What are you reading mark II

[Pink Bunkadoo]

The Cormier book that I really wish I hadn't read is Fade.

I recently finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.  It took me about three months to get through it, what with the baby and all.  I did enjoy it.  I had no clue where it was going.

Right now I'm reading Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS, but I can only get through a couple of pages before it puts me to sleep.  Zzzzzzz.

[JP Dogberry]

I recently read Fade. It instantly went on my list of favourite books. It's probably in my top ten, I'd say. I appreciate books that challange the status quo, especially ones aimed at young people - since the only way things are ever going to get better is by people challanging that which is.

[Chimera]

I have mixed feelings about Cormier. The one I read is The Chocolate War, for my YA lit class. I didn't like it because it was vile in parts, particularly anytime one of the teenage boys thought about females. It made me want to shut myself in a room and never go outside where a man would even look at me, I felt so gross and violated.

But the theme of the book--this boy who is determined to "Go against the universe," specifically the 'universe' that is his corrupt school, and pretty much fails--stuck in my head for weeks. Nobody helped the boy in his moment of need. He was abandoned, completely alone. It made me ask what I would do in a crisis moment. Would I stand up, or would I rationalize it away? There were so many degrees of gray in the book. Usually, someone is always noble and comes to the rescue. Nobody did in this book. So, what's more true to life?

It was a sobering concept to ponder.

I don't think that humanity is inherently bad. Or that you have to only explore "the dark side" of humanity in fiction. But I'm not quite ready to write off Cormier's books yet. Anything that has me thinking for weeks has some merit in my eyes.

[stacer]

I have mixed feelings about Cormier. The one I read is The Chocolate War, for my YA lit class. I didn't like it because it was vile in parts, particularly anytime one of the teenage boys thought about females. It made me want to shut myself in a room and never go outside where a man would even look at me, I felt so gross and violated.

That's exactly how I felt when reading Chocolate War, both times--first time, age 14, freshman year of high school; second time I couldn't even finish it.

I do agree that Cormier does things in his narration that nobody else at the time did--he takes risks, breaks boundaries. But, but... I can't stand the way he does it. His view of reality is extremely dim.

Chimera, you really should read that article on Cormier I mentioned in that list. She does a good job of looking at his work from a different perspective. Kind of helped me articulate why I personally don't like his work--though I can't say that it is worthless. It's certainly a touchstone for what YA literature is.

[fuzzyoctopus]

His view of reality is extremely dim.

Well I've never read any of his books, but you ladies have just clinched that I'll never read any of my own volition.  Sounds like his books would in fact get thrown into the nearest wall.

[JP Dogberry]

Have you ever MET people? Especially High School Boys? People are both Inherintly Evil AND inherintly Stupid, and God put them there just to ruin your day.

Anyone who has ever worked helpdesk (like I did for five hours today)will testify to the truth of this.

[Master Gopher]

Currently re-reading Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books, also just found a new Arthurian trilogy - by (from memory) Kevin Crossley-Someone. The first book is called The Seeing Stone.

Also just picked up and read the first page of one of Philip Pullman's Victorian mysteries, "The Ruby In The Smoke". Not sure if I'm going to like it or not - I like the "His Dark Materials" books very much, but wouldnt read them more than, say, 3 times. Especially not the last two. Ah well, will give it a try.

This is the one good thing about having erratic insomnia - it's as annoying as **** when you want to get some rest, or have normal sleep patterns ... but I managed to read about six books on the weekend, because I couldn't sleep. I'll take reading over sleep any day. Sleep's so overrated.

[Archon]

I have never worked at a help desk, and I will attest to that. There are certainly exceptions, but as a general rule, I think that Cormier has a good measure of high school guys. I read it last year, and I remember enjoying it more than any other book that we were forced to read in that class, especially To Kill a Mockingbird. I wanted several hours of my life back after reading that book, and the only part that I liked was about a paragraph long, and virtually unrelated to the plot.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

I was a high school guy, and Cormier didn't have a good measure of me. He just made me sick, and I don't want to read books that make me sick.

I read the Ruby in the Smoke in 8th grade for a class, and didn't realize that the same guy later wrote His Dark Materials. I seem to remember liking it well enough.

[Master Gopher]

It's next to me. I'm *two* pages in now.

Which paragraph in TKAM? I actually rather liked the whole book - probably because I didn't have to study it. Friends who did didn't like it either.
On the other hand, I could just be very very odd. I'm told that often enough, it's probably true.

As for Cormier - I dont like how he portrays teenage boys - but that's not to say I don't like him, I just dont like those aspects of teenage boys, which I think in a few cases are quite true to life.

[JP Dogberry]

Every teenage boy I've ever met is like that.

/me curls up into the foetal position and tries not to remember high school, a process made more difficult by the fact that a person from aforementioned high school was standing at his desk about two minutes ago.

[stacer]

Kevin Crossley-Holland. That's a pretty good series, though I'm not really into Arthurian stuff. He came to my school a few summers ago--he tells great stories in person.

[Pink Bunkadoo]

the only part that I liked was about a paragraph long, and virtually unrelated to the plot.

Was it the bit where the boys were having a contest to see who could make the longest "golden arc" and Scout said she wasn't gifted in that area?  (Okay, that made me laugh... )

[Master Gopher]

That's the one (in reference to stacer) - wish *I* could meet him in person *grumpy face*

[Archon]

The part that I was talking about was the part that was talking about Dill, and it said something to the effect of "Dill was always the leader of their games, for obvious reasons. Dill lived in a world of his own, a world of imagination, where he could do anything he wanted to." I can't quote it back verbatim, as it has been almost two years, and I didn't memorize it, but that was the general idea. I just liked the description of him, because I like those kind of characters.