WEEK FORTY-SEVEN - 'THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON'

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

November 17, 52 pages

I feel like this 'book' is a bit of a cop-out for a week's worth of reading. It's just a story.

But it's a great little story. I do enjoy the way F. Scott FItzgerald writes. It is quaint. He is a brilliant storyteller. 

It's an interesting idea. And really quite sad; it shows that being different in a world that is the same is tough. Even at the end of the story no one appreciates Benjamin Button's uniqueness: he dies alone.

I've heard people say that life would be better lived backwards like this. And maybe it would, as long as everybody else lived the same way.

I should really see the movie. I think I would enjoy it.

WEEK FORTY-SIX - 'STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE'

'Stuff White People Like' by Christian Lander
November 10 - 13, 203 pages

Well, I haven't read a book like this yet this year. It has pictures! It's a list of one hundred and fifty things that 'white people' like. It's pretty funny.

It's even funnier when you realise that some of the points describe you completely. Also a little bit concerning.

This is a great read if you feel like laughing but not concentrating very much. You can read it cover-to-cover (like I did) or just open it up at random pages for a giggle.

Lander also has a blog, which I just checked out - pretty good, and some other books. Oh, and for the record, I am 20% white according to this book.

WEEK FORTY-FIVE - 'OLIVE KITTERIDGE'

'Olive Kitteridge' by Elizabeth Strout
November 4 - 6, 270 pages

What a real book. It is told through stories which eventually overlap. In each new chapter we meet new characters who are facing their own challenges. But mainly it's about Olive Kitteridge, a retired maths teacher. A complex portrait of her emerges as you read.

It's about pain and family and growing old - ugly, but beautiful. It's about not being perfect. I really enjoyed this. Definitely deserved the Pulitzer Prize. A real tapestry. Honest and thought-provoking.

'They did not know that lumpy, aged, and wrinkled bodies were as needy as their own young firm ones, that love was not to be tossed away carelessly'

WEEK FORTY-FOUR - 'NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND'

 

'Notes from Underground' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

October 27 - 31, 118 pages

It was high time I read some Dostoyevsky. This book had been sitting around waiting to be read for quite a while. I was looking forward to it for three main reasons: its excellent reputation, I love Russian literature, and I also love the cover (despite the spelling mistake: 'unatractive')

It took a while for me to get into this novel. It's quite abstract - packed full of ideas rather than events. Once I found my feet (missing some key ideas on the way I'm sure) I found myself enjoying it. It's funny. It's also quite concerning. And it's very clever.

 I think it would improve being read again. But after I've read some other Dostoyevsky novels.

WEEK FORTY-THREE - 'LORD OF THE FLIES'

'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding
October 20-22, 225 pages

The good thing about this venture, sorry, one of the many good things, is that I get to read books that I really should have read but never have. 'Lord of the Flies' is one of these.

I am glad I eventually read it. It's very good. A real modern classic. So much symbolism.

This novel is quite confronting. It is concerning how the boys' sense of order and morals quickly collapse. Shows what human nature can make you do.

I really enjoyed this. Definitely (hopefully) will read it again.

Except I haven't been able to get the hymn, 'Lord of the Dance' out of my head all week!

WEEK FORTY-TWO - 'THE FINKLER QUESTION'

'The Finkler Question' by Howard Jacobson
October 13 - 17, 307 pages

A special week needs a special book and, as it's the week of my birthday, I certainly needed to find a good book to read. Luckily, the Man Booker Prize for 2010 was announced on Tuesday. I always enjoy the winning novel, and so I rushed out to buy 'The Finkler Question' an hour after it was announced as the winner.

It didn't disappoint. It's the first comedy to win the prize and it definitely is funny. But it isn't shallow. It's profound and quite dark. It poses some interesting questions and really explores what it means to be Jewish, subject matter I haven't really encountered before.

Very good. now I must work my way through the shortlist.

'At a certain age men began to shrink, and yet it was precisely at that age that their trousers became too short for them. Explain that.'

WEEK FORTY-ONE - 'ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST'

'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey
October 6 - 8, 281 pages

This is a very good book. Excellent, even.

It says a lot. And is confronting and concerning and really begs the question: should we choose security over freedom? This book made me think about things, and I'm still thinking. It's one of those novels that should be read more than once, I think. It has lots of great characters, too. A compelling and startling commentary on institutions. 
'He hadn't let what he looked like run his life one way or the other'

A very powerful novel. Read it.