June 22nd, 2009
I noted in a recent post that I have been studying various aspects of computer programming for the last several months heavily. While it is a fairly interesting topic, and an important one to me and to my family’s future, it can become a bit dry to say the least.
My reading list has not been updated in months! After a steady progress to start, there has been nothing for some time. I have not been able to read anything really enjoyable, or more properly stated, for leisure, at all. Learning new programming stuff is exciting and can be fun, but it is nothing like reading a nice novel, or historical text.
While perusing Craigslist, I found an interesting book collection, called “The Harvard Classics”. After some research on Wikipedia I learned that this is a collection of works designed to give one the equivalence of a “liberal education”. These books were compiled by the former President of Harvard, Charles W. Elliot in 1909. It was his thought that if one judiciously read the assorted works, if even for only “fifteen minutes a day”, the reader would come away with a worthwhile education, prepared for the upcoming century.
Having read quite a bit about this Five Foot Shelf, I found myself intrigued. It has its critics, one who decried the absence of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud specifically. These critics don’t see it as having a properly modern perspective. It is not dark enough, and shows just a little too much hope for the future. Having read these kinds of criticisms, I decided to purchase the set.
I have read pretty much none of these works, and find the prospect of discovering the collected thought of humanity, through the eyes, of a late Victorian, American perspective to be exciting. I really don’t care to read Freud, Marx, or Nietzsche just now honestly. This collection has a very large sampling of some of the greatest works of all time, and becoming familiar with them, should take a decade or more.
Having decided to purchase the set, some research as to the value of the collection was conducted. After some back and forth, the seller agreed to part with the collection for $250. This appeared to be a very good deal. So I met up with the seller and her father at their church to complete the transaction.
After clearing some shelf space, and unloading and organizing the set, I was horrified to find that two volumes were missing! There has still been no response to my emails, and I doubt that there will be, which is unfortunate. The seller seemed like such a good person. Whether she was deceitful or not, seems to be no longer in doubt. With every passing day, her silence indicates, that she knew the volumes were missing.
This sour note started to spoil my joy for having made the purchase of course. Staring at the not quite five foot shelf, really irritated me. I am a completist at heart, and two missing volumes just would not do. Luckily I was able to find copies of the missing two, from the same printing, on eBay, and should have them in a week or so.
I have dedicated to read the set in order, and have already started the first volume, which starts with His Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin. So far it has been a surprisingly enjoyable read. His style is very agreeable, and I plan to complete reading this selection shortly.
I will create a listing of the collection, and will dutifully review each work, except for the individual poems, as I have with my other reading list. There are not to many, if any, correlations between the two lists, so I will be going back and forth between them for years to come no doubt. I will post a picture of the shelf tomorrow if possible.
Categories: Books |
Tags: classics, five foot shelf, nostalgia, reading list | No Comments
February 11th, 2009
My current book of choice is The Stand by Stephen King. I usually have a few books in the rotation, and do so now, but the other two are going to be on the shelf until this one is completed. It is awesome so far, and I can hardly put it down. It is on my reading list as well.
King is not one of my favorite writers. While trying to read some of his other books, I have found him to be a bit to wordy. His writing is wonderful, but I don’t really need a ten page description about a cup of coffee some drunk in a bar was sipping on.
The Stand is a big volume at over 1,100 pages, but having got about a quarter of the way through it, I have not found it boring in the least. The other book that I have completed of his was The Shining, which was excellent as well.
So for now Atlas Shrugged and the book I am reading on WW2 code breaking are just going to have to wait.
Categories: Books |
Tags: fiction, reading list | 2 Comments
January 5th, 2009
A Farewell To Arms
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Scribner (April 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0684837889
ISBN-13: 978-0684837888
Amazon Link
A Farewell To Arms is another book from my reading list. Ernest Hemmingway wrote this semi-autobiographical tale of his experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I. The story is told by Tenente (Lieutenant) Frederic Henry, an American, driving ambulances for the Italian army. Henry is a man’s man. He drinks a lot, but never seems to lose control of himself. He is tough, unassuming, and doesn’t think overly highly of himself. The man has a good sense of morality, while not being a religious person at all.
There are several other officers that Hemingway develops into interesting characters. There is the Italian surgeon, Rinaldi, who is a larger than life happy Italian that loves booze, women, and surgery. He is Henry’s best friend and roommate in the story. Then there is the often brooding captain, that is concerned with the future of his men, and his responsibilities. Another major fixture, especially early on, is the priest. He is an army chaplain, and is totally dedicated to God. The others consistently chastise him for this, but the Godless Tenente often takes up for him. Henry is not anti-God, so he is able to respect the dedication of the priest. At times one gets the feeling that the priest represents an ideal that Hemmingway would like to fulfill, but is not able to.
The life near the front for these gentlemen is rather comfortable. They are housed in a nice villa, always have some sort of wine or brandy to drink, and are well fed. Apparently the Italian military even maintains a brothel for the men’s use if they so desire. During the beginning of the story, Frederic Henry meets Catherine, a British nurse that works in the village’s hospital. He is quickly smitten by her, and she returns the admiration at first reluctantly. Her fiancé has died in the war, and she is reluctant to get involved with someone new, because she fears the same thing might happen to him.
Catherine is a wonderful character. She comes across as someone that is constantly looking for the approval of her mate, but not in an irritating way. Her and Henry fall in love fairly quickly, before he is sent to run the ambulances at the nearby front.
I guess I must pause to explain just what sort of book this is. It is an anti-war book to be sure, and it does a good job of illustrating the horrors of such an event. Hemmingway hated war, after he experienced it, as most do after being in the same situation. The love story between Catherine and Frederic ends up overshadowing the war however. We end up with a wonderful love story, written in a way, that is just beautiful, and totally interesting. I am no great fan of love stories, but this book contains enough manly meat to make it very worthwhile to read.
Actually, love stories can be very entertaining. The distinction between a great tale of love between two people, and a dime store romance novel could not be greater. The cheap fluff of the romance novel, is what I have no use for. There is none of this here. This is an intricately woven story, of love found in the midst of ugliness.
Alright, where were we? Oh yes, so Henry goes to the front . He and his crew are injured badly, when a trench shell goes off in their foxhole. Henry ends up convalescing at a hospital in Italy, were Catherine becomes his nurse. Their relationship blooms into something wonderful, and eventually Henry is sent back to his old post.
I don’t want to ruin the entire plot of the book, after having told much of the story already. Let’s just say, that things take a strange turn upon his arrival to his previous post, and leave it at that.
This story will not be forgotten by me, as so many often are. A person like myself, reads many books over the years. Most are fairly enjoyable. If they are not, they don’t get finished. This is one tale that will stick with me throughout my remaining years, and I fully expect to read it again at some point. Very highly recommended.
Categories: Books, Entertainment |
Tags: military, novel, reading list | 2 Comments
December 11th, 2008
The Trial
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Schocken (May 25, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805209999
ISBN-13: 978-0805209990
Amazon Link
After reading several of the books on my list, there will be no more opining about how great they are. They are all great. These books are on a top 100 novels list for a reason. Undoubtedly some will not be so great to me, and I will make note of that fact. The Trial is not one of the not so great to me books on the list. It is of course great, as one would expect. Oops, I said it.
This is the story of poor Josef K. A tightly-wound bank manager that has a very normal life. My impression is that he has a stringently normal life. He works, he goes home, and he goes back to work. Occasionally he throws in a romp with his favorite prostitute, and that is the extent of his life. The story starts on a not so normal morning for Josef K. He awakens to find two rather bumbling agents eating his breakfast and placing him under arrest.
This would be disheartening for anyone of course. The strange twist is that they don’t know why he is under arrest, and tell him he is free to go about his business while under arrest. He is to go to his job, and continue his daily routine until he is notified to appear for interrogation. Throughout the story the enormity of the system he is being forced to deal with becomes more and more apparent. There is no way for him to find out what he is being charged with, how his case is progressing, or even who his accusers are.
This is a cautionary tale. It warns of the horrors of totalitarian bureaucracy. The court that Josef K. finds himself embroiled in, is a terribly complex system of redundant parts that serve little or no purpose. The court moves like molasses, and apparently ignores most input from lawyers and defendants.
Only those who have the appropriate connections have a chance to influence the court’s overly pompous judges. Years are wasted by the defendants trying to figure out if they are successfully influencing their cases, and what exactly their cases are about. It drives many of them to madness.
Another aspect that Kafka illustrates very well about totalitarian regimes is their amoral status. This lack of any morality is multifaceted. The court has no problem with driving its victims insane. The employees of the court are also treated unfairly. There are no rewards for doing good work, so the majority of the time, the employees strive to fly under the radar, and not ruffle any feathers. Mediocrity is the goal.
The most shocking element is the lack of interest on the part of the public. They seem happy to go about their daily business regardless of the fact that this nightmare has risen up amongst them. All of them are subject to having a case arbitrarily brought against them, yet they don’t seem concerned. They assume the government is doing it’s job, and that the defendants must have done something wrong, or if they were innocent, surely the court would find that out and drop their cases. The court is so massive that no one seems to know anything about it, and it has been installed so long that it is just accepted, almost as if it had always been.
This translation seemed very good. I don’t speak or read German, so this is just a guess. The translator did a good job, as there are no strange sentences or structures that don’t make sense. The book was an enjoyable read, and I found myself not wanting to put it down. Highly reccomended.
Categories: Books, Entertainment |
Tags: novel, reading list | 2 Comments
November 10th, 2008
Frankenstein
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (May 6, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141439475
ISBN-13: 978-0141439471
Amazon Link
This is the second book I have read in my list of 100 Best Novels.
Frankenstein may well be the best book I have ever read. It is truly an awesome work. Mary Shelley created a masterpiece. If you have not read this book, I would urge you to do so. Having seen many movies on the subject, one would think that a good grasp of the subject matter would have existed in my brain. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The movies have nothing to do with the real story. The monster in the movies is a grotesque simplification of Viktor Frankenstein’s cunning creature.
This brings up an important point. Viktor Frankenstein is Frankenstein, not the creature. The creature has no name beyond possibly, wretch or daemon. Popular culture has confused this point since nearly the original release of the book apparently.
This is a horror novel of course. The story is horrifying, but some of the horror has worn with age. Certainly this book would have scared the pants off its nineteenth century readers. The effect, if pondered properly, is still there. It is a personal horror story. Viktor’s story is horrific for him. If the reader can empathize with his situation, and realize just how bad this poor soul’s journey was, the story will definitely seem horrifying. Modern media makes the genre seem as if it is only about blood and guts. You will not find this in Frankenstein, it is much more of a psychologically scary book.
The horror aspect of the book actually is a lot deeper than that. You feel the horror of the poor, evil monster as well. His disgusting machinations almost seem justifiable at times. The creature is quite a grand character. He has superhuman strength, can survive where mere humans would perish, and is extremely intelligent. This is not the dumb atomoton of Boris Karloff. He is, however, a disgustingly scary looking monster, and is despised by all who seem him.
While the rueful stories of both Frankenstein and the abomination he created are sad, the most horrifying aspect for the original readers had to be the idea of the creation itself. The entire book is a warning from Shelley to be careful with trying to play God. Poor Frankenstein’s lesson has been remembered since she wrote the story, and has become a cliché for scientifically-induced nightmares of which well-meaning scientists lose control. She wrote the book during the industrial revolution, so such a creation would not be out of the realm of possibility for her readers. Her fear of change to come would have been shared by much of her audience.
We should heed her warning now more than ever. As our technology advances further and further, we must be careful not to destroy ourselves through sheer arrogance. Surely, the scientists at Los Alamos must have thought of Viktor’s creature when they unleashed the bomb for the first time in the New Mexico desert.
Some have said that the warning is unfounded and that knowledge at any cost is worthwhile. Those that feel this way may need to read Frankenstein again. Viktor’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge blinded him to the possible consequences of his actions. Once he actually succeeded, the results of his quest were unbearable and he failed to control his creation.
The original book was released anonymously in 1818. When it was discovered that Shelley was the author after the second release in 1823, some saw this as the final horrible aspect of the book. How could a nineteen year-old girl craft such a gruesome and disgusting tale?! They were beside themselves, and thought she was obviously mentally ill. My thoughts on that topic are simple. She was a genius, and an exquisite wordsmith. Unfortunately for her she never recaptured the magic. <em>Frankenstein</em> was her finest work.
The book itself flows perfectly, and the language contained within it is beautiful. It is much more formal than our modern language, while still being very accessible. The conversations that the characters have leave me wanting to converse in such a way. The book is not overly long, but it did take me some time to finish - a little more time than I thought it would. This could be pinned on the fact that I enjoyed every page. There was no rush to get through the material, until the last twenty pages or so. The need to see how the story turns out was there for sure.
Overall I now see why this is a classic story. It was completely wonderful, and I will read it again.
Categories: Books |
Tags: horror, novel, reading list | 1 Comment
October 13th, 2008
Wise Blood: A Novel
Author: Flannery O’Connor
Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (March 6, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374530637
ISBN-13: 978-0374530631
Amazon Link
This is the first book I have read in my list of 100 Best Novels.
Wow, just wow. This may have been the strangest book I have ever read. The main character is a bizarre man named Hazel Motes. He spends the duration of the book trying to convince himself and others that Jesus is a fraud, and that we have no need for redemption, while at the same time seeking redemption as hard as any man could. Motes is a very interesting character. His actions are weird, and as one who generally roots for characters I like, I found myself wishing that he would take a different path at every turn it seemed.
I would not say that I liked or disliked this book. Reading it was not about that. Yes it was entertaining, provocative, and enthralling, but the book was also offensive, disjointed at times, and just completely strange. When I was finished reading it, I just sat there for a while wondering how the author thought up such a story.
This is the first Southern Gothic novel I have read. It is a very interesting genre. The “grotesque” characters in the book were amazing. The book was more than just a show of ugly people however. It is philosophical in nature, but it is going to take some time for me to figure out exactly what the philosophy is.
The n-word is used repeatedly throughout the book, but would be normal for the Southern locale shortly after World War 2. It also helps portray the character’s outlook. I found their interactions to be quite depressing at times. They were indeed, grotesque, to each other more often than not. Their seemed to be an overarching paranoia between the actors.
Overall it was a good read. The book is fairly short, so if it sounds interesting go for it! You won’t have to invest much time into this one.
Categories: Books |
Tags: novel, reading list, southern gothic | 2 Comments
October 2nd, 2008
I am a pretty voracious reader and have been throughout most of my life. There, unfortunately has not been a lot of reason behind my choices of reading, and I feel like some order would not be a bad thing. My choices have always been for entertainment, or to acquire knowledge on a specific subject. So basically I want to broaden my horizons a bit. This line of thought has brought me to the conclusion that reading a Top 100 novel list sounds like fun. After searching through several lists, I have decided on the one at this blog.
Best Books of All Time
It is not a perfect list, as it is heavily weighed to the last century, and the English language, but it looks like a good start for me. I have ordered the bottom two books on the list, and will be starting on them after I finish reading The Chronicles of Narnia again, which should be in a couple of weeks. Incidentally The Chronicles have been fun to read again, as it has been twenty years since I last read the collection.
Anyway, here is the list:
THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
ULYSSES by James Joyce
1984 by George Orwell
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger
ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov - Purchased
BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED by Evelyn Waugh
THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien
A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess
GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell
AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway - Completed - Review
A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster - Purchased
LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London
DAVID COPPERFIELD by Charles Dickens
EMMA by Jane Austen
TESS Of The D’URBERVILLES, Thomas Hardy
THE SCARLET LETTER by Nathaniel Hawthorne
WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte
THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers
SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut - Purchased
JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte
BELOVED by Toni Morrison
ANNA KAREINA by Leo Tolstoy
THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
NATIVE SON by Richard Wright
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad
HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad
UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry
THE GOOD SOLDIER by Ford Madox Ford
HERZOG by Saul Bellow
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS by Kenneth Grahame
U.S.A. (trilogy) by John Dos Passos
FINNEGANS WAKE by James Joyce
AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Theodore Dreiser
WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton
THE WOMAN IN WHITE by Wilkie Collins
THINGS FALL APART by Chinua Achebe
TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
MY ANTONIA by Willa Cather
LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner
THE MAGUS by John Fowles
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP by John Irving
DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes
TOM JONES by Henry Fielding - Purchased
WAR AND PEACE by Leo Tolstoy
MOBY-DICK by Herman Melville - Purchased
MADAME BOVARY by Gustave Flaubert
WINNIE THE POOH by A(lan) A(lexander) Milne
GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens
THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV by Feodor Dostoevsky
TRISTAM SHANDY by Laurence Sterne
LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa M. Alcott
VANITY FAIR by William Makepeace Thackeray
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen - Purchased
IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME by Marcel Proust
THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James
THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
GRAVITY’S RAINBOW by Thomas Pynchon
THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin (1851-1904)
DUNE by Frank Herbert
A TOWN LIKE ALICE by Nevil Shute
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND by Lewis Carroll
CLARISSA by Samuel Richardson
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams
A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY by John Irving
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas
THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY by Henry James
OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck
ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
CHARLOTE’S WEB by E. B. White
ROBINSON CRUSOE by Daniel Defoe
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT by Feodor Dostoevsky
THE STAND by Stephen King - Purchased
REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier
I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves
HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster
TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald
THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence
BLEAK HOUSE by Charles Dickens
ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand - Purchased
ABSALOM, ABSALOM! by William Faulkner
THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James
AUSTERLITZ by W. G. Sebald - Purchased
THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka - Completed - Review
WISE BLOOD by Flannery O’Connor - Completed - Review
FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley - Completed - Review
~ Compiled by Leisa L. Watkins
I will mark these as I complete them, and offer short reviews of them as they are completed.
Categories: Books |
Tags: novel, reading list | 3 Comments
