Books 9-12

Like everyone else, I have been lagging on my reading, but here's a quickie update to remind myself:

Book 9: Aldous Huxley - Doors of Perception / Heaven and Hell
I'm not sure if this counts as one, since I only read "Doors of Perception". It was a while back now, maybe in March that I read this at the peak of my interest in psycadelic drugs and their effect on the human mind. Huxley makes it sound rad, but his way of rambling about it is a little too "this will change your life this will change your life this will change your life" for me.

between books 9 and 10, I started but did not finish: A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway) and Visions of Cody (Kerouac). They did not pass the 50-page test which is a bummer because these are two of my favorite writers.


Book 10: Richard Wright - Native Son
This book was SO good. Easy to read and a great message, although I found myself getting aggravated at the stupidity of the main character - but only a result of my 2009 mind reacting to a 1930s scenario. It's a story of a young black man that accidentally kills a young white woman and attempts to cover up the crime and run away in segregated Chicago in the 30s. It's a great look at racial tension during the time, and the emotional state of both whites and blacks as a result of this tension. For some reason I'm not so sure of (outside of its setting), it reminded me of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle".




Book 11: Philip Gourevitch - We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
This is a collection of first-hand accounts of the Rwanda genocide. It wasn't as sad as I expected, but did offer a good glimpse at what really happened and how the world did really sit back and watch this very small country destroy itself. What happened here is still beyond my comprehension, and my apathy to it disgusts me to a point. This is a great starting point for anyone interested in learning about the genocide from those who experienced it.


Book 12: Joan Didion - Run River
This is a reread, worth my full attention because the last time I read it was to kill time when I was sitting behind a register. What can I say? It's a Joan Didion novel. The female lead character is detached from her husband, her children, and most of the time herself. Didion focuses on character development - and the entire novel is basically a backstory to an event that takes place in the course of maybe an hour. Great nonetheless.