reading rainbow

I've been trying to read more lately. My last completed book was some Dean Koontz. Not my usual fare, but I gave it a go. It was only a confirmation that I was not really into thriller novels.

Since I don't know when, I've been sucked into the concept of "classics". What makes something a classic? Profundity? New concepts? Timelessness? Who knows... All I know is that when something is considered a classic, I want to know about it. In turn, that makes me a sucker for those "Top #__ (insert medium)" lists, i.e. Time's Top 100 Novels, Rolling Stones' 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, etc. Obviously, these lists are biased and don't contain books that are regarded as classics by many. Example, no Ayn Rand in the Time list ... flabbergast!

So, I've tiptoed into the 100 Novels list, and I haven't gotten very far. So far, I've completed G. Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. Both were very good, though slightly saddening at the end. If you're interested in Socialism, Communism, Capitalism, and the like, I definitely suggest reading these two. Orwell is certainly genius when it comes to integrating literature with social systems.

The two I've begun but not finish are V. Nabokov's Lolita & S. Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March. Unfortunately, the prose for Augie March is kind of fleeting for me. It's hard for me to concentrate because there is not a lot of dialogue. Lots of description which I don't care for (hence, me no likey Wuthering Heights). It's a big book too, so I don't know if I'm ever going to finish it. Maybe if it was audiobook, I could complete it.

As for Lolita, I had a odd time explaining the plot to my cousin. "So it's about this guy who's old but likes 12 year old girls, because he fell in love at that age and hasn't moved on." I don't even think that's completely correct or even a fair description, but it's the best I could do with my shoddy Chinese. I've read Nabokov's Pale Fire before a long time ago, and I really can't remember much about it (the inevitable outcome of assigned reading). But, I didn't hate it, so that's why I went for Nabokov again. So far though, I've really enjoyed the book. This guy is really interesting, though legally a pedophile and (insert villainous term here). Still, it's interesting, and it makes me want to watch the Kubrick film. Definitely planning on finishing this one, if I ever get around to picking it up again.

I'm not a very disciplined reader. I have to get very interested in order to keep reading. Or, I have to be waiting for Mr. P in the car for 10+ minutes. I wish I was more into books like these 2 sisters I know, or even my own sister. Well, I guess my infantile mind needs pictures to keep me interested (yay for graphic novels!!).