Iāve been attempting to get back into reading this year. Itās hard for me to finish books sometimes so I found having a bunch of them to read and switch around to has helped.
The last book I finished was Misery, it was really good. I used to love the movie, but the book really is so much scarier in comparison. I loved how it just stayed all in the perspective of Paul trapped in the room, in his head the entire time. I got really invested in his survival and if he was going to be okay. It was difficult to put the book down. I love it when I find a book that will do that, because it is rare for me to not start getting distracted during reading, thinking of all the more engaging things I could be doing, such as watching a show on one of the streaming services, gaming or texting.
The only Stephen King book I had read prior to Misery was āCarrieā long ago and I didnāt particularly care for it. I didnāt like how it flipped back and forth from present to past with news articles. But since I thoroughly enjoyed Misery, I thought I would try āThe Shiningā.
Itās been pretty good so far, although itās hard for me to like the character Jack, particularly after part 1ās introduction to him wasnāt very flattering. You throw in abuser and drinker and then expect me to care about what happens to him. It is supposed to be him wanting to change his past wrongs, so maybe he will grow on me a little, I have to forgive him for his past and maybe that was intentional to introduce his past, because I thought the book should have just started at part 2 because of all the exposition in part 1. But perhaps, in a way, you need that mindset of who Jack really is, so that you can journey with him to try to forgive himself for what he has done. (I saw the movie long ago and sorta have an idea what happens to him, but I heard the movie is nothing like the book really).
I started the book Grace Year a few months ago, and at first I was very into it, but I cooled on that story. It kinda got boring to me when they introduced the romantic interest. Became instantly cliche to me. I might end up abandoning it, but maybe Iāll trudge through it.
It took me a year to finally get around to finishing āitās kind of a funny storyā. For whatever reason I got stuck on the last part of the story, I think it just started getting a bit repetitive for me and didnāt seem like it was going anywhere- but then again, it was kind of that kind of story. I almost abandoned it, but I was ridiculously close to the end that I just forced myself to complete it so I could say I read it.
āThe Bell Jarā I thought had exceptional prose to it, but that book turns so dark, I still really liked the writing though and just the descriptions of scenes really drew me in. It doesnāt have much of a plot per-say, itās more of a perceptual journey through the psyche and a bit of the life of this woman; but in a way it was every bit of a page turner for me, just because I love how itās written. Every scene comes to life.
I read Tom Feltonās Beyond the Wand. I found myself thinking how opposite of a person I am from him, like I didnāt understand his lackluster attitude and how little he tried in life and how everything seemed to just fall in his lap. Having had some success myself in fields I have been in, itās taken work and dedication, so I found the lack of ambition almost disappointing. Imagine if he had tried. I donāt know. At the end of the book I wasnāt quite sure what the overall message of the book was. It seemed just like he had come to terms with the meaning of his life or rather he had placed meaning on his life that his purpose had been to entertain or lift other peopleās spirits. He had no sense of accomplishment or satisfaction in his āworkā since he hasnāt felt as if he had worked for anything in his life. I mean, as a child, if you are cute and as long as you can express yourself and listen to direction, itās fairly simple to get a job acting; like Iāve done that myself with very little effort. But it seemed like he took almost a sense of pride or pleasure to go ahead and continue having no effort or putting work or passion into his craft. It kind of seemed like I was reading a book about someone just completely lost and directionless who was coming to terms with it by the end.
Thereās been other books Iāve been reading here and there; a Brave New world which is very interesting about a dystopian future. I will have to read more; it sort of reminds me of the show āSeveranceā in a way that itās taking away humanity and forcing a certain life upon people from their conception. Taking away the natural life and replacing it with science.
I have a few other books on my list too, āwaxing onā biography by Ralph Macchio, Maze Runner, Handmaids Tale, lord of the flies, the institute, Dune (though Iām sort of waiting for the movie part 2 to be released before I finish, so Iām not disappointed by the movie for excluding scenes and also Iāll be surprised).
