What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Feel free to share your answers in the comments or on your own blog (please leave the link if you do that!).
What are you currently reading? Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston – I only managed to read about a half of a page while waiting for my daughter’s bus before my fingers were too frozen to keep holding the book . . . so I don’t have any comments yet.
What did you recently finish reading? I had planned on reading Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut, but I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t want to force the read, especially since Vonnegut is one of my favorites, so I put it aside. I’ll try to revisit it sometime soon.
I’ve been enjoying finishing/starting a new book every week, so when I finally gave up on Hocus Pocus on Monday night, I wanted to pick something I could still finish before posting my WWW. I read The Stranger by Albert Camus in high school and I loved it. It was a quick read then, so figured I’d pick it up and see if I had the same reactions 15 years later.
It feels weird to say I enjoyed the book because I don’t think it’s the kind of book to really enjoy. It definitely has an effect though. I just finished it this afternoon and I’m not sure I have the right words to express my thoughts yet.
I remembered very little of the story before I reread it, but my reaction was very much the same. The book makes me uncomfortable in a meaningful kind of way . . . if that makes any sense. I’ll try to write a short review on Goodreads later in the week.
What do you think you’ll read next? I’m not sure. The books I want to read most right now are ones I don’t currently own. I’m hoping to hit the bookstore in a week or two, but that doesn’t help me right now! Possibly Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin . . . though that one will probably take me a while. I also think it’s pretty shameful that as a sci-fi geek, I have never read anything by H.G. Wells. I’ve had The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, and The Island of Dr. Moreau on my bookshelf for a couple of years now. Maybe one of those will be next.
Posted by Bluejellybeans on January 23, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Hi Dayle! I’m reading Les Misérables, and I’ll be reading it for a while I’m afraid…yours sound interesting.
Posted by Dayle Lynne on January 23, 2013 at 8:54 pm
Hi Giovanna! I was wondering the other day why I haven’t seen any new blog posts from you . . . then I realized that when I switched email addresses, I never re-followed your blog! I’m looking forward to catching up on your recipes!
Let me know what you think of Les Miserables when you’re done!
Posted by Jared Karol on January 23, 2013 at 6:18 pm
Loved The Stranger, and it was one of the earlier books (I didn’t read it in HS) I read that made me realize I was an existentialist at heart. Would have to reread it to remind myself of the details. . .
Posted by Dayle Lynne on January 23, 2013 at 9:36 pm
I have a lot of thoughts about the book . . . it intrigues me from a psychological perspective and disturbs me from a humanist perspective, but not necessarily in a negative way . . . I’m also fascinated by how such a quick read could hold so much power . . . and it was especially interesting reading this after reading The Alchemist.
Posted by therealsharon on January 23, 2013 at 8:33 pm
I’ve never read anything by H.G. Wells either! Never heard of “The Stranger”…..Is “Tyrannosaur Canyon” a thriller? I love scary books!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on January 23, 2013 at 9:40 pm
Sci-fi/thriller, I think . . . I picked it up more because of the author than anything else. I’m hoping it’s as good as Blasphemy!
Posted by therealsharon on January 24, 2013 at 10:17 pm
Oh, it’s the same guy that did “Blasphemy”? I didn’t even notice that! LOL I have both on my To Read List now, though!
Posted by therealsharon on January 24, 2013 at 10:18 pm
Oh and I added “The Stranger” too!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on January 25, 2013 at 3:00 am
Yep
And awesome! I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Stranger when you get to it. I’m going to try to write more about it this weekend.
Posted by therealsharon on January 25, 2013 at 5:14 pm
Yea, not sure when that will be LOL…I have so much on my To Read List and not any real order to the madness!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on January 26, 2013 at 5:59 am
Hahaha, I understand!
Posted by katybrandes on January 24, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Although I seriously want to like (or maybe just understand) Vonnegut, I have trouble ever getting past that point of “getting into it.” I’ve forced it three times but have never actually felt like I got into any of them. When you have a minute sometime, tell me what you like about his work. I seriously want to understand what I’m missing.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on January 25, 2013 at 3:16 am
I’ve only actually read 3 books by Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, and Timequake), but they’ve all had such a significant impact on me that I feel like I’ve read more.
I love his written voice . . . that it feels more like someone telling me a story than me reading it, complete with tangents and breaking of character . . . he stops narrating at times to talk about why he’s writing what he’s writing . . . I think it appeals to me as a writer because it helps me delve deeper into his head. . . . And I like that it’s science fiction that’s not really written like science fiction . . . it always feels more memoirish, probably because he incorporates a lot of his real-life personal experiences. . . . And there’s the philosophical and political tones as well.
I don’t know if that all made sense or helped at all!
Thanks for coming by as well . . . and if you ever manage to “get into” a Vonnegut book, please let me know!
Posted by A hectic week and a few favorite reads « I shall be a toad on January 30, 2013 at 9:00 am
[...] that means that I’m not remotely close to finishing my book this week! So in lieu of my usual WWW, I thought I’d share just a few of my all-time favorite books. I’ll save other favorites for [...]