Read
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The Hunger Games
Finished
Even books I’m enjoying don’t often pull me in as much as I’d like these days - I find myself setting them down and not picking them up for weeks, even. But I found this in paperback recently and remembered being curious about it when I saw it in hardcover so I bought it. There are so many ways this book could have failed, building on the clichés it uses, but it didn’t. I found myself engaged constantly, wondering what happened next, worrying about characters, and desperately needing to pick the book up again when I’d put it down.
I don’t know. I don’t really feel like analyzing it much beyond that, but I really enjoyed it. I’m going to find the second book as soon as I possibly can. And the third just came out! The final book! That’s exciting
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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Finished
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Serbs and Croats The Struggle in Yugoslavia
Finished
I knew that this account was written with an eye on defending Serbia, and I think that in some ways Dragnich did an admirable job discussing the motives of most parties. Unfortunately, what he most neglected was Serbia itself: despite his attempts to sound even-handed and fairly analyze actions of which he clearly disapproved from Croatia and Slovenia, he gave no thought to Serbia’s own actions. When I looked up major players mentioned in the book, I found accusations (real or not) that were not even addressed by Dragnich.
Basically, this book helped to give me a good idea of how many Serbians may see their recent history, and to develop some impression of what actually happened. And while I believe that Dragnich has an agenda, I don’t believe that he intended simply to force it upon people with this book. He obviously has a level of dissatisfaction with much of the recent history of the area and its leaders - Serb, Croat, and otherwise. But whatever the facts, he does Serbia a disservice in ignoring the larger issues and accusations against the country. It denies him the opportunity to properly address those accusations, and lends the whole book an air (hopefully undeserved) of propaganda.
I am looking for another book at this point that will address the issue with a more historical and detached approach. Open to suggestions.
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The Time Machine
Finished
Despite its age, the adventure it presented and the concepts within felt neither dated, nor clichéd, nor unoriginal. There’s an atmosphere in the stark style of writing that lends itself to the waning days of life on planet Earth. Very quick but fascinating.
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The Hound of the Baskervilles
Finished
Quite an adventure. A pretty quick read, but its age and style present some interesting words and phrases that are less-familiar in modern English.
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Making Comics Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
Finished
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The Titan's Curse
Finished
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Tales of H. P. Lovecraft
Finished
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Understanding Comics The Invisible Art
Finished
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The Sea of Monsters
Finished
Better than the first one, at least. We’ll see if it continues to improve.
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In Defense of Food An Eater's Manifesto
Finished
A lot more food for thought (no pun intended?) than real prescriptions or proscriptions. Interesting, easily readable. A little more geared to the middle class, further on in life than I am - I essentially still live a college lifestyle still: no dining room, roommates are strangers, little room in the fridge or time to cook it because of social and professional obligations, and definitely nowhere to plant a garden. But that’s a lot of excuses and his advice is still sound. It’s a lifestyle change and it takes a commitment, as Pollan says. Anyway, I’d recommend this to anyone who wants to think about food culture, cooking, even American culture as a whole as it relates to big business.
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The Lightning Thief
Finished
An attempt to combine Harry Potter with Holden Caulfield that’s interesting but not as compelling. It suffers a lot from “adult-trying-to-think-and-talk-like-a-kid” syndrome.
I’m going to finish the series, though, because I hear it gets better and I love adventure and mythology.
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The Crying of Lot 49
Finished
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The Subtle Knife
Finished
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A Branded World
Finished