Top 5

Holy crap!!! Semi-regular posting?! It can't be.... Well, if the cop-out that is a top five even counts.

Anywho, onward and upward:

Top 5 books read while at Princeton City Schools
1st-12th

5.) Out of the Silent Planet - Being a sci-fi nerd and a C.S. Lewis fan, I was pretty stoked to read this. However, in doing so I learned one life lesson: trilogies weren't meant to be read one at a time. Every time I think about reading the other two books, I remember I have very little recollection of what actually happened in the first. Maybe someday...

4.) Night - I still have this book tucked away in some dark corner of my room. I remember reading it in 8th grade with Mr. Pogue, the guy who, if nothing else, taught me that books are printed on paper so they can be written in, torn up, and generally made your own. To this day a good indicator of books I've actually read is to look for the one's that have seemingly gone through the washer, twice. Anywho, a powerful book that everyone should be forced to read in school.

3.) Lord of the Flies - Another Mr. Pogue read that I probably wouldn't have even opened if it weren't for two undeniable facts:
3-1.) The edition of the book I bought had cover that was about 6 standard deviations MORE badass than anyone elses book.
3-2.) Pogue sold this book as being a case study in anarchy, which is pretty much what a 13 year old boy strives for Monday-Friday anyways.

2.) Notes From Underground - I think I was the only person in the class of '07 to like this book. Dostoevsky is a hell of a writer and anyone who thinks any different can suck my thumb. It's not easy to write what is essentially stream of consciousness for half of a novel and make ANYTHING of it, let alone something that would be taught in high schools nearly 150 years later. It also makes for a hell of a book on tape.

1.) The Great Gatsby - I didn't like it much then. The book absolutely emits the feeling, taste, and smell of summer (“It was dawn now on Long Island and we went about opening the rest of the windows down-stairs, filling the house with gray-turning, gold-turning light. The shadow of a tree fell abruptly across the dew and ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves. There was a slow, pleasant movement in the air, scarcely a wind, promising a cool, lovely day.”) and has one of the most profound last pages of all time. It seemed like we talked about this book for a month and I'm still not completely sure I "get" it. I'm also not sure if I'm supposed to.




The best part of all of this? I still have every single one of my projects from sophomore year of high school on. I want to personally thank every teacher that realized computers weren't the devil and in doing so let me have an amazing archive of stuff that, barring something terrible, I will be able to have forever.

Yes, even the bio coloring!!



So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

How many roads must a man walk down?

This week I finally got around to reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a book I've been interested in for years and avoided seeing the movie for reason of avoiding it ruining the book for me (both because of spoilers and the quality).

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is already on hold. Douglas Adams is probably one of the best character builders I have experienced. Whether it's Arthur Dent, your average Joe, Ford Prefect, the automobile-named alien who intended to be on Earth for a week only to be forgotten about for 15 years to finally have to escape to leave, or Marvin, the manic-depressive robot. They all have a sense of depth, personality, and even a unique voice of sorts (and sense of humor).

Writing a book based around a veritable encyclopedia of the universe can't be an easy task. Small pieces of the guide are mentioned throughout the novel, helping to build the reader's understanding of the history of the universe and provide more lighthearted comic relief.

Which is the reason I'm planning on reading the whole series now. Sure, the characters are wonderful and the ability any sci-fi writer worth his salt has to create a whole universe (and it's unique machines) astounds me, but Adams does all of it with a sort of lightheartedness that I really can't get enough of. I'm not a huge reader by any means. So when I actively want to read a book rather than turn on the PS3, it's a huge compliment to the abilities of the writer. This writer has me hooked.

Read. Because its free.

I like reading, when I have the time. Swer to god, mane. I like not paying for stuff too. Not in the illegal way (necessarily...) but in the poor-unemployed-college-student way.

If you like to read at all, this site should be in your bookmarks, now. Free books, multiple file types (.pdf is my flavor of choice, but you can pick what you want. Choices. The American way), multiple genres.

Banned books category, here I come!


Now for that free time thing...

Read the Watchmen

I picked it up as I was about halfway done, took out my bookmark (a Dark Knight movie ticket, if you are curious), and now have no need for it.



Holy shit.



Definitely one where the ending isn't the best (or even most memorable) moment. Not to say that it's a shitty Chappelle-esque wrap it up type ending. It's actually a pretty solid closing.

Just... there are so many other parts that make you stop and think. Or just sit there in awe at how two completely non-related aspects of the story tie in later at a much more elaborate level than simply through the plot.

It's all kind of hard to explain with IB English being nearly two years in my past now.......

But yea.... just wow.....

---

Parts that jump out now after just reading it:

1.) The whole of chapter/issue 9. Basically, while trying to not spoil it, it revolves around a normal human being essentially trying to get the only true superhero in the novel to actually give two shits about Earth. In it is a whole "uniqueness of human life" shpiel that really gets to me.
2.) Two chapters before that, Moore has a little non-graphic piece of one of Nite Owl's acedemic pieces that is a masterful suppliment to the whole chapter/issue 9 shpiel. It's really hard to explain without giving stuff away, but if you have read it before and just read those two parts back-to-back it'll jump right out. Pretty neat.
3.) The whole Nostalgia motif, and the irony of it all (in terms of the businessman behind it and what not
4.) How most of the time I didn't give two shits about the Black Freighter storyline, then once the last page of chapter/issue 11 came (again, if you read it you should have an idea of what I'm talking about) I had to hold back from getting emotional.

---

The only thing that has me really worried about a movie adaptation is that you can't really take much out of it without really losing a solid chunk what makes this book great. The fact that it all fits together so well, almost like a good 1500 piece puzzle, is partly what is so rewarding. It's almost like Lord of the Rings in that a whole world was created. Who knows though. There's a reason they always say, "the book was better."

---

Just watching the trailer for the movie again, this time actually knowing what happens, and i think this will blow the dark knight movies out of the water, at least for the comic book reader demographic. just watch the dude at the end of this... he has to hold back TEARS for god's sake! over a trailer!!!!




and now... with the only time I will probably EVER use the comic tag

I are back.

I go to work in one hour (fitting...)

School starts a week from today (good for this blog)

I am reading Watchmen, not very far into it so if you ruin it I will hunt you down and castrate you and your male children from here to the end of your days.

Other than that, have a nice day :)