I've always been an avid, if slow, reader. To my great surprise, I ended up studying literature (along with CS) for my undergrad degree, which enriched my world in ways that would be difficult to quantify. I would read a lot more now if it wasn't for other responsibilities. I'm using this page to simply track what I'm reading and any thoughts about the books as a future reference for potential birthday and Christmas presents, and maybe you can find some value in these as well. I try to update it every once in a while...
In Progress - Literature
- The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway - The Finca Vigia Edition by Ernest Hemingway
- The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Completed Reads - Literature
I first read Blood Meridian 15 or 20 years ago. Prior to picking up Meridian I was introduced to McCarthy in a North American literature class in college where we read All the Pretty Horses. McCarthy is simply an astonishing writer. Some people find his prose and writing style off-putting. I love it -- it's like reading art almost, but in the hands of anyone just slightly less skilled it would be unreadable. Critic Harold... read more
It is beyond my modest skill as a reader and writer to do justice to The Shadow of the Wind. Like a Russian doll, it was a tragic and beautiful series of stories within stories, though to me a rabbit warren might be a more apt description, as I found that I got lost in the different stories that Ruiz Zafón so deftly weaved together with characters seeming to meld together as I read.
I... read more
I've always wanted to read Camus and as the Covid-driven social isolation escalated, I pulled The Plague off our shelf. And it was so goddamned good. I'd never ready any Camus before and I had no idea what I was missing. I've found the Nobel winners can be hit-or-miss in terms of actual non-academic readability but Camus' prose was so fluid I found it hard to put the book down at night. The story he... read more