It's that time again folks! Time for Corey and Ashlee to do a conjuncticated (Corey just made that word up on the spot) post to talk about our mutual affection for literature.
Without further ado... I present our book lists for the year:
Copying our dear friend Shayla (with a little added flavor) "*"s by the ones we liked and "@#$%"s by the ones we didn't
Corey Read:
Last of the Mohicans (twice)
Beowulf
The fall of the house of Usher *
For Beasts in one; the Homocameleopard (Poe)
Hamlet (three times!) **
Every Man
Frankenstein
Dr. Faustus
Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice *
Northanger Abbey **
(someone took a British Romanticism class)
The Turn of the Screw ***
Against Nature (A Rebours)
The Invention of Morel
To the Lighthouse
Neuromancer @#$%
The Traveler's Gift
Breaking Dawn @#$%^@#$@#%$^#%$^#$%%$@#$@ (ashlee is rolling her eyes)
Ender's Game **
The Cather in the Rye ***
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Coquette
Push
Speak
Bless me Ultima
The Book Thief *****
My Name is Asher Lev **
The Four Quartets
Purgatorio
Selections of poetry by: Emily Dickinson, John Milton, John Donne, George Herbert, and Gerard Manley Hopkins
The House of the Seven Gables
I am the Messenger ****
The Chris Farley Show *
Corey's Best:
My pick for the year is Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. A wonderful story of a girl who is taken into a foster home in Nazi Germany. The author tells the story from the perspective of Death (Like the Grim Reaper but so NOT like the Grim Reaper). A book that makes you want to be a better person. The same goes for I am the Messenger by the same author. I had a great introduction into Modernism with Henry James' The Turn of the Screw and Virginia Wolff's To the Lighthouse. Both highly recommended, though they are on the difficult side. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen was great. I had never read any Austen and this book is just funny. The other books that I just really enjoyed reading were The Catcher in the Rye, Ender's Game, My Name is Asher Lev, and The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. A note on the Chris Farley thing. I idolized him when I was younger and love him to this day. I was devistated when he died. This book was sad, but it was great to read about what a wonderful and loving person he really was despite whatever other problems he had.
Corey's Worst:
You could probably tell which one I hated the most, Breaking Dawn (and the rest of the series at that). This was a steaming heap. I have lost a lot of respect for the young reader of today (particularly the female). A sensationalized love story between a teenage girl and a vampire...no character development...no resolution at the end of four books...and a final installment thrown together to meet a deadline...apparently a recipe for unprecedented success in the American adolescent novel. Gag me. I will leave it at that.
Also, Nueromancer, although a novel that is widely believed to be one of the best Sci-fi novels ever, I would not recommend it. It is well written and it is a great story, but it is really inappropriate in parts and had I not been required to read it for a class I probably would have put it down...putting it in the category of "Abandoned reads" along with Little Women.
Ashlee Read:
Pride and Prejudice *
Jane Eyre ***
The Hobbit
Goose Girl **
Twilight
Elantris*
New Moon
Eclipse
The Host*
A Tale of Two Cities
The Scarlet Letter
Enna Burning
Princess Academy **
Grimm's Fairy Tales @#$%
Enders Game
Breaking Dawn @#$% (kind of...)
Persuasion @#$%
To the Lighthouse @#$^%@#$#@%@%#$%@
To the Lighthouse @#$^%@#$#@%@%#$%@
Harry Potter 1
Harry Potter 2
Harry Potter 3
Harry Potter 4
Harry Potter 5
Harry Potter 6
Harry Potter 7 *** (the stars are for the whole series)
Austenland
Book of a Thousand Days
The Three Musketeers
Anne of Green Gables *
The Book Thief *****
The Hunger Games *
Ashlee's Best:
It was a really good year of reading for me. I always want to read more than I am able, nevertheless this year I had a lot of fun in what I could. If you read my blog then you know the best book I read this year was The Book Thief. I'll spare you a repeat of what I've already said about it. I really had fun getting to know author Shannon Hale. My favorites were Goose Girl and Princess Academy. I think her writing is so lovely to read. I heard someone describe her writing style as "lyrical," and I thought that was a good fit. Such pretty books. I LOVED reading Jane Eyre. It's so nice to read a classic and not already know the storyline and outcome of the book. I knew nothing about Jane Eyre and I think that was essential to my liking it. I thought the characters were so well developed, and the story interesting and different. It's hard to pin down why I loved it so much... I just did. Finally, Anne of Green Gables. It's been a long time since a book made me laugh right out loud, but oh heaven's. It's such a sweet story and so, so funny. I loved it. I hope to read the sequels in 2009.
Ashlee's Worst:
While I am no where near as harsh on the Twilight series as Corey (sheesh he's a little over-the top no?!?) I was pretty disappointed with Breaking Dawn. Oh well. What I like about the books I REALLY like, and the rest I try not to think about too much. My worst reads I didn't actually finish (but I was within 20 pages so I counted them) To the Lighthouse was the most mind numbingly boring book I have ever read. I got a lot of what she was going for, and thought parts of it were okay... but seriously... wow... boring. I think Corey liked it because he had to read it so fast and because he had a professor taking him through it. For the average reader though just to pick it up... BORING!!! Also I never thought I wouldn't like a Jane Austen but I sincerely didn't like Persuasion. To recover from two bad reads in a row and restore my faith in books I had to read the entire Harry Potter series again. I wasn't going to read them this year I swear! I was going to take a break, but Harry is a guaranteed good time. It's one of the only books I think I will NEVER get sick of reading. Ever. Thank goodness for Harry.
Well that's it folks. Hope you enjoyed our year in review. We'll see you at the end of 2009.
Reading is FUN-da-mental.
6 comments:
Kudos, you two! I loved your book review as usual!
To Corey, I laughed out loud at your comments on stephenie meyer! :) I completely agree with you 100% on Breaking Dawn. I felt like she sold out completely. It was like someone said, hey we'll give you another 700,000 if you'll put anything (anything!) on a page, and she said ok! She definitely spent too much time on the host and not enough time on Breaking Dawn. There was very little relevance to what went on in the previous three books, and it was a terrible terrible ending, with all that buildup, what a letdown! Having said that, I do want to clear my name... I never ever said her stuff was "literature" (that makes me laugh just thinking it), it's just a great story... and I can't help but like the story even though I know she's not a great writer.
I am soooo excited about I am the messenger though. Don't you just love his stuff? I just keep wondering, though, why the Book Thief was put in the YA category?? (is anyone else confused by this?) Looking forward to that.
P.S. What was your favorite poem that you read... I'm looking for some new poetry.
To Ashlee, I can't believe you read so much with all that you have to do! You are my hero! I love Shannon Hale too...such beautiful writing! I have been wondering about the Green Gables series...I've wanted to read them for awhile but didn't want to be disappointed.
To restore a little bit of faith in Persuasion, you really should watch the new BBC version of it (and sense and sensibility for that matter!) Both are very worth the time. I like the new s&s better than the emma watson version...it follows the book more closely and is very artistic in how it's done.
Thanks for the recommendations! You know I always look to you guys for some good advice on books!
ps ash, what did you think of 3 musketeers...worth my time?
haha well I haven't even read Twilight series but refuse too.. :-( anyways what a fun christmas you guys had..I want a teepee~~
I love this post every year! It always gives me good ideas of books to read when I can. First on my list is The Book Thief because I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it. I'm still on the fence on whether to read the Twilight series, and this post gave me further confusion, but thanks for all the reviews! I love it!
this is not so much about the book list but about the VOTE FOR MORMON OF THE YEAR!
The leading person... Nie Nie and her sister!!! YAHOO
go and vote and tell everyone you know!!!
Ash, I loved this post. It is amazing how much you read! Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely not in the Twilight loop, but I've considered reading it only to better connect with my teenage students. I heard the last book was pretty bad (and inappropriate for teen girls), so I don't know. Remember when we bonded because we both read the Abe book in high school? Well, I am reading Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin and it's pretty good. It's about how Abraham Lincoln used former political rivals in his cabinet. It kind of reminds me of what Barack Obama is doing putting Clinton (and formerly Richardson) in his cabinet. (On a side note, other comparisons with Obama and Lincoln really bother me-- the times really don't compare.)
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