reading helps the rainbow grow!
Mar. 1st, 2006 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
demeter918Well, my internet is still unstable. It's doing the same thing as before, just less frequently. The issue now is that while packets are being sent... I'm just not getting them. I'm truly at a loss here. I can download since I just leave my internet on all night and thus giving it time, but for regular, everyday perusal, it's almost too frustrating to be worth it.
Argh.
On a better note, I have to say - I love my flist! In college, reading for pleasure had been drastically cut back because of the massive amounts of reading I had to do for school. When I moved to Japan, I had asked for suggestions and I'm happy to say that there were few, if any, wrong pointers. =) I've finished most of the books people have suggested and am working through the rest.
A quick runthrough (from what I can remember as I sit here at work):
The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis
I have to say, I really liked the story. My knowledge of the Borgia reign was fairly limited, so there was some googling and digging, but overall, I enjoyed the story. And it didn't hurt that I realized half-way through that it all felt so darn familiar. Reason? =) It's the same story, but told from different viewpoints, of Cantallera by You Higuri. Due to the fact that I was reading it in Chinese, the link hadn't made its way into my mind until later on when I was comparing V.10 to the book and reading the katakana names for the characters. Cesare is considerably more sympathetic in the manga. And there is much Sancha and Alfonso sibling love. ;)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Okay, wow. This was an incredible book, the nuances, the no-holds barred one-two-three punches it pulls when you're not looking. I'm so rarely surprised by fiction nowadays, but this honestly pulled me around some loops until I found myself floating over India. It really personalized India in a way that other books have not done so easily for me.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
I was a little hesitant at first to read it, mostly because of personal reasons, but I've had the DVD literally for years and I figured it would be best if I just read the book first. It was good. But nothing particularly striking for me. I'm not saying it's not a worthwhile read, because it is. But it didn't help that I kind of guessed the outcome halfway through and was a little disappointed when I was proven right. Some have been as far as to tell me that the movie version is better, though I'll have to take their word on it since I've yet to see it. -_-
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Creepity creeps! I actually found myself looking around my aparto when I was reading this! And I loved it. The path it traces through Old Europe is gorgeous and I found myself just thoroughly spooked by all the mysterious going-ons of one, Dracula. I read this on the recommendation of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cedarlibrarian and I thank thee. ^_^
Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington
Very strong, especially since prior to this, I had little clue of the aboriginal culturecide. It was difficult to see the landscape before me, but those three little girls were enough. Visualizing them walk so far only to never truly reach the destination... yeah. It also made my complaints about walking twenty minutes seem, well, iffy. I now want to see this movie.
Lolita by Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
(whew, what a mouthful!) Finally got around to reading this classic. And dude, it was really good. They both irritated me but in a good way? Hard to explain, but his obsession over this girl played remarkably well in my world-view. By the end, there was some need of ball-kicking since it became obvious he wasn't so much about Lolita as he was about her age. Which, um, was the point, but let's say I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
I read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World first and absolutely loved it. I went into this with the same expectations and I was somehow disappointed. I'm not sure what I didn't like about it, but it was really unwieldy. I got frustrated by all the threading plot points and I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters except May. I've been stuck at the 2/3 mark for two months now and I'm not getting any further along. I will finish it, because it'd be a shame not to. I have Kafka on the Shore now and once I get it back from my friend (along with Catch-22), I'll start on that.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Mm, so, so good. It was so tightly wound and the flashbacks were sparse enough so that we realized how much she's just trying to survive the present. It was a fantastic read from beginning to end and I loved how it didn't end on a particularly happy note, though the ending chapter was really interesting in its executioin. And with the current going-ons in America, it makes you wonder about ow realistic this is.
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michal Faber
I liked the voice of the book and I really enjoyed the double-blade of Sugar. We saw her through the eyes of Rackham and we saw her from her own eyes. While it looks like a long book, it goes at a fairly fast clip so I didn't find myself bored at too many points. And oh wow, the underworld of prostitution and sex was portrayed in gritty, realistic fashion, lack of plumbing included. =)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I don't think I could say anything about this book that hasn't already been said. =) It was so beautiful and fantastic and there were times I swear I was floating while reading.
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
I've started but haven't finished.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
This was chosen mostly because I noticed some people on my flist talking about the fandom and decided I wanted to try it out. Dorian made me laugh because he was such a vain little peacock and then all the things went wrong and it was an odd twist to have him reappear in death as an old, withered man. Made what might have been a good tale of vanity gone wrong into a creepy, mysterious what-really-happened? kind of story.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I've read this a million times already, but omg, I had to buy another copy so I could reread it. It's probably one of my favorite stories of all time. XD I adore Katie with a strange passion because of so many things about her.
The Affair of the Poisons by Anne Somerset
Non-fiction... and nothing much to say about it other than a good piece about the reign and court intrigue of Louis the XIV. All the history behind it was skillfully laid and doled along with the poison bits, making it a good read. I was particularly interested by her interest and mini-devotion to sounding out the various tortures available at the time in France. May read up more on that.
A Hero's Daughter by Andre Makine
Oh, so beautiful. I want to THANK the anonynmous reccer from here who suggested the book to me. I loved it so much and it's so wonderful and an amazing look at contemporary Russia.
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler
Non-fiction. More of a description than anything else, but a good luck at the working class and some astute observations about situations that I didn't really think about before.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Creepy. OMFG so creepy. This is an old story, but OMG IT'S SO CREEPY! And so yes, I rather liked it.
Out by Natsuo Kirino
This is really depressing. It starts out depressing, it continues depressing, and it ends with a happily depressing note. And I liked it. =) The plight of working-class women in Japan was intricately detailed here and it was an extremely private look into the lives of the people who make the boxed lunches (I now often take a long look at the bento's and wonder who were the people behind it), who sweep your floors, who clean up the streets, and who work in the massive service industry of Japan. It's arresting because Japan prefers to highlight its successes and ignores the millions of people who are still suffering under the recession and bursting of the bubble economy. It draws especially to the plight of women in a society still very patriarchal. It's very dark, so I'll give a fair warning, but I totally rec this.
Naoko by Keigo Higashino
It's weird. But good. Basic premise. Mom and daughter get involved in a car accident. Mom dies. Daughter lives. Or does she? 0_0 What do you say? The mother is in the daughter now? Uh oh. Hijinks ensue. Only, it's pretty sad.
Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
I'm 3/4 through the book and it's amazing. It's a thick, there's no denying it, but dude, it's really good. By the time Strange got to Spain and the war, I was completely digging it. They length eventually contributed to why I like it so much, because Clarke really draws out the nuances of her imaginary wizarding society where there's only two wizards at first. We see how people react and the fact that it falls away from the old 'omgthey'redoingmagicletskillthem!' basic plot premise makes it really appetizing. Bonus; both protagonists are irritating. =)
The Dim Sum of All Things by Kim Wong Keltner
Fairly basic story of an ABC (American Born Chinese). Good read, but nothing really fantastic about it. Except for the Hello Kitty toaster.
I also have Lonesome Dove, Catch-22, Kafka on the Shore, Artemis Fowl and others. The first three, I have yet to read but there's a good reason. Some fellow ALT's have borrowed them and I'm waiting to get them back before I dive in.
Books recced in earlier posts are on order/in my amazon.co.jp cart. Huge and lavish thanks to those who have recced. =) Especially tocedarlibrarian and traykor whose librarian superpowers are very cool.
Recs are from this journal post and this journal post and this post.
Whew!
Argh.
On a better note, I have to say - I love my flist! In college, reading for pleasure had been drastically cut back because of the massive amounts of reading I had to do for school. When I moved to Japan, I had asked for suggestions and I'm happy to say that there were few, if any, wrong pointers. =) I've finished most of the books people have suggested and am working through the rest.
A quick runthrough (from what I can remember as I sit here at work):
The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis
I have to say, I really liked the story. My knowledge of the Borgia reign was fairly limited, so there was some googling and digging, but overall, I enjoyed the story. And it didn't hurt that I realized half-way through that it all felt so darn familiar. Reason? =) It's the same story, but told from different viewpoints, of Cantallera by You Higuri. Due to the fact that I was reading it in Chinese, the link hadn't made its way into my mind until later on when I was comparing V.10 to the book and reading the katakana names for the characters. Cesare is considerably more sympathetic in the manga. And there is much Sancha and Alfonso sibling love. ;)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Okay, wow. This was an incredible book, the nuances, the no-holds barred one-two-three punches it pulls when you're not looking. I'm so rarely surprised by fiction nowadays, but this honestly pulled me around some loops until I found myself floating over India. It really personalized India in a way that other books have not done so easily for me.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
I was a little hesitant at first to read it, mostly because of personal reasons, but I've had the DVD literally for years and I figured it would be best if I just read the book first. It was good. But nothing particularly striking for me. I'm not saying it's not a worthwhile read, because it is. But it didn't help that I kind of guessed the outcome halfway through and was a little disappointed when I was proven right. Some have been as far as to tell me that the movie version is better, though I'll have to take their word on it since I've yet to see it. -_-
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Creepity creeps! I actually found myself looking around my aparto when I was reading this! And I loved it. The path it traces through Old Europe is gorgeous and I found myself just thoroughly spooked by all the mysterious going-ons of one, Dracula. I read this on the recommendation of
cedarlibrarian and I thank thee. ^_^Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington
Very strong, especially since prior to this, I had little clue of the aboriginal culturecide. It was difficult to see the landscape before me, but those three little girls were enough. Visualizing them walk so far only to never truly reach the destination... yeah. It also made my complaints about walking twenty minutes seem, well, iffy. I now want to see this movie.
Lolita by Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
(whew, what a mouthful!) Finally got around to reading this classic. And dude, it was really good. They both irritated me but in a good way? Hard to explain, but his obsession over this girl played remarkably well in my world-view. By the end, there was some need of ball-kicking since it became obvious he wasn't so much about Lolita as he was about her age. Which, um, was the point, but let's say I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
I read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World first and absolutely loved it. I went into this with the same expectations and I was somehow disappointed. I'm not sure what I didn't like about it, but it was really unwieldy. I got frustrated by all the threading plot points and I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters except May. I've been stuck at the 2/3 mark for two months now and I'm not getting any further along. I will finish it, because it'd be a shame not to. I have Kafka on the Shore now and once I get it back from my friend (along with Catch-22), I'll start on that.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Mm, so, so good. It was so tightly wound and the flashbacks were sparse enough so that we realized how much she's just trying to survive the present. It was a fantastic read from beginning to end and I loved how it didn't end on a particularly happy note, though the ending chapter was really interesting in its executioin. And with the current going-ons in America, it makes you wonder about ow realistic this is.
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michal Faber
I liked the voice of the book and I really enjoyed the double-blade of Sugar. We saw her through the eyes of Rackham and we saw her from her own eyes. While it looks like a long book, it goes at a fairly fast clip so I didn't find myself bored at too many points. And oh wow, the underworld of prostitution and sex was portrayed in gritty, realistic fashion, lack of plumbing included. =)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I don't think I could say anything about this book that hasn't already been said. =) It was so beautiful and fantastic and there were times I swear I was floating while reading.
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
I've started but haven't finished.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
This was chosen mostly because I noticed some people on my flist talking about the fandom and decided I wanted to try it out. Dorian made me laugh because he was such a vain little peacock and then all the things went wrong and it was an odd twist to have him reappear in death as an old, withered man. Made what might have been a good tale of vanity gone wrong into a creepy, mysterious what-really-happened? kind of story.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I've read this a million times already, but omg, I had to buy another copy so I could reread it. It's probably one of my favorite stories of all time. XD I adore Katie with a strange passion because of so many things about her.
The Affair of the Poisons by Anne Somerset
Non-fiction... and nothing much to say about it other than a good piece about the reign and court intrigue of Louis the XIV. All the history behind it was skillfully laid and doled along with the poison bits, making it a good read. I was particularly interested by her interest and mini-devotion to sounding out the various tortures available at the time in France. May read up more on that.
A Hero's Daughter by Andre Makine
Oh, so beautiful. I want to THANK the anonynmous reccer from here who suggested the book to me. I loved it so much and it's so wonderful and an amazing look at contemporary Russia.
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler
Non-fiction. More of a description than anything else, but a good luck at the working class and some astute observations about situations that I didn't really think about before.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Creepy. OMFG so creepy. This is an old story, but OMG IT'S SO CREEPY! And so yes, I rather liked it.
Out by Natsuo Kirino
This is really depressing. It starts out depressing, it continues depressing, and it ends with a happily depressing note. And I liked it. =) The plight of working-class women in Japan was intricately detailed here and it was an extremely private look into the lives of the people who make the boxed lunches (I now often take a long look at the bento's and wonder who were the people behind it), who sweep your floors, who clean up the streets, and who work in the massive service industry of Japan. It's arresting because Japan prefers to highlight its successes and ignores the millions of people who are still suffering under the recession and bursting of the bubble economy. It draws especially to the plight of women in a society still very patriarchal. It's very dark, so I'll give a fair warning, but I totally rec this.
Naoko by Keigo Higashino
It's weird. But good. Basic premise. Mom and daughter get involved in a car accident. Mom dies. Daughter lives. Or does she? 0_0 What do you say? The mother is in the daughter now? Uh oh. Hijinks ensue. Only, it's pretty sad.
Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
I'm 3/4 through the book and it's amazing. It's a thick, there's no denying it, but dude, it's really good. By the time Strange got to Spain and the war, I was completely digging it. They length eventually contributed to why I like it so much, because Clarke really draws out the nuances of her imaginary wizarding society where there's only two wizards at first. We see how people react and the fact that it falls away from the old 'omgthey'redoingmagicletskillthem!' basic plot premise makes it really appetizing. Bonus; both protagonists are irritating. =)
The Dim Sum of All Things by Kim Wong Keltner
Fairly basic story of an ABC (American Born Chinese). Good read, but nothing really fantastic about it. Except for the Hello Kitty toaster.
I also have Lonesome Dove, Catch-22, Kafka on the Shore, Artemis Fowl and others. The first three, I have yet to read but there's a good reason. Some fellow ALT's have borrowed them and I'm waiting to get them back before I dive in.
Books recced in earlier posts are on order/in my amazon.co.jp cart. Huge and lavish thanks to those who have recced. =) Especially to
cedarlibrarian and traykor whose librarian superpowers are very cool. Recs are from this journal post and this journal post and this post.
Whew!
