A Summer Reading List, Part 3

Seeing as classes start tomorrow for me, I cannot think of any better time to finish up my thoughts on the books I read this summer. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here.

15. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I already explained how I feel about this book earlier, but I figure it cannot hurt to gush a little more. For those not in the know, this is one of my favorite novels of all time, and this summer was probably my fourth time reading it. It's interesting that I haven't read this book as many times as some others of my favorites – Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card have been read five or six times already, and nothing comes close to the number of times I have read Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton. But that doesn't mean I love this any less than them. The perfect blend of ridiculous sci-fi, insane humor, and the most logical faulty logic in writing anywhere come together to make this one of the greatest books ever written. I also hope to reread the rest of the series soon; I've read Restaurant at the End of the Universe a couple times, but I've only read all the others once each. It's possibly because the series takes on a very different feel in the fourth and fifth books. They're still good though! They're just a little more cynical than even the others.

16. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

After reading Good Omens, I knew I had to find some more stuff by Neil Gaiman, and my eyes naturally settled on his well known works American Gods and Anansi Boys. On the recommendation of a friend, I started with the latter. At first, I wasn't particularly sold on it. It wasn't bad by any means, but I couldn't get into it. The first half of the book took me about two weeks to read. But then the second half of the book took me about two hours. Once this book gets going, it really gets going. It's fun, it's fascinating, and the characters are great. I've always been a sucker for mythical themes in fiction, and this is certainly no exception. A great book, and I recommend it highly.

17. 1984 by George Orwell

As an English student in years past, people had always been shocked by some of the books I haven't read, the two chief ones being The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and 1984 by George Orwell. People have been pressuring me for years to read these books, saying that I couldn't truly call myself a student of literature without reading them. And since I eventually read The Great Gatsby at the beginning of this year, I decided it was time to finally get around to reading 1984. I'm glad I did. For me, it wasn't the most gripping book. I didn't particularly like or even care for any of the characters. But the book was tight. It was so well thought out, so thorough, that it almost felt real. There was some distance, obviously, but so many of the things that happened in this book seemed so logical that you couldn't help but wonder if these could be the natural progression of things. In my mind, of course, it would be basically impossible to pull off a society like that in today's world, and the book seemed to leave out exactly how a government like that could fully come to power. But in the world of the book, it is watertight in a way that is thoroughly impressive and terrifying. And when the events of the book are explained, when someone finally says why this all is happening, it's the most unsettling reveal I have ever read. This is a very, very good and thought-provoking book, but you probably did not need me to tell you that.

18. Henry IV part II by William Shakespeare

If you are a consistent reader of this blog, you might remember my thoughts on reading this play. But if you are not a consistent reader, and statistics indicate that you are not (Hello, Russia! I don't know why you are reading this!), then allow me to reiterate. I hated this play. I generally do like Shakespeare, and I enjoyed Henry IV part I, as difficult as it was. But I sorely disliked Henry IV part II. Perhaps some of the fault goes to the Shakespeare class I took recently, which informed me of the popularity of the character of Jack Falstaff, the charmingly insolent ruffian sidekick of Prince Hal (later King Henry V). Knowing that he was so well received makes me awfully suspicious of the merits of a play that gives him a much expanded role, similar to how a Hollywood studio might conceive of a sequel where a popular bit character is given greater prominence to the point where they focus on nothing else. In any case, the biggest problem with this play is the fact that almost nothing significant happens until the fifth act. That's honestly too much time to spend with nothing but Falstaff being sassy. It'd be like making a sequel series to a groundbreaking cartoon fantasy epic with a well-developed mythos and beloved characters and then spending half of it on playing sports and unjustified love triangles.

19. Steam Ticket: A Third Coast Review Volume XII Spring 2009

This might not completely count. This is a volume of a national literary magazine that is produced out of my university. I hope to get on the staff before I graduate, so I figured I should read some of it before I apply. It was good! I mean, there's not much else to say about it. There was an especially good story that imagined what R.L. Stine must be doing with his life now. It was equal parts depressing and hilarious. But there was a great mix of enjoyable poems and memorable stories. I look forward to looking into this magazine further.

20. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Every English program everywhere has that one book that shows up again and again in the curriculum. At my school, that book is Frankenstein. A friend of mine had to read it five times before she graduated, and I myself have been assigned it twice. It's kind of a bad thing, then, that I'd never read it all the way through. Oh sure, I read parts of it, but I jumped around a lot to catch up in class, filled in some blanks with SparkNotes. I even wrote two papers on it without ever reading it all the way through. So naturally, I decided that it would probably be in my best interest to finally read the whole thing from front to back. This decision was aided by a particularly inexpensive hardcover edition I found in the Barnes and Noble clearance section. I like this book. It's dense, it moves too quickly at times and too slowly at others, but all things considered, I like this book. The nice thing about it is that it lends itself to so many different readings, messages and explorations. As long as I'm going to have to study a book over and over again, it's nice to know that it's a book that can be taught in a number of different ways. It's not light reading, not by any means. But if you have the guts and the fortitude, it's a pretty damn good book.

21. The Importance of Being Earnest, and Four Other Plays by Oscar Wilde

Ah, Oscar Wilde. This collection, featuring The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and Salomé, has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while. I had been meaning to read it for the longest time, since the little I had read of The Importance of Being Earnest was fantastic. I finally did, and I must say it was a good decision. There is a reason Oscar Wilde is so well-regarded: his humor is incredibly tight and incredibly influential. I'd wager that the writers of Monty Python, Douglas Adams, and many others owe at least some of their inspiration to the man's writing. Granted, some of the quips get a little predictable after reading four comedies in a row, but the characters remain charming, the plots (while not necessarily groundbreaking) remain entertaining, and the plays remain thoroughly enjoyable. This collection also includes the tragedy of Salomé, the story of the daughter of King Herod and the death of John the Baptist. Some critics hate it, but as for me... Biblical themes? Again, I'm sold.

22. Selected Poems by Langston Hughes

If there is one poet who can challenge Billy Collins for the position of my favorite poet, it is Langston Hughes. His work is just so phenomenal, working in a number of recurring themes that overlap just as easily as they work on their own. This collection was selected by Hughes himself, arranged in several sections by either recurring themes or continuing stories. I've always loved his work on its own, and in this collection, it is absolutely sublime. The poetry I write has borrowed a lot from his style and influence, and his work will always be close to my heart. I may not be able to relate to the oppression and striving that he encountered and his poetry describes, but I will always, always love it. I thoroughly recommend this book, and all poetry by Hughes in general.

And here, with 22 books, is where my summer draws to a close. Tomorrow, I begin classes in my third from final semester as an undergraduate. I've changed a lot over the past year, and I've changed the way I view my work as recently as this summer. I've never read so much or written so much as I have in 2012, and a great deal of that is thanks to the reading and writing I have done almost every day this summer. I recommend all of these books very highly (well, except Henry IV part II, which I hated, or Kingdom Hearts, which was all right but not astounding) and I would love to hear what you think of them or what you have been reading lately.

A Summer Reading List, Part 2

Continuing from Wednesday, here's part 2 of my thoughts on all the books I read this summer.

8. Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

One of my weaknesses is young adult literature. Even better when it's kind of a romance. I can't help it! I've always really liked the way that sort of thing goes. Brooklyn, Burning is a really unique example of YA romance, however, and I really especially loved it. The romance isn't the only point in the book, large amounts of it concerning an arson investigation. Also, the main character's relationships with their parents, peers, and adult friends are very much important parts of the novel. A lot happens in a short space, and it happens really well. Plus, this book just hits a lot of the right emotional chords with me, with a lot of emphasis on music, movies, cities, and poetry. It took me a bit to warm up to everything, but when I did, I found myself engrossed in this book. A wonderful example of young adult, romance, and LGBT literature.

9. Rhinoceros and Other Plays by Eugene Ionesco

When I was in high school, I only ever got to perform in one play. And if it could only be one, I am glad it was Ionesco's Rhinoceros. Avant Garde absurdity about people turning into rhinoceroses? I'd never have looked at it before, but it exposed me to a lot of the things I love in studying literature. Plus it was just a hell of a lot of fun to perform. This was my first time rereading it since then, and it was such an enjoyment. This edition also includes The Leader, which is a lot of fun and not subtle at all, and The Future Is In Eggs or, It Takes All Kinds To Make A World, which is.... weird. But that's the point! Social commentary through batcrap craziness is something we could use a lot more of these days. Worth a read, but not for the faint of heart.

10. Looking for Alaska by John Green

There's that young adult stuff coming up again. This was great. After a long time of being told how awesome John Green is, I finally decided to see for myself. I watched some of his famous YouTube videos, and I really loved them, so it was only natural that I decided to go pick up some of his books from the library. I decided to start where he started, with Looking For Alaska. This is an excellent book. It took me a moment to get into it, because the characters were not what I was expecting. The biggest problem I've often found with YA literature is that my teenage years were rarely like it. But once I got past some of my preconceived notions, I actually found a lot in this book that hit home with me. I'm honestly kind of envious of the way John Green writes his characters: recognizable and consistent, very likeable, but also with a lot of realistic depth. This will certainly be one of my inspirations as a writer.

11. Ballistics: Poems by Billy Collins

My first exposure to Billy Collins was through his appearances on the incredible radio variety show, A Prairie Home Companion. My second exposure to Billy Collins was through his wonderful book, The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems. My third was through so many literature classes. He's a fantastic poet, and he writes meaningful, accessible poems in a literary climate that doesn't like to call someone a true poet unless they deliberately obscure any sense of actual point in smug, jumbled pretense. That might be a generalization, but I assure you, Billy Collins is still a breath of fresh air among a lot of today's poetry. This particular collection does seem much more melancholy than usual, but melancholy has never been something Collins has shied away from. I might not recommend Ballistics as much as The Trouble With Poetry, but I assure you that reading it would not be a mistake.

12. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Well, I can't acquaint myself with John Green without reading his most popular book, now can I? The Fault in Our Stars was one of those books that really appealed to me as a reader and a writer. It has this wonderful focus on literature and the way people can develop personal relationships with books, which probably is a good part of what makes this book so beloved. Besides that, the main characters are very enjoyable, and their unique insight to the nature of mortality doesn't take away any of their familiarity at all. Plus, who can resist a novel that discusses the nature of Swedish hip-hop? (protip: check out Movits!)

13. Happy to Be Here by Garrison Keillor

This is a collection of short stories by one of my heroes: Garrison Keillor, the creator of A Prairie Home Companion. It was something of a slow read for me, as short story compilations tend to be, but I very much enjoyed it. A great mix of subtle comedy, absurd humor, and distinct melancholy fills this volume, just like all the best things Keillor has done. The best stories in this volume are the ones about radio – well, they were to me – but the others are good as well. There's a story that wonders what Washington D.C. would be like if it were more like Hollywood, there's a staff report for the world's least qualified baseball team, and there is a great tale about a young man in a high school punk band as they debate whether or not they should bite the head off of a live chicken. It's a great book, and even if you just read it a story at a time, I recommend it.

14. The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allen Poe

I was browsing the “Last Chance” bargain bin in a Barnes and Noble when I came across this really lovely publication of some of Poe's poems. I really liked the visual style, and I knew I needed to further acquaint myself with this legendary writer, so I picked it up. Though it wasn't the best book I read all summer, and wasn't the best poetry collection I ever read, I still very much enjoyed it. I don't really have much to say about Poe's poetry - I like it, but I'm not in love with it. Besides, what can I say here that hasn't been said much more eloquently by people who studied his work much more thoroughly? I will say that it definitely piqued my curiosity to further experience his writing. And again, it was very attractive, visually.

That's part 2! Part 1 is A Summer Reading List, part 1. Part 3 will be up on Monday!

A Summer Reading List, Part 1

This blog has been a little bit neglected for the past couple weeks, much to my own disappointment. I've just been very busy with preparing for my return to school, and sometimes that got in the way of the writing and updating I've been meaning to do daily. I have been doing it some, though, which I am very glad of. And I know neglecting this won't be a habit; updating this blog and daily reading and writing have been a source of great pride for me this summer. I will continue to do so.

But since summer draws to a close, I figured it would be a good idea to share my thoughts on what I have been reading over the course of May through August.

1. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
2. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

I've always really enjoyed Sherlock Holmes since I was a kid. Growing up, I read a short story here or there, watched adaptations on Wishbone, passively enjoyed a weekday morning cartoon that placed him in the 22^nd Century, things like that. And since then, I have loved the BBC's current adaptation, and have found myself pleasantly surprised by the films starring the incomparable Robert Downey, Jr. So this year, I managed to track down a few of the books and read them. Honestly, these two books could not be more different from each other. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of some of the short stories, and each one is quick, direct, and concise. It's not bad, but sometimes it feels like the story ends just as it gets interesting. The Hound of the Baskervilles, on the other hand, wonderfully takes its time. There is a sense of enjoyment that comes from just the nature of the narration, the way words flow together and describe things in such a slow, lush way. This novel definitely takes the reader along with it, which stands in stark contrast to the short stories often featuring an arrest long before most of the evidence is even shown. I did enjoy both books, but it is not a stretch for me to recommend The Hound of the Baskervilles much more highly.

3 and 4. Kingdom Hearts volumes 1 and 2 by Shiro Ama

Not everything I read this summer was high literature. In this case, some of it was a manga adaptation of a popular video game franchise. In this case, it was Kingdom Hearts, a JRPG video game crossover between Square Enix's blockbuster Final Fantasy franchise and assorted Walt Disney films. If that sounds like an odd choice of things to crossover, it is. But the games work well due to enjoyable gameplay and beloved characters. You kind of lose the first half of that with a manga adaptation, though. But I can't really give this much of a review, since manga is a difficult medium for me to really get into. The way storytelling moves along in often cluttered pages is not something I find easy to read, at least when it comes to action series. But fans of the games and manga enthusiasts might have a different take on this.

5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I've been meaning to read this for the longest time, and I am quite glad I did. It was a very enjoyable read. It's always an interesting experience reading something that you know only from adaptations. I was surprised to find that Alice was not as sensible and blameless in things happening as some versions have suggested. Altogether it is a very fun children's book, and it can be read as a very interesting study on post-modernism, regardless of what the original intent was. Hey, I never said I wasn't pretentious.

6. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Though I read a number of good books this summer, if it came right down to it, this would be my favorite of them. I adored this book from beginning to end, and I had troubles putting it down. When the final page ended, I went back and read the publication information, praise blurbs, and every single other word in the book, just so that I didn't have to stop reading it. I could get into the plot, but that would take so long, and there are probably many other places that can summarize it coherently. I can say though that the characters are fantastic, the plot is great, its interpretation of Revelations is really interesting, and it is extremely funny when it tries to be funny, incredibly exciting when it tries to be exciting, and incomparably heartwarming basically all the time. Read it, you fools!

7. The Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa

This is the seventh book in a series of Japanese light novels that I am thoroughly enjoying. There are actually somewhere around ten books in the series, but they are being officially translated into English and released gradually. In any case, this was probably the best entry in the series since the fourth book. The pacing was good, and I was pleased to see almost every character get some development over the course of the book. A lot of the books will focus on just a few characters, or feature stories that really only develop one, but this novel managed to grow the roles of each main character and even one of the minor characters. A lot of questions are answered in this volume, and more than a few more are raised. This is definitely a great book in a great series.

That's the first seven books on this list, making this part 1 of 3! I'll continue this on Friday.