To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (October 11, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446310786
• ISBN-13: 978-0446310789
• List Price: $6.99
• I finished this book on Jan. 31

Okay, as we know, I have not read a lot of the "classics". In fact, those of you who have been reading since last year know that the point of this blog was for me to explore books from the Modern Library's top 100 list. Obviously I have given that up to live in hedonistic bookslut sin with ya books, trash and gay porn. Either way, I never read Mockingbird and one of the English classes at my school is beginning a unit on it. Since I said "Let me know if you need any help" when the teacher mentioned it, I figured I better read it. And I was pleasantly surprised.
So, the back cover of the edition I had said something about how librarians had voted this the best book ever. I'm not saying this is the best book ever, but I liked it. I liked Scout, and her father, and her story. I was appropriately annoyed by the outcome of the trail and I liked the events toward the end of the book and the denouement. I found Scout's narration to be easy to read and fun to get into. I liked that she was a tomboy and that she had to dress up like a ham. I have a feeling that if all the classics were narrated by a little girl they might all be easier to read.
Oh, and so many good supporting characters! By the end of the book you felt like you'd been really hanging out in Maycomb with all those people. I liked Calpurnia the best, but also Miss Maudie.
Fun fact: according to SparkNotes, Harper Lee based the character of Dill on Truman Capote. Interesting (Mr. Burns impression). Also: cool lesson plans for this book here. Other bio info for Ms. Lee here.

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; Reprint edition (July 1, 1995)
• ISBN-10: 068480154X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684801544
• List price: $10.00
  
• I finished this book on Mar. 11
• This book is number 28 on the list.
  

So, let me admit something here: I have read all the books on the list that remotely appealed to me, and am now plodding through with the rest. I chose this Fitzgerald because I had liked The Great Gatsby. Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be nearly as interesting.
This might make me seem stupid, and that's fine with me: but I did not get this. I mean, I understood what was going on. But I did not understand why I was supposed to care, I was all: "Why am I reading about this?" I still don't know.
Dick and Nicole Diver are this 1920's expatriate power couple. Rosemary, an 18 year old actress finds them charming and immediately falls in love with Dick within the first few pages. When this happened, I was already mad. I wished she was going to fall for the other guy, Abe North, don't ask why but I found him way more interesting. A about a hundred or so pages later still no affair, though they both love each other. End book one, and I'm all: "What?" Anyway, we find out that Dick married Nicole after treating her for being a total nutbar and they don't ever really seem to like each other except for one overheard moment of two sentence sexiness. Later, Nicole goes astronaut diapers crazy again for a few pages. She eventually gets better while Dick gets less successful, less attractive and more of a lush. Boo to that.
I do not appreciate a book in which my romantic lead A. never has good sex B. never gets anything he wants and C. in fact becomes a total loser. I also do not appreciate the shift of perspective to a character whom I never liked (ie: Nicole). Though, I must say, I did like her tryst with Tommy at the end, because I love when a woman breaks from convention and does her own thing, a la A Doll's House though in this one Nicole keeps her kids. I get that there are messages here, or I am supposed to feel something for Dick's descent into mediocrity, but I'm not feeling it.
So, yeah, not a fan. I'm sure there are many people who would like this one, but I am not that girl. For anyone reading, I recommend using the SparkNotes page on the book as a guide, because there sure is some stuff that happens that I didn't get the first time. I am sorta starting to dread the idea of reading more books like this. Alright, I have to go find a good ghost story or something to get this taste out of my mouth...

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (May 14, 1989)
• ISBN-10: 0679723250
• ISBN-13: 978-0679723257
• List Price: $10.95
• I finished this book on Feb. 18
  
• This book is number 98 on the list.

I wanted to read this one anyway, and finding it on the list was really just an added bonus. I've seen both the John Garfield/Lana Turner version of the movie and the JackNicholson/Jessica Lange one as well. As for those, I like the older one better, though the new one was sexier and had a better poster. Anywho, having seen those films I was surprised at how short the book was.
This one is called one of the original thrillers, and it does not disappoint. A young man takes a job at a restaurant run by an older man and his femme fatale wife. They begin a torrid/borderline violent affair and decide to kill him. It doesn't work. So they decide anything worth doing is worth doing twice and give it another go. This time they succeed. Then they go to court. And get away with it...for a while.
The story is narrated by the young man, in his sort of poor English tramp speak. There is added bonus 1940's slang (stinko = drunk) and good use of the phrase 'hell-cat'. The story really has an in depth plot and it flows along surprisingly fast. I was impressed with the naughty bits, they were not all that graphic but they were very racy for their time. I was pleasantly surprised on that count.
I also really like the title, and was disappointed not to have an explanation of it in this story (the Lana Turner movie has an explanation, while the Jessica Lange one does not). I suppose I sort of assumed it would be there and it wasn't. Then, in doing research, I read conflicting opinions on what it meant. I'd like to give my take on it, because, well, it's my blog. The title refers to the idea that if you are expecting a letter or package, even if you miss it the first time it comes, the postman will always comes around a second time. Eventually, you will get it. The same is true of fate, even if you manage to dodge it once it will come back around and get you in the end. That is what this story is about, and what makes the ending so perfect and kind of oddly sad at the same time.
My final thought on this one is that it should have been higher on the list, if for nothing else, the appeal it has. It's racy, it's a crime story. It is fun, some of the others on the list...not so much. That's all I have to say about that.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Everyman's Library; New Ed edition (December 17, 1992)
• ISBN-10: 185715133X
• ISBN-13: 978-1857151336
• List Price: $21.58
• I finished this book on Feb. 6
• Number 4 on the list.
  

Okay, so I think that everyone has an idea about this book. It's one of those books that you hear about, and maybe wonder about. I admit I was very curious, having seen the newer film version, to get my hands on it.
For those who don't know, Lolita is often banned, challenged and considered obscene, as are many of the books on the list (see which ones, here). It is the confession of a man in prison. Humbert Humbert stole away his 12 year old stepdaughter and systematically raped her for years. Hum unapologetically explains his thought processes and habits. Though the sex scenes are never very graphic, the explanations of his habits are still disturbing.
Somehow, though the subject matter is upsetting and in fact there really is no uplifting message nor is there redemption at any point, I found Humbert's telling of the story easily accessible. I found him poetic, and while I didn't sympathize with him, I'm not even going to lie that there were times when I was rooting for him. Though the whole of Humbert's tale is about child rape, there were really only two sections I found overly disturbing, and they were both brief and not at all graphic. I have a feeling I was not as freaked as I thought I would be because you kinda go into it knowing what it's about and that's what you're getting into. You are prepared. Plus, like I said, Humbert is an eloquent story-teller.
Movie side note: In the film version Jeremy Irons plays Hum. Though I find him wonderful in the role, the Humbert of the book is very handsome. While I find Irons oddly attractive, he is not, perhaps, as beautiful as the novel's Humbert proclaims himself to be. Okay, sorry, back to the book.
The book uses a lot of repetition, as well as copious allusions to other works. Humbert also goes to great pains to describe Lolita to us. Her beauty her actions, his feelings. At times, it's actually sort of romantic, until you remember that he's talking about a little girl. One thing that kept bugging me throughout, is that our main character speaks French, a lot. With no translation. I could understand some of this from high school French, but not much. It wouldn't have killed me to know what he was really saying in this parts, I'm just saying. There were some sections where the action of the story dragged, but Humbert's narration usually brought me through them without boredom. In researching this book after reading it, I liked coming across all the different covers. A google image search shows several different, as well as pictures from the movie, if you interested, dearies. The cover I have is simply the title and a flower with some wilted petals. Lame-o. I prefer the lips, or the pigeon-toed legs covers, personally.
So, the moral of this story is: I liked this book the most so far out of the ones I've read from the list.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

• Audiobook
  
• Publisher: Listening Library (Audio); Unabridged edition (October 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307281701
• ISBN-13: 978-0307281708
• List Price: $29.95
• I finished listening to this audiobook on Jan. 28
• Number 41 on the list

So, okay, I liked this way better than I thought I would. I must also say that it was a nice story to hear out loud, for the most part. Golding himself read it, and his stodgy British old man voice lent the story something. The other reason it was nice to hear out loud is because it's incredibly descriptive and I was able to listen to those heavily descriptive sections without getting bored, as I have a suspicion I may have done were I reading it.
The book is basically an allegory, and I really dug all the symbolism. It is also very repetitive, which I believe I noticed more because it was read out loud. Some phrases that really stick in my head are "I got the conch!" "My specks!" and "Kill the pig/beast, cut it's throat, spill it's blood!" I find that I keep wanting to say silly things in Piggy's voice in conversation, as though I am not the only person I know of who has listened to this particular audio enjoyment.
I would also like to note that I guessed the ending and I was very pleased when I was correct. That rarely happens, as you know, because I do not often try to guess. I would have liked a little more follow-up at the ending, but I was not dissapointed.
The beginning and end of the recording have some of Golding's thoughts on the books. He talks particularly about why the inhabitants of the island are solely male, and he says something that I really liked: "I don't know why women are always trying to act equal to men when they aren't: they're superior" hehe, funny stuff, Mr. McPompous Accent. So, on the whole, this one is my favorite from the dreaded list so far.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reissue edition (November 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393312836
• ISBN-13: 978-0393312836
• List Price: $13.99
• I finished this book on Jan. 15
• Number 65 on the list
  

So, this is one of those that I have heard about all my life, but don't really know anything about it. I haven't seen the movie (though I'm netflixing it) and I didn't really know much, except that it was violent. Little did I know that it was written in another language. No, really, I would say that at least 50% of the things our 'humble narrator' says are in his made up slang. This was really off-putting at first, but I finally figured it out. That said, it's pretty hard to use context clues when most of the words in a sentence don't make sense. It reminded me of sitting in Italian classes (ugh).
Anywho: the story is about a future in which lawlessness is rampant, and evil teen gangs rule the night. Little else is known about this future and the society in which the story takes place. I would have liked to hear more about that, personally, but I don't really think it takes away either. Alex, our main character and narrator, has a little gang that steals, beats helpless old men, and rapes women in front of their wives. For fun. He is also a classical music enthusiast. His buddies eff him over and he goes to jail, where his jail buddies do the same. He then goes through a conditioning treatment which steals from him both the abilities to enjoy violence and classical music. Eventually he is fixed and allowed to be violent again and then decides to grow up.
The major theme of the book is the importance of choice. When Alex is conditioned he isn't being bad but he also isn't choosing to be good. I think it's hard to realize all that underneath the violence and shenanigans. You also sort of feel bad for the little sociopath rapist at times.
Plus, after I finished reading it I found a glossary of the slang language on line and I'm mad I spent all that time trying to figure it out. Either way, I think it's an interesting book, sideways thumb, you know? Not quite thumbs up or down.
Anyone interested can check out the sparknotes on it here.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Reprint edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060929871
• ISBN-13: 978-0060929879
• List Price: $ 13.95
• I finished this book on Jan. 12
• Number 5 on the list
  

So, my dears, this is the first book of the mythic list that I have tried my hand at. Or rather my noodle. Either way, it's Number 5 on the Modern Library's list. Let me tell you, it's not really Number 5 in my heart.
Now, here's one of my great theories in life. A few people said that certain books or movies were really awesome, because they didn't understand them, and wanted to seem smart. This makes those who don't understand them feel stupid. I resolve to never, in the course of this blog or elsewhere, falsely pretend like I understood something or liked it because other smarty-pants said it was good.
Having said that, I did understand this book, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. The book is about a dystopian/utopian society where everyone is born in test tubes and everyone has everyone. When I say 'has' I mean they are totally doing it with everyone. One of my favorite phrases early in the book is one young girl to another: "You really must be more promiscuous, you know." I'm not sorry, that's funny to me. But, I feel that in a book where everyone is having sex with everyone, I should get to have a sex scene. But no. Sigh. There is also a rigid caste system, complete with the purposeful genetic engineering of defects into the lower castes.
Anyway, I was totally with the book until about the last chapter, nay, the last page and then I totally didn't pick up the end. At all. I had to go to spark notes to figure out that one. Geez. Now I'm kinda mad that I spent time reading this and didn't get the end. That's kind of lame, I have decided. I feel that the idea of the world and the intended satire of commercialism were very interesting and worth my time, but that ending...
I also give this book high marks in readability. The characters are engaging, and, using the amazing power of context clues, you can follow the story even with the weird unexplained ways of this new world. That is another complaint I have of this story; to me there are two kinds of futury/different society books: Ones that give an explanation (however brief) or the world you are reading about, how it came to be etc. and ones that totally don't. This book is the latter. I'm not an idiot, mind you, I can figure some things out. Perhaps it's just that the way they got there seems very interesting to me. In some cases more interesting that the actual story.
In case anyone is interested: please enjoy the SparkNotes page on this book.
So, my informal rating on this one is: eh. You understand. All in all, though, not a bad first run for a book off of the (dun dun dun<---- foreboding music) List. Now I'm going to go be more promiscuous.