Reading Challenge - 30 to 34

30 - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

The Book of Lost Things seemed, at first glance, exactly the right read for me: dark with fairy tales gone wrong. But it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.


Full Review



(3,5/5)



31 - Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Lord of Light is a strange book. At first I was having trouble finding the science fiction in it: it seemed more like a religion book about the life of the Gods, the kind that is usually given away on the street. I was also constantly lost amidst the different Gods, with all the name/position changes.

It did get better, but not by much. I was able to understand the gist of it, which lead me to believe that I would have probably loved the book if it wasn't so vague and confusing.

(3/5)


32 - The Book of Imaginary Beings By Jorge Luis Borges
The book of Imaginary Beings is a bestiary of fantastical animals, from folklore, mythology and literature. It is in no way comprehensive, but it's a good reference for anyone who enjoys to read about human imagination and its history. Some of the beings are alike, as their descriptions get mixed up throughout the ages, and sometimes the same name is given to beings so different.

I really liked the bits of imagined beings by other authors, especially the ones by Kafka.

Not your standard literature book, more of a reference of sorts, but very enjoyable nonetheless.

(4/5)

33 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and other stories by Washington Irving
It was an OK book: some good stories, some bad, one awful.

Full Review

(3.5/5)







34 - Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
This is, undoubtedly, a very strange book. Good kind of strange. At this point I'm not sure I can say much about it. I'm not even sure I liked it (or disliked it, for that matter). I will probably need time to digest the story.

What I will say is this: There are things in the book that I loved, and that includes the characters, and most of the plot. But I'm not sure if I wanted it to end how it did, or even if I wanted it to end.

The friend that lent me this book told me it was like an anime. It is. But not the action kind of anime. We're talking about sureal, philosophical and heavily metaphorical storylines here. But it's just like an anime.

Full Review (written a few days later)

(4/5)