Have You Read That?

No, I'm not dead

2012-02-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm just not done with The Moonstone yet. I had a friend's birthday party on Saturday night, and yesterday was the Super Bowl, which I don't want to talk about.

So, probably Wednesday will be the review on that. And I ordered A Clear Slant of Light, a book Becky recommended, so that might be next.

Excuse me while I leave the Internet to find out what happened to this damn Moonstone. I still have no idea who did it!

World Book Night

2012-01-31T18:40:00.001-08:00

Have any of you out there heard of World Book Night?

I suggest you visit this website: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/ and learn more about what you can do to spread books in your community!

I registered to be a giver of books, and won't find out until the end of February if I've been accepted, but I think this is a great idea, and that everyone should find a way to participate!

#1: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2012-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hey! I finished a book! That was mighty fast of me!

I'd like to point out that this is the first one of these that I'm doing, so bear with me. I'm going to try to do a few things consistently, like talk about my favorite characters and things like that, but I'm also going to discuss just things I like and things I don't like. Which is fine, because this is my blog, so neener neener neener.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

as observed by myself and Batman behind me.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre tells the story of George Smiley, the character portrayed by Gary Oldman in the film version that was recently released. And I would like to point out that normally, I tend to avoid buying movie tie-in covers, as it makes me feel as though I'm buying it just for the film, which I kind of am, but I don't want to be reminded of it. But I have no qualms with this movie tie-in cover, as it has Gary Oldman's face on it.

Look at its glory!

Loooooooooooook at it!

George Smiley was, one year ago, fired from his job in British intelligence with a group known as the Circus, because he was the closest confidant to Control, the leader of the Circus. Smiley lives a very boring life: his wife left him, he has few hobbies, and has been in little contact with anyone for the past year.

"It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?"

This makes him the perfect candidate to investigate the new rumors that are circulating through British intelligence, that there is a Russian mole planted in the uppermost echelon of the Circus group. Control had been trying to investigate this, but he was forced out, along with Smiley, one year ago, and is now dead.

There is an enormous backstory to this rumor of a mole, that tells of a spy shot in Brno near Prague, a seemingly rogue agent entangled in a love affair in Budapest, and five possible candidates for the Russian mole: Percy Alleline, Roy Bland, Toby Esterhause, Bill Haydon, and George Smiley himself, the five highest-ranking members of the Circus.

And quite honestly, you will be aghast when you find out that there is in fact a mole, and who that person is.

My favorite character is Peter Guillam, the agent who was assigned to work with George Smiley to uncover the mole's identity. I think this is mostly because he is played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the film adaptation, although, in the book, he is the one ultimately responsible for recovering (read: stealing) all the important and relevant files from the Circus to give to George Smiley.

The most difficult part of the book, for me at least, was the language: there is a lot of British slang in the book, which is usually not a problem, but a lot of the words are actually invented words, terms used by members of British intelligence to refer to different people, places, and things. Luckily, the most important of these terms, the ones that tend to be most cryptic, are explained by the author. Sometimes, it was difficult to follow the characters, as there are so many that only show up for a few pages and then are rarely referred to again, but it gets easier as the book goes on.

The breakdown: I'm ranking these on a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest.

Writing/Storytelling: WHO IS THE DAMN MOLE?! A pinnacle of its genre. I'll give this a 9.

Characters: Lots of them, and all of them interesting. Some of them have multiple names. The best part is there is no clear distinction between the ones the author wants you to like and the ones he wants you to hate. I'm giving it an 8.

Difficulty: This gets a 7; for those who aren't as familiar with Britain and their terminology as I am, this may be higher.

Overall: This book is an 8, and I highly recommend it.

Coming up next: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Requests: list #1

2012-01-31T05:42:00.000-08:00

Good morning! And no, I'm not finished with Tinker Tailor Solder Spy yet. I'LL tell YOU. I promise.

Some people found it difficult to leave comments here. I'm going to have to remedy that, because I don't want to keep doing what I'm about to do now, which is write out lists of recommendations that people left on Facebook rather than posted in the comments section.

Not that it's terribly complicated, it's just two tabs open on Chrome and switching back and forth, but hey. I wanted everything on one convenient site. I'm working on this. It's only day two.

Of blogging, to be clear. It's about year... nineteen of reading.

I'm also posting a list of books that I've bought and have yet to read, to add to the list. And anything in bold is a recommendation that I've already read.

Becky:

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins,

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen,

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Marcus Zusak

Getting The Girl by Marcus Zusak

I Am The Messenger by Marcus Zusak

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak,

Second Sons Trilogy by Jennifer Fallon

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Well, Becky, you were wrong in thinking I've read everything you've read. Which seems to be a lot of young adult fantasy and Marcus Zusak books. Nothing wrong with that!

Mikey:

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Chronicles of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Tinkers by Paul Harding

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The Pixar Touch by David A Price

Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

And thank you, Mikey, for the books! We are fellow bibliophiles, after all.

(note to self: learn how to do accent marks! Gabriel's name is a disgrace without them!)

Ian:

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Gee, Ian, you're a great help. However, this is a great transition into MY list of books:

Sam:

And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Howards End by E.M. Forester

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

About a Boy by Nick Hornby

On Writing by Stephen King

Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire

The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Will by Christopher Rush

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Now that I have a chuck of reading to do, I should probably get off the internet, right? Right.

Opening Post: What I'm Currently Reading, And What You Can Do To Help The Cause

2012-01-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hello there, all!

My name is Sam. And I like to read. A lot. I read really fast. To the point where it annoys everyone that I know. Or anyone in the general area that sees me flipping pages incessantly.

And so, I made a blog. About books.

Currently, I'm reading Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre. When I finish, I'll post a review. And then start another book.

That's the basic idea. And that's where you come in, people of the internet.

I know that most people don't read nowadays. And I mean, why would they, with such distractions as YouTube and Tumblr and Facebook and sites like that. But I like to go against the norm and read the printed word. So, I propose that you send me the titles of books that you like. Books that you've read and want to share with me. Or even books that you're too lazy to read, and the movie hasn't come out yet, and you want to know what it's about.

And I'll read it for you with relative speed.

And let's be clear here: I just want some recommendations for books to read. And I think you guys can help me here.

So leave me some comments with book recommendations and stuff like that. And when I finish this book tomorrow or so, I'll post my thoughts.

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Or me blogging alone about books. Whatever.