2012 reading: Catch-up (Part 4)

In an effort to catch up on my reading for this year, I'm posting short reviews of all the books I've read so far.

Title and author: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
Source: Personal library
Rating: 10 out of 10

What can I say about this book besides I love this whole series? It had been a good decade since I first read this, though I watch the movie at least once a year. There's so much I forgot about this book that pops up later in the series. I now remember why this series became an international phenomenon: great characters, writing that's simple yet challenging to kids and a rich world that allows the reader to dive right in.

Title and author: O Pioneers! - Willa Cather
Source: Kindle
Rating: 9 out of 10

While I didn't like this novel as much as My Antonia (seems to be a pattern with me this year), I can see why this is considered an American classic. Cather obviously had a love for the prairies on which she was raised and for the hardy people who settled those areas. I loved Alexandra as a character, not only because she was a strong female protagonist who lived contrary to the social norms, but also because she seemed like she would have been a great person to know. Thinking that a character would make a great BFF is, to me, the hallmark of a well-written protagonist.

Title and author: Awakened - P.C. and Kristin Cast
Source: Library
Rating: 2 out of 10

I don't know why I've kept reading this series as long as I have. I wasn't too fond of the previous novel in this series for a lot of the same reasons: The characters are awful and stereotypical, the language is too contrived and the plot just doesn't really move along. I guess I figured, I'd invested in seven previous books, so why not try to finish things out and see what happens? Yeah. Not my brightest idea. Do yourself a favor and just skip this series altogether.

Title and author: The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I - Stephen King
Source: Kindle
Rating: 9 out of 10

Would you believe this is my first Stephen King? I know, right? This is a great book, and I'm excited to see how the series develops over the rest of the parts. I think Roland is a great character based on a great poem, and a lot of the lore that King builds into his fantasy world is spot-on. Sure, there were times I got a little lost (Kind of happens trying to read this over a nursing baby's head), but I thought that it was a great accomplishment that King could make a world so bleak and deserted so rich with description and mystery.

Review: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories by Washington Irving

Title: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

Author: Washington Irving

Pages: 190

Source: Personal library

Rating: 8/10

Summary:

Washington Irving is one of the most read and the most unread of authors. In his own day, of course, he was very widely read both in America and England. His writings caught the current fancy for romanticism, for local color, for sentiment, for nostalgia, for humor. In spite of this past popularity, it is doubtful how much of Irving's writing is still read today. Dust-covered sets of Irving's complete works probably appear in the second-hand bookstores as often as do those of Longfellow of Lowell, or any of the other traditional classics of American literature whose reputations have been revised downwards in recent years. Yet a few of Irving's writings, above all "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," are still very widely read. It is a rare general anthology of the short story that does not contain one or both of these stories, but it is an even rarer one that has anything more by Irving. A collection such as this one, which ranges more generously over Irving's whole work, may not only teach us why Irving was once so popular but may suggest that Irving has more to offer a modern reader than just his two most famous stories.

My Two Cents:

I've grown up hearing "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle," but never read them in their entirety. It's very obvious that, in the telling and re-telling, things get a little twisted from the originals.

I liked the two most popular stories well enough, but there are several great stories in this short anthology. Irving wove many different types of tales, from suspenseful thrillers to stories of early American life.

My favorite probably was "The Specter Bridegroom," which tells the story of a young woman's plans to marry a soldier who is engaged in battle on his wedding night. I won't give anything away, but, even though the ending is somewhat expected, it is still a suspenseful and well-written story.

I can see why Irving isn't as widely read as he used to be. His language and writing style certainly are archaic and don't appeal to a very broad modern audience. But, once you're able to get past the fact that he wrote nearly 200 years ago, you will find some enjoyable, original stories from one of the first masters of American literature.

Review: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: This Side of Paradise

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Pages: 255

Source: Personal library

Rating: 10/10

Challenges: Read 'n' Review Challenge

First Sentence: "Amory Blaine inherited from his mother every trait, except the stray inexpressible few, that made him worth while."

Summary (From Goodreads):

In this remarkable achievement, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays his unparalleled wit and keen social insight in his portrayal of college life through the struggles and doubts of Amory Blaine, a self-proclaimed genius with a love of knowledge and a penchant for the romantic. As Amory journeys into adulthood and leaves the aristocratic egotism of his youth behind, he becomes painfully aware of his lost innocence and the new sense of responsibility and regret that has taken its place.


My Two Cents:

Oh, F. Scott Fitzgerald, you never disappoint me.

While this book is not as elegant or rich as my all-time-favorite The Great Gatsby (This was Fitzgerald's first book, after all, and it was written to impress Zelda), it still has a lot of the classic Fitzgerald trademarks which make his writing so fabulous. There's a lot of class and social criticism in here, especially when Amory is at Yale. Fitzgerald has a gift for making fun of those with whom he associated, and the jokes are still funny 90 years later.

I vacillated between liking and not liking Amory throughout the book, but I mostly thought he was a great character. He becomes much more likable as he begins to shed some of the pretensions of his youth and wealth. I couldn't wait to see what he did next, because he was always surprising me.

This book isn't for everyone, and it's not even for every fan of 1920s-era American literature. You have to be in the right mood to read this or else all the fun could be lost on you.

Review: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Title: The House of Mirth
Author: Edith Wharton
Pages: 320
Challenges: Read 'n' Review Challenge


Amazon.com Product Description:

The House of Mirth tells the story of Lily Bart, aged 29, beautiful, impoverished and in need of a rich husband to safeguard her place in the social elite, and to support her expensive habits - her clothes, her charities and her gambling. Unwilling to marry without both love and money, Lily becomes vulnerable to the kind of gossip and slander which attach to a girl who has been on the marriage market for too long. Wharton charts the course of Lily's life, providing, along the way, a wider picture of a society in transition, a rapidly changing New York where the old certainties of manners, morals and family have disappeared and the individual has become an expendable commodity.


My Two Cents:

Although I love Classics and read them more often then contemporary fiction, I'm not usually one for American fiction. I'm not quite sure why, perhaps it's just the latent Anglophile in me, but I've never much liked many American authors (Although I have found favorite authors in F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sylvia Plath and, now, Edith Wharton), so I always approach an American Classic with a bit of trepidation.


This book, however, drew me in right away.

I instantly liked Lily Bart, even when she seemed a bit shallow and dense. She's like America's version of Mrs. Dalloway -- A woman you don't think much about in passing because you think you know her just by looking at her, but there's something much more complex lurking beneath the surface.

Lily is one of those rare women in the late 19th century -- unmarried and in her late 20s. She begins the book planning to marry the puritanical Percy Gryce, a wealthy man with a large collection of Americana books handed down to him by his uncle -- but her penchant for gambling at bridge scares him off. In an attempt to earn more money (Lily's parents are both dead and neither was ever rich, but they taught her to live as if she was rich), Lily becomes embroiled with a "friend" who ultimately causes her downfall.

Wharton's writing just jumps off the page. I was able to see Lily and the others at every step of the way, right down to the last stitch of clothing. She also has the ability to make you feel sorry for Lily while, at the exact same time, mildly condemning her for her actions.

I'm not going to give away the ending here, but I will say that, even as surprising as it may seem, you will realize it was there, hiding beneath all the baubles and bridge games all along.

My rating: 9/10