A Man Without a Country

Witty, sarcastic, and funny.  I love this book and his observations about the world.  Kurt Vonnegut is great with words.  Practically everything written made me stop and think, either because it makes you laugh or you admire his intelligence.  

Some examples include:

“ I am one of America’s Great Lakes people, her freshwater people, not an oceanic but a continental people.  Whenever I swim in an ocean, I feel as though I am swimming in chicken soup.”

“As a kid I was the youngest member of my family, and the youngest child in any family is always a jokemaker, because a joke is the only way he can enter into an adult conversation.”

“Here is a lesson in creative writing.  First rule: Do not use semicolons.  They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing.  All they do is show you’ve been to college.”

Of course he has a lot to say about politics to, but nothing that can so easily be summed up in a sentence or two.

Beginning

It is my belief that the first ten pages are the hardest part of reading a book.  For me part of the problem is that I have a lot of expectations for most books I buy. I start getting a little flustered if the beginning isn't incredibly attention grabbing.  I just really want books to be good, maybe I shouldn't put so much pressure on them.  Last night I forced myself through the first ten pages of Caravans by James Michener, then the next thing I knew I was 90 pages into the book. 

Don't worry I won't try to make some larger metaphor for life based on this observation, although it is very tempting.  Hopefully you see where I am heading. 

Long List...Not So Long Anymore

I always knew I had a problem, but I just realized how serious it when I looked at my blog.  I have read three of the four books I put on my "long list" just four weeks ago!  

Two new goals:

--Read the books I already own that I haven't read yet

--Get a library card

Good thing the library card fits right in with my other goal meant to achieve something very different than the two above.  I need to read more "classics" and I feel like that is the perfect type of book to check out at a library.  Hopefully this goal will make me smart and more well-rounded while the two above will make me richer...by just how much I am afraid to calculate.

Gosh, where are my index cards when I need them? These goals need to be hand written somewhere.  

Firmin

I really enjoyed this book, actually much more than I thought I would.  It was one of those that I kept coming across in my searches, but put aside for on reason or another.  Most often those books become some of my favorites, but not all the time so it is tough to know if I am putting it aside for good reason or not.  

The narrator, Firmin the Rat, is so funny.  The book is written much more like a conversation, like someone just telling their dear friend a good story.  And to my understanding this is much hard than it reads.  It is a short book to start with, I suppose since rats have short lives, but I think I finished it in record time considering the small amount of time I have to read lately.  

Explaining this book is hard and I am realizing I can't do it justice.  I am sure you are all sitting there labeling this book a "Paige Exclusive" (meaning something no one else would want to read).  I can't say much more than it is funny, I really laughed out loud at times, and I am considering reading it again...soon.  

Seven Days in the Art World

Overall a good read on an interesting subject I realized I know very little about. Even though people are waiting on me to finish this book so they can start reading it I am having a hard time finishing. The problem really isn't the book, like I said it is a good read. The problem is more with me and my need for plots and characters.

Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the art world...art school to the art magazine. Some people will be introduced for a short interview or quote and then that is the end of them. Others make it through the whole chapter only to meet their end there. I need a couple of characters that I carried out through the whole book, people who make me need to know what happens to them in the following pages. Don't get me wrong, I always read five...or ten more pages than I was planning to at night. Hence the good review and the desire to still pass the book on.