The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-- about 390 pages in.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson started out as a slow read, but has proven itself to be an interesting and complex mystery. I think that any book that has gained such a terrific reputation is bound to only skim the reader’s expectations. Extremely confused, initially, I wondered why my classmates and family were enjoying a book about financial and legal scandals. Once I got past that part, I started to really enjoy the book. I think the novel is so popular because it appeals to an audience not necessarily within the aimed demographic, like me. However, my eyes still do glaze over when dollar signs (or rather, Kronor signs) reappear.

My favorite character in the book is, of course, Lisbeth Salander. She intrigues the reader with mysteries she presents about herself, as she solves those of others. This causes the reader to question her past, rather than take interest in that of her cases. Salander is the outcast of the book, which makes her so relatable. I think this contributes to the books wide appeal. Everyone—from teenage girls, to my parents to my grandparents—can connect to being an outsider. She embraces this trait not as a flaw, but as something she just is. I look forward to finishing the book, hopefully learning more about Salander in addition to the Harriet case.

Eat, Pray, Love-- about 230pages through

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert has proven to be a somewhat cheesy, although meaningful novel describing the author's path to enlightenment as she travels the globe after a divorce. I think this book gained so much press and popularity becuase of how easily most readers can relate to it. Even as a teen not going through an early midlife crisis, I can connect to how the narrator (Liz) feels, when she describes this feeling of restlessness and need to just go somewhere. The difference between her and her empathetic readers? Liz actually gave into this restlessness and did go somewhere. She was at a breaking point in her life--everything seemed to be ending, while nothing was beginning. For Liz, the timing was perfect; for so many of her readers, it never will be.
What I found most interesting in this book is Liz's relationship with her sister. She often goes off on tangents about her sister's life and how it differs from her own. It seems as though it was "expected" that the rolls each of them play in this world was "supposed" to be reversed. This relationship alone describes the sentiment of the entire book.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon in order to fulfill one of my genre requirements—mystery. However, the book was more than just a mystery. In fact, the mystery stated in the title was solved just half way through the book. It was about a 16 year old boy named Christopher and his journeys: his journeys through taking “Math Level A”, finding out who murdered his neighbor’s dog and his ultimate journey of finding his mother. Each was a bit of a mystery in itself but together, each part of Christopher’s story created an interesting inscrutability.
The novel was narrated by Christopher, which is particularly interesting because of Christopher’s unique thought processes. It seems as if Christopher has a mental disorder, for he has difficulties with social skills but is an intellectual genius. His take on his world is different than how I would have ever viewed things. While reading, one must often look at something with different perspective, rather than Christopher’s, to discover the true significance of what is occurring. Because of Christopher’s distinct narration, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is a fascinating book, putting the world in new light.

Nanny Returns

Taking a break from oppression in Afghanistan, I chose to return to New York and decided to read the Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. The book was mediocre in comparison to its prequel, The Nanny Diaries. Expecting a continuation of a college student’s journey after being forced out of the archetypal upper Manhattan nanny life style, I was surprised to be greeted by the same character, Nan, 10 years later and married. The book returns to the same family (the Xes) as its prequel, showing the results of a child growing up in such a life. It was interesting to re-meet Grayer, the child Nan nannied. He drops by unannounced, drunk, to uncover why the only person he looked up to as a child—Nan—had left him. I think while the neglecting of infants by their parents (creating the job of a nanny) is commonly acknowledged, the often unfulfilled need for love teenagers experience without parents that are around is often un-thought of. However, I would have liked to see the end of Nan’s struggles through college as she searches for a job after nanny-ing.

Samira and Samir- Abandoned!

What started out as a fantastic book, Samira and Samir by Siba Shakib gradually grew dull and monotonous. I think it was just the idea of the plot that intrigued me. The idea of a young girl (named Samira) in Afghanistan forced to grow up as a boy (called Samir), so not to ruin her father’s honor was something I had never heard of. The beginning was mostly about Samira’s parents, and the focus slowly turned to Samir’s relationship with her male friend, Bashir. At first, their peculiar interactions were exciting, but then they seem to stand still in age—nothing much happens developmentally, and the author begins to ramble. I couldn’t read more than 10 or so pages at night, for there was nothing to keep me going and the book is quite grim. Tragic tale after tragic tale was told and stories of rape were repeated. It wasn’t that I couldn’t keep track of what was happening, but I just lost interest in knowing. Unfortunately, I have decided to abandon this book, 201 pages into the 280 page book. Perhaps I will later return to finish up the last bit, but for now I will move onto a book with a lighter topic and more of a grab. However, I cannot credit this book for nothing. The topic still interests me, and is something I’d be willing to possibly read more about. In fact, the New York Times just wrote an article on how common females disguised as males so to avoid oppression are in Afghanistan.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin offers a theory about what happens after one dies. Zevin describes an afterlife in which all age backwards until the dead reach infancy again. At infancy, the dead are shipped back down a river to be reborn on earth. Initially, I saw this theory as quite optimistic, but I was soon proved wrong. While this would be a wonderfully satisfying afterlife for one who already lived a long life on earth, it is only full of missed opportunities for a dead teenager such as the main character, Liz. Dead at 15, Liz never has the chance to get her driver’s license, go to prom or to her best friend’s wedding. She becomes addicted to looking through lenses at the observation deck, where she can see into the lives of her loved ones who are still alive, destroying her mental and social health. Although Zevin describes the after world (often called “elsewhere”) with great detail, she neglects to give Liz much of a personality. Liz has few distinct features. I can’t help but wonder whether this was intentional, rather than lazy writing. Possibly Zevin meant to make Liz’s life and afterlife applicable to every teenage girl, without turning her into a complete stereo-type or cliché. Zevin illustrates her ideas of life after death through a generic girl, putting a twist on the idea of heaven.

Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman explores an interesting concept of roll reversal of skin colors. In the novel, people with light skin tones (nicknamed the Naughts) were second class citizens to those with darker skin tones (nicknamed the Crosses). Despite the advances that have been made in civil rights and in the mindset of the citizens, there are numerous ideas pertaining to skin color that many have never given much thought to. For example, the traditional color of a band-aid is tan, to blend with a white person’s skin tone. Blackman described a Naught applying a brown band-aid, which stuck out on his pale skin. Why is it that with all of the ethnic variety in America, no one has put other color skin tone band-aids on the market? The book made the reader question other products and ideas that he or she has just always accepted. It became clear throughout the novel that it was irrelevant who was being forced to live a second class life; all should live equally, although that is an unrealistically optimistic ideal.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Oder of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling is a book of many layers, each one revealed each time one reads it. My favorite aspect of this Harry Potter novel in particular is the way the reader gets a better feel for the true personalities of the characters. When reading the book the second time, I could focus on the little things about the characters rather than the plot. Specifically, Hermione’s goody two-shoes nature seems only to be from the comparison to Harry and Ron. Ron also branches out of his “side-kick” archetype, and begins playing Quidditch when Harry gets kicked off the team. Harry, on the other hand, is sinking further into his “hero” archetype, which is even used by his enemy, Voldemort, as his weakness. Voldemort intelligently uses this one weakness, and thereby magnifying the weakness to the readers. Harry’s fame-seeking side and desires to “save the day” are his krypotonite in this book, making his character not so lovable to the readers.

Gods behaving badly

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips is a peculiar book, much different than I expected and most certainly followed the hero cycle. The book described several of the Olympian gods who become entangled with two young mortals’ (Alice and Neil) lives. The book is full of witty banter and cute sub-plots until Zeus murders one of the mortals, under Appolo’s command because she would not love him. Then, Appolo (god of the sun) falls into a coma, bringing the world into a life with no sun. The rest of the book contains Neil and Artemis (Goddes of hunting)’s journey to the underworld to bring Alice back, and to reason with a river (yes, a river) to return the sun. The book ends in an extremely cheesy gathering of Alice’s friends and family, representing the “Resurection” part of the hero cycle, for they quite litterally are resurrecting Alice. For the “Return with the Elixir”, Alice discovers that it is the lack of belief in the Gods that is diminishing their power. Overall, Gods Behaving Badly was unexpectedly an adventure tale, following the hero cycle precisely.

Nightlight

Nightlight, a parody of Twilight written by the Harvard Lampoon, is a hysterical book and added much-needed insight to Stephanie Meyer’s overly popular series. The short book gave a detailed summary of the vampire love story, while adding a twist on the plot, making the reader aware of just how silly certain parts of Twilight are. The writers not only revealed Twilight for what it really is, but revealed the true nature of the book’s zany characters. For example, Belle Goose (based off of Bella Swan) was given an exaggeration version of her qualities, like her neediness, whininess, and vanity. The distorted version of Twilight provided a much needed wake-up call to those die-hard twitards.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein is a unique look at life through a dog's perspective. Although I expected the typical dog book, expressing the narrator's need to chase squirrels and such, this book took a look at the lives of those around the dog, Enzo. What makes the story truly different is Enzo's desire to become a man, for he is discontent with his inability to have a larger impact on his master's life. Enzo told a fairly unbiased description of the dramatic events that Denny, his master, faces. However, the one abstract element of the book was Enzo's conflict with a stuffed zebra that belongs to Denny's daughter, Zoe. The zebra taunts him; it causes him to act like a dog, and not like a human. The zebra is essentially Enzo's id, his animal instincts which he tries so hard to overcome. When Enzo tears the toy up, he is scolded--he cannot deny the dog inside of him, despite his efforts, and when he does, there are consequences. The book was mostly a "Voyage and Return" story, although it had bits of both comedy, tragedy and rebirth in it. I found this book to be an interesting read, for it included many plot lines, that just happened to be told by a dog.

Gossamer

Gossamer by Lois Lowry is a sweet story, and contrary to the child-oriented writing style, the book is appropriate for any generation. Further, I think that every age group can take something different out of the story. The book describes how “fragments” of our lives are collected through our treasured belongings by tiny nameless creatures and then “bestowed” through our ears. The most intriguing aspect of the book to me was what these creatures actually were, a question commonly pondered by the main character, “Littlest One”. The end of the book addressed the question, but ultimately put the answer up to the reader’s interpretation. Littlest One is told, upon yet again asking “what are we?”, that she is imaginary and that she lives “within…Within the stories. Within the night. Within the dreams,” (150). I also found the time frame of the book and how it affected Littlest One quite interesting as well. The exact period of the book is unknown, but it seems like it takes place over a mere week or two. As Littlest One gains knowledge and the ability to bestow, she does not grow, but instead turns more and more opaque, as she was born translucent. After she is done with her bestowal training, she is fully opaque and granted a new name—Gossamer. I think Littlest One/Gossamer’s transformation is applicable to growing up in out society. Gossamer was a pleasant read, yet triggered thoughts and questions of how the bestowers’ world paralleled to our own.

The Truth about Forever

The Truth about Forever, by Sarah Dessen, was a fun read, which was quite interesting to read a second time. I had previously read the book several years ago, but found I understood it better and enjoyed it more the second time. One thing I picked up on the second time was the structure of the chapters, and how they were parallel to the plot. At the beginning of the book, the first several chapters were consistently about either her parents or her job at the library—two boring, and connected topics. For the majority of the novel, however, Dessen alternated chapters between the parents/library theme and an exciting job at “Wish Catering” and the unusual people there. Overall, the book was about the main character’s, Macy, struggle balancing these two parts of her life. Towards, the end of the book, these topics collided. The last several chapters were about how her mother reacted with her new life at Wish, and how she dealt with her mother’s reaction. Chapters did not and could not alternate, for they began to mesh together, just like Macy’s two separate lives.

Casals and the Art of Interpretation

I found Casals and the Art of Interpretation by David Blum interesting and informative, but the writing could have been better. The ideas Blum presented are fascinating, but he often clouded them with unnecessary repetition and the reminiscing of his own life stories. The book was not exactly a “light” read, making it difficult to get through the many pages. It could have easily been shortened up, by combining chapters. The concept of the book itself is unique, as is the way he organized it. The book is not a biography of Pablo Casals, as the title may suggest, but about Casals’s ideas, comments, and construal of many pieces. It is not about Pablo Casals’s thinking as a cellist, but as a musician. Blum wrote the book in chapters, each one a favorite musical concept of Casals’s phrased as a quote from Casals’s. This remained true for a majority of the chapters. However, the last few chapters were more specific to Casals’s himself. Among these was an entire chapter dedicated to “Casals and Bach” concerning Bach’s cello suite mostly, which I found particularly interesting while currently playing the 3rd suite. Casals’s insight contained some of what I already knew, some of what I had never heard, and some that contradicted ideas that I thought I knew. Casals and the Art of Interpretation was a slow and slightly dry read, yet presented some ponderous ideas.

The Day of the Pelican

The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson was an interesting read, alerting me to a worldly conflict I’d never even heard of before. An Albanian Kosovar, Meli, tells the story of how their family fled their homeland from the Serbs, and eventually looked to America for a new beginning. The book was slightly confusing for me at first, as I had no background knowledge of that area of the world, but ultimately, I think it may have been more effective to read the book with that ignorance—The Day of the Pelican was narrated by a young girl, who did not know much more than I about why she was being attacked. My only complaint of the book is that everything seemed to go unrealistically wrong, but perhaps that was reality for some Albanian families. I found it interesting to learn that the book was based on an actually family, that was taken in by Vermonters, just as Meli’s family was. Further, I was surprised that the book portrayed the family’s welcomers in America as slightly inhospitable and unaware of Albanian culture, because Paterson learned about the family from these same people. I’m glad to have read this book, for it made me aware of horrible events that occurred in my life time, if not shortly before.

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green is a satisfyingly unrealistic story, describing the journey of a graduating senior following the clues to find a girl he thinks he knows better than he actually does. The title in its self, a metaphor and recurring theme for the entire book, drew me in immediately. “Paper towns” are made up towns placed on maps, to prevent copying a company’s map; if the map design is stolen, the original company can identify because their imaginary town, or paper town, is on the map. When Quentin, a social outcast, sets out to find his neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, a dizzying, rebellious and popular girl, who has mysteriously disappeared (and not for the first time), he recalls the one night she took him on an adventure. He remembers she said that Florida, where they live, is all just a paper town—it looks beautiful, yet plastic from far away, but so full of flaws and destructible when you take a closer look. This term, paper towns, has multiple meanings, creating confusion in the search for Margo. The book leaves the reader awakening to realism—you can’t always have what you want. The only aspect of this book that was disappointing was John Green’s characters were identical to those in his other book, Looking for Alaska, just with a different setting and plot line.