WASSUP!
So remember when I posted my previous blog and I said I would make another one... about books I would not read again - ever.
Well that's happening... right now.
But first, A DISCLAIMER.
These are my personal opinions and I am in no way, shape or form saying that I hate these books. Merely they were not to my liking.
Some of us like Gory Murder Mysteries, Teenage Books filled with Angsty-Angst-Angst and Non-Fiction Books where literally everyone dies.
I am not one of these people.
More often than not you will find me with a book with Supernatural, Fantasy, Young Adult/Coming of Age Themes than anything else. My tastes are eclectic - like my music choices - but there are some books I just don't like.
It's sad but true.
So here are some books that I can see the genius in ... but I would never, ever, ever read them again voluntarily (by forced I mean for a class).
The Godfather - Mario Puzo
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| The Godfather - Mario Puzo |
Mario Puzo's The Godfather, is considered a Pop-Cult Classic and I can see the appeal for other people. It tells a story of everyday "Joe's" trying to make their lives better for themselves, their family and their friends; because the government sure isn't. This makes the story appeal to the same sort of people who exist outside of the book - fighting for the same things. Granted the Corleone Family does become the Mob in doing so, but hey it's still a certain degree of honorable.Puzo wrote this book to identify with his Italian roots and instead it identified with a whole generation because of it's easy vocabulary and subsequent movies.
Why I'll never read it again:
There were times I read it and I just had to put it down because I could not find anything good, no moral standing at all for many of the characters - at times this was just too much for me. Yes, I realize that some characters and some people are like this and that they have no redeeming qualities but it was because his characters were so life-like and capable of doing such horrible things that made me cringe. I read my books to get out of my own head and to 'travel' somewhere else - I do not want to be 'traveling' to a place of pedophilia, favors and betrayal.
I finished it because I had to for an assignment, but there were times that it was a close call.
Although I will admit that the book got easier to read as it went along - less heinous acts and more just murder.
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
| Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck |
Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men, is now commonplace in most high school classrooms across Canada. Steinbeck concentrates on the relationship between two men - both migrant ranch workers looking for work during the Great Depression. One man is the intelligent skinny guy (George), and the other the brawny one with no brains (his name is Lennie, today he would probably have been diagnosed with Autism and Mental Retardation). It tells the story of how two men can get by during a time of little else, and showcases the problems with color (racism) and misunderstandings.
Why I'll Never Read It Again:
I think this book hit a bit to close to home. My brother has special needs, because of this he is frequently misunderstood and I shudder to think what would have happened to him during this time period - much like Lennie ( the "dumb" one).
I just don't enjoy how anyone was treated in this story at all. The relationships found within are infuriating in their need to belittle the other person - the book just irked me.
And I'm about to be shot for this one...
The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
| The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins |
These books tell a dystopian, post-apocalyptic story of a world be suppressed by their government, often to the point of starvation. Pushing those people in the poorest part of the world to poach, beg and steal what they can to eat. In order to keep the people in line and to 'provide' incentive to survive and stay under government control are the Hunger Games - be the last one standing and you can have it all - including the nightmares. But, not everything works out like it should.
Suzanne Collins works a beautiful piece of work, it makes you feel things with all of your heart and you therefore become attached to that world and the characters within it. If, an author can make you cry for a character or laugh with one - I think they're doing their job.
Why I'll Never Read It Again:
I thought the books were a-mazing. But they also scarred me for life...
I could not read anything else for weeks. I was devastated.
My own Mother asked me why I was reading the books if I was crying my eyes out the whole time - I used two whole boxes of kleenex on the final book alone.
I couldn't even start the last book without giving myself a break in between the second one and the finally - but I had to find out what happened to that world. I was hooked and I couldn't stop - it was like an addiction. I needed to know what happened to my favourite characters- and in the end they died.
Devastated.
I escaped to a world that should have known from the beginning that what it was doing was horribly wrong and they should have attempted to fix it. This is not Rome and those kids should not have been gladiators or civil prisoners for the lions.
It was a horrible juxtaposition.
That being said I'll probably still see the movie version - just to torture myself some more... and probably be put off movies for a month.
Oh well
Till next time,
-Ari
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