Fish Don't Eat Marbles: Summer Reading

In addition to watching lots of movies, I plan to read and read and read some more all summer long (and hope that it I can make time to continue in the fall). In the past week, I've read 2 books. One I've been working on little by little for about 3 weeks and finally finished. The other I finished off in about 2 days. Would it surprise you that I devoured the 849-page "11/22/63" in just under 48 hours (actual reading time was much less - I did get some sleep in there)? Gawd, I love his books. I think I'll do the same with books as I'm doing with the movies, just a little review to share with anyone who happens to stop by my blog. The same disclaimer applies to books as to movies - I can find something I like in just about everything I read. If I can get through the first chapter, I'll finish the book. If I can't get through it, I won't finish it. Simple as that. My main criteria for books are (1) give me believable characters and dialog and (2) get me hooked from the get-go. If an author can do those things, I can step into the pages and be lost for as long as it takes to get to the last page. Sometimes it's 3 weeks, sometimes 2 days - one never knows.

Eiger Dreams - Jon Krakauer
This book is a collection of essays that Krakauer has written, some previously published individually in outdoor magazines. The stories are geared toward mountain climbers of the extreme variety, so the name-dropping meant nothing to me. The descriptions are what get me every time with his books - vivid descriptions of people and places and objects and events that I get drawn in and stay there, wondering what happens or who I'll meet next. It was the same with this collection. Another aspect of Krakauer's writing that I particularly enjoy is his laid-back style of writing. He's a storyteller, and his stories read as though he were sitting in the room, telling the story to a rapt audience.

More by Jon Krakauer: Under the Banner of Heaven, Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and various essays on Byliner.com (read "Three Cups of Deceit if you've read "Three Cups of Tea" or "Stones Into Schools" by Mortenson)

11/22/63 - Stephen King
He's done it again. I love love love love this book. I was intrigued as soon as I first heard the idea of this book - a time traveler who goes back in time to try to stop the Kennedy assassination. It's the story of a pretty regular guy with problems like everyone else has. He goes back and the bulk of the story is his life in the past, leading up to 11/22/63. There's love, suspense, mystery, history (both truth and fiction), and characters that make you root for them. Just like every King novel, I'm always sad at the end when it's over, but I am never able to slow down when I read, to savor each word, sentence, and paragraph - when I said I devoured the book, I wasn't kidding. I'm sure I'll read it again, and catch many more bits and pieces that I missed this time. Until then, I'll think about time-strings and the butterfly effect and wonder how this blog changes the future.....

My favorites by Stephen King: The Dark Tower Series, Different Seasons, and The Stand

Some of the books I'll be reading