100 Books in 100 Weeks

#64(b) Misery

2011-06-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

Week: 1, Books completed: 1
(Books completed is 1 though 2 have been read in terms of list)
It's always a shame when only after you've asked when entering going into a library or a book store 'Do you sell Misery?' or even 'Have you got Misery in stock?' that you realise that that wasn't the best phrasing known to man, and as they inspect you over their goldfish-bowl glasses and raise a firm eyebrow which makes you think 'Oh dear, this is one of those things you buy over the comfort of your own home...anonymously...on ebay...'.

Hopefully -if you don't get a sideline deal of the next Justin Bieber soundtrack- you'll get given the Stephen King book about an unfortunate incident involving a wholly unhealthy obsession of a deranged fan girl and the idol. (Picture if you will a film premier of Twilight)

The 369 pages of gripping script and twisting plot settled me back on my comfy couch from the get-go, like putting on a pair of lovingly comfy yet playfully deadly slippers for any Stephen King fan (hopefully not of the obsessive kind).

The detailing of the story sets you up for some amazing (if sometimes suspiciously realistic) gory visual imagery that makes this book -and indeed the author- stand proud on the classics list for me. Unfortunately the only other Stephen King book I've read to date is The Shining, and can't judge upon his other works, but later I'll also be reviewing the Stand.

Next up I'm grappling my way through Moby Dick and Crime and Punishment. Hope to hear from anyone out there not mistakenly directed to any pre-teen music or film sections of the shop.

#12(b) Freakonomics

2011-06-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

This book was one that I challenged myself to read in the place of another book on the list I'd previously read before this challenge as on of two different books for number 12 (hence the b :) ). So this officially only counts as a 0.5 of a book on my 100 books list, so I thought it was fair enough to post this early.

Freakonomics is a book about viewing the world differently, from parenting to politics. It was a fairly easy read and proved quiet interesting with a bunch of stories perfect for debate and discussion (perhaps not at the dinnertable, someone might get offended :S). I did drift off once or twice from a slight overloading of figures but it is worth getting through it and worth reading this book.

Next time you might think twice about why unexpected things happen the way they do, and perhaps why (at least in america) it is safer to send you child to play around a household that owns a gun instead of a household the owns a swimming pool (which is 100 times more likely to kill you. The next horror movie won't be death by vampires, or the shootings in back alleys, NO it'll be death by swimming pools mwhahaha).

A good read with some reference and wider context to that more than the actual book itself.

What did you think of this book?

The 100 Books in 100 Weeks Challenge

2011-05-24T08:46:00.001-07:00

As part of my bucket list, I challenged myself to make a list and complete a bunch of items, on of which was to read the 100 greatest novels. However, this has been rather slow, with only a progress of 7 books!

So I've created this new challenge to try and get through it faster! I was going to try and order the majority of books through reservations at the library so the list won't necessarily be in order. But wish me luck! I hope I can pull this off.

I'll leave a review for each book read, the first hopefully on Monday the 6th of June, and then every Monday following. I'll try not to let go of any spoilers and will give some warning if I do. Thanks!