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+ what are you currently reading?
received through another book trade with my sister, i figured this would be a good read as a semi-follow up from reading prep by curtis sittenfeld awhile back. going to an all-girls high school, i'm curious to see if i can relate at all to the characters and goings on in this story based on four women attending smith college in northampton, mass. can't say i'm too far into it, but it's definitely got its moments of entertainment through sullivan's depiction of certain all-girls school, stereotypical characters: the all-american belle, the rebel, and the preppy girl, which i'll honestly say aren't that far off from the truth, at least in my experience.
+ what did you recently finish reading?
so asian! i've always liked reading memoir-type novels. but this one i definitely held off on just because of the horror stories i heard about it from people who had to study it in school. going off of that tenth grade critique, it apparently was boring, false and poorly written. i will admit its not the best book i've read to date, but its certainly not the worst. i still found the story interesting, since i am into that kinda thing. the overlapping storylines were at times a little difficult to follow, to the point where i had to keep flipping back and forth to make sure i was thinking of the right character each time. but if taken as a collection of mini stories that ultimately coincide into one bigger picture, it's quite entertaining and educational about certain chinese cultural aspects. one pet peeve i've discovered: i really dislike the author's use of pseudo-pinyin to write in chinese but words are spelled wrong. i then feel the need to sit there and figure out what she's actually trying to say, instead of thinking about what's actually going on in that part of (one of) the storyline(s).
+ what do you think you'll read next?
not going to lie, i was just in a barnes and noble looking for a new read, while almost all of my books sit in storage until we find a new place to live (after i find a job). scrolling down my goodreads list, i picked out a few that i was in the mood for at the moment, and then went and found each of those selections to take a closer look and make a final purchase decision. it came down to the wind-up bird chronicle and the glass castle by jeannette walls. i figured i had already read several book recently that were similar to walls' story. not to mention, it was another memoir. so i went for the one that was different. we'll see how that goes.
"books!" - troy and abed, nbc's community.
I haven't had time to properly read a book in a long time. Last 'book' I read was a museum catalogue that I had to memorize... Next book I will be reading? Another museum catalogue/periodical on traditional Chinese architecture... Sigh. Must make time for real reading.
ReplyDeleteYour list brings back memories of high school. I didn't actually read the Wind-up Bird Chronicles myself, but I have read another book by Murakami. South of the Border, West of the Sun. I seriously said 'What the... Wha... Huh? 0.o' after reading it. To this day, I'm still not sure I get it. Actually, I don't think I ever will, nor do I feel the need to. Murakami is not my cup of tea by a long shot, but I do know some people who are totally into his work. Good luck! :)
Actually Amy Tan is not my favorite to read either. But that just might be because reading about Chinese events in English weirds me out. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is probably the only one I can stand. Don't you get the feeling that everything sounds kinda stupid when its written out in pinyin? Like its corny or something. I dunno, maybe it's just me. But on that note, The Bonesetter's Daughter by Tan wasn't too bad.
Boo not real reading. But yay being productive and jobs! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, not going to lie, I probably didn't understand a lot of books back in high school in the way I could probably process them now. Maybe take another whack at it and, who knows? Unless it was that bad of an experience.
Yea, Amy Tan isn't my kind of author either. But it was definitely one of those books that I really felt like I should read at some point in my life. So, check!
It's cool. After The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I have a much lighter read lined up: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares. It's by the same author as Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. So, teen fiction, but seemed like a potentially entertaining, while easy, read. Then, there's tackling the rest of my ridiculous goodreads list. :)