52 Books: February Books

Another late 52 Books post but this time, I tried to input more into my reviews. February was a really good reading month.  Also, I read two classics. That’s quite something considering I rarely read classics. Thank heavens for book sales!

1. Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

Rant is a book I randomly bought simply because I wanted to read the works of Chuck  Palahniuk. I read some reviews of this book before actually reading it.. The reviews were disheartening so I postponed reading this for about five months. It was a lucky day, though, when I finally peeled off the plastic cover and started reading. I immensely enjoyed Rant even though Palahniuk used an unconventional format. Maybe it’s even because of this format that drew me quickly to the book. The shift of POVs were quick and sudden so I got confused at first. But after about two chapters, I got used to the format.

The story line is quite confusing but any story line involving time travel can surely confuse me.  But there’s something so consistent about his writing. What I also like is how he managed to make each character different from one another. There are so many POVs but each one has a distinct quality. Rant, though his POV isn’t included in the story, comes alive through the tales shared by the other characters.

I am eager to read another Palahniuk book. I already have Pygmy but I don’t think I am ready for that. But I really, really want to read Invisible Monsters.

2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

I’m not sure whether I love this book. I did enjoy reading it since it’s quite insightful. I am always at a lost how depressed people’s mind work. I am a generally happy person and no matter how bleak a situation may be, I always find something to live for. But this book enlightened me in so many levels. The lead character is girl who is so talented and who has so much potential yet, she still falls into a blackhole of self-pity and depression. She finds common activities (like eating, taking a bath and changing clothes) too bothersome that she’d rather not do it. She ends up withdrawing from everyyone and became too suspicious of everything.

Despite all this, I am still not in love with this people the way other people seem to be. It’s an okay book for me. Or maybe I just didn’t understand the book that’s why I’m not totally in love with it.

3. Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl is one of my favorite books so I had some expectations for this one. I wasn’t instantly drawn to the story since Will Tuppence, the lead character, is somewhat boring at first. Then the author finally introduces BT so everything is finally beautiful and nothing hurts. I suddenly can’t stop reading and yes, I kind of hoped that the story would focus on Will’s friendship with BT. But it doesn’t.

Maybe I was just being biased that’s why I wasn’t pleased at how it turned out. The story focuses more on Will’s relationship with her sister, Tabby. She is just so annoying and I would love to push her off a cliff. HAHAHA. Another annoying character is Mi-Su, and I don’t like how her actions contradict her words. I don’t know. I just don’t like her. Maybe if I didn’t love the secondary characters (BT and Korbet) more than I loved the leads, then maybe I would like this book more. Korbet is adorable, and I wish I have a younger brother like him. I also wish Spinelli would write a book about BT.

4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This book is perfect in my eyes. I have so much love for this book that I cannot think of a single bad thing about it. The Graveyard Book is my favorite Neil Gaiman book, and I cannot stop thanking Nini for recommending this to me. Nobody Owens is now one of my favorite heroes, along the ranks of Ron Weasley and Peeta Mellark. I am not exaggerating when I say that I basically love everything about this.

While reading it, I couldn’t stop wishing that I read it when I was a kid. I couldn’t stop thinking that this is one of those books that I would make my future children read. I was too sad when I reached the end of this book. I didn’t want it to end but I felt like it’s perfect in every sense. Though I want to find out more about Nobody Owens and the ghosts in the book, I have to accept that even good books need an ending.

Now I’m at a lost for words because I know no other way to gush at how incredibly awesome this book is. I recommend this to everyone. Just give it a try.

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Just thinking about this book makes me all depressed and shit. I expected a great love story but I consider The Great Gatsby a tragedy. I don’t think I’ll have the heart to read it again. It is well-written, that’s for sure. I was lured into reading this book thinking I’d have butterflies and giggles from it. Instead, I went to bed feeling depressingly sorry for Jay Gatsby.

I can’t imagine how it would feel to live my life for someone but in the end, it’s this someone who would be the end of me. And this someone wouldn’t even care. I just can’t explain but this book is mighty depressing. It’s sad how this is supposed to be The Great American Classic yet, the only thing I would remember when reminded of this book is how depressing it is. I’m still glad I read it, though.