The Road

July 31, 2007

My Little Brown Book - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane

 

 

I'm currently 100 pages into Cormac McCarthy's best-selling and pulitzer-prize winning "The Road", and I haven't fallen asleep in reading a book as often as I had in reading this one.

What a listless storytelling this is! I didn't expect it to be a high-octane action-packed thriller in the same vein as Battle Royale, but gee does The Road ever make the story of survival lethargic! This is coming from a guy who hasn't fallen asleep watching movies besides The Awakenings (this isn't a bad joke! It's true!).

Grapes of Wrath, another Pulitzer Prize winner, isn't exactly the most "aggressive" novel ever, but I stayed awake reading it because of the lively character interactions and because each chapter is progressive, fresh, and eventful. While the theme of the Road (set in a post apocalyptic world where a father and a son tries to survive tribulations while traveling south) is inventive, the plot is tedious. All the father and son do (so far) is walk, sleep, scrounge abandoned homes, talk about love, safety, security and death, lathered, rinsed and repeated ad nauseum. When something interesting finally happens (like having an "enemy" show up) it is short-lived, and is afterwards followed by the tedium of their same-old "normal" traveling routine.

I'm not sure where this Pulitzer-prize distinction came from because I don't feel like reading anything classic. Last I checked, Pulitzer books aren't much of a bore. And while I can understand the beauty of understated storytelling, something HAS to happen in order for a story to be good.

At a 100 pages in, I haven't read anything happen yet.

Posted by nightdreamer at 4:59 pm | permalink | comments[28]

So Far

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2

I guess my posts thus far involve me being angry at something. My apologies. I must write more positively. Happiness is two kinds of ice cream…

Anyway, I'm beginning to like this blog. I like how streamlined it is, I like the interface, I like the tags, I like the changeable background and title images (even if it is flawed), I like the uploadable music, I like the messageboard, etc.

In contrast, I'm beginning to see my friendster blog as an underdeveloped rural area. Not that I have anything against rural area. Ok, my bad, correct that. Friendster blog is more like outdated technology or a dinosaur. For all the stuff the friendster teams like to brag, they rarely ever add new features to their blog.

I hope to stay. I hope to get more readers. Maybe I should wish upon a star because after all, they're in my header image. Haha.

Oh, and by the way, the header image is something I made by myself. It's the top of my vector image version of Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Posted by nightdreamer at 12:06 pm | permalink | comments[14]

Harry Potter and the Annoyed Reader

religious - musiq


Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying I don’t like Harry Potter. I do; in fact, I’m borrowing it from someone.

What bothers me is the disturbing trend Harry Potter has started. Since its release, it’s impossible to go to any university or office without hearing conversations about Harry Potter. It’s everywhere, and it gets annoying when you’re at the restroom, only to hear someone wash his face while conversing to his friends about how book 7 ended (which I have heard several times now).

I’d like to think that one of the joys of reading a book comes from the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen (and how rewarding it could be if the denouement turns out unexpected). But these days and ages, it’s become nigh impossible to read a popular book without its details already spoiled, unless if you’re the first to have read it. Is this the reason why people line up for the new Harry Potter: so that they will be the first to know what’s happened and will spoil the story to those who haven’t read while they feel their ego boosted? Why deprive the enjoyment of those who want to read but couldn’t afford it immediately? Why all this disrespect?

Also, does everyone have to follow the media hype? Is everyone out of touch with their own preferences that they just have to keep following the trend, without discovering the gems on their own? What happened to the time when those who go to the bookstore go to different sections scrounging for the book that speaks to them, regardless of whether or not it’s popular? Nowadays, the only books that people ever buy are those humongous hyped bestsellers piled in front of a bookstore: Harry Potter, The Secret, Laws of Attraction, Da Vinci Code, Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Alchemist, etc. I’m not saying these books are inherently bad, I’m saying that it’s likely that there are other books on the similar subject matter that could be better than all these. And yet people don’t take the trouble to read Bartimaeus Trilogy, Faucoult’s Pendulum, or Siddharta.

As for my assessment in Harry Potter series, I like it. I find the concept very appealing. However, I'll be damned if I just stick to Harry Potter without exploring other works of fiction and I can't remember a book release ever reaching the anticipation level of Star Wars. This guy here prefers bookstore quiet.

For me, the beauty in reading a book comes from its giving each of us a different experience. Everyone has their own biases and interpretations. It doesn’t matter how much a book has sold, if it doesn’t communicate a message appreciable by the reader then it doesn’t serve its purpose. A book isn’t supposed to be like technology where the latest is the best; it’s supposed to be like a t-shirt, in which only the person will know what fits him/her. Old or new, it doesn't matter. It doesn’t have anything to do with what sells and what everyone else likes. Just imagine if everyone is wearing torn jeans. How crazily monotonous would the world be then?

Posted by nightdreamer at 1:42 am | permalink | comments[17]