Book Binge

As sometimes happen when I get bored with real life (or even when I don't), the past week or so I've been on a Book Binge. I'm always -always- reading something, but every couple of months that will go into overdrive and I'll just devour everything I can get my hands on.

So, here's the overview of what I've slammed down recently:

My Ishmael, Daniel Quinn. What can I say, other than... read it. Actually, read the other first: Ishmael. But be sure to read both of them. Some people think that they're "nice stories" and then write them off... but for those who are affected by them, they can be paradigm-shifting. As for me, Quinn manages to articulate what has bothered me so much in all I've seen, so both books hit home. Maybe you'll be affected and find yourself like one friend, drunk on your birthday and on camera, disturbed and yelling "they locked up the food, man, they locked up the food!"

Change of Heart, Jodi Picoult. Picoult is my (not-so) secret indulgence in "beach reads" and other bestsellers that I usually regard as fluff. She's my way of completely disappearing from the world; this book I read in one sitting on a Sunday. It is well written, the plot moves quickly, and this one made me think. She has this style of writing from a different person's perspective each chapter, which is interesting and she does very well. The story was still sinking in several days after I finished it.

Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut. Another one I read within a day and a half. Vonnegut is freakin nuts, and its great. I read Sirens of Titan a couple of months ago, and loved that as well. He writes absolutely insane things in the most matter-of-fact way, which, especially in Sirens of Titan, is hilarious. I really like Slaughterhouse Five's perspective on death. I just wish we could actually visit those moments in the past where our loved ones still exist. So it goes...

Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole. I'm in the middle of this one right now. It took me a little while to get really hooked, but its another preposterous, hilarious novel. The characters are so absurd that it is captivating.

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, Philip Gourevitch. I'm reading it for a class, but it is one that has been on my "to read" list for years. The writing is excellent - for once, journalistic style done well in a longer book. And thank God, because the topic is done justice (its about the Rwanda genocide, which happens to fascinate me).

I feel like I am missing a book or two, because I know this isn't all I've read... maybe its because I'm not including the school reading? There are a few more that I started last month that I am just now finishing up, but I don't consider them part of my binge... they're just normal reading. If any happen to be must-reads, I'll be sure to pass them on. Oh, and I musn't forget that book by that cynical bastard Klosterman...