My husband is interning in NYC and I couldn't let him all the fun alone so I decided to come along. But without a job I am left with a lot of spare time to read. Thus, I will give a short accounting of the books read.
My favorite genre to read is Young Adult Fiction, however, my husband gives me a lot of beef about that because he says I should be reading something more educational. So in order to feel like I am not wasting my time with just entertaining books I decided for every fictional book I will read one classic or non-fiction book.
Hunger Games (Young Adult Fiction, my favorite genre)
I LOVED this book. I thought it to be an interesting story line.
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.
Columbine (Non-Fiction):
This was interesting to me even though I know probably for most it would be distributing. It tells the true story of what happened at the Columbine shooting. There were many untrue stories and events told from the media during that time that still live on.
Warning: It is littered with profanity from the boys (aka the killers) journals.
Uglies and Pretties (Young Adult Fiction):
These two books are part of a trilogy. They are very entertaining and quick reads.
There about a world in which everyone has an operation when they turn sixteen, making them supermodel beautiful. This seems like a good thing, but it's not. Especially if you're one of the uglies, a bunch of radical teens who've decided they want to keep their own faces. They were not my ABSOLUTE favorite books but i really enjoyed the read and was sad when they were done.
Nickel and Dimed (Non-Fiction):
Barbara Ehrenreich’s non-fiction bestseller, Nickel and Dimed, is the story of an essay writer who went undercover as a low wage worker to find out how non-skilled workers make ends meet. The experiment took place in Florida, Maine, and Minnesota, with the author finding a job and lodgings in each location. The experiment was held for one month in each location, working full time and living only off the amount of money earned in low-wage jobs. The goal was to determine whether or not the author could both live off the money earned and have enough money at the end of the month to pay the next month’s rent.
I thought this book was boring. But a good reminder of how people live and how blessed we are.
More books to come!
Last week when I went to the library, I happened across a young adult book list. After scanning it briefly and deciding against looking into the books, I hit the shelves for my usual perusal. By chance, I came across a book that I had seen on the list and decided to take a chance on it. The book is Skellig by David Almond, and the description on the back of the book (after a somewhat sappy summary), labels the book as "lyrical prose." Suprisingly, the idea of a lyrical prose novel intrigued rather than spurned me, and I was soon sucked in. The story line is definitely a little strange and has to be taken with a grain of salt, but if you read it from the poetic, metaphoric stance that I think it was written from, it has some promise. Most of all, I was wowed by his masterful, beautiful writing style and how his style and message (albeit weird) really came together in the end. Check it out and see what you think - it's a quick read of only 181 pages.
Hunger Games (Young Adult Fiction, my favorite genre)
Columbine (Non-Fiction):
Nickel and Dimed (Non-Fiction):
