My last record of books read in a year was 20, in 2014. And I started on my 31st book this week – wow!
So… let’s get on to a few more quick reviews!
26. My first taste of a Stephen King novel was The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower (book 1). Inspired by seeing the interesting commercial for its film adaptation, I borrowed it from my library. And… I can’t say I was impressed at all. Thankfully I hadn’t seen the film, because after I read this book I learned that the film (I guess) picked up plot from the second book as well, and wasn’t too close to the first book.
It’s about a Gunslinger who is on some mysterious quest of the Man in Black (sounds like a character in “Lost” to me), and comes across some obstacles on the way – which will span over several books. It takes place in a dry, scorching, American West-esque world in an unknown time.
I also didn’t like King’s style – I found some parts a little too vulgar for my liking (and I don’t want to know every time that the Gunslinger scratches his crotch or pees), the use of his made-up words for this story’s world had no explanation (so that had me confused) and the plot left me with too many questions but not in a curious “oooh, I can’t wait to read the next books!” way. I have no interest now in seeing the film (unless I happen to see it at my library and there’s nothing else to watch), and I won’t be finishing the series. Its only redeeming quality was that this was pretty short, compared to King’s normally massive novels.
27. I was relieved to finish that King book and return to Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe; I was about 50 pages into this book when I received notification of The Gunslinger being available for me to pick up from the library. It’s a tragic story about a slave named Uncle Tom and his times spent with three different owners. The book also shares stories of a few other slaves from Uncle Tom’s first home, and their plights. Uncle Tom’s unwavering faith in God, and his selflessness and forgiveness was incredibly moving and made me cry a few times. To be honest, I never knew what an “uncle tom” was (I had heard it used to derogatorily describe people only a few times) so I could finally understand its origin by the time I finished this book. Very highly recommended book.
28. World War 1 is a war/era I hardly know anything of, so in terms of war classics I turned to All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. I remember that the history majors at my college had to read it, and so numerous copies passed through my hands while I operated a small textbook business; I kept one for myself. It’s a fictional story of a group of German friends who join the war as 17-year-olds, and their experiences on the Western front – hunger, trench warfare, hospitals, the unexpected feelings during one’s leave, etc. I personally enjoyed this book a lot more than The Red Badge of Courage in that I found the plot to be more interesting/engaging, and being able to learn about the different characters in more detail. I learned that Remarque has a few other novels; if I can find them, I’d like to read them.
29. I couldn’t stay away from Thomas Hardy any longer (book 13 was The Mayor of Casterbridge), so my second Hardy book was Far From the Madding Crowd – a story of three men courting one woman. She ends the book with the man I wanted her with the entire time… but then how else are you supposed to get a 300+ page novel? It was tragic, crazy, emotional, and I loved it. Now to get my hands on some more Hardy!
30. Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward was suggested to me by Amazon, because I like the Victorian ideas of time-travel and their theories of life in our modern time. In this book, a man in the year 1887 wakes up in the year 2000. America is now under a socialist utopia: money (in our understanding) does not exist, and the country peacefully transitioned to the government controlling everything because everyone realized that government knows best (that got a huge laugh from me). It was an amusing read since we’re now living 17 years past the novel’s “future”, but I will admit that I had to reread much of the book due to its complex wording (of course a doctor had to be the one to explain the 2000 world to Mr 1887). There is a sequel which goes more in-depth.
Bible Reading: In August I read Acts, and also Wisdom of Solomon from my Apocrypha. In September I read Romans, 1+2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude (a total of 32 chapters). For October I am reading Genesis (two chapters a day), then the last few days will be spent with some of Martin Luther’s writings in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
Side note: I see that my hair is steadily getting longer. Hooray! I miss my long hair.
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