I.
Life
of Pi – Yann Martel
The other day, I was at the movie
theatre about to watch the Bourne Legacy, when I saw a trailer for the Life of
Pi. I was instantly drawn into the ship wreck then Pi having to cope with the
male Bengal tiger and make sure he is more scared of Pi then Pi scared of him.
Also, Sean recommended this book to me, so of course I couldn’t turn it down. I
can’t wait to read this and then watch the movie!
II.
Les
Miserables – Victor Hugo
While I was about to watch the same movie,
right after the Life of Pi trailer, the Les Miserables trailer came on. I was
intrigued by the extreme poverty, where people are forced to do horrible things
in order to survive. It made me think about how our actions can affect the
lives of others. Again, Sean recommended this book to me. I would love to read
and see the movie too.
III.
Water
for Elephants – Sara Gruen
Last year, I wanted to read this, but
it never happened. The post-Depression America was hard, but introducing the
circus lightens the mood. The combination of information and entertainment
allow this book to have many themes for everyone’s likes. This book was given
the award of “#1 New York Times Bestseller. It would be a great read, if I can
find the time.
IV.
March
– Geraldine Brooks
According to many reviews and Ms.
Barnett, March is the story of the absent father in the book Little Women by
Louisa May Alcott. I honestly did not think this book was about this until I read
about it. I was more interested in the book cover. So I guess you could say, I “judged
a book by it’s cover.”
V.
The
Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien
I imagined that this book would be
about actual war, but as I was reading reviews and the first couple of pages, it
seems as if the book is fiction, especially since one of the main characters is
“Tim O’brien.” This book could be called “biomythography” as Audre Lorde said.
The story of the Alpha Company going through war, memory, and imagination seems
to be an interesting and intellectual piece of writing.
VI.
Going
After Cacciato – Tim O’Brien
I was reading the review off of amazon.com, and was amazed at the one
sentence description of the book, “Ultimately
it's about the forces of fear and heroism that do battle in the hearts of us
all.” This one liner was the ultimate decider of why I chose this book. The
description hooked me in and I now would love to read “Going After Cacciato.”
VII.
Snow
Falling on Cedars – David Guterson
This book title reminds me of winter
time when I was younger on my farm. We had several cedar trees and when the
snow would fall, the scene was unbelievable. There was a sense of mystery and
love and history to the setting. Interesting enough, that's what a lot of this
book is about. A mysterious death to a man that most people said a Japanese man
did. The racism toward the "Jap" is very intriguing, knowing the
background of WWII. This book would be a great read.
VIII.
To
the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
I was reading some of the reviews and
the back of the book, and I was amazed at how much the book sounds like this
band I like listening to. They are called "The Lighthouse and the
Whaler." They sing about life and life itself and all the troubles of the
world. I love the word lighthouse and I am interested about the family and
friends of the Ramsey's living on this island facing family and human
predicaments.
IX.
All
the Kings Men – Robert Penn Warren
I expected this book to be about medieval
times or even biblical times, but apparently, it’s basically about two men
involved in the life of the political, both private and public, swirl. I’m not
too interested in political writing, but the title threw me off, thinking it
was maybe about Humpty Dumpty or something. It was also known as “One of the finest
American novels ever written.” So it might not be too bad.
X.
Catch
22 – Joseph Hellera
In recent years it has been named to
“best novels” lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the
London Observer. This book is set in Italy during WWII. It is the story
of the incomparable, indolent bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious
because many people are trying to kill him that he doesn’t even know. I love
action, adventure, and mystery when reading, so this would be amazing to read.
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