Books, I love them! I love it even more when I find books containing characters that I can lose myself in. Notable books on my favorite list include Lonesome Dove, The Thorn Birds, and The Dark Tower Series; they all made the short list because they share a common theme - well developed characters and a great plot. Well, it looks like it is time to introduce another series to my list of favorites, please welcome Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
This comes as both as a welcome and unwelcome distraction. I have for years wanted to be part of a book club and I finally am, however, this month I haven't been able to tear myself away from these books to focus on the assigned one... Thankfully the lovely ladies of our book club will not turn me away at the meeting, but I certainly feel like I dropped the ball by not reading the assigned book. For those of you curious I am supposed to be reading Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
Back to the books at hand. Since my taste in literature tends to be a bit eclectic I should explain what this series is about so someone doesn't end-up with a doorstop because they hate it. The quick explanation of Outlander - love story. Please, don't let that turn you away though because it is much, MUCH more. It also revolves around time travel, historic occurrences, and bloody battles. Suffice to say it has something for everyone. Pick-up a copy, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wuthering Heights - Bronte
I am putting off writing about Hawaii because I am trying to determine how to speak of our family adventure in a concise manner - I will get there. In the meantime I will review the book I read while on vacation - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
In one word - good. I wasn't really sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. It struck me as a more grotesque version of Romeo and Juliet (for lack of a better description). I suppose it may be more appropriate to say that it looks at love and hate and how those feelings shape a person. I feel Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) is the male equivalent of Cathy (East of Eden), both are despicable characters. Honestly, I am not quite sure what else I can write about this book. It is by no means a favorite and I have no plans to re-read it at a later date. But, I did enjoy it for what it was.
In one word - good. I wasn't really sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. It struck me as a more grotesque version of Romeo and Juliet (for lack of a better description). I suppose it may be more appropriate to say that it looks at love and hate and how those feelings shape a person. I feel Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) is the male equivalent of Cathy (East of Eden), both are despicable characters. Honestly, I am not quite sure what else I can write about this book. It is by no means a favorite and I have no plans to re-read it at a later date. But, I did enjoy it for what it was.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Guilty Pleasure
I have it, I have decided what makes owing an e-reader so awesome. You can get away with reading cheesy novels without anyone knowing! Admit it, if you read you likely have a guilty pleasure - books that you are embarrassed to be seen with. Books that you feel ridiculous taking out when you are in a waiting room or train station for fear someone will judge you. Because, of course you judge other people based on their literary choices.
I will be the first to admit that I am a voracious reader, however, my choices are by no means heavy literature all of the time. Sure, I love the classics. If you have been reading this blog you will have seen my previous post listing the classics I am working through. But, I can only read so much "heavy" material before I need something "light and easy". Not to mention my favorite genera is horror - this admission automatically puts me in the poor taste category.
What drove this post you may be asking? Well, I recently read a review for a compilation titled "Chicks Ahoy!" and I must admit it sounds hilarious, I want to read it. One problem, they do not have it in e-format, only paperback. This would have me toting around a book that has a scantly clad women on the front cover, not to mention the title... Oh, the humiliation.
I will be the first to admit that I am a voracious reader, however, my choices are by no means heavy literature all of the time. Sure, I love the classics. If you have been reading this blog you will have seen my previous post listing the classics I am working through. But, I can only read so much "heavy" material before I need something "light and easy". Not to mention my favorite genera is horror - this admission automatically puts me in the poor taste category.
What drove this post you may be asking? Well, I recently read a review for a compilation titled "Chicks Ahoy!" and I must admit it sounds hilarious, I want to read it. One problem, they do not have it in e-format, only paperback. This would have me toting around a book that has a scantly clad women on the front cover, not to mention the title... Oh, the humiliation.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Lonesome Dove
One word to describe this book - amazing! I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy this book give the western theme, turns out that was a needless worry. I don't care what genera you enjoy I suggest you read this book. Did I mention it won the Pulitzer Prize?
For those of you that don't know what it is about:
The Hat Creek outfit (cowboys) lead a heard of cattle from Texas to Montana. There you have it, the general gist of the book. Of course there is a lot more to the story (at just under 900 pages there should be) but you will have to read it to find out.
Happy Reading!
For those of you that don't know what it is about:
The Hat Creek outfit (cowboys) lead a heard of cattle from Texas to Montana. There you have it, the general gist of the book. Of course there is a lot more to the story (at just under 900 pages there should be) but you will have to read it to find out.
Happy Reading!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Banned Books
One thing that never ceases to amaze me are banned books. Seriously, who do these holier than though people think they are? What gives them the right to remove perfectly good, if not fantastic literature from children's grasp because they are too repressed to see the value in it.
I really would like to rant and rave about this, however, I suppose that isn't very productive. Instead I will say that I hope people can stop for a moment and see how repressive they are being. What happened to parents having control over their kids? Now the answer seems to be that the material needs to be removed from the library so their child doesn't have access to it. Okay, so maybe I indulged in a little ranting...
If you are interested in checking out a list of Banned Books click the link.
I really would like to rant and rave about this, however, I suppose that isn't very productive. Instead I will say that I hope people can stop for a moment and see how repressive they are being. What happened to parents having control over their kids? Now the answer seems to be that the material needs to be removed from the library so their child doesn't have access to it. Okay, so maybe I indulged in a little ranting...
If you are interested in checking out a list of Banned Books click the link.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Kindle vs. Nook (E-reader)
E-readers... When the first hit the market a few years ago I was ADAMANTLY opposed to them. I couldn't figure out why someone would want to forsake holding a real book in their hands for a gadget, an expensive gadget at that. Plus, what happens if the world goes to hell - how would I read my books without electricity to charge my device. In my eyes this was much too large an issue for me to overlook! Visions of book burning (in an electronic) sense filled my head. People would migrate to an e-format and good ol' paper books would be a thing of the past. Again, what happens if we lose electricity. Do we lose a wealth of knowledge with it? Ridiculous - yes...
As seems to be the case with me I have come around to see the utility in these little devices. This change in heart was initially fueled by the drastic price decrease these devices are seeing. No longer are they asking upwards of $350, but a more reasonable (in my opinion) $150/or so. That coupled with the amount of travel time I have and my love of reading has added up to me wanting one. How awesome is it that you can put a number of books on the device and have at your fingertips whatever you are in the mood for.
So began my extensive search and agonizing over the perfect device. Did I want a Kindle (amazons) or Nook (b&n).
Things about the nook that appealed to me -
It is amazing the pull that a known name can have. As you can see from above it seems obvious that I was much more interested in the Nook then the Kindle, however, you always hear people talk about the Kindle. This made it hard for me to accept that it may not be the best device for me. It makes so many other people happy, why wouldn't it make me happy?
In the end (if you haven't already determined this from the lack of Kindle information above) I went with the Nook - I LOVE IT! I cannot think of anything that I do not like on it, other than the mentioned extra weight. However, I think it is a fair trade-off for the other options I did get.
If you are in the market for an e-reader and want to hear more about the Kindle I am more than happy to pass along what I learned. I wouldn't count it out, it just wasn't for me.
Happy Reading!
As seems to be the case with me I have come around to see the utility in these little devices. This change in heart was initially fueled by the drastic price decrease these devices are seeing. No longer are they asking upwards of $350, but a more reasonable (in my opinion) $150/or so. That coupled with the amount of travel time I have and my love of reading has added up to me wanting one. How awesome is it that you can put a number of books on the device and have at your fingertips whatever you are in the mood for.
So began my extensive search and agonizing over the perfect device. Did I want a Kindle (amazons) or Nook (b&n).
Things about the nook that appealed to me -
- You can check books out from the library
- You can lend books you own to other Nook owners
- The device is run on the android platform (smart phone) making it updatable
- It is an open platform (non-proprietary) so you can get books from any location
- In store customer service
- It is slightly thicker and heavier than the Kindle
It is amazing the pull that a known name can have. As you can see from above it seems obvious that I was much more interested in the Nook then the Kindle, however, you always hear people talk about the Kindle. This made it hard for me to accept that it may not be the best device for me. It makes so many other people happy, why wouldn't it make me happy?
In the end (if you haven't already determined this from the lack of Kindle information above) I went with the Nook - I LOVE IT! I cannot think of anything that I do not like on it, other than the mentioned extra weight. However, I think it is a fair trade-off for the other options I did get.
If you are in the market for an e-reader and want to hear more about the Kindle I am more than happy to pass along what I learned. I wouldn't count it out, it just wasn't for me.
Happy Reading!
Monday, September 6, 2010
East of Eden - Steinbeck
Since I posted my list of book to read, I figured I would also post opinions of said books. I recently finished East of Eden by John Steinbeck and loved it. I have read a number of books by Steinbeck and with each one I am reminded what a great writer he is.
I will not bore you with the details of the book but rather skip to one of the main reasons I so thoroughly enjoyed it. I tend to be drawn to books that have good character development. I want the people I am reading about to have meat on their bones not just exist as some wisp of an individual that I hardly know. This book provided that for me, along with a very good story line. I definitely recommend it.
Other books that I put into the fantastic character development category:
I will not bore you with the details of the book but rather skip to one of the main reasons I so thoroughly enjoyed it. I tend to be drawn to books that have good character development. I want the people I am reading about to have meat on their bones not just exist as some wisp of an individual that I hardly know. This book provided that for me, along with a very good story line. I definitely recommend it.
Other books that I put into the fantastic character development category:
- The Thorn Birds
- Pillars of the Earth
- The Gunslinger Series
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Reading List
I have always wanted to work my way through the classics - Hemingway, Tolstoy, Twain and the like. In the past I have created 'to read' lists for myself, however, I never seem to stick with the books I've selected. I am easily pulled off course by the newest Stephen King book (my favorite author - no laughing please)... This time I am going to try my best to stick with my list. In an effort to make myself feel somewhat better about the task I have include some books I have already read that I feel fit the bill - it makes me feel like I have already made progress!
Below is my reading list, feel free to let me know if you think I have omitted something you feel is a must read.
Below is my reading list, feel free to let me know if you think I have omitted something you feel is a must read.
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