Finished January 2010 (traveling back to Guam on our honeymoon...we had long layovers and flights). Olivia and I had been discussing classics a month ago and this was one of them. A day or so after after our conversation, I saw a fully unabridged version that had incredible drawings, sometimes in color, throughout it done by Dame Darcy. I love pictures (as this blog can show), and was immediately drawn in. I'm glad I was, because I really enjoyed the mystery, development, and imagery of this classic.
2. Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger (fiction)
Finished January 16, 2010 (On my birthday)
I read this book in 2 days. I think I liked it better than Catcher in the Rye; It was short, but thought provoking. I found it to be a sort of new perspective on being nice to and doing well for my neighbor in that my neighbor is not materially poor, but is an egotistical, highly educated know-it-all that must appear to be the coolest person on the planet, but whose pursuits all seem inane. Honestly I don't feel like I meet too many of these people, but it was still interesting and reminded me of undergrad.
I read this book in 2 days. I think I liked it better than Catcher in the Rye; It was short, but thought provoking. I found it to be a sort of new perspective on being nice to and doing well for my neighbor in that my neighbor is not materially poor, but is an egotistical, highly educated know-it-all that must appear to be the coolest person on the planet, but whose pursuits all seem inane. Honestly I don't feel like I meet too many of these people, but it was still interesting and reminded me of undergrad.
In reference to storing up treasures on earth:
"...I mean treasure is treasure, for heaven's sake. What's the difference whether the treasure is money, or property, or even culture, or even just plain knowledge?"
In reference to doing our best for people that we think don't deserve our best:
"But I'll tell you a terrible secret--Are you listening to me? There isn't anyone out there who isn't Seymour's Fat Lady...listen to me, now--don't you know who that Fat Lady really is?...Ah, buddy. Ah, buddy. It's Christ Himself. Christ Himself, buddy."
3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (fiction)
Finished January 2010
This was Wilde's only novel. I remember Stella reading this years ago and recall that she thought it was interesting.
This was Wilde's only novel. I remember Stella reading this years ago and recall that she thought it was interesting.
Hmm...I wonder: Was Wilde proud of Dorian or was he condemning him? Did he really think sensation and beauty was the whole of morality? I read in the notes that Wilde wished he could be Dorian. Was that the truth?
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (fiction)
Finished February 2010
Personal Legend this. Personal Legend that. Bla, bla, bla. I grew tired of him mentioning this every two paragraphs. I did like that he wrote about Tarifa and Tangier. It made me picture the men in their long hooded robes.
Personal Legend this. Personal Legend that. Bla, bla, bla. I grew tired of him mentioning this every two paragraphs. I did like that he wrote about Tarifa and Tangier. It made me picture the men in their long hooded robes.
5. Dracula by Bram Stoker (fiction)
Finished February 2010
Lara Lea highly recommended this book and put it in her top five all time books. Darren and I are reading a chapter every evening. I had nightmares the first couple of nights! Twilight doesn't hold a candle to Stoker's imagery and imagination.
Lara Lea highly recommended this book and put it in her top five all time books. Darren and I are reading a chapter every evening. I had nightmares the first couple of nights! Twilight doesn't hold a candle to Stoker's imagery and imagination.
I liked how Stoker was able to use macabre written and spoken journals, newspaper clippings, telegraphs, memorandums, etc. so successfully to form his story.
6. Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour an Introduction by J. D. Salinger (fiction)
Finished February 2010
I really liked Franny and Zooey and he just died this month, so its sort of a tribute to him.
I think this was my least favorite of the Salinger books I've read. The Seymour section was tedious
I really liked Franny and Zooey and he just died this month, so its sort of a tribute to him.
I think this was my least favorite of the Salinger books I've read. The Seymour section was tedious
7. La doble historia del Doctor Valmy and Mito by Antonio Buero Vallejo (fiction)
Finished March 2010
Stella bestowed me with a pile of Spanish books, this being one of them. I liked the last book I read by Vallejo, El tragaluz (see my 2009 books), so I'm going to check out these two plays.
Stella bestowed me with a pile of Spanish books, this being one of them. I liked the last book I read by Vallejo, El tragaluz (see my 2009 books), so I'm going to check out these two plays.
--Wow. They were quite intense. The first was about torture from a reluctant torturer's point of view. The second was a sort of modern Don Quijote criticizing the Spanish government.
8. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (fiction)
Finished April 2010
Finished April 2010
When Darren and I get through Dracula, we plan on reading this book...it seems fitting since we are living on an island.
--What no pirates??? We were kind of disappointed. There wasn't really much of a plot either but we were fascinated by the amount of different varieties of animals that were on the island (North American bears and African lions on the same island? Really?) and how the father knew about every tree, plant, and creature they encountered.
--What no pirates??? We were kind of disappointed. There wasn't really much of a plot either but we were fascinated by the amount of different varieties of animals that were on the island (North American bears and African lions on the same island? Really?) and how the father knew about every tree, plant, and creature they encountered.
9. Climbing Free by Lynn Hill (nonfiction)
Finished April 2010
It is sad that I still haven't read this. I started reading it to Montie and David when they came to visit me in Cali a few months ago and it was really good. Alas, I have left it on the mainland for now.
--Lynn and Greg Child did a great job relating Lynn's life. It was interesting to learn more about the Stonemasters and Lynn's endless pursuit of free climbing. Wow, she has a lot of focus. I don't think I'll ever be that way (Do I really ever want to be? I'm not so sure.).
10. Nine Stories by J. D. Salinger (fiction)
--Lynn and Greg Child did a great job relating Lynn's life. It was interesting to learn more about the Stonemasters and Lynn's endless pursuit of free climbing. Wow, she has a lot of focus. I don't think I'll ever be that way (Do I really ever want to be? I'm not so sure.).
10. Nine Stories by J. D. Salinger (fiction)
Finished April 2010
I feel like maybe I need to be a deeper person to understand the point of these stories, but maybe the point is to just contemplate them. Not sure, but the intro page quotes a Zen Koan: "We know the sound of two hands clapping. But what is the sound of one hand clapping?" which makes me think so.
11. The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde (fiction)
Finished May 2010
Wilde is witty. I like him.
12. Bonny and Clyde: The Lives Behind the Legend by Paul Schneider (nonfiction; biography)
Finished May 2010
I just don't really know much at all about them, so I was curious. So far I have liked that the book gives a lot of historical background not only of their lives, but how things were during the Roaring '20s and The Great Depression.
13. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin (nonfiction; biography)
Finished June 2010
What an inspiring book! Greg's life made me realize what important goals really are.
14. To Be Brave by Royal Robbins (nonfiction; autobiography)
Finished June 2010
You're writing around eight volumes? Really? I enjoyed the book, but separating out his biography into multiple volumes for about twenty dollars each seems suspiciously like a business plot to me. I wish he would have just written one book.
14. To Be Brave by Royal Robbins (nonfiction; autobiography)
Finished June 2010
You're writing around eight volumes? Really? I enjoyed the book, but separating out his biography into multiple volumes for about twenty dollars each seems suspiciously like a business plot to me. I wish he would have just written one book.
15. PT Exam by Scott Giles (study guide)
Finished June 2010
Unfortunately I have to spend a chunk of time studying for boards this year. At least in Guam I can study on the beach!
16. National Physical Therapy Exam Review and Study Guide by O'Sullivan & Siegelman (study guide)
Finished September 2010
O'Sullivan, you kill me! But thanks for helping me pass my boards!
17. The Shack by William P. Young (fiction)
Finished September 2010
I misplaced this book for a long time, but found it while cleaning out my car just before leaving California. I'll have to start on it when I return to the mainland.
--Definitely some interesting and unique ideas about God and ideas about how God can let bad things happen to good people
--Definitely some interesting and unique ideas about God and ideas about how God can let bad things happen to good people
18. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (fiction)
Finished September 2010
I've been working on this book for over a year now. I need to get back to reading it. I really do love it--I just keep getting distracted by smaller books.
19. Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison (nonfiction; autobiography)
Finished October 2010
Fascinating autobiography about a fella growing up with asperger's. He was responsible for making KISS's guitars light on "fire."
--This was another book I read in two days. The first half was really interesting and helped me understand asperger's a little more than I had. However, I was bored of him saying how normal he'd become every few paragraphs during the last chapters of the book. I feel like it wasn't necessary for him to do so that many times.
21. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (nonfiction)
--Like the title portrays, this was a journey through seeking pleasure, meditation, and balance. I enjoyed it, and actually can't wait to watch the movie because I think the scenery will be amazing. I find it interesting that when she travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia she mostly stays put. I've come to enjoy this sort of travel nowadays. One can more easily imbibe the place instead of frenetically flashing by it (although that admittedly has a charm about it as well). The Italy section reminded me of my friend Stella who heartily stated even before leaving the United States that during her year in Italy she would eat her way through it. And proudly she did, just like Liz. The India section gave me a better insight about what actually goes on with meditation and how people go about doing it. Finally, in Indonesia I enjoyed how she found"love" not just with the Brazilian guy she meets, but by helping and spending time with the friends she makes.
22. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario (nonfiction)
23. High Infatuation by Steph Davis (nonfiction)
24. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs (nonfiction)
--I remember trying to read through the Bible when I was little and starting to cry when I got to all the wild rules in Leviticus. I didn't understand why God would want us to do some of the things it said in that book. A. J.'s journey actually trying to follow all those rules, therefore, was especially interesting to me.
25. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (fiction)
I've been working on this book for over a year now. I need to get back to reading it. I really do love it--I just keep getting distracted by smaller books.
--Woo hoo! I believe this is the longest book I've ever read. It rocked my world. Themes I found interesting: contemplating how bad things can happen to good people, belief vs. nonbelief in God, God as necessary for a world to run smoothly, mistrust bringing insanity, crime and judgement...I could go on.
19. Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison (nonfiction; autobiography)
Finished October 2010
Fascinating autobiography about a fella growing up with asperger's. He was responsible for making KISS's guitars light on "fire."
--This was another book I read in two days. The first half was really interesting and helped me understand asperger's a little more than I had. However, I was bored of him saying how normal he'd become every few paragraphs during the last chapters of the book. I feel like it wasn't necessary for him to do so that many times.
20. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (fiction)
Finished October 2010
Ready to get my Spanish literature on...except my copy is in English.
--Not a book for kiddies (one of the main characters has hundreds of love affairs), but an interesting look at life in a Columbian Caribbean society that has passed, aging, marriage, the changes that time brings to people and the world around them and the things that manage to endure. 21. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (nonfiction)
Finished November 2010
I almost feel silly reading this because it is so popular, but I love me some traveling and have been to all the countries in the book, so I'm curious as to how she portrays them. I'm hoping it will give me inspiration to do more travel writing.--Like the title portrays, this was a journey through seeking pleasure, meditation, and balance. I enjoyed it, and actually can't wait to watch the movie because I think the scenery will be amazing. I find it interesting that when she travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia she mostly stays put. I've come to enjoy this sort of travel nowadays. One can more easily imbibe the place instead of frenetically flashing by it (although that admittedly has a charm about it as well). The Italy section reminded me of my friend Stella who heartily stated even before leaving the United States that during her year in Italy she would eat her way through it. And proudly she did, just like Liz. The India section gave me a better insight about what actually goes on with meditation and how people go about doing it. Finally, in Indonesia I enjoyed how she found"love" not just with the Brazilian guy she meets, but by helping and spending time with the friends she makes.
22. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario (nonfiction)
Finished November 2010
Sad journalistic exploration of the journey many Central Americans take to try to sneak into the United States--often young children trying to find their mothers who left them to make and send them money. Sonia also discusses the positives and negatives of mothers leaving their children to go work in the United States. They are able to provide money for their kids, but Sonia claims that the time apart usually causes an unavoidable rift in the parent/child relationship, even if they are eventually reunited. This is the first book I've read on a kindle, and I am surprisingly pleased at how nice it is.23. High Infatuation by Steph Davis (nonfiction)
Finished December 2010
She, like I started her life studying English and wondering what she would end up doing. For her, she ended up choosing a dirtbag climbing life that sent her around the world. I am only pseudo-ly following in her footsteps.24. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs (nonfiction)
Finished December 2010
A few of my friends have read this book and it sounds super interesting.--I remember trying to read through the Bible when I was little and starting to cry when I got to all the wild rules in Leviticus. I didn't understand why God would want us to do some of the things it said in that book. A. J.'s journey actually trying to follow all those rules, therefore, was especially interesting to me.
Finished December 2010
Already more interesting than The Swiss Family Robinson. This is the new book Darren and I are reading together.
--Darren would fall asleep after two words every night, so he gave me permission to read the last few chapters on my own since he had no idea what was going on anyways. I enjoyed the book but must admit I didn't understand 1/4 of the words.
