Wow, I got through Candy Girl in 2 days. It was such a fun and enticing read! I didn't even get squeamish until the last 30 pages... It was definitely fun to read about places I've seen downtown, and to learn about the inner workings of the doll houses. I recommend reading this! A nice break from the Time list.
Two funny stories related to Candy Girl - a friend from Junior League read this in her book club and they went to The Seville for their meeting to discuss the book. Apparently they got a tour and solicited to join the club if they were interested! Then they went to a Juno movie premier at the Walker. The author of Candy Girl, Diablo Cody, also wrote Juno. They got a chance to chat with her all about stripping!
The second story is that the owner of my hair salon was apparently married to a guy who left her to marry Cody. I keep wondering if Jonny in the book is the salon owner's ex!
Ready to get back to the list!
Happy reading!
Mary
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A Clockwork Orange
I finished A Clockwork Orange in just a couple days. It was definitely the most violent book I've ever read, and I've been having bad dreams about creepy guys chasing me and doing violent things. Not ideal.
That being said, I think it's actually one of the best books I've read so far on the Time Top 100 list. I liked how the author broke the story up into three 7-chapter sections. According to the forward from the author, when the book was originally published in America, they only published the first 20 chapters. The publisher deemed the last chapter to be too unrealistic for Americans. The rest of the world got the full text. The last chapter is interesting, it is where the main character Alex actually starts to turn good. I haven't seen the movie, but apparently it's only the first 2o chapters too. The author said that without the last chapter, the book is a fable, not a novel.
I really liked the clockwork orange context. Before reading the book and understanding the meaning of that phrase, I always thought of the chocolate oranges that I got in my stocking every year. But in actuality, a clockwork orange is "A person or organism with a mechanistic morality or lack of free will." (wikipedia). That fits perfectly with the book, as the main character has his free will removed in a state experiment.
I'm taking a break from the Time list for a bit, and reading Candy Girl, about a stripper in Minneapolis. Next Time book: Atonement. Maybe I'll watch the Keria Knightly movie too!
Keep reading,
Mary
That being said, I think it's actually one of the best books I've read so far on the Time Top 100 list. I liked how the author broke the story up into three 7-chapter sections. According to the forward from the author, when the book was originally published in America, they only published the first 20 chapters. The publisher deemed the last chapter to be too unrealistic for Americans. The rest of the world got the full text. The last chapter is interesting, it is where the main character Alex actually starts to turn good. I haven't seen the movie, but apparently it's only the first 2o chapters too. The author said that without the last chapter, the book is a fable, not a novel.
I really liked the clockwork orange context. Before reading the book and understanding the meaning of that phrase, I always thought of the chocolate oranges that I got in my stocking every year. But in actuality, a clockwork orange is "A person or organism with a mechanistic morality or lack of free will." (wikipedia). That fits perfectly with the book, as the main character has his free will removed in a state experiment.
I'm taking a break from the Time list for a bit, and reading Candy Girl, about a stripper in Minneapolis. Next Time book: Atonement. Maybe I'll watch the Keria Knightly movie too!
Keep reading,
Mary
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Big Sleep
I was able to read The Big Sleep in just a few days. It was a quick paced private eye detective novel. I could see the images playing before my eyes in grainy black and white footage - the story was set back in the '30's. Per wikipedia, it's noted for it's complexity and greek-like tradegy. I did have a little trouble towards the end keeping up with all the threads of the story unravelling. Overall I did like the book, I don't read many mysteries, so it was a good change of pace.
The author, Raymond Chandler, is one of the most prominent and influential detective story writers of his time.
The book did get me thinking about words used to describe the main character, a private investigator, detective, private eye, private dick... My favorite is gum shoe. This probably isn't the end-all-be-all site, but I thought this explanation of how gum shoe came into being was pretty interesting.
It turns out that the original "gumshoes" of the late 1800's were shoes or boots made of gum rubber, the soft-soled precursors of our modern sneakers... At the turn of the century "to gumshoe" meant to sneak around quietly as if wearing gumshoes, either in order to rob or, conversely, to catch thieves. "Gumshoe man" was originally slang for a thief, but by about 1908 "gumshoe" usually meant a police detective, as it has ever since. http://ask.yahoo.com/20011002.html
I'm currently reading A Clockwork Orange. This is the most violent book I've ever read... Should be finished in a couple days.
Stay warm, and keep reading!
Mary
The author, Raymond Chandler, is one of the most prominent and influential detective story writers of his time.
The book did get me thinking about words used to describe the main character, a private investigator, detective, private eye, private dick... My favorite is gum shoe. This probably isn't the end-all-be-all site, but I thought this explanation of how gum shoe came into being was pretty interesting.
It turns out that the original "gumshoes" of the late 1800's were shoes or boots made of gum rubber, the soft-soled precursors of our modern sneakers... At the turn of the century "to gumshoe" meant to sneak around quietly as if wearing gumshoes, either in order to rob or, conversely, to catch thieves. "Gumshoe man" was originally slang for a thief, but by about 1908 "gumshoe" usually meant a police detective, as it has ever since. http://ask.yahoo.com/20011002.html
I'm currently reading A Clockwork Orange. This is the most violent book I've ever read... Should be finished in a couple days.
Stay warm, and keep reading!
Mary
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