A Tale of Two Cities

I haven't blogged in a while because the book I was reading wasn't exactly the shortest, most entertaining book on the planet. Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities was a very slow paced book at the very beginning. But as I got to the very end, the last 50 pages or so, it was so intriguing I couldn't put it down. This was the part where all the little quirks about the characters and secrets were explained. For example,in Doctor Manette's letter, explaining the events before his emprisionment, he spoke of Charles' parents and the reason for the Doctor making the pair of women's shoes. The book at first didn't seem to have much purpose as it followed the lives of Lucie, her father, Mr. Lorry, and Charles; but the purpose and themes emerged when the French revolution started. The theme was revenge, and it had taken over some people so much they became blood-thristy, like Madame Defarge. Other themes were innocence versus guiltiness and scarifice. This is seen when Madame Defarge has gone so crazy she hunts the innocent instead of the guilty. This is what brings Charles to face the Guillotine. But what saves him is when Sydeny Carton scarifices himself for the happiness of Charles' family. Overall, all the painstakingly boring reading made up for all the excitment in the end of the book.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I enjoyed the book a lot. This really surprised me because I normally am not interested in Sci-Fi books. This book contained humor which is one of the things that made it unique. I also like the main idea that Douglas Adams put into the book. For example, frequently Arthur, the last surviving human, assumes he is above others and that Earth was a wonderful place. Yet it takes him the whole book to realize that Earth isn't the greatest, and compared to the aliens around him he is far from superior. This is strongest when Arthur encounters mice, he reacts with disgust, not realizing mice are one of the smartest species alive. Adams could tell us other thing in this scene, too. Such as, valuing other species, and not believing in human superiority when we don't know what is out there. Other ideas in the book were about computers. In the book, people wanted to find the answer to life, but the computer gave an unsatisfactory answer. To understand the answer they needed the right question which the computer did not have. In the end the computer could not find the question to life, showing how trust in technology must not be too overwhelming. The book was entertaining, yet I feel I will not go on to read the sequel because the ending of this book was perfect for me.

Nineteen Minutes

The thing I like most about Jodi Picoult's writing is that she has such an open mind, because of this when she writes each person's perspective in the book makes it hard decide who is at fault in her books. In this book, she makes the reader feel so sorry for Peter that when the trial comes you are almost hoping he would be let go, yet than you remember how awful his crime was. I noticed Josie and her mother, Alex, are very much alike. They both don't let many people close to them and when they do, the people take advantage of them. They also have the same personality and humor. The irony is neither of them believe they resemble each other, making them even more alike. But what I really don't like is how Jodi Picoult brings issues to people yet doesn't offer a sufficient solution. Overall, I enjoyed the book and it was a very fast read.

A Room With A View

I think what I enjoyed most about this book is the fact that it is not just a love story. E.M. Foster tells the reader his opinion on social classes through the presentation of his characters and their interactions. Like when Lucy breaks off her engagement her mother is absolutely repulsed, making the reader see how silly the mother is and people in high classes like her. One character who was very frustrating was Lucy. Foster made continuous comments throughout the book about how Lucy needed to be herself and break away from the rules of society; the reader realizes this, yet Lucy doesn't. One thing I found amusing about Miss Bartlett is her ability to manipulate Lucy's feelings. But she loses it as Lucy begins to realize how foolish society is. Foster's writing still can relate to today's world even after so many years, showing people don't change sometimes.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

This book took me an extremely long time to finish because I did not like the format. Instead of one complex mystery throughout the whole book, it was short stories. This meant I did not have time to really get into the story before Holmes was already explaining what happened. But I did enjoy all the characters and mysteries. I would like to read some other Sherlock Holmes book. My favorite character was Watson, even though he is not as clever as Sherlock. Some people think Watson is dumb, but Holmes can not tolerate being around slow people. Therefore why would he have Watson around if he wasn't in some way helpful. Its not that Watson is slow, it is just in comparison to Sherlock he is not observant making him look confused in most cases. What I find interesting is that Sherlock takes interest in things that some people wouldn't even think is linked to a crime. It probably took years of practice and experience, and some natural born talent, to have the amount of logic Holmes uses. Another thing that is interesting is some of the mysteries that Sherlock Holmes had are used and the crime fighting shows today.

Review to Kite Runner Book Review

I found a book review on Amazon from Publisher's Weekly which I agree with for the most part. They describe the characters like Amir as "sensitive [and] insecure" which is right on the mark. But they say the theme is "how childhood choices can affect our adult lives", I semi-agree with this. Really I think the book is more about how Amir was pressured into his choice. But his choice did follow him into adulthood. The review is also right about the fact that the story is political and also a personal story about forgiveness.

The Kite Runner

I have to be honest I was thinking of dropping this book at the very beginning, only the reassurance that it gets better from others who had read it kept me reading. And now I am so glad I didn't drop the book. It is very depressing at points but I like the fact that it is real. Not a so fake it- never-would-happen-in-real-life ending, but a believable ending that was just happy enough. The book had so many aspects to it, like the political angle, the ideas of forgiveness, when Amir forgives himself for all his bad deeds and also when Hassan forgives him, this is not in the book but it is implied when Amir reads Hassan's letters. Also the idea of peer pressure, or maybe influence is a better word, because Amir never actually called Hassan his friend due to the fact that his ideas were pressured or influenced by the society at that time. I think my favorite part of the book was when Amir and Sohrab were bonding because it was like he was fixing all the awful things that happened so many years ago. I think so how it was not only fear but maybe a little bit of jealousy which caused all the teasing and mistakes Amir made. And I know this sounds cliche but doesn't jealousy get the best of all of us? I feel Amir was right to feel bad about what he let happen to Hassan, but maybe he took it too far. I mean he let it get into his thoughts almost all the time and made himself feel almost unworthy of being happy. I don't think I would have changed anything about the book because everything matched so perfectly if you changed one detail the whole thing would collapse.