my reading rate & level @ this time of year are usually real lame. surprisingly, that hasn't been the case so far (thank goodness for senioritis kicking in so early.)
notables
[08.23] the god of small things by arundhati roy
would've definitely enjoyed this book more had I not had a constant refrain of "Velutha = Jesus" in my head the entire time. (thanks, literature professor whose book I did not deign to read. am I a pretentious prick? sometimes, yes.) regardless, the prose is gorgeous -- occasionally too gorgeous. I kept waiting for a slip-up in phrasing (just one would've done it for me!) but hélas, there were none to be found. it's one of the better (best) books I've been assigned for school; if only we read more WOC narratives. this appears to be the token one, unless you count THE JOY LUCK CLUB -- which, for whatever reason, people don't.
[08.29] the return by håkan nesser
this book is the reason i know the accent codes for ã, ä, and å. (alt + 0227, 0228, 0229 respectively. you're welcome?) anyway, perhaps I shouldn't have jumped straight into the world of Inspector Van Veeteren with the sole entry in the series that relegates said inspector to a hospital for 200 pages. but having personally removed this book from circulation -- stamping "DISCARDED" inside the front cover, taking a Sharpie to all three barcodes -- I felt a certain responsibility to take it home and love it. I didn't love it at first: it burns much more slowly than anything else I've read, and I left it alone for a really long time. (rare!) ...but towards the end, I realized just how weird and atmospheric and new and different the story was. there is no sense of place. this novel does not need to create a sense of place. the mystery is (as it so often is not) enough.
[09.06] run lola run (1997)
have def waxed -- not poetic (comme Amory Blaine: I'll never be more than a mediocre poet), but some other adjective -- about this film before. I watched it again a few nights ago. it's not only good at one in the morning. it's also good at one in the afternoon. it tries, but it doesn't try too hard. it's GROUNDHOG DAY for those of us with severely limited attention spans. it definitely values style over substance, but, I mean, just ask anyone who's graded my physics labs how I feel about that. also, Lola's hair. also: WAS WILLST DU VON MIR?
[09.21] the secret history by donna tartt
had you asked me how I felt about this novel just after I finished it, I'd have said "four/five" -- you know, if I actually spoke in ratings or whatever; I liked it, but you know, nothing special, and everything went to shit at the end. then, I found myself in the library last Thursday (must digress to mention the children's storytime I've been helping with -- it's the cutest & most rewarding thing in the world) -- anyway, I was browsing a bit, and I realized what I really, really wanted -- more than anything -- was THE SECRET HISTORY. something similar to if not exactly like it. so I rifled through several shelves' worth of books, and I searched the databases (books containing: murder + decadence + intellectualism + college/university students -- such a sucker for the combo) and I asked the librarians, and I was forced to come to the conclusion that there simply isn't anything quite like THE SECRET HISTORY. five/five, or something.
[09.29] mind's eye by håkan nesser
at last: the book I should've read a month ago, Van Veeteren's debut: this is a million times better than THE RETURN, and I really liked THE RETURN, so. again, I'm the worst ever at solving mysteries, so perhaps none of these "NORDIC NOIR" books are as good as I say they are...but MIND'S EYE did keep me reading everywhere -- on the bus, in the hallway, at lunch, while walking home (such that I nearly ran into this old man walking three dogs at once, also reading) -- so there's something to be said for that. (V.V. is a kindred spirit, here.)
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