I got out of the shower this afternoon and was greeted with thunder and lightening. Not that I was going to go outside and endure the summer heat; but sunlight is, in general, pleasant. So due to the inclement weather I decided it was time to read. I finally finished reading I Love You, Beth Cooper. Which I am grateful for because it was so cliche and predictable. I was upset that I hadn’t used my library card to read it for free but instead paid the $14 bucks it cost at Barnes and Noble. I didn’t like it from the very beginning but being the crazy committed reader that I am I could not quit until it was finished. I have finished every book I’ve ever started. I’m not about to start giving up on books now. Anyway, I finished this book and will happily be exchanging it at a book exchange as soon as possible.
I am irritated that I believed the “funny”, “brilliant” on the cover, seeing as those two words are the antithis of how the book actually read. It was neither ”funny” or “brilliant.” As a society we should stop decribing books as brilliant, unless they really are. Let’s not use our adjectives so lightly.
I have now begun reading Atonement by Ian McEwan. I don’t want to say “so far so good” but that’s generally how I feel. The man knows how to write in a female perspective and that is a talent all on its own. Having broken the rule of watching the movie first and then reading the book I will say that the film was so good that it made me want to read the book. What’s good about the book is that its characters are so well described you don’t picture the actors from the movie but are able to use your imagination to picture your own versions of them. This can be sometimes difficult after having seen the movie.
This past year I have gone on a book buying spree and my bedroom is now my library. I have debated which piece of furniture must go in order to be replaced by another bookshelf. Honestly, how important is my dresser? I used to not add books to my collection until I had read everything but now I have the pleasure of standing in front of my bookshelf and having an option. Should I had been in the mood for humor I would have gladly began reading the complete collection of short stories by Mark Twain, or one of the many James Thurber pieces I have sitting and waiting for me to read. Today however I am feeling romantic and Atonement is definitely agreeing with my mood. The weather also adds to the tone of the novel and for this I am glad that I have such a variety of books to choose from.
Who knows, come a day or two when I’ve finished reading Atonement I can read Crime and Punishment or something else from my collection. Dostoevsky, although depressing at times cracks me up. He is so neurotic.
Well, I must stop myself because I could easily write another 500 words on books and how much they make me happy. Even the smell of the paper–old or new sends endorphins through my brain. OKAY! Enough.
Tags: Atonement, Book Reviews, Books, Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky, I Love You Beth Cooper, Ian McEwan, Reading, Thurber, Twain
