A Blast from the Past: This Past Summer's Reading Adventures

I can't help but make note of a few books I read this summer since they were noteworthy because of one of three things: either greatness, boringness, or disturbingness.

I'll begin with disturbingness. Miranda July and I have a love-hate relationship. She might be genuine and bright, or she might just be hipster using brutal honesty to gain the appearance of being genuine and bright. I don't know. Whatever she is, this book is a collection of stories that use real life situations paired with a great deal of shock value. I appreciate the modern idea of writing without beating around the bush, without hiding the human flaws of the characters, and even indulging oneself in the bizarro world of fellow man-- but it just seemed like one huge attempt to shock, shock, shock. I admit, I enjoyed some of the storytelling at times, but it definitely wasn't my favorite book in the world. But keep trying Miranda, I like your ideas (mostly). I give you a 3 for middle-of-the-scale enjoyment. Also, I have this book in an orange cover, which is apparently impossible to find online.

The Great Gatsby is a classic, and based on the framework of the story and the ideas behind the book I can understand why it is considered such.

But did I enjoy it? No. It was actually a pretty torturous read, and if it hadn't been for sheer boredom I wouldn't have read any Fitzgerald after that for fear that the writing would be like it was in this book.

Feel free to claim whatever you want-- that I "just didn't get it" or I'm being too dismissive of classic material, but it just seemed incredibly long and boring in most parts. No matter how long I read (and I did read all of it) it just seemed like I couldn't touch the characters-- I couldn't get close to the story or have any particular attachment to its continuation. I read it all the way to the end thinking that just maybe there would be some final part that made me go "OHHH" but that moment never came. The characters weren't even all that likable if you ask me.

So, I give it maybe a 1, or maybe even a 1.5.