And I Read And I Read (An Interlude)

This summer proved to be, besides The Long Adventure In Unemployment, a decent opportunity to do work on my THINGS TO READ list.  Therefore, I've included below what I like to call THINGS I'VE READ SINCE I GRADUATED.  We'll have to practice more patience together as I go through and decrease the sizes on Costa Rican pictorial documentation; I've only just returned to the world of wireless internet.  For now, a less interesting post, I suppose.

THINGS I'VE READ SINCE I GRADUATED

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)

Technically a reread.  I like it.  It's a story with interwoven philosophy and commentary from the author himself.  The voice is outstanding.  Just exactly my sort of read.

Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

So, so good.  There's a reason this one got so popular a few years ago.  It's highly suggestive of issues much, much deeper than the surface story.

About A Boy (Nick Hornby)

Not bad.  A very fast read.  I've not seen the movie, but I imagine the book's not too far off.  Decent.  Not necessarily my number one genre, though.

The Virgin Suicides (Jeffery Euginides)

Good.  Better than the movie, which I viewed after reading the book.  It's a melancholy novel, such a well-written one.

Invisible Monsters (Chuck Palahniuk)

Classic Palahniuk, a favourite author of mine.  This one takes a stab at how the media makes products out of the general public, briefly put.   

What is the What (Dave Eggers)

Such a good, strong portrait of the situation in Sudan and the depth of the consequences of said situation.  It's actually a nonfiction story, told with a fictional voice.

Dissecting Death: Secrets of a Medical Examiner (Frederick Zugibe)

This gave in-depth analyses of some of this particular M.E.'s biggest cases.  He ended the book on a weird, weird note, kind of abusing the power of the soapbox, I think.  Terribly interesting material, though, for the most part. 

Diane Arbus (Patricia Bosworth)

A straightforward biography.  It went from being my least favourite read to one of the most valuable reads of the past few months, oddly.  Arbus was such the artist.  I envy her.

La Cite de la Joie (Dominique Lapierre)

An account of a slum in Calcutta.  It was good.  It was informative.  

The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)

So, so interesting.  This guy researched in detail what the world would be like if humans suddenly ceased to exist.  I want to read it again.

The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)

Disturbing novel.  Not unlike Orwell's 1984... It raised the question of gender roles as well, though.  Weird and good.

Sex God (Rob Bell)

I read this between breakfast and lunch one day.  Not my favourite writer, but I appreciate the way he thinks.  He's an incredibly well-read individual, and he raises some terribly interesting points.  This one is about proper relationships between humans... Not nearly as scandalous as the title may imply...

Marabou Stork Nightmares (Irvine Welsh)

Weird and good.  Written mostly in a thick Scottish accent.  It was a worthy endeavor, though.