deep I actually spent 9+ hours in a single day just trying to finish the book without getting bored.
I will admit that as the book went on I found myself becoming more and more irritated with Katniss as a character. I wanted to really empathize with Katniss considering how much she'd been through over the course of the books, and yet, I found myself empathizing with Peeta before Katniss. Was that intended by the author? Am I off base?
Either way, I loved the story, it felt more like watching tv than reading, and I am actually sort of sad that I don't have a book four to jump right into.
Want to know EVEN MORE about the books I've read, am reading, and even maybe the ones on my to-read shelf? Then hop over to my goodreads account and lets be book nerd friends!
Dying for even more Accidental Olympian book nonsense? Well, would you like to hear a funny story about how goodreads made me look like an idiot? You do? Great. I hope you enjoy every minute of my humiliation.
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