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I read books!

So I've been watching a lot of TV and movies on my PC these days. I like the instant accessibility of the media but I also think my brain is turning to mush. I need text. Not only that, I need high-brow text. So, survey my reading list:


  • O Pioneers! by Willa Cather



Part of my recent horde from Book Sale. Honestly, I love that store -- especially the one at Robinson's. Less crowded, yet more choices, and I always seem to find some literary gem whenever I drop by the place. Last time, it was Ethan Frome. Now, this. One of my favorite books was The Song of the Lark by the same author. Admittedly, reading Cather is...work, but the end result is always satisfying. O Pioneers! seems to be a love story of sorts so, in a way, it's more appealing than Song, which took the realization of an artist as its subject.


  • A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin



The second book of the popular fantasy series of novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. Incidentally, the first book of the series has been turned into the award-winning HBO series, Game of Thrones. The story is really compelling but what I love most about it is the characters -- all of them. This just seems to be a beautifully crafted world.


  • Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse



Before anything else, let me just say that I am not the sort of person who would read a book more than once. In fact, most of my favorite books have only been read one time. I don't like to go back because nothing compares to that first experience of stepping into the world that a particular author has written for you. To try to recapture that moment is futile because it's never going to happen again. That is why I don't read story books twice. Herman Hesse's opus is one of the few exceptions. There is just something about Steppenwolf. I must have read the book five times already. I was just out of college when I read it the first time. Each time I pick it up, I always find something new to ponder about it. Maybe I see myself in Herman, or I don't know. It's just a book that I like to go back to every so often.


  • Life of Pi by Yann Martel



The young adult genre is pretty popular and I haven't jumped in the bandwagon yet. Here's to my first foray into the unknown seas otherwise known as YA. If it's good, I'll pick up The Hunger Games next. Incidentally, both are being made into movies, so yeah. If I want to read these, I better start now before I see the movie versions because otherwise I'll never get around to it.



That's the list for now. I should be able to inhale these during sembreak, if I'm not too busy lawyering it up.

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