Summer Reading

[InfinityXXX]

The comming up of school means that Summer Reading is due for all you people that have English ap(pre ap). If you have any Summer Reading stories or just read a really good book....post it here and talk about it.

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This time, I had to read 2 books: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

When I heard I had to read/buy two books I was outraged(especially when I saw how thick A Tale of Two Cities was). I tried every attempt to get out of that class but my mom wouldn't let me change my schedule. So I had no choice but to endure it and read the two books


Two Cities
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When I read the opening paradox I moaned and kept saying how boring this is. I moaned and groaned all the way until Book 2 and then suddenly....the book actually started getting interesting. Chapter after chapter the book got more and more interesting and after completing the book, I would say, that I actually enjoyed this book and that it is a favorite of mine. I loved how Dickens used a lot of Foreshadowing and imagery in the book. And I also liked towards the end(when all the secrets were being revealed) how he will end the chapters on cliffhangers. I was really tempted to cheat and skip pages.


But after reading this great novel, I closed the book and glared at The Awakening. It glared back at me and I got that feeling that this one was gonna suck. Its a really short book (100 somethin pages) but sometimes the shorter books are the most boring.

The Awakening
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I haven't finished the book but so far its ok. Its a book aimed towards and for women so I guess thats why I jsut can't get into it but the story is set up good and theres a lot of symbolism (The Parrot and Mockingbird). Its aout A non creole woman who lives in a Creole society and married to a Creole man...she wants to free herself of Creole traditions and "awaken".


Yep, thats my summer reading but after reading a Tale of Two Cities, I'm thinking of reading something else by Charles Dikens. I dunno but if you guys have anything worth recommending then do so.

[Shattered_weasel]

On 2006-08-19 09:12, InfinityXXX wrote:

The Awakening
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I haven't finished the book but so far its ok. Its a book aimed towards and for women so I guess thats why I jsut can't get into it but the story is set up good and theres a lot of symbolism (The Parrot and Mockingbird). Its aout A non creole woman who lives in a Creole society and married to a Creole man...she wants to free herself of Creole traditions and "awaken".



Everytime I hear that book's name I wince. Two books I will always hate with my entire soul is "The Awakening" and "The Scarelt Letter".

[InfinityXXX]

On 2006-08-19 09:20, Shattered_weasel wrote:


On 2006-08-19 09:12, InfinityXXX wrote:

The Awakening
---------------
I haven't finished the book but so far its ok. Its a book aimed towards and for women so I guess thats why I jsut can't get into it but the story is set up good and theres a lot of symbolism (The Parrot and Mockingbird). Its aout A non creole woman who lives in a Creole society and married to a Creole man...she wants to free herself of Creole traditions and "awaken".



Everytime I hear that book's name I wince. Two books I will always hate with my entire soul is "The Awakening" and "The Scarelt Letter".



Is it that bad,lol?

Maybe I should find a place that can summarize it up because its really not getting any better.

Its written nicely but I jsut can't get into it, especially after I just read A Tale of Two cities.

[astuarlen]

As a college student, I am not assigned "summer reading"; I get to make my own. So, ah, here's what I thought about some books I've read this summer (probably forgetting a few, in which case they mustn't have made much of an impression). Yeah, I'm kinda on a sci-fi/fantasy kick. Whee! But not, y'know, uber-corny stuff. ;>

Orphans of Chaos - John C. Wright
Def' one of my favorites from this summer's lineup, I gobbled it up turkey-like and now I'm burning for the sequel. A very quick read at 300-something pages with an immersive story about five not-so-normal students at a not-so-normal "school", combining fantasy, sorta-sci-fi (no robots, space battles, aliens, etc ;p), and mythology (I am such a sucker for it). If you enjoy Neil Gaiman--and I sure do--you'd probably be interested in this one. Wright also has an amazing, far-future sci-fi trilogy which rocked my socks off (The Golden Age etc).
5/5 <3s

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
I wanted to read this before seeing the movie, and it was really worth it; I found that the book, while lacking the visual immersion of the movie (and the lovely Gong Li), was more intriguing. I can't attest to the strict accuracy of the novel, but it's filled with interesting characters, interactions, and cultural stuff. Mmm, stuff.
4.5/5 <3s

Bridge of Birds - Barry Hughart
Described as "a novel of an ancient China that never was", this is a short, fairytalesque book. It was sometimes charming and a little funny, to be honest, but also often disappointing. If you're looking for a novel with suspense and surprise twists and a complex plot, don't look here. Not a bad book--and a lot of people sure seemed to love in on amazon--but not high on my list of recs.
3/5 <3s

Endymion and The Rise of Endymion - Dan Simmons
I know I've gone fangirl over Simmons's sci-fi awesomeness before, so I won't do it again. These two are the sorta-sequels to his Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion (highly recommended!). Just really damn good, okay?
5/5 <3s

Winterlong - Elizabeth Hand
Strange, disturbing, yet interesting. Definite fantastic elements but no sword-and-sorcery stuff in this character-driven, post-apocalyptic novel. Prostitution--and, fair warning, child prostitution--abound. Winterlong won't make my list of all-time favorites, but it sure is different and wierdly compelling.
4/5 <3s

The Etched City - K. J. Bishop
One of those books that seems promising but never really goes anywhere. If Ms. Bishop can't be arsed to give me a plot of substance, I can't be arsed to give this book much of a review.
2/5 <3s

Last Call - Tim Powers
Reminiscent of Gaiman's work but with clear strengths of its own. Tarot, gambling, mythology, twisted family relations, and all kinds of fun stuff rolled into this printed package. Recommended!
4/5 <3s

Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake
This first novel in the Gormenghast Trilogy took me forever to read, though it's not all that long. Peake gives us some interesting characters, but the action--or lack thereof--often seemed to drag out. You and I have a common illness, Mr. Peake: too many words. I started reading the second installment but gave it up in favor of something more exciting. Plod, plod, ooh!!, plod, interesting!!, plod, plod...
3/5 <3s

Cordelia's Honor - Lois Bujold
This book is really 2 novels combined, and unfortunately the first one isn't very compelling. However, if you can get past the first half--and the cheeserific cover--the second part is substantially better. Bujold has apparently won oodles of awards (including the Hugo and Nebulla, both for sci-fi), too. Recommended--with the disclaimer that I cannot be held accountable for any injuries incurred in reading the first novel.
Part I: 2/5 <3s; Part II: 4/5 <3s

[FIDELCASTRO]

We read A Tale of Cities this year in English. I couldn't say I enjoyed a moment of it. Dickens, while an exceptional writer, is long winded, and at times, rather redundant.

One book I meant to pick up this summer but never got around to was The Picture of Dorian Gray

[_Ted_]

On 2006-08-19 09:20, Shattered_weasel wrote:


On 2006-08-19 09:12, InfinityXXX wrote:

The Awakening
---------------
I haven't finished the book but so far its ok. Its a book aimed towards and for women so I guess thats why I jsut can't get into it but the story is set up good and theres a lot of symbolism (The Parrot and Mockingbird). Its aout A non creole woman who lives in a Creole society and married to a Creole man...she wants to free herself of Creole traditions and "awaken".



Everytime I hear that book's name I wince. Two books I will always hate with my entire soul is "The Awakening" and "The Scarelt Letter".



I have the same sentiments as Shattered, but I'd tack Pride and Prejudice onto that list of abominations.

As for summer reading, I have a massive list of books that I've been meaning to get to for a while, but I have to read all this junk out of text books for my summer classes and it kind of puts me off from doing much extra reading (even if it's just for pleasure).