Weekly Geeks is a weekly book blog community event where participating blogs complete a book- or blog-related activity posted and hosted by Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf.
This week’s activity:
1. In your blog, list any books you’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet. If you’re all caught up on reviews, maybe you could try this with whatever book(s) you finish this week.
2. Ask your readers to ask you questions about any of the books they want. In your comments, not in their blogs. Most likely, people who will ask you questions will be people who have read one of the books or know something about it because they want to read it.
3. Later, take whichever questions you like from your comments and use them in a post about each book. I’ll probably turn mine into a sort of interview-review. Link to each blogger next to that blogger’s question(s).
4. Visit other Weekly Geeks and ask them some questions!
Since I have a mild case of OCD when it comes to books, I’m all caught up on my reviews. I wasn’t going to participate in Weekly Geeks this week because of that, but Matt at A Guy’s Moleskine Notebooks redeemed the activity by listing books that he didn’t finish. Here’s my list of unfinished books:
Books I Probably Won’t Revisit
Diary of a Bad Year, by J.M. Coetzee
The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman
Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut
Books I Probably Will Revisit
The Fall, by Albert Camus
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
Books I Definitely Will Revisit
Emma, by Jane Austen
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon
Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Many of these books were first opened when I was in a fitful reading mood and flitted from book to book. Feel free to ask questions about any of them and/or let me know why I should or should not revisit them. Thanks in advance for your input!
*GIVEAWAY WINNER* And the grand prize winner of a SIGNED copy of Farworld: Water Keep is . . . Shana at Literarily. Congratulations, Shana. I’ll be emailing you for your address. Thanks to everyone else who participated.
Related posts:
{ 15 comments }
What made you to put aside The Subtle Knife, and why don’t you think you’ll be going back to it? Did you like The Golden Compass?
First off, YEAH! for putting aside Wicked. I really didn’t like it, and only finished it b/c it was required for book club. I’ll admit I liked the romance in the middle, but I think that’s the ONLY thing I liked about the entire book.
I HIGHLY recommend Nafisi’s book. You’re so into literature that I’m sure you’ll appreciate all the authors/novels she bases her stories around. We did this one for book club also, and it generated some great discussion.
I don’t have any specific questions, but I’d love to read your thoughts on Nafisi’s book if you ever get around to finishing it!
I must admit I smiled a bit when I saw you didn’t finish Wicked. That was a bit evil of me really since I know *many* people love that book. And you might finish it one day and love it. I’m not one to judge. Still.
My favorite book of the bunch is Dracula. And I do hope you go back to reading it at some point. I don’t have a particular question about these books. But I’ll ask a more personal one…how do you know (or do you know) when it’s you and not the book. Or to phrase that the other way, how do you know when it’s the book and not you…
I wasn’t a big fan of Wicked. I had read the Ugly Stepsister first, and Wicked was just an incredibly slow read compared to his other work. I’d much rather go see the play version.
Reading Lolita in Tehran is on my list of reads, so I’m looking forward to seeing your review of the book.
What was it about Dracula that made you set it aside?
You should pick it up again if you are a fan of horror. It’s the grandfather of vampire novels.
I don’t see how you wouldn’t like to revisit Breakfast of Champions. The New York Times called ‘[Vonnegut]…marvelous…he wheels out all the complaints about America and makes them seem fresh, funny, outrageous, hateful and lovable.”
You’re by far my favorite book review site. But I’m open to others. Any suggestions?
I support your decision on The Subtle Knife. I did make it through the whole series but I found the ending disappointing. Not for big religious-philophical reasons; it was just kind of… meh.
I hope you do go back to Kavalier & Clay, though. That book completely blew me away. And I can’t STAND comic books!
I nominated you for an award! See the details here
I’m having a hard time getting into An Amazing Adventure…. but I’m going to keep trying.
I heard Wicked is AWFUL… so I’m staying far far away from it.
But Dracula is great… if for nothing else but to get the “original” vampire story!
P.S. I just nominated you for the same awards that Nari did! Enjoy! :)
I’m interested in the technique and art of storytelling itself so anything along that line would interest me. And since your list is of books you didn’t finish you could address whether the author’s mishandling of technique played any role. My questions are for any or all of the fiction titles in your list:
How was Point-of-View handled? Was there a single POV character or did it alternate among two or more. Was it always clear whose eyes and mind were filtering?
How was language used to set tone and mood?
Was the prose dense or spare? Were sentences generally simple or complex?
How was metaphor used? Were associations fresh or did they tend toward cliche? Did they add to your understanding of the theme?
What was the central or organizing theme?
How does the title relate to the story? Was it fitting?
>>>>
BTW I’m hosting a book giveaway this week. Four copies of Still Summer by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Four chances to enter until Saturday 3PM PST.
I noticed that “Breakfast of Champions” is on your list of books you probably will not revisit. Why and are there other Kurt Vonnegut books that you would revisit?
Fyrefly – For some reason, I just couldn’t get into The Subtle Knife. I really liked The Golden Compass and was happy to let it lie. My husband finished the whole series, though, and liked it.
Heather – I have literally tried to read Wicked three different times. I started over each time and the furthest I ever got was about halfway. Sigh. As for Reading Lolita in Tehran, I’ll definitely pick that up again soon for the Wind-Up Book Chronicles Challenge.
Becky – As you’ll read above, Wicked and I have not been able to consummate our relationship. Dracula, though, is slated to be finished in the near future for the Classics Challenge. I can usually tell when it’s me because I can go back to the book later. It’s usually the book when I can’t ever get into it.
Nari – We’ll see if I ever get around to a fourth attempt at Wicked. I will, though, finish Reading Lolita in Tehran. AND, thanks so much for the award! I’m touched. I haven’t done an award post yet, but you’re in my 15 top book blogs on my side bar.
Chris – Dracula being set aside was actually the result of a few ARC deadlines. I just haven’t picked it up since. I’ll pick it up again soon. My husband says that it’s one of the best books he’s ever read.
byuistheshiz – Despite the NYT opinion, I didn’t get past the first chapter of Breakfast of Champions. Far too crass. I have enjoyed some of Vonnegut’s other books, though. See my list o’ book blogs page for a list of all of the book blogs of which I am aware,and my 15 top book blogs widget for my favorite book blogs.
Julie – I’m impressed that you made it through the whole His Dark Materials series. It’s intense. Cavalier and Klay is in the soon-to-be-read pile. It being a Pulitzer and all, I can’t resist.
Suey – I’ve heard that Cavalier and Klay is worth the work. I have had a hard time getting into it, but I’m committed to trying again. Wicked was a little . . . racy. Dracula will be read. It will. Also, thank you for the award. I haven’t done an award post yet, but you’re in my 15 top book blogs on my side bar!
Joy – Wow. Your questions are specific. Diary of a Bad Year is a good example to discuss story structure and is worthy of it’s own blog post. Look for that post in the next couple of days. Thanks for the questions.
Molly – As I mentioned above, Breakfast of Champions was bit crass for me. I did, however, enjoy Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five and Cat’s Cradle. I would recommend those two to anyone who want to try out a little Vonnegut. (Also, one of my very favorite short stories is Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut.)
Michael Chabon is local, and I chastise myself for not having read him. Last year my book club read a few books by Kurt Vonnegut, but Breakfast of Champions wasn’t one. I should look it up. But he’s on very high on my priority. :)
In Defense of Food sounds very intriguing—I have never heard of it nor the author. Thanks for listing it!
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