Annotated Bibliography

My summer reading list, since about May 10th, has consisted of:

Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut

• This is the first Vonnegut novel I've read since Slaughterhouse 5 freshman year of high school, when I clearly did not get the finer points. I liked it very much, but don't have much to say aside from that.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

• I've been wanting to read this since my very favoritest high school English teacher raved about it. I was highly disappointed. Very philosophical, the guy just goes off for pages about quality and romantics v. realists and I don't even remember anymore. Not that I have anything against philosophy, I just didn't follow this one. It took forever to get through. 

Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk

• Oh, Chuck Palahniuk. You try so hard to be edgy. There were some very interesting ideas in this, but I just don't buy his characters.

The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls

• This was fascinating to me, but perhaps just me. I laughed I cried, but mostly I was just infuriated by what awful parents this girl had.

Born to Run - Christopher McDougall

• Phenomenal. I loved it. It made me love running. Each time I picked it up I wanted to stop reading so that I could go running, but it was so wonderful that I had to keep reading. It's about how modern running (giant cushy soles, cortisone shots for injuries) has made us more prone to injury and pain and that the barefoot running movement is actually pretty valid if done properly (throw in a plot about indigenous central Americans and a crazy ex-boxer). I will always have a connection to this book because the first day I set out on my new and inspired running plan, I pulled something in my leg and haven't run in three weeks. If only I had taken his advice.

The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

• The entire mood of this book is rain. It's almost mystical. Very sad, but very realistic, it's also very "first-novely". 

The World According to Garp - John Irving

• I just love John Irving. He's just slightly absurd, very original, very believable, and very in touch with human behavior. He has a particular perception about Americans that is never stated outright but that I highly agree with. This book was not quite as good as The Cider House Rules or A Prayer for Owen Meany, but a solid third.

I should have time to finish
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

• Not very far into this one, but it's letting me down a bit. Well, I guess I'm just not sure where it's going. It seems like the plot was exhausted in the first chapter. I expect to not understand much of it.

before beginning
Policy Practice for Social Workers: New Strategies for a New Era - Cummins

• womp womp wooooooomp.

Many of my books have lain unread on my shelves for several years. I love the feeling of checking them off the to-read list, having one more book in my repertoire to discuss, or simply to know what it's about, and whether or not I like it. This is why summer and winter breaks are so valuable to me. I can devour these books in a weekend, but give me a textbook and my eyes cross.

4th of July at the lake

Because...I haven't posted pictures in a while.

The thing is though, when you hunker down at the lakefront to take pictures with a bike and full backpack after riding 9 miles, well...you don't really want to move. This limited my subject options. Ah well.

Aaaaand just for fun:

 

!!!