Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Monday, June 21, 2010

Wisdom Which Withstands the Test of Time

I have been reading Truman Capotes "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (which, btw, every time I glance at the cover the song by Jackie O starts running through my head.. "And I say, what about Breakfast at Tiffany's? You say, I think I remember the film and as I recall I think, we both kinda like it, and I say well that's the one thing we got")

But anyways, I picked up this book not because of its iconic status, but because the time period it's set in and the writing style genuinely intrigued me. For those of you who doesn't know (and no, seeing the film does not constitute knowing the story according to many different reviewers; I have yet to see the film myself, but this is hardly surprising) this story revolves around 20 year old Holly Golightly, a chic, well dressed socialite who is trying to find a place to call home and the narrator, her neighbor, who against his better judgment falls in love with her. Holly has been running her whole life, from Texas to Hollywood to New York and so on. At one point in the book she was explaining to the narrator why her husband (and seemingly unbeknownst to her, himself) was foolish for expecting her to stay with him.

"If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky"

This quote struck me so deeply I had to stop and read it again. It is spot on; a person cannot truly tame a wild animal. Do you not think the lion in a circus would not run free if given the opportunity? Why then do we think that we can do the same to human nature? If a person is not ready to be "tamed" are they not going to be watching for the very moment they can run out the unguarded door?

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

My Choice of a Plane Read: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This past weekend I found myself with a four hour round trip plane trip in front of me. Now, either I could sleep on the plane, make conversation with my unknown neighbors, twiddle my thumbs or read a book. After much deliberation I chose to bring a book. Those of you who known me know that I have plenty of unread books on my bookcase to chose from for situations such as this (I am what is known as a bookaholic), but I live for reasons to go to the bookstore so off I went in search of an exciting read. I must admit, I did my homework beforehand and had a pretty good idea of what I was going to get, so I walked over to the fiction section and scanned the authors last names.
... A... C.... H...
Nope, have to go around the corner..
....J..... K.. L
There it was, the first book in Stieg Larsson's Millenim series.
If I would have known that the literal translation of the Swedish title was actually "Men who Hate Women" I probably would have never picked up this book in the first place, but since it was cleverly named "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" I picked it up and gave it a chance. I must say, not what I was expecting at all, but very well written and gripping nonetheless. What initially starts out as an investigative reporter working on a very cold murder case turns into something I would have never imagined. Filled with twists and turns, suspect after suspect and lets not forget drama, I was not able to put the book down!*
Admittedly, it was a little dry to start out with, but after the set up, the introductions and all the back ground was out of the way, the meat of the story did not disappoint. If you like gritty crime dramas that do not hold back, I would recommend this book for you.
Now, I need to find someplace else to fly off to so I can get started on the second book!
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*On the plane, off the plane, by the pool, when I got back home. Clearly, I became addicted.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Please stay tuned for more on Midnight's Dream by Salman Rushdie..

I just started reading this book today and I have to say that although I am reading this book for a class and thus did not have any say in its discovery and my subsequent reading of it, but it is actually a very interesting and enjoyable book so far!
Happy is the day when I actually look forward to what I am reading, instead of having to suffer my way through a 70 page book about the journey to the heart of Africa for over a week (Heart of Darkness is the book I am referring to in this instance).
Since more than one person showed interest in this particular book I think I will provide a review of it when I am done reading.
Oh the anticipation!