Favorite Books and Current Reads

[Maxine MagicFox]

Nor I. Fucking bullshit of it is now I don't even feel right to pick up a children's book which was what I was intending my next read to be. Damn thing has put such a bad taste in my mouth. And I think back to the clerk who told me it was her favorite read. The hell?! Personally I loved the story of the Himalayan children that we read in the book club when Kino was here (I think she recommended the book). Tragic but you still walked away feeling some GOOD. Felt like you could relate and there was a call to action. I remember staying up weeks later reading the guys' blog that wrote that book.

This one I just wish I could bury in my back yard somewhere. Saw another book by the guy sitting on a table at B&N. I about threw up. No. No, I'm good. I'm not going near that author again any time soon.

[Sampson]

I read that for english class my senior year of high school. It was probably one of my favorite books I read that year, but that scene was pretty awful. Idk I felt like the ending was happy in a hopeful sort of way?

[Maxine MagicFox]

No. No, it wasn't. The truth of the matter if the author hadn't been such an ass and had handled the child properly, the child wouldn't have been that far gone. Amir drove the kid to that. He killed the child's hope and now I'm supposed to feel hopeful because it's going to be slowly restored? The boy is always going to have to live iwth the knowledge that he almost killed himself. A small crooked smile at the end barely makes up for any of the tragedies.

[PLA]

^ I thought you wanted a different type of trauma. Should it just not have been a traumatic story?

[Maxine MagicFox]

There's tragedy within reason. An avoidable set of unfortunate events. A tragedy without sense that was beyond the control of the MC.

In this case the tragedy was caused by the MC and was pathetically disgusting within its timing. Within the space of two hours he gave the child hope, within an hour he took it away. The child committed the act, the MC woke up to good news but the hope had already been taken away. It was the most disgusting chain of events that I felt the rape was less tragic in many ways! I was actually more disturbed by those final scenes than that first half.

There's tragedy and then there's just sensationalism. I felt the book teetered and went over that line several times

[Sampson]

Yeah I thought the kid attempting suicide came out of nowhere and that the book would have been better if it didn't happen. The crooked smile bit may have been more of a good ending if it was removed from the context of the attempted suicide. At least it ended on some sort of upward trajectory. I guess I liked the book because it was just really raw in the sense that the MC's emotions just got laid out and you had to experience them, whether you wanted to or not. I haven't touched it since high school though.

[Trifkin]

I haven't read that one, and now I don't intend to.

I am currently re-reading The Hobbit and it is delightful. I'm also reading a handful of nonfiction titles that have caught my eye.

[noodles]

for class, and the last dark tower book for myself

[Maxine MagicFox]

Finished my book today while sick in bed. Really good book, too. Now I dunno what to read! SO MANY CHOICES!

I have another flea market purchase from the same author that I just finished along with another from a different author. Both are courtroom drama stuff (like John Grisham).

The one is Dark Paradise by Tami Hoag (I just finished Guilty as Sin which my god was so good). The other is The Deal by Sabin Willett.

Other choices include a Nicholas Sparks book (also picked up at flea market for .25 - I've never read his stuff... thought "meh, why not") It's caled Message in a Bottle.

Or I could continue Dead to the World, Sookie Stackhouse novel aka True Blood (vampire sex!)
or there's Sky on Fire book 2 of Monument 14 (really loved the first)
or then there's The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo (a book I nearly purchased at B&N for like $13 only to get it on sale just today for .99 on my nook... *phew* XD)

You might notice the lack of fantasy. Since I'm currently investing all my time in my own fantasy novel that I hope to be done with by the end of the month, I decided to keep my mind untainted and seriously I'm getting a little over-magicked. I need to balance my life out here.

[Maxine MagicFox]

Or, while looking in my recent bag of flea market purchases to pull out those aforementioned books, I could stumble on last year's haul and realize that at the bottom of the full series of a Series of Unfortunate Events (still have to read those) and the full series of Sookie Stackhouse (which I think the last post made clear where I am with those) I could just happen upon a book I had forgotten about but was really looking forward to (if the vampire sex hadn't gotten in the way). Devil Wears Prada. Totally loved the movie but since it's been a few months since I've seen the movie it almost seems the perfect time to unearth this book and dive into it.

SURE WHY NOT! The Devil Wears Prada is it <3

[noodles]

I listened to Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman, read by the author

it's fantastic, i'd recommend it to anyone

[zamisk]

I highly recommend any of his comic material to you, Noodles. Sandman is right up your alley, if you can make it past the first volume.

[MrTwinklehead]

I just finished The Giver by Lois Lowry. Ugh... My heart. That ending. Crushed it.

[tib]

Currently reading Moby Dick.
The one problem for me is because I'm reallyyyyyy slow reading it in English. It's my first English novel so I'm having problem with some words ;-;
Reading it because is a classic and to help with my English studies :3

[Trifkin]

I've always meant to read Moby Dick. Very brave choice for a first English novel to read! But I'm sure you'll do just fine.

I vaguely remember enjoying The Giver. One of these days I'll re-read it and then continue with the other three novels in that series.

I finished reading The Hobbit. I love it even more now than when I first read it. I forgot it was so good. I'm taking a break from epic fantasy, though, and now I'm working my way through Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie. It's the first sci-fi novel to win the Hugo, Nebula AND Arthur C. Clarke awards all in one year. :3 Loving it so far.