Book Reader's Blog

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

Book Reader — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:11:55 +0000

Most likely I did not follow Helen’s train of thought. Well, certainly I did not. The book made me so depressed that I almost abandoned it just to stay on the optimistic side of things. Maybe the final message is “it’s worth it”, but I certainly am worried for Alice Sebold’s life–if there is any resemblance between author’s writing and their life, we must be worried about Alice’s will to live. I read Lovely Bones a couple of years ago, I skipped Lucky, but I knew the history behind the old amphitheater in Thornden Park in Syracuse, where, BTW I always parked my car while spending a few years at Syracuse University.

I was thinking about Michael Cunningham. I was thinking about all suicidal writers. If you feel compelled into going into such direction, read the book.

The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho

Book Reader — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:48:33 +0000

I find it hard to summarize my thoughts after finishing reading the book just a while ago. In my previous post I mentioned that the author found a very natural unobtrusive way of touching important subjects, such as how divorces are treated by the catholic church. There are of course more:

balance between male and female in the world; balance between the old (safe, but uneventful) and the new (exciting, but dangerous)
state-forced fruitlessness of humanitarian help for countries in need
finding, or re-discovering, a human being in ourselves

I think I will stop here–the last item is the most important one for me. And certainly, The Witch of Portobello will be among the books I will return to one of these days…

The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho (reading in progress)

Book Reader — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:51:45 +0000

I really like the book!!! The formula of a series of interviews helps touch many important subjects, and make us, readers, think about them.

divorce and church
trance and its effects on productivity
how much of ourselves we lose just to become more efficient (hand-written vs. machine duplicated word)

I’m sure there will be much more. I’m at 1/3 of the book.

Abandoning Books

Book Reader — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:25:49 +0000

Am I too lazy to invest more time into potentially good books that don’t absorb me too much at the beginning?

I just decided I would not finish two books I think belong to “crime” genre: Les Standiford’s Done Deal and Brian Freeman’s Immoral. I think they belong, because I cannot be sure… I stopped reading after a brief period, the book just did not catch my attention. I was close to abandoning The Witch of Portobello, but luckily I persisted, and so far I’m glad I did.

Do you often abandon books at the beginning of the story? Did people tell you that you had missed a great story that would develop just a tiny bit later?

The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn

Book Reader — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 07:44:57 +0000

I have to say that I was close to putting the book away, but in the end finished it. I don’t particularly like so much silliness and “high society” parody. The book was for me just too childish. That’s it. Pretty short.

Eventide by Kent Haruf (abandoned)

Book Reader — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:07:00 +0000

I’ve dropped the book after some 1/5th of the story. I kept asking myself: so what? what is that described for? what’s the purpose? Don’t see too much point describing ordinary lives of ordinary people…

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Book Reader — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:01:50 +0000

Not a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable read. Surely good material for a movie.

A man and his home…

I personally don’t like going to circus at all, but I can understand the passion it may bring out in others. Funny how this topic (circus) is seldom covered in contemporary fiction. I recall only one book in which it was as important as in Water for Elephants, that is Irving’s A Son of the Circus… You?

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (reading in progress)

Book Reader — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:54:15 +0000

hah, just on the way to work on the train I thought…

a being who understands Polish is acting dull and stupid until given alcohol

now, that’s a novel use of what CW says

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (reading in progress)

Book Reader — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:13:43 +0000

Now, that’s my favorite kind of books. A story of a lifetime, with a lot of human-human interactions and powerful feelings. Having unexpectedly lost my father this year I surely can understand some of Jacob (Jakub) thoughts. A good buy, I enjoy every cent I spent on the book.

Amazon.com–thanks for the custom recommendation. The recommendation engine, after some training indeed is right on target.

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (Books 5 though 7)

Book Reader — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:08:08 +0000

Reading all HP books in a single go has one huge advantage. You’re immersed in this magical world so deeply that it’s difficult at times to go back to reality. Finishing the final book was indeed a bit sad experience: “what… the whole adventure already over?”

Well, I knew some things about the final volume that must have happened, and some true nature of the characters. No spoilers here, so can’t give you details.

Overall: a big project, a little too slow/boring at times, but definitely impressing with its depth of details. Way to go, despite what some critics say.