What makes the perfect book? Is it the story that's well told? What about the beautiful language the author uses to describe the events that unfold? What about unforgettable characters? Does it require all of these things and then more?
I've read many books in my life. Some of them I've glanced through (Twilight anyone?) and some I've had to savor and go back and re-read time and again just so I understand what it is the author is trying to tell me. Some I really do love. Some I consider brain candy. Each serves their own purpose, and yet I've never learned what the perfect book is. Does it only apply to fiction or can non-fiction works join the ranks of their novel brothers and sisters? How will I know when I come upon that one work that changes me forever?
This weekend I saw some of the earliest writings of civilizations at the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago (I'll post more about that later in the week), and it really got me thinking about how important the written language is to the development of civilization. What will be the surviving written language of our generation? Our contribution? Texting?
Top 5 Book for Last 5(ish) Years:
Suite Francaise by Irene Nairovsky
Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Trouble with Poetry by Billy Collins
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Monday, November 17, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
About Last Night...
Have you ever had one of those days that you wake up and immediately think, "Can't it be tomorrow?" That was my yesterday. It was crazy busy and I felt like I was going from one thing to another and I really needed to and wanted to do everything I had on my schedule, but I still didn't have enough hours in the day to complete all my tasks.
But then came the two hours that made my whole day worth it. My sister and I (along with 200 of our closest Nerdfighter frieds) got to spend two hours at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL with John Green in celebration of the release of his newest book PaperTowns. Like many people, I didn't start reading his books until after I was introduced (by my sister Kathryn who loves all great YA lit) to his and his brother Hank's vlog Brotherhood 2.0 early last year, but I really respect what he has to say. It was fun and relaxing and really a good time to be able to spend with someone who has something interesting to say. Although it did get a little dicey when John decided to stand on the swivel chair on wheels to speak to all of us. I've never been to a book signing/author talk where the author has been so aware of his audience and that he really does a responsibility towards them. Thanks John!
Congratulations to Kathryn for finishing her book!!! I'm so proud of you!
But then came the two hours that made my whole day worth it. My sister and I (along with 200 of our closest Nerdfighter frieds) got to spend two hours at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL with John Green in celebration of the release of his newest book PaperTowns. Like many people, I didn't start reading his books until after I was introduced (by my sister Kathryn who loves all great YA lit) to his and his brother Hank's vlog Brotherhood 2.0 early last year, but I really respect what he has to say. It was fun and relaxing and really a good time to be able to spend with someone who has something interesting to say. Although it did get a little dicey when John decided to stand on the swivel chair on wheels to speak to all of us. I've never been to a book signing/author talk where the author has been so aware of his audience and that he really does a responsibility towards them. Thanks John!
Congratulations to Kathryn for finishing her book!!! I'm so proud of you!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Ummm...
Lack of focus.
I need to focus at the task at hand.
My brain is a million miles away right now.
I really should get down to the business at hand.
Jump from one thing to another to another.
I have things that I need to accomplish.
I can’t remember why I was doing.
I think that’s why I have trouble reading only one book at a time. I don’t remember the last time that I’ve only been reading only one. It’s not because I don’t like the book that I’m reading now, it’s because I have so many other things that I want to do at the same time.
So much to do, so little time.
I need to focus at the task at hand.
My brain is a million miles away right now.
I really should get down to the business at hand.
Jump from one thing to another to another.
I have things that I need to accomplish.
I can’t remember why I was doing.
I think that’s why I have trouble reading only one book at a time. I don’t remember the last time that I’ve only been reading only one. It’s not because I don’t like the book that I’m reading now, it’s because I have so many other things that I want to do at the same time.
So much to do, so little time.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
My First Offering...
Yesterday I finished Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass in the His Dark Materials trilogy. When I bought the book I wasn’t expecting very much to be honest, but as the movie is coming out later this year and as a general rule I like to read the book before I watch the movie, I picked up The Golden Compass a couple of months ago. Back to the book…I had a business trip the last two days (more about that in a bit) and I took it to read. It was far more than I expected to find.
Brief plot synopsis is that a young girl Lyra Belaqua lives in an alternate version of late Victorian Earth where the Church rules all and where the United States doesn’t exist, but many technologies of that era are coming in to common use. She’s been raised by the scholars at Jordan Collage at Oxford University where her uncle Lord Asriel has left her while he does his exploring in the Artic. He returns with fantastic proof of Dust and convinces Oxford to sponsor another expedition just as roomers of a dark threat begins to threaten Lyra.
I found the story engrossing and the narrative really kept a really good pace the entire time and I genuinely found the characters engaging and sympathetic. But what is the real driving force behind at least this first book (haven’t even looked that the other two yet) is the concepts that form the frame-work in which the story is set. Pullman set up Lyra’s world as an alternate Earth to our own that we live in and by the end, I was expecting to hear of strange invaders from the Arctic. I loved the subtlety that the book uses. I know it was written for a young adult audience, but it really is about consequences for everyone and choices that we all make in our lives. Unfortunately we don’t have alternate worlds to relive our lives, but we just have to make the most out of the ones we currently do have and try to live the live we’ve got the best we can.
So I promised to say something about my business trip. It’s not so much about my trip as it is about where I stayed. I was at a large chain business class hotel where they put me on a “Quiet Floor.” When I got off the elevator they even had a sign that told me so. It even had the following words:
The hotel promises that the following will not be staying on your floor
· Tour groups
· Bands
· Circus animals
Now as far as needing my sleep, I really appreciated the first two. But when I got to the third line, my thought was, “I’ve stayed at this hotel before and not been on a quiet floor. Was there a chance I was sleeping next to a tiger?” Seriously! I had no idea that circus animals actually stay IN the hotel. Don’t they have like—trailers or something. I mean even the “celebrities” on Dancing with the Stars get one and they’re almost the same, right? So next time I stay at a hotel, I’m for sure going to ask about their circus animal policy when I check in. Cause I sure as heck don’t want any camels crashing through the walls in the middle of the night.
That makes me wonder about what sort of things people really bring into hotels that they would never bring into their own homes. I did watch Welcome to the Parker on Brovo and I know people will do things like have really drunk ping-pong tournaments and ruin Gene Autry's house, but I’m not really the adventurous type in that way at all because I’m usually way too tired by the time I get back to my room because all my adventures usually happen outside of the hotel room.
Brief plot synopsis is that a young girl Lyra Belaqua lives in an alternate version of late Victorian Earth where the Church rules all and where the United States doesn’t exist, but many technologies of that era are coming in to common use. She’s been raised by the scholars at Jordan Collage at Oxford University where her uncle Lord Asriel has left her while he does his exploring in the Artic. He returns with fantastic proof of Dust and convinces Oxford to sponsor another expedition just as roomers of a dark threat begins to threaten Lyra.
I found the story engrossing and the narrative really kept a really good pace the entire time and I genuinely found the characters engaging and sympathetic. But what is the real driving force behind at least this first book (haven’t even looked that the other two yet) is the concepts that form the frame-work in which the story is set. Pullman set up Lyra’s world as an alternate Earth to our own that we live in and by the end, I was expecting to hear of strange invaders from the Arctic. I loved the subtlety that the book uses. I know it was written for a young adult audience, but it really is about consequences for everyone and choices that we all make in our lives. Unfortunately we don’t have alternate worlds to relive our lives, but we just have to make the most out of the ones we currently do have and try to live the live we’ve got the best we can.
So I promised to say something about my business trip. It’s not so much about my trip as it is about where I stayed. I was at a large chain business class hotel where they put me on a “Quiet Floor.” When I got off the elevator they even had a sign that told me so. It even had the following words:
The hotel promises that the following will not be staying on your floor
· Tour groups
· Bands
· Circus animals
Now as far as needing my sleep, I really appreciated the first two. But when I got to the third line, my thought was, “I’ve stayed at this hotel before and not been on a quiet floor. Was there a chance I was sleeping next to a tiger?” Seriously! I had no idea that circus animals actually stay IN the hotel. Don’t they have like—trailers or something. I mean even the “celebrities” on Dancing with the Stars get one and they’re almost the same, right? So next time I stay at a hotel, I’m for sure going to ask about their circus animal policy when I check in. Cause I sure as heck don’t want any camels crashing through the walls in the middle of the night.
That makes me wonder about what sort of things people really bring into hotels that they would never bring into their own homes. I did watch Welcome to the Parker on Brovo and I know people will do things like have really drunk ping-pong tournaments and ruin Gene Autry's house, but I’m not really the adventurous type in that way at all because I’m usually way too tired by the time I get back to my room because all my adventures usually happen outside of the hotel room.
Why would someone really need to bring their 500 pound gorilla with them on a business trip? Would the baby elephant really need to stay on the pull-out couch and watch the television all night? Do the dancing poodles really need to have access to the mini-bar? Okay, for the last one, I’d had to give it a definite yes because even this bitch needs a kings size Snicker's bar at 2 am sometimes.
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