Reading challenge – Page 4 – The Roaming Rider

My mom and I are doing this challenge together with each of us getting to pick the book for every other prompt. This was her turn.

Book #2: A book that has been on your to read list for too long: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

I’m sure I probably read this in high school. Most people in the US are forced to read this and many others way before they are mature enough to comprehend the content. If I did though, I don’t recall and nothing in the book brought up any memories.

This book is an american classic and I can see why even though in the end I wouldn’t want to add it to my collection or read again.

Of Mice and Men is a heart breaking story about the intangible: dreams, friendship, and power.

The book is set in depression era California as two men try to find work as a ranch hand to earn “a stake”. They are a mismatched pair to be sure: George is slender, small of stature and big of mind while Lennie is a brute with the intelligence and naivete of a small child. They have one common dream that brings them together and draws other characters in and that is to have their own plot of land to farm and live off of with all the freedom it brings.

The most prominent theme is about dreams. How fragile they are. How easy to build, believe in and lose. We find ourselves introduced to George and Lennie after half a life time of being together. The farm has become such an ingrained part of the future, that they both can repeat the same detailed description over and over again. It is real enough to touch and George only really comes alive when he is picturing it

Throughout the novel other characters interact with this dream. Some beg for a piece of it to call their own and others challenge that it isn’t real. In rough times, the talk of the farm brings Lennie and George closer and at peace.

It is particularly powerful then when the book closes with the same images of the farm with the rabbits and chickens and garden vegetables all laid out before George and Lennie’s eyes as everything comes to a close.

When I completed the book, I sat and stared for a while. I was more than just sad…I was downtrodden. A dream so real you can touch it, taste it, smell it. A dream that keeps you moving ever forward through all the muck and more that life throws at you. When George admits to the world that it isn’t ever going to happen. That it was never going to be real. That he has given up. Well, that just wrenches your heart right out.

If you haven’t read it, I don’t know. It’s not my favorite for sure. It is slow to start with overly descriptive passages about the location and scenery. It took me about half way through to figure out what it was even about. The characters are not likable except for perhaps George and Slim, the second in command. It does make you think and it is a short book though. If you’ve got some time, I’d go ahead and pick it up.

40 regular and 12 advanced books. 52 weeks to complete them all. Doable? I am about to find out.

When I was younger my nose was always in a book. On the bus to/from school, before classes started, during study hall, up late at night in bed. I remember one summer, probably around 2001 or so, I worked full time at a convenience store – 7a to 3p, M to F. Each day I would come home, shower, grab my best dog Hero and a book and sit outside in the sunny yard until my mom called for dinner. I would wriggle my shoes off and enjoy the touch of grass on my toes, the sun warming my skin and the breeze rustling my hair. It was bliss.

When medical school happened there was no time for pleasure reading. You could still find my nose buried in a book, but these were heavy books, both in content and size.

Now a days it’s rare to see me with a book in hand. Too little time is my excuse but that’s not really true. Like so many, my phone has replaced a good book. Not any longer.

My mom and I are doing this together. I chose the first book, she will do the next.

Book #1: A book recommended by a librarian.

I don’t have a library card and will have to wait a while before I can acquire one, so this topic was a bit hard. Thankfully there is always The Google and it didn’t take long to find a list of books recommended by librarians.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

My first attempt at taking a picture of the book. Thanks cats.

This book. I couldn’t put it down. Seriously, I read it in one sitting. It was that captivating.

The book begins with an unnamed girl stating that she is thinking of ending things. She is in the car with her boyfriend as he drives out to his family farm to introduce her to his parents. She questions the timing, but goes along hoping to find an answer by the end of the trip. Would meeting his parents make their relationship any better?

I won’t ruin the plot for anyone wanting to read it, and everyone should read it, but I will talk about the book in general.

The writing style is easy to follow and consume. With modern day topics and language, the book puts you right at ease from the beginning in terms of accessibility of the character and plot.

Straight away though you get a sense of eeriness. The first half only has two characters: the girlfriend and boyfriend (Jake). While they converse, a lot of the book is spent inside the internal musings of the girlfriend as she tries to wrap her head around the value of relationships and if she is happy in her current one.

This feeling of something being a bit off continues throughout the meeting of his parents and the return drive home until it reaches a crescendo in an ending that left me reeling.

5 stars from me. Go read it. It won’t be a waste of your time.

Tag: Reading challenge

POPSUGAR 2017 Reading Challenge Book #2

2017 Popsugar Reading Challenge. Book #1.