I have been meaning to update my blog more often than I have in the past, but busy days have kept me away. I have three new books to share about: Choke, Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant, and Fahrenheit 451.

First, Choke was subtly brilliant. I quickly identified with the main character both child and man, though I have no obvious similarities to their obvious plights. The reality of the younger character's inner-scepticism conflicting with the embedded idea that he cannot possibly be misled by his mother is very real to me. I think children's minds are constantly working to size up and categorize their situations and unmade choices while developing to grown-up status. As we grow, we do however, find that we are not yet experienced enough to feel confident in our every assessment and ignore our parent's influence. The adult character this little boy grows into narrates his portion of this novel internally exposing not only his personal problems and weaknesses, but his every little though about the characters in his life, their settings, purposes and effects on him as a man.
Choke was a very fast read for me -not because it is a piece of fluff about a sex addict (though I feel that presence of sexual addiction in the book is entirely overemphasised by the recent media), but because its excitement was realistic and I could not put it down.

The second book was a collection of emails exchanged between Greg Graffin (front man of punk band Bad Religion) and Preston Jones (Professor and Bad Religion fan). During these exchanges the two men form a personal friendship while discussing their very different religious beliefs. Of course this private communication was never meant to be turned into a book and shared with the world, so it is a bit tiresome to read but I found Graffin's extreme knowledge of his naturalist beliefs very interesting. He is incredibly comfortable in these beliefs and has a lot to share.

Lastly, I have just finished Fahrenheit 451. I was never made to read this in school and for a long time have felt that it was a necessary read. Bradbury's science-fiction manifest of the idea that humans may become so technologically advanced that they begin to ignore and eventually fear thoughts, feelings, and knowledge is as easily understood from today's viewpoint as that of the time it was written in.

READ!

Another Irving Book Done With

So, I have been reading A Son Of The Circus for forever now. I know I take pride in reading slowly so that I can soak it all up, but this novel is anything but a moderately-paced read. I have been toting this book around for a couple of months now, and though I did enjoy it, it was... well... viscous.

In fact, if you do not already love Irving, don't start here. The quotation from the New York Times Book Review on the cover reads "His [Irving's] most entertainig novel since Garp". There are so many things wrong with statement. I want to clarify: I was entertained by this book and I am glad that I have read it. That being said, this novel is not even a contender for the most entertaining novel he has gifted us since The World According To Garp. Check into A Widow For One Year or Until I Find You. These are entertaining. The value of this work is not in its action, but in its meaning. After everything you have been through and learned from the first word forward is, in the end, simplified to a remarkable and sentimental life lesson -subtle though it may be.
The things that make this book so utterly worth it are the same things that make you compulsively read everything he's put to paper. His amazing a vivid storytelling ability and spin yarns are ever present here. You can't avoid identifying with and investing in his characters. His writing style is so true to life and does not omit the awkwardness that comes with real life situations.
With all the character and development as well as well as an artfully arranged collection of stories that are resolved in a tight little bundle near the end of the novel, you might be expecting more from the ending. If so, you would be missing the forest for the trees.