Dorian's Reading Log

doriansmith

Decided to keep a log of what I'm reading this year as I was trying to think of all the books I read in 2010 and couldn't remember half of them.

I've also gotten into the habit of reading a few books over a few weeks and then nothing for months so I'm hoping starting a log will encourage me to pick up some of the books that I've been meaning to read!

First up is Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Not something I'd have normally picked out myself but I got it as a Christmas present so I'm going to give it a go

doriansmith

Finished Freedom. It was better than I expected. Quite an easy read, though not that memorable.

Next up is Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Been meaning to read this for ages so I'm looking forward to it

doriansmith

Well Catch 22 turned out to be a serious chore. Didn't enjoy it at all. I just found myself wishing it was over which kind of defeats the purpose of reading for enjoyment!

Next up is The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. Looking at the reviews at the beginning of it is a bit offputting as some of them are less than complimentary. One says that if you're squeamish or easily frightened then leave it alone...I'm both these things but now I'm intrigued so I'll read it anyway

doriansmith

Finished The Wasp Factory & I liked it. Didn't find it gruesome or disturbing like a lot of the reviews said it was, though the part with the

child's brain being eaten by maggots

was pretty gross. Didn't see the ending coming at all either. Overall I enjoyed this book, it's an interesting read.

doriansmith

Finished The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson yesterday. I read the first two books in this trilogy last year & really liked them both. This one was good but I preferred the other two books. Didn't think this one flowed as well & wasn't as much of a page turner but I did still enjoy it.

I'd put my order of preference for this trilogy as:

1. The Girl Who Played With Fire (book 2)
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (book 1)
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (book 3)

doriansmith

Finished The Butterfly Tattoo by Philip Pullman. Picked this up in the library as I'm a huge fan of His Dark Materials by the same author.

It's about Chris, a 17 year old who meets & falls for a girl, Jenny, before things end in tragedy. It's a very short & simple book that I probably would've enjoyed more if I'd read it as a teen. It's no His Dark Materials anyway. Only ok & definitely more aimed at a teenage audience.

doriansmith

Finished American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.

Wow, what a book. It started off tame enough, describing the materialistic lifestyles of Patrick Bateman & his friends. Once the murders start they get gradually more graphic & disturbing. I found the last third of the book quite difficult to read because it was so disgusting in parts & I felt sick at some of the graphic scenes.

The book's a pretty powerful commentary on materialism & modern society. Not a book I'll forget in a hurry & definitely not for the faint hearted.

doriansmith

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Picked this up in the library as I'm a big fan of dystopian novels like 1984 (my favourite book) & Brave New World.

It's set in a world where books are forbidden & the main character's job is to burn the books of any dissidents. I really liked the storyline, it's an interesting concept. Not as good as the books I mentioned above but I really enjoyed it & would recommend it.

mrskinner

+1

doriansmith

Finished The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

Loved this book, it's really interesting & informative. Dawkins makes some good arguments against religion and God's existence.

I was a bit wary before reading it as, while I'm a non-believer, I find militant atheists almost as bad as in-your-face religious types, and Dawkins has a bit of a reputation in this regard. But I didn't think he came across that way in the book. His arguments are well thought out and interesting.

I don't agree with everything he says: for example he claims that the psychological damage caused by bringing a child up as a Catholic may be worse than the damage caused by childhood sexual abuse by priests. I don't think the two can be compared.

Overall, it's a great read & I am definitely keen to read his book about evolution, The Selfish Gene.

doriansmith

Finished Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Really enjoyed this. It's long & took me ages to read but it's beautifully written & I can see why it's considered a classic.

doriansmith

Forgot to update this. I've gotten a lot more lax with the reading recently

Anyway, finished The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins last week.

This book about evolution & genetics was Dawkins' first book. I'm really interested in science so I found it really fascinating. The style of writing is easy to understand for a subject matter that's complicated at times.

I'd like to do more reading on this subject at some stage as I enjoyed this book & would love to learn more about it.

doriansmith

Finished The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. This book was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010 & is an international bestseller.

I don't really understand the hype. Didn't think it was particularly well written & found most of the characters unlikeable. I didn't really care how their lives turned out or how the book was going to finish.

A big meh from me. Not my cup of tea.

doriansmith

Haven't updated this in a long time. Didn't read any books for a while as I was really busy with other things. Ones I've read recently:

The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins. This is the third book of his I've read this year. It's about the evidence for evolution and shows why evolution is fact, and not just a theory. I really loved this book, it was fascinating and full of interesting information, plus it's a pretty easy read with no technical language. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the subject.

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. This is a mystery novel set in Australia in 1900 & is about a group of schoolgirls who go on a day trip to a nearby hanging rock, where three of them and one teacher go missing. It's quite a short book and deals mostly with the aftermath of the incident. I liked it but found the ending a bit frustrating as

you never find out what happened to the missing girls

.

Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy today. This is a post-apocalyptic story of a man and his son trying to survive in a dark and dangerous world. It's a real page-turner & I read it in a couple of sittings. Really enjoyed it, though it's very depressing & I shed a tear towards the end. Great book and very well written. McCarthy really captured the bleakness and hopelessness of the characters' situation.