Here is my installment of the 2009 book review. My list may seem a little short this year and the truth is that I did not read as many books, but I read a lot of poetry and a lot of critical essays and whatnot. Most of the essays are only interesting if you are making a serious study of literary theory, so I won’t list any of those here.
I will be using the same system as Ashlee to denote the winners and losers of the bunch. Here it is.
Lord of the Flies##
Black Boy**
Uncle Tom’s Children**
The Third Life of Grange Copeland
A Lesson Before Dying**
A Visitation of Spirits#
Life of Pi
Slaughterhouse 5##
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz##
Elantris##
The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian*
The Noticer
The Picture of Dorian Gray**
Stephen King: On Writing***
The Long Way Down**
Lots of Ralph Waldo Emerson (probably half of his essays)
Poetry by: Thomas Wyatt*, Edmund Spencer, Sir Phillip Sidney*, Billy Shakespeare*, George Herbert, John Milton**, William Blake*, Robert Burns*, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge**, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Wally Whitman#, Emily Dickenson#, Gerard Manly Hopkins (his real name), William Butler Yeats, William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, T.S. Elliot** Marianne Moore, E.E. Cummings, John Berryman, Robert Lowell, Howard Nemerov, Anthony Hecht, Denise Leverton, James Schuyler, Robert Creeley# and Seamus Heaney*.
I also read some essays and letters from some of these poets in which they describe their work and their approach to the art. Those were actually really cool. “Cool” being a relative term, of course.
The Best
I didn’t actually read very many things this year that I would say I really, really enjoyed. But some of what I read was very good. The African American Literature that I read (from Black Boy through A Visitation of Spirits on the list) were very powerful, but very graphic in their descriptions of how African Americans were treated, mostly in the early 20th century. If you are interested in something of the sort, Uncle Tom’s Children is a good place to start. It is a collection of novellas by Richard Wright. It is very difficult to read on some parts because of the level of violence depicted. But Wright was a very talented writer, which is remarkable considering his upbringing. If you want to learn about his own experiences, Black Boy is his autobiography, though it seems that he took a good amount of creative license in the telling of his own story.
The Long Way Down is one that I actually did enjoy, even though the author uses some pretty colorful language. I think I am a little desensitized to it because of a lot the things I have been required to read; that’s probably not a good thing though. That being said, if you get past the expletives, there is a really good story with some seriously good characters. If you want to experience Nick Hornby without dealing with as much profanity, About A Boy is one of favorite movies. He has a way of mixing really serious subjects, like suicide, with a brand of comedy that is so appealing and so not offensive.
Of all of the Emerson that I read, my favorite essay was “Nature”.
The Best Poetry
T.S. Eliot is always one of my favorites... anything by him. “The Book of Yolek” by Anthony Hecht. “A Primer of the Daily Round” by Howard Nemerov. From “The Dream Songs”, number 14, by John Berryman. “Sailing to Byzantium” by William Butler Yeats. “God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manly Hopkins. “In Memoriam A.H.H.” by Tennyson. “Frost at Midnight” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “The Divine Image” (1789) and “A Divine Image” (1790-91) by William Blake. Well, there is a lot of good poetry that I read this year, but this will do for now.
The Worst
The Lord of the Flies was a disappointment, as was Slaughterhouse 5. I have not given up on Kurt Vonnegut yet though. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classic childrens’ book, and it is one of the few instances in which I can say that the movie is much better. It only took a total of like an hour and half to read though, so, not a huge time investment. Elantris: Ashlee got this for me on the recommendation of a close friend. Ashlee liked it, but I am very sorry that I had to put it on my bad list this year. The characters were just so transparent, and, although you don’t know all the details from the beginning, you certainly know the end and what most of the characters are going to do from the beginning. Lastly, I will be honest, some of Emerson’s stuff is a little tedious. You may burn me in effigy for saying so if you like.
I will be using the same system as Ashlee to denote the winners and losers of the bunch. Here it is.
Lord of the Flies##
Black Boy**
Uncle Tom’s Children**
The Third Life of Grange Copeland
A Lesson Before Dying**
A Visitation of Spirits#
Life of Pi
Slaughterhouse 5##
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz##
Elantris##
The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian*
The Noticer
The Picture of Dorian Gray**
Stephen King: On Writing***
The Long Way Down**
Lots of Ralph Waldo Emerson (probably half of his essays)
Poetry by: Thomas Wyatt*, Edmund Spencer, Sir Phillip Sidney*, Billy Shakespeare*, George Herbert, John Milton**, William Blake*, Robert Burns*, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge**, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Wally Whitman#, Emily Dickenson#, Gerard Manly Hopkins (his real name), William Butler Yeats, William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, T.S. Elliot** Marianne Moore, E.E. Cummings, John Berryman, Robert Lowell, Howard Nemerov, Anthony Hecht, Denise Leverton, James Schuyler, Robert Creeley# and Seamus Heaney*.
I also read some essays and letters from some of these poets in which they describe their work and their approach to the art. Those were actually really cool. “Cool” being a relative term, of course.
The Best
I didn’t actually read very many things this year that I would say I really, really enjoyed. But some of what I read was very good. The African American Literature that I read (from Black Boy through A Visitation of Spirits on the list) were very powerful, but very graphic in their descriptions of how African Americans were treated, mostly in the early 20th century. If you are interested in something of the sort, Uncle Tom’s Children is a good place to start. It is a collection of novellas by Richard Wright. It is very difficult to read on some parts because of the level of violence depicted. But Wright was a very talented writer, which is remarkable considering his upbringing. If you want to learn about his own experiences, Black Boy is his autobiography, though it seems that he took a good amount of creative license in the telling of his own story.
The Long Way Down is one that I actually did enjoy, even though the author uses some pretty colorful language. I think I am a little desensitized to it because of a lot the things I have been required to read; that’s probably not a good thing though. That being said, if you get past the expletives, there is a really good story with some seriously good characters. If you want to experience Nick Hornby without dealing with as much profanity, About A Boy is one of favorite movies. He has a way of mixing really serious subjects, like suicide, with a brand of comedy that is so appealing and so not offensive.
Of all of the Emerson that I read, my favorite essay was “Nature”.
The Best Poetry
T.S. Eliot is always one of my favorites... anything by him. “The Book of Yolek” by Anthony Hecht. “A Primer of the Daily Round” by Howard Nemerov. From “The Dream Songs”, number 14, by John Berryman. “Sailing to Byzantium” by William Butler Yeats. “God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manly Hopkins. “In Memoriam A.H.H.” by Tennyson. “Frost at Midnight” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “The Divine Image” (1789) and “A Divine Image” (1790-91) by William Blake. Well, there is a lot of good poetry that I read this year, but this will do for now.
The Worst
The Lord of the Flies was a disappointment, as was Slaughterhouse 5. I have not given up on Kurt Vonnegut yet though. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classic childrens’ book, and it is one of the few instances in which I can say that the movie is much better. It only took a total of like an hour and half to read though, so, not a huge time investment. Elantris: Ashlee got this for me on the recommendation of a close friend. Ashlee liked it, but I am very sorry that I had to put it on my bad list this year. The characters were just so transparent, and, although you don’t know all the details from the beginning, you certainly know the end and what most of the characters are going to do from the beginning. Lastly, I will be honest, some of Emerson’s stuff is a little tedious. You may burn me in effigy for saying so if you like.
4 comments:
This comment is for both your list and Ash's...
OK. This has me motivated! I am seriously so impressed and even more seriously not well read...at all! I WILL be reading more this year! I love both your lists and will probably be taking notes from them to get some good reads for myself this year. Who knows...maybe i'll have a list at the end of next year! Ha! Lets not get ahead of ourselves! Loved it guys! Thanks for the motivation!
Ok. So it won't let me comment on Corey's dorm stories post, but I loved it! I can't really decide on which one I think would be Corey's favorite, maybe it is the same as mine, and that is the drunk girl smelling her finger! ha ha ha ha! Lovely and never a dull moment it sounds like! ha!
Thank you! I'm so happy you are able to read as much as you do, when I am able to read for fun again come this summer, I'm gonna remember this blog and come searching for a good read! BTW-have I ever told you I love your blog;)
Great reviews as usual, Corey! Thanks for taking the time to do the review again, I look forward to it. And to answer Ashlee's previous question I do want to put the Book Reviews on the book club blog. That way people can get a good recommendation quick! So put yours on there if you feel the need :)
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