50 Done! (sorta)

Okay okay....so I couldn't take it anymore... I skipped ahead...=P

Somehow all the books we picked in the beginning of our list (I felt) were kinda dry! I never finished American Pastoral or the A Death in the Family....I kept on renewing and finally the library said screw you and I had to return them. (actually now I have a couple of late fees...whoops!)

So anyways I read Fahrenheit 451 and I liked it! I was at Barnes & Nobles and I saw it on the table and I hadn't been reading for weeks...so I decided what the heck better to read something than nothing (even if I bend the rules just a bit!) So also another book by Ray Bradbury, and again his writing style is very interesting, super descriptive. I did like the book, not loved, but I thought it kept me pretty interested and wanting to know more. I did not love the ending but what can you do?! AND plus side...the book was fairly short. So it didn't drag ON AND ON!

I also bought Lolita...so maybe onwards to that?

I FINISHED THE BLIND ASSASSIN!!!!

So... I thought it was wayyyyy longer than it needed to be, but in the end I really liked it. I mean it definitely dragged on and half the time I was like what was the point of this story. Also, very very very depressing at times...

Side note... the side story, that after the conclusion I figured out was told by Alex Thomas, about the mutilated girls and all that... completely unnecessary... like added nothing to the plot, seriously! Couldn't they just have said yea.. "she would keep coming back for his stories...".

Umm so yea if you can get to the end, the end is pretty good!

Ok so what's next?!

ohh boy ohh boy

So... grad school and reading for fun is a lot harder than I had originally thought. I am half way done with Winesburg, Ohio, and I just can't keep reading it... it's sooo boring and so weird... All the characters are so messed up in their own ways. However, not messed up that it's kinda interesting but messed up and maybe just not well written about.

I just read your posts and you seemed to really like Blind Assassin so I'm going to skip to that one for now (by miracle I'll get a whole bunch of free time at some point and go back to book 4). Since we both really liked Fountainhead, I figure we have the same tastes. Thus tomorrow I will start book #5, and my goal is to finish it in the next two weeks! (You said it was long)

its mad(i)ness!

unfortuntately havent finished another book thus the delay in posting...but on the bright side ive actually been reading TWO books from the list.

american pastoral and a death in the family

completely unintentionally though...forgot one book at davids and i didnt want to get even more behind so it was on to the next one!

so far i like both...at first i liked death in the family more but now i like american pastoral...so i still keep switching back and forth between the two!

okay...mini goal to finish one book by sunday night!

Number 6 (sorta...skipping 4 and 5) done!

Lera, where you at?!

Blind Assassin finito! That was a pretty long one and probably the most interesting of the books I've read so far (not including Fountainhead). But still not a must read from my perspective.

There were basically 3 different story lines going on at once and so it would skip around from one story to the next, which was good because I wanted to know what was going on with the other story so I wanted to keep reading. But since it was so long I fell into my usual pattern of reading and then napping, reading and then napping... =]

BUT maybe that was also because I was reading on the plane to Kauai (whoo whoo was so much fun!) and 5 hours is a long time to be continuously reading! I think I've probably only done that for harry potter =P

Anwyhoo back to the book...at first I was kind of confused with the story line and what was going on, but as you read further things start to make a lot more sense and you begin to connect the dots. But for whatever reason I still didnt love this book...I think it might also be because of the circumstances....the story takes place pre and post WWII so women did not have a lot of rights. Which I guess in general just pisses me off. I know it happened and things are different now...yada yada...but just the idea that women had no way to control their future unless they had a man...argh!! How obnoxious!

Alright here's hoping American Pastoral is more my cup of tea...

Number 3 Done!

Finally finished today! It took several naps between reading and some additional weird dreams....don't know what thats about!

Anywhoo I did not love this book....and actually I feel like the author was not a fan of women. The women characters were always...not evil...not wrong...just something was always off about them. They never seemed to be portrayed in a positive light. Now a lot of the characters (including male) were probably not portrayed in a positive light. And maybe thats just because its life and everyone has their goods and bads...and maybe I'm just remembering the bads?

Well whatever the case...onward to the next one. Actually next next one. I went to the library last week and the next 2 on the list were both checked out! I'll check again but for now I'm skipping ahead to the Blind Assassin!

My Subconscious Must Be Trying to Tell Me Something...

Winesburg, Ohio pg 119

Okay...so this time I have a sorta good reason! I was reading this book over the weekend and I dozed off...and then I had a nightmare!

So basically in my dream/nightmare I was still me, but now living in a small town (even smaller than Danville small town) and my sister and mom were coming into (my?) house telling me to be careful and to watch out for (something?!) Anyways it was just weird and creepy, I woke up feeling super anxious and nervous! So needless to say I have not wanted to pick up this book since...

Random Side Note: I saw in my other reading ventures (In Style, whoo hoo!) Emma Watson is reading Fountainhead right now! She obviously got the idea from us =]

Phew! 2 out fo 50!

Well I think this book is geared towards boys, so being girls maybe this is why we didn't relate?

Overall...I didn't love it...didn't hate it. It was just like okay, it's a story. I thought it was kind of slow in the beginning but the story picked up and I wanted to know more about what was going on. But then how it all played out in the end, just seemed...maybe a bit kitschy...a bit anti-climatic?

I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it...but I can't say that this is a must-read in my book either.

So onward we go! Eek, don't think I'm going to be meeting the goal of 4 books by end of January...so 6 books in February it is! =]

Book 2, Down!

Umm, well I guess we have something to look forward too, Lolita I mean. That is totally a joke, umm we'll see maybe if it's really bad we can switch it out.

So not sure if I liked this book, The Fountainhead was much much much better, I mean this book was about a third in length but took me the same amount of time to finish! I think it's for a younger crowd, or maybe just not my style of book.

I won't go into what I thought was lame till you finish it. But, ohh book #3 is next!

Slowing down...

Something Wicked This Way Comes, pg 28

I seem to have hit a slow patch after finishing Fountainhead! So I went to the library last week, renewed my library card, tried to remember how to use the computers/check out system (haven't been to this library since middle school!) and I got the next 2 books and they have been patiently waiting for me to open them ever since.

Sooo finally I opened Something Wicked last night. Its been pretty good so far, Bradbury has a pretty interesting/unique writing style. At first it kind of caught me off guard and I had to reread a couple paragraphs (basically doing a double take) before I got the hang of it.

But now I am home again and feeling lazy and not particularly wanting to read. Eeek! Hopefully motivation finds me very soon!

PS. Lera, someone else agreed with me and said that Lolita is about a pedophile!!!

1 out of 50...done!

Wow Lera! I still love the book. Sure, I can see your perspective and how it gets a bit "preachy", but I loved that the two "misunderstood" character were given their happy ending. But I guess that's typical for me, I am a sucker for happy endings. Sure it sucks for the other characters, but at the same time Peter continually made the wrong decisions. He destined his life by the decisions he made. He was always a coward, afraid to think originally and could only follow the society's mindset.

Of course near the end of the book, I did find myself skimming through the lengthy speech...I guess I took everything with a grain of salt. I thought it was an inspiring book about original thought, sticking to your beliefs and being true to yourself.

Now...to find my library card and 49 more books!

Book #1 Finished!

Well... I have to say I liked the book more in the beginning than I did its finish. Ayn Rand really did live up to her reputation as a liberalist. She really tries to ingrain that towards the end, and personally I found it a bit annoying or just too much.

For example Katie, the selfless, wanting to help the needy, ends up being alone. Peter, although sleezy, still not a horrible person, also ends up in ruins. While Dominique and Howard, the two most selfish, end up with the "happy ending".

The book begins with a fictional tale, but ends with a lesson on why the liberalist approach to life is superior. I do not completely agree with it, and thus I thought the ending was not very exciting. While I agree with some of her ideals, I didn't think that the last 50-60 pages should have focused solely on them. I now understand why people start ready Ayn Rand books but never finish them.

Peter Keating!

Since Madi wrote about Roark, and this book is about two architects, I wanted to introduce him a little as well. Keating is the type of character that you just feel bad for, and not because he's not successful, but because he's such a sleaze and deep down I don't think he's such a bad guy. I really do think it's because of his whack job mother who just tricks him into being such as sleaze in which he does atrocious things to get ahead in his career.

His mother was the one to convince him out of marrying someone! How crazy is that? Not only that but she insinuated that he wait until he gets partner in the firm, knowing very well that one of the partner's was on his death bed, which he would "hopefully" then replace. She's just so evil! You should really read the way she talks to Peter, I just keep yelling at the book, "don't listen to her!"

There are also two relationships Peter is in, one with the sweetest, most naive, girl Katie. Another character you just can't not feel bad for. The other is Francon's, his boss and one of the partner is the firm, daughter Dominique. Dominique is the beautiful type that as Madi describes as soulless. Although I don't think she's soulless I think she's just set in her ways, and just a very strong character. I actually really like her character, although my opinion might change as I read further into the book. She just seems to know what she wants in life and no one can influence her one way or another.

Now back to Peter's sleaziness, so he proposes to both! That's right both! Katie first, who accepts. Then while Katie doesn't know it he proposes to Dominique, who refuses. Arrr so frustrating! Well he just doesn't know what he wants in life, really all he know's he will be the best architect out there, and not necessarily because he wants it, but because that's what his mother wants.

Howard Roark, Architect

The Fountainhead, page 200

So far, I love this book! Lera and I were actually just discussing this while at dinner with one of our friends (shoutout to Ushma!) And since this little project of ours is off to such a great start, I thought I should post about it!

Now obviously I have never written about a book (okay maybe in high school, but that really doesn't count) so I will give this a go. I had heard good things about the book and had even read a couple teaser pages. I had been intrigued but didn't really have high expectations. Delving deeper in, I found myself not wanting to stop! Its not even that the storyline is that interesting (the journey of 2 architects careers doesn't sound like it would be a page turner) but I feel so connected with the characters that I want to know how their story turns out. It feels like watching your friends in their life journeys and of course you want the very best for them, except in this scenario you have no influence and all you can do is helplessly watch(read) what happens next!

Personally, for me I loved when Roark gets his first commission. I felt such a sense of satisfaction for him! In my mind I was going Boo-Yah and dancing a little dance. It is so clear that Roark loves what he does and he is such a purist and cannot steer away from his ideals and beliefs in architecture. And he is faced in a time when his beliefs in architecture were mocked and disregarded, he faced countless rejections, and still persevered despite it all. He finally has someone who gets it. And not just anybody, a client, a client willing to take a chance and launch his career. Then he gets handed his first check and not only does he have the satisfaction of seeing it addressed to his own name but he sees probably the most single defining word in the entire world for him. Howard Roark, Architect.

Final List!

Final List:

1. Fountainhead
2. Something Wicked This Way Comes
3. Winesburg, Ohio
4. American Pastoral
5. The Assistant
6. The Blind Assassin
7. The Crying of Lot 49
8. A Dance to Music of Time
9. A Death in the Family
10. Deliverance
11. The French Lieutenant's Woman
12. Go Tell it on The Mountain
13. Gravity's Rainbow
14. Housekeeping
15. I, Claudius
16. Loving
17. Neuroromancer
18. Never Let Me Go
19. Possession
20. The Sheltering Sky
21. Snow Crash
22. Revolutionary Road
23. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
24. Their Eyes were Watching God
25. David Copperfield
26. Madame Bovary
27. The Waste Land
28. Lolita
29. A Clockwork Orange
30. The Adventures of Augie March
31. Dr. Zhivago
32. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
33. The Tipping Point
34. Catch 22
35. The Corrections
36. The Death of the Heart
37. Gone with the Wind
38. Mrs. Dalloway
39. Tropic of Cancer
40. Crime and Punishment
41. Wuthering Heights
42. The Portrait Lady
43. The Kite Runner
44. The Inferno
45. The Handmaids Tale
46. Atonement
47. Midnights Children
48. Ubik
49. Naked Lunch
50. Fahrenheit 451

Short time goal: finish the first 4 books by February 1st!

Madi's Picks

Oops! Sorry I'm late in posting! I had picked them out on Sunday but still had to edit them down =P

1. American Pastoral
2. The Assistant
3. The Blind Assassin
4. The Crying of Lot 49
5. A Dance to Music of Time
6. A Death in the Family
7. Deliverance
8. The French Lieutenant's Woman
9. Go Tell it on The Mountain
10. Gravity's Rainbow
11. Housekeeping
12. I, Claudius
13. Loving
14. Neuroromancer
15. Never Let Me Go
16. Possession
17. The Sheltering Sky
18. Slaughterhouse Five
19. Snow Crash
20. Revolutionary Road
21. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
22. Their Eyes were Watching God
23. David Copperfield
24. Madame Bovary
25. The Waste Land
    

Lera's Pick of 25 Books

I have comprised my list of 25 books. It was little more difficult than I had originally thought, but this is my final result. Here is hoping to not many more revisions on it!

1. Lolita
2. Animal Farm
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. The Adventures of Augie March
5. Dr. Zhivago
6. Ulysses
7. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
8. The Tipping Point
9. Catch 22
10. The Corrections
11. The Death of the Heart
12. Deliverance
13. Gone with the Wind
14. The Grapes of Wrath
15. Mrs. Dalloway
16. Never Let Me Go
17. Possession
18. Tropic of Cancer
19. Crime and Punishment
20. Wuthering Heights
21. The Portrait of a Lady
22. The Kite Runner
23. The Color Purple
24. The Inferno
25. The Handmaids Tale